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Chapter 256 Act according to plan
Zhu Yu then stood up. Lu Qing took her hand. Fresh blood had seeped into the already dried cloth. He frowned, but didn't say anything. He silently tightened the cloth around Zhu Yu's wound.

Zhu Cheng watched as Lu Qing bandaged Zhu Yu, his expression complex, and remained silent until Lu Qing finished. Only then did he ask, "What did you mean by the Jie Kingdom's princess you were talking about?"

"On our way back from Sunrise Ridge, we happened to meet Princess Yanshu of the Jie Kingdom, who was traveling alone in the suburbs."

She accidentally fell from her horse and injured her leg. We were worried that if outsiders discovered that she had appeared in Shuodi, it would cause trouble, so we quietly brought her back to the palace to settle her down and let her recover.

No one outside the family knows about this matter. It has been properly handled. Once she recovers, we will find a way to send her away. Father, you don't need to worry about this.

Now, Father, please stop harboring illusions and trying to confront the Pang family. If you truly want to know if the Pang family is innocent, there are other ways to make them confess themselves.

Zhu Cheng stared blankly at Zhu Yu, feeling that his second daughter, born out of wedlock, looked both familiar and strange.

Before she married, she was one of the quieter daughters in the household. She rarely sought opportunities to curry favor with him or fawn over her stepmother, Pang Yuzhen.

He originally thought that Zhu Yu was just like her birth mother, Miao Shi, beautiful in appearance but with a stubborn and inflexible personality, so he didn't pay much attention to her.

Later, when the imperial decree arrived, he thought that marrying off such a dull and unlikable daughter to him might not be a bad thing for her. After all, she was an illegitimate daughter with an unpleasant personality, and it was unlikely that she could find a better marriage.

Furthermore, with such a quiet and unassuming nature, even if she isn't well-liked after marriage, she's unlikely to cause trouble, which is certainly a good thing for the Zhu family.

As it turned out, I never expected that I had misjudged her from beginning to end. This daughter was not only not a dull and honest person, but as a woman, she also had a broad vision for these important matters and was full of confidence when advising me.

Such composure and courage are no less than those of the other concubine daughters in the family, let alone the legitimate daughter Zhu Ning, and even compared to the two legitimate sons Zhu Jie and Zhu Feng, who are already capable of standing on their own.

"Then..." He opened his mouth, trying to suppress the embarrassment he felt, and asked Zhu Yu, "What's your idea?"

Zhu Yu was stunned for a moment. She was confident that she could make her father listen to her, but she did not expect it to go so smoothly. It seemed that the broken swords and knives on the ground had indeed shocked Zhu Cheng quite a bit, and even made him lose his composure.

This is a good thing for them. Zhu Cheng has been used to interdependence with allies for so many years. Even if he accepts the harsh reality that allies are unreliable, it will be difficult for him to make a change immediately after getting used to this way of life.

What Lu Qing wanted was precisely to replace the Pang family, who had already developed ulterior motives, and to form a new alliance with Zhu Cheng that they could rely on each other.

“If the Pang family was able to pass the test with perfectly good swords and knives, it’s very likely that they had already planted spies around you, which is why they were able to know your every move and make plans in advance,” Zhu Yu said to Zhu Cheng. “Judging from the fact that the Pang family is still unaware of our return, their spies are probably not in the inner quarters of the Prince’s mansion, but in the palace courtyard.”

"I have a way to find out who the Pang family's spies are with just one test." "Oh? Tell me about it." Zhu Cheng was indeed interested.

Zhu Yu leaned closer and whispered a few words in his ear.

Zhu Cheng was somewhat surprised, but also a little suspicious: "These two were both promoted by me, and have followed me for many years without ever causing any trouble..."

"Father, what will the result be? We'll know once we try." Zhu Yu didn't give him a chance to hesitate, pointing to the broken sword on the ground. "Before we came, my husband was worried that there was something wrong with this batch of weapons. Didn't you also think it was impossible?"

These words truly left Zhu Cheng speechless, completely dispelling his last bit of hesitation. He steeled his heart and nodded: "Alright, I'll give it a try, as you say!"

Zhu Cheng waved his hand, signaling his guards to put the broken swords and knives back into the boxes and close them. At first glance, apart from the broken seals, it seemed as if nothing had happened in the storeroom.

Zhu Yu put his veil back on, and the group left the storeroom and returned to the Prince's Mansion discreetly. Lu Qing helped Zhu Yu disguise himself with a fake skin, and he did the same to conceal his original appearance. The two of them changed into the uniforms of the Prince's Mansion guards that Zhu Cheng had sent over. They went to find Zhu Cheng and followed him from the inner courtyard to the front hall, heading straight for the east wing of the front courtyard.

The east wing of the palace courtyard is where Wen Qiming, the Left Chief Secretary, usually performs his duties. Wen Qiming usually assists Zhu Cheng in handling various government affairs of the Shuo Kingdom, including mining.

When Zhu Cheng led Zhu Yu and Lu Qing inside, Wen Qiming was sitting behind his desk, engrossed in reading files. Hearing someone come in, he assumed it was a subordinate coming to do something and looked up somewhat casually. When he saw it was Zhu Cheng, he quickly stood up and was about to greet him.

Zhu Cheng quickly gestured for him to be quiet. Wen Qiming was confused and dared not make a sound. He looked at Zhu Cheng nervously, waiting for him to explain.

Lu Qing looked outside to make sure no one else was around, then nodded to Zhu Cheng.

Zhu Cheng then spoke in a low voice to Wen Qiming: "Chief Secretary Wen, I checked the batch of weapons that were to be sent to Jin Kingdom and handed over to the court today, and I found that the number of weapons in the weapons warehouse does not seem to match the number of iron ore reported earlier."

Wen Qiming was taken aback and hurriedly tried to kneel down: "This... I was negligent and did not know about this matter before. Please forgive me, Your Highness!"
"I will immediately send someone to investigate and will certainly give you an explanation, getting to the bottom of this matter!"

"No." Zhu Cheng shook his head at him with a stern face and a mysterious air. "I will investigate this matter myself. I told you about it today so that you would not alert anyone. I want to investigate it carefully in secret."

I'm only telling you this. If word gets out, I will hold you responsible!

Wen Qiming's face was wrinkled like a bitter gourd that had been baked in the sun. He was clearly complaining in his heart, but he didn't dare to say anything. He could only nod and agree quickly, and nervously saw Zhu Cheng out the door again.