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

"Perhaps Mingkong remembered what he did to my breasts and knew he was coming back to change my dress~" Pei Mi calculated the time in her mind. It would take about this long for Chu Mingkong to come back and forth to her courtyard to get the clothes.

However, she clearly overestimated Chu Mingkong's politeness; if it really were Chu Mingkong, he would hardly have knocked on the door.

When Pei Mi opened the door and saw Madam Zhen standing outside, she nearly choked...

She quickly covered the mark on her chest and greeted them awkwardly, "Madam Zhen, you've come to see Mingkong? He... he went to check on Qingning's condition..."

Madam Zhen's reaction was quick as well. Pei Mi simply opened the door, and the first thing that caught her eye was a pair of snow-white, full breasts—and the marks on them.

"Ah...is that so?"

After their initial meeting, the former Empress Dowager and the former Empress stood there awkwardly during their conversation.

The fact that Madam Zhen discovered the marks on Pei Mi's large, white, soft area is nothing in today's terms. Their relationship has long been an open secret among them. They had already seen something even more awkward in the Abyss, and Madam Zhen was the only one who escaped unscathed back then.

However, the trip to the Abyss was arranged by Chu Mingkong, so it felt somewhat like "attending official business." It was perfectly normal to turn a blind eye to it. But now, a door was set up at Chu Mingkong's door, which was quite a private way of welcoming him.

When Madam Zhen wanted to leave, she offered a way out:

"I'll come back later. Mi'er, you have a rash on your chest. It would be better to get some medicine from Mingkong or someone else. You wait here for me, I'm not in a hurry..."

Tinea versicolor is actually just a skin allergy to pollen. Of course, this excuse is quite weak. During the marrow cleansing and purification of the body's meridians, cultivators usually get rid of most of these minor ailments. If they can't get rid of them, then that's a big problem.

However, as for steps, we just need to understand each other implicitly.

Pei Mi wanted to accept this offer, but after thinking about it, she decided against it. She was just fooling herself; after all, Madam Zhen already knew almost everything she needed to know.

"Alright, Madam Zhen, please come in and sit down. You've seen everything you needed to see, it doesn't matter anymore..."

Pei Mi was referring to her current "tinea versicolor," but Madam Zhen misunderstood, thinking that Pei Mi was referring to the events of Ji Yuan and that she was still feeling sad and depressed at the moment.

Madam Zhen comforted her, saying:

“Mi’er, don’t worry about those things. Everyone is like that in private. If you have to blame someone, blame Mingkong for not reminding you sooner. But nobody cares anyway. Wan Hua doesn’t dare to bring up what happened back then. Laughing at you is just laughing at himself…”

"...Okay, I understand."

Pei Mi stiffened, her face turning somewhat awkward. The sudden mention of such an unbearable memory made her scratch her toes.

However, it is quite rare for Pei Mi to be addressed as "Mi'er" by Madam Zhen. This form of address is not unusual, but it has indeed been a rarity in Pei Mi's life.

Jin Yu and Chu Mingkong only started calling her that later, and before that, Madam Zhen didn't frequent the palace, so they didn't have a chance to meet.

Lady Zhen is her nominal mother, so this form of address is acceptable.

The two sat inside for a while, and Pei Mi spoke first:

"Madam Zhen, may we change our clothes? What I'm wearing now is a bit... inappropriate."

Madam Zhen understood Pei Mi's predicament and did not refuse, nodding and replying, "It's nothing."

Pei Mi got up and locked the door. Two mature and beautiful women, who were about the same age but a generation apart, began to take off their clothes, revealing their fair and delicate skin. The air was filled with their mature and fragrant scents.

Madam Zhen suddenly noticed that Pei Mi's impressive fullness seemed to have become much more voluptuous than before, and asked in surprise:

"Mi'er, what happened to you? Did you end up like Jun Gui and the others?"

Pei Mi shook her head and said quietly:

"That girl Jinyu caused this. She asked Master Yun for some strange medicinal soup to drink, and that's why she's been like this for the past few days. Aren't these 'flower spots' the ones Mingkong gnawed on?"

"Such a thing exists?!" Madam Zhen was greatly surprised; she had indeed never heard of such a medicinal soup.

Of course, the conditions in the palace were not suitable. In the past, the wives of high-ranking officials and noblewomen did not need such treatment; they mostly used wet nurses, so there was no need to worry about whether there was enough juice.

