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

"I'll help you cultivate, but you absolutely must come and steal me away tomorrow. Don't let me actually get married..."

Chapter Eight is so boring

As soon as the Crown Prince boarded his carriage, he heard the news from his subordinates and exclaimed in shock.

"What--?!"

If the carriage hadn't been soundproofed, the noise would have attracted the attention of pedestrians on the street.

However, the crown prince suddenly slammed his hand on the seat, causing the carriage to shake, and passersby still glanced at him.

After a few men went inside, the carriage started shaking. And these are supposed to be royal children? How tacky!

"Is the news true or false?" The Crown Prince knew that his trusted messenger would never joke about such a thing, but he still couldn't help but confirm it one more time.

"real......"

The trusted assassin presented a soul tablet with both hands. This tablet was obtained from the Nightblade Division. Every Nightblade Division member leaves a soul tablet in the vault with their life essence when they join, so that if anyone goes missing, their life status can be known.

This soul tablet belonged to Gao Nanben, but it is now broken.

The Crown Prince took a deep breath and commanded, "Return to the Eastern Palace immediately!"

The carriage hurriedly drove back to the East Palace, speeding along the way and nearly hitting unsuspecting pedestrians.

Upon disembarking, the Crown Prince summoned his trusted retainers to a secret chamber to discuss the matter.

After a brief explanation of the situation, the secret room fell silent, and everyone kept quiet.

It's not that I don't want to talk about it, but I don't know where to begin.

In a secluded, secret realm, the release of extremely yin energy—how could anything go wrong?

Extreme Yang and extreme Yin are two forces that are difficult to control. No one dares to say that they understand them completely. The current situation is even more beyond the imagination of the disciples.

After a long silence, an advisor broke the silence and said:

"Has anyone gone to the secret realm of the Ancient Buddha Temple to check the situation? The death of Deputy Commander Gao is a great loss to His Highness the Crown Prince, but if Zuo Jianxian also perished, then such a loss would be acceptable."

The official statement could be that Zuo Qiuchi intended to avenge the Crown Prince of Chu, and that Deputy Commander Gao, remembering the Crown Prince's instructions, acted out of desperation and perished together with Zuo Qiuchi!

The assassin in charge of reconnaissance shook his head heavily and said:

"It's impossible to be sure. At the time, the area was shrouded in the chanting of the Buddhist and Demonic Scriptures. After the people were lured there, the demonic power of the scriptures intensified, and my men didn't dare to go and investigate. Moreover, there was an unknown third-party force that appeared and prevented my men from getting close."

By the time it ended, the secret realm had already vanished into the void.

"Can't you sense it?" the strategist asked disdainfully.

"The extreme yin energy is leaking out there. You think sensing it will be useful?" the assassin retorted with a sneer. "If you're so capable, then come and teach me. I'll respectfully call you master!"

"If Zuo Qiuchi hadn't died, that would have been a real problem. The monk had said he only needed a dozen or so people to offer their prayers, but they ended up gathering almost all the people from the outskirts of the city. When they counted them, nearly four hundred people had died."

If this comes to light, it will be bad for the Crown Prince!

The Crown Prince angrily said, "Is the loss of a few lowly commoners really a loss to me? If we don't slowly eliminate Chu Mingkong and Zuo Qiuchi, who is protecting him, the empire will fall into chaos if his lineage rebels in the future, and even more people will die. This is a necessary sacrifice for the greater good of the Tianji Empire!"

Another silence fell over the sealed room.

The prince's retainers were at a loss as to how to explain the pros and cons to him. The prince's "weighing of benefits" was reasonable in principle, but he was too presumptuous, thinking that he had already ascended the throne.

The lives of ordinary people belong to him.

But you must understand that the emperor is not dead yet, and the situation is still unsettled. As the crown prince, he cannot have any blemishes, otherwise the position of crown prince will change hands!

Another advisor said, "Your Highness, I think you don't need to worry so much."

The secret realm has fallen, and Zuo Qiuchi has yet to appear, presumably having perished within it as well.

The dead cannot speak, so everything can be attributed to Chu Mingkong's master, Zuo Qiuchi. So, say, "To heal the young master Chu Mingkong's injuries, Zuo Qiuchi found an evil method that sacrificed hundreds of innocent civilians in the distant suburbs to save the young master's life."

