She stopped short of saying more, and Lu Qing Wan did not stop her. "Write a letter to General Shen in my name, telling him the origin of the Ministry of War's deployment order and about the King of Ten Thousand Phoenixes. I grant him full authority to mobilize the Xuan Jia Army on behalf of the Prince. You don't need to worry about the court; I'll handle it. As long as it helps rescue the Prince and the Xuan Jia Army in the snow mountains, I will take responsibility for whatever he does."
Li Su took the brush and ink and quickly drafted a letter to Shen Da according to Lu Qing Wan's instructions. She then brought it to Lu Qing Wan for review. "Princess Consort, please take a look. Is this acceptable?" After all, she was a capable assistant to Feng Xi Wu, so drafting a letter was not a problem.
Lu Qing Wan nodded. "Make a copy, stamp it with my Regent Princess Consort's seal, and send it out immediately."
Li Su took a fresh sheet of paper and began to transcribe. "Besides General Shen Da, the only other person who can mobilize all the Xuan Jia Army on the northern frontier is General Lin Feng Mian. Although his position is not as high as General Shen Da's, he is highly respected within the Xuan Jia Army. However, he values the Xuan Jia Army more than the Prince. I am worried that if he is ordered to lead the troops to reinforce, he might rescue the Xuan Jia Army but not put much effort into rescuing the Prince."
Lu Qing Wan gazed blankly at the gradually darkening night sky and said softly, "I don't know much about the generals of the Xuan Jia Army. If you think General Lin is capable, then let him be the backup choice. With so many Xuan Jia soldiers, even if General Lin doesn't want to save the Prince, as long as the Xuan Jia Army receives news of the Prince's predicament, even if only ten to twenty percent of the 400,000 Xuan Jia soldiers are willing to rescue the Prince, there is still a great hope."
Li Su sighed and took out the seal to stamp the letter. As she was leaving, Lu Qing Wan instructed her, "Wake me up early tomorrow morning. I need to go to the Hall of Diligent Governance to meet the new Emperor."
Li Su acknowledged with a sound and respectfully withdrew. Lu Qing Wan turned and entered the spatial laboratory. Da Bai and Teng She immediately scurried over. One instinctively climbed onto Lu Qing Wan's wrist to act as a bracelet, while the other instinctively pounced towards Lu Qing Wan's embrace. Seeing Lu Qing Wan's injured hand, it abruptly changed its course mid-air and landed on Lu Qing Wan's shoulder. One was a spirit beast bound to Lu Qing Wan by a life-and-death contract, and the other was the guardian beast of the spatial laboratory that accompanied Lu Qing Wan. Both could sense Lu Qing Wan's emotions immediately. These two little fellows, usually acting like jealous concubines vying for attention, would practically kill each other the moment they saw the other appear in Lu Qing Wan's sight. However, sensing Lu Qing Wan's unhappiness today, they stopped their bickering. Both huddled together on Lu Qing Wan, wanting only to cheer her up.
Unfortunately, Lu Qing Wan was in no mood to play with them. Stroking Da Bai's fur, Lu Qing Wan said weakly, "Da Bai, you and Teng She go play by yourselves. I'm very busy tonight."
Da Bai meowed, with a hint of worry in its voice. Lu Qing Wan forced a smile, "I'm fine. You guys go play. I'll have time to play with you in a few days." Da Bai meowed again and, along with Teng She, slipped outside. Lu Qing Wan turned and walked to her desk, picked up the materials for the artillery shell production analysis, and entered the laboratory.
The next morning, Li Su diligently helped Lu Qing Wan wash and change. During breakfast, Lu Qing Wan asked, "Prime Minister Wen agreed to personally oversee the Ministry of Revenue in preparing grain and winter clothing. Has there been any progress overnight?"
Li Su replied with her head bowed, "The secret guards have been monitoring the actions of the Ministry of Revenue and the Ministry of War. We can confirm that Chen Jian Zhang has indeed mobilized all available forces within the Ministry of Revenue to prepare the grain. The first batch of grain has already been transported out. However, as it is now spring, the supply of winter clothing is insufficient, so it may need to be rushed, and will arrive at the front lines a little later."
"A little later is fine. As long as there's no deliberate delay, it's good enough." Lu Qing Wan knew that no matter how unpleasant Feng Qing Heng's character was, as long as he was on the throne, he would always have more convenient ways of doing things than she did. By leveraging Feng Qing Heng's imperial decree to have the Ministry of War and the Ministry of Revenue dispatch reinforcements to aid Feng Xi Wu, and to send additional grain and winter clothing, she had done everything within her power. For Feng Xi Wu, she had done all she could. Now, it was time for Lu Zhen Ting. That man who knew he was not her biological father yet sacrificed his life for her, died on the snow-covered mountains of the northwest. Li Su and the others had kept it from her, thinking that if they didn't tell her, she wouldn't know that Lu Zhen Ting's body had been taken away by the Northern Wei people. But Duan Yue was her person, and she had an army of informants among her countless all-pervasive beasts. How could she not know everything?
The carriage stopped at the palace gate. The guards were surprised to see her entering the palace so early, but they still knelt and paid their respects. Lu Qing Wan ignored everyone's scrutinizing or sympathetic glances and walked directly to the Hall of Diligent Governance, where, as expected, she was stopped by guards. The one who stopped her this time was a rather familiar face, likely a subordinate of Tang Xiao. The young man, in his late teens, stood in front of her and said respectfully, "Your Highness, please forgive me, but the Emperor and the ministers are discussing court affairs. This subordinate cannot allow you to enter."
"Go and inform them. Whether to see me or not is up to the Emperor." The Shen Ce Army soldier glanced at Lu Qing Wan, then turned and entered the Hall of Diligent Governance. As expected, Feng Qing Heng, thoroughly shaken by the two vials of medicine from last night, immediately summoned her without a second word upon hearing of her arrival.
According to the Great Gan Iron Law, the imperial harem must not interfere in state affairs. The Hall of Diligent Governance was, in a sense, the representative of legitimate court affairs. As soon as Lu Qing Wan entered, she was met with a barrage of disapproving looks. Before she had even fully stood, Chen Jian Zhang, the Minister of Revenue, disregarding his own disagreements with the new Emperor, angrily accused her, "Your Majesty, our ancestors have decreed that the imperial harem must not interfere in state affairs. It is improper for Regent Princess Consort, a mere woman, to enter such an important place as the Hall of Diligent Governance. I implore Your Majesty to have the Regent Princess Consort withdraw. Even the most dire of matters can wait until after the morning court."
A woman entering the Hall of Diligent Governance indeed touched upon the sensitive nerves of many ministers. As soon as Chen Jian Zhang spoke, a chorus of agreement followed. Feng Qing Heng's face was so dark it could have dripped ink. Were these ministers so rigid? Did he want Lu Qing Wan to enter the Hall of Diligent Governance? He was being threatened by her! While he was seething with anger, he heard Lu Qing Wan cry out in pain, "This Princess Consort knows that the imperial harem must not interfere in state affairs, nor do I wish to. But if I had not entered this Hall of Diligent Governance today, who among you, those with the power to interfere in state affairs, would have brought back my father's remains?"
This one sentence seemed to grip the throats of all the court officials like an invisible hand, leaving them unable to utter another word of criticism against Lu Qing Wan for interfering in state affairs or for the "hen crowing at dawn." Lu Zhen Ting had served as an official for many years, and many of his colleagues were on good terms with her. Han Guang, the newly appointed Minister of Justice, was the first to react. He said with great surprise, "May I ask, Regent Princess Consort, did I hear correctly? You mean, Marquis Zhao Lie has fallen in battle?"