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

The power of the Abyss is rare, yet not entirely uncommon. Ordinary people might never encounter it in their entire lives, but cultivators who venture deep into secret realms and perilous places have a chance to witness it. Even the most greedy cultivator, with just a shred of rationality, would avoid it at all costs.

Every year, disciples from various holy lands and major sects are injured by the Abyss and are basically declared dead. If only a finger is touched by a trace of the Abyss's power, the severed finger can be healed, but not everyone is so lucky, and the aftereffects are extremely severe.

Cultivators possess resilient bodies. As long as a cultivator has successfully completed body tempering, even if their arm is severed, they can still recover with high-quality elixirs. However, after enduring the injuries of the Abyss, their meridians and spiritual veins become chaotic. Even if they manage to save themselves by severing their arm and then use elixirs to heal, the recovered arm will still have chaotic spiritual veins.

Empress Pei guessed that the person Feng Ying wanted to save was probably only scratched by the fingers and toes. If the injuries were more extensive, it would be difficult for them to survive long enough to receive medical treatment.

"Okay, but I need to check the injuries and wounds first." That was her reply to Fengying.

"Okay, have you decided on a time?"

"Give me two days. Tell me the location the night after tomorrow, and I'll go find the injured person you mentioned. But I won't show my true face!"

Empress Pei bit her red lips tightly, her gaze fixed unyieldingly on Feng Ying; this was her final line.

If this gets out, it will be a huge problem!

Feng Ying only wanted her yin essence, not for Chu Mingkong to know that the empress had some fun.

"It's up to you. I'll tell you the location later. You have many mentors and seniors in Xuanhu Valley. If you don't want to trade your body for it, then figure out a way yourself and see who has a good solution."

As soon as she finished speaking, the woman's alluring figure vanished from Empress Pei's sight like a ghost.

Empress Pei, with her graceful and voluptuous figure, slumped on the bed. Her magnificent robes, embroidered with gold and silver phoenixes, accentuated the rounded, mature curves of her waist and hips, her figure as smooth and ripe as a peach. Her bright red lips were bitten until they turned white.

"What a tragedy. Who would have thought that Fengying could grow so powerfully in such a short time? She actually managed to complete that deal that was a sure way to die..." she murmured bitterly.

----------

Chu Mingkong ate to his heart's content, not because the food at the Cui residence was particularly good, but because the several beautiful sisters-in-law in the Cui residence were truly hospitable. When he arrived, his filial piety points were scarce, and he had not yet recovered from the huge expense of purchasing high-level heavy sword comprehension.

The result was that after having a meal and praising each other, the filial piety amounted to a huge sum of 500 points.

He had put aside his annoyance at being given a glass of watered-down wine before the meal. Although it was probably the work of Cui Lian and his main disciples, Chu Mingkong couldn't be angry because their wives were so generous. He even wanted to befriend them.

After the meal, he was taking a walk alone with Aunt Gu at the Cui residence. He planned to stay a little longer after the meal, so he pulled Zuo Qiuchi back to rest.

After walking a few steps, he suddenly heard someone mention Aunt Gu's name in a rather impolite tone. He frowned and made a shushing gesture towards Aunt Gu.

The speakers were a group of men who had gathered together for a post-dinner stroll and chat. Among them were Cui Lian, the eldest son of the clan chief, Cui Rong, and a tall, burly man with a rough voice, presumably their friend, whom Chu Mingkong had not seen at the dinner table.

"Sister-in-law Gu really loves to make trouble. She's already married into the Cui family, why is she still thinking about her relatives and younger generation in Xiling?"

"Ordinary relatives are fine, the Cui family isn't short of food, but who did she invite? Even the Emperor doesn't like Chu Mingkong, and has arranged for several girls to meet him. But who are these people? The Shangguan family is not to be trifled with, and the second Miss Shangguan is not a lady. The Zhang family, who sell wine, is even more down on their luck. I would feel ashamed to meet girls like these."

"Looking for girls from those kinds of families is not as appealing as those pretty young men at Chunxiang Pavilion."

No, while Miss Zhang may not be as beautiful as her sisters-in-law, she'd still be a five or six out of ten—a fairly average-looking woman, right? Your fetish for playing with men is really bizarre...

"Everyone says that the wealth of the Xiling Prince's Mansion is no less than that of the noble families in the capital, but I don't think so. I just added water to Chu Mingkong's wine, and guess what? He didn't even notice. He probably hasn't drunk much good wine."

I was only doing this for your wives' sake. Never mind, I won't watch it. You're the one who spoke, right? I'll remember you.

"That's too shabby. This silly boy is hopeless. He drank a cup of watered-down wine and then kept asking one sister-in-law after another to toast him."

Perhaps because he remembered how warm and generous his wife was to Chu Mingkong, Cui Lian's expression turned rather unpleasant.

