Chapter 264: The Wind in the Royal Capital Has Changed Direction!

"Several envoys, you have traveled far; as the First Prince of the Griffins, I have specially prepared some gifts for you today. Please, do not stand on ceremony!"

The First Prince of the Griffins, clad in a luxurious purple maple-leaf robe embroidered with golden patterns, sat beside the king's throne.

With the Griffin King having departed, it was as if he had become the master of the banquet hall.

At his words, a line of slender maids filed in through the great doors.

The maids carried trays in groups of three, forming a single row before the four envoys.

The red cloth covering the trays was lifted, revealing the gifts bestowed by the First Prince of the Griffins.

Most eye-catching were the night-shining pearls; in the first tray of each group lay three night-shining pearls, each the size of a chicken egg.

One must know that while night-shining pearls the size of longans were worth one gold coin, and those the size of lychees five gold coins,

once they reached the size of a chicken egg, their value would multiply, easily reaching thirty or fifty gold coins.

Thus, among the gifts before these four envoys, the night-shining pearls alone were worth at least one hundred seventy or eighty gold coins per person.

Besides the night-shining pearls, there were also beast cores and golden sculptures.

All told, each envoy would receive at least four hundred gold coins.

The total expenditure for the four envoys was worth around fifteen hundred gold coins.

It was clear that the First Prince of the Griffins was truly generous this time.

"Your Highness, First Prince of the Griffins, you are too courteous. Such precious gifts, how could we possibly accept them?"

Though the envoys kept saying the gifts were too precious, their eyes sparkled with greed.

The First Prince of the Griffins understood naturally. "My lords, these are private gifts from me, the First Prince of the Griffins, given directly to you envoys yourselves!"

"They have nothing to do with the kingdom or the duchy. Therefore, please do not stand on ceremony; you must accept this token of my goodwill!"

"Your Highness, since you have spoken thus, any further refusal on our part would surely be rude! Then we thank Your Highness for your generosity!"

The envoys no longer stood on ceremony; immediately, they had their personal attendants behind them take the trays.

The First Prince of the Griffins laughed heartily. "Haha, my lords are too courteous. How about after the banquet concludes, you come to my manor for a chat? I hope you will honor me with your presence!"

The envoys were not encountering such a situation for the first time; naturally, they understood the reason behind the First Prince of the Griffins' gift-giving.

Having accepted the gifts, they naturally had to agree.

"My lords, the envoys, please wait!"

However, just as they were about to speak in response, a shout from the right interrupted everyone.

Looking over, it was none other than the Second Prince of the Griffins, seated in the first position on the right.

The envoys first paused in surprise, then exchanged glances, a playful smile appearing in their eyes.

Afterwards, they fell silent.

Facing this situation, the First Prince of the Griffins immediately frowned. "Kaelen, what are you up to now?"

"Big brother, since you, the First Prince of the Griffins, have given gifts to the envoys, I, the Second Prince of the Griffins, also wish to offer a gift. I trust you have no objection, big brother?"

The First Prince of the Griffins' face instantly turned iron-green.

His younger brother certainly did not mean well.

However, the Second Prince of the Griffins did not care at all what he thought; he immediately waved his hand toward the entrance of the banquet hall.

Afterwards, several maids carrying trays similarly filed in.

However, the Second Prince's maids were fewer than the First Prince's.

This was because the gifts prepared by the Second Prince were only one set per envoy.

Could it be that I misunderstood him?

The First Prince of the Griffins found himself somewhat puzzled.

At this moment, as the maids took their positions, the red cloth on the trays was slowly lifted.

Whoosh!

Once the red cloth was lifted, the nobles in the hall immediately showed expressions of surprise.

One must know that those present today to accompany and attend the banquet were basically families of note within the Royal Capital.

Thus, the fact that even they showed surprise clearly indicated that the items on the trays were far from ordinary.

Indeed, it was so; in each tray lay three white pearls, each the size of a longan.

Do not be fooled by their volume being several times smaller than the night-shining pearls; their value was several times higher than the chicken-egg-sized night-shining pearls.

Thus, although the Second Prince had prepared only one gift, when calculated in gold coins, its value was far higher than the total worth of the First Prince's three gifts combined.

These high-value white pearls were the rare Water-Condensing Pearls.

Water-Condensing Pearls, as the name suggests, can condense moisture out of thin air.

A longan-sized Water-Condensing Pearl could condense a small bowl of water in about an hour.

Over the course of a day, it would provide enough drinking water for at least two or three people.

Of course, you might think this is not much better than night-shining pearls, after all, river water is everywhere.

In fact, night-shining pearls are needed every single day.

Actually, one cannot think that way.

Because in specific situations, a Water-Condensing Pearl can save a life, whereas a night-shining pearl cannot.

For instance, when night falls, one can at worst use torches for light, or simply wait until dawn.

But in places where water is scarce, if moisture cannot be replenished, three days will claim a life.

Indeed, in the neighboring desert, it would not even take three days; one or two days would be enough to kill a person from thirst.

Therefore, this is the true value of the Water-Condensing Pearl.

At sea or in the desert, having one is equivalent to having a continuous source of pure water.

Furthermore, Water-Condensing Pearls are rarer than night-shining pearls, which accounts for their higher value.

At this moment, the attention of the four envoys was indeed entirely drawn to the few Condensed Water Pearls.

"Are these Condensed Water Pearls?"

"That is correct, esteemed envoys. This is a batch of Condensed Water Pearls I managed to find with great difficulty along the coast some time ago!"

"Upon learning that you envoys from the West are arriving today, I have decided to present them to you, for the West is mostly composed of gobi and deserts; that is where Condensed Water Pearls ought to appear!"

"Please, esteemed envoys, do not refuse. This is also a gift I am giving you in my personal capacity, unrelated to the Kingdom or the Duchy!"

Shortly after, several maids carefully placed the trays on the long table before the envoys.

The envoys, their expressions agitated, reached out to touch the Condensed Water Pearls.

The instant they touched the Condensed Water Pearls, they immediately felt the abundance of water droplets on their surfaces.

Instantly, joyous smiles appeared on their faces!

"Then we thank Your Highness, the Second Prince!" The envoys delayed no longer, as if fearing the Condensed Water Pearls would be taken back if they waited even a moment.

"Esteemed envoys, it is a great honor that you like the gifts I have given!"

"By the way, I have also prepared wine and delicacies within the manor tonight. I hope you, esteemed sirs, will join us after this banquet concludes, so we may share a few drinks!"

Swish!

If merely giving gifts was not enough to signify anything.

But now, competing with the First Prince to invite the envoys, the open struggle was laid bare for all to see.

This caused an uproar among the nobles present.

In the past, they had heard of the rivalry between the Second Prince and the First Prince.

But never had it been displayed so openly as it was today.

After all, the Griffin Kingdom is a land of primogeniture; from the day the First Prince was born, his status was automatically assumed by everyone to be one rank higher than the other princes.

Yet now the Second Prince has directly exposed the conflict, and the implications of this are worth deep contemplation by all the nobles.

The winds of the Royal Capital may very well be about to change!