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

The phrase "three thousand concubines in the imperial harem" is somewhat exaggerated, but it really is a lot. At least in all the years that Jin Yu has lived, she has never actually visited all the concubines in the imperial harem, and there are even many concubines she has never met.

Among the gifts presented to the emperor from various regions each year, besides jewels, valuables, medicines, and weapons, the most common item was beautiful women.

Jin Yu had also pondered why she was so diligent in sending beauties up—because it was less likely to make mistakes and it allowed her to take advantage of others.

If a local prince doesn't want to offer so much wealth, or if he discovers something precious that he doesn't want to offer, he can find a beautiful woman from his fiefdom and send her to him.

Sometimes, to emphasize their "intentions," they would even go to great lengths, such as sending a woman up to the emperor with a note attached.

—Your Majesty, this is a beautiful woman I have just discovered, named XXX. I have just taken her as a concubine (or a concubine, or in some cases, a princess). However, XXX is so beautiful, and her personality is so talkative and she is also very good at talking nonsense. I feel uneasy about her, so I am presenting her to Your Majesty to serve your health.

This way, the emperor would be pleased and wouldn't be held accountable even if the tribute was less than expected. On the other hand, it would also give the emperor the opportunity to plant his own spies in the harem.

These women, if they were four or five points beautiful, were used for marriage alliances or as rewards to meritorious officials; if they were five or six points beautiful, they were made into palace maids; if they were seven points beautiful, they had the opportunity to become concubines; if they were eight points beautiful and had a skill, they had the opportunity to be promoted to imperial concubines and receive rewards; if they were nine points beautiful, only the Empress of the Tianji Empire had this honor.

A perfect score? That's impossible; I'll just leave it as a dream.

Many of those concubines remained virgins until their deaths, never even seeing the emperor once, because there were too many of them, and there wasn't even a chance to get a turn. In addition, there were concubines from the previous emperor's generation who were "unused" and were inherited by the current emperor...

In any case, the royal harem was a vast, hidden paradise, and Jin Yu could never reach the end of it. They generally liked to chat with people to relieve boredom, and occasionally Jin Yu would find them to chat with, so naturally she would tell them everything, not caring whether it would taint a pure young girl's heart.

After rambling on about everyday life in the palace to Chu Mingkong for a long time, Jin Yu finally realized that she had gone off-topic.

"So what will it take for Chu Lang to give me milk?"

Chu Mingkong gently patted Jin Yu's round, full-moon-shaped breasts and handed her several bottles of yogurt, milk, and buffalo milk.

Here, take it.

Jin Yu quickly put the milk into her storage bracelet, rubbed her eyes, and pretended to be confused.

"Where? I didn't see it. Don't joke with me, Chu Lang!"

Chu Mingkong gave her more bottles, and Jin Yu took them back again, continuing to pretend to be confused. She took nearly a hundred bottles in a row, and Jin Yu was tired of "confiscating" them.

The woman glared at him and said angrily:

"How come you still can't empty your pockets! You stingy Chu Lang, you're so stingy. I thought this milk was some kind of precious treasure, but it's just like cabbage, isn't it?"

"I'll see where you're hiding, hmph!"

She reached out and gently pulled open Chu Mingkong's collar, looked around, then shifted her search, unbuckling Chu Mingkong's belt to see where the bottles of milk were hidden.

One pull.

Something patted Jin Yu's cheek, and pink hearts appeared in the girl's eyes. She was somewhat stunned.

She said angrily:

"Alright~ I knew you hid the milk-producing area here, just wait till I get rid of it!"

Chapter Thirty-Nine: The carriage is shaking violently.

"Cough cough... um..."

Jin Yu choked and coughed a few times, covering her mouth and moving her throat slightly. After a while, the burden in her mouth was gone, and she finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Her eyebrows and eyes were painted with a bright and vibrant pink, a peach blossom makeup that accentuated her lively and charming temperament, while Jin Yu's eyes were red from being choked by the fumes.

Innocent and endearing.

