Chapter 648: Princess Jiayou Has Already Arrived in Jingcheng

"No need to report, I already know," Chen Wang waved his hand, his face ashen, then flung his cloak: "Go! Go see!"

Qing Wang followed closely behind, the two of them vaulted onto their horses and rode off at a gallop with a host of generals.

At the Training Ground, the soldiers whispered to each other, the murmurs spreading like a tide.

"All the weapons are rusted? Then how can we fight this battle?"

"Speak softer! Didn't Your Highness already say that the Imperial Court now holds the Mandate of Heaven!"

"Um, then why does the Mandate let the weapons all rust?"

"……"

Yong'an Armory, its great doors flung open.

Chen Wang and Qing Wang's faces grew increasingly grim.

On rows of weapon racks, swords, spears, and halberds were neatly aligned; the blades that once gleamed now were riddled with countless rust pits.

Chen Wang reached for a long sword, brushed his thumb along the blade, and rust flakes fell away.

Qing Wang seized a long spear; its tip was covered with countless pimple‑like rust pits.

"Who did this?" he roared loudly, "Where are the inspecting soldiers? Where are the armory officials? Bring them all to me!"

The armory officials scrambled, crawling and rolling to kneel on the ground, kowtowing like they were crushing garlic: "Your Highness, calm your anger!"

"During last night's inspection everything was normal! I truly do not know why this morning it turned out like this!"

"Normal?" Chen Wang looked down at them, suppressing his fury, "In one night every armory's weapons rusted to this state, and you tell me everything is normal?"

The officials trembled like sifting chaff, their lips quivering, yet not a single word could be spoken.

Qing Wang kicked him over with a foot: "Useless!"

Chen Wang's face was as still as water: "Investigate! Investigate for me!"

"Did someone tamper with the water! Or coat the weapons with something! Or dig a secret passage!"

"Yes!"

After more than an hour, reports began to arrive one after another.

"Your Highness, the water shows no problem!"

"Nothing has been applied to the weapons, Your Highness!"

"Your Highness! The walls and floor bear no signs of having been dug!"

Qing Wang's face turned as black as a pot bottom.

Chen Wang's face sank completely.

The two stared at each other, racking their brains without finding an answer; the water and weapons were fine, no one had slipped in unseen, so how could this be explained?

Thirteen armories, scattered throughout Jingcheng, heavily guarded, yet all suffered incidents in a single night.

Could humans possibly have done this?

Qing Wang asked, "Could these rusts be polished away?"

An official replied in a trembling voice, "Yes! It's just that there are too many weapons, and the armory likely lacks enough staff."

"A‑nd, also, we lack enough whetstones."

Chen Wang shouted, "Send orders! Each battalion dispatch personnel to reinforce the armories!"

"Round‑the‑clock guard; without a direct order from Chen Wang or Qing Wang, no one may enter or exit!"

"Immediately purchase every whetstone on the market and bring them back!"

"Yes!"

In less than half a day, the price of whetstones in Jingcheng surged more than tenfold.

What a windfall! The shopkeepers selling whetstones grinned from ear to ear.

At the Guoshi Residence.

Xiao Ningyuan laughed, slapping the table: "All the whetstones sold out?"

"Hahaha! Looks like they intend to polish all those weapons!"

Feng Zhou also chuckled: "Thirteen armories, over a hundred thousand weapons, how long will they keep polishing?"

Xiao Er said with a smile, "No rush, let them polish at their leisure."

Tuan Tuan stroked Xiao Feifei's long fur: "Big brother, when they finish polishing, shall I let them rust again?"

Xiao Ningyuan grabbed the back of Xiao Feifei's neck, lifted it onto the ground, then lifted his sister and kissed her little cheek: "Alright!"

"Do it that way! When they finish, let them keep polishing!"

Xiao Feifei bounced with its short legs, jumping up repeatedly, feeling terribly wronged.

"Ying ying ying! Why did you lift me onto the ground again!"

That night, the thirteen armories burned brightly.

The soldiers, shirtless, sweat spraying, ground the rusted weapons day and night without pause.

The harsh grinding sound was heard clearly by nearby villagers.

"What is this? So noisy in the middle of the night! Can't anyone sleep!"

"Seems like it's the sound of grinding knives."

"Grinding knives at midnight? Are you mad?"

The soldiers' hands blistered with blood, never pausing, utterly exhausted.

The officials paced back and forth, their throats hoarse: "Faster! Even faster!"

