"In books, there are beauties, and in books, there are houses of gold. The ancients truly did not deceive me!"
Princess Xin Yue was bouncing with joy.
It was the first time in her life she had managed to trick her own mother, and then escape. It was thrilling.
"I never expected Mother to be so shrewd on normal days, yet still fall for my tricks. It seems I am the smarter one."
"Hehe, military merits can be transferred? If that's true, then every minister in court must have relatives who are officials. If their merits are combined, wouldn't they reach the heavens? Mother is truly foolish."
Princess Xin Yue chuckled inwardly.
Not far away, the Third Princess, Yun Ting, also had something to discuss with the Empress. She happened to see Princess Xin Yue so happy.
She called out with a smile, "Oh, isn't this Fifth Sister? What's making you so happy? Tell Third Sister about it?"
"It's Third Sister. It's nothing much."
Princess Xin Yue originally didn't want to bother with her Third Sister, but with a glint in her eye, she asked with a smile, "Do you think my clothes are pretty?"
"Beautiful, of course they're beautiful, very beautiful."
Princess Yun Ting habitually offered praise. When she looked closer, she realized her sister's clothes were indeed stunning.
She couldn't help but ask, "Huh? Fifth Sister, your clothes are so ethereal. Where did you buy them?"
A desire arose within her to own one as well.
"Hehe, I just showed them off to Mother. Mother asked the same thing."
"You and Mother both said so. It seems the clothes Chu Chen designed to please me are truly very beautiful."
Princess Xin Yue replied with a cheerful grin.
"Chu Chen designed them and gave them to you?"
Princess Yun Ting was stunned, a pang of sadness hitting her heart.
"That's right. What do you think? Does Third Sister want a set too? Then leave your measurements with me, and I'll have Chu Chen make a set for you."
Princess Xin Yue said with innocent sincerity.
"...No need. Third Sister has already memorized the style. If I want one, I'll have someone make it."
Princess Yun Ting smiled outwardly, but her heart felt even more bitter.
"Alright then, if there's nothing else, I'll be going."
"Okay."
Watching Princess Xin Yue happily bouncing away, Princess Yun Ting gritted her teeth.
She muttered, "Damn Chu Chen. Fifth Sister is already setting you up like this, yet you refused my overtures and are still fixated on her!"
"What's so good about Fifth Sister? She sets you up and can't even give you benefits. Following me would be so much better."
"Her clothes are not pretty at all!"
"That scoundrel Fifth Sister, she even wants to use making clothes as an excuse to get my measurements for Chu Chen. Chu Chen is a grown man now, not the fake eunuch he used to be. How could I possibly give them to him?"
"This Fifth Sister, I don't know if she's doing it on purpose."
"Hmph!"
Princess Yun Ting was extremely displeased. Forcing down the bitterness and anger in her heart, she continued on her way to the imperial study.
In Qingming Palace, Princess Xin Yue was laughing as she recalled her conversation with Princess Yun Ting.
"What a pity. Third Sister is still quite vigilant. Otherwise, I wouldn't have minded giving her measurements to Chu Chen for him to admire, and then make her a set of clothes."
"By revealing the secret relationship between me and Chu Chen like this, Third Sister should stop trying to win Chu Chen over every few days, right? She's really annoying, thinking I don't know she's trying to poach my man."
"A scholar who has been away for three days should be looked at with new eyes."
Princess Xin Yue mused, her mood dipping slightly. "If I had understood these things back then, I wouldn't have tricked Little Chen Zi."
"But today, not only did I not trick Chu Chen, but I also revealed that the Marrow Cleansing Pills and the clothes were magical artifacts, tricked Mother, and annoyed Third Sister."
"Hehe~! I am exceptionally intelligent!"
Princess Xin Yue's mood perked up again.
She then fetched her brush and ink and wrote down the day's events on a letter, intending to have someone deliver it to Chu Chen.
Ministry of Works, Sword Division.
Chu Chen was unaware that Princess Xin Yue's personality and demeanor had changed so drastically since that incident.
He was currently swamped with work.
"Lord Chu, why are the court's orders so numerous?"
"Yes, tens of thousands of orders at once! The Imperial Guards, those thirty thousand brutes, specifically requested initial steel weapons. Even with our thirteen workshops, we can't meet the deadline!"
"Lord Chu, can you think of a solution? Or report our difficulties to your superiors?"
Twelve junior officials surrounded Chu Chen's desk, complaining in a torrent.
Chu Chen asked with a grave expression, "Has this kind of situation happened before?"
"Never before has the scale of imperial conscription been this large. I am unaware of any previous instances."
A relatively young junior official cupped his hands and replied.
Another, older junior official hesitated before saying, "More than ten years ago, when His Majesty had just ascended the throne, he placed such a large order to replenish the troops lost in wartime."
"However, the deadline was not this urgent. They simply placed orders based on the production capacity of the Sword Division."
"Is that so? I understand. I will go and ask the Minister of Works about the reason later."
"You all may go and continue your work for now."
Chu Chen pondered for a moment and then said.
"Yes!"
The group of junior officials left with resignation.
Soon, Chu Chen found Minister of Works Meng Yuan.
"Lord Meng!"
"Oh, it's Lord Chu. Please, come in."
Upon seeing Chu Chen, Meng Yuan politely invited him to sit and ordered tea to be served.
Only then did he ask, "Lord Chu, is there something I can help you with?"
Before the rebellion of Prime Minister Chen Yuanliang, Meng Yuan was not the Minister of Works, but merely an unpromoted junior official in the Ministry of Works.
After the rebellion, the former Minister of Works was implicated and disappeared.
The reason was colluding with Prime Minister Chen Yuanliang to secretly provide him with weapons and equipment. He was imprisoned, awaiting confiscation of his property, execution, and the extermination of his clan.
At that time, there were severe vacancies in the court. It was Chu Chen who discovered his talent and recommended him to the Empress, promoting him several ranks and making him the acting Minister of Works.
Therefore, Meng Yuan was eternally grateful to Chu Chen for his promotion.
Most of those whom Chu Chen had promoted at the time also held deep gratitude in their hearts.
None of them distanced themselves from him because Chu Chen had fallen from grace and returned to a minor official position.
"Lord Meng is too kind. It's like this. My subordinates are complaining about too many orders and too short a deadline, so I came to inquire why this is the case."
Chu Chen was very satisfied with the attitude of the person before him, but he did not act arrogantly because of it. Instead, he lowered his stance and asked, referring to himself as 'this subordinate'.
"Alas, Lord Chu, you may not know, but although these orders were issued by me, they were not placed by me."
"Instead, they were placed according to the needs of the military, with funds allocated by the Ministry of Revenue to our Ministry of Works."
"I did offer my opinions, but the Ministry of Revenue completely ignored me, even using the Emperor to pressure me. This matter is suspicious! Alas~"
Meng Yuan sighed repeatedly, not daring to look at Chu Chen, feeling he had failed this benefactor.
Damn it! Someone is targeting me!
Chu Chen instantly understood.