Chapter 93 - Is This Your New Work?
Chapter 93: Is This Your New Work?
Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
The Forging Division has records of Grand Craftsmen? Zhou Shu had forgotten about this.
It was mainly because he didn’t know many people in the Forging Division. Other than the grand minister, Yin Wuyou, and her subordinates, he didn’t know any of the higher-ups of the Forging Division.
The Forging Division still had archives. If Yang Hong hadn’t mentioned it, Zhou Shu wouldn’t have even known.
But when he thought about it, it made sense.
Although not every Grand Craftsman was under the jurisdiction of the Forging Division, the Forging Division definitely had detailed information about them. Grand Craftsmen were already high-ranking officials of the Imperial Court, so how could the Imperial Court not have their records?
Zhou Shu thought, I really have to find a way to take a look at the Forging Division’s archives.
He hadn’t asked about Zhu Chuanfeng on a whim. He was seriously investigating.
Although Zhu Chuanfeng hadn’t done anything to him since the monthly workshop examination, he knew that Zhu Chuanfeng wouldn’t give up so easily.
As the saying goes, one should not do anything more than three times. The first time, Zhu Chuanfeng had sent Xiao Zongshui and Zhen Cai, but both of them had died.
The second time, Zhu Chuanfeng had incited the four ministers of the Forging Division to attack the 0th Workshop, but they had also returned empty-handed.
If he made a move for the third time, it would probably be like a strike of thunder.
Grand Craftsmen were not ordinary people. Their capability was definitely beyond the imagination of ordinary people.
It could be said that if a Grand Craftsman was willing to go all out, they could even ask a third-rank Grandmaster to help them!
A Grandmaster would be able to solve 99% of problems!
Zhu Chuanfeng might have looked down on Zhou Shu previously because he was just a mere Forging Apprentice. But after two failures, he definitely wouldn’t think that way anymore. When he struck again, he would definitely treat it seriously.
This was why Zhou Shu was trying his best to investigate Zhu Chuanfeng.
If he didn’t deal with this knife hanging above his head, he would never be able to rest at ease.
To be honest, if not for the fact that killing a Grand Craftsman would affect him too much, Zhou Shu would have already killed Zhu Chuanfeng.
To assassinate Zhu Chuanfeng wasn’t too difficult for Zhou Shu.
The difficult part of this matter was how he would escape after killing Zhu Chuanfeng!
Even though Zhou Shu could be considered someone whose name was already known to Emperor Yuan Feng, he was still incomparable to a Grand Craftsman.
If others found out that he had killed Zhu Chuanfeng, there would only be one outcome waiting for him—to pay with his life.
Zhou Shu raised his wine cup and said to Yang Hong and Cheng Yong, “Thank you for today. Come, let’s drink.”
He didn’t ask any more questions about Zhu Chuanfeng. If he asked too much, it would easily arouse suspicion.
Moreover, with Yang Hong’s and Cheng Yong’s positions, they probably wouldn’t know too much.
Subsequently, under Zhou Shu’s deliberate guidance, the atmosphere became more and more relaxed. In the end, Yang Hong and Cheng Yong were both a little drunk.
After calling for a sedan chair to send them away, Zhou Shu staggered out of the restaurant.
After walking two streets away, a white mist steamed from his body, and he reeked of alcohol.
A moment later, Zhou Shu no longer looked drunk, and his eyes were frighteningly bright.
He looked in the direction of the Zhu residence, then in another direction. After a moment of hesitation, he walked in another direction.
He had already investigated the Zhu residence. If he went there again, he probably wouldn’t be able to find anything new.
Based on what he had found inside the Zhu residence alone, Zhou Shu was unable to deduce what evidence he could use against Zhu Chuanfeng.
There were too many heaven-grade weapons in the secret chamber?
Even if this was made public, Zhu Chuanfeng could always explain that he was just hiding his strength. No one had a rule that every weapon forged by a Grand Craftsman had to be made known to the public.
In the end, Zhu Chuanfeng’s collection of heaven-grade weapons wasn’t actually a problem. It was just that Zhou Shu’s intuition told him that this didn’t make sense, so he decided to investigate further.
If not for the fact that he was at odds with Zhu Chuanfeng, Zhou Shu wouldn’t even spend time investigating him.
…
“Your Highness, Superintendent Zhou is requesting an audience.”
In the princess’s residence, Yin Wuyou was sitting in front of a window and reading a book with her hair down. The candlelight shone on her flawless side profile, giving her a tranquil beauty.
“Now?” Yin Wuyou raised an eyebrow. “What time is it?”
“Seven in the evening,” Haitang replied.
“It’s already so late. What’s so urgent?” Yin Wuyou frowned.
Seven o’clock in the evening was naturally not too late in Zhou Shu’s previous world.
But this world was similar to the ancient times on Earth. People worked when the sun rose and rested when the sun set. Seven in the evening was indeed not considered early.
“Superintendent Zhou didn’t say.” Haitang shook her head.
“Where is he now?” Yin Wuyou asked.
“He’s waiting in the front hall.”
“Let’s go and meet him.” Yin Wuyou put down the book in her hand and stood up.
Just as she lifted her foot, she paused for a moment and asked Haitang to get her a golden hairpin. She tied her hair up simply before continuing to walk.
Zhou Shu was sitting in the front hall of the princess’s residence, sipping some tea. From the corner of his eye, he saw Yin Wuyou walking in.
It wasn’t Zhou Shu’s first time seeing Yin Wuyou, but every time he saw her, he would be stunned.
Yin Wuyou was dressed differently today. Perhaps it was because she was in her residence, but she was dressed very casually.
