After hearing the Crown Prince's account, the Grand Tutor looked equally astonished. "The Flying Horse Inn? That's nothing more than a second-rate force in Golden Bell City—quasi-first-rate at best. If this friend of yours truly has such an impressive background, why would he bother coming to you over such a minor matter? The way this expert conducts himself is truly unfathomable. He could have handled it himself without any trouble."
"He said that Steward Niu is an old acquaintance of his. Perhaps he felt it would be... inconvenient to handle it personally." The Crown Prince wasn't entirely sure either.
"Mm, a genius from Liuli Royal City—he values his reputation and good name. Perhaps he didn't want to earn a reputation for meddling in the internal affairs of the Cangyun Great Kingdom. It seems this friend of yours is not only a genius, but also a man of integrity. He has the ability and the power, yet he refuses to bully others with his authority—very few people could do that." The Grand Tutor was full of praise, greatly admiring Jiang Chen's way of handling things.
He then looked at the note in the Crown Prince's hand and asked, "Is this an introduction letter he wrote for you?"
"Yes. Grand Tutor, please take a look—do you think this note might be a forgery?" The Crown Prince couldn't shake the feeling that this stroke of fortune had come too quickly, and it all felt somewhat unreal.
The Grand Tutor took the note and examined it. From its contents, everything appeared to be in order. However, when his gaze lingered on the seal, his expression suddenly changed.
"What's wrong?" The Crown Prince noticed the Grand Tutor's peculiar expression and couldn't help asking out of curiosity.
The Grand Tutor's expression was highly unusual. He glanced at the personal guards. "You all withdraw for now. I need to speak with the Crown Prince privately."
This time, the Crown Prince didn't hesitate even for a moment. He waved his hand. "Do as the Grand Tutor says. All of you, withdraw."
Those personal guards also knew the Crown Prince held the Grand Tutor in the highest respect. The Grand Tutor had given an order, and the Crown Prince had seconded it — naturally, they couldn't refuse.
Besides, there were no outsiders present, so there was no risk to speak of.
Once every last guard had filed out, the Crown Prince could no longer contain himself. "Grand Tutor, what did you discover? Why did you have all the guards leave?"
The Grand Tutor's expression shifted again and again. He stared fixedly at the short letter in his hands, eyes filled with shock, lips quivering faintly, both hands trembling uncontrollably. He looked for all the world like a man who had just received word from a family member lost for centuries — overcome with emotion.
"Crown Prince… you… you've missed an extraordinary opportunity." It took the Grand Tutor a long while to collect himself. He let out a deep sigh, looking like a man who had wandered into a mountain of treasure only to leave empty-handed, brimming with regret.
"Grand Tutor, what do you mean?" The Crown Prince was genuinely taken aback.
"You're young after all. Have you been sitting there fretting over whether this letter is authentic?" The Grand Tutor wore an expression of bitter frustration, exasperated beyond words.
"Of course I have. This note is so slipshod that I still have my doubts."
"Blind! Utterly blind! Didn't you see the seal?" The Grand Tutor was practically stamping his feet with agitation.
"The seal? It looked like gibberish to me — I didn't exactly study it closely." The Crown Prince could no longer sit still. He snatched the letter right out of the Grand Tutor's hands.
"Look at this seal properly — what does it look like?" The Grand Tutor's hands trembled with rage as he jabbed a finger at the stamp on the short note. "These… these are three feathers! This seal is so exquisite, so extraordinary — have you stuffed your eyes down your trousers?"
The Grand Tutor was practically apoplectic.
"Grand Tutor, what exactly is the mystery behind this seal?" The Crown Prince looked like a child who'd just been caught misbehaving, his face a picture of innocence.
"Good grief, you fool, you utter fool. If I'm not mistaken, this is the seal of the Young Sovereign's Token! How can you not even recognize the Young Sovereign's Token? You are the future ruler of the Great Cangyun Kingdom — you don't recognize the Young Sovereign's Token, and yet you go around shouting every day about visiting Glass City and paying your respects to Young Master Zhen?"
At this, the Crown Prince felt as though he'd been struck by lightning. His face went white in an instant, his voice trembling: "You… Grand Tutor, are you saying this… this is Young Master Zhen's Young Sovereign's Token seal? Then he… he's someone from Peacock Sacred Mountain?"
"Obviously! What do you mean 'someone from Peacock Sacred Mountain'? He… he is Young Master Zhen!" The Grand Tutor was deeply dissatisfied with the Crown Prince's painfully slow realization.
He continued to berate him: "Peacock Sacred Mountain is the ruler of Glass City. The Grand Sovereign's Token is the personal seal of His Majesty the Peacock Grand Emperor, and the Young Sovereign's Token is the personal seal of Peacock Sacred Mountain's Young Master. These two items represent the supreme authority of Glass City. Even the four emperors of Peacock Sacred Mountain, as well as the Peacock Guard, must obey the Young Sovereign's Token. Do you honestly think Young Master Zhen would hand over this supreme token to a mere subordinate?"
The Crown Prince was dumbfounded — completely and utterly dumbfounded.
After all, he was the Crown Prince of a great kingdom, not some ignorant country bumpkin with no knowledge of the world. Now that the Grand Tutor had explained everything, the full picture clicked into place, inside and out.
Young Master Zhen!
The Crown Prince suddenly reached up and slapped himself hard across both cheeks, striking himself over a dozen times in succession. "You fool! Blind as a bat! Young Master Zhen was right in front of you, and you didn't even recognize him. What good are these eyes of yours? Blind, utterly blind!"
The Crown Prince was consumed by self-reproach, drowning in regret.
It was almost laughable — he had actually been asking the man about Young Master Zhen. Asking Young Master Zhen himself about Young Master Zhen. The Crown Prince felt like crying, but the tears simply wouldn't come.
Now that he thought back on it, when he had inquired about Young Master Zhen, the man had even said he not only knew him but was on good terms with him. He had even hinted that he might run into him someday.
Looking back now, every word had been dripping with hidden meaning. What a pity — he had grown a perfectly good brain for nothing, failing to read even the slightest hint behind those words.
Regret. Nothing but regret.