Madam Zhen gave Pei Mi a questioning look, and after receiving a tacit indication, she reached out and touched her soft breasts. They were indeed truly "moist"...

Pei Mi didn't react much, just nodded slightly, thanked Madam Zhen for her dress, and then said, "Yes, Jin Yu also drank some. These past few days she's been secretly going to Madam Gu's place to feed the cat, Jiao'er."

Chapter 301 Each Has Its Own Besieged City

After the two beautiful women changed their clothes, Madam Zhen's original outfit was given to Pei Mi, which covered the particularly noticeable marks on her fair and tender skin, while Pei Mi's strapless palace dress was given to Madam Zhen, revealing her fair and delicate breasts.

When there are no suspicions, talking about some private, shared topics is the best way to bring people closer. After discussing the topic of "tinea versicolor," the relationship between the two beautiful women improved considerably.

Pei Mi complained to Madam Zhen about how much Chu Mingkong liked to eat dumplings, while Madam Zhen asked Pei Mi about her long-standing troubles.

"Mi'er, what should I do about my relationship with Yongzhen? I still have no idea what to do..."

Although Mingkong said he would try his best to find a solution, I didn't want to just sit and wait to die, but I really couldn't come up with a good plan.

And now, even with the Princess Consort of Chu, she's somehow managed to get along with Yunhan, sigh—"

Pei Mi paused for a moment. To be honest, she was actually a little envious of Madam Zhen. At least Yongzhen was much more pleasing to her than her own char siu jinyu.

Yongzhen is good because she doesn't have as many tricks up her sleeve as Jinyu. She has fewer whimsical ideas in her mind and is content to do her own thing. She would never do something like Jinyu, who calls her mother "sister" and secretly tries to make her mother pregnant first.

However, everything has its advantages and disadvantages. If she and Madam Zhen had switched daughters, it would probably be Pei Mi who is now troubled by relationship problems. A serious girl like Yongzhen who doesn't smile is indeed difficult to deal with!

But Pei Mi was truly envious!

“This… I’ll go back and think about it for you. I can’t come up with a plan right now. Or you can take some time to talk to me in detail about your situation with Yongzhen, Madam Zhen. Otherwise, if you don’t even know what dishes are available, it’s all for nothing no matter how much you work on the recipes.”

"okay!"

Having someone to share her burdens and offer solutions made Madam Zhen feel much better. Regardless of whether a solution could be found in the end, having someone to talk to ease her inner pressure was a great relief.

Pei Mi, having already received a gift of clothing from Madam Zhen, agreed to her request and offered her some words of comfort.

“Madam Zhen, don’t worry too much. There’s no need to envy other people’s situation. I don’t know much about Yunhan’s situation, but Jinyu seems ‘reasonable.’ In fact, that girl can be quite mischievous, giving me a lot of headaches. It’s actually a good thing that Yongzhen is less of a worry.”

Madam Zhen naturally understood that everyone has their own difficulties, but she had a good impression of Jinyu, who was well-behaved and generous. Had she secretly caused Mi'er some trouble?

She decided not to investigate further.

　 Pei Mi thought it was about time and decided not to linger.

“Madam Zhen, I’m leaving now. I have to go back and deal with that brat Jin Yu. If you wait for Ming Kong for a while and he doesn’t show up, write a note and go find him. Otherwise, if he’s gone to the Abyss to cultivate, then you’ll have waited in vain.”

"That's true, then I'll wait a bit~"

......

Chu Mingkong found Qingning. Qingning and her mother, Li Lu, have been living in the Wei family mansion for a long time now, and at least... they don't want to go back to the Wei family anytime soon.

Many things can be understood rationally, but emotions cannot be so reasonable.

Aside from the head of the family, the Wei family is not particularly large in number, so people are easily united and have maintained a harmonious relationship for a long time. There have been almost no internal power struggles. The older generation treats Li Lu, their daughter-in-law, as one of their own.

Ironically, it is precisely the branch of the family that should be closest to the husband that is the source of the biggest "conflict"...

Indeed, in his autobiographical letter, Wei mentioned his past immaturity and his later maturity, as well as his genuine acceptance of her as his wife and Qingning.

However, the clan chief's initial plan was a foregone conclusion. He not only wanted to kill the mother and daughter, but also set his sights on her ordinary family of merchants.

This cannot be forgiven with the saying "a day as husband and wife is worth a hundred days of kindness". The cultivator family needs to restore the future, so does that mean that the lives of her ordinary family members are worthless?

