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

“It’s definitely an idea worth trying!” She opened her eyes and nodded in agreement.

"Then let's go there now, so as not to keep His Highness waiting."

"That won't do." Zuo Qiuchi squinted her eyes again. "I'm tired from walking here, let me sleep for a while. Besides, Mingkong hasn't spent much time alone with Keqing because of this and that. When we met just now, Keqing had that subtly resentful little expression on her face..."

------------

Chu Mingkong and Ke Qing chatted and ate. She had been making clothes for Xiao Gugu earlier, and the topic more or less veered towards the baby.

"It's really hard to say about getting pregnant. Whether it was in Xiling or on the way to the Sword Dynasty, we've tried so hard, but there's still no result. Little Gugu is almost half a year old now. Do you have any complaints about me?"

Ke Qing was both surprised and apprehensive by Chu Mingkong's statement. Based on her many years of experience living in a respectable family, she knew that the pressure on a woman who couldn't bear children was immense, yet Mingkong had taken the blame for her.

"Really, how could I dare complain..."

“But Aunt Gu was originally trying to get you to have a baby. Her baby is already several months old. You’ve been urged to have one all the way from Beijing, and you still haven’t settled down.”

"That's not bad either. Babies are always fun when they're one or two years old. Once they get a little older, they start to get naughty and can be quite a headache. If all the babies come out at once, then there will be a lot less fun in the future."

As soon as Ke Qing finished speaking, she realized that Chu Mingkong had a problem. These worries should have been expressed by her, and then Chu Mingkong should have comforted her. Instead, he took the initiative and deliberately sighed, leaving her with "no way out".

"Mingkong, you're not worried about this, are you? You're really good at pretending!" Keqing rolled her eyes at him, exuding charm and allure.

"Haha~ It's good that you're not worried. Before, when Aunt Gu was avoiding you and Sister-in-law Feihuang, she was worried and I was worried too. I was afraid that after Gugu was born, every time I met you, it would make me look like I was incompetent."

"How could you say that, Mingkong? In these kinds of situations, the mistresses and masters usually blame the daughter-in-law for not being able to conceive..."

Like now, the mistress might say something like, "Look at Jun-gui, and Yong-jin, they can both get pregnant, and so on... why can't you?"

Similar topics must have been discussed a lot by Keqing and other women from high-ranking officials' families when she was in the capital. The tone is vivid, but this was probably a major concern for her back then.

But Keqing actually kept something to herself—"And then there's the mistress of the house, the Princess of Chu. The mistress has already gotten pregnant by defying the law. How many of you sisters-in-law and daughters-in-law are up to par?" But this was just a joke, and she couldn't possibly say it out loud.

Keqing was still very grateful for the tolerance of the Princess of Chu and the others.

After chatting for a while, the window was quietly opened.

Big Cat peeked out from the windowsill, revealing half of her pretty face. Her bright eyes were fixed on the pastries on Chu Mingkong's table. Behind her stood a woman with gray hair in a bun. Aunt Donglu was holding her baby girl and keeping the eldest daughter company.

Big Cat noticed that her father had noticed her, so she hugged Gugu and said:

"Father and sister-in-law are secretly eating, and they won't let me have any behind their backs..."

Keqing looked embarrassed, and a beautiful blush rose on her face. If people didn't know what was going on, Maomao's words might be misunderstood as "father cheating on sister-in-law".

While that is true, at least we haven't done that kind of thing yet.

Keqing got up, opened the door, and waved to the women outside:

"Cat, and Donglu, come in and sit with us. I'm just chatting with Mingkong."

Upon hearing this, the cat happily ran in, sat down next to Chu Mingkong, grabbed some snacks, and started eating.

She took a bite herself, and didn't forget to give some to Gugu, her aunt, and Jiao'er as well.

After eating for a while, for some reason Yun Nongyu also came over, so the cat had to take out some more snacks.

If it's divided like this, there definitely won't be enough for the cat herself. She looked at Chu Mingkong longingly, signaling her father to have more food.

"I'll serve you a special dish!" Chu Mingkong indeed pulled out a plate of braised pork intestines, which he had mentioned to Maomao last time.

