Lu Qing Wan smiled and replied, "Apologies are fine, but that medicine from the Prime Minister is truly miraculous. May this consort have her eyes opened?"
Emperor Jing You asked with great curiosity, "You mean the medicine that allows one to act as usual even when severely injured?"
Lu Qing Wan nodded in agreement. "To tell Your Majesty the truth, after I returned to my manor last time, I've been thinking day and night about this medicine. Without seeing it with my own eyes, I cannot sleep soundly!"
Emperor Jing You chuckled, "I can't help you with that. You'll have to ask Prime Minister Wen."
Prime Minister Wen chimed in with a smile, "That medicine was concocted by my wife based on an ancestral folk remedy. If the Princess Consort is interested, I will send the remedy to you later."
Lu Qing Wan's eyes lit up, but then she realized, "Prime Minister, although I haven't seen the formula, judging by its efficacy, I know it's no simple folk remedy. What the Old Madam gave you was probably not a folk remedy, but an ancestral secret recipe, wasn't it?"
Prime Minister Wen was stunned, but Lu Qing Wan continued seriously, "It's just that I saw something good and got carried away. The Old Madam's ancestral secret recipe should be kept by her. If she's willing, a bit of the prepared medicine would suffice. If I can develop medicine with the same effect, or even surpass it, that would be my own capability. If not, it wouldn't tarnish the Old Madam's ancestral secret recipe."
Emperor Jing You raised an eyebrow as he listened, while Prime Minister Wen nodded repeatedly. "You are too kind, Princess Consort. I will have someone send the prepared medicine to your manor."
"Then this consort thanks the Prime Minister in advance!"
Seeing that they had finished their conversation, Emperor Jing You seized the opportunity to speak. "Alright, I summoned you to the palace not to help you get something from Prime Minister Wen. Have you thought of a proper solution to the matter I discussed with you?"
Lu Qing Wan blinked in surprise. The matter Emperor Jing You had discussed with her was none other than the envoys from Great Qin inquiring about firearms. Could this be discussed in front of Prime Minister Wen?
While she hesitated, Emperor Jing You spoke again. "Prime Minister Wen knows everything about court affairs, so you don't need to be concerned. Speak freely."
Lu Qing Wan said, "Oh. Do Your Majesty and the Prime Minister know of Xue Hongyi?"
"Xue Hongyi?" Prime Minister Wen repeated the name, then exclaimed in shock, "Isn't that the terrifying leader of the Demonic Cult, whose name strikes fear into the hearts of all in the martial world? The name of the Red-Clothed Cult Master is thunderous, but why do you ask about him?"
"Here. This is the response from the Samsara Hall." Lu Qing Wan presented the token and letter left by Xue Hongyi. "Please, Your Majesty, examine them."
Given the gravity of the situation, Emperor Jing You did not have anyone else present. Lu Qing Wan personally handed him the items. Emperor Jing You looked at the blood-red token. On the front were the characters "Samsara," and on the back, a small seal script character "Chi." Opening the letter, he found a brief introduction, which was more like a confirmation of Lu Qing Wan's identity. Xue Hongyi, in his capacity as the direct disciple of the Samsara Hall Master, had personally acknowledged Lu Qing Wan as someone under the protection of the Samsara Hall.
After reading the token and letter, Emperor Jing You looked at Lu Qing Wan with a complicated expression. "The token and letter are indeed from the Samsara Hall, but the letter makes no mention of firearms or the Great Qin envoys. How did he explain it to you?"
Lu Qing Wan truthfully recounted, "Xue Hongyi said he would make the Great Qin envoys abandon their visit to Great Gan, and explain to them that the firearms I gifted Your Majesty were given to me by the Samsara Hall. Given that the firearm blueprints of Great Qin's Arsenal were all provided by the Samsara Hall, I believe we can trust Xue Hongyi for now."
