Chapter 475: The Mutiny at Chengkang Temple (Part 2) [Requesting Monthly Tickets]
Gongxi Chouyi's lover was originally a member of the imperial family.
She had a good reputation before she married.
After coming of age, she married a scion of a prominent family. The couple lived happily together for a time. However, this happiness was short-lived. After two years without conceiving, her husband grew tired of her and abandoned her in the backyard.
Her husband frequented brothels, and she was not to be outdone.
After her husband died in a coup, she was required by the laws of the Geng Kingdom to become a nun at Chengkang Temple, and her life was no longer as carefree and romantic as before. Just as she was preparing to give up and spend the rest of her life in seclusion with a Buddhist lamp, she was shocked to discover that the King of Pigs had committed some heinous act.
My dormant heart has come alive again.
The women residing at Chengkang Temple, ostensibly there to pray for the country, were in reality a group of pitiful widows whose freedom was restricted, living a life of hardship. Having grown up in luxury, she couldn't possibly endure such poverty and thus began to harbor other ambitions.
The matter of the King of Zhi leading people in debauchery at Chengkang Temple is a secret that cannot be kept hidden forever; it will be exposed to the outside world sooner or later.
If the Prince of Zhi still wanted to salvage his reputation, he only had two options. Either he could burn Chengkang Temple to the ground, but that would be an admission of guilt and a last resort, or he could find a pretext to grant leniency and allow the widows in Chengkang Temple to choose good husbands and remarry.
She wanted to escape this awful place by remarrying.
A woman who remarries cannot have a low social status.
They then set their sights on Tang Guo and his children.
In terms of both appearance and ability, she actually preferred Tang Guo's adopted son. Unfortunately, that adopted son was a barbarian from another tribe, a weapon used by Tang Guo's family to fight on the front lines. Thus, with her deliberate attempts to win him over, Tang Guo's biological son naturally took the bait.
But today—
She looked at the two brothers who were walking arm in arm, her expression stiffened for a moment, but she still stepped forward and clasped her hands together in a salute.
"No need for formalities, it's been a long time since I've seen you."
Her sworn brother skillfully took her hand.
He turned his head and said, "This is my sworn brother, Gongxi Chou."
Before the woman could speak, he was pulled into a side room. The room was exquisitely and luxuriously furnished, befitting the daughter of a noble family, and had absolutely nothing to do with the Buddhist concept of detachment from worldly desires. Gong Xichou followed him into the room.
The overwhelming scent of perfume made him frown. Even the Buddhist shrine in the side room was shrouded in it, and the incense burner emitted not a single trace of sandalwood. Gong Xichou inwardly grumbled, turned and closed the door. He casually chose a spot with a good view, sat cross-legged, and watched with interest as his impatient sworn brother tried to pull at the other man's silk sash. The latter looked embarrassed, pushing him away with both hands, refusing to cooperate.
The sworn brother was furious: "What are you doing?"
The woman glanced shyly in the direction of Gong Xichou.
The latter even leisurely poured himself a cup of tea.
The sworn brother understood: "He'll be here later too."
The woman's expression turned pale: "..."
It wasn't that she couldn't accept it; in terms of quality, Gong Xi Chou was far superior to the male concubines and gigolos she had previously indulged in. But back then, she was in a superior position, toying with the inferior, and in control. Even when she had an affair with Gong Xi Chou's sworn brother, she harbored the intention of taming this wild boar, and the initiative remained in her hands. But today's words were a blatant accusation, labeling her as a plaything for the two brothers!
The woman changed her approach from half-hearted resistance to taking advantage of the other party's unpreparedness and forcefully broke free, thoroughly angering him.
Enraged, he shoved the woman onto the bed with a thud: "Don't you know your own reputation? What are you trying to prove at a time like this? Making you serve me is doing you a favor!"
"roll!"
The woman's reply was just one word.
The two began to push and struggle.