She was wearing a simple white dress, and her hair was casually tied up behind her head, revealing her slender neck.
“The night is quiet; they flourish like light, saturated with the cold moonlight,” Zhou Shu couldn’t help saying, lost in thought.
“What did you say?” Yin Wuyou was already three feet away from Zhou Shu. A delicate fragrance entered Zhou Shu’s nostrils.
“Nothing.” Zhou Shu shook his head. He had seen the world in his previous life. What kind of beauty had he not seen? She was just a little girl!
Even so, Zhou Shu couldn’t help but take a few more glances at Yin Wuyou.
Yin Wuyou didn’t continue probing and instead asked, “Why are you here so late at night? Has the 0th Workshop developed a new weapon?”
“It’s not that easy to develop new weapons.” Zhou Shu wanted to roll his eyes. A standard weapon didn’t require much skill, but this was only relative to a ranked weapon. However, from a certain point of view, it also required skill.
It wasn’t something that could be developed in one day.
“The 0th Workshop just produced the Autumn Anatidae Plume Saber. Grand Minister, do you have to rush me like this?” Zhou Shu said.
“In that case, why are you here?” Yin Wuyou asked.
“There’s a small matter that I would like to trouble you with,” Zhou Shu said while cupping his hands.
“Speak.” Yin Wuyou walked to a chair in the hall and sat down. Following her movements, a graceful silhouette flashed past.
“It’s like this. I want to take a look at the relevant information regarding the Grand Craftsmen of our Forging Division.” Zhou Shu went straight to the point.
If he only wanted to see Zhu Chuanfeng’s, it might be a bit suspicious. But Zhu Chuanfeng wasn’t the only Grand Craftsman in Great Xia.
“Information about the Grand Craftsmen? What for?” Yin Wuyou didn’t suspect anything.
“Although I’m only a Forging Apprentice now, I have my dreams. I also dream of becoming a Grand Craftsman one day,” Zhou Shu said.
“As the saying goes, seeing the talents makes one think twice. I want to see the experiences of all the Grand Craftsmen so that I can learn from them.”
This was an excuse that Zhou Shu had come up with. Although it sounded a bit fake, it also made sense.
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“I see,” Yin Wuyou said lightly.
It was a good thing that Zhou Shu wanted to improve. If he could really become a Grand Craftsman, it would be a blessing for Great Xia.
As for looking through the experiences of Grand Craftsmen, it was hard to say if they would be of any use.
Yin Wuyou didn’t doubt Zhou Shu’s intentions. Although the information regarding Grand Craftsmen was considered confidential, Zhou Shu belonged to the Forging Division, so there was no harm in taking a look.
“Ever since Great Xia was established, there have been a total of 1,398 Grand Craftsmen. Each one of them has experienced enough to write a thick book. Do you want to read all their information?” Yin Wuyou solemnly said.
There are actually so many Grand Craftsmen in the history of Great Xia? Zhou Shu was slightly surprised.
But after he thought about it, it was normal. Great Xia had existed for nearly a thousand years. Even if there was only one Grand Craftsman every year, there would be at least a thousand of them. A thousand of them were scattered throughout the long river of history. This wasn’t a lot.
One had to know that in Zhou Shu’s previous life, China had been founded several decades ago, and there were thousands of academicians in both the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the Chinese Academy of Engineering.
Grand Craftsmen were more valuable than the academicians of the two academies.
“There are so many. I’m sure I won’t be able to finish them all in a while,” Zhou Shu said.
The information of more than a thousand Grand Craftsmen was equivalent to more than a thousand books. One year might not even be enough if he read all of them once.
“I’ll pick a few to read first.”
“Tell me who you want to read about. I’ll get someone to bring the information over.”
In the Forging Division, Zhou Shu was the only person under her direct control. She naturally wouldn’t reject such a small request.
This was nothing to her.
Zhou Shu pondered for a moment. He didn’t know much about Great Xia’s Grand Craftsmen. There weren’t many names that he could name.
“Grand Minister, are there any Grand Craftsmen who came from ordinary backgrounds?” Zhou Shu asked.
Yin Wuyou glanced at Zhou Shu and understood.
Zhou Shu himself was a Forging Apprentice and from a humble background. He wanted to find some Grand Craftsmen who had started out similar to him and see how they became Grand Craftsmen.
He had put in a lot of effort.
Yin Wuyou fell into deep thought. After becoming the grand minister of the Forging Division, Yin Wuyou had done some homework. Even if she didn’t know all of the Grand Craftsmen in the history of Great Xia, she knew those that were still alive.
“There are only a few people who came from ordinary backgrounds and relied solely on their own hard work to advance to Grand Craftsman. Although there aren’t many, there are still a few,” Yin Wuyou said. “For example, Grand Craftsman Zhu Chuanfeng, Grand Craftsman Zhang Tingyuan from decades ago, and Grand Craftsman Mo Han, who was famous a hundred years ago.”
Yin Wuyou said a few names. Other than Zhu Chuanfeng, Zhou Shu had never heard of anyone else.
But as long as Zhu Chuanfeng was among them, he didn’t care about anyone else.
“Just the few of them first. Thank you, Grand Minister!” Zhou Shu cupped his hands and expressed his gratitude.
“Alright, I’ll get someone to send their information to the 0th Workshop. Be careful not to let anyone see it. Return it after reading it,” Yin Wuyou said.
Zhou Shu agreed and left.
He was about to step out of the princess’s residence when he suddenly heard Yin Wuyou’s voice coming from behind him.
“The night is quiet; they flourish like light, saturated with the cold moonlight. Is this your new poem?”