People seemed to have an uncanny sense of smell, as the moment Lu Qingwan and the other entered, and after they had freshened up, a meal was already laid out.
Lu Qingwan's eyes widened in surprise. Li Su said obsequiously, "Your Highness and Your Highness Consort have traveled a long way and must be hungry. How about you eat something first before discussing important matters?"
Lu Qingwan snorted, pretending to forget about the suspicious tails that had been following them all along the way.
Feng Xiwu, however, added, "Thoroughly investigate the situations of the three households: Marquis Wen, Grand Scholar Chi, and Prince Nan. After nightfall, this King and his Consort will pay a visit to Marquis Wen."
Prince Nan and the Chi family would naturally be visited one by one on subsequent nights.
To their surprise, Li Jin stood rooted to the spot, unmoving.
"Your Highness, please rest assured. The guards both inside and outside the three mansions have been replaced with the shadow guards of Wufeng Hall. Feng Qingheng is currently unaware of anything. Marquis Wen, Grand Scholar Chi, and Prince Nan's families are all very safe. You and Your Highness Consort can visit them at any time."
Lu Qingwan chuckled and nudged Feng Xiwu with her elbow, "You're fast. When did you arrange this?"
Feng Xiwu displayed a lack of sincerity in his humility regarding Lu Qingwan's sudden praise.
"This is not my credit. I merely instructed them to act according to the situation. I never expected them to be so adept at seizing opportunities."
Lu Qingwan pouted speechlessly and turned her back to him with a haughty air.
She then turned to ask Li Jin, "After you posted the evidence Feng Qingheng used to threaten civil and military officials, what was the reaction in the Great Qian court?"
"The ministers haven't had much of a reaction yet, but the common people of Shangjing couldn't take it anymore. They couldn't accept that the court officials they worked hard to support with various taxes were actually such scoundrels who would stop at nothing for petty gains. Especially the Yue family, the Governor-General of Southern Du, who engaged in buying and selling official positions and illicitly trading military horses and weapons. This had already crossed the people's bottom line. A group of citizens spontaneously beat the Dengwen drum to petition the emperor. They came every day, forcing Feng Qingheng's hand, and he directly removed the Dengwen drum..."
Li Jin made no attempt to hide his schadenfreude.
"When the matter escalated, Feng Qingheng panicked. He threatened to severely punish those corrupt officials, and by randomly executing a few minor figures, he managed to placate the people. However, the court was not so easily fooled. Currently, some factions within the court are strongly urging Feng Qingheng to deal with Yue Yuanting. Although Feng Qingheng is still holding on, he probably won't be able to last much longer."
Lu Qingwan and Feng Xiwu were not surprised by this outcome. However, Lu Qingwan found it strange, "Even now, Feng Qingheng insists on protecting Yue Yuanting. When did he become so loyal and righteous?"
Feng Xiwu let out a scoff, "Loyal and righteous? You think too highly of him. Why don't you go and inquire, throughout Great Qian, besides the Yue family, is there any other established noble family wholeheartedly devoted to him?"
Lu Qingwan caught the implication in his words and raised an eyebrow, "It's been almost a year since Feng Qingheng ascended the throne, hasn't it? Has he not managed to win over any useful individuals?"
Logically, no matter how unbearable Feng Qingheng's character, as long as he occupied the throne, that position alone should effortlessly attract a large number of talented individuals. After all, in this era where imperial power was supreme, many people equated loyalty to the emperor with patriotism. Among them were not a few individuals with genuine abilities. While some would naturally flock to the emperor for their own benefit, as long as they had aspirations, they would naturally fawn over Feng Qingheng. For someone like Feng Qingheng, who had been emperor for a year and returned as a lone figure, Lu Qingwan, recalling historical records from two lifetimes, found it unheard of.
"Under normal circumstances, he should have had some people flocking to him after becoming emperor. But Your Highness Consort, Feng Qingheng's mind might be wired differently from normal people. Ever since he ascended the throne, he has been investigating the past allegiances of civil and military officials. Anyone who had helped Your Highness, except for those with deep roots like Marquis Wen, Grand Scholar Chi, and Prince Nan, whom he could not shake, were either killed or demoted. He then investigated various weaknesses of the officials and sent people to assassinate Prince Ning and those imperial relatives several generations removed. He hasn't done a single proper thing. Currently, besides the Yue family and a group of scoundrels like Jing Chu Nan who are bound to him, there are very few people who wholeheartedly follow him."
After saying this, Li Jin, as if fearing Lu Qingwan wouldn't believe him, added, "Originally, the lower and middle-ranking civil officials, led by Grand Tutor Chen, still supported him as emperor. However, after Your Highness faked his death, Feng Qingheng took the opportunity to kick him when he was down, falsely accusing Your Highness and Marquis Lu of dereliction of duty, harming the royal army, and many other crimes. Grand Tutor Chen couldn't stand it and advised him a few words. From then on, he simply neglected Grand Tutor Chen, and those civil officials became disappointed in him. As it stands now, with you and Your Highness returning to Great Qian, I believe that apart from Feng Qingheng, the people and civil and military officials of Shangjing will likely celebrate."
Every piece of news brought by Li Jin and Li Qing told Lu Qingwan that Feng Qingheng had found too many ways to court disaster, and there were already enough people who wanted him dead. She and Feng Xiwu only needed to add the final touch.
Seeing everyone's confident demeanor, Lu Qingwan smiled at Feng Xiwu and said, "Since Feng Qingheng has already dug his own grave, shall we help him add a handful of soil?"
Feng Xiwu calmly uttered, "Guess how the court's vacant positions were filled after Yue Yuanting sold military weapons and horses and secretly hoarded grain?"
The implication was too obvious. Lu Qingwan, after a brief moment of thought, understood, "The royal army confronting the Northern Wei army by the Emerald River, their weapons and the provisions in their camps, had problems?"
Yue Yuanting had embezzled the weapons and provisions that rightfully belonged to the Great Qian royal army. What could be given to the royal army would naturally be weapons that should have been repaired or scrapped, or even crudely made inferior weapons. As for the provisions, either there were none, or they were moldy rice that could kill people. Lu Qingwan did not expect that the same tactic that Hu Yan Che and Prince Jing had almost used to kill her father and Feng Xiwu years ago was now being used by Yue Yuanting on the Great Qian royal army.
Lu Qingwan instinctively asked, "If a war were to break out like this, would many of the Great Qian royal army die?"
This was not about being a saint or being overly compassionate. When circumstances forced her hand, Lu Qingwan could lead her soldiers to fight and kill without hesitation. But this did not mean that Lu Qingwan was willing to become a bloodthirsty executioner. As a good citizen of the Great Heavenly Dynasty, born under the red flag and raised in the spring breeze, Lu Qingwan had seen many dead people. She also knew that in such times, slaughter and war were unavoidable, but only under the premise of fair combat. However, Yue Yuanting's replacement of the Great Qian royal army's weapons was tantamount to sending a group of unarmed Great Qian royal soldiers to be slaughtered by the Northern Wei cavalry. This kind of bloody and cruel conspiracy had already exceeded Lu Qingwan's tolerance.