Checking In for Sixty Years, From Puppet Emperor to Heavenly Emperor – Chapter 20

Ch 20: Drunken Taoist

The next morning when Zhou An woke up, he found himself enjoying the company of the Three Purple Robes, absorbing their Yin Essence, which greatly increased his Internal Force.

Throughout history, he was probably the only one who could possess such a profound Internal Force in the Houtian Realm.

Now he had a complete understanding of cultivation. Even if ordinary people reached the peak of the Innate Tenth Level, their Internal Force could only withstand 120 years at most, otherwise their bodies would not be able to bear it.

It was said that the Late Emperor reached the limit of 120 years of cultivation and was an invincible existence in the Houtian Realm.

When Zhou An got up, the Empress had already gone to work early to prepare for her first time attending court today. The three Purple Robe Imperial Concubines also got up early and were cultivating in the courtyard. Last night, the Empress gave them new Martial Skills and Elixir to increase their Internal Force, so they did not dare to slack off.

Originally, the Purple Guard were trained by the Empress Dowager from a young age and had no names, only code names. Because the three women became the Emperor’s Imperial Concubines, the Empress gave them names. Purple Robe number 1 was named Ziyan, Purple Robe number 3 was named Ziqiong, and Purple Robe number 7 was named Zixuan.

Zhou An stretched and got up, sighing that it was best to let them do things, which made him a lot more relaxed.

At this time, the Female Official waiting outside came in with a washbasin to help him wash and dress.

After seven days, Zhou An checked-in everywhere in Qian Capital during the day, and Dual Cultivation with the women at night, which increased his Internal Force by almost 10 years. 190 years of Internal Force was absolutely shocking.

The chaos in the Imperial Palace had spread. The Left Prime Minister and Right Prime Minister joined forces, and their methods were indeed clever. The Ministers in the Imperial Court were united for the first time, and there was no chaos at all, which stabilized the entire Dynasty.

The Right Prime Minister was responsible for giving the Empress Dowager a grand funeral, which was handled by the Shangguan Family.

The Sixth Imperial Prince becoming the Left Prime Minister was also discussed by many people, who felt it was unbelievable that the current Emperor could tolerate the Sixth Imperial Prince.

Everyone in the world knew that the current Emperor was just a puppet Emperor of the Empress Dowager, who was licentious and fatuous. Now that the Sixth Imperial Prince had returned, he should either seize the throne or be executed by the Emperor.

How could he let the Sixth Imperial Prince take such an important position? It was completely beyond everyone’s understanding.

This was equivalent to placing a time bomb next to him and giving him a great opportunity to increase his power.

However, the most discussed topic in Qian Capital was about the Great Ancestor Emperor. They believed that the Sixth Imperial Prince could become the Left Prime Minister because the Great Ancestor Emperor ordered it. Zhou An might return to being a puppet Emperor again, but the master had changed from the Empress Dowager to the Great Ancestor Emperor.

Moreover, many people believed that the Great Ancestor Emperor could live to this day, exceeding three hundred years old, and had become an Immortal. As long as the Great Ancestor Emperor was in the Qianyuan Empire, the country would be secure forever.

At this moment, in the Drunken Immortal Inn, the best restaurant in Qian Capital, Zhou An was dressed as a Wandering Hero, sitting in the hall, ordering a table of wine and dishes, eating while listening to the discussions around him.

At this time, an old man in farmer’s clothes saw that Zhou An was alone and that the table was full of the best dishes from the Drunken Immortal Inn. He licked his lips, smiled, and came over to sit down, asking, “Little Brother, do you mind if this old man sits here?”

“Please, help yourself.” Zhou An smiled and looked at the old man. Although his cloth clothes were old and had several patches, they were still clean and tidy. Moreover, this person was dignified and had clear, bright eyes, definitely not an ordinary old man.

The old man ordered a pot of wine and a plate of peanuts, took a small sip, and sighed with a look of grief, “When people get old, they are lonely and helpless. They can only drink this watered-down wine and eat only…·”

Zhou An smiled and said, “Senior, if you want to eat together, I can order a few more dishes. You can drink as much wine as you like here.”

The old man’s eyes lit up and he laughed, “Little Brother is sensible, good, good, good, then this old man won’t be polite.”

As he spoke, he picked up his chopsticks and stuffed all the delicious food into his mouth, picking up the expensive wine on the table and pouring it directly into his mouth.

“Waiter, bring all your best dishes here.” Zhou An took out a Gold ingot and placed it on the table.

“Okay.” The waiter happily came over, picked up the Gold, and his eyes lit up.

The old man looked at Zhou An in surprise, glanced at him, and didn’t say anything more, eating heartily.

Soon, dishes of delicacies were brought up, and a jar of high-quality wine was also brought up. The old man not only ate and drank without any politeness, but after he was full, he poured the remaining half of the jar into his wine gourd and took it away.

Then he asked curiously, “Little Brother is really generous. An ordinary family can’t afford this meal even with a year’s earnings.”

“It’s worth it to make friends with a Senior like you with a table of wine and dishes.” Zhou An smiled.

