Chapter Fifteen The Crown Prince Arrives

  After the hotel's grand opening, Li Jiancheng's days became dull. To avoid people knowing about his relationship with the hotel, he stayed in the mansion to cultivate the "Longevity Technique", but still didn't make any breakthroughs. Due to the trouble of brushing teeth, after his efforts, the world's first toothbrush was finally born, taking 749 minutes to complete, using horse hair and bamboo strips to make a simple toothbrush, although not aesthetically pleasing, it was still quite practical. However, toothpaste was difficult to produce, despite having materials like slaked lime powder, they couldn't solidify it, so he could only continue rinsing his mouth with salt water in frustration.

  It's been five days since the hotel opened, and with the full Manchu banquet and new French wine, the hotel has always been in a state of full occupancy. For safety reasons, I asked He Niang to invite ten retired soldiers to serve as guards, divided into two shifts, five during the day and five at night. Therefore, he was not worried about anyone causing trouble, so they were all practicing "Changsheng Jue" at home with peace of mind. That evening, when it was time for dinner, Li Yuan looked worried, probably because something had happened in the imperial court that was troubling him, but it wasn't convenient to ask.

  "Alas!" Li Yuan sighed.

  "What's wrong? Is there anything else that can trouble you?" asked Du Xian with concern.

  "It's not about the new wine shop that just opened." Li Yuan paused and continued, "This morning at court, Crown Prince Yang Guang, under Yuwen Huaji's instigation, wanted to try something fresh."

  "This has nothing to do with you!" Du Xian said indifferently.

  "It was originally unrelated, but isn't the wine tower divided into four layers? Yet to this day no one has ever entered the fourth layer, so the crown prince wants to enter and taste it, asking if we have any methods?" Li Yuan sighed again, saying "And that bastard Yuwen Huaji actually said I had a method, in the end I couldn't avoid taking on this task. You should know that the emperor's health is deteriorating day by day, the crown prince will definitely take over, and if we can't think of a way now, our family's prospects will be worrying once he takes over."

  After listening to Li Yuan's words, Dou Xian also frowned. Li Jiancheng hesitated and was undecided about whether to reveal the truth or not. Ah! That's right, he suddenly thought of something and smiled.

  My mother saw me laughing and said in a bad temper: "You little brat, now that the family's prospects are worrying, you still have the mood to laugh?"

  "I've suddenly thought of a way," Li Jiancheng said with feigned delight, then asked, "Father, do you still remember that time I went out and saved someone?"

  "Are you referring to that time when you helped that woman pay her taxes? What does this have to do with the current matter?" Li Yuan asked in puzzlement.

  "The last time I went to the restaurant with my mother, it was she who took us to the third floor. I also heard that she is the deputy owner of the restaurant. I think maybe she has a pass to enter the fourth floor." Li Jiancheng said so.

  "Really!" Li Yuan's eyes lit up, but soon dimmed again. "Although that's true, you only helped them with some trivial matters in the past. Now what we need is proof from the fourth floor. Someone even offered 100 million yuan to buy it, but no one knows if they'll still remember you."

  Li Jiancheng wiped the sweat off his brow, just to avoid exposing his excuse. "In any case, I'll go and try my luck, it's always better than having no hope at all." Li Jiancheng said with a serious tone, even he himself was impressed by his own performance, wondering why he hadn't chosen acting as his profession in his past life.

  "So, Cheng Er, you go and run an errand." Li Yuan said helplessly.

  The next morning, Li Jiancheng practiced Tai Chi and "Changsheng Jue" after breakfast. He came to the wine house at a moderate pace. In order not to attract attention from others, he deliberately went to the counter and shouted: "Excuse me, is Mr. He around?" The one sitting at the counter was Ye Niang. When she saw him about to speak, she was stopped by his hand gesture. After a while, He Niang came over. Only then did the two of them walk into the adjacent courtyard to talk.

