Chapter 2273: Myriad Transformations

Inside the Heart Nurturing Palace, Zu An had Liu Ning sit down first before saying, “You’re injured and should be resting. Why are you running around all over the place?”

“I wanted to come and see you, that’s all. Whose fault was it that you weren’t even willing to show your real self during your rescue?” Liu Ning still carried a bit of resentment.

Sang Qien and Zheng Dan snapped out of their daze.

Wait, he clearly said he was cultivating, but the empress was here. Was he cultivating together with the empress?

Zu An said, “I really did have something else going on. How about this? You can rest here, while I’ll take them around the Imperial Palace.”

“What would an empress dowager like me be doing staying the night in the Heart Nurturing Palace? Even if you don’t care about your reputation, I do! I’ll just go back first, and you don’t need to see me off either. Just take them around. It’s their first time here, so don’t let them feel as if they're getting the cold shoulder now.”

Zu An naturally didn’t really let her go back on her own. He saw her back first, and then took Sang Qien and Zheng Dan on a leisurely stroll around the palace.

Zhang Zitong wanted to come along with some servants, but he refused, leaving her feeling a bit wronged. After all, this imperial bodyguard position didn’t really seem to use any of her abilities.

Sir’s cultivation is so high too…

“Ah Zu, is that woman with the long legs your lover?” Zheng Dan asked with a smile when they were in the Imperial Garden.

Zu An frowned. “We don’t have any relationship of that sort. Just what are you thinking about? Also, her name isn’t 'woman with long legs', it’s Zhang Zitong. I owe the Zhang clan some gratitude, so I put her in that position.”

The two women more or less knew about Zu An’s background. Zheng Dan couldn't help but feel apologetic, saying, “Sorry.”

“What is there to be sorry about? Relax. Just treat this place like your own home,” Zu An said while holding their hands.

The two women's faces turned red. It was a good thing that there were no maids or eunuchs around them, or else they would have felt even more embarrassed because of their identity.

“The palace is indeed pretty,” Sang Qien said with a sigh.

“But for many who live in the palace, it's more like a prison. They're raised like canaries in a cage, without any chance of obtaining freedom in life,” Zu An said with a sigh.

“The concubines and maids of the palace really are pitiful.” Zheng Dan sighed.

“But all of that will change, starting with me. I'll allow the concubines and maids to do as they wish, including being allowed to come and go from the palace freely,” Zu An said seriously. He had been an ordinary person in his past world, so he would do his best to help the ordinary people of this world.

There were very few concubines in the harem now. The first reason was because of Zhao Ruizhi’s incompetence, since he had never put much thought into that. The second was that Zhao Han had been approaching the limit of his lifespan as well, so he'd remained in seclusion every day. Even the stunning empress had been left alone for so many years, so why would he be in the mood to look for other concubines?

But there were many maids, and almost all of them were young and pretty. Having them stay in the palace for the rest of their lives, letting their beauty decline just like that, was truly too cruel.

“Big brother Zu has a kind heart, something rarely seen among the nobles.” Sang Qien looked at her lover with a gentle expression. The people of the world knew him as a scoundrel and a pervert, while others said that he was a shameless, small-minded person. There were others who said that he was a ruthless murderer. However, she knew very well that big brother Zu was a good person, someone who was really, really kind.

Zheng Dan couldn't help but wrap her arm around his shoulder. “As expected of the man I chose!”

Even though she was the eldest daughter of an affluent clan, it was a merchant clan. As someone who had associated with underground gangs for a long time, she knew just how those with authority treated ordinary people.

Zu An hadn’t expected to be issued two ‘nice guy cards’. He chuckled and took them into his arms. The three of them sat down on a bench by the river, enjoying the moonlight while talking about the things that had happened while they were apart.

Zheng Dan and Sang Qien both felt really warm and comfortable. They had been brought into the palace by the empress dowager, and were then taken to the Heart Nurturing Palace to see Zu An. They'd been worried that something ridiculous would be asked of them. Even though they were willing to fool around with him in the Sang clan, this was the unfamiliar Imperial Palace. There were also the empress dowager, the empress, and countless other eyes watching them. They definitely didn’t want to do that stuff and be looked down on by others.

Instead, Zu An was very attentive to them, chatting with them intimately. They really felt an indescribable sense of bliss. Just like that, they spent a wonderful night together.

