Si Lan shook his head, not understanding. "The Prince only brought people from the Half-Moon Pavilion from the start. If the Crown Prince hadn't been worried and insisted on sending one of my colleagues along, I wouldn't have known."
Lu Qingwan was satisfied. "So, I understand now."
After speaking, she turned to look at Li Jin, Shen Qingzhou, and the others who had appeared at some unknown time. "Since you've all heard, I'm too lazy to say more. Shen Qingzhou, contact the Prince yourself to discuss moving into Tianxuan City. As for the rest, go back to what you were doing and don't disturb my sleep."
Li Jin and the others responded in unison, "Yes, Princess Consort!"
Then, they watched Lu Qingwan elegantly get into the carriage and disappear from their sight. The group exchanged glances. "Then... shall we act now?"
Li Yang's words were unclear, but Li Jin, Li Qing, and Li Su all nodded.
Ru Yue chimed in, "I've been ready for a long time. Since that old fuddy-duddy Duan Yue isn't here, we can strike anytime."
Shen Qingzhou quietly sidled over. "I want to go too."
Li Jin and Li Qing simultaneously pushed him out of their small circle. "Stop messing around. You're in charge of the troops. If something happens in the barracks, the Princess Consort will skin you alive."
Shen Qingzhou was so wronged he almost cried.
Si Lan poked his head out. "What are you going to do?"
"Of course, to avenge the Princess Consort!"
You have no idea how Feng Qingheng and those sycophants bullied the Princess Consort when the Prince was away. The Princess Consort endured it all to avoid implicating the Xuanjia Army, but we can't just pretend nothing happened! The Princess Consort is leaving soon. If we don't deal with them now, when will we?"
Fearing Lu Qingwan might overhear, Li Yang whispered to Si Lan before boldly declaring, "Come over here and let's divide the tasks. I'll say it first: I'll take people to beat up that fence-sitter Jing Chunan. Remember when Nie Mingyang and Xie Shijuan caused trouble at the posthouse? The Princess Consort helped him then. After the Prince's incident, she bullied the Princess Consort the most and even said the Princess Consort was a hen ruling the roost and meddling in harem affairs. If I don't beat him half to death, I'm letting down the Princess Consort who made clothes for me!"
Li Qing raised his hand. "I'll deal with Du Huihuang. He's arrogant because he has some troops and has attacked the Princess Consort several times. If we don't teach him a lesson, I fear the Princess Consort might regret it one day."
Li Jin quietly looked at Ru Yue. "You and I will go to the new emperor's private treasury. We'll move as much as we can."
Ru Yue nodded thoughtfully. "Wu Ying is free. Why don't I have Wu Ying find some people from the escort agency to move the treasures out of the city overnight?"
...
The group discussed how to avenge Lu Qingwan without any regard for others. Si Lan listened, his eyes twitching, seriously suspecting they were using revenge as a pretext for theft. If all these plans were carried out, the Great Gan court would be in chaos for at least three months.
However, before he could utter any dissuasion, Li Jin seemed to read his mind and said, "If you're trying to persuade us, save your breath. For whatever reason, the Prince is the main culprit for the Princess Consort enduring these grievances. We are helping the Prince now. If you're not going to help, don't cause trouble."
Upon hearing this, Si Lan inexplicably thought of Feng Xiwu's hesitant demeanor whenever he mentioned Lu Qingwan. He quietly swallowed his words of dissuasion and even considerately asked, "Is there anything I can help with?"
Li Jin and the others exchanged glances and tacitly pulled Si Lan into their circle. Thus, Si Lan, representing the Great Qin envoy, stealthily infiltrated the Great Gan imperial mausoleum that night.
Having received the definite news that Feng Xiwu was out of danger and the Xuanjia Army had broken free, Lu Qingwan slept soundly, even though they were in the wilderness. When she opened her eyes, the army had already set off again, the creaking of the carriage a monotonous rhythm in her ears. Lu Qingwan blinked, and after a while, she realized she was already on her way for a political marriage.
She tapped her hands, and the movement inside the carriage caught the attention of those outside. Li Su quietly asked, "Princess Consort, shall we stop the caravan to wash and eat?"
"No need. Just get me a basin of water." With a caravan of tens of thousands of people, stopping and starting would waste at least an hour. When Lu Qingwan had conditions, she could be incredibly demanding, but when she didn't, she could make do. In a few strokes, she fixed her hair and changed her clothes.
It wasn't until she had put on the clothes that she belatedly realized these were not the Prince's carriage. She was stunned. "Where did these clothes come from?" The carriage was not the Prince's, but the interior was identical to his carriage, and even the clothes were the plain colored qujüs she had been wearing recently.
Li Su placed the basin on the step outside the carriage, while Ru Yue held soap and cotton cloths, both sitting on the shafts as if performing acrobatics. Hearing Lu Qingwan's question, Li Su smiled. "Before leaving the capital, Si Lan had people order them from Liren Workshop, saying it was a special instruction from the Prince."
Seeing Lu Qingwan's look of understanding, Li Su whispered, "Last night, after you rested, that matchmaker complained to Si Lan that wearing plain clothes during the grand wedding was against the rules. I heard Si Lan dealing with the matchmaker, saying that the Marquis had just died, and the Princess Consort should wear mourning clothes, and the Prince was also doing so. If she had an opinion, she should take it up with the Prince."
Lu Qingwan chuckled. "That matchmaker wasn't someone the Prince arranged?" So much had happened yesterday. She had only gathered the most crucial information and hadn't asked further. Hearing Li Su speak now, she realized the welcoming party wasn't united.
Li Su handed her a handkerchief and said in a low voice, "I asked Si Lan. The guards inside are the Prince's people, but the welcoming party was arranged by the Crown Prince of Great Qin. I heard that this matchmaker had handled several couples who had harmonious marriages and many children, so she was specially invited."
"I see." Lu Qingwan nodded. Watching Ru Yue leave with her tools, her apricot eyes narrowed, and she leaned towards Li Su. "Did you fight with someone last night?"
Li Su's heart jumped, but he heard Lu Qingwan continue with a startling question. "And Li Yang and Li Qing, where did you go last night?" After detecting clues from these three, Lu Qingwan became vigilant. She directly stuck half her body out of the carriage, clinging to the door and looking back. "Li Jin, Ru Yue too. Tell me honestly, where did you go last night?"
This roll call scared them. Li Su almost fell off the shaft. Li Yang and the others were also there, swaying precariously on their horses, almost alarming the guards in front of and behind the carriage. Si Lan, who was riding ahead, secretly felt fortunate that he hadn't been discovered and quickly recalled where Li Jin and the others had slipped up, allowing Lu Qingwan to discover them so quickly.
While he was pondering, Li Yang, with a look of innocence, leaned up to Lu Qingwan and asked, "Princess Consort, weren't you already asleep? How did you know we went out last night?"