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

But his breath stopped at the door, and there was no movement for a long time. What happened?

Yongzhen planned to go out and take a look. When she passed through the front hall, she met Madam Zhen.

It was morning, and Madam Zhen had recently been spending most of her daytime hours brewing a pot of fine tea and reading a book in the front hall.

Previously, Yongzhen was the only one in the family who had this habit.

When Madam Zhen saw that Yongzhen seemed to be heading out, she put down the book she was holding:

"Yongzhen, where are you planning to go?"

Yongzhen said calmly:

"Mother, I'm feeling a bit stuffy staying in my room, so I'm thinking of going out for a walk."

"You should move around more, go ahead."

After Yongzhen left, Madam Zhen put down her book and quietly followed her.

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

It seems the newbie bonus period is over; it's so difficult to get a red-quality item!

Chu Mingkong was thinking of taking something to send to Madam Zhen, but he stood in front of the door in a daze for a long time and couldn't take anything out.

The system inventory has suddenly gained a few more high-quality gold-grade bulls; how am I supposed to give these away...?

“If this continues, we’ll run out of ordinary filial piety, and distorted filial piety is like money that can’t be spent recklessly.”

Just as Chu Mingkong was having a headache, he suddenly felt a soft, ball-like sensation on his back, but the sensation was fleeting.

Yongzhen hugged him briefly before walking over to his side.

"Mingkong, what are you doing standing here in a daze?"

Chu Mingkong was somewhat unaccustomed to the feeling that his whereabouts could not be concealed. What kind of powerful technique was it that could always sense him?

Upon seeing the young woman come out to greet him, Chu Mingkong couldn't help but smile.

"I wasn't spacing out, but I was thinking about what to give you. Giving you fruit would be a bit perfunctory, and giving you flowers would lack sincerity. I just gave you flowers once before, and I was so conflicted that I stood at the door not knowing what to do."

Yongzhen looked angry and said with dissatisfaction:

“Mingkong, I’ve seen all kinds of wealth and luxury. It’s already a great favor that you came. There’s no need to bring a small gift every time you come. If gifts become a burden for you, wouldn’t our relationship just remain at the level of financial exchange?”

"No, I wanted to use this gift to make you happy. If you're happy, I'm happy. So, while this gift seems to be for you, Yongzhen, isn't it also a gift for myself? I want to be happy too. How can I not think about the gift I give to make myself happy?"

Yongzhen smiled, she had never heard anyone describe giving a gift in such a way before, and she reached out to cup Chu Mingkong's cheeks:

"You're so eloquent. I'm so much older than you, and I've never seen anyone so good at using twisted logic to amuse people."

Chu Mingkong bent down slightly to prevent Yongzhen's arms from getting tired from holding him up. He was curious:

Is Yongzhen much older than me?

Yongzhen's expression stiffened for a moment, then she quickly regained her composure and said:

“Even being just one day older than you makes you much older. There’s a saying, ‘A day apart feels like three autumns.’ Doesn’t ‘three autumns’ count as being older?”

"Of course it is."

Yongzhen looked towards the front hall and whispered, "Mingkong, go to my room through the back door later, don't go through the front hall."

"I'm planning to have a proper sparring session with Madam Zhen today, how can I keep hiding like this?" Chu Mingkong asked.

“Yongzhen, does Madam Zhen have a big problem with me? Why does she always avoid me? Last time during the Lantern Festival, when I accompanied you to stroll around, I used poems to amuse you, and Madam Zhen didn’t seem to dislike me. I’ll use a few more lines of poetry later as a starting point, and maybe Madam Zhen will change her opinion of me.”

Yongzhen really wanted to say "I have a lot of opinions" to avoid making Chu Mingkong suspicious, but when she thought that if she said that, and that she and her daughter switched bodies back tonight, Chu Mingkong might not dare to see Madam Zhen, who was the real her, in the future.

She could only speak vaguely, saying:

“My mother is reading. If you disturb her, she will be in a bad mood and won’t let you into my room. I will arrange for you to meet with my mother later.”

"Okay, then I'll do as you say, Yongzhen."

Madam Zhen loves reading... I'll give her a copy of the world's greatest book, "Jin Xiao Mei," and see if she'll be interested.

"Okay, then come find me through the back door later."

"Yes, I'm just waiting to use the back door."

Emma: "?"

Chu Mingkong: "I mean, I haven't decided on a gift for Madam Zhen yet, so I don't dare go in through the front door and have to go to Yongzhen's place through the back door."

Yongzhen repeatedly told him not to go in through the front hall, but instead went back into the house through the front hall first.

Madam Zhen remained seated, a book in her hand, but she hadn't touched the tea on the table. She called to Yongzhen:

"Yongzhen, why are you back so soon?"

"After walking a few steps, I lost interest and came back. I'll go out for a walk again later."

As Yongzhen walked into the inner room, Madam Zhen frowned slightly and pondered deeply.

"Secretly seeing Chu Mingkong? Why does it feel like my mother... seems to know who she is?"

----------

The saying goes, "A gift of a goose feather from a thousand miles away is a small gift but carries great meaning; a heavy gift will only cause more headaches."

