Feeling embarrassed by her own squeaky voice, Lu Qing Wan ate her meal like a starving ghost who hadn't seen food in eight hundred years, her head bowed and focused on shoveling rice, not saying a word to Feng Xi Wu.
Feng Xi Wu also cooperated and did not initiate conversation with her.
It wasn't until the carriage set off again that he spoke in a drawn-out voice, "Ahead is Ye Yu City, a renowned home of martial arts in Da Gan, highly sought after by people of the martial world. It is known as Hero City by all Jianghu people. Tomorrow happens to be the Double Ninth Festival, and Ye Yu City holds arena challenges during festive occasions to celebrate. Would you like to go and see?"
He didn't mention Lu Qing Wan's previous embarrassment at all, which was quite considerate.
Lu Qing Wan, being perceptive, quickly seized the opportunity, "Alright, it's a good chance to see what I'll be like when my internal energy reaches great accomplishment!" She became excited again, "Will women be allowed on the stage here? Are there any valiant and beautiful female knights-errant like General Xie?"
Seeing Lu Qing Wan's eyes light up whenever martial arts were mentioned, Feng Xi Wu felt she was indeed a daughter of a military family, her craving for strength seemingly etched into her very bones. However, "There are female knights-errant, but perhaps you have a misunderstanding of what they are like if you expect them to be both beautiful and valiant."
Lu Qing Wan’s eyes widened, "What do you mean? Are you trying to tell me that while there are female knights-errant, they are neither beautiful nor valiant?" She had a faint feeling that the true female knights-errant might not align with her subconscious image of them, but hearing Feng Xi Wu's explanation, Lu Qing Wan was still unconvinced.
Feng Xi Wu said, "Those who earn the name of female knight-errant in the martial world are all highly skilled in martial arts, even stronger than most men. Such martial prowess cannot be achieved by internal energy alone; it must be complemented by vigorous external conditioning. Those women who are conferred the title of 'xia nu' (knight-errant woman) have mostly practiced martial arts since childhood. Prolonged strenuous exercise will make their muscles firm, their bones deform, and their joints enlarge. While their faces might not show much change, their figures, if not all, then at least eight out of ten martial arts practitioners among women are certainly not considered graceful."
"Is that so?" Lu Qing Wan was half-believing.
Feng Xi Wu: "If you don't believe me, look at Li Su. She has practiced martial arts since childhood. Does her current appearance have anything to do with the 'beautiful and valiant' you spoke of?"
Li Su, who had just approached Feng Xi Wu to report something: ...
Lu Qing Wan couldn't help but laugh, "Chatting is one thing, but don't resort to personal attacks! Be careful, Li Su might hear you and sneak up to 'assassinate' you in the middle of the night!" After saying that, she burst into laughter herself.
Outside the carriage, Li Yang struggled to stifle his laughter, while Ying Yi pressed Li Su's shoulder with a pursed lip, "That's His Highness, don't act rashly. Even if you disregard your master-servant bond, you still can't beat him..."
Li Su was so angry she wanted to kill. Walking along minding her own business, only to be insulted about her appearance, who did she offend?
Inside the carriage, after her laughter subsided, Lu Qing Wan’s "ten thousand whys" mode activated, "That's not right. General Xie also practiced martial arts from a young age. As a dignified general, how could she still look so enchantingly beautiful?" Speaking of which, Li Su wasn't unattractive. In fact, her face was more refined than many young ladies from official families Lu Qing Wan had met. However, as Feng Xi Wu said, practicing martial arts since childhood and prolonged strenuous exercise had caused changes in her bones and joints. Furthermore, Li Su often wore neutral or even masculine attire for convenience, which further masked her facial advantages. But Xie Shi Luan, apart from her more graceful breathing and circulation, showed no signs of being a martial artist.
"She is an exception." Feng Xi Wu looked at Lu Qing Wan’s innocent expression, like a child waiting for a bedtime story. He pulled her closer, playing with her fingers as he explained, "Xie Shi Luan sought cooperation, so I specifically had someone investigate her experiences in Xi Liang. If the Emperor of Xi Liang had not instigated the war between Xi Liang and Da Gan, and if everything had proceeded as planned, she would not have gone to the battlefield but would have become Xiao Jing An's Crown Princess, and later Empress. Therefore, before going to the battlefield, she had not practiced martial arts."
As Feng Xi Wu spoke of these matters, he sounded like he was recounting a story about someone completely unrelated to him, so detached that Lu Qing Wan's experience of listening to the story lost much of its appeal. "All her martial arts originated from the battlefield. At that time, she was still Xiao Jing An's fiancée. To be worthy of Xiao Jing An in the future and to prevent him from being criticized, after each martial arts practice, she would use specially made medicated plasters to massage her joints and soak her hands in things like sesame oil and milk. That's why she bears no trace of a martial artist."
"No wonder..." Lu Qing Wan listened with a sigh, "When I took her pulse, I felt she wasn't like a traditional martial artist at all. I don't know who her half-sister is, but I think Xiao Jing An will never meet another woman who loves him like Xie Shi Luan, will he?" She asked Feng Xi Wu curiously, "You had people investigate, right? How is that Xie Shi Yu compared to General Xie?" Although Lu Qing Wan was asking Feng Xi Wu, deep down, she already assumed Xie Shi Yu couldn't compare to Xie Shi Luan.
Feng Xi Wu's answer was unexpected. "Xie Shi Yu, in Xi Liang, is considered a remarkable woman. She is eloquent, skilled in writing, and adept at business. She has also come up with things like hot pot and barbecue, similar to your creations. However, she always spoke of the equality of all beings and the fallacy that there should be no distinction between嫡 (legitimate) and 庶 (illegitimate) among siblings. She was repeatedly confined by the main wife of the Xie family, which prevented her from widely promoting her ideas..."
Feng Xi Wu, a man of few words and usually aloof, patiently elaborated on Xie Shi Yu's deeds to satisfy Lu Qing Wan's curiosity. Lu Qing Wan, however, was utterly shocked. Why did this Xie Shi Yu, the more she heard, the more she sounded like someone from her own time? She forcefully suppressed the urge to blurt out a preposterous request to go to Xi Liang to meet Xie Shi Yu. After a long pause, Feng Xi Wu finished his story, "...According to the intelligence gathered by Li Jin, she is now a Noble Consort to Xiao Jing An. As Xiao Jing An has not yet established an Empress, her current status is almost identical to that of an Empress."
Lu Qing Wan was now almost certain that Xie Shi Yu was a transmigration soul. She couldn't help but lament, "No wonder Xie Shi Luan was so badly tricked. Facing an opponent like that, it's a miracle Xie Shi Luan survived." It wasn't that transmigrators were necessarily smarter or more capable than ancient people, but after experiencing thousands of years of cultural influence, even their schemes to harm others were more advanced than those of ancient people. Lu Qing Wan truly admired Xie Shi Luan for managing to carve out a sliver of survival for herself while being targeted by both the Crown Prince of a nation and a transmigrated woman. If she were in Xie Shi Luan's shoes, she doubted her situation would be any better.
"Master, Madam, we have arrived at Ye Yu City." Li Yang's voice cut through Lu Qing Wan's wandering thoughts.