"I don't know. When did this happen?" Xiaoyao shook his head. He suddenly remembered those guards' "mistaken recognition." Perhaps his identity had already been established then, but he just didn't know it.
"It was decided just a few days after Auntie recognized you. Don't tell me you still don't know?" Ning Xin'er said, her tone very surprised, because she still couldn't believe Xiaoyao didn't know about such a big matter.
"Really? No wonder they called me Young Prince before. I thought they were calling someone else," Xiaoyao said indifferently, as if this Young Prince identity had no impact on him whatsoever.
Ning Zhiyuan shook his head helplessly and said, "I know you don't care, but you should at least know about it. Sister, didn't you tell him?"
"No. Was that necessary?" the Eldest Princess said indifferently. "Since he's my nephew, he's naturally a Young Prince. Does this need special explanation?"
"..." Ning Zhiyuan fell silent. The Eldest Princess's reasoning made sense. The Young Prince identity was possessed by many in the royal family - it wasn't particularly rare.
However, since he was called Young Prince, it meant the Great Tang Empire had officially recognized Xiaoyao's royal status. Although they still hadn't clarified the situation - whether Xiaoyao was really Princess Zhuyue's child was still unknown - just based on the Eldest Princess's attitude alone, giving Xiaoyao a Young Prince identity was entirely possible.
With Xiaoyao's abilities, what did it matter if he was given this Young Prince identity? For the Great Tang Empire, there were only benefits. Trading a Young Prince identity for an extraordinary genius - anyone would make that exchange.
"Indeed, no special explanation is needed. Xiaoyao, you wouldn't care anyway. It's just an additional identity," Ning Zhiyuan said with emotion. He could feel that Xiaoyao completely didn't care about this identity that others could only dream of.
...
"No matter how many identities I have, it can't change my essence. I am who I am!" Xiaoyao replied casually.
Suddenly, everyone fell silent for a moment. They seemed to think of some things - things they had originally overlooked. Their mental state also began to show signs of improvement because of this one sentence.
Indeed, staying by his side for a while longer would bring more benefits!!
"Alright, I won't say much more. This is your identity token. In our Great Tang Empire, it can save you a lot of trouble. Even across the continent, it's quite useful. You shouldn't refuse this, right?" Ning Zhiyuan took out a token from his body. This should have been given to Xiaoyao long ago, but due to various delays, it had never been handed over.
"Xiaoyao?" Xiaoyao took the token and looked at it. The two characters "Xiaoyao" were carved on it, much more exquisite than his jade pendant, with much higher quality materials.
"You are Young Prince Xiaoyao. This can be verified among the empire's royal family members," Ning Zhiyuan said. "This title doesn't need much thought - it should be most appropriate!"
"Whatever, it's all the same anyway!" Xiaoyao said indifferently. "Now let's talk about business. What do you want me to do in Baiyue Kingdom? If it's not particularly troublesome, I can agree!!"
"Not troublesome. Just have you go and make an appearance. Diplomats will handle other matters. If the winner isn't from the Greedy Wolf Empire, we're just going through the motions - you don't need to do anything. You can just play around there," Ning Zhiyuan said.
"I understand. So Your Majesty is just afraid of the Greedy Wolf Empire getting that princess from Baiyue Kingdom. If it's someone else, it doesn't matter, right?" Xiaoyao said.
"Yes, the Greedy Wolf Empire has been opposing us recently. If they get her, they'll definitely say we're inferior to them!" Ning Zhiyuan said.
"I understand. This is fundamentally a face issue. Actually, this technology isn't really important to you, right?" Xiaoyao asked directly, and he knew Ning Zhiyuan wasn't planning to hide anything about this.
"Well, it's basically like that. If Baiyue Kingdom's technology could influence anything, it would have done so long ago, and they wouldn't still be just a kingdom! It's just one thing - it can't affect the whole. An empire becomes an empire through comprehensive strength, not one thing. Although our technology isn't as good as Baiyue Kingdom's, the gap isn't too large. At least it won't affect military strength. If it did, Baiyue Kingdom would have been taken by us empires long ago!!" Ning Zhiyuan slowly explained the reasoning, and he believed everyone present would understand this logic.