She rested her face on Chu Mingkong's shoulder and asked:

"How are your injuries? When I came out, I asked the palace guards, and they said that after your fierce battle with the Crown Prince, your injuries were aggravated, and you were so weak that you were coughing up blood non-stop..."

How come there's always a new version of this rumor...?

Describing a one-sided crushing defeat as a fierce battle is one thing, but to describe someone as coughing up blood uncontrollably is simply absurd.

But that's understandable. Palace guards aren't allowed to move around freely, and even their patrol areas are strictly defined. When the crown prince was killed, the streets were mostly filled with martial arts practitioners and ordinary people, so the actual situation was mostly hearsay, and it's understandable that the information was distorted.

"What else did the palace guards say?" Chu Mingkong was eager to know the specific version of events from within the palace.

Princess Jinyu is just too restless to stay still. She'd just suffered a bit, and now, as they chatted, she grasped his hand again, her bright eyes gazing at Chu Mingkong's profile, and said:

"The guards didn't know much. I found out from other palace maids. They said you originally planned to return to the Prince's residence to rest and recover from your injuries, but the court officials didn't give you a chance to rest. They wanted to prolong your injuries, so they held court all night and interrogated you... They were so busy that many of those old, incorrigible officials even fainted... That's how you were finally able to return home to rest..."

Chu Mingkong: "..."

As the woman spoke, she began to wipe away tears, feeling anxious and heartbroken for Chu Mingkong, believing that his injuries must have been greatly aggravated by the ministers.

Chu Mingkong originally wanted to clarify that it wasn't that serious, but she was so immersed in the role that he found it difficult to explain the truth and was caught off guard.

However, the Crown Prince was extremely unpopular in the palace.

Normally, if Chu Mingkong had done something like killing a prince of the royal family, the common people might have said it was a great relief, but the imperial palace would have likely portrayed his misdeeds in a more negative light.

Now that the crown prince has died suddenly in the street, even the palace maids are not speaking up for him. To be the crown prince to this extent, he really has some skill.

"Alright, my injuries haven't worsened and I'm almost fully recovered. Killing the Crown Prince didn't actually take much effort; they're exaggerating."

"You're trying to comfort me... Chu Lang, you don't need to pretend... I understand everything. Others may not know, but how could I not understand?"

The title of Crown Prince is not arbitrary; it is bestowed upon him through a grand investiture ceremony using the Imperial Seal and the National Sword, granting him the protection of the nation's dragon vein—essentially a partial blessing of the throne. His cultivation and combat prowess far surpass those of ordinary people!

Uh... whatever you think it is.

If I deny it now, Jin Yu will probably interpret it as me hiding my serious injury so she won't worry.

The more Jin Yu explained, the more serious Jin Yu felt his injury was.

Following Jin Yu's train of thought, Chu Mingkong stroked her face and nodded in agreement, "It seems so. The Crown Prince is indeed quite formidable."

Putting everything else aside, at least the flying sword special effects are pretty good, coupled with a few domineering lines.

He genuinely believed that his extreme Yin power might not be able to break through his protection.

So what's the point of cultivating the Extreme Yang Dao for so many years? Didn't he just catch up after suffering an Extreme Abyss injury?

“What do you mean by ‘seems like’? That means he’s really amazing!” Jin Yu complained that he hadn’t taken care of her injuries. “Back then, my fifth brother was also incredibly talented. Even Father praised his talent. Despite having a higher cultivation level than the Crown Prince, he still lost to the Crown Prince in a duel. After that, he went astray and just played around everywhere.”

This "playing around" probably refers to indiscriminate use of force between men and women; Chu Mingkong remembered Shangguan Rong mentioning it.

It seems that the royal family generally holds a contemptuous attitude towards homosexuality, so why do these secular noble families regard it as a refined pursuit?

"It was a fierce battle; that extreme Yang power was truly despicable," Chu Mingkong said, sounding somewhat guilty.

“Yes, that’s despicable! They hurt you so badly…” Jin Yu nodded heavily. “Let me see where you are hurt. Are there any scars?”

There's no injury at all. Let alone an injury, the Crown Prince didn't even manage to get the raindrops wet on my clothes.

