Everything was quickly gathered, and Lu Qingwan returned to the carriage. As the convoy started, she calmly instructed Ruyue, "Tell the old man, I'll be borrowing Medicine King Valley for a bit."
Ruyue gestured silently, and a hidden guard behind her spurred his horse and galloped away.
The convoy continued along the official road, shaded by the dense jungle. The clatter of hooves, mingled with the creaking of the carriage, carried them towards the nearby Medicine King Valley.
Inside the carriage, Xie Shiluan had already been so thoroughly rebuffed by Lu Qingwan that she had lost all her spirit.
Li Su and Ruyue sat by the door, one filled with trepidation, the other with anxious concern.
Lu Qingwan sat on the inner side, arms crossed, feeling both amused and exasperated. "All along, it's been quiet, no one causing trouble, and you two are on edge. Now that the assassins have been dealt with, you're still this nervous. Can you even handle yourselves?"
Ruyue's face was stern as she remained silent. Li Su lamented tearfully, "This is just the beginning. That Liu Hanyan clearly intended to kill you. This was clearly a test. We've dealt with so many of her people, she'll likely fly into a rage and return with a vengeance. She'll never give up, so how dare we let our guard down?"
Although Ruyue said nothing, Lu Qingwan could see that she felt the same.
Lu Qingwan raised an eyebrow. "I understand your concerns. But on this journey from Xiliang to Cangwu City, not only did the Prince not send anyone to protect me, but Shen Tangzhou, Li Jin, Wu Ying, all of them were so quiet. Didn't you find that odd?"
Li Su straightened her posture and exchanged a glance with Ruyue. "But the army is about to attack Beiwei and Xiliang, right? Beiwei has a strong army, and you have your subordinates here. It makes sense for the Prince to focus his energy on the front lines and oversee the overall situation, neglecting our side?"
Li Su's words lacked conviction. For one, Si Fengwu never fought unprepared battles. Since he had ordered the army to attack Beiwei and Xiliang, it meant he was ready. How could he be so busy that he couldn't even spare a thought for Lu Qingwan? Even if the battle was difficult, Wu Ying, Shen Tangzhou, and Li Jin commanded elite guards and assassins. The Xuanjia Army was well-equipped and had ample supplies; it wasn't as if the hidden guards had to fight on the front lines. Therefore, after saying that, Li Su added, as if to salvage her pride, "However, in the Prince's heart, the Consort is undoubtedly the most important. So, if these people aren't by the Consort's side, they must have been arranged by the Consort to do something else? So, Consort, we'll reach Medicine King Valley soon. Can you tell us what other great deeds you've accomplished?"
Lu Qingwan's demeanor, calm amidst the storm, clearly indicated she was waiting for a decisive battle with Liu Hanyan in Medicine King Valley. However, her situation with Liu Hanyan was clearly more complicated than a simple life-or-death struggle. Li Su was genuinely worried that an enemy with Liu Hanyan's special status would inflict irreparable harm on Lu Qingwan. Yet, Lu Qingwan herself was still laughing carelessly.
"It's nothing much. I just had them try to find the headquarters of Wuan Palace."
"Hmm?"
Li Su and Ruyue both looked at her, feeling their long-held perceptions challenged. Ruyue couldn't contain herself and asked, "Doesn't Wuan Palace boast of hiding in plain sight? When did it sprout a headquarters?" Everyone who knew of Wuan Palace knew that the reason it had offended so many people over the years and still existed was its deep concealment. Wuan Palace prided itself on hiding in plain sight and had no formal gathering place. Its branches were not like other martial arts organizations that clearly established their own halls in specific locations. A restaurant on a busy street, or a pawnshop in a slum, could be a hall of Wuan Palace. But a headquarters for Wuan Palace was unheard of by anyone.
Lu Qingwan smiled. "The imperial court has never acknowledged the existence of hidden guards. Do you really believe that there were no hidden guards in any dynasty?" Hidden guards were an open secret. Anyone who held influence in the imperial court kept a number of hidden guards, from one or two for personal protection to dozens. The more hidden guards one had, the more things they could accomplish. The imperial court also kept a group of people who operated in the shadows, exclusively handling unsavory matters for those in power. But no one would openly admit to keeping hidden guards.
Ruyue realized her question was a bit foolish and said with shame, "It's not that I believed it just because they said Wuan Palace has no headquarters. It's just that I feel Wuan Palace has a special nature, and the absence of a headquarters would indeed be beneficial for self-preservation, so I thought it was possible they didn't have one."
Lu Qingwan raised an eyebrow and looked at Li Su. "You think so too?"
Li Su shook her head. "If Wuan Palace were a small workshop, scattered everywhere without a fixed location, it would indeed be advantageous for self-preservation. But it is a large organization with tentacles reaching everywhere. First, it must be managed to even have the qualification for self-preservation. Therefore, the Prince never believed from the beginning that Wuan Palace truly had no headquarters."
Lu Qingwan and Ruyue listened to her speak so eloquently and couldn't help but nod in agreement. However, after her last sentence, Ruyue interjected unceremoniously, "I thought you had some profound insight, but it turns out you're just parroting the Prince again?"
"What's wrong with parroting? It just means I have good judgment and followed the right master." Li Su, though teased, was quite proud. "If you don't believe me, ask the people under Feng Qingheng and Nie Wuming. Could they think of such profound questions?"
Ruyue: ... It was undeniable that Si Fengwu was a man of high caliber among the royal descendants of various countries, and those around him were not to be underestimated.
Speechless for a moment, she eventually recovered and asked Li Su with considerable confusion, "Aren't you supposed to be aloof? I heard that those dissolute young men in the capital, upon seeing you, didn't even dare to speak crudely. How come you're more talkative than Li Yang now?"
Lu Qingwan was also quite curious. Back then, how aloof Li Su had been! If she could answer a question with one word, she would never use two. Now... Ruyue was right; at times, Li Su was indeed more talkative than the chatterbox Li Yang.
Li Su, being exposed for her talkative nature for the first time, felt a bit embarrassed. "Does anyone truly remain taciturn to that extent? It's just that, at the time, I was the only girl in the army. If I didn't maintain a serious demeanor, those men wouldn't obey. When I asked them to train, they would undress in front of me and make lewd jokes, telling me to go home and hug my children. Later, I discovered that if I just kept a stern face, spoke as little as possible, and followed through on my words, they would be more obedient. Unknowingly, everyone came to see me as that taciturn person."