Servants brought in gifts that were no less lavish than those for a previous imperial consort.
The Minister of Rites bowed obsequiously, "Your Highness, the Regent Princess, as you know, Da Qin is not a power we can afford to offend. Even if you do not consider the court, you must think of the Xuan Jia Army and the people of Da Gan! Marquis Lu and the Regent King fought with their lives to protect them. As their only surviving kin, you cannot stand by and watch the people they so painstakingly guarded fall back into the mire of war because of you!"
Jing Chu Nan exhorted her with all sincerity. Lu Qing Wan suddenly smiled, and Jing Chu Nan stopped nervously.
Lu Qing Wan tapped the table lightly and said, "Minister Jing, I recall that when the late Emperor was alive, you were not such a spineless individual. Knowing that my father and husband both died for Da Gan, you still ask me to consider them and marry the King of Da Qin. How could you utter such shameless words?"
Jing Chu Nan's face turned pale, then he angrily retorted, "Regent Princess, that's not how it should be said. Da Gan is not without women more beautiful and talented than you. Why are they living peacefully, neither being forced into concubinage nor having strangers seeking their hand in marriage? As for you, it is because you put yourself out there, lacking virtue, that you have brought trouble upon yourself..."
"Go to your mother's virtue-lacking!"
Before Jing Chu Nan could finish speaking, Li Yang rushed forward from the side and landed a punch. He then proceeded to viciously assault Jing Chu Nan, "You are incompetent yourself, yet you blame others for being too talented. No wonder you were so quickly bought over by that scoundrel Feng Qing Heng. It turns out you are of the same ilk, birds of a feather. I cannot beat that beast Feng Qing Heng, but I can certainly beat you, you turtle's egg..."
He cursed and beat him. A group of guards in Tong Tong Yuan, including the usually calm and collected Li Jin and Li Qing, and Li Su, were all present. None of them stopped Li Yang.
When he had beaten him sufficiently, Li Jin and Li Qing stepped forward to feign pulling him away, not forgetting to kick Jing Chu Nan twice in the process. "Enough, enough. He's just a errand runner. Why are you bothering with him..."
Jing Chu Nan, his eyes swollen like a panda's from Li Yang's assault, staggered to his feet, his face so swollen he could barely speak.
Lu Qing Wan leisurely issued an order to leave, "Leave the gifts, and throw the person out. If anyone from the palace comes to ask me to marry Da Qin again, they will be dealt with in the same manner."
The group of people had been hesitant, but upon receiving Lu Qing Wan's command, they unceremoniously lifted Jing Chu Nan and threw him out. The palace servants who had come with the gifts, seeing this, scurried away quickly without needing the mansion's guards to act, lest they too receive the full treatment of punches and kicks.
In the following three days, eunuchs and ministers who came to deliver imperial decrees or act as negotiators were repeatedly thrown out of the palace. Perhaps Da Qin was pressing hard, Feng Qing Heng finally lost patience and summoned Lu Qing Wan to the palace himself.
At that time, all the important officials who had a say in court, apart from Feng Qing Heng himself, were present. Lu Qing Wan neither bowed nor paid homage, dressed in a plain light blue gown with an elegant white jade hairpin. She stood there straight and tall, like a small, thorny tree that people only wanted to avoid.
Feng Qing Heng got a headache just seeing Lu Qing Wan now. However, envoys from Da Qin were still pestering him daily in the palace. Feng Qing Heng said with a headache, "Lu Qing Wan, do you know that salt merchants from various countries have stopped transporting salt to Da Gan?"
"I do not know." Lu Qing Wan remained calm and composed, "What does it matter to me whether they transport salt or not?"
"Regent Princess, you cannot say that. If salt merchants do not supply Da Gan with salt, what will tens of millions of people eat?" The Minister of Revenue's face was creased with worry.
Lu Qing Wan remained composed, "This is something for your Emperor and ministers to consider. Why are you asking me? You always say that the imperial harem should not interfere with state affairs, that women should not rule over men, and now you're treating me as if I were a man? Did you forget to look in the mirror this morning? Though, I should still be a woman, shouldn't I?"
She deliberately looked at her slender hands and subtly displayed her graceful curves. A group of old officials flushed red, and coughs erupted.
Prime Minister Wen sighed and stepped forward, "Regent Princess, you may not know, but more than half of the salt on the continent is produced in Da Qin. Nine out of ten parts of the salt we use in Da Gan comes from Da Qin. This time, the Crown Prince of Da Qin personally issued the order. As long as Da Gan does not agree to your marriage into Da Qin, Da Qin will not supply salt to Da Gan..." Prime Minister Wen said, lowering his head with a guilty expression, "It is we who are incompetent and cannot protect the Princess. I am useless!"
Academician Chi and Prince Nan also lowered their heads in shame, as did the Minister of Justice and the Minister of the Court of Judicial Review, Dong Wang, who had had some disagreements with Lu Qing Wan before... One by one, they lowered their heads in guilt. Lu Qing Wan looked up at Feng Qing Heng, who was on a higher platform, "You want to save face and cannot bring yourself to speak, so you send these people to pressure me. This way, I, Lu Qing Wan, will be seen as a low-class woman who climbs the dragon and clings to the phoenix, while you can be the benevolent ruler who endures humiliation for the sake of the country and its people, is that it? Feng Qing Heng, you are quite the schemer!"
Her heartbroken voice pierced the ministers' ears, deepening their guilt. Although Feng Qing Heng was annoyed that Lu Qing Wan had easily exposed all his pretense, he had no choice but to endure.
"I know this has wronged you. Whatever your demands, just state them, and I will do my utmost to satisfy them. As long as you obediently marry the Prince of Qin, I guarantee that the Xuan Jia Army will not be mistreated."
Even at this point, he was still trying to threaten Lu Qing Wan with the Xuan Jia Army. Lu Qing Wan smiled, a smile of irony and clarity, "Forget it, I might suffer indigestion from your empty promises. I have only one demand. If you agree, I will marry. If you refuse, I will dash my head against this Golden Chariot Hall. From now on, the Xuan Jia Army, the Regent's Mansion, and the old officials of the court – do as you please with them..."
Perhaps it was her resolute expression that frightened Feng Qing Heng. Before she could finish, he hastily said, "What is your demand? Tell me, I promise."
"I want the sixty thousand troops of the Heaven Character Battalion of the Xuan Jia Army to escort me for my wedding." Lu Qing Wan stared at him coldly, "This is my only demand. Do you agree or not?"
Feng Qing Heng regretted his hasty words for a moment, but seeing Lu Qing Wan's gaze drift towards the coiled dragon pillar, he quickly agreed. "Alright, I agree to let the soldiers of the Heaven Character Battalion of the Xuan Jia Army escort you. Now, can you sign the marriage contract?"
Nothing was more important than having Da Qin release the salt to Da Gan. Moreover, those sixty thousand Xuan Jia Army soldiers were too close to Shang Jing, and he himself felt uneasy keeping them here. It was for the best that Lu Qing Wan wanted to take them away. The fear of the Xuan Jia Army made Feng Qing Heng overlook Lu Qing Wan's true purpose in taking the Xuan Jia Army. Little did he know that this oversight would lead to his lifelong regret.
"I agree to let the soldiers of the Heaven Character Battalion of the Xuan Jia Army escort you for your wedding. Now, can you sign the marriage contract?"