"Your Highness said it must be finished within five days!"

After five days, finally, each weapon once again glimmered with a cold sheen.

Though a layer thinner than before, they were at least usable.

Chen Wang and Qing Wang went through the thirteen storehouses, checking each one.

"Good!" Qing Wang's heart eased, "Pass the order down, replace all the officials in charge of the storehouses! Replace them all!"

"If there is any leakage again, behead them all!"

"Yes!"

Not long after, the newly arrived officials knelt on the ground in fear: "Your Highness, please rest assured!"

"We subordinates dare not be the slightest bit negligent!"

Chen Wang nodded: "Keep a close watch on this for me; if anything goes wrong again, watch your necks."

Everyone trembled: "Yes! Yes!"

However, the next morning, the storehouse manager who opened the door sat down on the ground with a thump.

The newly polished swords, spears, swords and halberds were once again covered in deep rust pits.

Denser and deeper than before.

He shouted with a trembling voice: "Quick! Quickly report to Your Highness!"

When the news reached the camp, Chen Wang and Qing Wang were standing before the map, giving instructions to the commanders.

Qing Wang pointed at Jingcheng on the map and drew a circle: "Jingcheng is as solid as gold and bronze! Xiao Yuanhang coming here is just delivering himself to death!"

"They lack the Imperial Court's supplies; they have long since run out of ammunition and food."

Chen Wang said: "They rushed from Xibei to Jingcheng; they are an exhausted army."

"But you! You hold the advantage of resting while waiting for the enemy; you need only defend Jingcheng firmly to secure a great victory..."

"Report——!"

A terrified soldier rushed into the grand tent.

Chen Wang's words got stuck in his throat.

Qing Wang's brows furrowed instantly: "What's the matter?"

The soldier's face turned ashen, his voice hoarse: "Your, Your Highness, the weapons have rusted again!"

The grand tent fell into a deathly silence.

Rust again? Can we still fight this battle?

The commanders looked at each other, but none dared to speak.

"Report——!"

"Report——!"

"Report——!"

Soon, reports came one after another, just like last time, and the personnel from the thirteen armories arrived in turn.

Chen Wang and Qing Wang stood frozen in place, like two stone statues.

After a long while, Chen Wang finally took a deep breath and said: "Go check again!"

Qing Wang scanned the commanders in the tent: "This must not be leaked; violators will be beheaded!"

"Yes!"

After the two left, the commanders whispered among themselves:

"If it's the same as last time, we're afraid we'll have to send many more people to reinforce the armory."

"Exactly! Plus we have to keep polishing day and night—how could we possibly hide it!"

"Just ignore it; pretend we didn't hear anything!"

In the armory.

Chen Wang and Qing Wang looked at the newly polished weapons, their brows furrowed.

Dense rust pits once again covered all the weapons.

Again like this! Is it haunted?

The manager led all the officials in kneeling, on the verge of tears: "Your Highness! We subordinates didn't sleep a wink last night!"

The others quickly chimed in: "Yes, Your Highness! No one came in! Really, no one!"

"There was no movement at all!"

Qing Wang was speechless.

These were all newly appointed; the lessons of the past were still before their eyes, so they dared not be careless.

But what is going on?

Chen Wang closed his eyes.

After a moment, he opened his eyes, his voice eerily calm: "Pass the order down, draw personnel from the army, and polish again."

"Moreover," he glanced at the officials on the ground, "drag them out, dispose of them, and replace them."

Soon, the sound of sharpening blades again disturbed the nearby residents, eliciting a chorus of curses.

Xiao Er laughed loudly: "Good! Let them polish! Let them rust after polishing! See how long they can hold out!"

Tuan Tuan chased after Xiao Feifei, running and shouting: "All right!"

Chu Yuan's eyes flashed with sharp light: "This will surely cause the army's morale to plummet."

"When the great army attacks the city, that will be the time of their utter defeat."

Feng Zhou rubbed his hands, face full of excitement: "I can't wait any longer! I truly hope the great army arrives now!"

"Hurry up and watch how they get beaten by the Prince until they're scattered like fallen blossoms and flowing water!"

Xiao Ningyuan was accompanying his sister in surrounding and intercepting Xiao Feifei: "Is it like this?"

Everyone burst into laughter.

That night, in Zichen Hall.

The Masked Man looked at the dejected King Chen and King Qing before him and said, "This matter is beyond human effort; it seems Princess Jiayou has already entered the capital."