Turning it over in her mind, Li Jin was in charge of all matters within and outside the Regent's mansion, so he likely had his own intelligence sources and wasn't just blindly believing her.
So, she leisurely asked, "In what capacity are you asking this question?
Are you the steward of the Regent's mansion, or the imperial grain transport official?"
Li Jin looked slightly confused, "Aren't both of these subordinates? Is there a difference?"
"Of course there's a difference."
Lu Qingwan's brows unfurled, "If it were the mansion's steward asking for my help, and the Bu Ye Zhou transport team had to work for free, I would naturally have to consider it carefully.
But if it's the imperial grain transport official, it's a different story. As long as the money is right, forget about provisions, I wouldn't mind sending the Northern Wei army to their deaths."
Li Jin chuckled, "Since this is to be reported to His Majesty, it is naturally the court that is responsible for grain transport. The expenses will naturally not let the Consort suffer a loss, so the Consort can rest assured."
"If that's the case, then you should go directly to Wu Ying. Treat it as a normal escort business, and I won't interfere."
Li Jin then took his leave. Lu Qingwan sat on her chair, staring blankly at the withered leaves outside.
Yue'er, seeing this, tiptoed away and soon returned with a food container.
"Consort, you've been busy with the concubine selection matters these past few days and haven't been eating properly. Sister Liang Xia made some food for you.
Why don't you eat something to fill your stomach first, and then worry about those bothersome things?"
The food container was opened, and the strong aroma of hot food instantly stirred the gluttonous worms in Lu Qingwan's stomach.
Lu Qingwan picked up her chopsticks and began to eat. However, with matters weighing on her mind, she ate absentmindedly. Before she even finished, she started to hiccup.
Lu Qingwan held her stomach and paced back and forth in the room, hiccuping intermittently. Yue'er was filled with self-reproach.
"It's all my fault. If only I had paid more attention, causing the Consort so much discomfort. I'm truly useless!"
"That's enough. I'm not a child. If I eat too much, should I blame others?"
Lu Qingwan waved her away, finding her bothersome, "You can go. I'll be fine on my own.
If I fall asleep later, and Li Jin and the others come looking for me, be sure to wake me up."
Yue'er weakly replied, "Yes, Consort!"
Lu Qingwan then continued to rub her stomach to aid digestion, and this continued for the entire night.
Remembering that she had important matters to attend to, Lu Qingwan woke up early, dressed as if she were going out, and waited restlessly.
Finally, just as she was about to lose patience, Li Qing returned, "Reporting to the Consort, we have lost contact with the strategist.
However, Shen Tangzhou has indirectly confirmed your intelligence. The provisions for the eighty thousand Northern Prefecture Iron Cavalry and the fifty thousand Xuanjia Army under the strategist's command are indeed in trouble.
Based on the time, they have less than five days' worth of provisions left."
"Continue trying to contact the strategist. Also, coordinate with the Prince to buy us some time to procure and transport the provisions.
Give me the intelligence, and I'll head to the palace now."
Li Qing was well-prepared, "This is the Prince's personal letter. With this letter, His Majesty will believe your words more."
Ever since she became the Regent's Consort, especially after saving Emperor Jing You's life several times, Lu Qingwan had always been able to see Emperor Jing You without any obstruction.
But today, in such a dire situation, Lu Qingwan was actually stopped outside Weiyang Palace.
"Consort, His Majesty and the various officials are discussing important matters. Please wait a moment, and allow this servant to announce your arrival."
Lu Qingwan did not want to make things difficult for a eunuch and quickly said, "I have an urgent matter to see His Majesty. Announce it immediately, do not delay."
The eunuch agreed and let her in, but his expression was somewhat strange.
As soon as Lu Qingwan entered, she saw Prince Guangchang, Duke of Hua, Duke of Pei, and a group of unfamiliar officials standing before Emperor Jing You's couch.
Seeing her enter, they all glared at her. One of them directly said, "Regent's Consort, the Regent is gravely ill in bed. You are not attending to him in the mansion, but instead, you come to the palace every day. What about the Prince?"
"Yes, Regent's Consort. You are a noble lady. According to custom, His Majesty is your uncle. Your frequent visits to His Majesty's bedchamber are not appropriate, are they?"
Duke of Hua also had his reservations.
Lu Qingwan sneered, "Rather than focusing on a person who passed away over a decade ago, you should all focus on your own duties and help His Majesty more. Then I wouldn't have to come to the palace every day."
After speaking, she walked past them and knelt before Emperor Jing You's couch, "Your Majesty, I have an urgent matter to report concerning the situation on the northern frontier. Please hear my words."
Emperor Jing You, who had been feigning death throughout the ministers' arguments, suddenly sat up upon hearing that Lu Qingwan's matter concerned the northern frontier, "What's happening with the northern frontier war? Is the war not going smoothly due to the cold weather?"
"Replying to Your Majesty, it's not about whether the war is going smoothly.
It's that a large portion of the one million shi of provisions personally ordered by you to be distributed by the Ministry of Revenue before the army departed has been replaced with moldy rice.
The soldiers on the northern frontier will soon be starving. How can they talk about fighting?"
Lu Qingwan's statement stunned everyone.
Duke of Pei was the first to reprimand her sternly, "Regent's Consort, do you know what you are talking about?
The military provisions being replaced, what a grave matter! If this were true, Marquis Xuanwu and his son, and Strategist Lian Yu, would have reported it to His Majesty. How can you, a mere woman, speak such nonsense?
You dare to fabricate such absurd words and falsely report military intelligence. You are guilty of deceiving the emperor. Are you not afraid of losing your head?"
The other ministers were about to chime in, but Emperor Jing You interrupted them forcefully.
"Regent's Consort, do you know what your words imply?"
With a single sentence, he both reminded, warned, and confirmed.
Lu Qingwan replied clearly, "Replying to Your Majesty, I am very clear about what I am saying.
The army's provisions have been replaced, and someone has deliberately severed the army's connection with the court, so the court has not yet received any news.
Strategist Lian Yu had no other choice and used underground channels to send the message to the Prince.
Unfortunately, the Prince is gravely ill and cannot get out of bed, so he entrusted me to present this matter to Your Majesty.
This is the Prince's personal letter. Please examine it, Your Majesty."
What Lu Qingwan presented to Emperor Jing You was indeed Feng Xiwu's personal letter, which clearly explained the situation of the replacement of military provisions and the crisis that Da Gan was currently facing.
After reading it, Emperor Jing You closed his eyes heavily, "Tang Xiao."
The latter responded, "Your humble servant is here."
"Investigate for me. Investigate all those who were involved in the provisions, investigate them thoroughly. I want to see who dares to be so audacious!"
"Your humble servant obeys!"
Tang Xiao responded and left. Emperor Jing You continued to order, "Prime Minister Wen, I order you to procure one million shi of grain as quickly as possible and send it to the northern frontier immediately.
Duke of Hua, Prince Guangchang, since you have nothing better to do, help Prime Minister Wen.
Da Gan is already facing a formidable enemy. If another enemy appears, you will be the ones to fight them."