Sun Gongping returned very quickly with another person.
The moment Xiao Zongshui and Cheng Yong saw who it was, they immediately knelt on the ground.
"Superintendent Xiao of the Forging Division's 97th Workshop greets Your Highness!"
"Lieutenant Cheng Yong of the Huben Troops greets Your Highness!"
"Rise. No need for formalities," the person said calmly.
Sun Gongping smugly looked at Zhou Shu and said, "This is Her Imperial Highness Princess Wuyou, who is the current grand minister of the Forging Division. Is this status enough?"
Zhou Shu was somewhat startled. He had never known that the grand minister of the Forging Division was a woman.
The grand minister was the head of the Forging Division. She was the one in charge of the entire Forging Division.
Not to mention Zhou Shu, even Xiao Zongshui, a superintendent, wouldn't be able to see the grand minister. Between the grand minister and a superintendent, there were still the vice director, director, and minister tiers.
Zhou Shu looked at the grand minister of the Forging Division that Sun Gongping talked about. She was the current dynasty's Princess Wuyou. She seemed to be only 17 or 18 years old, and her facial features exuded nothing but exquisiteness.
While Zhou Shu was sizing up Princess Wuyou, she was also observing him. She was a little puzzled. This apprentice is bold enough to look directly at me.
"I am Yin Wuyou," Princess Wuyou said. "Sun Gongping has already told me about your situation. How are you going to prove yourself?"
Xiao Zongshui lowered his head and groaned inwardly. He didn't expect Sun Gongping to be able to bring Princess Wuyou over!
This is going to be troublesome! Initially, he didn't want to cause trouble for himself, but who would have thought that it would become even more troublesome!
"Can you make the decision?" Zhou Shu replied with a question.
Yin Wuyou said, "I am the grand minister of the Forging Division. If you can prove that you're a weapon forging genius, then I can help you prove that you're not a traitor. Not only that. If you are truly a weapon forging genius, I can allow you to reach heaven in a single bound in the Forging Division."
Reach heaven in a single bound? Skip thirty years of hard work? You're not an auntie…
"Great!" Zhou Shu said.
"Divine Constable Sun suspects that I'm an accomplice of the traitor. Then Divine Constable Sun, let me ask you why you're making such a big fuss about searching for the traitor now?" Zhou Shu looked at Sun Gongping.
Sun Gongping glanced at Yin Wuyou.
Yin Wuyou's expression was calm as she said, "There's nothing we can't say. If you can prove your innocence, there's no harm in letting you know. If you can't, you won't be able to leak the secret."
'Won't be able to leak the secret' meant that he would certainly die.
"A traitor stole a Huben Saber. Every weapon in Great Xia is confidential. Anyone who dares to have ideas about them will be killed without mercy!" The delicate little girl suddenly released a fierce killing intent. The strong contrast left Zhou Shu slightly stunned.
Only then did he realize that he couldn't see the cultivation of this little girl!
His heart trembled, and he subconsciously restrained his aura.
But he was overthinking it. The Dragon Elephant Prajna Technique was a supreme body-tempering secret art, completely different from the cultivation paths of this world.
His divine strength was entirely focused on his flesh. Even those with higher cultivation might not be able to see through his strength.
"Are you saying that the purpose of the traitor was to steal the secret forging formula of the Huben Saber?" Zhou Shu asked.
Sun Gongping wasn't stupid, and he immediately retorted, "They stole a Huben Saber this time, but it might not be the same next time. Every weapon in Great Xia is coveted by others."
"Let's not talk about the future." Zhou Shu shook his head. "This time, the purpose of the traitor was to steal the secret forging formula of the Huben Saber, right?"
"That's right," Sun Gongping said.
"If I was a traitor, I wouldn't need to steal the secret forging formula of Huben Saber," Zhou Shu said in a deep voice, "Because I was the one who created the Huben Saber!"
"So what if you created it?" Sun Gongping blurted out. Suddenly, it dawned on him. "What do you mean?"
"I am the creator of the Huben Saber. Do you think I need to steal it?" Zhou Shu said.
A few gazes landed on Xiao Zongshui at the same time.
"He is an apprentice at the 97th Workshop. The weapon he developed naturally belongs to the 97th Workshop…" Xiao Zongshui said weakly.
"Good point." Yin Wuyou suddenly laughed. "Superintendent Xiao, you have good tactics."
Xiao Zongshui was drenched in sweat as he fell to his knees. "Grand Minister, please forgive me!"
Yin Wuyou harrumphed and looked at Zhou Shu.
"Did you develop the Huben Saber alone?" Yin Wuyou said.
"Naturally." Zhou Shu nodded.
"Superintendent Xiao, is what he said true?" Yin Wuyou said.
Xiao Zongshui wiped the cold sweat off his forehead and said with a trembling voice, "I don't know."
"You don't know?" Yin Wuyou's beautiful brows furrowed.
Xiao Zongshui trembled and hurriedly said, "Zhou Shu was indeed the one who gave me the secret forging formula for the Huben Saber, but I don't know if he developed it alone. Furthermore, I bought the secret forging formula from him. I didn't violate the rules of the Forging Division!"