Yongzhen refusing Chu Mingkong's gift is both a good thing and a bad thing.

If I can't give you a suitable gift now, how am I supposed to accumulate filial piety? After giving the cultivation manual I've been hoarding for so long to Ke Qing and receiving a wave of corrupted filial piety, I'm now close to breaking through the system again.

Perhaps giving away those few gold-quality bulls would be enough to gather the filial piety needed for a breakthrough, but the premise is that they can be given away!

And after sending it out, it has to be done without any mishaps.

Strangely enough, the mother-daughter relationship between Yongzhen and Madam Zhen is truly bizarre.

He tried to please Madam Zhen but received no filial piety in return, instead end up being treated badly by her. However, when he secretly tried to please Yongzhen, filial piety came pouring in.

Let's try another single pull to turn the tide and change our fate! Just one pull, no more!

Anything is fine, even another red Niu Niu cigarette would be nice. I'll give it to Aunt Gu later. She gave me a gift last time as a token of her filial piety, so she'll definitely like it!

Wow! They actually have the red quality one!

Chu Mingkong was about to open the blind box that was radiating a red glow, but before he could open it to check, a mature and authoritative female voice came from behind him, and Chu Mingkong's thoughts were immediately interrupted.

That's Madam Zhen's voice.

"Mingkong, I've seen you standing here for quite a while. Are you looking for Yongzhen?"

Should I be honest and say I'm looking for Yongzhen? No, that's not appropriate. I should keep it a secret for now. Madam Zhen certainly doesn't want to know that I often secretly visit her daughter.

"No, I originally intended to find you, Madam Zhen. I recently acquired a rare and precious treasure and wanted to give it to you, but I just realized that I didn't bring it with me, and I was just about to go back to get it."

"No need for that. Why don't you sit with me for a while?"

Chapter Sixty-Six: Speak Up (36/43)

This is definitely unacceptable.

But Chu Mingkong was also worried that if he refused now, his favor with the elders would drop.

At this point, you have to use the "delaying" tactic!

He insisted, "No, no, no, a gift only has value when it is given. Madam Zhen, please wait a moment. I will visit you again later today to express my gratitude!"

Chu Mingkong didn't give Madam Zhen a chance to delay. He turned and ran, looking for an opportunity to find Yongzhen through the back door.

Madam Zhen watched him leave, thinking that Chu Mingkong was truly an oddball.

All the news I hear about him from the outside is bad. In the past, most of the news was about him embarrassing himself in front of some girl, and how terribly he was embarrassed. Now, the news about him is more about him being a vicious monster, killing someone at the Nightblade Division today, killing the Crown Prince in the street tomorrow, and ambushing a prince the day after.

While everyone else portrayed him as a desperate criminal trying to drag others down with him, he only displayed a humble and polite demeanor... Apart from the somewhat impolite act of giving her that pair of see-through underwear, everything else was quite nice.

The rumors and what people actually saw were so different that it was impossible to tell which one was the real him.

Previously, Madam Zhen suspected that Chu Mingkong had a tendency to like older women and had his eye on her mother, but now it doesn't seem like that anymore.

Even if he wanted to use Yongzhen to get close to Madam Zhen, he shouldn't be treating her like this now; he was mostly flustered and not excited.

"Will Chu Mingkong send his mother another pair of see-through underwear this time...?"

Probably not. His attitude suggests he didn't intend to overstep any boundaries with his mother. It seems he really did send it by mistake; he probably meant for me but ended up giving it to his mother instead.

"But it's really inappropriate for her to give me a gift like this on our first meeting..."

Madam Zhen returned to the front hall and sat down, picked up her book again, and glanced at Yongzhen's room.

"So, is Chu Mingkong secretly going to see Yongzhen now?"

----------

Chu Mingkong went around in circles and returned to the princess's courtyard. He slipped in from the back and sneaked into Yongzhen's room.

Yongzhen was still wondering why Chu Mingkong hadn't arrived yet when she suddenly saw a figure leap in through the window, and a charming smile of joy immediately bloomed on her beautiful face.

"Mingkong, you've finally arrived! Why did it take you so long?"

Chu Mingkong was still shaken: "After you left, Madam Zhen found me standing at the door and almost called me into the house, but I ran away immediately."

Yongzhen breathed a sigh of relief, but she was still suspicious. Wasn't her daughter reading a book? Why would she suddenly leave the yard?

Did your mother say anything to you?

Yongzhen doesn't seem to want me to get to know Madam Zhen, but when we met last time, she mysteriously said that she wanted to spend more time with Madam Zhen in the future, which is a bit contradictory.

I'll wait and see. I'll run around to both places today and see what the reason is.

"When Madam Zhen saw that I was about to leave, she didn't say anything."

"That's good. Mingkong, do you remember what I told you last time?"

"Remember, let me spend more time with Madam Zhen, and when I come to find you, I'll have to go to an empty room and be blindfolded."

"Yes, today you'll get used to being blindfolded."

Yongzhen took out a... black bellyband from under her pillow?

The bib features a simple illustration of a jade rabbit pounding medicine.