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Chapter 255 The Secret

Zhu Cheng hesitated for a moment, then weighed the knife in his hand and looked at a stone pillar that was so thick that two people could barely encircle it. He then gathered his strength and slashed the stone pillar with his knife.

With a clang, the blade struck the stone pillar with tremendous force, then shuddered and broke in two. One half, still attached to the hilt, remained in Zhu Cheng's hand, while the other half fell to the ground with another clang.

The sound of the dagger hitting the ground was far less loud than the sound of it striking the stone pillar, but it felt like a heavy hammer blow to Zhu Cheng's heart, making him jump and feel terrified. In an instant, the hairs on his back stood on end, and goosebumps rose all over his body. Soon, his undergarment was soaked with cold sweat that instantly broke out all over his body.

If his son-in-law hadn't insisted on inspecting the weapons as the Prince of Xiaoyao, he probably wouldn't have opened the boxes until the shipment was about to begin.

After all, when the goods were delivered, I showed him several swords and knives, and they were indeed fine before he agreed to seal them.

Who would have thought there would be such a huge shady deal involved!
He could hardly believe it. As if it were a hot potato, he dropped the broken knife in his hand and took out another one from the box, swinging it at the stone pillar.

The knife in his hand snapped in two again, just like the previous one.

Zhu Cheng's panic was no longer concealed; it surfaced on his face, making his already dark complexion even darker.

He didn't care about anything else and hurriedly opened another box, grabbing two swords from it.

The result was the same as with the previous knives.

Zhu Cheng's eyes showed not only panic but also a great deal of anger.

He kept opening the box, picking out a few weapons at random to try them out.

The result was that, without exception, they all broke.

Zhu Yu was somewhat surprised.

She had thought that these weapons might have problems, but she never expected them to be this serious.

She turned to look at Lu Qing beside her and found that Lu Qing's brows were also furrowed, clearly indicating that the situation before him had exceeded his previous expectations.

Not to mention those few, even Zhu Cheng's guards were dumbfounded.

Having served Zhu Cheng for many years, they knew best how much their prince valued the forging and refining of weapons, how much he longed to create unparalleled weapons, and how proud he always took the forging skills of the Shuo Kingdom.

The fact that a batch of weapons ordered by the imperial court was found to be substandard after being sealed in boxes is truly unacceptable. It's as if the prince's face has been trampled on and rubbed against the ground...

As they opened box after box and tried each sword and dagger, more and more broken swords and knives lay on the ground, and Zhu Cheng's face grew increasingly gloomy.

Although he is not a particularly sharp-minded person, he has lived to this age, and the roads he has traveled and the rice he has eaten have taught him a lot, so he is not too ignorant.

The swords and knives they showed him for inspection were clearly not the same as those sealed in the box. Someone had taken advantage of his carelessness due to his trust, deliberately digging a hole for themselves.

After opening and inspecting each box, Zhu Cheng, panting, threw away the broken sword in his hand.

There were also some spears and halberds sealed in another warehouse, but he didn't want to waste his energy checking them.

Because the outcome can already be seen from the broken swords and knives scattered all over the room.

Zhu Cheng was panting heavily, his hands were red and trembling slightly.

He felt slightly exhausted, but it wasn't from fatigue; rather, it was more from lingering fear and anger.

"Men! Drag Pang Yutang here! He must give me an explanation today!"

"Father! No!" Zhu Yu hurriedly stopped him, and before Zhu Cheng could react, he knelt down in front of him with a thud.

"What...what are you doing?!" Zhu Cheng was startled by Zhu Yu's sudden reaction, which he had been watching quietly all along.

"Father, if you really want to investigate the truth thoroughly and resolve the numerous crises lurking in the north, then don't summon anyone from the Pang family for questioning!" Zhu Yu said loudly to Zhu Cheng. "Have you never thought about why a mere Pang family would have such audacity to do such a blatant act of deception?"
Think about it again. Is the Pang family the kind of people who act rashly and short-sightedly? Even if you summon the head of the Pang family now to question him, wouldn't he come up with a prepared and well-rehearsed explanation to deal with it?
Instead of wasting time listening to their excuses and watching how they shift the blame to others and get away unscathed, it's better to harden our hearts and thoroughly investigate this matter!

"Father, our Shuo Kingdom is not a monolithic entity; it has been corroded into a sieve. The problem with the weapons we were sending to Jin Kingdom is merely a boil on the surface; deeper down, it's likely already oozing pus. If it's not treated thoroughly, it will rot to the bone, damaging the very foundation!"

Zhu Cheng was used to the women in his family spending their days chasing butterflies or embroidering. At most, like Zhu Ning, they would attend tea parties and poetry gatherings among ladies of high society. He never imagined that one day he would hear such earnest advice from his own daughter.

“Father, the passes of Shuo are now practically useless. We were able to sneak in with fake certificates back then, but now even Princess Yan Shu of Jie can enter Shuo from Jin without any official documents or passes.”

If we can do it, so can others.

Weapons, suspected to be made in Shuodi, have already fallen into the hands of outsiders, including some black iron blades. Now, a large number of weapons that were supposed to be made for the court under your personal supervision, Father, have also run into problems. If we cannot make up our minds to completely resolve all the hidden dangers by now, we will be tricked by others sooner or later and have a black accusation pinned on us. We will have no choice but to take the blame then!
You are the king of Shuodi. Even if you don't care about the lives and property of the entire Zhu family, Father, don't you think about your people at all?!

Many able-bodied men have mysteriously disappeared in various places, but Father remains indifferent. If a rebellion were to break out one day, and only the old, weak, sick, and disabled remain in Shuodi, how would we deal with it?
Father, you must be vigilant and not hesitate any longer!

Zhu Cheng was stunned by Zhu Yu's words. After regaining his senses, he hurriedly reached out to help her up from the ground, but accidentally grabbed the wound on Zhu Yu's wrist.

You could tell he really wanted to pull his daughter up; he used a bit of force, and Zhu Yu shuddered in pain.

Startled, Zhu Cheng quickly let go of Zhu Yu's hand and grabbed his arm instead: "Get up first, I'll go find the Pang family right away without calling anyone!"

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