With Emperor Jingyou dead, Si Fengwu had few ties in this world, with only her and her sole elder brother, Si Fengming, remaining as beings she cared for.
For her sake, Si Fengwu would restrain her cold temper, and for Si Fengming, she could do things she would otherwise not.
There was no one in the Great Qin court connected to her, leaving only matters concerning Si Fengming.
For Lu Qingwan, deducing that Prime Minister Yan and the King of Youzhou were the options was almost effortless.
But truthfully, she wished she had guessed wrong.
Whether it was Prime Minister Yan, who had helped them when Si Fengming was at his lowest, or the King of Youzhou, who had protected them diligently since childhood, Lu Qingwan did not wish for Si Fengwu to be at odds with either of them.
However, fate was the most capricious, and she could not have everything go her way.
Lian Yu felt a pang of sympathy seeing her worried expression, but he still nodded with a sigh, "It is Prime Minister Yan. Not only did he actively propose that the Prince retrieve the court's losses, but he brought it up publicly and without warning. The Minister of Internal Affairs, the Grand Marshal, and the Grand Minister of Agriculture were all present at the time. If the Prince refused, it would have put the Emperor in a difficult position. There's no need to guess; he did it intentionally."
With a bang, something heavy landed at Lu Qingwan's feet.
Lu Qingwan was startled, and looking down, she saw a dark figure scramble up and rush towards her.
Having just bottled up her frustration, she delivered a swift kick.
The person probably didn't even understand how they were struck before being sent flying.
With a thud, they slammed heavily against the gates of the Wanyan Mansion, forcing open the tightly shut doors.
Those inside, preparing to break out, saw the gates open and, without a second thought, rushed out.
Anger flared in Lu Qingwan's heart. She abandoned her steel whip and, brandishing a soft rope about ten feet long, swept it across. Screams erupted.
The pursuing soldiers were fierce. Seeing that Lu Qingwan and Lian Yu were only two, the men, unconcerned that their comrades had suffered, ran towards the door one after another.
Among the group of black-clad figures, a yellow-skinned, dark-eyed face without a mask stood out conspicuously.
The moment Lu Qingwan swung her whip, that person leaped onto a nearby wall.
From inside, Li Su's roar echoed, "Princess Consort, stop him! That person is from the Great Qin court!"
Hearing this, Lu Qingwan immediately flicked her wrist and swung her arm in a wide arc. The tip of the whip coiled around the man's ankle, and with a tug, he was pulled to the ground.
Lian Yu, who had been left and right with his sword, leaped down from the rockery with practiced ease, landing steadily on the man.
The man, already not lightly injured from being yanked off the wall by Lu Qingwan, was further battered by Lian Yu's stomp, spitting out a large mouthful of blood on the spot.
A normal person, subjected to such treatment, would likely have collapsed on the ground.
But this person was truly like a cockroach, impossible to kill. Even so, they persisted in trying to get up.
Pinned to the ground by Lian Yu and unable to rise, they glared fiercely at Lian Yu and Lu Qingwan, their mouth moving in a silent struggle...
Suddenly, they coughed and spat out another mouthful of blood, their body tilting precariously, half-sprawled on the ground. Even Lian Yu, standing on them, nearly lost his balance and fell flat on his face.
Lu Qingwan looked at the man slumped on the ground with disgust. "Still trying to play the suicide-to-preserve-honor trick in front of me? Taking poison to commit suicide? Did your master forget to tell you that when they sent you here to cause trouble, I'm the ancestor of poisons?"
The black-clad men inside, still attempting to rush out, were stunned by Lu Qingwan's demeanor. They then turned and fled towards the back door.
Everyone clearly heard a shout: "Damn it, this cursed woman is too damn weird! Go to the back door, escape through the back door!"
Lu Qingwan let out a cold laugh and turned to Li Su. "Follow them. Not a single one of them is allowed to escape tonight."
The latter, too busy to even respond, turned and left directly.
Lu Qingwan dragged the man by his ankle towards a corner. His poisoned fangs had already been kicked out; with her here, he wouldn't die.
As for whether his head bumped into anything during the dragging, that was not her concern.
Lian Yu waved his hand, signaling the subordinates in the courtyard to continue their operations, and then quietly followed.
Behind a rockery at the entrance of the Wanyan Mansion, Lu Qingwan injected the man with a truth serum and waited for the drug to take effect.
After Lian Yu caught up, he said without preamble, "Everyone around us is our own people, Princess Consort, so don't worry. No one heard what Li Su said."
They had initially suspected the Tujue people were instigating remnants of the Northern Wei to cause trouble, but it turned out that an unknown number of Great Qin people had infiltrated the crowd.
If this news were to spread, regardless of who the true mastermind was, most people would suspect Si Fengming.
As the saying goes, three people talking about a tiger can make it real. Even if the bond between Si Fengwu and Si Fengming was as strong as stone, after repeated incidents like this, who knew if their relationship could withstand the test?
Lu Qingwan ignored Lian Yu. Seeing the man's pupils dilate, she cut straight to the chase, "Speak, who is your master?"
The man hesitated for a moment, as if struggling with his own consciousness. After a long pause, he managed to utter, "Prime Minister's son, Yan Heling."
The Yan family again.
Lu Qingwan took a deep breath. "Why did Yan Heling send you to Northern Wei? Do you have any accomplices, and what are their missions?"
Unlike others who spilled everything when given the truth serum, this man, while confessing, seemed to be undergoing a difficult struggle with each word he spoke.
After a long while, he spoke again, "My son ordered us to find ways to sow discord between brothers Si Fengming and Si Fengwu, and to report Si Fengwu's whereabouts at all times. My accomplices are stationed in different parts of the three eastern and western kingdoms. I don't know their specific identities or locations, but I know they are to find His Highness the Crown Prince and bring him back to Zhongzhou..."
After nearly two hours of questioning, and having exhausted all avenues for useful information, Lu Qingwan mercilessly stepped on the man's heart.
As the man's breathing ceased, Lu Qingwan turned back. "Military advisor, what do you think Prime Minister Yan knows about this?"
Lian Yu shook his head. "More than that, I'm more curious why Yan Heling wanted them to report the Prince's whereabouts at all times?"
The Yan family was the Empress's maternal clan, the Crown Prince's maternal relatives. When powerful collateral relatives sought to usurp authority, it was common for them to overstep their bounds and make decisions for the Emperor and Empress. Thus, any small actions by the Yan family towards Si Fengming and his wife were understandable. However, the constant tracking of Si Fengwu was rather perplexing, and Lian Yu was truly baffled.
Lu Qingwan, however, was not at all vague. She even had the leisure to calmly remind him, "Military advisor, have you forgotten? The other party is not only investigating the Prince's whereabouts in real-time but is also looking for Xiao Yuan'er?"