Si Fengwu recalled for a long time before speaking, "If I remember correctly, he should be a hereditary prince of the Egu tribe. Although he holds the title of Prince, his tribe has long been divided by Khan Helu and the Prince of Hetao.
His troops are only enough to raise cattle and sheep for self-sufficiency.
Does he have the means to rebel?"
Lu Qingwan also suddenly realized.
Upon their arrival in Zhongzhou, Si Fengming had provided them with information on important figures from various countries.
This Prince of Zhasak, Ashina Jue, should have been an insignificant figure on the list of Turks.
Lu Qingwan distinctly remembered that thick dossier, containing at least a hundred pages, with very little information about Ashina Jue.
She could only recall the phrase, "Ashina Jue, the seventh-generation Prince of Zhasak, without any fiefdom..."
She could not remember anything else.
For someone who could remember everything at a glance like Lu Qingwan to overlook him could only mean that his presence was extremely weak.
Yet now, Lian Yu told them that this seemingly insignificant fringe figure, whom they couldn't even recall intentionally, had rebelled.
Lian Yu seemed to have anticipated their astonished reaction. He smiled and stood up, walking towards the bookshelf. "I knew you wouldn't believe it. Look at this. After you see this, you'll probably understand what's going on."
The thick scroll was unfurled, and the two looked at it suspiciously. It was a list of weapons and provisions.
What caught their attention the most was the name Abahazashan Ziyi.
Lu Qingwan's gaze fixed on it, and she asked uncertainly, "If I remember correctly, 'Aba' means princess, right?
Were these firearms provided by Feng Ziyi to the Prince of Zhasak?"
That was correct. The scroll clearly recorded the entire process of the transaction between Abahazashan Ziyi and the Prince of Zhasak, Ashina Jue.
It explicitly stated that Abahazashan Ziyi provided weapons, intelligence, troops, and even provisions to Prince Ashina Jue to help him overthrow Khan Helu.
In return, Sasan Ziyi's only demand was that Ashina Jue would not actively antagonize Da Qin and Tianfeng after ascending the throne. Otherwise, she would withdraw her support of weapons.
Lian Yu grinned, clearly surprised as well. "You guessed correctly. Sasan Ziyi is that Lady Ziyi from the Samsara Hall.
Based on the timeline, her cooperation with Ashina Jue should have begun three years ago."
"Three years ago? That would be around the time we found out Liu Hanyan was still alive."
Lu Qingwan pondered for a moment and turned to Duan Yue. "Go and check immediately if there have been any unusual movements in the Samsara Hall recently, especially concerning Liu Xunran and Feng Ziyi. Report back as soon as you have any news."
Duan Yue left upon receiving the order. Si Fengwu and Lian Yu both sat up. "What have you thought of?"
"Liu Xunran and Feng Ziyi are acting strangely."
Lu Qingwan said astutely, "If they had consistently tried to force me to tolerate Liu Hanyan's various indiscretions and forgive her neglect and harm towards me, then Feng Ziyi asking me to spare Nangong Che for Liu Xunran's sake on the island, Liu Xunran sending Yuan'er back without any hesitation, and accepting our compensation would all have been logical.
But in reality, Feng Ziyi made such a request at a critical moment when we were attacking Sansheng Tower, and Liu Xunran didn't proactively ask me for anything.
She only didn't try to stop me when I resigned as Saintess and returned the Blood Crow Token.
I suspect that Feng Ziyi deliberately chose that timing to make me spare Nangong Che, not to save Liu Hanyan and Nangong Che, but to provoke me.
As for the purpose of provoking me, looking at this scroll, we can probably guess one or two things."
Everyone's gaze focused on the scroll filled with significant information. Si Fengwu finally asked the crucial question, "Where did this scroll come from?"
The intelligence on it should have been top secret for both the Samsara Hall and Ashina Jue.
Yet, such important information fell into Lian Yu's hands, which naturally made people suspicious.
Lian Yu was waiting for them to ask this question. He replied decisively, "The item was delivered to the Ministry of War.
I have investigated. The person who delivered it was paid for the task and knew nothing about the origin or content of this document.
However, I had someone draw a portrait based on that person's description. You can take a look; perhaps you can identify them."
As he finished speaking, he casually took out a scroll from the side.
The scroll slowly unfurled. Lu Qingwan looked at the familiar portrait with no surprise. "As expected, if anyone from the Illusory Night Sea truly wanted to bind us, it would only be her."
Although the portrait was not very realistic, Lu Qingwan and Si Fengwu easily recognized Meng Fusu, whom they did not know very well but who had always helped them greatly each time they met.
"Yazhou is thousands of miles from Xindu, and it also requires a detour through Tuerke. How did she manage to get the item and deliver it to Lian Yu before us?"
What puzzled Lu Qingwan even more was that she and Liu Hanyan were practically sworn enemies, yet at this critical juncture, she was meticulously mediating between her and the Samsara Hall.
She really couldn't understand what she was doing.
"Meng Fusu is Meng Fuyuan's younger sister and also an elder in the Cold Sky Hall. Some matters do not require her to personally handle them."
Si Fengwu said as he read the scroll from beginning to end. "She said she wanted to atone for Meng Fusu's identity.
Perhaps, as you suspect, Liu Xunran and Feng Ziyi were not truly intending to trouble you for Liu Hanyan's sake, but rather the things they needed to do had to be kept from you."
Right and wrong were not solely judged by mountains of intelligence and what the eyes could see.
The details alone, such as Feng Ziyi's betrayal and her request for Lu Qingwan to spare Nangong Che, and her dispatching people to prevent Nangong Che from returning to Yeddu, and Liu Xunran's deliberate concealment of the fact that the real Lu Qingwan was alive, made it reasonable for Lu Qingwan to part ways with them.
However, in reality, Lu Qingwan had known Liu Xunran and Feng Ziyi for many years, and she had her own judgment about their character.
Perhaps Liu Xunran, out of maternal love for her daughter, and Feng Ziyi, out of admiration for Liu Xunran, might have acted with some bias, but their basic principles would not change.
Lu Qingwan instinctively felt that no matter what, Liu Xunran and Feng Ziyi would not be unreasonable.
Most importantly, setting aside the objective evidence, she was more willing to believe that Liu Xunran and Feng Ziyi had their reasons for acting the way they did, and even, she was quite willing to believe that their actions were to protect her.
Si Fengwu looked at Lu Qingwan, his eyes as dark and deep as an abyss.
To this day, whether the Samsara Hall and Tianfeng were friends or foes depended entirely on Lu Qingwan's will.