Chapter 24: The True Dragon's Transformation into a Jiaolong (Part 1)

  The Zhao Guo Gong Fu was located in the Gui Yi Fang, which was already very close to the Imperial City. The horse-drawn carriage galloped for less than ten minutes before arriving at the Chongfu Gate. After passing through this gate was the imperial palace. Zhou Wenbo had no choice but to help Lu Shi down from the carriage and follow behind Zhao Taijian as they walked.

  It was then that Zhou Wenbo realized that Li Cunxu had not been attending to state affairs today, but rather watching the performances of the actors.

  Inside the imperial city, the ground is paved with bluestone, and in the distance, you can see a stage set up outside the Changle Gate, where a group of performers dressed in red and green are performing on the high stage.

  Zhou Wenbo and Lao Lao Tai Tai arrived at the area where the audience was located.

  They were supposed to be spectators, but almost all of them were the emperor's consorts and children, as well as a group of palace maids and eunuchs standing by their masters' side.

  When Zhao Gonggong went to the front and returned, Li Cunxu was still in a state of infatuation from watching the play. Only then did he lead the two people from the Zhao Guo Gong Fu to their seats in the last row, where they waited for an audience with the Emperor after the play ended.

  Almost next to Empress Liu was the seventeen-year-old Noble Consort Fu Feng, who had been closely attached to Empress Liu since she entered the palace two years ago. With her cleverness and Empress Liu's disadvantage of having no external family influence to help her, she was willing to promote Fu Feng a bit. In the two years since Fu Feng entered the palace, there was not even a hint of pregnancy, and a concubine who could not give birth to an imperial son was indeed not taken seriously by Empress Liu.

  Where is the phoenix? She has no mood to watch a group of neither male nor female performers on stage pretending to be women and singing opera, yet this is the emperor's favorite activity, so she dares not be rude, and can only put on a happy and immersed expression.

  Just as I was getting bored, I suddenly saw Old Man Zhao leading an old lady and a handsome young man walking by from the side.

  Her eyes lit up instantly.

  What a handsome young man, with sword-like eyebrows and starry eyes that surpass Song Yu, a jade tree in the wind rivaling Pan An. His whole body is filled with bookish air, but it can't cover up his elegant demeanor, making women's gaze unable to move away.

  She hastily waved her hand and instructed the tall maid standing behind her: "Hongxiu, quickly go ask Zhao Taiping who the old man and young man are behind him?"

  After a moment, the tall maid returned and leaned against Fenghuang's ear: "It is from the Zhao Guo Gong Fu, the old lady is Madame Lü of Zhao Guo Gong, the young man is Zhao Guo Gong's youngest son Zhou Wenbo. According to Master Zhao, he will be the one to inherit the title of Zhao Guo Gong."

  "Future Zhao Guo Gong? Interesting." The smile in Feng Huang's eyes grew thicker.

  After a while, this play finally came to an end. A group of actors actually walked down from the stage, smiling and walking towards the emperor.

  The Emperor Li Cunxu, however, seemed completely unbothered and got up to greet the performers, chatting and laughing with them. The most handsome performer who had played the female lead earlier even giggled and threw himself into the emperor's arms, while Li Cunxu also didn't hesitate to reach out and touch the handsome performer's face.

  This scene left Zhou Wenbo staring in amazement.

  In ancient times, all actors were male and there was no precedent for women to perform on stage. For example, the famous Peking Opera master Mei Lanfang in the early years of the Republic of China was renowned for his performances as a dan (female role).

  Zhou Wenbo originally thought that Li Cunxu's favoritism towards the entertainers referred to his indulgence in pleasure, but unexpectedly it was actually a fondness for men.

  No wonder those clever people can have such a great influence on His Majesty the Emperor...

  Seeing the calm and collected expressions of the concubines, Zhou Wenbo knew that such things must be a common occurrence in the palace. Perhaps these young and beautiful concubines were furious with those courtesans who were competing with them for men's attention!

