The Southern King's words were met with a chorus of agreement.
Lu Qing Wan stared intently at Feng Qing Heng. By orchestrating this scene with all the civil and military officials present, she aimed to reclaim Lu Zhen Ting's remains.
If Feng Qing Heng was willing to act as the Emperor of Da Qian, all well and good. But if he refused, then she would have to handle it herself.
The outcome was somewhat unexpected. Feng Qing Heng readily agreed to the request. "Marquis Lu sacrificed himself for the nation. It is only right to bring back his remains. Minister Chi, draft an imperial decree immediately and dispatch it to Northern Wei. Ensure our dynasty's stance is clearly conveyed."
Feng Qing Heng's swift agreement caught Lu Qing Wan slightly off guard.
Upon reflection, Lu Zhen Ting was already dead and posed no threat to him. Reclaiming the body would earn him a good reputation; it was a win-win situation, and Feng Qing Heng had no reason not to agree.
By forcing Feng Qing Heng to order the retrieval of Lu Zhen Ting's remains and to send reinforcements and provisions to him in front of all the officials, and with the leverage of the medicine, any further schemes from Feng Qing Heng would be akin to digging his own grave.
Having achieved her objective, Lu Qing Wan left the palace, satisfied. Upon returning to her manor, Ying Yi reported, "Princess Fei Feng has successfully departed the capital. I dispatched a squad of guards to escort her, and we have not detected any pursuit so far."
This was another piece of good news, and Lu Qing Wan's long-depressed mood finally began to lift. Her small face, no longer set in a grim expression, asked, "Did you find the fireworks master I asked you to look for?"
"I did."
Li Su belatedly remembered, "Right, Your Highness. The Prince previously captured a few people in the northwest and had Shen Tang Zhou send them back. They were under Xie Shi Yu and worked with explosives. They should be in the dungeon now. Perhaps they would be more useful than a fireworks master?"
Lu Qing Wan was quite surprised. "Can Xie Shi Yu's people be reliable?"
"They are opportunistic individuals who would serve anyone who offered them benefits. Whether their creations are reliable is unknown, but as soon as they saw the knife in my hand, they confessed everything. Their character is quite questionable."
Lu Qing Wan had not been interested in these people initially, but this information piqued her interest. "Give them a copy of my gunpowder formula, and give one to the fireworks master as well. Regardless of who creates it, notify me immediately."
Li Su, intensely curious about Lu Qing Wan's new weapons, acknowledged the order and withdrew.
From then on, Lu Qing Wan lived a life of anxious waiting for news of Feng Xi Wu, while simultaneously directing artisans in the development of new weapons, preparing for a decisive battle.
A full twenty days passed, and the capital welcomed a late spring chill.
Lu Qing Wan meticulously kept track of the news that the late spring cold in the northwest this year was more severe than usual. For the umpteenth time, she asked Li Su, "Has any new information arrived recently?"
"The Imperial Guard Commander Du Hui Huang accused you of assaulting a court official and abusing your power. The new Emperor ignored it. Additionally, although there is no definitive news yet, I've heard whispers that Northern Wei refuses to hand over Marquis Lu's remains. Furthermore, they've declared that to obtain Marquis Lu's body, one would need the Yongning River to flow upstream to the Yongning Dam, or else, hand over the culprit who breached the dam, which is the Prince."
"Feng Qing Heng knows best about the Yongning Dam. By using this as leverage, they are not only protecting the Marquis of Xuan Wu and his son but also increasing the price for the Prince's release, allowing him to legitimately abandon the Prince?" Lu Qing Wan raised her hand, marred by a hideous scar. "As expected, relying on oneself is better than relying on anyone else! Go and prepare my horse. I'm going to the northwest. If Feng Qing Heng won't save the Prince, I will! If he refuses to bring back my father's remains, I will!"
Lu Qing Wan's tone was not angry; it was as if she had long anticipated such a day.
Li Su gestured for her subordinates to make preparations, then asked with confusion, "Your Highness, if you intend to rescue the Prince and retrieve the Marquis's remains yourself, why didn't you depart twenty days ago? Delaying these twenty days is essentially leaving the Prince in greater peril for twenty days and allowing the Marquis to wander in the afterlife for twenty days longer?"
Lu Qing Wan slowly lifted her head, her eyes filled with an unreadable weight and sorrow. "If I had gone to the northwest twenty days ago, would the grain, winter clothing, and reinforcements still have reached the northwest?"
Li Su suddenly understood. Lu Qing Wan's agonizing twenty-day wait in the manor was to ensure that the relief supplies and reinforcements for the northwest would arrive intact. Otherwise, even if she personally reached the snow mountain, rescued Feng Xi Wu, and reclaimed Lu Zhen Ting's body, with those 180,000 royal troops present, Feng Xi Wu would still be unable to escape. Only when the 180,000 royal troops were relieved could she freely go to save Feng Qing Heng and Lu Zhen Ting.
Li Su momentarily struggled to comprehend how arduous Lu Qing Wan's past twenty days had been. Her heart filled with a myriad of emotions, but with a pile of tasks at hand, despite her concern for Lu Qing Wan, she still had to involve Lu Qing Wan in these trivial matters. She pursed her lips and lowered her head, "Your Highness, the brothers monitoring the Chi manor have sent word that the personal maid of the Minister of Works' wife has frequent contact with Miss Chi's wet nurse. It seems they intend to use the marriage of the eldest son of the Chi family as leverage to force Grand Secretary Chi to side with them."
Lu Qing Wan raised an eyebrow. "After Yao Yao left, they set their sights on Chi Jing Chuan. Do they know which young lady Chi Jing Chuan is fond of?"
"The daughter of the Minister of War's son—Meng Xin Tong." Li Su answered without hesitation, providing the information Lu Qing Wan sought.
The latter paused. "Is this Minister of War an admirer of Feng Qing Heng?" Emperor Jing You had, before his death, practically severed all of Feng Qing Heng's connections. Lu Qing Wan was very surprised that he had found new supporters so quickly.
"He wasn't originally, but the Ministry of War's storage was destroyed by fire. The Minister of War was inherently responsible. However, the new Emperor blamed the Southern King for the exchange of military equipment and provisions and fined the Southern King a year's salary. This made Minister Meng a loyal supporter of the new Emperor." Li Su also deeply admired the new Emperor's methods of winning people over.
"Of course, it's not entirely due to the new Emperor's skill in winning over people." Her expression clearly implied something, and Lu Qing Wan, following her lead, inquired, "What other intricacies are involved?"
"There are indeed many intricacies. Besides trying to win over veteran officials like Prime Minister Wen and Grand Secretary Chi, the new Emperor is also focusing on those who have had disputes with you and the Prince." Li Su counted on her fingers, listing them for Lu Qing Wan. "Take Miss Meng, for example. Six months ago, before your and the Prince's wedding, she carelessly called Princess An Yang a jinx and the Prince crippled. The Prince ordered her to be beaten with thirty boards and forbidden from entering the palace for five years. Normally, a noble lady forbidden from the palace for five years would be considered unlikely to find a good marriage. The new Emperor's scheme not only provides Meng Xin Tong with a good marriage but also forces Grand Secretary Chi into an unbreakable connection with them. This is killing two birds with one stone!"