Chapter 244: Palace Mistress Ning Wavers

And then there was the Nine Hua Jade Dew Wine. With Duobao Dojo's promotion and packaging, even the common-grade version had become the most sought-after beverage among the nobility of the Royal Capital.

Everyone had assumed that this Nine Hua Jade Dew Wine was developed by Duobao Dojo. They never expected that the person behind it was actually Jiang Chen!

And looking at Shi Xiaoyao's expression, not only was there no denial, but he wore a faint smile, his gaze toward Jiang Chen clearly filled with admiration—even a touch of reverence!

Yes, it was reverence!

If there had been any trace of elder-like condescension when Shi Xiaoyao first dealt with Jiang Chen, he was now thoroughly convinced of the young man's abilities.

A youth from outside, in less than a year, had turned the entire political landscape of the Tiangui Kingdom upside down.

In the chaos of the Royal Capital, he had carved out a bright, clear path through sheer force.

Everyone knew that Crown Prince Ye Rong's rise to power, his ability to defeat stronger opponents, owed most of its credit to Jiang Chen.

Shi Xiaoyao no longer dared to put on any airs of seniority around Jiang Chen. Instead, they were now equals in friendship—and moreover, Shi Xiaoyao even had to ask favors of him.

Setting everything else aside, just the Nine Hua Jade Dew Wine alone had brought immense revenue to Duobao Dojo and made Shi Xiaoyao look incredibly capable within the organization.

Jiang Chen was Duobao Dojo's god of wealth. How could Shi Xiaoyao not curry favor?

Palace Mistress Ning's mind was in turmoil at this moment. She had to admit—she was wavering.

If someone had asked before today, she would never have given Qiao Baishi a second glance, nor seriously considered him as a potential son-in-law.

But right now, she could no longer ignore this mysterious outsider.

Setting aside everything else, the fact that so many influential elders had come together to advocate for him proved one thing: they valued Qiao Baishi.

And Qiao Baishi genuinely had the credentials to warrant their attention.

Looking at the lineup supporting Qiao Baishi's proposal, Palace Mistress Ning knew there was simply no way to refuse. If she did, her Qianlan Southern Palace would find itself surrounded by enemies on all sides.

Qingyang Valley and Duobao Dojo would be completely offended.

Crown Prince Ye Rong represented the royal family.

Consort Dan represented Grand Tutor Ye Chonglou.

Zhou Gui, Tian Shao, and their ilk represented the Dragon Tooth Guard.

Counting it all up, if she insisted on pushing through the marriage alliance between Qianlan Southern Palace and Qianlan Northern Palace, Qianlan Southern Palace would end up isolated and helpless!

Qianlan Southern Palace, separated from Qianlan Northern Palace, would still be Qianlan Southern Palace—it wouldn't suffer all that much. After all, the relationship between the two palaces had never been particularly good.

But if Qianlan Southern Palace offended all these powerful forces, its future development would truly be bleak indeed.

Moreover, she had to consider one factor—the most important factor of all:

Jiang Chen!

Yes, Qiao Baishi was Jiang Chen's disciple. This realization struck Palace Mistress Ning with tremendous force.

Who was Jiang Chen? Though this was Palace Mistress Ning's first time meeting him in person, she had long heard of his reputation. If her daughter were ten years younger, she would have hoped her daughter could marry Jiang Chen himself.

A young talent so brilliant that Grand Tutor Ye was willing to offend even the Tie father-and-son of the Treasure Tree Sect—his future was boundless!

With Palace Mistress Ning's intelligence, she couldn't possibly miss this.

Elder Tie—Tie Can—had suffered such a devastating loss at Jiang Chen's hands. And what happened after? Once he returned to the sect, there had been no follow-up reaction to this day.

It wasn't necessarily that Tie Can feared Jiang Chen, but it at least proved one thing: his father, the supreme elder and head of the Treasure Tree Sect, Elder Tie Long, didn't want to fall out with Grand Tutor Ye!

That was the only explanation!

A young man like this—Palace Mistress Ning could find no reason whatsoever to offend him.

Setting everything else aside, Yang Zhao's faction was powerful enough, wasn't it? Deputy Grand Steward of the Dragon Tooth Guard, wielding tremendous authority. And what happened? He was still eliminated by Jiang Chen.

Beyond Jiang Chen's own strength, Elder Fei's words had also deeply resonated with Palace Mistress Ning.

The Evergreen Pill, the Nine Hua Jade Dew Wine, the Divine Show Creation Pill—these names stirred her heartstrings.

What did Qianlan Southern Palace need to develop?

Talent and resources!

They certainly couldn't recruit someone like Jiang Chen. But Qiao Baishi was Jiang Chen's disciple—this caliber of talent was now actively coming to their doorstep. If she still refused, wouldn't that be closing herself off and cutting her own path?

Any one of those remarkable products, if developed and manufactured at Qianlan Southern Palace, would bring boundless wealth to the palace.