  Li Cunxu spent every night with this group of beauties, leaving them to guard the empty chamber alone, and went to mix with the actors, making Zhou Wenbo inevitably have the idea of replacing him.

  What a waste of resources!

  The emperor and the beauty in his arms lingered for a while, then reluctantly bid farewell to the crowd of performers, after which it was Lu's and Zhou Wenbo's turn to pay their respects.

  Lü Shi and Zhou Wenbo could only kneel in front of the emperor, fortunately, Zhao Taijian had already prepared two cushions in advance, otherwise, even though it was noon, the cold floor on this winter day would be unbearable for the old lady's body.

  However, Li Cunxu's mood at this time was obviously very good. He didn't pursue these etiquettes too much, but instead had Zhao Gonggong prepare a chair for Madame Lü, and then said to Zhou Wenbo: "Young son of the Prince of Zhao, you may rise."

  After hearing this, Zhou Wenbo slowly raised his head and carefully observed the supreme ruler of Northern China, the ruler of the 10 million people of the Later Tang Dynasty, His Majesty Emperor Li Cunxu.

  This forty-five-year-old Jiuwu Zun no longer has the heroic spirit of commanding thousands of troops and horses in his heyday. His belly is now rounded, the sharp edges on his face have disappeared due to his indulgence in wine and lust, his complexion looks decadent and pale, and his eyes appear weak.

  However, Zhou Wenbo suddenly felt a kind of inexplicable and terrifying pressure.

  He himself seemed to have transformed into a young and tender dragon that had just leaped out of the deep pool, while in the sky above, a true dragon was soaring through the nine heavens.

  The entire sky seemed to have lost the sun and moon, leaving only a golden dragon body that spanned the north and south of the great river, coiled in the air above the nine states, winding for thousands of miles. The dragon's tail was still in the clouds of Yan, while its head was proudly raised in Luoyang, its eyes gleaming like lightning, its voice thundering, exerting an extreme majesty that made everyone involuntarily kneel down and submit.

  The true dragon son, his dragon power is far beyond human imagination.

  Zhou Wenbo didn't know how he was able to see this unreasonable image, perhaps it was because he had opened up his mind's eye, as if he possessed the technique of observing the aura that cultivators have, but at this moment he could hardly bear the endless majesty and heavy pressure, almost being pressed to the ground.

  But whether it was the innate arrogance of the first-born dragon or an unconscious rebellion, Zhou Wenbo straightened his back and bore the pressure that was as heavy as a mountain and as suffocating as seawater.

  Zhou Wenbo's will was now completely used to resist the inexplicably appearing Dragon Might, and he could no longer perceive the reminder voice from the system.

  Ding!

  System alert: Alien energy invasion detected. To prevent system collapse, self-defense program initiated.

  The remaining energy in the system churned up and dissipated rapidly like smoke.

  Skill variation! Skill variation!

  Original skill "Appraisal of Talent" [C-grade] has evolved into "Observation of Qi Appraisal of Talent Method" [B-grade]! Please check the specific introduction, master.

  Jiaolong bloodline activated, Jiaolong bloodline activated!

  Jiaolong Bloodline Activating...

  1%——10%——60%——99%——100%！

  As the progress bar of the Jiaolong bloodline activation was completed, Zhou Wenbo finally broke free from this illusory scene and returned to reality.

  It wasn't until then that he felt himself sweating on this cold winter day.

  From Li Cunxu's perspective, however, he saw that the face of this handsome and elegant young man had turned pale, as if he had been frightened.

  "How did it come to this?" Li Cunxu was somewhat perplexed. He had a natural liking for the handsome young man, and so was reluctant to blame him.

  "Your Majesty is the true Dragon Son of Heaven, with a brilliant and awe-inspiring heavenly authority that is overwhelming. As a humble subject, I have never had the privilege of seeing Your Majesty's face before today. Now, having been fortunate enough to be summoned by Your Majesty and catch a glimpse of your countenance, I am deeply intimidated by the majestic dragon aura emanating from you, and my heart is racing with fear, causing me to break out in a cold sweat." Zhou Wenbo replied with a trembling voice.