Princess Dowager Wen also knelt straight up in shock, "You, you knew all along?"
"Is there anything this King doesn't know?"
Feng Xi Wu looked at Princess Dowager Wen with cold indifference, "You poisoned my face when I was young, causing my mother's death? Or did you use me to threaten my imperial brother to save your own life?"
...
Feng Xi Wu listed too many crimes at once. He didn't expect Princess Dowager Wen to admit them. He left as soon as he finished speaking.
Princess Dowager Wen was completely stunned and speechless.
After leaving the South Mansion's separate courtyard, Feng Xi Wu coldly ordered, "Keep an eye on this place, cut off all her contact with the outside world, and don't let her interfere in external affairs anymore."
Li Yang knew that His Royal Highness always felt unhappy after visiting the Consort Dowager, but his expression had never been so grim.
Standing there now, he seemed even more composed than Li Jin.
He immediately replied, "I will leave a few hidden guards here first, and then I'll send more people to replace them later."
Feng Xi Wu grunted dully in agreement.
For a long time after they left, Feng Xi Wu didn't say much, and Lu Qing Wan didn't speak either.
After a while, Feng Xi Wu seemed to have recovered, "Ask whatever you want to ask."
Lu Qing Wan blinked and said, "If treating your leg requires surgery like saving my father, can you accept it?"
Having accidentally learned such a big secret about Feng Xi Wu, Lu Qing Wan couldn't help but feel uneasy. After much thought, the best way to reassure herself would be to let him know one of her secrets. She still didn't have the courage to let Feng Xi Wu see those medical devices directly. Using the equipment on Feng Xi Wu would not only heal his leg but also create a shared secret between them. It would be a win-win situation, provided Feng Xi Wu agreed.
Feng Xi Wu looked at Lu Qing Wan for a moment, then chuckled softly, "Were you scared?"
"What do you think?"
Lu Qing Wan patted her chest and also laughed, "Can you give me a heads-up before you drop such earth-shattering news next time, so I can prepare myself mentally?" Hearing a secret concerning the current Emperor, the Regent King, and a Consort Dowager whose status was comparable to an Empress Dowager, even a steadfast person like Lu Qing Wan would have to panic a little.
"I didn't expect to fall out with her so quickly." Feng Xi Wu said with a hint of helplessness, "She must have received news that Father-in-law is still alive. Fearing that my imperial brother will announce his survival at tomorrow's birthday celebration, and that I won't be able to take concubines for a while, she's rushing to force you to willingly agree to bring Wen Ruge into the household."
Lu Zhenting had won the battle and returned from the brink of death. For Feng Xi Wu, his son-in-law, to rush to take a concubine at this time would be equivalent to slapping Lu Zhenting in the face. Not to mention whether Lu Zhenting would object, even the one hundred thousand Lu family soldiers under Lu Zhenting's command would not be pleased.
Lu Qing Wan could understand all of this, but, "May I ask why Consort Dowager is so insistent on you marrying Wen Ruge? And with the ceremony of an equal wife, almost asking me, the main consort, to make way for her? She could so mercilessly use you, her own son, to poison others. How much genuine affection could she have for Wen Ruge, her niece?"
Feng Xi Wu looked at her coldly. Lu Qing Wan realized what she had said and felt awkward. "Well, I was just curious. Just pretend I didn't say anything." She then quietly shrank back into a corner of the carriage, feeling like a cat scratching at her heart.
Feng Xi Wu's long arm reached out and pulled her back to his side, "Mother Consort is not Prime Minister Wen's biological daughter, but an adopted daughter. Moreover, it was the former Empress Dowager who brought her home, and Prime Minister Wen adopted her out of love for her."
Lu Qing Wan keenly sensed the scent of gossip. Disregarding Feng Xi Wu's lecherous hand still around her, she opened her eyes wide, awaiting Feng Xi Wu's continuation.
"The former Empress Dowager was like a true elder sister to her, and their relationship was closer than that of biological sisters in ordinary families. But later, Mother Consort was manipulated. When the former Empress Dowager was heavily pregnant and close to delivery, she got into bed with the former Emperor. The former Empress Dowager caught her in the act. The former Empress Dowager was greatly stimulated, gave birth prematurely to a stillborn child, and she herself was bedridden for several years. Later, after being schemed against by Mother Consort, she passed away."
Lu Qing Wan listened and exclaimed with emotion, "The former Empress Dowager must have been a super gentle person."
"Indeed." As Feng Xi Wu spoke, his lecherous hand unconsciously moved to Lu Qing Wan's waist, "The former Emperor and the former Empress Dowager had a very good relationship. They originally only had two children, my imperial brother and Princess Jinyang. I was an accident at the time. When the former Emperor learned that Mother Consort was pregnant, he was prepared to bestow poison. It was the former Empress Dowager who persuaded the former Emperor to let me live. She even left a letter asking the former Emperor and my imperial brother to treat us mother and son well. It is because of this that I am where I am today."
Lu Qing Wan was puzzled, "That's not right. Weren't things fine between you at the beginning? Judging by your current state, it seems the former Emperor and His Majesty have faithfully fulfilled the former Empress Dowager's will. But why did she become twisted later on?"
"Twisted?" Now it was Feng Xi Wu's turn to be puzzled.
"Yes, the former Emperor, the former Empress Dowager, and His Majesty were all so good to you mother and son. If she wasn't twisted, why would she use you to harm the former Empress Dowager, poison you, and threaten His Majesty?" After speaking, she finally realized something was wrong and slapped away the lecherous hand on her waist, "I'm talking about serious matters with you, what are you doing?"
"I am talking about serious matters with you!" Feng Xi Wu looked at her with an innocent expression, his claws still restless. "By the way, has the Princess Consort forgotten her promise to help me realize my grand ambitions?"
Lu Qing Wan's face instantly turned red enough to smoke, "Feng Xi Wu, be a human!" She kicked off the ground and darted to the farthest corner from Feng Xi Wu.
Feng Xi Wu, having successfully teased his little princess consort, said with a good mood, "The matter with the former Emperor back then was due to being manipulated, but after all, she had hurt the former Empress Dowager's heart. The former Empress Dowager made arrangements that were all proper, but it also estranged Mother Consort. She was tormented by guilt and thought that if the former Empress Dowager were no longer around, she wouldn't have to bear so much guilt. She knew the former Empress Dowager liked to kiss my face, so she smeared medicine on my face. The former Empress Dowager died that night. My father was unwilling to believe she had died of illness and investigated for a long time. He finally discovered the truth, but due to the former Empress Dowager's last words, he spared her life. However, she herself was not at peace. On the day the former Emperor died, she poisoned me to control my imperial brother."
Lu Qing Wan found it incredible, "Because of guilt, she harmed others and poisoned me? What kind of logic is that? Also, do you remember the question I asked you at the beginning?" A single Wen Ruge had brought up so many issues, Lu Qing Wan was speechless.
"Why the rush? Aren't I about to tell you?" Feng Xi Wu slid along the carriage wall bit by bit, "The Prime Minister's mansion is the former Empress Dowager's maternal clan. She felt guilty and wanted me to take care of the Prime Minister's mansion more. But as you know, the Prime Minister's mansion is not only the former Empress Dowager's maternal clan, but also my imperial brother's maternal clan. It's not my place to take care of it. It wasn't until the news of Wen Ruge admiring me spread that she finally found something she thought could help the Prime Minister's mansion. She desperately wanted me to marry Wen Ruge, as if as long as I married Wen Ruge, she could reconcile her guilt towards the former Empress Dowager and the Prime Minister's mansion for all these years."