Lu Qing Wan's eyes widened in shock, "Where did you get that?"
"I caught it on the way."
Li Qing still found the act of carrying a bird with him to be insane. He said awkwardly, "I knew you and His Highness were going into the palace, so Li Su insisted that I bring a small animal. I couldn't catch anything else, rats are too dirty and might scare you, so I caught a sparrow."
Lu Qing Wan looked at the sparrow in Li Qing's hand, its eyes rolling in distress. Her mouth twitched, "You might as well have caught me a rat! A sparrow flying around the palaces, even if no one knew it was my messenger, it would be killed!"
Hearing Lu Qing Wan so openly reveal her secret, Li Qing looked up at her in surprise.
Lu Qing Wan shrugged dismissively, "You are all people by my side, what is there for you not to know? It would be boring to hide things. What was before will be the same in the future. But if you're going to help, can you please use your brain?"
Lu Qing Wan could speak the language of beasts, and her ability to hide things on her person was an open secret among those close to her. It was just that everyone tacitly helped her keep it. However, going to the imperial palace to gather intelligence and bringing a sparrow was an incredibly foolish act that Lu Qing Wan could no longer tolerate.
Ru Yue struggled to hold back her laughter, and Li Qing's toes curled in embarrassment. "This subordinate knows his mistake, Your Highness. Please calm your anger. This subordinate will release this sparrow immediately and go catch a rat in the Imperial Garden." He then turned as if to go catch a rat.
Lu Qing Wan, without a word, threw Da Bai out. Li Qing caught the cat in a flurry and looked at Lu Qing Wan blankly, "Your Highness?" She released Da Bai, who would collect intelligence on its own. "You two just stay here obediently and don't cause trouble."
Li Qing looked at the black cat in his arms, which seemed to have shrunk by a size, and chuckled foolishly, "This subordinate will help Da Bai go out." After all, Lu Qing Wan and Feng Xi Wu arrived empty-handed, and a live cat appearing when they left would be too strange. This time, Lu Qing Wan nodded in agreement.
They waited for over an hour. Lu Qing Wan did not wait for the King of Qingzhou, but received a summons from Emperor Geng Shi. As soon as she entered the main hall, Lu Qing Wan felt Emperor Geng Shi's meaningful gaze. When she stepped forward, before she could even greet Emperor Geng Shi, he spoke first, "The King of Qingzhou is the most skilled in conquest among the vassal kings of the Nine Provinces, and the Beifu Army he brought is the elite force of Da Qin. King Qin said he would lead the Jinwu Guards to stop the eight thousand Beifu soldiers thirty li outside Zhongzhou City. Do you guess, can he do it?"
Lu Qing Wan lowered her head innocently, "Military and political affairs are things this concubine has never understood. But this concubine believes in His Highness's ability to deploy troops. As long as Your Majesty grants him sufficient troops, with His Highness's ability, stopping the King of Qingzhou's Beifu Army should not be a problem."
Feng Xi Wu had fought countless tough battles. Battles with fewer than fifty thousand combatants on both sides were considered minor. Eight thousand Beifu soldiers were indeed not a problem, but the issue was that Da Qin's Jinwu Guards were not the Xuanjia Army that Feng Xi Wu had personally led. And Emperor Geng Shi, who truly commanded them, would likely not be pleased to see Feng Xi Wu successfully complete the mission and gain fame. Lu Qing Wan was very nervous. She desperately wanted to know what deal Feng Xi Wu had made with Emperor Geng Shi to allow him to leave the palace. But she knew that the more anxious she appeared, the more pleased Emperor Geng Shi would be, so she could not rush. However, she never imagined that Emperor Geng Shi's shamelessness would far exceed her imagination.
Hearing Lu Qing Wan's seemingly calm words, Emperor Geng Shi said without warning, "What if I told you I only gave him five hundred Jinwu Guards?"
With a crack, Lu Qing Wan's ten fingers snapped. "To have the King lead five hundred Jinwu Guards against the King of Qingzhou's eight thousand Beifu soldiers, does Your Majesty want my husband's life?"
"Presumptuous!" Before Emperor Geng Shi could speak, Wei Kun beside him reprimanded her.
"You are presumptuous!" Lu Qing Wan slapped Wei Kun across the face from a distance. "When was it your turn, a mere servant, to interrupt when this consort is speaking with the Emperor?"
Wei Kun, as the chief eunuch by Emperor Geng Shi's side, often held more sway than first-rank officials like Lan An and Fan Jiang. When had he ever suffered such humiliation? He opened his mouth to curse Lu Qing Wan, but Emperor Geng Shi stopped him with a raised hand. Wei Kun glared at Lu Qing Wan in anger, while Emperor Geng Shi said with amusement, "I have long heard that the Princess of Qin is no less capable than a man, and her temper is indeed fiery. But do you know that unrestrained freedom comes at a price?"
"Oh, is that so?" Lu Qing Wan said indifferently. "For example?"
"Even a dog looks at its owner before you strike it. Princess of Qin, I had intended to give Si Feng Wu an additional three thousand troops if you handed over the plans for manufacturing cannons. But it seems you do not cherish this opportunity to increase your husband's troops."
It was as if three thousand Jinwu Guards fighting eight thousand Beifu soldiers would be an even match. Lu Qing Wan sneered, "Does Your Majesty think the title of 'God of War' my husband bears was obtained just like that?"
Emperor Geng Shi faintly saw something he absolutely did not want to see in Lu Qing Wan's eyes. He suddenly said coldly, "What do you mean by that?"
"I mean, don't take my words for granted!" With a slight raise of her hand, she swayed a bouquet of pretty little flowers as she walked onto the high platform. "I told your people long ago that as long as I walk out of the Northwest Snow Mountain alive, I will be your nightmare. Now it seems you haven't taken my words to heart at all."
She stepped onto the jade steps that people both coveted and feared, approaching Emperor Geng Shi. Emperor Geng Shi was so startled that he drew the royal sword behind his throne and shouted with outward bravado, "Lu Qing Wan, what do you want?" He then remembered his many guards and quickly shouted, "Guards! Protect His Majesty! Quickly, protect His Majesty!"
Lu Qing Wan did not stop him, letting him shout. Unfortunately, no matter how much he shouted, no guards came. Lu Qing Wan casually pushed aside the royal sword in his hand. He finally came to his senses, "It's you, what did you do to them?"
Lu Qing Wan smiled as if helpless. "I've hidden many things since coming to Da Qin, but I've never hidden my medical skills. But you all prefer to be blind. Who is to blame for that?" She watched as Emperor Geng Shi became weak, even dropping the royal sword that symbolized his supreme status, and then stopped, satisfied.
A look of intense fear and regret appeared on Emperor Geng Shi's face. He collapsed onto his throne in terror and asked in horror, "What do you want to do?"
"Don't worry, I won't do anything today. I just want you to wait and see my husband's title as God of War echo throughout Da Qin, both inside and out." As she spoke, she took out a brush and paper. "While no one is here to disturb us, let's start by talking about how you got your throne. How did the Crown Prince, my husband's father and mother, the late Emperor, and Noble Consort Jing Hui die? Explain each one, clearly..."