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Chapter 257 Sandalwood

After leaving Wen Qiming's side, Zhu Cheng headed straight for the west wing to find Yang Chengxuan, the Right Chief Secretary.

Yang Chengxuan was not there, and Zhu Cheng's search was fruitless.

Normally, it wouldn't be a big deal to arrive empty-handed, since everyone has their own things to do. But today, Zhu Cheng was preoccupied with a big knot in his heart and full of pent-up anger. When he couldn't find Yang Chengxuan in the west wing, his anger flared up even more.

Since the person wasn't there, there was no point in waiting. The three of them turned and left the west wing. They had only taken a few steps when they saw Yang Chengxuan rushing back from outside. He was walking quickly with his head down, and only when he was almost in front of them did he suddenly see Zhu Cheng standing in front of him. He was startled and quickly bowed and stepped forward: "Your Highness! What are you doing here? Is there something you need?"

"Hmph! In broad daylight, I have nothing to do with you. Do you think I want to invite you for drinks and chess?!" Zhu Cheng glared at him. "Let's go inside and talk!"

Yang Chengxuan quickly straightened up and respectfully led Zhu Cheng into the house.

Zhu Yu followed behind, and as Yang Chengxuan passed by her like a gust of wind, a faint scent of sandalwood wafted into her nose.

The smell was very faint, and a careless person might not even notice it.

Zhu Yu glanced at Yang Chengxuan's back. She was certain that when they went to the west wing to look for someone, there was not a trace of incense in the room, nor did they see any incense burner.

The Shuo Kingdom does not produce spices, and its people have always been rather unrefined and have no habit of being cultured. Not to mention ordinary people, even King Zhu Cheng of Shuo did not have the habit of burning incense on a regular basis.

So the faint sandalwood scent on him must have come from a place where incense had been burned, and the scent had lingered for a while, leaving a faint trace on his body.

While secretly pondering to himself, Zhu Yu and Lu Qing followed at the back into the west wing and closed the door as usual.

"Your Highness, you were in such a hurry to see me, is there something you need?" Yang Chengxuan asked, while eagerly inviting Zhu Cheng to take a seat.

Zhu Cheng waved his hand, indicating that he did not intend to sit down and speak slowly: "Today at the Armory, on a whim, I opened a box of swords that were to be presented to the court for inspection. It turned out that I should have looked at them, but I found that there were quite a few shoddy products mixed in with the real ones."

"What?! This is outrageous! This is incredibly audacious!" Yang Chengxuan frowned upon hearing this. "Your Highness, please don't be alarmed. Leave this matter to me!"

"This humble servant will investigate thoroughly, layer by layer, case by case, to find out who has such audacity to try and cheat the court on the weapons it requires!"

"No need," Zhu Cheng waved his hand. "I will investigate this matter personally."

"Your Highness, it's just that the subordinates were being lazy and taking advantage of loopholes. This is absolutely a grave mistake, but it's not worth your personal supervision. Why use a sledgehammer to crack a nut?" Yang Chengxuan said sincerely. "Let me share your burden!"

"No need. I've already made up my mind about this matter, there's no need to discuss it further." Zhu Cheng refused him once again.

Yang Chengxuan's face showed a hint of doubt: "Your Highness... then why did you bring this up with me today..."

"I've been forging a sword lately," Zhu Cheng said calmly, repeating what Zhu Yu had taught him. "I wasn't entirely satisfied with it before, but recently I received guidance from a master craftsman, and the forging process has suddenly become much smoother. So I'll be dealing with this matter for the next few days. You just need to know that I'll be thoroughly investigating that weapon when I return. Fortunately, there's still some time before that batch of weapons is sent to the capital, so it's not under too much pressure."

"After I return, secretly gather craftsmen for me to make up the shortfall, without alerting anyone."

"Yes, this is something I can certainly do." Yang Chengxuan nodded repeatedly.

"Hmph, those audacious bastards! When I get back, I'll get to the bottom of this. Anyone who dares to play dirty tricks on me won't get away with it." Zhu Cheng gritted his teeth and said this harshly, then added, "Until I get back, you must keep your mouth shut and not let a word out or alert anyone!"

"Yes!" Yang Chengxuan clasped his hands in a fist salute and answered readily.

That day, Zhu Cheng didn't do anything else and returned to his inner residence early. For the first time ever, he spent a long time talking with Pang Yuzhen in Zhuyuan Garden, showing concern for her physical health, her mood, and her daily life.

Zhu Cheng was not a considerate husband by nature, as he devoted most of his energy to forging weapons. Recently, with the return of Zhu Yu and Lu Qing, and their involvement in canal repairs and other projects, his already limited energy was further diverted, leaving him somewhat neglectful of Pang Yuzhen.

Pang Yuzhen had been secretly complaining to herself these past few days, but dared not show it.

She never imagined that Zhu Yu, the illegitimate daughter who was supposed to "shoulder the heavenly lightning" for her own daughter, would accidentally marry so well. The carefree prince was not only tall and handsome, but also had an extraordinary demeanor. Not to mention, he doted on Zhu Yu so much.

Privately, she had her share of jealousy and grumbling. If she had known that Lu Qing was so extraordinary and not as bad as the rumors suggested, she should have married Zhu Ning off to him back then. Then her daughter would be a first-rank princess of Da Jin now!
Even if he is still slightly inferior to the favored biological princes like the Second Prince, he is still outstanding enough in the world. In any case, it is much better than the current situation where he is neither good enough nor bad enough.

However, she could only secretly entertain such thoughts in her mind; she dared not reveal them in the slightest.

On the one hand, when the imperial edict came, it did not specifically name them to marry Zhu Ning. They made their own decision to choose Zhu Yu. Now it's a done deal, and there's no room for regret.

On the other hand, no matter what, Zhu Yu is, after all, a daughter of the Zhu family and a sister of Zhu Ning. Now that she is a true princess, Zhu Ning, as the princess's elder sister, is expected to see her status rise even higher, which sounds much better than being merely a county magistrate.

So today, Zhu Cheng specially came back to talk to her, and Pang Yuzhen cheered up, showing no displeasure whatsoever. She chatted with Zhu Cheng about family matters with a smile on her face. After laying the groundwork, she tried to bring up the matter of asking Zhu Yu to ask Lu Qing to find a good marriage for Zhu Ning in Jin Kingdom.

Ideally, one should also find a relative of the imperial family. If that is not possible, a noble family would also be excellent.

If the other person's appearance is no worse than Lu Qing's, or even better, that would be even better!

Zhu Cheng readily agreed to Pang Yuzhen's request without showing any hesitation.

This made Pang Yuzhen even happier. She was radiant and her complexion improved significantly, as if it were more effective than any magic pill.

Thank you, Tonghui, for the monthly pass! Long time no see!