An Unexpected Discovery
Lu Cijian also froze, staring at the knife for a while before shaking his head, “No, the knives those people held were these.”
He pointed to several boxes not far away. Inside were knives dug from the mine shaft, many of which were intact, although some handles were deformed, which did not affect their use.
Yuan Hui quickly stepped forward to examine them, his brow furrowing deeper with each glance. “These knives are exactly the same as those made by the Ministry of Works, even better. The person behind this is truly formidable, to have found a blacksmith even more skilled than the Qi family.”
He said that the knives that could break were certainly not weapons used by the people on the mountain, guessing they were defective products.
Song Er simply said from the side: “Almost everyone in the cave has been rescued this time. Later, the Adult can take those knife makers away and thoroughly question them about their techniques.”
Yuan Hui simply nodded; he had that intention.
Lu Cijian, however, suddenly thought of something and hesitantly said, “Adult, did you hear how the war in Tian Yue Prefecture a year ago was lost?”
Yuan Hui froze, not understanding the meaning of this sudden question. After a long while, he said, “Because Tian Yue Prefecture had weak military forces, and the rebel army was cunning, they easily attacked and entered the prefectural city.”
He couldn’t understand why Lu Cijian suddenly brought this up, a year later.
Lu Cijian simply shook his head and reminded him, “The rebel army initially captured three prefectural cities consecutively. Tian Yue Prefecture had weak military forces, but what about the others? Adult, think carefully.”
Yuan Hui was stunned, and after a long while, he suddenly clenched his fist. “You mean it’s related to these weapons?”
He remembered hearing someone mention that during the rebellion a year ago, many soldiers’ weapons had broken, allowing the rebel army to run rampant.
However, the information was casually overheard, and he was busy with many things, so he quickly forgot about it. And since no one mentioned it again later, and the rebellion was gradually quelled, he hadn’t thought about it again. Now, suddenly remembering, he felt cold sweat all over.
If someone secretly swapped weapons in the Ministry of War and the Ministry of Works, providing weapons to those soldiers who were fighting on the battlefield to protect their country and home, or those guarding the city, that would break with a little force, how could these soldiers fight?
They could only be sacrificed in vain.
The person behind this was so ruthless, disregarding life and country, they are truly terrible.
Lu Cijian nodded. “However, these are just my guesses; the Adult needs to investigate thoroughly.”
Although he said so, he felt that these guesses were most likely true.
If it wasn’t clear before whether this matter was related to the Chu Prince, it’s clear now.
The other party probably wanted to rebel during that rebellion a year ago, but the Imperial Court reacted quickly. Great General Wei pursued the rebel army, and seeing this, the Chu Prince took the opportunity to also attack the rebel army, to gain a good reputation for himself.
To the point that now, when the Great Jin Common People mention the rebellion a year ago, most of them actually praise the Chu Prince.
This fellow’s thoughts are truly hidden deep, and his actions are extremely cautious. The Emperor cannot currently find any evidence, so he can only allow the other party to secretly plan.
This matter is of great importance; he must tell Song Bingcheng.
Yuan Hui quickly responded, and his face was serious until they went down the mountain.
Seeing that all those who knew about it had been put into prison wagons, Yuan Hui bowed to Lu Cijian and left with his men.
Seeing this, Lin Yanan quickly followed, got into the carriage, lifted the curtain, and said to Jiang Yimian, “Yimian, remember what you promised me. See you in the Capital.”
Then, he sat back in the carriage. However, before the curtain fell, he looked at Lu Cijian meaningfully.
That gaze was naked, full of provocation.
Lu Cijian narrowed his eyes, watching the carriage gradually move away before looking at Jiang Yimian. He said calmly, “Mianmian, when do you plan to go to the Capital? I will accompany you then.”
He would absolutely not give that fellow another chance to covet Mianmian.
Jiang Yimian looked at him. Seeing his tense expression and the coldness in his eyes, she realized something and laughed, “What? Jealous? Is it sour? You’re jealous of this.”
She hadn’t even decided when to go to the Capital, but Lu Cijian was already jealous.
While finding it amusing, she found him somewhat endearing now.
His handsome face was now pale due to his injuries, lacking blood color, and even his already light lips were colorless, looking rather haggard.
She took his hand, which had clearly defined knuckles, and said seriously, “Don’t worry, I’m going to the Capital only to check on the shop and see if my lipstick business can be done.”
Pingjiang County is only a day’s journey from the Capital. Jiang Dazhuang was seriously injured, and when he woke up, he needed to recuperate here.
She had nothing to do, so she might as well take care of her business. It’s a win-win situation, but she estimated that she would not see Wang Fengqin and the others for a long time.
Lu Cijian held her hand, the coldness in his eyes dissipating, replaced by a trace of subtle gentleness.
His large hand tightly enveloped her soft small hand. His tone was still calm, but one could hear that his mood had improved a lot. “Okay, I’ll accompany you then.”
Jiang Yimian smiled. “Okay, but your main task now is to recover well. Only when you are better can you accompany me to the Capital.”
Lu Cijian nodded, softly humming, his lips curving slightly upwards.
The two held hands and returned to the study, only to see Wang San waiting at the door. Jiang Yimian quickly withdrew her hand.
Wang San pretended not to see, suppressing his excitement, and respectfully said, “Young Master, the Master sent a message.”
Jiang Yimian, seeing he had something to deal with, said, “I’ll go write a letter to Mother first.”
Lu Cijian responded and entered the study, then asked, “What did he say?”
Wang San hesitated before saying, “The Master said this opportunity is rare. The Young Master can go to the Capital with the Adult from the Ministry of Justice, use this matter to gain fame in the Capital, and secure your footing.”
After speaking, he lowered his head, not daring to look at the other party’s face, feeling a little uneasy.
He thought this method was pretty good, but according to the relationship between the Pavilion Master and the Young Master, neither of them would listen to the other.
Lu Cijian glanced at Wang San and said indifferently, “I have my own plans. Tell him not to worry.”
This incident was indeed beneficial for him to gain fame, but that was all. Subsequent suspicions would be even greater.
In addition to the discovery in the mine earlier, it would be best if he didn’t have an overt connection to this matter.
Moreover, he didn’t want to reveal his identity and return to the Capital so soon.
Mianmian would stay in the Capital for at most a few months and would definitely return to Qing Stone Village afterward. If he returns to the Capital now, it would mean he wouldn’t see Mianmian for a long time.
He wasn’t willing; he wanted to wait a little longer, at least until Mianmian liked him even more.
He was afraid that if he wasn’t around, Mianmian would quickly forget him.