That's one possible solution...

Someone spoke up, going all in without hesitation, their eyes sharp: "Several hundred isn't serious enough, we need to make it even more outrageous, let's just say 'thousands'!"

Hundreds, hundreds, and 998 are also hundreds, so why not say it's thousands?

Someone else suggested, "One thousand and one is over a thousand, and two thousand is also over a thousand, so let's just say 'several thousand'."

They clearly wanted to add a little more, but it wouldn't be appropriate to say anything bigger, and there weren't that many people around the ancient Buddhist temple.

Saying four hundred is almost like saying several thousand.

Seeing that no one objected, the Crown Prince agreed to the proposal. At this point, the only option was to suffocate Chu Mingkong in one fell swoop, otherwise, if it backfired on him, it would be truly unbearable.

And it has to be so serious that Chu Mingkong must be executed immediately!

Even the slightest chance to turn things around would make the Crown Prince sleep soundly.

"Tomorrow is my wedding day, and yet this kind of mess still happens!"

"That's not right. If Chu Mingkong dies, the position of Crown Prince will be completely secure. At that time, we can slowly spread the news that it was His Highness the Crown Prince who plotted to get rid of Chu Mingkong. Who else can compete with you for the throne? Once the situation stabilizes, those Imperial Guard commanders will gradually lean towards His Highness!"

at the same time.

News of the tragedy in the outskirts of the capital had spread. Some people who had lost their children and their breadwinners gathered at government offices and other places to demand answers. However, the matter was of great importance and the government offices could not handle it and could only suppress the news.

Gao Nanben's body suddenly appeared in the Night Blade Division without anyone noticing, and no one knew who had brought his body back.

But the presence of a corpse means there are clues. Apart from the Taoists who know the art of capturing and searching souls, there are also similar spells in witchcraft. Naturally, the task of searching the soul fell to Wei Qingning.

This soul search led to trouble, pointing the finger directly at the Crown Prince. Gao Nanben's remnant soul revealed that the tragedy outside the city was orchestrated by the Crown Prince, with many officials watching from the sidelines. Under the watchful eyes of the public, no one could lie.

The Nightblade Division was the emperor's intelligence gathering and command execution agency, and it did not participate in such matters. However, the Nightblade Division also had spies and informants among the princes, and the news spread quickly.

So what is Chu Mingkong doing? He's dying, he's about to suffocate.

"Yongzhen, at least let me breathe, you're holding me too tightly..." Chu Mingkong struggled to peek out from Yongzhen's chest and let out a long breath.

After leaving the Shangguan residence, he planned to go to Yongzhen's place to see if Jinyu had come.

Jin Yu is a social butterfly; she knows the princes and princesses' situations best. If only we could ask her who is more interested in the throne, the Crown Prince's actions have already been spread through Gao Nanben's corpse.

But someone needs to ignite the matter. If anyone wants to make trouble for the Crown Prince, Chu Mingkong can provide some explosive information to further solidify the Crown Prince's crimes.

As soon as he got near the princess's courtyard, Yongzhen somehow knew he was there and ran out to pull him into the room.

Seeing that Chu Mingkong had caught his breath, Yongzhen pulled him back into her arms.

"Mingkong, you better tell me honestly where you've been these past few days. You smell strange!"

Chapter Nine: Rainy Night - Carrying an Umbrella, But No Knife

Chu Mingkong now felt it more and more clearly: Yongzhen had a charming and alluring temperament like a young woman. She was only a few years younger than Jinyu, and given that her activities were confined to this small courtyard in the capital, she shouldn't have developed such a tolerant and indulgent maternal instinct.

However, Chu Mingkong didn't dislike her. What was there to dislike about a woman who was willing to open her heart and embrace him with warmth and gentleness?

He took out a bouquet of flowers, which he had bought from the little girl when he went into town during the day. He had originally intended to give them to Shangguan Rong, but he had been so busy playing with the Dust-Free Talisman with the Crown Princess that he had forgotten about giving her the flowers...

I'll give it to her next time.

"What smells on me?" Chu Mingkong's voice was a little muffled. When he opened his mouth, he would get a taste of Yongzhen's tantalizing aroma, which was so strong that it made one's mind waver.

"It has a mixed flavor, with extreme yang, extreme yang, a trace of dirty Buddhist nature, the aura of Taoist talismans, and many other things."

