Discuss with you

Chapter 163: Fear of being close to home

"I'm sure he didn't. I've never seen an ambitious prince so negligent in training the soldiers guarding his fiefdom. The number of blacksmiths in the fiefdom is almost greater than the number of soldiers guarding the fiefdom.

Even if they conspired with the Jie King, it would be too much of a joke considering the Shuo Kingdom was currently in a state where it could barely protect itself.

But…" Zhu Yu shook his head firmly at first, then changed his tone with a worried look, "If this continues, I'm afraid that no matter what he thinks in the future, he will never be able to get rid of the label of 'rebellion'.

After all, the privately made weapons were made of black iron, and the forging skills were consistent with those of the Shuo Kingdom craftsmen.

How could he explain that as a vassal king, he was truly unaware of this, and that someone had secretly stolen the black iron and the craftsmen right under his nose?

If I were His Majesty, I would never believe it."

"So the most important thing now is to find out how the craftsmen and Wu Tie from Shuo State ended up making weapons for Jie State." Lu Qing nodded, wrote a few more strokes on the paper, and then put the brush down. While waiting for the ink to dry, he said to Zhu Yu, "A normal woman should return home three days after her wedding. We just happened to be in Lizhou this time, so I can take you back to visit your parents on the way."

"Both Lizhou and Huazhou border the Shuo Kingdom. Which way do you plan to go?" Zhu Yu asked. "Since Situ Jing has bluntly advised us not to go near Shuoguo, wouldn't it be unsafe to go through Lizhou?"

Lu Qing folded up the dried secret letter and placed it in a small wooden box. He nodded to Zhu Yu and said, "To avoid trouble, we can only go the long way around and go to Huazhou first, and then to Shuoguo."

After saying this, he called in Fu Wen, who was guarding the door, and handed him the small wooden box containing the secret letter. "Have you found any traces of the Chifu Guards in this area these days?"

"No," Fu Wen answered without hesitation. It was obvious that this matter had been on his mind for a long time. "Ever since you and the Chief Secretary entered the Lizhou camp, preparing to find the right time to coordinate with the inside and outside, we haven't noticed any trace of them."

"Take this secret letter and walk a little further until you find Chifu Guard. Give it to them to take back to the palace and tell them that I am injured by the sword and cannot get up and move around. I need to stay in bed for a few days to recover.

Be sure to remember the Chifu Guard's range of activities and report back to me."

"Yes!" Fu Wen responded quickly, put the secret letter carefully into his arms, touched the copper mask on his face, made sure it was worn properly, and then left quickly.

Outside the door, Fu Lu immediately took his place and continued to guard there.

Lu Qing withdrew his gaze and saw Zhu Yu holding his cheeks with both hands, his brows slightly furrowed, as if he was troubled by some doubts and could not think of the answer.

"What's wrong? Are you really feeling homesick when you think about returning to Shuo Country?" He asked teasingly, "Are you worried that the origins of the black iron and weapons won't be traced, and that there's no way to clear your father's name?"

"Hmm?" Zhu Yu came back to his senses, heard his words clearly, and shook his head, "That's something you should worry about. After all, if your Yue family is tainted with this kind of stigma, it will be a big trouble for you.

If the sky falls, there will be someone taller to hold it up. I won’t worry about your worries.”

Her words made Lu Qing laugh, and he nodded resignedly: "Then what are you thinking about with that frown on your face?"

"Why did the Chifu Guard leave the area after we entered the Lizhou Forbidden Army camp?" With the previous topics laid out, and Lu Qing not deliberately avoiding him when sending Rune out, Zhu Yu no longer had any reservations and asked directly, "When you personally went to Runzhou to borrow the Forbidden Army soldiers, weren't the Chifu Guard also forbidden to approach the Lizhou camp?"

It was obvious that she had asked a question that Lu Qing felt was very important. He smiled and nodded, obviously satisfied with Zhu Yu's doubt. Then he said, "No, before in Runzhou, you couldn't notice it, but I was very clear that the Chifu Guards were always by your side, but they couldn't show up unless they were summoned."

"They were still active in this area this time, but you stopped getting close to them after you really started dealing with Situ Jing... Could it be the emperor's instruction?" Zhu Yu was surprised.

Lu Qing didn't answer this obvious question. A censor with no military power in his hands, dealing with a heavily armed Imperial Guards commander in Lizhou, was a man who had no real power in his hands.

Emperor Jin actually ordered his Chifu Guards to stay far away from the Imperial Army camp, and not even approach the county town where the Duzhishi Mansion was located.

This is really illogical and unacceptable.

unless……

Zhu Yu raised his eyelids, startled by his bold guess, and quickly looked up at Lu Qing.

Lu Qing nodded at her, as if he had guessed what she was thinking from her reaction just now.

"Are you sure?" He nodded, and Zhu Yu was even more surprised, and his heart beat faster.

Lu Qing shook his head again: "I'm not sure, that's why I asked Fu Wen to send the secret letter back, so that we can test whether our speculation is correct."

Zhu Yu nodded in a daze.

"Other matters aren't worth your attention," Lu Qing waved his hand in front of Zhu Yu's eyes. "When we get to Shuo Country, you'll be more familiar with many things than I am. That's when the hard work begins."

Zhu Yu laughed coldly after hearing what he said. "You'll understand when you get there. It doesn't matter what I say. No one will take it seriously anyway."

Although Lu Qing had never been to Shuo Kingdom, he had heard a little about the customs of the people there.

If the Jie people were fierce and aggressive regardless of gender, age or status, then the Shuo people were one-sided with more men than women.

It’s not surprising that Zhu Yu said this.

Even without verifying with her, Lu Qing was very sure that Zhu Yu's extraordinary intelligence and courage, as well as his amazing autopsy skills, were all things that Zhu Cheng had no idea about.

Otherwise, he might not be willing or dare to let such a concubine's daughter get married.

Because of this, he knew exactly what kind of mood was behind Zhu Yu's slightly annoyed and sarcastic tone.

He was forced by the situation to hide his cleverness in his clumsiness.

She is very smart and brave, but she is ignored by others.

The two people's situations are different, but the helplessness and injustice deep in their hearts are so similar.

"It's not important." Lu Qing raised his eyebrows, glanced at Zhu Yu, raised his chin slightly, and pointed at himself, "Important things should naturally be said to people with sharp ears and eyes.

As for those immature fools, once they see who saved them from unjust suffering and who helped them escape danger, they will return all the respect they owed you without fail."

　Thanks to 573602869 for your monthly vote!
　　(End of this chapter)