This damned Exploiter Xiao. He still didn't forget to stab me at this point! Zhou Shu gnashed his teeth in hatred. What does Xiao Zongshui mean by that? Is he suspecting that the Huben Saber's forging formula was also a part of the ruse to gain sympathy? The secret forging formula was bought? With only a hundred taels of silver?
Yin Wuyou was noncommittal. She ignored Xiao Zongshui and looked at Zhou Shu instead.
"I'll believe that you created the Huben Saber," Yin Wuyou said. "However, since you sold the secret forging formula of the Huben Saber to Xiao Zongshui, it's inappropriate for me to say anything."
Zhou Shu was a Forging Apprentice of the 97th Workshop. He had indeed given the secret formula of the Huben Saber to Xiao Zongshui, and Xiao Zongshui had given him a hundred taels of silver.
In terms of procedures, Xiao Zongshui hadn't done anything wrong. This was not the first time such a thing had happened in the Forging Division, nor would it be the last.
Even if Yin Wuyou was the grand minister of the Forging Division, she couldn't change this. After all, it was impossible for her to constantly keep an eye on the Forging Apprentices in the workshops.
"It doesn't matter. It's just the Huben Saber. I don't care." Zhou Shu waved his hand magnanimously. "This matter has already been clarified. I'm not a traitor."
"Even if the suspicion of you being a traitor has been cleared, you've only developed the Huben Saber. It's not like you developed a ranked weapon. What gave you the confidence to call yourself a genius? Hurry up and admit it! You were bragging!"
Sun Gongping's words made everyone roll their eyes. Aren't you being unreasonable?
"Enough, Sun Gongping. Stop fooling around," Yin Wuyou berated. "This matter ends here. Zhou Shu has nothing to do with this matter. You are not allowed to target him anymore. Disperse."
Yin Wuyou waved her hand and turned to leave.
"Wait!" Zhou Shu suddenly said.
Yin Wuyou stopped and looked back at Zhou Shu. "What else do you want?"
The grand minister of the Forging Division, a princess! He didn't know if he would ever get the chance to see such a powerful figure again. How could he let this opportunity slip by?
Now that the matter had been brought into the open, he and Xiao Zongshui had already fallen out.
If I stay at the 97th Workshop, wouldn't that give Xiao Zongshui a chance to punish me? If that happens, my days will be difficult unless I unleash my strength and deal with Xiao Zongshui. Today might have been troublesome, but it's also an opportunity!
"I have something to bring up! Grand Minister, I have another secret forging recipe. Are you interested?" Zhou Shu said loudly.
Yin Wuyou furrowed her brows lightly before her eyes sparkled. "New weapon?"
"It should be a new weapon unless I'm too uninformed," Zhou Shu said solemnly. "This weapon is stronger than the Huben Saber!"
"Are there any finished products?" Yin Wuyou said.
"No, but I can forge one on the spot."
Yin Wuyou stared at him, her clear eyes seeming to see through Zhou Shu's thoughts. After a long while, she smiled. "Zhou Shu, right? If you can really forge a new weapon that is not weaker than the Huben Saber, I can agree to one condition."
Yin Wuyou seemed to have guessed that Zhou Shu wanted to use this weapon as a stepping stone to obtain something.
However, she didn't care. As long as he could really forge a new weapon that wasn't weaker than the Huben Saber, she didn't mind giving him some benefits.
Zhou Shu glanced at Xiao Zongshui. Xiao Zongshui just happened to raise his head, and sparks were flying in the air as their gazes met.
An obscure killing intent flashed across Xiao Zongshui's eyes. I shouldn't have been merciful back then. I should have killed Zhou Shu right from the start!
Xiao Zongshui had forgotten that without Zhou Shu, he wouldn't have been able to give Cheng Wanli 3000 Huben Sabers in three months.
Without the 3000 Huben Sabers, he wouldn't have won Cheng Wanli's friendship.
Zhou Shu was baffled. From beginning to end, I have never offended Xiao Zongshui, and Xiao Zongshui even benefited greatly from me. But now, he has the intention of killing me! Just because I didn't obediently accept death as he thought? The human heart…
Zhou Shu sighed with emotion. The feeling of having to leave the 97th Workshop grew stronger.
With his current strength, it wasn't difficult to kill Xiao Zongshui, but what was difficult was the aftermath.
Xiao Zongshui was, after all, an official of the Imperial Court. Although his official position was as insignificant as the size of a sesame seed, if he died, the matter would become very serious.
"Grand Minister, I only have one request, and that is to transfer to another workshop," Zhou Shu said.
"No problem," Yin Wuyou said. As the grand minister of the Forging Division, this kind of small matter was something she could handle with a single word.
"As long as you can do it," Yin Wuyou added.
"Ever since I came to this world, I have never failed in forging weapons," Zhou Shu said proudly. "Grand Minister, please wait a moment. In four hours, you will be able to see a truly good saber!"