A hundred li east of the imperial city was a large riverside dock. Every evening, rows of luxurious carriages vying for splendor would stop there.
In the middle of the great river was an island ablaze with dazzling lights that were almost blinding.
It was the Heavenly Palace!
Chen Chu stepped down from the carriage. More than a hundred small boats were moored along the shore, and each boat had a number on its hull, corresponding to the flower guests boarding the island that night.
And the number on Chen Chu’s invitation was clearly No. 1, with the hundred boats also lined up in order, No. 1 at the very front.
Chen Chu arrived at the matching boat, where he was greeted by a girl in a white dress with a delicate figure, graceful curves, and stunning beauty.
“Your Highness the Ninth Prince, please board!”
Her manners were impeccable.
The pretty girl poled the boat across the water. The shimmering surface reflected the girl’s sweet-scented sweat, creating an unusually exquisite kind of pleasure.
The people who ran Heavenly Palace really knew what they were doing.
The island looked somewhat far from the riverbank, but in reality it was not close at all. The pretty girl had been poling for a quarter of an hour without slacking off, yet they still had not even reached halfway.
“By the way, do all the flower guests receive an invitation from Heavenly Palace?”
Chen Chu asked casually.
“Only the invitation sent to the Ninth Prince by Miss Liuli is called an invitation. The others are just tickets. For our Heavenly Palace, all tickets after No. 10 are sold for a hundred spirit stones each. As for the Ninth Prince’s No. 1 ticket, it is not sold to outsiders. Otherwise, it would cost several thousand spirit stones. So, the Ninth Prince is our Heavenly Palace’s most honored guest tonight.”
Hearing that, Chen Chu felt much more comfortable.
Of course, he was also somewhat amazed by Heavenly Palace’s money-making ability. Just by selling tickets alone for one night, it could earn over ten thousand spirit stones. Adding the other spending, it would easily be tens of thousands in a single night.
The million spirit stones Fang Dingzhi had given him was already an enormous sum, yet Heavenly Palace could earn that in a month.
At last, the small boat reached the shore. The girl tied the rope to the bank, then extended her jade-like hand toward Chen Chu, signaling for him to take it as she helped him ashore.
A free advantage was one you might as well take. Chen Chu was happy to reach out and touch her warm softness.
If it had been a man with only average self-control, he probably would not even have wanted to enter Heavenly Palace at that moment. Instead, he would have wanted to take this beautiful girl to some place where no one could disturb them and discuss life.
“Thank you.”
Chen Chu did not do anything improper.
Unlike some of the flower guests, who thought that since they had already paid, they might as well get their money’s worth and grope someone without restraint.
“Ninth Prince, my name is Yueyao. Next time you come, I will come pick you up again.”
As they parted, Miss Yueyao turned back with a smile.
…
At that time, Xu Zhaoxing, dressed in a multicolored immortal dress, came to the Ninth Prince’s Residence and knocked on the door. With a creak, the main gate opened, and Wu Dayong’s head poked out from inside the mansion.
“Eh? Wu Dayong, why are you at the Ninth Prince’s Residence?”
Xu Zhaoxing looked at Wu Dayong with great surprise.
“His Majesty assigned me to serve as butler at the Ninth Prince’s Residence. Miss Xu, what are you here for?”
Clearly, the two were familiar with each other.
“To see Chen Chu!”
Xu Zhaoxing tried to stride into the residence, but Wu Dayong’s hill-like body blocked her. She instantly grew unhappy. “Wu Dayong, why are you stopping me?”
Wu Dayong hurriedly said, “You are His Highness’s younger sister-in-law. How would I dare stop you? It’s just that coming in won’t do you any good. His Highness isn’t in the residence!”
“Not in the residence?” Xu Zhaoxing blinked in confusion. “Then where is he?”
“Well…”
Wu Dayong found it hard to answer.
Xu Zhaoxing had her own tricks. She immediately threatened, “Wu Dayong, if you don’t tell me honestly, tomorrow I’ll bring all our friends here to watch you, every single day!”
Wu Dayong certainly did not want that, so he had to compromise. “Oh, my lady, I give up! His Highness went to Heavenly Palace!”
