Lu Qing Wan’s dry voice spoke each word deliberately, “My father died a righteous death on the battlefield. What is there to hide? Why did Feng Qing Heng keep it secret?”
Wu Ying looked at Lu Qing Wan’s haggard face and couldn’t bear to tell her the cruel truth.
“Because… the urgent dispatch brought back not only news of Marquis Lu’s casualties.
But also that the Prince and the Xuan Jia Army were surrounded by a joint force from Yun Qiang, Bei Wei, and Xi Liang, with scarce food and supplies.
Moreover, there have been continuous heavy snowfalls in the northwest recently, making survival itself a problem for the army, let alone facing nearly half a million soldiers from two states and their allies.
Lu Qing Wan’s vision went black, and she nearly collapsed to the ground.
“When did this news arrive? Why wasn’t I told?”
Her eyes were fixed on Li Su, her gaze so intense that if it could materialize, it would have flayed Li Su alive.
Wu Ying averted her eyes with a wince. “The encirclement by forces from two states and their allies was planned long ago. The Prince and Marquis Lu were used as bait to lure them into the northwest snow mountains, where normal communication was impossible.
Although these golden eagles carried intelligence, they were not well-trained. They trusted no one except you, my lady.
But you were unconscious at the time, and the golden eagles only circled above the Prince’s manor. No one knew they were carrying such vital information.
It wasn’t until just now, when a young eagle, unable to fly further, landed, that I discovered the intelligence it carried.”
Lu Qing Wan suddenly scrambled up and ran to the door. Indeed, a flock of golden eagles was no longer circling tirelessly in the sky.
She put her fingers to her lips and whistled. Five golden eagles immediately landed. Wu Ying and Li Su rushed forward to retrieve the intelligence from the eagles’ claws.
Upon opening them, Wu Ying said with a complex expression, “The intelligence carried by the five golden eagles is largely the same, all are pleas for help.”
Only Li Su’s expression was complicated. “Only this one, this should be the Prince’s golden eagle. He wants you to return to the Reincarnation Hall and no longer concern yourself with court affairs.”
Lu Qing Wan snatched the paper from Li Su’s hand. It was a palm-sized piece of paper with tiny, fly-sized characters densely packed on it.
The content was roughly as Li Su had said, asking Lu Qing Wan to leave Shang Jing, preferably to hide in the Reincarnation Hall for a while, and to temporarily stay away from court matters.
Those few words made Li Su inexplicably recall Lu Zhen Ting, who had refused to live miserably and only sought death.
She could barely look at Lu Qing Wan’s expression, yet she had to explain for her Prince. “Madam, the Prince simply doesn’t want you to be further implicated by him.
You have seen the current chaos. The new Emperor and the forces of Xi Liang, Bei Wei, and Yun Qiang have joined forces, intent on taking the Prince’s life.
As the Regent Princess, you cannot remain uninvolved. Only by staying away from Shang Jing can you escape danger!”
While explaining for Feng Xi Wu, Li Su herself felt her words were incredibly weak. It would be strange if such words could persuade Lu Qing Wan to leave the capital.
As expected, Lu Qing Wan stared at her without blinking, her expression unchanged as she asked, “Then what about him?
I can hide in the Reincarnation Hall, but what about him?
What about those hundreds of thousands of Xuan Jia Army soldiers? Should they be left to fend for themselves, or pray for a miracle from heaven to spare their lives?”
Li Su was speechless. The snowfields of the northwest were not much warmer than a true winter at this time of year.
If Lu Qing Wan did nothing, the fate of Feng Xi Wu and the Xuan Jia soldiers would likely be starvation or freezing to death, and they would struggle to even die on the battlefield fighting the enemy.
Because in such harsh conditions, the troops from the two states and their allies would not waste soldiers fighting the Xuan Jia Army; they would simply aim to starve Feng Xi Wu and the Xuan Jia Army into submission without expending a single soldier.
Lu Qing Wan’s face turned cold as she grabbed the jumbled intelligence reports, one by one, and threw them into the brazier to burn to ashes.
Without looking up, she said, “Wu Ying, spare no expense to gather food and winter clothing. Send as much as you can to the northwest.
Li Su, contact Shen Tang Zhou immediately. I need to ensure that once the food and winter clothing reach the northwest, they can be delivered to the Prince.”
“Duan Yue!”
Lu Qing Wan’s voice was slightly hoarse. As soon as she called out, Duan Yue appeared before her.
“What are your orders, Master?”
“Summon the most authoritative person from the Reincarnation Hall to see me.”
After they acknowledged their orders, Lu Qing Wan immediately added, “Prepare the carriage and horses. I am going into the palace.”
“Madam!”
Li Su cried out in alarm. With Feng Xi Wu trapped, Lu Qing Wan entering the palace at this time was tantamount to walking into a trap.
Lu Qing Wan looked at her coldly, “You made a unilateral decision once already. That was my father’s command, and I could do nothing to you.
Now, can I not even order you around?”
Her face was devoid of emotion, but Li Su could clearly see that if she dared to stop Lu Qing Wan again this time, she would likely no longer be qualified to remain by Lu Qing Wan’s side.
The Prince and Marquis Lu had both entrusted Lu Qing Wan to her care. She had to at least stay by Lu Qing Wan’s side to be able to follow and protect her.
Therefore, she swallowed all her unspoken words and said, “Madam, please don’t be angry. I will go and prepare the carriage and horses immediately.”
With Li Su’s lesson learned, Duan Yue and the others no longer attempted to stop Lu Qing Wan, but they all rode their horses to follow her as she set out.
Lu Qing Wan did not stop them. Everyone collectively breathed a sigh of relief, fearing that Lu Qing Wan might fly into a rage and leave without any guards.
However, their relief was premature. As the carriage swayed to the palace gate, Lu Qing Wan stepped out and handed a memorial to Li Su.
“You don’t need to follow me in. If I am not out in two hours, take this and go to Prime Minister Wen.
Li Su instinctively opened her mouth to speak but was stopped by a sharp glance from Lu Qing Wan, and she fell silent.
Thus, Lu Qing Wan, dressed in the most formal attire of a Regent Princess, entered the palace alone, step by step.
Feng Qing Heng was in the Imperial Study, reviewing memorials. When the chief eunuch announced that the Regent Princess requested an audience, he was momentarily stunned. “Lu Qing Wan, what does she want?”
The chief eunuch, naturally, could not answer his question. Feng Qing Heng had merely asked casually. After speaking, he continued on his own, “Let her in.”
Having said that, he emerged from behind his desk and deliberately walked to the high seat of honor, assuming the posture of a ruler. It was as if doing so would make him appear more noble than Lu Qing Wan.
He had even anticipated Lu Qing Wan groveling and begging him to dispatch troops to rescue Lu Zhen Ting and Feng Xi Wu.
However, Lu Qing Wan delivered a resounding slap to his face with her actions.
As soon as Lu Qing Wan entered the room, she neither bowed nor offered greetings. Upon entering, without a word, a ridiculously long whip flew directly towards his face.
Crack…
After two sharp cracks against his body, Feng Qing Heng finally reacted and fled in disarray.
Dodging frantically, he cursed, “Lu Qing Wan, have you gone mad!
Are you trying to assassinate the Emperor?
Guards, guards! Seize her…”