Who is spreading rumors that my filial piety towards them has changed?

"Tell me about the princes and princesses."

He had stopped cultivating. Although he hadn't reached his limit, he still needed to give Shangguan Rong some time to rest and recover.

The woman nestled in his arms, like a delicate flower after a storm, gentle and endearing, her slender hands occasionally caressing his chest, touching his heart.

His gaze was fixed on the golden "crack" that had become dense and dazzling again.

"The Crown Prince is stubborn and self-willed, lacks martial skills and is only average in civil administration. He has been aiming to inherit the throne since childhood and has learned a little bit of... airs from the royal academy. He is quite attached to the Empress."

The second prince was fond of refined music, calligraphy, and painting, and had expressed that he had no ambition to pursue the throne.

The Third Princess is Jinyu... You know her too.

The fourth princess was frail from a young age and rarely returned to the capital. Her maternal grandfather took her to the Eastern Army to improve her physical fitness.

The Fifth Prince is rather amorous, but it is said that he is indiscriminate in his relationships with both men and women. He is more approachable and adept at recruiting talented individuals than the Crown Prince.

The sixth prince was mediocre, fond of traveling throughout the empire, seeking pleasure and experiencing the charms of women in different regions…

Several more princes followed.

Chu Mingkong felt a headache coming on. As expected of royalty, they had far too many offspring.

If they really fought, they could smash heads together, but that would have nothing to do with the princesses.

However, this is actually the normal situation for royal families. Other kings usually have several children, but Chu Mingkong's family has a simpler background.

Although there's a story behind his birth as the heir apparent.

"Second miss."

Shangguan Rong abruptly interrupted, "Change how you address me."

"Rong'er?" Chu Mingkong remembered that Jin Yu called her that.

"Hmm, what is it?"

Distracted by her, Chu Mingkong forgot what he was going to say. He stroked and played with her thigh for a while before finally remembering.

"You just said the Crown Prince is very clingy to the Empress? Does that mean the Empress also supports the Crown Prince?"

If that's the case, then the Empress really should get some disciplined.

Shangguan Rong shook her head:

"The Empress treats all children equally, whether they are her own or those of the concubines, and has never shown any clear favoritism towards any one side."

The Crown Prince was the Empress's son, but when he was being chosen, the Empress advised the Emperor not to let her influence the decision, but rather to appoint the most capable person.

Chu Mingkong didn't feel anything when he heard this; it was hard to say whether it was just polite talk. But if the Empress truly thought that way...

To put it kindly, it treats all princes and princesses equally.

To put it bluntly, he's indifferent to everyone, not even caring about his own children.

In Chu Mingkong's view, it is only natural for people to seek benefits for their children.

Lost in thought, Shangguan Rong looked up at him and said:

"I'm getting married tomorrow, Mingkong, you'll come, right...?"

Chu Mingkong wanted to retort to these words; anyone who didn't know better would think he was a newlywed groom.

But in reality, he went there to cause trouble.

Shangguan Rong was afraid that he would be "absent" from the wedding, so she got married and became the Crown Princess without really understanding what was going on.

“I might even arrive early.”

The two were having a pleasant conversation when the sound of a maid's footsteps came from the courtyard.

But the door was locked, and the maid Cai Cai couldn't get in.

"Second Miss, His Highness the Crown Prince is chatting with Master in the main hall. He said he'll come to visit you later. Are you asleep?"

I don't know how this custom developed, but in wealthy families, the bride and groom are not allowed to meet one or two days before their wedding day; if they do meet, they have to be separated by a curtain.

Shangguan Rong panicked and replied to Cai Cai first, "I just fell asleep. I'm getting up now. Cai Cai, wait a moment."

She quickly got up and dressed. She hadn't noticed it before, but now, looking at the hickeys below her collarbone, her face turned as red as if it could bleed.

"Mingkong, you should also hurry up and pack your things and leave. The Crown Prince will be accompanied by many guards to keep an eye on the surroundings!"

What's the use of wearing several glasses that already have lenses?

Chu Mingkong didn't take it to heart. He took out the Dustless Talisman that Master Yun had given him again. This talisman only had half of its magic power left and couldn't be recharged. It would be useless once it was used up.

The talisman once again performed its intended function, and Chu Mingkong's figure disappeared before Shangguan Rong's eyes.

Her attention shifted to tidying her clothes. Luckily, she often wore men's clothing, otherwise she really wouldn't have been able to tidy up so quickly. In the blink of an eye, she could no longer see Chu Mingkong, nor could she sense his aura. She thought he had used some kind of teleportation magic item to leave.

"She runs fast..." she muttered under her breath before opening the door for Cai Cai.

When the maid came in, she saw that the bed, which had just been made, was in such a mess, and guessed that the second young lady had taken her anger out on the quilt again.

But it's alright, at least nothing was broken.