Cats have very sensitive noses. As soon as they smelled that strange "original" smell, they immediately shook their heads, pinched their noses, and pushed the dish away.

"I don't eat poop."

Chu Mingkong then gave the cat other snacks, but then took out a dish of Nine-Turned Intestines, though this one didn't have that strange smell.

"Daddy, why doesn't this dish taste as strange as it did before?" The cat asked, munching on a snack.

"Because this dish is for myself," Chu Mingkong said seriously.

"......?" The cat stared silently at its father, its young heart once again exposed to the wickedness of human nature.

After eating for a while, Big Cat carried his two younger sisters away to play elsewhere, while Yun Nongyu and Zuo Donglu stayed behind.

Yun Nongyu then explained her purpose, saying to Keqing:

"I'd like to try and see if my Daoist aura can have any beneficial influence on your state of mind, Keqing."

Chapter 135 Another one trapped in social death

Yun Nongyu always managed to respond at the right time. Chu Mingkong was stunned for a moment before he realized what she meant.

Is this to use her Taoist charm to help achieve mutual understanding and resonance in one's state of mind?

Although it's uncertain whether it will work, it's certainly a good method. Compared to making Zuo Qiuchi and the others suddenly develop a close relationship with Ke Qing, this seems more reliable.

Keqing was puzzled, as her conversation didn't seem to touch on her state of mind or anything like that.

"Why did Master Yun suddenly bring up matters of the mind? Do I currently need... any assistance?"

Yun Nongyu was an honest woman who wouldn't lie or deceive people, but now she had no choice but to be immoral and conceal the truth:

"Qing, you cultivate the Extreme Yang Technique, right? This technique is quite remarkable, but it seems you've reached a bottleneck? Although you don't need the combat abilities brought by the technique, raising your cultivation level to nourish your body is still a good idea."

Keqing nodded in understanding.

She had always regarded Yun Nongyu as a divine healer, someone who could casually glance at you, tell you your birth date and time, and tell you what ailments you had. Now, her sudden mention of cultivation level was probably out of a benevolent healer's heart, like "I inadvertently discovered a stubborn ailment in your body and stepped in to cure it."

"I've hit a bottleneck. There's been no progress for several months. I asked Jinyu before, and she said it's normal to hit a bottleneck, and there's no need to feel guilty about being stuck for a few months. Can Master Yun help me?"

Chu Mingkong overheard Jin Yu's story from Ke Qing and sighed inwardly, thinking, "They really are a pair who dare to teach and a pair who dare to learn."

All that could be heard was Yun Nongyu saying:

“Yes, normally speaking, it is difficult to take the initiative to help others break through their bottlenecks, and it may also be suspected of forcing growth. However, I have recently gained some insights into my Daoist principles, so I can try to help you.”

Chu Mingkong echoed:

"Yes, that's definitely worth a try. We've been chatting for quite a while now, so let's discuss this bottleneck together. I'm really hoping that your cultivation techniques will improve and your lifespans will increase day by day! I can't do without anyone by my side!"

His seemingly "utilitarian" words were aimed at a long-term companionship in the future. Faced with this expectation, Keqing felt a little pressured, but her heart was still warmed.

“Then let’s give it a try. What about Aunt Donglu? If I need to deal with the bottleneck in my cultivation technique, it will be difficult to entertain Aunt Donglu.”

"It's alright, I can help out from the side, don't worry."

Zuo Donglu was actually there on behalf of Zuo Qiuchi to test the waters. After all, Zuo Qiuchi had just left, and it wouldn't be good for him to come back. But if Zuo Donglu came and, with Yun Nongyu's help, they could reach a level of mutual understanding, then there wouldn't be too much of a problem if Zuo Qiuchi came later.

Before long, Keqing took off her shoes and socks, sat cross-legged on the bed, closed her eyes and meditated, calming her mind and spirit.

Yun Nongyu sat beside her, guiding her mind into a state of selflessness and emptiness with her words. This state of selflessness was certainly not comparable to that of great cultivators, but it was enough to help her meditate.

"...Now begin to try circulating the cultivation technique. Don't focus on guiding the technique's circulation, but rather circulate it naturally, like breathing. Keqing, you should carefully sense the trajectory of spiritual energy circulating through the meridians throughout your body."