"Hmph! It's good that he knew his place and didn't lay a hand on me, otherwise I would have sent someone to the palace to tell them that Chu Mingkong did not uphold the filial piety advocated by the Empress and had improper thoughts about his sister-in-law. His heart is deserving of death."

"In the end, it's all because of Sister-in-law Gu. How did she manage to invite this deity here? She ruined my mood. Before, I asked the Heavenly Master of Wuliang Taoist Temple to tell my fortune. He said that Sister-in-law Gu had a face that would bring good fortune to her husband, and even gave her the auspicious name 'Gu Jungui' to protect my brother. But before we even had our wedding night, my brother died. What bad luck!"

"Shh! Even if you're drunk, don't talk nonsense. What if someone hears you? Be careful Old Master Cui doesn't lock you up!"

Chu Mingkong's face stiffened. He glanced at Aunt Gu and saw that she looked sad. He then silently pulled Aunt Gu a few steps away.

In fact, he had vaguely guessed about Aunt Gu's situation before. As a married woman, she needed her husband's family to have a voice. Even if her husband was gone, having a child would be enough to support her with bloodlines.

But now she's in an awkward position. Her husband died young, so she's practically an outsider in the Cui family. Although they treat each other well on a daily basis, there are bound to be disagreements behind their backs.

“Aunt Gu, don’t listen to their nonsense. Some things are just a matter of fate. No one can do anything about Brother Cui’s situation. Many of those sect elders have died.”

"...I'm fine, Mingkong, don't take their words to heart. I asked Old Master Cui about your coming to the Cui residence, and he gave his approval. It wasn't up to Cui Lian and the others to decide. Don't stop coming in the future. If you don't want to see them, come to my place after you come and sit for a while and chat with me."

He could refuse to see these members of the Cui family, but he couldn't refuse to see Aunt Gu. Chu Mingkong didn't want her to suffer here.

"Why don't you move into my house? I have plenty of rooms."

The beautiful woman poked his arm playfully and said with a smile, "I know you mean well, but I'm a widow. If I don't live at my husband's house and go to live with you, what will people think!"

That seems to be true. Aunt Gu may have some peace and quiet now, but she can't escape the gossip and rumors.

"What's wrong with that? You've been so kind to me, what's wrong with me taking Aunt Gu over to show my filial piety? There's nothing to avoid!"

Chu Mingkong silently recited the Filial Piety System, and the mall interface quickly appeared in his field of vision.

In the skill section, there is no more greatsword comprehension, so it is probably already at the top level. Correspondingly, many greatsword combat techniques from various schools have appeared. After a quick glance, I even found some inner sect combat techniques from major sects.

However, these were not what he wanted to see right now. He wanted to use his filial piety to buy some things to appease Aunt Gu.

After searching around, he found a blind box that could be used as a gift to show respect to elders during holidays. Wow, even the system is using blind boxes now. Each draw costs 30 points of filial piety, which isn't much.

Chu Mingkong drew three boxes and opened two gift boxes in the system space to check. He found that they contained two bottles of anti-aging pills and a beginner's cultivation manual for nourishing a woman's body. He was completely relieved about the blind box!

Although it's 10 yuan more expensive than buying directly from the mall, it saves him the trouble of considering a gift, so he can just consider it a brokerage fee.

"Aunt Gu, I have a gift for you. These are a few bottles of beauty-enhancing candies and a cultivation manual. You can practice them for fun when you have time."

Aunt Gu felt a little embarrassed to receive a gift from a younger generation. She had only just found out that the wine the Cui family members had given him was watered down. However, it was Chu Mingkong's kind gesture, and women also liked beauty pills.

"What's this packaged item? The silk ribbon in the packaging is so beautiful!"

"It's also a token of my appreciation. Aunt Gu, please open it and take a look when you get back. I'll be going now, and I'll come back to keep you company another day."

"Well, then I won't escort you back home!"

"I'm a grown man, why would I trouble Aunt Gu with these two steps? Aunt Gu, please go back to your room and rest early~"

After Chu Mingkong left with Zuo Qiuchi, Aunt Gu returned to her boudoir, looking happily at the two bottles of pills. She then flipped through the cultivation manual, hid it under her pillow, and finally opened the package.

"...Huh? A sheer dress?! It's thinner than a cicada's wing, it can't cover anything up, why would Mingkong give me a dress like this?"

Chapter Twelve: They can still give away bellybands

Aunt Gu looked at the gossamer-thin gauze dress, her face strange and flushed. Her slender fingers stroked the texture of the fabric, which was unlike any ordinary material. The thinness and coolness did not make one feel cold; on the contrary, it felt warm after touching it for a while.

"That little rascal Mingkong, how could he send me clothes like this...? Even if it's a married couple, it's so shameless to wear clothes like this."

Despite the criticism, if one ignores the sheer effect of this gauze dress, the workmanship is still excellent. The cloud and crane embroidery on it is exquisite. The simple design of the gauze dress is not affected by the numerous stitches. The artistic conception is outlined with just a few stitches.

