You smiled and said, "Sorry for the trouble, Elder Mo. Please take Mr. Du to the guards' quarters in the rear courtyard."
Then you turned to Du Ziqian. "From now on, I'll entrust the post of chief advisor to you, Mr. Du."
Du Ziqian bowed, his tone respectful. "I am willing to serve Your Highness like a hound or a horse."
Elder Mo led Du Ziqian out of the hall, and the two stepped outside.
As they walked, Elder Mo said with a smile, "Ziqian, I thought you would reveal your Fifth Tier cultivation or speak of matters concerning Azure Sea Lake. Instead, every word you said came back to the situation in the north and south. That was your master's lifelong ambition, entrusted to you and your fellow disciples on his deathbed."
"After all the effort you've poured into Azure Sea Lake, had you set your sights on this prince long ago?"
Du Ziqian smiled faintly. "Uncle, I had no intention of revealing everything. But the moment I entered the hall and first saw His Highness, I made up my mind. From now on, I'll place all the ambitions of my life in his hands."
Elder Mo grew curious. "What did you see in His Highness?"
The Maofeng branch belonged to the Confucian School and specialized in the Dragon-Subduing Heart Method. Its disciples were well versed in reading faces and discerning fortune.
Du Ziqian slowly recalled how, upon entering the hall, he had secretly activated his sect's Qi-Viewing Secret Art. At first glance, the prince's fortune was clear and pure, but layers of Azure Sea Lake's Fruit Status power pressed down over it, making truth and illusion difficult to distinguish.
Choosing a lord to serve concerned the very foundations of the Green Thatch Mountain branch. He could not afford