Chapter 466: 466 Yun's Frustration_1

“Because the armour plates are made rather thin,” Wei Ruo replied.

Wei Mingting took a closer look, and indeed they were thinner than he had expected.

Wei Ruo went on to explain: “Father, rest assured, although these plates are thinner, their hardness is not compromised. They can withstand regular sword attacks.”

“Why is that?” Wei Mingting asked.

“In the process of smelting the steel used for this armour, large quantities of fluorite were employed. During the manufacture, copper was added. After the workpiece was formed, it was placed into a crucible, covered with charcoal, soya bean paste, and loamy powder. The workpiece was then carbon-infused by heating it externally, ensuring stable and even carbon penetration, and boosting the carbon potential. As a result, it has good ductility and at the same time a markedly increased strength.”

“How did Ruoruo gain such knowledge?” Wei Mingting couldn’t help but ask.

“The master craftsman who made this armour taught me these techniques. The hardness and ductility of ironware can be adjusted by changing the iron-to-carbon ratio,” Ruo answered.

“Where does this master craftsman reside? Would he mind if you introduced him to me?” Wei Mingting asked hurriedly with an excited expression.

“The master lives deep in the mountains and seldom interacts with outsiders. I acquired this armour from him by chance,” Wei Ruo replied.

“That’s a shame,” Wei Mingting regretfully remarked, “If he could teach this improved technique to the men at the Weapon Camp, it could considerably increase our military strength.”

Wei Ruo gave no reply.

Wei Mingting continued: “In any case, Ruoruo, thank you for arranging this armour for me. I’m delighted. I will wear it onto the battlefield.”

“I hope father is safe on the battlefield and secures victory every time,” Wei Ruo said.

“Thank you son. I will do my best,” Wei Mingting replied, looking at Wei Ruo with deep gratitude and satisfaction.

###

Not long after conversing with Wei Mingting, Wei Ruo left the residence of the Loyal and Righteous Duke.

After Wei Ruo left, the Wei family members examined the gifts he had brought, only to find that the gifts were not of much value.

This led the already hopeful Wei family members to feel disappointed.

Bai Family was especially annoyed, “What now? What’s so great about raving praises about how much King Rui adores her, when all the return gifts are worthless odds and ends? Isn’t this too insincere?!”

Mo Family gently retorted, “It is not entirely that. Look at the valuable gifts Queen Rui presented to mother and third brother, as well as the valuable stationery given to Yichen, and the scar removal cream given to Yilin. All of them are of great value.”

“Who knows? I only got a distant glance at that bracelet, it may not be worth much at all. As for that truckload of thyme, it is even more questionable. They said it was sent to the General’s Residence, who knows whether it was really sent, or if what was actually sent was ordinary wine instead of thyme,” Bai Family grumbled.

Mo Family had nothing more to add upon hearing Bai Family’s comment.

Yun Family stood quietly on one side without uttering a word.

There was nothing in the return gifts for her. This much was clear enough.

It is not that she did not want to prepare gifts, but she did not wish to prepare them for the others in the residence.

Yet, in her heart, her standing was as low as Bai Family and the others.

This huge gap made Yun Family feel as if she was crushed under a huge rock.

Upon returning to Anxin Pavilion, Yun Family saw her husband packing his luggage.

“My lord, when will you return to Taizhou prefecture?” Yun Family asked.

“I’ll leave first thing tomorrow,” Wei Mingting replied.

He had come to the capital with the Emperor’s special permission to attend his daughter’s wedding. So, once his daughter had returned to her in-laws’ house after the wedding, he had to head back to the military camp.

Upon hearing this, Yun Family couldn’t help but feel lost, sad, and reluctant, but she also knew that her husband had responsibilities and couldn’t afford to be complacent.

Yun Family had more questions to ask Wei Mingting, but hesitated whether to ask them or not.

After standing by for quite some time, she couldn’t help but finally asked, “My lord, what did you discuss with Ruo today?”

“Ruo only asked me some questions, nothing important,” Wei Mingting refrained from giving a direct answer.

Upon hearing this, Yun Family felt increasingly suffocated and distressed.

“Does my lord not trust me?” Yun Family probed further.

“You are overthinking,” Wei Mingting replied, “You have been busy all day, you must be tired. Rest early.”

After a long silence, Yun Family reluctantly agreed. She helped Wei Mingting pack his luggage with a heavy and aggrieved heart.

###

On the way back to King Rui’s Residence, Wei Ruo leaned against the cushion and gathered his thoughts with his eyes closed.

Having cooled down and reflected over the past three days, Wei Ruo almost had his emotions under control. Now, it was time to consider his next moves.

He knew early on that it was very difficult for him to stay out of the succession battles. The Wei family had Wei Qingwan, who was soon to marry King Yu as his concubine, and Wei Mingyong, who intended to curry favour with King Yu.

Even if he really wished to marry an ordinary person, as he had planned, and cut ties with the Wei Family, he would inevitably be implicated should the Wei Family go too far.

Against this background, his current situation seemed somewhat more favourable. If King Yu’s affairs affected the Wei Family, his title as King Rui’s consort would protect him. If his elder brother planned to fight for the throne, at least he could do something about it, even if they were to lose in the end, it wouldn’t be that intolerable.

As to the matter of Wei Jinyi deceiving him, although Wei Ruo was still slightly angry, he could choose to set this issue aside for the time being and focus on figuring out his next steps instead.

The most pressing matter now was how to save his own life.

He did not want to waste all his energy arguing and getting angry with Wei Jinyi, and only realize that he had forgotten about the serious matters when Chu Lan ascended the throne and held a knife to their throats.

Wei Ruo remembered that in the original novel, the facts related to Duke Xu and the Empress were to bring down Chu Heng.

The mastermind behind the plot to frame Duke Xu was the Imperial Concubine Qi and her older brother.

As Chu Lan revealed the truth of this matter, Imperial Concubine Qi fell out of favour, Qi Yansong was dismissed from his post, arrested, and locked up in Sky Prison, and Chu Heng’s status drastically declined.

In this life, his second elder brother had managed to obtain the letters hidden in Duke Xu’s residence, thereby washing away the charges of treason against Duke Xu, but the hidden hands behind this have not yet been revealed. Currently, the positions of Imperial Concubine Qi and Chu Heng have not been shaken.

It’s uncertain as to what the second elder brother’s next goal is. Does he want to overthrow Chu Lan and ascend to the throne?

If that is indeed his objective, should she lend him a hand?

Wei Ruo felt conflicted. He had no interest in seizing the throne, nor was he adept at political games.

He had always thought himself to be rather clever, able to remember a lot of things just by reading them once, and capable of learning things after trying once.

However, this was limited to the things he was good at. He was genuinely incompetent when it came to the things he wasn’t good at.

The only advantage he might have in the succession dispute was probably that he had read the original story. But even this might prove unusable, as the butterfly effect has already caused the plot to diverge greatly from the original.