Instead of being angry, the sworn brother laughed and, under the woman's terrified gaze, bent down to tear at her clothes. Although he had neglected his training and his muscles had become as muscular as rivers flowing into the sea, he was still a man in his prime, and his strength was not to be underestimated.
The sound of tearing fabric rang out, revealing an exquisite, close-fitting peach-colored mandarin duck bodice and a large expanse of snow-white neck.
It was accompanied by terrified, shrill screams.
but--
But it wasn't because the clothes were torn.
The woman, still shaken, stared at Gong Xi Chou, who had appeared behind her sworn brother without her noticing. With lightning speed, he reached out and easily twisted the neck of the man on top of her. The sound of cracking bones was easily masked by her earlier scream.
woman:"……"
She stared blankly at Gong Xichou, who was standing in front of her bed.
Fear shot from the soles of my feet straight to the top of my head.
He suppressed the sound from his throat.
Gong Xiqiu's expression was indifferent: "Does Madam know what she should do to save her life? Should she get up and run out to call for help, or—"
His unspoken words, however, were like a death knell to the woman. Although she didn't know why Gong Xi Chou had suddenly killed his sworn brother, she was certain it wasn't because of her, nor was it an act of chivalry. Her life was insignificant.
Gong Xichou: "I think the lady must be a smart person."
The woman's lips trembled as she stammered, "Naturally."
Upon hearing the answer, Gong Xichou's gloomy expression vanished, and he smiled again, saying, "In that case, I won't disturb my sworn brother and his wife's romantic night any longer. I'll go out for a stroll."
Before Gong Xichou stepped out of the room, he glimpsed that the woman had quickly composed herself, straddling the bedding, emitting suppressed but suggestive groans that grew increasingly louder. Meanwhile, his sworn brother faced the door at an odd angle.
He considerately withdrew, closed the door, and sighed inwardly.
“I’ve told you to listen to your father. If you had diligently cultivated, you wouldn’t have died such a pathetic death.”
He didn't really have any major grudges with his sworn brother. Occasionally, they would have some disagreements, but they never reached the point of taking lives. However, the Gongxi clan had no enemies and no grudges against anyone, yet they were wiped out. All 264 members of the clan met untimely ends. It shouldn't be too much for Tang Guo to lose his son, right?
Gong Xichou chuckled to himself, "Hmm, not too much."
As he walked along the corridor, he encountered another member of the Prince of Pigs' personal guards who was also seeking pleasure. He greeted the other man with a normal expression.
When asked what he was doing there, Gongxi Chou replied, "My brother just said he would take me out to play, so I went with him. But he went to talk about scriptures with the nuns at the temple. I found it really boring, so I came back by myself."
The King's personal guard: "..."
Although it's outrageous, it doesn't feel wrong.
Gong Xichou was always like that; even his sworn brother often privately mocked him for being incompetent and having some mental problems.
He has a lot of talent, but he's all show and no substance.
I asked, but then I didn't think much of it.
When Gongxi Chou volunteered to take over the protection of the King of Pigs and his two uncles, he pointed out the way for him: "The barbarian is willing to sacrifice his pleasure-seeking opportunities to stand guard for others, which is something I couldn't ask for."
With him there, the Pig King and the others were safe.
Gong Xiqiu clasped his hands in thanks: "Thank you."
The guards brought by the King of Pigs were quite capable, and not all of them were negligent in their duties or distracted by beautiful women.
Their overall strength should not be underestimated.
Most importantly, to ensure the women of Chengkang Temple could peacefully worship Buddha and pray for the country, the royal family stationed two thousand elite troops outside the temple. At the foot of the mountain, there were also troops disguised as commoners, commanded by Tang Guo, Gongxi Chou's adoptive father.
As for why Tang Guo, once hailed as a pillar of the Geng Kingdom, is now engaged in the work of guarding the gates and keeping watch for the King of Zhi, only he himself knows the truth. Other martial arts masters pursue strength, while Tang Guo pursues power, status, and wealth.
