Song Tianxing's clear stance put Qiao Baishi at ease. To be honest, the moves he had made recently had all been done under tremendous pressure, relying entirely on his own resolve to make decisions.
Judging from the Hall Master's attitude, his choices appeared to have been the right ones.
"Third, that Jiang Chen from the Marquis Jianghan residence — you've been the one dealing with him all along. This relationship depends on you to cultivate. From various details, it seems that all the major events that have unfolded in the Royal Capital recently bear the shadow of this young man. This one is truly not simple at all."
Song Tianxing had never met Jiang Chen, but after sifting through the details from various intelligence reports, he had arrived at such a startling conclusion.
Even the typically composed Second Elder, Yue Qun, couldn't help but say: "Hall Master, isn't the assessment of this Jiang Chen a bit too generous?"
Song Tianxing smiled faintly. "I have never met Jiang Chen. But I have met Marquis Jianghan, Jiang Feng. If these variables truly lie within the Jiang father and son, I would place my bet on Jiang Chen, not Jiang Feng."
Qiao Baishi was visibly moved. He knew the Hall Master held an exalted position, with a razor-sharp eye and exceedingly high standards. When he assessed people and events, he was seldom wrong.
For a young man the Hall Master had never even met to receive such a high evaluation — Qiao Baishi felt a twinge of relief at having made the correct choice.
"Heh heh, Hall Master, I've always admired your eye for people. This time, I'm rather curious — will the Hall Master be proven wrong?" Yue Qun chuckled. Given his status and standing, exchanging a few casual remarks with Song Tianxing hardly crossed any line.
With the Hall Master's conclusion, the senior leadership meeting dispersed.
Afterward, Song Tianxing privately summoned Qiao Baishi to a secret chamber and patted him on the shoulder. "Baishi, the way you handled this showed real boldness. It put me at ease."
Though the relationship between them was that of Hall Master and Third Hall Master, Song Tianxing surpassed Qiao Baishi by far in age, seniority, status, and vision.
It could even be said that Song Tianxing intended to groom Qiao Baishi as his successor.
Qiao Baishi was flattered and hastily offered a few humble words.
"Baishi, this young man Jiang Chen — you must not neglect him. Have you ever taken stock of just how many incredible things have happened around him?"
"Your subordinate is slow-witted. I humbly ask the Hall Master to enlighten me," Qiao Baishi said with the utmost respect.
"First, this young man was flogged at the Heavenly Sacrifice Ceremony. Why did the flogging fail to kill him?"
"Second, the King himself ordered the flogging — so why did this young man later possess a dragon-shaped gold medallion personally bestowed by the King?"
"Third, this young man is merely the son of a marquis. Where did he obtain an ancient pill formula like the Divine Show Creation Pill?"
"Fourth, with a martial cultivation that couldn't even pass three basic assessments, how did he manage to defeat Yan Yiming in a single move at the Long Teng Marquis's banquet, and then easily toy with Bai Zhanyun?"
"Fifth, why do both generations of the royal princesses maintain such close ties with this young man?"
"Sixth, before the Long Teng Marquis, this young man showed absolutely no fear and openly berated a host of powerful nobles — his bearing was completely inconsistent with what one would expect of a youth. Where did his confidence come from?"
With each point Song Tianxing listed, the expression on Qiao Baishi's face grew graver. He had considered some of these questions to varying degrees.
But his analysis had not been as penetrating or as thorough as the Hall Master's.
Suddenly, from Song Tianxing's implications, Qiao Baishi's thoughts latched onto something. He blurted out: "Could it be that the Jiang father and son's backer is none other than the reigning King? And that their previous appearance of being down-and-out and low-key was nothing more than an act to deceive their opponents? And that the father and son may very well be chess pieces placed by His Majesty the King — pieces meant to shake up the entire situation?"
Song Tianxing said calmly: "Setting that aside, what other possibility do you think could explain everything that has happened?"
Setting everything else aside, the fact that flogging failed to kill him — on that point alone, if His Majesty the King had not secretly ordered it, would the people under the King really have lacked the strength to kill even a single youth?
"No wonder. No wonder." Qiao Baishi suddenly recalled the matter of purchasing the Dragon Bone Sun Grass that day. Hadn't Jiang Chen told him he had made the right choice?
Hadn't Jiang Chen told him at the time that the Dragon Bone Sun Grass was being purchased for the royal family?
And tonight at the Long Teng Marquis's banquet, Qiao Baishi had clearly felt that familiar spiritual energy of the Dragon Bone Sun Grass emanating from Princess Zhiruo.
If that was the case, then the Dragon Bone Sun Grass really had been purchased for the royal family. Jiang Chen had not been bragging about that.
Thinking of this, Qiao Baishi became even more convinced of the Hall Master's judgment.
It was no wonder Song Tianxing had reached this conclusion. From every angle, if the Jiang father and son had not established an understanding with the royal family long ago, none of this could be explained.
And given Princess Gouyu's status, why would she lavish such generous praise on a youth's martial performance?
That had clearly been a move to leverage Jiang Chen's performance to offset the impact brought by Long Juxue's Innate Azure Phoenix Constitution.
"Baishi, if the Jiang father and son are chess pieces placed by the royal family long ago, what does that tell us? It tells us the royal family began its preparations well in advance."
"The Long Teng Marquis is ambitious, yet his edge grows sharper by the day."
"One has been laying plans for ages, the other makes no attempt to hide his ambition. If these two forces truly collide, frankly, I do not favor the Long Teng Marquis's chances. Unless—" Song Tianxing stopped at this point. Clearly, the possibility behind that "unless" gave even him a sense of deep wariness.