Upon alighting from the carriage, Feng Xiwu did not enter Weiyang Palace as naturally as he used to, but instead asked a palace attendant to announce their arrival.
The attendant was puzzled, "Your Highness, His Majesty has granted you special permission to enter the palace without announcement. The Consort is the same. You can go straight in."
Feng Xiwu's gesture of supporting Lu Qingwan was filled with tenderness, but towards the attendant, he was as ruthless as fallen leaves swept away by an autumn wind.
"If I tell you to announce, then announce. Why so many words?"
The attendant trembled and quickly bowed, scurrying away with small steps.
Before long, someone came to usher them in. It was not an unknown junior eunuch, but Fu An, the personal attendant of Emperor Jingyou.
Without any pleasantries, he bowed respectfully, "This old servant greets His Royal Highness the Regent and Her Highness the Consort. His Majesty invites you both to speak."
Only then did Feng Xiwu deign to step over the threshold that had never barred him.
Weiyang Palace remained unchanged. The medicinal scent had lessened since Lu Qingwan administered the potent medicine to Emperor Jingyou, which sealed his pain and replenished his energy.
Emperor Jingyou was not seated on the imperial throne but behind the nearby writing desk. As Feng Xiwu entered, he performed a grand bow, "Your subject greets Your Majesty. May Your Majesty live ten thousand years!"
Lu Qingwan followed suit, bowing her head but remaining silent.
Seeing this, Emperor Jingyou's expression held a mixture of indulgence and helplessness. He said with feigned anger, "Having allowed your little Consort to suffer some grievance, you refuse to even acknowledge your own brother, the Emperor?"
Uncertain of Feng Xiwu's intentions, Lu Qingwan dared not speak rashly.
As she was stealthily observing, Feng Xiwu supported her arm and helped her up. Then, he dropped a bombshell: "Because your subject does not know whether it is the Emperor of Daqian or my Imperial Brother who summoned us today. To be cautious ensures safety. I hope my Imperial Brother can understand."
Emperor Jingyou's mouth twitched with annoyance, "Cautious? Do you have a misunderstanding of these words? With me here, when has there ever been a need for you to be cautious for your safety?"
Feng Xiwu's expression remained unchanged, his heart beating steadily. "There was no need before, but who knows about the future. After all, I was only away for a few months, and my Consort almost became a regicide. Wouldn't you agree, Imperial Brother?"
Their eyes met, and Lu Qingwan watched, her heart pounding.
Emperor Jingyou suddenly grabbed something from the desk and threw it. Without a second thought, Lu Qingwan reached out and caught it.
With a stern face, she spoke clearly and articulately, "Your Majesty, my Prince has poor health. Any ordinary injury or illness would have its damage to his vital energy multiplied exponentially. Naturally, as the Prince's respected elder brother, I cannot be disrespectful to you. However, I implore you to remember, for every bit of harm you inflict upon my Prince, causing his old wounds to fester anew, I will inflict ten times that upon Feng Qingheng, returning all the suffering my Prince endured. With me by my Prince's side, he will surely live a hundred years without worry. But I wonder, can Feng Qingheng live to see the day you pass the throne to him?"
Having spoken, Lu Qingwan stood ready, bracing herself for Emperor Jingyou's questioning or reprimand.
Instead, the Emperor's gaze suddenly shifted to Feng Xiwu, "Old wounds festering anew? Xiwu, you are injured?" His demeanor was filled with concern for Feng Xiwu, showing no intention of holding Lu Qingwan accountable for her disrespect.
Lu Qingwan stood there stunned, while Feng Xiwu seemed unsurprised by Emperor Jingyou's reaction. However, this time he did not express gratitude for the Emperor's concern. Instead, he spoke with extreme calmness, "Imperial Brother, do you know who leaked my whereabouts outside?"
Emperor Jingyou, who had walked up to Feng Xiwu, froze with his hand half-extended. For the first time, his face displayed a rare expression of helplessness he never showed others.
Feng Xiwu pressed on, "It seems Imperial Brother already knows?"
"Yes, I know it was Prince Chen who leaked your whereabouts to Su Bojun, and hired assassins from Wuyan Palace with a hefty sum to kill you. But I immediately dispatched people from Wufeng Hall to stop them. And Xiwu, I know your greatest concern is not for yourself, but for your Consort. I have prepared a Dan Shu Tie Quan for her. After I pass away, no matter what Prince Chen intends to do, it will be impossible for him to harm your Consort in any overt way."
The emperor, who had shown no loss of composure even when facing his incurable illness, bowed his head to Feng Xiwu at this moment. "For the sake of how I have treated you as a brother and father all these years, can you let him go, and let Daqian go too? You know, I had a smooth life from a young age, with loving parents. I have never sought anything for myself. Only Daqian, my life's work, must not be ruined in my hands!"
Feng Xiwu, surprised, took the object from Lu Qingwan's hand. Only upon closer inspection did he realize that Emperor Jingyou had used a Dan Shu Tie Quan to strike him, an artifact that had appeared only twice in Daqian's three-hundred-year history. He was somewhat moved, but forced himself to remain rational. "Imperial Brother, since you deployed Wufeng Hall, you must know that this is not the first time Prince Chen has acted against me. I hold military power and can protect myself. With the Dan Shu Tie Quan, my life is also safe. But Imperial Brother, you know how vengeful Prince Chen is. What about those ministers who have offended him? If he seeks retribution, will I protect them or not?"
Feng Xiwu, holding Lu Qingwan's hand, felt both guilt and heartache. "I owe your kindness and that of our mother. But my Consort owes no one. I framed her father previously, and slandered her for regicide afterward. All this, simply because after he broke off their engagement, my Consort did not grieve as he wished, but lived quite well, and he thus lost the support of Marquis Lu. How can you dare to make such a person the Crown Prince of Daqian?"
"Then what do you want me to do?" Emperor Jingyou roared. "Do I only have him as an heir? Do you want me to hand over the empire of Daqian?"
Feng Xiwu, even when angry, disliked shouting. He calmly said, "What about Prince Jing? Where do you place him, Imperial Brother? Prince Jing has made some mistakes, but are Prince Chen's mistakes not several times heavier than Prince Jing's?"
Considering previous events, he even added an explanation, "The Consort said she can cure Prince Jing's illness. She has saved so many people, why don't you believe she can cure Prince Jing?"
Emperor Jingyou looked at Lu Qingwan with sorrowful eyes and shook his head weakly. "I know, my sister-in-law's medical skills are unparalleled. However, even the most powerful medical skills cannot heal someone who is... rootless, can they?"
Lu Qingwan and Feng Xiwu were both dumbfounded. What was this "rootless person"? After a long pause, Feng Xiwu finally asked in bewilderment, "Is what Imperial Brother said what I am thinking? Did you mispeak, or did I misinterpret?"
Emperor Jingyou returned to his desk and sank into his chair, his eyes slightly closed. He said weakly, "It is exactly what you are thinking."