A country's strength is comprehensive strength - all aspects must keep up. If it's only one-sided, it often can't last long. So empires become empires not just through military might, but through excellence in other areas as well.
Of course, military strength can be used to solve these problems. A country's establishment often comes through military means. However, whether it can continue isn't something military force can solve, which is why people say—
Conquering the world is easy, keeping it is hard!
"Understood! Then I'll go to Baiyue Kingdom. I was planning to wander the martial world anyway, so I'll make that my first stop. After it's finished, I won't return with the group. I need to make this clear to you!" Xiaoyao agreed.
"Mm, that's fine. You can move freely then. Actually, you can move freely from when you reach Baiyue, but you need to maintain contact with the group," Ning Zhiyuan nodded.
"Got it. Do you have any other matters? Say them all together. Don't have one thing after another later - I won't handle them then!!" Xiaoyao wanted to confirm everything. He felt people like emperors often had little additional matters that they claimed weren't big deals, but were very annoying.
"Well, speaking of it, there is one more thing. Apparently, this time Baiyue Kingdom's king plans to give their ancestral Peerless Sword to this martial competition's winner. If there's a chance, get this Peerless Sword for us..." Ning Zhiyuan said.
"Peerless Sword? This time Baiyue Kingdom is really generous. Alright, I understand what to do! I also want to see the Peerless Sword..." Xiaoyao nodded in agreement.
"Xiaoyao, wait a moment. If you become the competition winner, doesn't that mean you become Baiyue Kingdom's prince consort?" the Young Miss discovered the problem at this moment.
"That's right, little servant. Didn't you say you didn't want to marry? Then why do you want to become the winner?" Nangong Suxin also said, somewhat opposing Xiaoyao doing this.
"Who says you have to become the winner to get the Peerless Sword? I have many ways to get it, even without them noticing!! Also, even becoming the winner doesn't necessarily mean marrying the princess," Xiaoyao said with some indifference and laughter.
"Becoming the winner but not marrying the princess - aren't you clearly fooling people? This could cause international disputes," Ning Xin'er said very seriously, only focusing on this point.
At the same time, the Young Miss focused on another point, "I understand. You can get the Peerless Sword without becoming the winner. Are you planning to steal it or rob it?"
"Don't put it so harshly. I don't plan to steal or rob. I'll take it openly and honestly, right under their noses!!" Xiaoyao smiled, as if thinking of something very amusing.
"... How do you plan to do it?" the Young Miss asked very curiously.
"Still planning. After I gather intelligence and observe the situation, I'll tell you," Xiaoyao smiled in reply.
"After gathering intelligence and observing the situation? Won't that be after you go to Baiyue Kingdom? Damn, you're clearly not going to tell me, right?" the Young Miss was slightly angry.
"No, this is necessary. If I don't gather intelligence and survey the environment, I don't even know how to do it myself. How can I tell you?" Xiaoyao said very seriously.
"..." The Young Miss had nothing to say, because what Xiaoyao said was indeed fact. However, she knew Xiaoyao definitely had ideas, and she just wanted to know these thoughts, but Xiaoyao didn't say.
"La la la... I'm going to wander the martial world, I'm going to be a great hero..." Xiaoyao directly disappeared, singing as he vanished from everyone's sight. At this moment, surprisingly no one stopped him, which made everyone present feel very surprised. They all thought others would stop him, but not one person did.
"This Xiaoyao, I haven't even finished talking. Forget it, there's nothing important. Imperial Sister, tell him that departure is three days from now in the morning, and someone will come pick him up!" Ning Zhiyuan said somewhat helplessly.
"Got it. Even if I forget, these girls will help relay the message to that kid!" the Eldest Princess nodded in reply.
Why did Xiaoyao suddenly run off like this? Naturally to prepare for his subsequent martial world wandering. Originally, his martial world wandering was decided today, because he broke through today.
And wandering the martial world naturally required preparation - at minimum, preparing some things that could increase self-protection ability, such as some defensive inner armor, some attack hidden weapons, and some tools for dealing with various situations. Of course, various pills were also essential, though he basically had these already. He was just missing some for special uses, and to be safe, he went to prepare them.
So these few days, Xiaoyao had to prepare many things, crafting items in various workshops, not allowing anyone to disturb him. At most, people could observe, but this was limited to Guxing and others.
(End of Chapter)