Li Qing nodded in agreement, "His Highness is right. Precisely because of this, although Lan An wields immense power in court, he only has two children, Lan Huating and Lan Huaxiao, and Lan Huajing.
This is very rare in the official families of Daqin, which place importance on offspring."
After a moment of murmuring, the topic returned to its original course, "Then what is your second suspect, and who is it?"
"The descendants of the royal family of the ancient Nanzhao Kingdom."
The answer given by Li Qing shocked everyone.
"A bunch of single-celled organisms fiddling with witchcraft?!
How did you think of them?"
Recalling how those people were easily misled by a single sentence from Feng Qingheng and Yu Chuwe, and then hearing Li Qing's words, Lu Qingwan was utterly stunned for a hundred years.
She very earnestly said to Li Qing, "Can you tell me what they did that made you shift your attention to such a bizarre group of people?"
Lu Qingwan swore that she was absolutely earnestly asking Li Qing for help to clarify her doubts.
Li Qing cooperated, "On the surface, the people of the ancient Nanzhao royal family do seem incredibly foolish. Many things do not seem like something they could have accomplished with their intelligence.
However, from the first moment we knew of their existence, our actions have been continuously exposed.
On the side of the new Emperor of Daqian, we have been guarding against Xie Shiyu, Xiao Jing'an, and even the Tianxuan Sect.
Once or twice, it could be attributed to the oversight of our subordinates, allowing an opening. But this has been the case for the past six months. Our subordinates are not that incompetent, are they?"
Li Yang, standing beside them, nodded vigorously at this, "Now that you mention it, it's true.
We have been guarding against those we should, except for the people of the ancient Nanzhao royal family.
They are no longer part of the royal family, scattered across the continent, their identities shrouded in mystery. We have not heavily guarded against them, yet they are still impossible to guard against.
If they wanted to spy on the Princess, discovered clues, and then colluded with the people of Daqin to deal with His Highness and the Princess, then everything that has happened recently truly makes sense."
Lu Qingwan and Feng Xiwu's greatest strengths were their independent thinking and their willingness to accept advice.
Reminded by Li Qing and Li Yang, the two of them seriously began to ponder.
They discovered that if they linked the people of the ancient Nanzhao royal family with the second Madam Yan, many things could be explained.
However, "We have no past grievances with the people of the ancient Nanzhao royal family. Why would they target us like this?
It's not that they truly believed Feng Qingheng's nonsense and want to purge their own ranks by chasing me, is it?"
"That's really not the case."
Li Qing said with a hint of helplessness, "I once captured a low-level follower from the ancient Nanzhao royal family. He was unaware that his colleagues were tracking and monitoring His Highness and the Princess, but he revealed another secret."
Everyone stopped their actions and urged him with their eyes.
Li Qing, seeing this, said with some exasperation, "They want to restore their kingdom."
"Re-restore their kingdom?"
Lu Qingwan was so shocked she stammered, "If I remember correctly, the ancient Nanzhao Kingdom was originally the area around Cangwu City in the southern region, wasn't it?
If they want to restore their kingdom, why are they bothering us instead of Feng Qingheng?"
Li Qing shook his head, "I'm not entirely clear on this, but I speculate that their ultimate goal in pursuing the Princess is still related to restoring their kingdom."
Lu Qingwan nodded solemnly, "It all comes back to the same root, doesn't it? For those people, restoring their kingdom is the greatest objective, and their actions naturally revolve around achieving this goal.
Alright, let's stop guessing here. Li Qing, Duan Yue, you two find a way to capture a few people from the ancient Nanzhao royal family and interrogate them thoroughly. Then everything will be clear."
As she spoke, she tilted her head and looked at Feng Xiwu, "I want to meet that second Madam Yan in private."
Feng Xiwu nodded without hesitation, "On the Zhongyuan Festival, the ladies of the household will all leave the manor to release lanterns.
As the second Madam of the Yan family, she should be on a good pleasure boat. I will have someone take her to the Sleepless Isle, and then you can do whatever you want with her."
Lu Qingwan's eyes sparkled as she nodded, "Great!"
She had intended to sneak into the Yan family under the cover of darkness. Since she could openly meet the second Madam Yan, she was happy to avoid risks. A few days were nothing she couldn't wait for.
Feng Xiwu spoke after watching her finish eating, "Li Qing went to the Crown Prince's manor earlier. The Crown Prince's manor is currently all red. To avoid alarming the enemy, he didn't dare have the Empress change the decorations.
We will not visit the Crown Prince's manor today. Let's take a rest. I will have my Imperial Brother make preparations, and then we will visit the Imperial Brother and Empress. What do you think?"
Having learned about the trouble caused by the second Madam Yan from Li Yang, Lu Qingwan understood immediately, "Is this also the doing of the second Madam Yan?"
Feng Xiwu nodded, "Under the guise of advising the Empress on handling sisterly relations, she spoke her mind. The Empress, unaware, had the entire Crown Prince's manor redecorated.
I think the person behind this wanted to use the second Madam Yan to sow discord between you and the Empress, and thereby create friction between me and my Imperial Brother.
Of course, it's also possible they wanted to verify how severe your phobia of red is."
Lu Qingwan squinted, leaning back in her chair, and gazed slightly outside. The pillars, eaves, and pavilions in the courtyard were all painted brown, not a hint of red that would make her uncomfortable visible.
Just thinking about the overwhelming red at the Crown Prince's manor made her entire body stiffen.
However, she still said to Feng Xiwu, "The opponent has gone to great lengths to set up this stage. If I, the protagonist, do not attend, will this play not be able to continue?"
Feng Xiwu frowned, "But the entire manor is filled with vermilion. How will you avoid it?"
Although no one explicitly stated it, he could roughly guess that Lu Qingwan's psychological aversion to red was likely caused by seeing his supposedly dead body stained with blood.
Such a shadow could not be forgotten just because he was alive now.
Now, after finally reaching his territory, Lu Qingwan had encountered such danger.
If not for not wanting to expose Lu Qingwan's weakness of fearing red, he would have rushed to the Yan family right now to kill that old woman.
"This is where I will rely on you."
Lu Qingwan took his hand, "I will use acupuncture to seal my vision, and then have Dabai remind me how to walk, trying my best to avoid obstacles.
But if Dabai makes any mistakes and causes me harm, then it will be up to His Highness to cover any gaps and protect my life."
Lu Qingwan spoke optimistically, as if going to the Crown Prince's manor with her vision sealed was a trivial matter.
But Feng Xiwu knew clearly how difficult and unsettling it would be for a normal person to suddenly become blind and go to a completely unfamiliar place.
He suddenly stood up and hugged Lu Qingwan tightly, saying in a deep voice, "Li Qing, since you are new here and you and your subordinates are not familiar with Zhongzhou, I will give you seven days.
Before the Zhongyuan Festival, I want you to find all the leverage against the second branch of the Yan family and the maternal clan of the second Madam Yan.
I want that old woman from the Yan family to kneel before the Princess and beg for mercy!"