He'll work for whoever can satisfy his insatiable appetite.
Why did Gongxi Chou choose to make his move today?
Because the culprits who were in charge of plotting to exterminate the Gongxi clan were all here—when the King of Zhi first entered the court, he somehow learned about the connection between the Gongxi clan and the Wu Kingdom's Gu calamity. Eager to make a name for himself and not wanting his brothers to share the spoils, he joined forces with the royal family of his own faction and spearheaded this calamity.
Gong Xiqiu knew that the person behind the scenes was a member of the royal family of the Geng Kingdom.
But it has never been clear who it was.
The relevant files and documents had long been disposed of.
Gong Xichou miraculously survived a great calamity, but his memory was confused for a period of time. When he regained some clarity and remembered the cause and effect of his clan's extermination, he realized he had already become Tang Guo's adopted son. The other party trusted him immensely, even to the point of indulging him.
He did consider revenge.
But the gap in strength is undeniable.
An attack that cannot harm the enemy is a pointless suicide. Since we've already betrayed our enemy, what's wrong with lying low?
Gong Xichou used his cynicism as a cover, perfectly portraying a naive and oblivious barbarian who was ridiculed.
He wanted to know too.
Where is Tang Guo's bottom line?
Why openly adopt the descendants of the Gongxi people?
And today, perhaps the answer is available.
"I'm here to cover your shift, you guys go have some fun?"
The King's guards refused: "No."
Upon seeing this, Gongxi Chou sighed, "Why bother?"
"What?"
Why stay and seek your own death?
The moment the words left his mouth, the red tassel at the tip of the serpent halberd had already pierced through one person's chest, and the sonic boom blasted away several people nearby.
For the first time in his life, Gong Xiqiu no longer suppressed his strength, letting his martial energy erupt wildly from his dantian, filling his entire body. His full martial armor instantly took shape.
The shockwave swept away the palace with overwhelming force.
At the same moment, the sounds of fighting also rang out outside the temple.
(〃￣︶￣)人(￣︶￣〃)
Today I saw a really outrageous mine clearance.
It's said that this story is disguised as a story about a strong female lead, using the "no romance" label to trick readers into subscribing, and actually following a romance route. It even criticizes the female lead for being brain-dead and for pairing her with a brain-dead male lead, confirming that the female lead is a stepmother who seduces men and is a Dior fan.
Here, let me clarify something.
The novel's homepage is tagged with 1V1, time travel, struggle, satisfying read, lighthearted, and inspirational.
The entire series never explicitly stated that there was no romantic pairing. The male lead was prominently featured in the 1V1 tagline and the character list, even if his presence was limited to the thank-you messages that appeared when people voted for him, gave him rewards, or recommended him. But he was still there.
Mushroom doesn't even dare to call this a "strong female lead" novel, because I remember that mainstream "strong female lead" novels all feature independent and self-reliant female protagonists. Tang Mei is also independent and strong, but Tang Mei's initial team consisted entirely of male supporting characters. We can't deny gender just because they are supporting characters. Therefore, Tang Mei's entrepreneurial journey also relied on quite a few male partners.
The company can't become a Fortune 500 company by relying on the boss alone, right?
To put it more bluntly, it relies on women (herself and her female team) and men (her male team)
Furthermore, the idea of taking a romantic route is utter nonsense.
The female lead isn't a LTP (Living-Tale Pair), and the male lead is only eight years old, still wearing open-crotch pants and living in the deep mountains. What kind of romance is that? There's a reason his brain wasn't working properly as a child. Simply put, his CPU couldn't handle the system for the time being. _(:з」∠)_
Let him develop a bit more...
I'm really puzzled.
In male-oriented novels, male protagonists having multiple wives and concubines is considered a sign of their charm and ability, while in female-oriented novels, female protagonists are forced to focus on their careers and remain single until death; even office workers can't have a fling with a younger woman while striving for success.
(End of this chapter)
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