"I'll help Miss set up the room. His Highness the Crown Prince is coming to visit today, so we'll need to use a curtain to separate them."

Cai Cai called the other maids in and had them change the bed to a new one.

"Second Miss can sit on the bed in a moment. If His Highness the Crown Prince really wants to see you, you can make an exception, but you cannot step out from behind the curtain. This is what those old women ordered."

"Hmm," Shangguan Rong said coldly.

The room was quickly tidied up, and the maids were soon pulled out of the room.

Shangguan Rong stood there for a long time, sighed, walked to the bedside and sat down. There was clearly no one on the bed, but she plopped down into a familiar embrace.

"You...you haven't left yet?"

"Why did you leave when I've already hidden everything?" Chu Mingkong's voice came from beside her ear. "My injuries still need to be stabilized. I have to make my move tonight, so I'll have to trouble Rong'er again."

Soft seats become hard seats, and hard seats become power outlets.

Shangguan Rong's cheeks flushed red again, and at this moment the Crown Prince had already entered the room.

----------

Yunhai Taoist Temple.

Zuo Qiuchi watched as Yun Nongyu extracted the eunuch's soul, marveling at her skill.

"Is this Gao Nanben's soul? He looks so blank, and he didn't get angry and start cursing?" Zuo Qiuchi was very suspicious.

Yun Nongyu explained, "His soul was already scattered by you, and it was extremely yin and entered his body. It's not easy to extract even this little bit of remnant soul. What you just described is called a ghost, which is a ghost that has become a monster because the deceased's obsession was too strong."

"Alright, but can he still answer the questions?" Zuo Qiuchi asked worriedly.

"It depends on luck." Yun Nongyu asked Gao Nanben's remnant soul, "Which faction did you side with?"

The ethereal, lingering soul finally managed to utter, "...Your Majesty."

"Nonsense." Zuo Qiuchi was speechless. "He was just the emperor's lackey."

Yun Nongyu changed her question and asked, "Who instructed you to attack Zuo Qiuchi?"

"Crown Prince...Crown Prince."

Who was it that attacked Chu Mingkong when he entered the capital?

"..." The remnant soul did not respond.

“He doesn’t know, he can’t answer,” Yun Nongyu explained, then asked on her behalf, “Who gave you the thing you use to preserve your extreme Yin energy?”

Gao Nanben's remnant soul seemed to be thinking, but before it could speak, it swayed and showed signs of pain.

Yun Nongyu acted in time, protecting the remnant soul with a talisman.

"He couldn't say it; he was under a restriction. If I had stopped him any slower, his remnant soul would have been gone."

Chapter Six Indecent Sounds

This is very unpleasant news; there's just too little information available.

Zuo Qiuchi thought he could get all the information about Chu Mingkong's bombing in one go, or at least the name of the organization or force involved.

That's all there is to it.

A dry and lifeless prince.

"Can this soul be retrieved from the back?" Zuo Qiuchi kicked Gao Nanben's corpse in disappointment.

Sure enough, a useless guy is useless until he dies.

"Yes, I can use magic to seal his remnant soul inside the corpse for a little longer, but it can only last for three days."

"Three days is enough. That brat Chu Mingkong will make his move either today or tomorrow."

Zuo Qiuchi sighed, sat back down and drank tea. Yun Nongyu disliked anything unsightly in her residence, so she waved her hand and the corpse returned to the crooked tree outside, the stench of blood disappearing with it.

Yun Nongyu's slender fingers tapped lightly on the coffee table, her fingers moving rhythmically up and down, her glossy nails gleaming like pearls in the light.

"Why haven't you embarked on the path of extreme yang yet? If you had pondered this power earlier, with your talent, the interruption of the Bronze Man Secret Realm wouldn't have been so embarrassing."

Zuo Qiuchi narrowed his eyes slightly, raised his eyelashes, and shifted his gaze from the tea leaves in the teacup to Yun Nongyu.

"I'm a free spirit and I'm not interested in the Extreme Yang Path for the time being. Or rather, I'm more interested in various martial arts techniques and skills right now. The Extreme Yang Path is a path whose threshold is not even clear, and it's too difficult."

Yun Nongyu was surprised. Wouldn't it be better if the threshold wasn't clear?

That's like a wilderness; to forge one's own path in that untouched wasteland is to become one of the strongest in the world.

Someone like Zuo Qiuchi, who advanced to the Sword Immortal realm using an uncommon heavy sword technique, should be someone with a strong... desire to seek the Dao.

"Stop asking me. Aren't you also blindfolded, single-mindedly trying to comprehend some great Dao, without even venturing into the Dao of Extreme Yang?"

"I don't want to get out of fortune-telling or divination, I just need to do it. I need to examine my distance from certain things."

She was acting all mysterious. Zuo Qiuchi gave her a disdainful look and decided not to talk about that kind of topic with her anymore.

The scene of her apprentice coming to her rescue earlier that day flashed through her mind.