Frankly, before Li Jin reminded her, Lu Qingwan hadn't expected that the intelligence network of beast tribes she had prepared as a contingency would yield such important information.
Upon hearing this, she nodded without hesitation, "I will write a letter immediately. You must ensure it reaches His Highness the Prince. Also, investigate all matters concerning Prince Jing in the past few days thoroughly. Before His Majesty decides on the heir apparent, we must ascertain who is a human and who is a ghost between Prince Jing and Prince Chen."
She had promised Feng Xi Wu not to rush to kill Feng Qing Heng for revenge, for the sake of the bigger picture. However, if Feng Qing Heng were truly colluding with the Western Liang people for his own selfish ambitions, she could not be blamed. If Feng Qing Heng had the ability to oust Prince Jing and ascend the throne himself, she could tolerate it for three to five years for the sake of the Great Qian empire that Feng Xi Wu had painstakingly protected. But if Feng Qing Heng revealed his true colors, she certainly wouldn't be so saintly as to let her enemy rise to prominence.
As she spoke, she got up to write to Feng Xi Wu, not considering that he would question the veracity of her intelligence. However, Li Jin peeked in, "Princess Consort, besides the news about Su Bo Jun, aren't you going to reply to the Prince's letter?"
Lu Qingwan froze, holding her brush, "I forgot. I haven't read it yet!" She looked around but couldn't find it. It was Li Su who retrieved Feng Xi Wu's letter from the couch. Handing the letter, scattered on the bedding, to Lu Qingwan, Li Su suppressed a smile. "If His Highness knew his own handwriting was being treated with such negligence by the Princess Consort, he'd likely be furious enough to kill."
"If that's the case, I might as well neglect it a few more times," Lu Qingwan said leisurely. "He can go into battle with a chest full of rage and slay his enemies, expending all his anger in the fight. The soldiers can save some effort. How cost-effective is that?"
Li Su and the others chuckled in unison. But seeing Lu Qingwan's solemn expression, Li Su's relieved heart tensed up again. "What's wrong, Princess Consort? Is the Prince's campaign in Saibei not going well?"
Lu Qingwan stared intently at the letter in her hand. "It's not that the campaign is going poorly, but rather, the Northern Wei seems to have significant ambitions this time. Not only have they reinforced the Saibei battlefield with an additional thirty thousand troops, but they have also dispatched an old general. Judging by the Prince's tone, this person seems to be quite troublesome."
Li Jin asked nervously, "May I ask Princess Consort, who is this old general the Prince mentioned?"
"Cheng Jiu Xiao."
Lu Qingwan placed Feng Xi Wu's entire letter into the brazier, watching the paper slowly turn to ash. "How much do you know about this person?"
"Cheng Jiu Xiao is the maternal uncle of Empress Xiaocheng Ren of Northern Wei, and is a notorious fierce general of Northern Wei. His military strategy isn't overly aggressive, but he greatly favors unorthodox tactics. They may not always guarantee victory, but they are certainly very vexing," Li Jin's tone was neither amazed nor shocked. "The most classic example, and his most famous battle, was the method he used to subdue the Kangju tribe. Cheng Jiu Xiao was then merely a sixth-rank Zhaowu General. He had his soldiers disguise themselves as a merchant caravan and steal hundreds of young children and infants from Kangju. Using these children as shields, they brazenly marched into Kangju. The King of Kangju, Ren Shan, unwilling to let these children become casualties of war, was forced to surrender to Northern Wei. Cheng Jiu Xiao subdued an entire tribe without losing a single soldier, and was enfeoffed as King of Zhending by the Northern Wei Emperor. Empress Xiaocheng Ren was later sentenced to death for witchcraft, resulting in the execution of Cheng Jiu Xiao's entire clan. Yet, Cheng Jiu Xiao alone survived. Princess Consort, you can imagine how unfathomable this person is."
Listening to Li Jin recount Cheng Jiu Xiao's exploits, Lu Qingwan's heart tightened. "We are powerless to interfere with the front-line battles, but for matters on the home front, everyone must help as much as they can. Ten million shi of grain, used for the Saibei army, could alleviate the army's urgent needs. However, for the northwest disaster relief, it would be like a drop in the bucket. It was understandable before, but now that His Majesty has personally ordered Prime Minister Wen to procure grain and fodder, I suggest His Majesty let Li Jin be responsible for the grain transportation. His Majesty and Prime Minister Wen have agreed. We must ensure this batch of grain reaches His Highness the Prince intact. If there are further problems, even the landlord will have no more grain!"
Upon hearing this, Li Jin knew that Lu Qingwan was aware that Xue Hongyi's ten million shi of grain had been diverted for disaster relief. Seeing that Lu Qingwan was not angry, he quickly responded, "Your subordinate will strictly obey the Princess Consort's teachings and will not let any villains exploit the situation."
Lu Qingwan was truly exhausted today. After receiving Feng Xi Wu's letter, her spirit relaxed. She had only spoken for a while before her eyelids began to droop. Still preoccupied with matters, she yawned and instructed them, "That Jiang Ding Kun was causing trouble at Bai Xing Lin, insisting it was for Prince Jing. No one knows if it's true. Keep an eye on it, and let me know if you find anything out..." Her voice trailed off as she spoke.
Li Su shook his head helplessly. "We have all noted it, Princess Consort. It's late. Please go back and rest. I will inform you if there is any news."
"Mm, alright." Lu Qingwan swayed as she got up, kicking her toe against the table leg. The pain instantly made her sober, her face contorted. Li Su and the others didn't notice what had happened and nervously asked, "What's wrong, Princess Consort? Are you feeling unwell?"
Before Feng Xi Wu left, he had entrusted Lu Qingwan's safety to them. Besides worrying about the front-line battles, their greatest concern was Lu Qingwan. They feared any health issues might arise for her. Her contorted expression had already prepared them to report back to Feng Xi Wu.
Lu Qingwan sat back down in the chair, feigning composure. "It's nothing. I just remembered that I haven't written a reply to the Prince. Li Su, help me grind ink. I'll write the letter before sleeping, lest it cause delays."
The few breathed a sigh of relief and didn't question why simply forgetting to write to Feng Xi Wu would cause Lu Qingwan's expression to twist so severely. With all matters settled, they quickly took the letter and left, not daring to enter the master bedroom again for the rest of the night, fearing they might disturb Lu Qingwan. After applying medicine, Lu Qingwan slept with her foot suspended off the edge of the bed, her toe throbbing in pain throughout the night.
The next morning, Yue Er, as usual, came to wake her up. She was startled by Lu Qingwan's unrestrained sleeping posture, almost thinking Lu Qingwan had passed away. After a moment of trepidation, she even reached out to check Lu Qingwan's breathing. Lu Qingwan woke up at this moment, groggily opening her eyes. Seeing it was Yue Er, she fell back asleep. "I'm disabled. This morning's training is cancelled. I'm going to sleep in a bit longer." With that, she buried herself under the covers.
Yue Er was greatly frightened but didn't dare to disturb the Princess Consort's slumber. She tiptoed out and saw Li Su arriving with Tang Xiao, who was clad in red armor. She saw him as a savior. "Guard Tang, are you looking for the Princess Consort? Perfect. Sister Li Su, please help me wake up the Princess Consort?" Although she really didn't want to disturb the Princess Consort's dreams, the Princess Consort had said she was disabled. She needed to find out what was going on! If the Princess Consort were truly ill, and she let it go unchecked, wouldn't that be a serious delay?