  "It's been a long time since you've shown up, Boss. You're really taking it easy." He Yini had gotten familiar with Li Jiancheng's temper after being around him for so long, so she spoke to him in a very casual manner.

  "That's not with you watching, I'm at ease!" Then Li Jiancheng told her the purpose of this trip, asking them to prepare well. As for the jade token, he had it on him, so there was no need to find her to take it. Coming here was just a formality.

  "As for that day, the prince's people will arrive, you don't need to panic, just do your job well and that's it. Also, no matter what, don't expose my identity." Li Jiancheng instructed anxiously, worried that they would reveal his identity under pressure from those officials.

  "Yes, I know what to do." Aunt He replied seriously, she also knew that his identity was not good to expose, so she also secretly raised her guard.

  "Well, if there's nothing else, I'll take my leave!" Li Jiancheng said.

  "Huh? Ah, I just remembered something." Li Jiancheng had just reached the door when he was called back. He could only turn his head gloomily to see what she wanted to say: "Hehe! That little girl from the Dugu family has come here several times, asking if anyone has seen you arrive, and if you do arrive, someone should be sent to inform her immediately." Aunt He smiled with a sly expression.

  Under He Yi's gaze, Li Jiancheng could only flee in defeat. As she watched him escape, He Yi thought to herself: Jiancheng will surely achieve great things in the future, it's just that Yao'er's status is not worthy of him. Otherwise, with his easy-going personality, Yao'er would also have a good ending, alas!

  As he came out of the wine tower, Li Jiancheng decided not to return so quickly, otherwise it would be too simple for him to complete his task, and Li Yuan might still have doubts. With this in mind, he deliberately strolled around the city, east and west, until Li Yuan was about to finish his court session before returning.

  As soon as he entered the house, Li Jiancheng saw Li Yuan sitting in the main hall, drinking cup after cup of tea. When he saw Li Jiancheng return, he walked up quickly with a mixture of three and two steps. "Cheng'er, how was it?" Li Yuan asked with an expectant face.

  "Ah!" Hearing Li Jiancheng's sigh, Li Yuan's face changed, but he still comforted him, "Forget it..." However, before Li Yuan could finish speaking, he was interrupted by Li Jiancheng's next words, "We finally managed to get a pass to enter the fourth floor." He then took out a jade card with the number one printed on it. Of course, Li Yuan didn't know that this was the VIP card for the wine tower. After taking it and seeing the words "West Travel Inn" engraved on it, he finally believed him. However, he quickly regained his composure and said, "You little brat, you think you can fool your old man? I think you're asking for a beating." Li Yuan's mood greatly improved, and he also started joking around. "Haha, our family now has not only a VIP card for the third floor but also one for the fourth floor. Next time we can go show off properly." Seeing Li Yuan's childish behavior left Li Jiancheng speechless.

  ……

  The next day, when it was almost time to eat, Li Yuan returned. Just as Li Jiancheng was about to ask him why he came back so early today, Li Yuan spoke up: "Quickly, get ready and come out with me."

  "Where are you going?" Li Jiancheng asked in surprise.

  Li Yuan simply said that he had obtained the certificate to enter the fourth floor, and everyone asked him how he got it. Li Yuan told them about his help to the agent of the wine shop owner, which interested Yang Guang, and others might also want to get this certificate, so they all wanted to see what he looked like. Li Yuan agreed, and let the prince take a look, leaving an impression for future reference, as extraordinary success is not something that can be achieved overnight.

  After learning the truth, Li Jiancheng could only helplessly re-dress and follow behind Li Yuan's back. When they arrived at the wine tower, he saw that many people had already arrived, including Yuwen Chengdu, the second strongest man in the world, and his father Yuwen Huaji. Of course, strength and martial arts were different, otherwise, letting strong people participate in boxing matches would be enough, and there would be no need for any skills.

  "The Crown Prince has arrived..." After a while, the future Emperor Yang of Sui, Yang Guang, finally arrived.