The ownership of the renowned Blademaster in Chapter 41 remains unknown.
Imperial Study
Mu Chenbi had just returned to the East Palace when he was summoned to the Imperial Study. Was he going to be reprimanded for going to the Ghost Market again? Mu Chenbi looked at Luo Yichen suspiciously. Luo Yichen pointed to the sky, saying that no one knew what had happened today. Mu Chenbi was always simple and straightforward, so he didn't care if he was discovered. But... would his father already know that someone who looked like him had appeared in Rongdu?
In the imperial study, upon hearing Mu Chenbi's steady and powerful footsteps, Mu You's gaze remained fixed on the memorial in his hand. "Take a look at this," Mu You said, handing over the memorial.
"Uncle?" Mu Chenbi immediately noticed the folded corners of the writing.
Mu You stroked his beard, gesturing for Mu Chenbi to continue reading. Mu Chenbi finished reading a few lines, a disdainful smirk playing on his lips. "I'm still not satisfied. My uncle is unhappy that Father Emperor gave the name of the Imperial Blade Workshop to the Pei family."
"—It's not just him." Mu You pointed to more than ten memorials beside him. "Half of today's memorials are about the Imperial Blade Workshop. They're all saying that Xingguo Workshop has been away from the capital for three generations and is no longer what it used to be. The Imperial Blade Workshop is a prestigious name and will bear the heavy responsibility of supplying the Great Jin's military treasury in the future. To entrust this important task to these island refugees is to treat the safety of the country like a game..." Mu You swept aside the memorials. His calm eyes showed that he had already expected this, but the downturned corners of his mouth revealed his disgust for these memorials. "And then there's the matter of the hundreds of people in the Inner Workshop. How will they be settled in the future? Your uncle's words are full of blood and tears. He's practically leading a group of people to weep in the court. Shen Bi, what do you think?"
"What did Mr. Cui say?" Mu Chenbi asked immediately, then realized that Cui Jin was not in the study. He awkwardly put down the memorial. "Mr. Cui summoned Xingguo Fang to Rongdu, so of course he strongly supports the Pei family."
“Support is one thing, but one person alone cannot persuade those people in the court.” Mu You shook his head. “I rely on the Grand Preceptor, but I cannot ignore the objections of the ministers. Shen Bi, think about it for your father.”
"Forging the Meteor Sword, isn't that enough to convince them?" Mu Chenbi thought, arms crossed. "When the Pei family was renowned throughout the land, their ancestors in the Inner Workshop were still tending the fires in Xingguo Workshop. Father Emperor has already made a decision about the Inner Workshop; how can it be arbitrarily changed?"
Mu Chenbi's words were straightforward, which Mu You found amusing, but he was somewhat displeased. It was good for people to have temperaments, but for the emperor's daughter, what was required was to remain calm in the face of honor and disgrace and to keep a low profile. She couldn't very well walk into the court and point at those who had criticized her, cursing them for only being sword slaves in Xingguo Ward.
Mu You frowned. "The art of emperors is to prioritize the overall situation and weigh the pros and cons. If I insist on disbanding the inner workshop, there will definitely be criticism in the court, which will also be very detrimental to the future of the Imperial Blade Workshop. The Pei family has no foundation. You don't want them to be seen as a thorn in everyone's side as soon as they return to Rongdu. The inner workshop is deeply entrenched. It is not difficult to remove this thorn."
"Your subject has been presumptuous." Mu Chenbi put the memorial back and took half a step back.
Mu You sighed, “Chen Bi, you are good in every way… but you are too sentimental. I indulged your obsession with weapons in the hope that you would temper your will and develop a manly spirit. The court is a place for scheming, not martial arts. You are going to be the future ruler of a country, and there is so much for you to learn.”
"Your subject has not slackened either," Mu Chenbi said with a hint of grievance, revealing a touch of youthful impetuosity.
"To make the inner workshop truly accept the ownership of the Blade, perhaps... we should entrust this to you." Mu You picked up his wolf-hair brush and lightly tapped it on the table.
"Father thinks so highly of his son?" Mu Chenbi raised his phoenix-feather eyelashes. "Those old foxes in the inner palace are not easy to deal with."
"If your mother knew, you would call her own brother... an old fox?" Mu You said meaningfully.
Mu Chenbi picked up his sleeve and began grinding ink. "Mother knows perfectly well that I said the same thing to her."
