Lu Qing Wan blinked, "The two officials of the Wen family are holding a birthday banquet for Elder Wen to show filial piety, and you and I are almost using it to our advantage. Is this really okay?"
First, they used the excuse of a birthday banquet to contact Wen Ru Ge, and now they were going to use the banquet to contact the female chieftain of the Wu tribe. Lu Qing Wan inexplicably felt a bit guilty.
Si Feng Wu, however, saw through her act without mercy.
"If you think it's not good, why are your eyes narrowing into crescent moons?"
She clearly thought the same as him, yet she still put on a show. Si Feng Wu felt that his little princess consort was becoming more and more like a little drama queen.
Li Su couldn't help but snicker.
Lu Qing Wan, flushed with embarrassment, punched Si Feng Wu and forcefully steered the conversation back on track, "Since that's the case, then it's settled.
We'll split up and try to divide the Lin family's businesses before the enthronement ceremony.
Oh, and when dealing with the Lin family's businesses, don't skip any of the necessary procedures. Go to a few more places, and consider it as screening the lower-level officials for the imperial court.
Whether it's grassroots officials or those yamen runners and small fry, anyone who can't correctly position themselves and takes the court's salary to pledge loyalty to Lin Dong Ye, record them all. I'll contact Chi Jing Chuan to replace them all."
...
Time flew by, and in the blink of an eye, another half a month had passed. Elder Wen's eightieth birthday banquet arrived as scheduled.
Lu Qing Wan, who was usually suffering from severe laziness, woke up without anyone calling her. She sat at the dressing table, letting Man Chun comb her hair and dress her.
Si Feng Wu stood behind her, looking amused, "It's just attending a birthday banquet, are you that excited?"
"What do you know? For you men, these banquets are fields of revelry with clinking cups, but for us women, they are battlefields without smoke."
Lu Qing Wan said earnestly, "It's fine for others, but Madam Yue Zhao and Madam Mu Ge Chieftain both consider themselves to be like empresses ruling the world.
If I, the future empress, lose in terms of presence, won't I bring shame to the new dynasty?"
Despite her words, the clothes Lu Qing Wan chose were festive and conventional. They were not overly ornate, and at least they wouldn't overshadow the host.
Si Feng Wu chuckled and shook his head, then got up to find a cape to match her outfit.
"It's much warmer here in the new capital than in Shangjing, but winter is approaching. Don't just focus on looking good and catch a cold."
Lu Qing Wan glanced at him, her gaze falling on the cape he found, its style and color all to her liking. She then said obediently, "Don't worry, I'm not one of those foolish people who value appearance over warmth."
After all, it was Elder Wen's birthday banquet, and inviting Madam Yue Zhao was just a tentative contact. Lu Qing Wan and Si Feng Wu didn't have much to do that day, so their attention naturally shifted to other matters.
"The enthronement ceremony, the ministers are urging you again, aren't they?
What are your thoughts?"
It was one thing before they came to the new capital; even if the ministers were anxious, they wouldn't bother the two of them.
Now that they were both in the new capital but still hadn't mentioned the enthronement, it was no wonder that Si Feng Wu's ministers were urging him every day.
Even for Lu Qing Wan, every time she went out, she would encounter some ministers' families who, openly or implicitly, urged her to whisper to Si Feng Wu to ascend the throne sooner.
"Let's wait until after this year."
Si Feng Wu seemed not very enthusiastic about becoming emperor. "Once the military and political reforms are over, and the Lin family's businesses are resolved, the issue of the 'New Dynasty's Enslavement Theory' should also be mostly settled.
Then, when I ascend the throne, there won't be so many miscellaneous matters."
Lu Qing Wan herself didn't care much about when Si Feng Wu ascended the throne. Hearing this, she continued, "That's not much time left. We should set the date for the enthronement and send out the diplomatic letters, shouldn't we?
Otherwise, if the date for the enthronement ceremony is set and the guests for the imperial court's congratulations can't make it, won't it be very awkward?"
For Si Feng Wu to ascend the throne, Da Qin would definitely send grand gifts to congratulate him. To showcase the new dynasty's status, Si Feng Wu and Lu Qing Wan had also decided to invite Southern Qi and the Turks.
The journey to each of these countries to the new dynasty took more than two months. If they didn't notify them early, and the guests were still on the way when the enthronement ceremony began, the new dynasty's first enthronement ceremony would become a joke.
Si Feng Wu agreed with Lu Qing Wan's opinion. He pressed her down at the dining table and calmly replied, "After the birthday banquet today, I will convene the Imperial Observatory, the Ministry of Rites, and the Court of State Ceremonial officials to decide on the date for the enthronement ceremony.
Once the date is set, we will send out the diplomatic letters."
Since Si Feng Wu was taking this matter seriously, Lu Qing Wan no longer needed to worry about it.
As she leisurely ate her breakfast, Li Qing arrived.
"Reporting to Your Highness, Your Highness, Wu Ying has found some victims who were trafficked to Da Qin, and they are already on their way back.
In addition, the subordinates, following Your Highness's orders, have also found some people by tracing the source of the rumors.
However, those people were attacked by a group of unidentified individuals on their way back to the capital. A total of thirty-two people, and thirteen died.
According to the brothers below, the attackers were wearing the armor of the Xuan Jia Army, and they specifically chose crowded places to launch their surprise attack.
At the time of the incident... some of the victims' family members were present."
Lu Qing Wan was slowly eating her meal, leisurely listening to Li Qing's report.
Upon hearing the last sentence, she directly pushed away her bowl and chopsticks, no longer eating. "The bandits were wearing the armor of the Xuan Jia Army, and among the onlookers were the victims' family members.
Then what did you do?"
This explanation clearly indicated that someone had already known Li Qing's route and had specifically chosen the venue to put on a show for the public.
With one wrong step, the Xuan Jia Army would become culprits who harmed the common people.
If the other party's scheme succeeded, how could Si Feng Wu, the commander who personally created the Xuan Jia Army, fare any better?
Fortunately, Li Qing and his subordinates were not stupid. "The brothers from Wu Feng Hall were in charge at the time, and they originally intended to capture those impersonating the Xuan Jia Army alive.
After discovering the victims' family members among the crowd, they directly killed them in public.
Following your previous method, they were hanged in the market, and a substantial reward was offered for anyone who recognized the assassins.
However, the brothers couldn't linger in the local area for too long. We only left a few people there to guard the rewards, and the subsequent handling of the matter was handed over to Dai Shi Chang, the prefect of Rong Cheng."
Upon hearing Li Qing's words, Lu Qing Wan finally breathed a sigh of relief. "Well done. Tell Wu Ying to add more manpower to escort the victims back to the new capital, and secretly send a team as a precaution.
Also, let Wu Feng send a team to rendezvous with them.
If they encounter any obstacles along the way, the lives of the victims are paramount."
With that, Lu Qing Wan did not wait for Li Qing to respond and turned to ask Si Feng Wu, "Has someone been inciting the ministers to petition for a reduction in military expenses these past few days?"
"More specifically, they are petitioning for a reduction in the military expenses of the Xuan Jia Army for this King."