For some reason, Emperor Jing You and Prime Minister Wen did not seem surprised by the revelation that the Samsara Hall had provided the firearm blueprints for Great Qin's Arsenal. Emperor Jing You pondered something, while Prime Minister Wen hesitantly asked, "Isn't Xue Hongyi the leader of a Demonic Cult? When did he become part of the Samsara Hall? Can this person be trusted?"
Lu Qing Wan was also curious. "Although I can be sure that Xue Hongyi is indeed from the Samsara Hall, Your Majesty, how can you be certain that the letter and token are genuine? The Samsara Hall is so mysterious; do their items have any anti-counterfeiting measures?"
As Lu Qing Wan finished speaking, she noticed Emperor Jing You and Prime Minister Wen looking at her with extremely peculiar expressions. Lu Qing Wan felt a prickling sensation all over her body. "Did I say something wrong?"
Emperor Jing You let out a breath from his nose. "Have you ever considered why, with so many bandits in the world, no one dares to intercept an urgent dispatch sent by a single rider over eight hundred li?"
"That's right!" Lu Qing Wan agreed emphatically. "I've been very curious about this for a long time! From the northern frontier to the capital city, even in the most peaceful times, there should be a few bandits and rogue elements, shouldn't there? Why has no one ever intercepted an urgent dispatch?"
Emperor Jing You buried his face in his hands in despair. Prime Minister Wen explained with a trembling voice, "Does Princess Consort know the penalty for intercepting an urgent dispatch?"
Lu Qing Wan honestly shook her head. "I don't plan on going into the business of robbing people, so why would I need to know?"
"Then Princess Consort is greatly mistaken!" Prime Minister Wen sighed. "The consequences of robbing others are like a mere drop in the ocean compared to the consequences of intercepting an urgent dispatch. Any matter requiring an urgent dispatch is of grave importance to the nation. Therefore, in our dynasty, intercepting an urgent dispatch is a crime equivalent to treason. Those who are incited to do so, upon revealing their instigator, will have their entire clan executed. If one intercepts an urgent dispatch of their own volition, they will face the severest punishment, and even their female relatives and children will not be spared."
Lu Qing Wan gasped. "So, are you two trying to tell me that if someone dares to impersonate a member of the Samsara Hall, the consequences would be equally dire?"
Emperor Jing You slowly spoke, "In the past fifty years, there have been no reports of anyone audacious enough to impersonate the Samsara Hall. However, seventy years ago, there was one such incident. A disciple from the Meng family, a prominent clan in Great Wei, impersonated a Samsara Hall disciple and went around deceiving people. He used the identity of a Samsara Hall disciple to influence court politics, intending to put his cousin on the throne. The Samsara Hall discovered this, and within six months, the Meng family, which was once a first-class noble family on par with the Great Wei royal family, completely vanished from the map of Great Wei. For seventy years since, there has been no one by the surname Meng in Great Wei."
As a ruler, Emperor Jing You spoke of this matter with great emotion. Prime Minister Wen also nodded repeatedly.
Lu Qing Wan clicked her tongue in amazement. "In that case, Xue Hongyi wasn't bragging, was he?"
"He probably wasn't bragging. But honestly, I never expected that the terrifying Red-Clothed Cult Master would be a member of the Samsara Hall. The Samsara Hall truly lives up to its reputation!"
Lu Qing Wan chuckled. "It's just that everyone didn't think in that direction at first. Now that I think about it, Xue Hongyi's name itself is quite indicative of the Samsara Hall Master's naming skills, isn't it?" Red, orange, yellow, green, cyan, blue, purple. Seven names, seven colors. Absolutely remarkable!
Emperor Jing You also couldn't help but laugh. Then, he returned to the main topic. "Since the Great Qin envoys are not coming, we should attend to our own affairs. Prince Jing and Prince Chen are both of marriageable age. I intend to select consorts for them, and I would like you to oversee this matter. Are you willing?"