Instantly, Xu Zhaoxing’s face turned dark with anger. “The wedding is in just a few days, and he still goes to Heavenly Palace? Who took him there? Or who encouraged him to go to Heavenly Palace?!”
Her expression was extremely unfriendly, like a lawful wife who had caught her husband meeting another woman outside.
“Miss Liuli sent someone to deliver an invitation. His Highness went to keep the appointment!”
Upon hearing that, Xu Zhaoxing showed no understanding at all. Instead, she became even more worried. “Shangguan Liuli, that femme fatale, has ruined Imperial Grandson Chen Fengyi enough, and now she wants to ruin Chen Chu too! No, I have to go drag Chen Chu back!”
Xu Zhaoxing turned around and hurried off.
“Miss Xu, please do not say that I revealed His Highness’s whereabouts!”
Wu Dayong had just turned around when he was startled by Yu Fengcheng standing behind him. He quickly patted his chest to calm himself down, then carefully tried to flatter him. “Brother Yu Fengcheng, you won’t tell His Highness, will you?”
Yu Fengcheng said coldly, “Wu Dayong, you need to understand that both you and I are now His Highness’s servants. I will report this matter truthfully to His Highness. As for whether His Highness keeps you or not, that depends on His Highness’s decision.”
At the same time, Chen Chu had already been led into the Wind, Flower, Snow, and Moon Chamber on the second floor of Heavenly Palace, which was Heavenly Palace’s No. 1 private room. From there, he had a full view of the main hall, making it the best place to enjoy the singing and dancing.
On the white jade stone table were wine, dried meat, melons, and fruit for guests to enjoy.
Below, in the main hall that could hold more than a thousand people, the flower guests and the scantily clad girls of Heavenly Palace were raising cups and drinking together, laughing nonstop in a lively uproar.
On the stage, nine entertainers were passionately performing Phoenix Dance in the Nine Heavens, a beautiful and dazzling spectacle.
But from Chen Chu’s perspective, whether it was the entertainers on stage or the drinking girls in the hall, he could not find a single one whose beauty could compare with Yueyao.
It was like a beauty pageant in which none of the many beautiful contestants could even match a little maid serving tea and water.
Quite unusual.
However, after Chen Chu was led into the private room, no one paid him any further attention.
The way they treated guests was also unusual.
As the music came to a stop, the nine entertainers who had performed Phoenix Dance in the Nine Heavens all left the stage. Then a plump, heavily made-up woman with a powdered face came onstage.
“Please welcome Miss Liuli to the stage!”
“Please, Miss Liuli!”
“Mother, we only want to see Miss Liuli!!”
“I, this young master, have studied hard for months and finally created a masterpiece of the ages. I hope Miss Liuli will honor it with a look!”
“Miss Liuli, you have not appeared onstage for a whole month. No matter what, you must perform a dance tonight!”
The hall suddenly erupted into a frenzy, as if everyone had gone mad.
The madam was named Liu Chahua. She raised both hands high, signaling everyone to quiet down.
Then she dropped a bombshell.
“Tonight, Liuli will be attending to a very distinguished guest. She truly cannot appear and meet all of you. Please forgive us!!”
As soon as she said that, almost everyone’s gaze turned to Heavenly Palace’s No. 1 private room.
They all began guessing that person’s identity. Could it be… the Imperial Grandson?
That should not be it.
If Heavenly Palace were willing to give the Imperial Grandson enough face, Liuli would already have been his plaything.
If not the Imperial Grandson, then who else could it be?
King Xuan Chen Bai?
The current prime minister?
The Imperial Preceptor?
Or had King Qing returned?
Could it be His Majesty!!
There were only a few people who could receive such treatment at Heavenly Palace…
One should know that King Yong Chen Yu had once secretly come to Heavenly Palace, attempting to use his identity as King Yong to pressure them into taking Shangguan Liuli, only to be escorted back to King Yong’s Residence by Heavenly Palace’s experts and kept from leaving the house for a full month!
Inside the No. 1 private room, Chen Chu narrowed his eyes. This madam really was not decent.