Accidentally dressed as an empress

The sunlight slanted onto the walls of Wufeng City, casting a golden glow. Lu Zhen walked into the prefect's mansion.

Inside the prefect's mansion, Xu Lian paced back and forth with a serious expression, feeling a strong sense of unease in his heart.

It's really a case of misfortunes never coming alone. Why did Tieguan come at this time? Could it be related to the last batch of weapons sent to the court?

As the prefect of Wufeng City, Xu Lian has always regarded weapons manufacturing as a top priority. Especially this time, the weapons prepared for the court were made by Lu Zhen with all his efforts. What mistakes could there be?

Lu Zhen watched Xu Lian pace back and forth, like an ant on the hot pan, and fell silent. Lu Zhen felt uneasy. He had just delivered the weapons to the court, and so soon Lingyun City sent iron officials to give instructions. If something had gone wrong with the previous batch of weapons, the consequences would be unimaginable.

A guard came running over and said breathlessly, "Sir, the Iron Official is here with the imperial edict!"

The guard's announcement broke Xu Lian's meditation. Xu Lian took a deep breath, calmed himself down, and quickly walked out to meet him.

The gate of the prefect's residence slowly opened, and an iron official in official uniform and with a serious expression walked in, holding a yellow silk imperial edict in his hand.

When Xu Lian and Lu Zhen saw the yellow silk imperial edict, they both felt nervous, thinking that this matter might be of no trivial importance.

Xu Lian hurriedly bowed slightly and stepped forward to greet Tie Guan. He personally served him tea and asked cautiously, "Master Gu, are you in Wufeng City on some urgent matter?"

The Iron Official put down his teacup and said, "Then I won't beat around the bush. To be honest, Your Majesty is extremely dissatisfied with the ironware produced by Wufeng City this time. I came here to return the goods."

"Sir Gu, I wonder what His Majesty is dissatisfied with this weapon?" Xu Lian asked tentatively.

Iron official Gu Qian's face was cold as he slowly unfolded the imperial edict and began to read it in a low but clear voice: "The weapons presented by Wufeng City are of inferior quality and unusable. They must be returned."

Lu Zhen suddenly felt dizzy and couldn't believe her ears. These weapons were crafted by the Lu family's craftsmen with countless efforts, so how could they be of poor quality?

"Sir Gu, is there any misunderstanding here?" Xu Lian asked anxiously.

Gu Qian shook his head and sighed, "Lord Xu, I also hope it's a misunderstanding. However, the imperial inspectors have personally inspected this batch of weapons and found many flaws. The quality of many of these weapons is far below the imperial standards. When the weapons department presented the weapons, His Majesty was furious."

When Lu Zhen heard this, his heart was in turmoil. This matter was of no small importance. If it was not handled properly, it would probably bring disaster to the Lu family.

Lu Zhen frowned, his voice trembling slightly as he asked, "Master Gu, this is Lu Zhen. These weapons were manufactured by the Lu family's smelting workshop, so their quality is guaranteed. Could you please tell me more about them?" A pang of pain pierced Lu Zhen's heart. These weapons were the fruit of the Lu family's craftsmen's labor of love, and now they were told they were in such poor condition. This was undoubtedly a huge blow to her.

Gu Qian said in a deep voice: "Come here, bring in those weapons, and we'll know for sure."

Gu Qian drew out a long sword, and saw an obvious crack on the sword. It broke with a slight bend along the crack.

Lu Zhen's heart sank suddenly. Gu Qian drew out another sword and pulled it out with force. There was a dull sound, but only the guard was pulled out. The sword broke into two pieces in her hand.

Gu Qian picked up another long sword. The handle was bent and fragile, and a light tap would produce a hollow echo. Such a weapon would be completely useless on the battlefield.

"Everyone can see that the quality of this batch of weapons is worrying. Sending such weapons to the imperial court would be a laughing stock."

Xu Lian suppressed his panic and said, "Master Gu, please allow me to investigate this matter. Wufeng City has always been loyal to the court and would never deliberately produce inferior weapons. There must be something fishy going on. Please give me some time to find out the truth."

Gu Qian nodded, expressing her understanding. She believed in the Lu family's long-standing credibility, and she also believed that Xu Lian would not hesitate to find out the truth as soon as possible.

Gu Qian said, "Taishu Xu, the court attaches great importance to this matter. I hope you can find out the cause as soon as possible and give a reasonable explanation. His Majesty said that the entire Yun Kingdom is not the only city in Wufeng City. The Lu family runs an iron smelting workshop."

Xu Lian accompanied Xiaoxin and sent Gu Qian out of the mansion and back to the official post station in Wufeng City.

When Xu Lian returned to the prefectural government, Lu Zhen had calmed down and said, "Master Xu trusts my Lu Family Smelting Works. Someone must be behind this. Please give me five days, and I will give the court an explanation."

"Five days? I'll give you three days. If you can't find the cause, all this cargo will be converted into iron ore and sent back to Lingyun City." Xu Lian said, "Master Gu said that His Majesty wants to find someone else to refine the iron if the Lu family can't do it."

Lu Zhen felt as if his temples were being hammered by a cold hammer, and could only reply, "Yes."

This wasn't just about the Lu family's reputation; it was also about the court's trust. If the court no longer trusted the Lu family, then the late emperor's legacy would be useless. His Majesty's ruthless tactics, like a new emperor and new ministers, meant no regard for past ties.

Lu Zhen left the prefectural mansion with heavy steps.

Back at the Lu residence, the guards said Lu Bing was still sweating profusely in the blacksmith shop. Lu Zhen had Lu Bing summoned to discuss matters, but unexpectedly, Xiu Yun had also come along.

"Mother, Miss Xiuyun is from Lingyun City. She said that the imperial court has mastered advanced iron smelting technology and will probably no longer rely on my Lu family. We should make plans early."

Yunxiu noticed that Lu Zhen's gaze on her became deeper.

Yunxiu smiled and said, "Master Lu, to be honest, I heard that His Majesty is planning to build an iron smelting workshop near Lingyun City. Master Lu, why not give up the imperial ironware business and only ship iron ore to Lingyun City?"

Lu Zhen remained silent. This matter had to be decided by the elders of the family in a meeting.

Yunxiu continued to advise, "The moon waxes and wanes, and water overflows. I think the reason the Lu family left Lingyun City and came to Wufeng City is because they understand the principle of retreating when necessary."

"My friend, you have a point." Lu Zhen nodded and said, "But the most urgent thing is to solve the quality problem of this batch of ironware. Lu Bing, go and call the craftsmen over."

Lu Bing immediately summoned all the craftsmen of the Lu family. Everyone gathered in the mansion. Lu Zhen looked solemn as he scanned the faces of each craftsman.

"Let's take a look at this batch of weapons and see what went wrong?" Lu Zhen asked.

The craftsmen looked at each other, no one dared to speak.