The situation in Qingning has not yet fully improved, which means that Li Lu's family members are still facing unwarranted threats to their lives.

The elders of the Wei family sensed something was wrong and sent people over to inquire, but Li Lu still didn't say anything.

She is now in a state of having nowhere to vent her frustrations... The old clan chief and her husband are dead, and the Wei clan elders are indeed unaware of this, it has nothing to do with them.

Chu Mingkong walked into the house and saw his beautiful wife, who had been radiant a while ago, now sitting there looking haggard. He couldn't help but walk lightly, afraid that his heavy footsteps would disturb her.

He felt it wouldn't be appropriate to directly suggest giving Qingning a medical check-up, so he told her about the recent, satisfying events of dealing with Luohan to lighten the mood.

Having already presented the draft version to Jin Yu and her mother, the second time he recounted it to Qing Ning, he was able to do so with much more vividness and emotion.

Although he was a firsthand witness, if he wanted the listeners to enjoy the story, he wouldn't tell the actual process, but rather a story told in an artistic way.

Qingning listened with great interest, and then he remembered what had happened in his courtyard earlier, the reading group that Jinyu and the others had attended.

"Then, brother, the book that Jinyu and the others were reading was the 'remedy for the heart' that you used to break through the goddess's and bodhisattva's attempts to convert them, right? Why can't I read it?"

"Because..." Chu Mingkong's expression was not good. He cleared his throat and said, "At that time, a Taoist priest named Shunfeng passed by. He consulted the article that I had seen by chance before and thought it was too brief. So he added the content of love between men and women, making my manuscript unbearably vulgar!"

I didn't expect the results to be so good.

"I see! Perhaps adding those details made it seem more realistic and comprehensive?"

When Qingning first arrived in the capital, he also read some Buddhist legends and stories. Occasionally, there would be some inexplicable stories about men and women having sex, followed by a few explicit descriptions, and then one of them would suddenly realize the truth and become a monk. Some believers would also say things like, "You can't understand it because you lack enlightenment and blessings."

My brother's manuscript is probably of this level, right? That's alright.

Chu Mingkong nodded gratefully. Everyone says that a poor man's heart is wicked, but his own sister is quite warm-hearted, isn't she? He said:

"That makes sense, but in the end my name was put on the list. Even though I said I didn't do it, Jinyu and Yongzhen still don't believe me..."

"By the way, don't just talk about me, Qingning, have you been feeling unwell these past few days?"

"Just a little bit... I feel a bit uncomfortable when I'm half asleep, but I'm fine when I'm fully awake. I'm not exaggerating!" Qingning emphasized.

"You feel uncomfortable when you're half asleep? Okay, so what about Auntie? Did you bring the things I asked Qingning to bring to you last time?"

"Well, I don't feel unwell for the time being." Thanks to Chu Mingkong's skillful storytelling, the beautiful wife, who had been looking lost, temporarily shifted her attention.

"It seems everything is getting better. The Abyss has truly become my lucky place~ But just in case, Auntie, please go into the Abyss with Qingning next time, and treat it as a trip."

Chapter 302 Not Busy

However, bringing Li Lu into the Abyss wasn't something Chu Mingkong could do with just a word; he also had to consider the others who had activated their Extreme Yang Shields.

Pei Mi and the others could accept sacrificing a little for a junior like Qing Ning, but if Li Lu, who is about the same age as them, were to be added, even the most understanding Madam Zhen would have to think twice about the outcome.

If another incident like the Dust-Free Talisman failing were to occur during this period, it would really be no laughing matter. Moreover, no matter how much preparation Chu Mingkong makes, Pei Mi and the others would most likely worry about other situations arising.

Unless... Chu Mingkong transforms into the Abyss throughout, hiding his elders inside his black blood.

Perhaps we could try another approach. This time, we could bring the younger generation along and stuff Rong'er, Yongzhen, and Jinyu into the black blood. This way, the fear of being discovered by Li Lu might be lessened.

No matter what, they had never experienced the kind of suffering Pei Mi had gone through...

Li Lu didn't have much objection to the suggestion of entering the Abyss, as long as she could ensure her daughter's safety.

“If it won’t trouble Mingkong, then I’ll go with him. Qingning has been telling me a lot about things in the Abyss these past few days, which has made me quite curious,” Li Lu said softly.

"What are the many things in the Abyss about?"

"No, I didn't talk about anything strange. I just talked about the scenery in the Abyss and things like that."