Within the Sleeping Palace of Eastern Palace Wenhua Hall, the air was filled with the melodious chatter of women.
Xia Wuyang, blindfolded with a strip of gold-embroidered black gauze, was playing a game of blind man’s bluff with a crowd of beauties.
He deliberately staggered, his hands groping wildly in the air, the very picture of a debauched lecher.
"Where are my beauties? Come, let me catch you. I promise to take very good care of you!"
Xia Wuyang intentionally drawled his words, a besotted smile plastered on his face.
Dozens of beauties were gathered in the hall: a dancer from Qiuci, recently arrived palace maids, a Fox Girl from the Demon Race, a Jiangnan Beauty... and naturally, the currently favored Su Ling’Er was among them.
Watching the utterly absurd Xia Wuyang, Su Ling’Er, dressed in an elegant gown, had a look of resignation on her face. She mechanically evaded him, trying to avoid being caught; otherwise, she would surely be ravaged.
Yet, for some reason, ever since arriving at Wenhua Hall and being bedded by that old man Xia Wuyang, Su Ling’Er had had a strange feeling.
It was as if something was off about this elder Crown Prince. It wasn’t that she had discovered anything specific, just a strange sixth sense.
Su Ling’Er had experienced this feeling before, and it had proven true on multiple occasions. This was one of her special traits.
’But this elder Crown Prince is so decrepit, why would he give me this strange feeling? Could he be hiding something?’
Although this elder Crown Prince wasn’t cruel and was actually quite gentle with them, his decrepit, aged state was truly unbearable.
It wasn’t just Su Ling’Er; most of the beauties in the hall were repulsed. After all, being pinned beneath that wrinkled body was not a pleasant experience.
Fortunately, the elder Crown Prince was quite generous and never treated them unfairly regarding silver coins. He even gave them his own stipend as rewards.
Watching the elder Crown Prince lunge about, Su Ling’Er sighed and observed him discreetly, trying to pinpoint the source of her feeling.
Xia Wuyang remained "focused" on the game. His steps were unsteady, and he occasionally stumbled. If the surrounding beauties hadn’t been there to support him, he might have had a serious accident. He appeared utterly feeble.
Without taking the Dragon and Tiger Elixir, it seemed he couldn’t even perform his nightly duties with the beauties.
Before long, he deliberately knocked over a vase, then "accidentally" tore off the shawls of several beauties. This drew a chorus of startled cries from the women, making the atmosphere in the Sleeping Palace all the more risqué.
"Your Highness, be careful!"
Seeing Xia Wuyang about to fall again, several beauties rushed to support him.
Xia Wuyang seized the opportunity to wrap his arm around a Jiangnan Beauty’s waist, breathing into her ear, "Let me guess who this is. If I’m right, you’ll let me properly appreciate you later. It’s Qin Qing, correct?"
"Your Highness is brilliant." The Jiangnan Beauty forced a smile, but her body couldn’t help but stiffen. She lamented inwardly, ’I’m done for. I’m afraid I’ll be thoroughly ’handled’ later.’
As expected, the Jiangnan Beauty was "punished." After the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, the game started anew.
In the interim, because he was too "weak," Xia Wuyang consumed two more Dragon and Tiger Elixirs and then resumed pouncing on the beauties.
The beauties all looked resigned, some even disgusted, but none dared to offend His Highness, the Crown Prince.
Although many Princes and Princesses in the palace looked down on their "elder brother," they were royals, high and mighty. How could these women possibly compare?
No matter how disliked the elder Crown Prince was, a single word from him could mean a death without a proper burial for them. How could they dare offend Xia Wuyang? They could only feign compliance, doing their best to satisfy the elder Crown Prince and allow him to live out the last days of his life in comfort.
This was the very definition of the saying, "Once you are in the Jianghu, your fate is not your own."
Since they were powerless to resist, their only choice was to feign enthusiasm and cater to his whims.
The hidden spies in the vicinity took in the entire scene. Those who had grown suspicious observed with even greater scrutiny.
They believed they were being covert, but they had no idea that within his Mental Force Field, every detail was crystal clear and laid bare before Xia Wuyang.
Soon, they seemed to have confirmed what they needed to know and began sending out messages.
"The elder Crown Prince is the same as always, but he seems particularly agitated over the matter of the Jiangnan Beauty. He’s absolutely smitten."
"The elder Crown Prince holds no resentment toward the Twenty-fourth Prince, Xia Baifeng. He doesn’t even know how these Jiangnan Beauties came to him and is quite pleased, believing it to be a stroke of good luck."
"The Jiangnan Beauties have completely bewitched the elder Crown Prince. He even took several extra Dragon and Tiger Elixirs today, wanting only to be intimate with them."
"Xia Baifeng’s scheme is working. The elder Crown Prince is completely lost in his indulgence; he probably doesn’t have much time left."
... Xia Wuyang, of course, observed all of this. He continued his passionate games with the beauties, even prolonging the commotion, much to their growing exasperation.
He even had fine wine brought out for the ladies to drink, after which he did as he pleased.
The result was that he once again passed out drunk, lying unconscious in the Sleeping Palace. Only then did the beauties heave a collective sigh of relief and finally rest.
"I don’t know when days like this will ever end. I really can’t stand serving the elder Crown Prince anymore."
"Who would want to serve him? He’s ancient and decrepit, his face is repulsive, and he has no future whatsoever. I fear our lives are over."
"He only has a few months left. I just hope that after the elder Crown Prince is gone, the palace can assign us a decent post. Then we’ll at least have some security for the rest of our lives."
"It’s a pity. We’re all in the prime of our youth, yet we’re being sullied by the elder Crown Prince like this. I wonder if there’s any chance for us to have a better future."
... The Palace Maid, the Fox Girl, the Qiuci Dancer, the Jiangnan Beauty... they all lamented their fate, unaware that Xia Wuyang heard every word. For this, he could only feel a sense of apology.
Xia Wuyang was quite forgiving toward these beauties who had given him their firsts and continued to serve him. He didn’t hold their complaints against them.
If he were in their shoes, he ’would have run for the hills long ago, not stayed behind to serve some old coot.’
Only after all the prying eyes had withdrawn did Xia Wuyang begin to cultivate with his full Power, continuously consolidating his Foundation in preparation for consuming the next Miracle Treasure.
After this incident, the outside world grew even more complacent about him, allowing him to cultivate more freely.
Before he knew it, his Spiritual Power had accumulated to 209 points, thanks in no small part to the Awakening Pills.
Spirit +1! As a new day dawned, Xia Wuyang’s Spiritual Power increased by another point, reaching a total of 210.
Although he didn’t awaken a new Companion Talent, another epiphany descended upon him.
Prior to this, Xia Wuyang had been contemplating the Herbal Tomb for some time, becoming faintly immersed in its mysteries.
With the arrival of this epiphany, he naturally sank deeper into the Herbal Tomb, entering a state of sudden enlightenment regarding it.
As if blessed by a stroke of genius, his Alchemy skill began to advance by leaps and bounds. All manner of insights came rushing in, washing over him like a sudden, profound revelation and elevating his skill at an incredible pace.

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