…

During the next day's court session, the civil and military officials were almost all present. To a certain extent, it was an expression of their stance. Thanks to the academy’s teachers, the Qin clan, the Jiang clan, and others paying visits to their friends, the initial shock from the great changes that had taken place gradually subsided. Furthermore, with the eight dukes’ Yu Rui taking the lead, everyone present bowed respectfully to Zu An, Bi Linglong, and the empress dowager.

Bi Linglong announced the new appointments; they were all within expectations. The officials always followed the ruler; that was how it had always been. That was, of course, excluding the main culprits behind this incident. They didn’t have the right to stand in the court anymore.

Then, Zu An mentioned that he was raising the leader of the Ocean races to the status of empress as well, and that she would be at the same level as the human and fiend emperors.

Even though many members of the older factions disapproved, they knew very well that the Ocean races’ strength had always been on par with that of the humans and fiends to begin with. If their ruler insisted on being called an emperor, there was nothing they could do either. It was better to have a good relationship in the end.

If anyone had to panic, it would be the Fiend races. After all, the Ocean races had been subordinate to them to begin with. But Zu An was the Fiend races’ regent as well, and he was extremely close to the Second Empress. There would naturally be no opposition from that side toward the title of Ocean Empress.

Many people realized that now, the Fiend races listened to Zu An, and the Ocean races' empress also listened to Zu An. He was the regent of the human side as well. In a sense, he was the ruler of the entire world. This was an achievement that no one had ever accomplished in history!

The last bit of resentment they still carried thus disappeared. The regent was already too amazing; who would still be so blind as to oppose him?

When he saw that no one was opposed, Zu An mentioned that there would be diplomats arriving from both the Fiend races and Ocean races. The three forces would form an alliance to fight against their alien enemy.

Previously, they had all thought that the world was something for them to constantly fight over among each other; but they had now learned that there was a far more vast world beyond this one, and yet the alien monsters still desired their home. That knowledge formed the foundation for an alliance.

Of course, it was really all founded on Zu An’s powerful influence with all three races. Otherwise, a common enemy alone wouldn’t be enough for them to reconcile, let alone become allies.

…

When the court session finished, Zu An paid Gao Ying a visit. Pei You had been watching over Gao Ying the entire time; his beard was already cleanly shaved, and he was now regaining his former vigor.

Zu An could tell that Gao Ying’s complexion was becoming rosier, and that he would completely recover soon. He could even wake up before Qiu Honglei. After all, Qiu Honglei had ended up in her current condition because she came into contact with power on an entirely different order of magnitude.

“You should already know about the Pei clan’s situation, right?” Zu An looked at Pei You.

Pei You nodded. “Brother Zu, I am already extremely grateful that you spared my father and only sent him away to serve a penal sentence. As for the further reward you bestowed upon me, I have no face to accept it at all.”

Zu An smiled. “I just happen to be lacking helpers, so of course I need to find trustworthy people. Unfortunately, there aren't that many of those people, and you just happen to be one of them. A real man should be bold and not pass his responsibilities to others. Besides, only then can you have enough strength to protect your family and one day restore the honor of the Pei clan.”

Pei You was full of gratitude. He choked back emotions as he said, “Thank you so much!”

Zu An patted his shoulder and didn’t say anything else.

…

In the following days, Zu An found a rare period of leisure. Bi Linglong and Liu Ning were perfect at their jobs, and took care of everything thoroughly and methodically.

The two of them had previously fought against each other intensely. Now, however, even though they weren’t incredibly intimate, they were at least able to reach compromises and not be a hindrance to each other. The entire court was left amazed.

The regent really is amazing. After all, not even Zhao Han was able to make these two get along!

The only thing Zu An needed to personally be a part of was Chu Youzhao and Murong Qinghe’s wedding in a few days. During the period of downtime, he continued collecting information on the monsters.

One day, he suddenly took out a strange bead. It was something that had been left behind after the White Lotus Flame burned away the corpse of the Lord of Myriad Transformations. He had known that it was definitely a treasure, but he just hadn’t really known what to do with it all this time. After that, he had been held up by all kinds of things.

When he held the bead in his hand, the ‘Skill System’ in the keyboard suddenly lit up.

Learnable skill detected: Myriad Transformations. Do you wish to learn this skill?