The old man was surprised and looked at him carefully, asking curiously, “Seeing that your Shen Ting is full and your Internal Force is surging, you are considered a top expert in the Houtian Realm.

You have such cultivation at such a young age. Little Brother, are you an inner disciple of some Sect? Do you know this old man?”

Zhou An shook his head and said, “My family does have some wealth, but I’m not an Immortal Hero. I just know a little bit about Face Reading, so I know that Senior is an Immortal Hero and I plan to make friends with you.”

“You can see this old man’s Qi, your skill is top-notch. Little Brother, did you come to Qian Capital for the Imperial Family’s affairs? Or to watch the excitement?” the old man asked again.

“Recently, I heard that the Great Ancestor Emperor has appeared, and so many Immortal Heroes have come to Qian Capital. Naturally, I won’t miss the opportunity to admire the demeanor of the experts. Maybe I can get a chance to become an Immortal. Usually, I’m afraid I won’t be able to meet one in my entire life.” Zhou An said.

“Haha, that’s just like when this old man was young. This old man won’t eat your meal for nothing. I’ll give you this Token. Tonight at Xu time, there’s a good show to watch at the Hundred Flowers Brothel. You can only enter with this. I’ll take the wine, it’s rare to find such fine wine.” After the old man finished speaking, he swayed and left.

Zhou An looked at the Wooden Token in his hand. There was an unfamiliar mark on it, and the words “Drunken Taoist” were engraved on the other side.

The Hundred Flowers Brothel was a special Entertainment District in Qian Capital. It was special because whether you were a noble or a Jianghu expert, you had to abide by the rules of the Hundred Flowers Brothel.

The Hundred Flowers Brothel also had a plaque written by the Qianyuan Emperor himself, so even the Ministers in the Imperial Court were unwilling to cause trouble.

Most importantly, all the women here possessed unique skills. No famous Jianghu expert could get the better of these women, and even a errand runner here was a top-notch expert.

Moreover, all the women in the Hundred Flowers Brothel were as beautiful as flowers. It was a pity that these women only sold their art and not their bodies, and the wine and dishes there were so expensive that ordinary wealthy families did not dare to set foot here. It was unattainable for countless nobles in Qian Capital.

Even Zhou An, who was trapped in the Imperial Palace, had heard the Empress Dowager mention the name of the Hundred Flowers Brothel several times, but unfortunately, she did not talk about it too much.

At dinner time, Zhou An walked into this ancient building that was nearly three hundred years old. The house looked like a flower bud from the outside, and the surrounding stone slabs and flowerbeds were like leaves setting it off. This style was unique in the Qianyuan Empire.

As soon as he approached, a Guard next to him reached out to stop him and said, “Guest, the Hundred Flowers Brothel is not open to the public today, please come again tomorrow.”

Zhou An took out the Drunken Taoist’s Wooden Token. The Guard glanced at it and saluted, “Please come in.”

Zhou An nodded and walked inside. Immediately, a faint floral fragrance came to his face. The floral fragrance was looming and elusive. There was no smell when you actively tried to smell it, but you could smell this refreshing fragrance unintentionally.

In the middle of the hall were elegant compartments, unfolded like lotus flowers. In the middle was a circular stage, where several delicate women were singing and dancing.

Around the stage were twelve petals, and on each petal was a table, with a pretty young woman sitting next to it to serve.

Outside of that were green leaves, a total of sixty-four leaves, with a seat on each of them, but they were smaller.

Outside of that was a circle of corridors, with many benches placed there. Most of the people in the venue were sitting on the corridor benches. More than twenty people were sitting on the green leaves in the middle, and only one table was sitting on the petals.

It could be seen at a glance that these seats were unusual. Zhou An came here to see the behavior of these Immortal Hero figures. There was no need to be too high-profile, and he didn’t want to squeeze with the people around him, so he chose a seat on the edge of the green leaves and sat down.

This kind of position did not attract too much attention, but was just glanced at by some people.

As soon as Zhou An sat down, the woman in charge here bowed slightly and said, “Young Hero, the leaf seat requires ten thousand taels of Gold to enter, not including any food, drink, or expenses. Will you sit?”

“Ten thousand taels of Gold!” Zhou An was shocked. No wonder the people around him would rather squeeze together than come over. Not many people could take out ten thousand taels.

He reached into his clothes and took out a ten thousand tael Gold note from the System Space and handed it to her.

The woman took it, pointed her finger at the bead on the table, and a green light flew into the treasure bead, then it emitted a soft white light, and a barrier light curtain appeared around it at the same time.

“Young Hero, this barrier can isolate the outside world’s view, and of course it can also be opened, as you like.” The woman’s voice was sweet and gentle, making people feel very comfortable.

“Just leave it like this. Bring up some of your special dishes.” Zhou An sat down. He didn’t know what material this chair was made of. It was like jade, but the table was soft and had some temperature, making it very comfortable to sit on.

“Young Hero, if all the special dishes here are served, it will cost 770,000 taels of Gold.” The girl reminded him again kindly.