The two lingered in a sticky embrace for a moment before a knock sounded.
Li Jin entered, "Your Highness, it is time for you to depart."
Feng Xi Wu, still holding Lu Qing Wan’s hand, his gaze fell on the person behind Li Jin, "Who is this?"
Before Li Jin could lift his chin, the person knelt on one knee, "Your subordinate Shen An greets Your Highness and Consort."
Li Jin then explained from the side, "Reporting to Your Highness, this is a double the subordinate found for you on Consort’s orders."
Feng Xi Wu’s eyes flickered, and he quickly understood Lu Qing Wan’s thoughts, "Consort is thoughtful."
Lu Qing Wan was very pleased with his attitude, "It is good that Your Highness does not blame me for taking liberties."
Feng Xi Wu gently shook his head, "While I am bedridden, it is all thanks to Consort for managing the affairs of the household. How could I blame Consort?
However, he can only help to divert others' attention within the manor and conceal my movements.
When it comes to military and political matters, you must never make decisions for me.
Even if it is my own idea, you must have it conveyed through another mouth. This double must never speak in my stead."
Lu Qing Wan felt a pang of confusion, but Li Jin urged them on, "Your Highness, the army is marching out of the city now, and everyone's attention is on Dong Hua Gate.
It is opportune for you to leave through Xi Hua Gate now as a cover. Any later and it will be too late."
Lu Qing Wan’s confusion was thus swallowed.
Feng Xi Wu squeezed her hand and flashed a smile, "I'm going."
As soon as he spoke, Li Jin pushed him out of the door.
Lu Qing Wan followed, "I will escort you to the gate."
Since Feng Xi Wu was leaving the city in secret, Lu Qing Wan could not escort him to the city gate.
Feng Xi Wu said nothing, and Li Jin instinctively handed over the task of pushing the wheelchair to Lu Qing Wan.
To avoid suspicion, Feng Xi Wu did not even use the back door, but rather a side entrance used for delivering vegetables.
At the gate, Feng Xi Wu did not turn around, and Lu Qing Wan did not step closer. Instead, she leaned in and whispered in his ear, "Come back to me alive and well. If you die, I will not mourn you.
I will remarry with great joy, bring my new husband to your grave, and ensure you have no peace even in death!"
Although it was a whisper, were the people around Feng Xi Wu ordinary?
Lu Qing Wan's astonishing words startled all the guards into coughing, as if they had all contracted consumption.
The cacophony of coughs instantly vanished. Feng Xi Wu gritted his teeth, "Consort, rest assured, I will return victorious!
If you wish to remarry, you will never get your wish in this lifetime!"
Lu Qing Wan waved her hand leisurely, her smile exceptionally radiant, "Very well, I await Your Highness's triumphant return!"
With that, she stormed out.
The guards scrambled to follow, fearful of being poked like hedgehogs by Lu Qing Wan if they were too slow.
The narrow side door slammed shut, and the smile on Lu Qing Wan’s face vanished instantly.
"Who is taking care of His Highness? Shen Ci cannot appear in the palace; is the accompanying physician reliable?"
Li Jin walked respectfully by her side, "Does Consort not recall His Highness mentioning Shen Tang Zhou and the Half Moon Pavilion?"
Lu Qing Wan pondered for a moment and understood, "It was Shen Tang Zhou who uncovered the matter of Concubine Ye, wasn't it?
The Half Moon Pavilion, like Fan She, is also a place where His Highness gathers intelligence outside?"
"Consort has a good memory. The matter of Concubine Ye was indeed investigated by Shen Tang Zhou."
Li Jin flattered her slightly, then spoke of important matters, "The Half Moon Pavilion was established by His Highness in his early years to prevent the infiltration of Great Qian by forces from Xiliang and Bei Wei through unorthodox means.
To call it a place for gathering intelligence is not entirely wrong, but places like Fan She are numerous under the Half Moon Pavilion.
Shen Tang Zhou is the deputy pavilion master of the Half Moon Pavilion. This time, His Highness is leaving the capital, and Shen Tang Zhou is personally leading a contingent to escort him. The physician is also a renowned doctor in the martial arts world.
Therefore, Consort can rest assured that His Highness's safety is guaranteed."
Lu Qing Wan had heard Feng Xi Wu and his subordinates mention Shen Tang Zhou’s name more than once and knew he was a capable individual.
Hearing Li Jin’s words, she said no more, and instead asked Li Jin, "Before His Highness left, he said that the double could only help divert attention and cover his tracks, not interfere in military and political matters. Why is that?"
She had found a double to stabilize the situation with Feng Xi Wu’s special status, but if the double could not interfere in military and political matters, wasn't this double found in vain?
Li Jin’s expression turned solemn upon hearing this, "His Highness left in a hurry and did not have time to explain in detail, but I suspect it is for your sake, Consort."
Lu Qing Wan was puzzled, "How so? Finding a double to stabilize the situation for him could harm me?"
Li Jin let out a long sigh, his tone somewhat complex.
"Consort, you may not know this, but there have been precedents for such matters in our dynasty."
"About forty years ago, Great Qian was in a period of decline.
Several border principalities rebelled repeatedly. The Emperor was young then, but sickly and often bedridden. The princes were all young, and there was no one in the court to manage affairs.
When there were battles, the court relied entirely on the then Protector General Gu Heng Zhi. But that year, misfortune struck when General Gu also fell ill.
General Gu's wife was a capable woman, unmatched by any man. Out of love for her husband, she found someone to impersonate General Gu in the central army tent, while she herself led the charge and quelled the rebellion of the three feudatories.
Great Qian has since become an ironclad entity. The common folk say our His Highness is a master of war, and it is he who made Great Qian so prosperous.
However, His Highness has always said in private that without General and Madam Gu quelling the three feudatories and pacifying the border, Great Qian would not be where it is today."
Li Jin’s words were filled with admiration for General and Madam Gu, but also with a hint of wistfulness.
"But later, for some unknown reason, someone discovered that Madam Gu had found someone to impersonate General Gu. A memorial was sent to the Censorate.
A group of officials impeached Madam Gu for being a hen ruling the roost, for disrupting the court, and insisted that the then Emperor punish Madam Gu.
To avoid implicating General Gu, Madam Gu leaped to her death from the city wall. General Gu, heartbroken, became a monk.
To this day, General Gu is recorded in history as an official who disregarded the law, and Madam Gu is remembered as a seductive beauty who caused chaos.
Since then, none of General and Madam Gu's descendants have ever entered officialdom. One can imagine how disheartening their story was at the time."
Lu Qing Wan understood Feng Xi Wu's good intentions after hearing Li Jin recount General Gu's story.
However, "Why did those officials impeach General Gu? Did they not know that without General Gu, a pillar of the nation, they, a bunch of pedantic scholars, would be doomed to die if the rebels truly stormed the imperial city?"
Li Jin sneered, "They were not unaware of General Gu's importance, but they feared General Gu's achievements too greatly, making him superior to them.
It is just that General Gu was upright and insisted on being a loyal subject. If it were our His Highness, those old fools would have been made to die even faster than Consort!"