The old emperor, who had been drowsy a moment before, was now as wide awake as he could possibly be. He even rose involuntarily from his dragon throne.
Anything that gave off such a radiance had to be a treasure, like the two Night-Luminescent Pearls kept in the Imperial Palace. But Prince Xin had called these dragon scales!
"Mao, did you see a dragon in the North Sea?"
Prince Xin would never answer such a question rashly. He had to distance himself where necessary, so he merely replied in a loud voice.
"Father, I did not see a dragon with my own eyes. As I said earlier, the dragon scales were presented by the Haiyu County Magistrate. They were also hauled out of the sea by a fisherman in Haiyu County."
"Quickly, bring them up for me to see!"
The emperor could no longer wait. The old eunuch immediately went down, and Prince Xin handed over the dragon scales.
When the eunuch brought them to him, the old emperor held the dragon scales with excitement written all over his face. Up close, their spiritual radiance was even more apparent. They felt cool and exquisitely smooth, with a peculiar suppleness.
The old emperor had seen countless rare treasures in his lifetime, but never anything like these.
Were these dragon scales? These were dragon scales!
It was not merely because his son said so. The moment he took them in hand, the old emperor felt something unusual, as though he could faintly hear the might of thunderclaps in the highest heavens-or perhaps it was only an illusion.
Prince Xiao glanced at someone beside him, and a minister who received his signal immediately spoke up.
"Since these were presented by a local official, how could Your Highness Prince Xin know they were dragon