Gazing at his eldest son's youthful and spirited profile, he possessed the demeanor and bearing of a legitimate eldest son, his face radiating unwavering confidence. When discussing matters with him, regardless of whether what he said was right or wrong, he always appeared completely at ease.
Mu You suddenly thought of himself at this age. The late emperor had seven sons, each with their own strengths. His elder brother came from a noble family, and his younger brother was strong and skilled in battle. Only he, the fourth son of the royal family, had a mother who was just a minor noblewoman with almost no family. He also lacked the literary and martial talents of his younger brothers, who had won the emperor's favor. The late emperor was indecisive, valuing the eldest son's nobility and cherishing the younger son's talent, but he neglected him, the mediocre fourth son caught in the middle. His indecisiveness and kindness did not allow these brothers to live in harmony. The delay in establishing a crown prince aroused speculation and stirred up many troubles. Recalling the precarious situation at that time, Mu You's body, draped in the dragon robe, could not help but tremble.
For an emperor like Mu You, his concubines and children were few. Empress Shen had two sons, and a daughter was born to a lower-ranking concubine, partly because Shen Yu had injured her body during childbirth and could no longer conceive. To outsiders, Mu You loved his first wife and children dearly. After ascending the throne, he worked diligently to govern the country. In just five years, the Jin Kingdom emerged from the quagmire of the Western Pass Rebellion. Everything was in need of rebuilding, and in recent years, the aftermath of the bloody crossbow incident had gradually subsided. The court was stable, the people lived in peace, and everyone remembered the emperor's good deeds. Mu You was satisfied with what the emperor had accomplished.
Mu You never hid his affection for his eldest son, Mu Chenbi. Mu Chenbi was his first son after he ascended the throne. He was made crown prince at the age of five and began attending to him personally in the imperial study at the age of twelve. The favor he showed him was countless. All this was to let everyone know that Mu Chenbi was the unshakeable crown prince of Jin. No one else could covet him. As long as the crown prince was secure, no one would dare to covet him. Mu You had learned his lesson before, and he would never allow the same mistake to be repeated on himself.
"Chen Bi." Mu You hesitated, as if he wanted to say something but then stopped.
"Father, please say whatever you want." Mu Chenbi continued working on his hands. "I'll listen to you scolding me a few times."
"The road to becoming an emperor is long and arduous. What I cherish most is your temperament, and what I worry about most now is also your temperament." At this moment, with the father and son being kind and filial, speaking would spoil the mood, so Mu You shook his head, smiled, and said no more.
Stepping out of the imperial study, the crescent moon was already hanging in the sky. He was feeling tired after grinding ink for so long, and most importantly, he was hungry. At this time, Cui Jin usually had a drink, and if he was lucky, he could even get a bite to eat. Thinking about it made him feel even hungrier. Mu Chenbi turned around and headed towards Cui Jin's lakeside cottage.
When Mu Chenbi arrived, he could vaguely see a figure sitting in the pavilion. The lake was sparkling, koi carp were swimming, the pavilion had four corners with flying eaves, red pillars and green tiles, and gauze curtains fluttering. Cui Jin was wrapped in a black robe, his single eye gleaming. Hearing the approaching footsteps, a smile appeared on his face covered with tattoos. Before he could even see who the newcomer was, he waved his robe to invite the guest and picked up the wine pot to fill the cup opposite him.
"Did you know I would be coming tonight, sir?"
Cui Jin laughed, refilled his cup, and sipped slowly without saying a word.
"The matters of the court during the day." Mu Chenbi suddenly understood. "Sir knows that my father will definitely summon me today, and I will also come to discuss them with you."
Cui Jin sipped his drink slowly, avoiding eye contact with Mu Chenbi. He would occasionally scatter fish food into the lake, attracting koi carp to swarm and fight over it.
“There is something I don’t understand.” Mu Chenbi’s brows furrowed with a hint of doubt. “Father said that if he insists on disbanding the Inner Workshop, there will definitely be criticism in the court, which will also be very detrimental to the future of the Royal Blade Workshop. However, it was already decided that the Royal Blade Workshop would replace the Inner Workshop. Father really shouldn’t have hesitated until now.”
"Did His Majesty also say that I, Cui, alone cannot defeat so many people in the court?" Cui Jin dusted off the crumbs from his palm and raised his single eye in a deep, unsettling way.
"Does Mr. Cui have super hearing?" Mu Chenbi laughed. "Even though you're not here, it's as if you know everything."
