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Chapter 265 Even Stronger
The steward might not understand what Zhu Cheng meant, but Zhu Yu understood it immediately. He quickly told the steward to wait in the courtyard while he ran back to his room to find Lu Qing.

Fortunately, after returning, she wore men's clothes and had her hair styled in a men's bun for convenience. So Lu Qing only needed to help her and himself put on fake skins, and the two of them changed into the outer robes of the Prince's guards before leaving the house.

When the steward saw two unfamiliar faces come out, he was a little confused. It was only when Zhu Yu spoke to him that he realized that the two people opposite him were the Second Miss and the Carefree Prince.

He couldn't care less about anything else at that moment and hurriedly led the two of them to find Zhu Cheng.

Zhu Cheng showed no surprise at seeing them, having gotten used to it over the past few days.

He waved his hand, signaling the steward to leave, and then had Zhu Yu and Lu Qing follow behind him towards the guest hall.

“Pang Yutang doesn’t usually visit often. Yesterday, as soon as I got back, I heard that he had wanted to come over for two days in a row, but I wasn’t home and he was turned away. He said that Pang’s health wasn’t very good and it was inconvenient for him to receive guests.”

I told him the same thing on the first day, and he came again on the second day, saying I wasn't there and not letting him in. And today he actually came again.

I suspect he didn't come to visit his sister; he's probably after me, so I thought it would be safer to have you all come along.

As Zhu Cheng walked, he spoke softly to the two of them.

Although he spoke very softly and without any particular wording or tone, it was still not hard to hear a slight softening of his stance hidden in his words.

These past few days, the undeniable facts have forced him to confront the various situations within the Shuo Kingdom, and the inextricable ties between these events and the Pang family.

He himself may not have realized it yet, but Zhu Yu keenly noticed the clue in his way of addressing Pang Yuzhen.

When he ordered her to marry into the Jin Kingdom, he told Zhu Yu, "Your mother thinks you are the most outstanding among the daughters in the family. Having you marry into the kingdom shows that we value this bestowed marriage."

As a result, it has now become a "Ponzi scheme".

However, she simply nodded without making any further comment.

And so, the three of them arrived at the guest hall, where two servants were serving Pang Yutang tea.

Pang Yutang looked about six or seven parts like Pang Yuzhen. Neither of them were particularly pretty, and they even had a somewhat fierce look on their faces.

He wore a long, wide-sleeved brocade robe, embroidered with dark patterns all over, which looked very magnificent. On his head was a small gold-threaded crown, which was fixed with a cloud-shaped rhinoceros horn hairpin. At first glance, it was not very clear, but upon closer inspection, it was not difficult to find that it was actually a dragon pattern.

This outfit is quite magnificent and noble, quite different from that of ordinary wealthy families in Shuo Kingdom. It is more like the attire of the powerful and noble people in the capital of Jin Kingdom.

Zhu Cheng had not been summoned to the capital for many years, nor had he even set foot in Shuodi. Perhaps he had become accustomed to Pang Yutang's pretentious manner and did not react to his presence.

Zhu Yu and Lu Qing exchanged a glance behind him.

Clearly, someone knows better than Zhu Cheng how the nobles of Jin Kingdom like to dress now.

Furthermore, given Pang Yutang's status, the small golden crown with dragon patterns on his head alone was already somewhat presumptuous.

Pang Yutang's complexion didn't look particularly good. Every muscle in his face sagged, giving him a somewhat gloomy appearance. He was drinking tea with his eyes downcast, concealing his gaze, and he didn't seem particularly relaxed. It was unclear whether this gloom and tension stemmed from feeling coldly received during his repeated visits, or from some other reason.

Hearing someone arrive, Pang Yutang looked up and saw that it was Zhu Cheng. He immediately put on a warm smile, placed the cup on the table beside him, and got up to greet him.

"Brother-in-law, it's been a long time. Have you lost weight?" Pang Yutang said in an extremely affectionate tone. "Your cheeks look sunken!"
We're all getting old now, you can't just focus on forging swords and neglect your health!

Last time I told Yuzhen that I would get some good tonics to help you recover, but she insisted that you didn't like taking tonics and that Ning'er was being filial and was already preparing tonics for you every day, so I didn't make any more arrangements.

Looking at it now, those women are a bit unreliable in their work. I'll have someone send you the tonic later!

For the sake of peace and tranquility in our Shuo region, brother-in-law must take good care of himself!

Over the years, Pang Yutang had never used honorifics in front of Zhu Cheng, nor had he ever called him "Your Highness." Zhu Cheng had never thought much of it before and had gotten used to it.

Today, perhaps because of what happened outside, he was feeling uneasy, and when he spoke to me like this, the expression on his face didn't seem very happy.

Especially since he didn't mention the tonic Zhu Ning had brewed for him, things might have been a little better. But as soon as he heard it, he could faintly smell the hot, bloody odor from the antidote he had been drinking every morning recently, and his feelings became even more complicated.

"No need, I really don't like eating that rubbish." He waved his hand, gesturing for Pang Yutang to sit down. "Let's talk about it here."

"Well, it's nothing serious. I just heard that Yuzhen is worried and stressed because Ning'er's marriage hasn't been settled yet, and she hasn't been feeling well. As her older brother, I can't help but worry about my sister, so I wanted to come and see her."

Hearing that she wasn't feeling well and wouldn't be able to come out to see guests, he became even more worried. "Pang Yutang said calmly as he sat back down, lifting his robe.

As he lifted his robe, a breeze naturally arose, and a strong sandalwood scent immediately entered Zhu Yu's nose.

She looked up at Pang Yutang.

The fragrance was exactly the same as the one the Right Chief Secretary had when he hurriedly returned from outside that day. However, the Right Chief Secretary's fragrance was very faint. If they hadn't bumped into him just as he returned, it might have dissipated completely after a while.

Pang Yutang, on the other hand, had a much stronger fragrance. One sniff revealed that he had deliberately used an incense burner to create the illusion of elegance.

Look, he's wearing a scented pendant hanging from his waist; it must contain this kind of fragrance.

In this way, many things that happened before became clear.

Including why Pang Yutang had suddenly become so eager to visit repeatedly in the past few days.

Zhu Yu was pondering with her eyes down when Pang Yuzhen, having received the news, brought Zhu Ning over from the outer corridor.

Upon seeing his sister and niece, Pang Yutang immediately settled down even more.

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