Lord Dong was panting like an ox. Lu Qingwan had no doubt that if this were not Weiyang Palace and she were not the Regent Princess, Lord Dong would have killed her without hesitation.
Just as she was thinking of how to ease the atmosphere, Emperor Jingyou spoke.
"Enough, Regent Princess. Minister Dong is not a narrow-minded person. Do not tease him again in the future."
His light words completely suppressed Lord Dong's rage.
"Prime Minister Wen is the pillar of our Great Qian. You must take good care of him.
And Xi Wu, at this moment, no one but you can save him. You must do your utmost to save his life."
The matter was over, yet Feng Xi Wu still feigned illness and refused to appear.
Emperor Jingyou's words also implied that Feng Xi Wu was gravely ill and beyond help. Lu Qingwan couldn't understand what the two brothers were up to.
She could only obediently agree, "Your humble subject obeys His Majesty's decree."
After a moment's thought, she bowed and said, "Reporting to Your Majesty, the Prince is gravely ill.
His usual medicinal herbs and instruments are all in the princely manor. I wish to bring the Prince back to the manor for better care and treatment."
Emperor Jingyou frowned, "It's fine for Xi Wu to return to the manor for treatment, but if you leave, what about Prime Minister Wen?"
The imperial palace was, after all, not as convenient as a princely manor. Emperor Jingyou also intended to have Feng Xi Wu leave the palace, but Prime Minister Wen's health was indeed a problem.
Lu Qingwan immediately offered a solution, "Prime Minister Wen is seriously injured and cannot be moved for the time being.
He can remain in the side hall to be cared for by Meng Tang. With him here, Your Majesty can rest assured."
Emperor Jingyou then waved his hand, granting Lu Qingwan permission to take Feng Xi Wu out of the palace.
Only then did the ministers realize that Lu Qingwan's medical skills had actually been acknowledged by Emperor Jingyou.
A mix of emotions surged through them.
With Emperor Jingyou's permission, Lu Qingwan smoothly escorted Feng Xi Wu out of the palace.
Weiyang Palace had just experienced turmoil, and no one dared to be careless. Patrols of imperial guards were everywhere.
Despite this, Lian Yu decided to personally escort Feng Xi Wu back to the manor.
Lu Qingwan, surprised to see the elusive strategist, asked, "Where did you pop out from?"
During the chaos in Weiyang Palace, she couldn't leave to protect Emperor Jingyou.
She had wanted to ask Lian Yu to watch Feng Xi Wu, only to find that he had already disappeared.
She thought he had left the palace, but now he reappeared from within the palace. Lu Qingwan was extremely curious.
"He brought the Black Armored Army into the palace and didn't leave after the incident,"
Feng Xi Wu, who answered her question, took her hand and leaned comfortably against the carriage. "He was just disguised when he came.
Otherwise, if people discovered Lian Yu was in the palace, this play wouldn't have worked."
Speaking of plays, Lu Qingwan became animated. "I was just about to ask, what are you and His Majesty playing at?
Duke Xu and Prince Ning have been overthrown, so why are you still putting on this act of being gravely ill?
This play seems to be never-ending?"
"Don't worry, I'll explain it to you clearly."
Feng Xi Wu said this, but then deliberately teased her instead of explaining, looking at Lian Yu seated opposite them.
"How did His Majesty deal with Prince Ning and Duke Xu?"
"Duke Xu's entire household was executed. Prince Ning was demoted to commoner status and confined to his manor, forbidden to leave for eternity.
Others involved will be punished accordingly, but judging by His Majesty's demeanor, he won't let them off easily."
Feng Xi Wu nodded slightly, seemingly unsurprised by Emperor Jingyou's decision. "What about Prince Jing and Duke Pei?"
When these two were mentioned, Lian Yu's expression became subtle.
"Prince Jing bravely took an arrow for His Majesty, risking his own life to protect him. He will naturally be rewarded handsomely.
As for Duke Pei, he thoroughly betrayed Duke Xu. Not only is he unharmed, but he even managed to secure a position for his son, who comes from a sect, as a Hanlin Academy scholar.
He's risen to prominence without even needing to participate in the imperial examinations."
Lu Qingwan raised an eyebrow. "They say entering the Hanlin Academy is like having one foot already in the Grand Secretariat. Duke Pei is quite lucky!"
"His luck is indeed good, but Consort, you need to be careful."
Lian Yu chuckled with a hint of schadenfreude.
Lu Qingwan pursed her lips. "What do you mean by that?
I haven't offended Duke Pei. Even if he rises to prominence, it doesn't impede my path, does it?"
Lian Yu chuckled, "Have you forgotten that on the day the commoners of the capital suffered widespread poisoning, you personally turned away Duke Pei's heir?
I heard that after being rejected by you for treatment, the young master of Duke Pei's household made quite a spectacle on his way to seek medical help!
He almost lost his life.
Do you think Duke Pei and his son will let you off?"
Lu Qingwan's precious brain actually whirred. She turned a serious face to Feng Xi Wu. "Is it too late for me to go and assassinate these two now?"
Feng Xi Wu returned an equally serious face. "Perhaps it's too late."
"Why?"
Lu Qingwan was only joking, but when Feng Xi Wu said it wasn't possible, she became serious.
"Do you think today was just Prince Ning and Duke Xu plotting rebellion?"
Lu Qingwan shook her head decisively. "How is that possible?
Even a prince would need to rally more ministers to rebel.
The few misfits around Prince Ning today were all stunned when Ding Kun rushed in and shouted.
Besides, didn't Duke Pei want Prince Jing to ascend the throne before?
He and Duke Xu sang in harmony, claiming they were truly innocent – who would they be fooling?"
"They might not have fooled ghosts, but they might have fooled those civil and military officials in the court at the time."
Feng Xi Wu lightly tapped her palm.
"When they first entered the palace, Duke Pei and Duke Xu had both decided to force the Emperor's hand, but initially, they clearly had no intention of resorting to violence.
After the Xu clan member jumped out and accused them of being unable to conceive, Duke Xu, cornered, killed the Xu clan member. Consort Ye also made a move to assassinate His Imperial Brother, and the palace maids around her targeted Prince Chen.
Consort Ye is not someone who acts impulsively, yet she acted so rashly this time. Was it merely a momentary impulse?"
Although Feng Xi Wu was in the side hall, he was fully aware of what was happening in the main hall.
Lu Qingwan was not surprised by this and followed his train of thought, only to find more suspicious points.
"Three years ago, Consort Ye learned the truth of her parents' supposed demise, which Xu Zhihuan had fabricated for her. Since then, she has administered infertility drugs to Prince Ning and Prince Jing.
She even gave you the Qing Jiang Symbiotic Gu and Ice Silkworm Poison, yet she has not acted against His Majesty and Feng Qing Heng.
Because of the Acacia Gu matter, I always thought she and Feng Qing Heng might have reached some kind of deal.
Yet, she collaborated with Duke Pei and Duke Xu to poison His Majesty.
She used Bai Nian Sheng to trigger your poisoning, and not a single male member of the imperial family escaped her poison.
With this capability, she should have been able to eliminate you all to exact revenge long ago, but she made things so complicated. What exactly does she want?"
The rebels in Weiyang Palace were Prince Ning and Duke Xu.
Initially forcing their way in, then quickly changing their stance to shield Emperor Jingyou with their own bodies were Prince Jing and Duke Pei.
However, Lu Qingwan felt that the center of all the mysteries still revolved around the enigmatic Consort Ye.