"It's nothing more than these few sentences." Cui Jin leisurely held the wine pot, and seeing that Mu Chenbi's cup remained untouched, the wine pot stopped in mid-air. "Your Highness has grown up to be twenty years old and still doesn't drink a drop of wine. Such self-control will surely lead to great things."
"Mr. Cui, you flatter me." Mu Chenbi picked up his wine cup and swirled it. "People say that one should drown one's sorrows in wine, but I have never known what sorrow is, so naturally I don't need to drink."
“What a wonderful statement, that you’ve never known sorrow.” Cui Jin clicked his tongue. “Your words are the envy of everyone in the world. Only you could say something like that.”
“But right now, if no one helps me, I’ll be worried to death.” Mu Chenbi put down his wine cup. “My father ordered me to resolve the issues between the Inner Workshop and the Imperial Blade Workshop. This matter is extremely difficult, and I don’t know where to start. If Mr. Cui doesn’t help me either, then you can just wait to drink all the wine in your Lakeside Pavilion.”
“Since Your Highness doesn’t drink alcohol, why don’t you feed the koi for me?” Cui Jin pushed the porcelain jar containing fish food toward him.
Mu Chenbi looked down at the lake. When he came, the lake was still and quiet, but now the water was lively and the fish were happy. The fish food had been snatched up long ago. Koi fish were surfacing and wagging their tails, their mouths opening and closing as if waiting to be fed. They lingered there for a long time.
"Although I don't raise fish, I've heard that fish don't know when they're full. They eat whatever you feed them, and many fish die not from being overfed, but from being stuffed." Mu Chenbi hesitated, picking up a few fish and refusing to let them go.
"It's alright." Cui Jin said calmly. "I only fed her a little bit, she's far from full."
Mu Chenbi loosened his fingers and sprinkled fish food. As soon as it hit the lake surface, koi carp leaped up to fight for it. The splashing lake water soaked the two of them's shoes and socks. Mu Chenbi found it amusing and couldn't help but feed them some more.
"Isn't this a bit more interesting?" Cui Jin asked, observing with a sip of wine.
Mu Chenbi became interested, "It was a stagnant pool before, but now it's starting to come alive. No wonder Father Emperor likes the abundance of fish in the lake, and Mr. Cui often feeds them..."
Before he could finish speaking, Mu Chenbi suddenly realized something, his handsome face froze, and he looked down at the crumbs in his palm, a thoughtful expression on his face.
“His Majesty is wise and insightful, and has long understood people’s hearts. His Highness is simple-minded and has had a smooth life since childhood, without experiencing any hardship or storms. Therefore, he cannot see through you.” Cui Jin covered the porcelain jar. “If you feed them any more, these fish will be belly up tomorrow.”
The deep lake is like a royal court, its calm surface concealing eddies. Koi swim in the lake, their movements elusive and unpredictable. Fish food is scattered around, and they vie for it with amusement.
If Yu Ren Fang could easily replace Nei Fang, it's hard to guarantee that the Pei family wouldn't become the next Nei Fang. The long process of changing hands is not only a test of Yu Ren Fang's abilities but also a test of their ability to control people's hearts. My father loves raising fish and is even more skilled at feeding them. Fish can starve to death or overeat to death; their thirst for food makes them oblivious to hunger or satiety. Their life or death is entirely in the hands of their feeders. More importantly, my father's lake has many fish. No matter how many starve to death or overeat to death, the lake will never lack fish for people to enjoy.
"It seems..." Mu Chenbi brushed the crumbs off his hand, "that the ownership of the Blade is still unknown."
"Regardless of who it belongs to, it is all in the Emperor's hands and can fulfill Your Highness's wishes. In this respect, your father's thinking is more comprehensive." Cui Jin took another sip from his cup. "Your Highness believes that Xingguo Workshop cannot melt meteorite, but since it can forge meteor swords, the Pei family is also very capable and may not be unable to replace the inner workshop. However... it is a long and arduous task. It depends on whether the strength of one workshop can surpass the nation's military equipment."
"However," Cui Jin said in a deep voice before Mu Chenbi could speak, "as far as I know, the inner court has also taken some action."
"My uncle..."
"Today, the inner ward reported to the court that a new person has joined the ward."
"Who is it?"
Cui Jin brandished his chopsticks in the air a few times, his single eye fixed on Mu Chenbi. "A swordsman," Mu Chenbi said doubtfully. "There's a swordsman in the inner quarters? Has he found some master?"
"I don't know if she is a master, I only know... she is a woman. She is a female swordswoman who amazed everyone at Shiya Pavilion and became famous in Rongdu with her sword skills."
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