This dress was indeed unsuitable for a widow like her, but women still feel happy when they see beautiful clothes.

Now that there's no one else around, shall I try it on?

Although the beautiful woman with a graceful and voluptuous figure was in her boudoir, she still looked around nervously before taking off her outer robe and bodice, leaving only her underpants and a simple bodice hanging on her body.

After putting on the gauze dress, Aunt Gu looked in the mirror and felt ashamed of the indecently dressed woman in the mirror.

Beneath the sheer fabric, the waistline of her upper body was vaguely visible, and the bulging bellyband, stretched taut by her two large breasts, was fully exposed.

"I wonder what kind of material this garment is made of. It's so comfortable. It looks thinner than paper, yet it's warm and cozy... With this kind of material, it would be so much better to make a normal garment. Why did you make it into this gauze dress?"

Aunt Gu was about to change when Zhong Feihuang's voice came from the doorway.

"Sister-in-law, have you rested? Why did you lock yourself in your room as soon as you got back?"

"...No, I'm changing my clothes. I'll close the door first and wait a moment."

Wearing this rather suggestive outfit, Aunt Gu felt extremely guilty, but where could she hide it after taking it off? She didn't have any magical storage items. If she stuffed it into the wardrobe or pillow, the maid might find it when she came to clean, and if she was discovered, it would be very bad.

Time didn't allow her to think for too long. Aunt Gu calmed herself down, put her strapless inner dress and outer shirt back on, and put the gauze dress inside, so that at least she wouldn't be discovered by someone in a daze.

She opened the door and asked the radiant woman waiting outside, "What brings Fei Huang here? Aren't you going to be with your husband?"

"He's off having fun somewhere with those good-for-nothing friends again! Sister-in-law, why are you changing your clothes like that?"

"The drawstring of my undergarment broke by accident. How could I not run back to change it? What if it fell out of my dress while I was walking? That would be such a joke!"

A look of realization dawned on Zhong Feihuang's pretty face. She couldn't help but place her hand on Gu's sister-in-law's full breasts, sighing with envy:

"My sister-in-law is really worried; even her undergarment can't contain it!"

Aunt Gu slapped her hand away, laughing and scolding, "Go away, you're talking nonsense. Don't you think you're not good enough?"

Zhong Feihuang had a slender figure, especially her arms and waist, which were as delicate as willow branches swaying in the breeze. However, she still had the proper size of a woman's front and back, though she was slightly less impressive than Aunt Gu.

She saw two exquisite jade medicine bottles on the table. In her memory, Aunt Gu was not sick, and she had never collected such small bottles.

"Sister-in-law, what is this?"

"Mingkong brought these over for me, saying they're youth-preserving pills? He told me to eat them like sugar pills."

"A pill to preserve youth?!"

Zhong Feihuang's eyes lit up. She usually helped her family with some business, and the pills that the sects sent to her every year as a token of their appreciation were registered and put into storage by her. Therefore, she had some understanding of the quality of the pills.

As the name suggests, the Youth-Preserving Pill can be used for beauty purposes and also has the effect of nourishing a woman's body, making it very popular among women. However, this pill is extremely expensive because the medicinal materials required to refine it are also essential for other pills like the Marrow Cleansing Pill, which are consumed in large quantities.

The raw materials are expensive, so the anti-aging pills are also expensive.

Moreover, it smells like medicine, and it's a sixth-grade medicine!

Normally, refining a youth-preserving pill to the seventh grade is considered a wasteful extravagance, but this is actually a sixth-grade youth-preserving pill! The several thousand-year-old medicinal herbs used in this are no ordinary items!

This young prince is being far too good to his aunt.

After Zhong Feihuang explained to her sister-in-law, the sister-in-law finally understood how precious the gift Chu Mingkong had given her was! The strange feeling in her heart intensified.

This child... sends rare elixirs and sheer robes...

"Oh dear~ Sister-in-law always says that no one cares about you. It turns out that the person who cares about you is not around yet. I am so envious. These two bottles of pills are almost as valuable as the pills that sects send over at the end of the year."

"You're just talking nonsense. Don't gossip outside. People who don't know better will think you're jealous of someone. Mingkong is my nephew! If others hear what you're saying, they'll misunderstand. Go, call Keqing over. This bottle is for the two of you to share."

"Oh, then I'll thank you in advance, sister-in-law. I'll invite Mingkong over to play another day! I'm going to find Keqing now, I'll come back later~"

Watching Zhong Feihuang leave the room, Aunt Gu breathed a sigh of relief. Her heart had been pounding the whole time, fearing that Zhong Feihuang would discover the thin gauze dress she was wearing, which would have made it impossible to explain.

Originally, she still had some issues with Chu Mingkong, feeling that his intention in giving the gift was too frivolous. However, when she learned that the pills he gave were such valuable, she couldn't bring herself to blame him.

......

[System Treasure has arrived in your account, 60 points of filial piety (undesirable).]

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