"Yes, yes, but after taking some pills, the external injuries have healed, but... there is still a wound left in my heart. Jinyu, you are so worried about me now, and my heart aches even more, so please don't worry about it anymore."

Let the Crown Prince rest in peace on his seventh day after his death.

However, it's not quite appropriate to call him the Crown Prince now; at most, he should be called the First Prince, because after his act of sacrificing people in the suburbs was exposed, Nightblade found a portrait of the Empress in his residence.

The crime of coveting the Empress Dowager is quite serious in a sense. If the dog emperor hadn't been seriously injured and still unconscious, stripping him of his position as crown prince would have been secondary; he would definitely have been removed from the royal family genealogy, and he wouldn't even have been able to keep the title of eldest prince.

Jin Yu suddenly stood up, and the underpants protecting the princess's body fell down, which she kicked aside. Chu Mingkong was sitting, and with Jin Yu standing in front of him, his gaze fell directly on the phoenix-shaped golden virginity mark.

Jin Yu took Chu Mingkong's hand and let him touch her virginity mark.

"This... I've already patiently cultivated to the point of exhaustion... Chu Lang, you said you could heal your injuries, is that still effective...? You should still be able to heal me, right?" She was very worried.

Originally, she thought that once she mastered the Phoenix Blood Scripture, she could cure Chu Mingkong. Even if the royal family didn't approve of him, she could simply go back to Xiling with him and stay together.

But when he came out of the pass, he heard from the palace guards and maids that Chu Mingkong's injuries had worsened due to a conflict with the crown prince, and he was stunned.

"What if I say it's no longer effective?"

As soon as Chu Mingkong finished speaking, a few wet stains appeared on his pants. When he looked up, he saw Jin Yu's tears. Although she maintained a calm expression and her small mouth was pursed tightly, tears were already falling like raindrops.

"Then I'll only give it to you! Even if the Imperial Clan Court finds out I've lost my virginity and can't get married, it doesn't matter!"

At worst, I'll just live a mundane life like the concubines in the palace. It's not like a complete life is only fulfilling if I get married properly. Having happy days is enough!

"Try it quickly! Even if it doesn't cure you, it'll be worth it to give you more time and spend a few more days with you!"

Chu Mingkong kissed the phoenix on Jin Yu's body, then silently picked her up and laid her down.

Outside the carriage, the maid suddenly noticed that the carriage was shaking.

Although the soundproof barrier prevented any sound from being heard, the violent shaking made the maid Yueqing panic.

Oh no, I don't know anything, I didn't feel anything!

Chapter Forty: Two Extreme Yang Paths

The blankets in the carriage were all wet and in a terrible mess.

Jin Yu's clothes, which had fallen to the ground, were all soaked.

She must have brought other clothes with her, right?

"Are you alright?" Chu Mingkong asked gently.

"...Not good."

Jin Yu's legs were so tired she could barely lift them, and her face was flushed with satisfaction and a secret joy.

She rested for a while. Although her body was exhausted and ached as if it had been knocked apart, she was in high spirits and her internal energy channels were more active than ever before.

Her cultivation level rose rapidly, and the mere act of turning the clouds and rain just now was equivalent to the results of her months of dedicated cultivation.

Jin Yu's breathing quickly returned to normal, and her mind recovered from the waves of shock. Ignoring her discomfort, she climbed up by Chu Mingkong's arm, sat in his lap, and looked closely at his heart.

"Is it any better? Why is the heart still so dark?"

"There should be some better ones... right?" Chu Mingkong's expression showed even more confusion than Jin Yu's.

This time, some other situations arose, which were not as expected.

After his first dual cultivation session with Shangguan Rong, a golden crack appeared around his heart. According to the system, a person's extreme Yang energy is generated by one strand, so a girl can only generate one strand.

However... after Jin Yu gave him her precious yin essence this time, Chu Mingkong was surprised to find two golden cracks in his heart!

It's not that two paths appeared, but rather that two more were added to the original path that Shangguan Rong had.

Chu Mingkong stared blankly into space, looking down incredulously at the location of his heart.