It takes time to circulate the cultivation technique to the right level. Women like Yun Nongyu can skip this "warm-up" stage, but women like Ke Qing cannot.

While waiting, Yun Nongyu said to Zuo Donglu:

"Donglu, come sit down and meditate with me, and receive my Daoist aura."

After Zuo Donglu sat down, she said somewhat irrelevantly, "The bed is a bit small."

Chu Mingkong looked at her speechlessly.

Zuo Qiuchi's bed is naturally bigger, since he often holds you or Yun Nongyu to sleep together, so it has to be arranged to be more spacious.

The sisters-in-law rarely have group cultivation activities, so their infrastructure has not kept up.

　 "...That's not the point. You should think about it first."

Zuo Donglu was just saying that; she wasn't picky about food and lodging and wouldn't be dissatisfied. She added:

"Mingkong, isn't your cultivation technique supposed to allow you to share abilities? Could you share Keqing's technique with you? That would save you a lot of trouble."

“I’d like to, but it won’t work.” Chu Mingkong scratched his head and explained, “For example, if Ke Qing, who possesses the Tai Xu Jing Huan Lu, were to combine the two, a qualitative change would occur, and Ke Qing would become an entrance that allows one to travel to the ‘illusionary realm’.”

"Does that mean that even if I obtain this cultivation technique, it will only be an extremely yang technique for strengthening the body and won't be able to be used as an ingestible food?" Zuo Donglu seemed to understand, but this meaning was not difficult for her to grasp.

No, you were the entrance all along... Chu Mingkong thought to himself, then nodded and remained silent.

After chatting for a while, Ke Qing didn't hear what they were talking about at all. Under the influence of the Daoist rhyme, her soul had entered a mysterious and clear state. Her comprehension had improved imperceptibly, and her internal cultivation technique was naturally and rapidly circulating as if divinely assisted.

Now, even if Ke Qing is distracted, her cultivation technique can still operate on its own, slowly breaking through the bottleneck. This is the extraordinary nature of Yun Nongyu's talent.

The heat is just right.

"Then you two pretend to be lost in thought and don't make a sound," Chu Mingkong finally told the two beautiful women.

"Well, Your Highness... what if everything goes smoothly? Should we stop the progress and have Qiu Chi come over another day to try again?"

"Let's not waste any more time and get straight to the point. If things go smoothly, I'll call her over now."

Considering that the lazybones was, even if the message was sent, he would still dawdle in bed for a while before coming over. So Chu Mingkong immediately sent a message in advance.

Yun Nongyu and Zuo Donglu quickly "got into the zone," sitting cross-legged as if they could no longer be disturbed by external noise.

As Ke Qing circulated her energy, her spiritual veins gradually became hot. Her graceful and delicate body emitted wisps of white steam, carrying a warm body fragrance. Her clothes were unknowingly soaked, and her skirt revealed a bit of her tender white flesh.

Chu Mingkong leaned closer, lifted her arm, and gently ran his fingertips along the fabric of her dress near her breast.

The fabric tore, revealing the delicate soft flesh under the armpit. The warmth of body heat and sweat made the armpit flesh pink and moist, shimmering with a beautiful and alluring charm. Especially when the arm was raised, it was like the lid of a steamer being lifted, and the white steam carrying the scent of musk became even stronger.

Ke Qing felt Chu Mingkong's hand moving around. She was originally enjoying his intimacy, but when she suddenly remembered that Yun Nongyu and Zuo Donglu were also beside her, her delicate body trembled and she opened her eyes with worry.

"Mingkong is out of the question! There's something nearby..."

Ke Qing glanced at them and found that they were completely unresponsive, seemingly immersed in meditation and unaware of Chu Mingkong's subtle movements.

Chu Mingkong's fingers traced back and forth across Ke Qing's soft, moist flesh (under her armpit) several times, and her desire began to rise...

Worried about being discovered, yet deep down not wanting to refuse.

Mingkong dared to do this because he was certain that Nongyu and Donglu wouldn't notice, right?

Chapter 136 It's Not Too Late to Get on the Bus

Zuo Qiuchi was lying on the bed like a couch potato, with several babies of different sizes crawling all over her, while she looked utterly hopeless.