Chu Mingkong was stunned. He thought he had picked up some kind of body fragrance from Shangguan Rong, but Yongzhen had actually revealed almost all the auras of the beings he had encountered that day... No joke, even Zuo Qiuchi, who was skilled with a heavy sword, couldn't do this much. It was a bit astonishing.

But seeing the mark of virginity between her plump breasts, Chu Mingkong felt relieved. He guessed it was related to her cultivation technique, so he decided not to ask for the time being. Everyone has their own secrets, and he would tell her when she wanted to.

What else can we see?

"Your injury has worsened, but you haven't become weak because of it. A golden 'rope' is stabilizing your heart."

It's not a pleasant feeling to have your underwear completely exposed.

Are most people or a minority who can see through people like you at a glance?

“A few,” Yongzhen replied, still holding him tightly. “Actually, I can’t see clearly from a distance. I can only sense you when you’re close to me like this. So Mingkong, you have to be careful not to accept hugs from strange girls indiscriminately.”

Could this be interpreted as Yongzhen guessing that he was using dual cultivation to survive and trying to keep him occupied with these words, scaring him away from seeing too many girls? Chu Mingkong guessed that he didn't actually need to be close to her, because just now, before he even entered the courtyard, Yongzhen sensed him and suddenly ran out, secretly taking him into her boudoir and embracing him without telling Madam Zhen. So it's likely that he couldn't escape her senses even in a small area.

He didn't answer, but instead took out the bouquet of flowers, picked out a single bloom and tucked it into her dark hair, adding a touch of delicate beauty.

"I wasn't planning on coming in at all, and I didn't prepare any gifts for you and your daughter, but you dragged me in, Yongzhen. So I can only bring some wildflowers picked from the countryside for now."

The girl shook her head, looking at him tenderly with her watery eyes, and stroked his cheek with one hand. This made Chu Mingkong feel even more that Yongzhen's method was not to be intimate with her lover, but to pamper her lover like a son. He didn't know why he had this feeling.

"No need. You've already given me something very valuable, but I haven't reciprocated. How can I let you keep thinking about giving me things? Just being here is enough..."

Yongzhen suddenly sighed softly, leaving Chu Mingkong puzzled.

"Something's bothering you?"

"Yes, but I don't know how to tell you yet... Anyway, I haven't given you a return gift yet, Mingkong. You should come visit me more often, otherwise I might forget and not give you one~"

"Yes, I will." Chu Mingkong smiled and let her hold him for the time being.

The woman held the man in her arms, a look of melancholy on her face.

The week of swapping souls with her daughter is coming to an end. After all, this is Yongzhen's body, and her own body is not as youthful and charming as her daughter's. How will she explain this to Yongzhen and Mingkong...?

If Mingkong's soul is switched back later, and he goes to find Yongzhen, only to discover that it is the real Yongzhen, who is completely bewildered by Chu Mingkong's advances, what should he do?

"Mingkong, I just remembered I needed to ask you something. If you didn't come to see me or visit my mother, what were you doing around the yard?"

Yongzhen is now the "girlfriend" personally chosen by the royal family for him. He came here not to see her or to visit his future mother-in-law, but to see Yongzhen's best friend Jinyu. It's not a good idea to bring this up!

"Of course I came here to see you!" Chu Mingkong looked up and met Yongzhen's displeased gaze, and honestly confessed: "Alright, actually I came to see that girl Jinyu. I want to ask her which prince or princess is interested in the struggle for the throne. I need someone to ignite things."

What are you planning to do?

“He killed the Crown Prince. He ordered his men to attack my master. No one can protect him. But I haven’t completely lost my mind, and I don’t want to make things too big.” After saying this, Chu Mingkong secretly observed Yongzhen’s reaction.

"Killing the crown prince isn't considered making a big fuss?" Yongzhen looked helpless, seemingly unconcerned about the fate of the current royal family.

"It's not a big deal. As long as the Crown Prince dies cleanly and someone else makes trouble for him, it's a minor matter. He deserves to die," Chu Mingkong said coldly.

It was almost time, so he didn't linger in Yongzhen's arms any longer and got up to straighten his clothes.

The young lady from the Shangguan family is probably too excited to sleep tonight because of her wedding tomorrow. He should get down to business.