Having leisurely finished breakfast and met with Tie Shou, and appeased Lu Zhen Ting, the morning passed by.
As Lu Qing Wan boarded the carriage to welcome the envoys, she seriously suspected Feng Xi Wu was deliberately procrastinating.
"Are we still on time if we go now?"
Although she didn't know why, Lu Qing Wan truly felt Feng Xi Wu's unusual aversion to the task of entertaining envoys.
"Don't worry, someone will be more anxious than us."
"Someone would actually rush to do something so thankless?" Lu Qing Wan expressed deep doubt.
However, when they reached the city gate, she knew Feng Xi Wu was not exaggerating.
Seeing Feng Qing Heng, dressed impeccably as if about to attend a grand ceremony, Lu Qing Wan felt a moment of disorientation.
Feng Xi Wu's eyes dimmed slightly, "Is Prince Chen really that good-looking?"
Lu Qing Wan withdrew her gaze, "I'm just curious. He's still facing a murder charge, yet he so brazenly comes here to steal your job. Isn't he afraid of getting beaten?"
Feng Xi Wu raised an eyebrow, his expression relaxing, "Who says he's stealing my job?"
Lu Qing Wan looked at him with an expression that said, 'Don't deceive yourself,' "Isn't he?"
Feng Xi Wu remained silent, allowing Li Yang to help him alight from the carriage. Lu Qing Wan followed.
Then she saw Feng Qing Heng approach and greet them without any hesitation, "Greetings to the Regent, and the Regent's Consort!"
Lu Qing Wan raised an eyebrow at the address. Although Feng Xi Wu and Feng Qing Heng were uncle and nephew, addressing Feng Xi Wu as Regent and herself as Regent's Consort in a formal setting was not only correct but also more appropriate.
The key was that he didn't have to force himself to call her Imperial Aunt, which would have drawn criticism. Feng Qing Heng actually had a brain!
Feng Xi Wu, as always, was proud and made no unnecessary movements, merely asking him, "Why are you here as well?"
Lu Qing Wan's rabbit ears perked up instantly. She wanted to hear how Feng Qing Heng would justify himself.
"Tomorrow is the Emperor's Birthday Festival. I thought my elder brother and eighth brother would also be returning. We brothers have been apart for a long time, and I couldn't contain my eagerness, so I came here to wait."
Feng Xi Wu tilted his head to look at Lu Qing Wan, as if to say, 'See? I told you he wasn't here to steal my job.'
Even if he was, he had already found a proper excuse, so they wouldn't be able to find fault with him.
Lu Qing Wan pouted and playfully tugged Feng Xi Wu's hair, "So, what do we do now? Just wait here?"
"No need."
Feng Xi Wu rescued his hair from Lu Qing Wan's grasp. "There's a restaurant nearby. I've had a private room booked. We can sit there and come out when they arrive."
Lu Qing Wan tilted her head and looked. Indeed, a restaurant named "Fan Lou" stood out among the simple, crude buildings at the city gate.
"Can a restaurant in this place make back its expenses?" Lu Qing Wan was very concerned about the establishment's business.
Feng Xi Wu chuckled, "Don't underestimate this place. Those who leave the city early and enter in the evening all stop here.
People from all walks of life gather here. In the capital, apart from those places of lavish indulgence, this is where the most information can be found."
"Indeed, existence justifies reason. It makes sense that this restaurant hasn't gone out of business by opening here."
Lu Qing Wan said, then changed the subject, "But Your Highness seems very familiar with the places of lavish indulgence in the capital. When will you take me to visit them?"
As a transmigator, she couldn't miss places like pleasure houses and elite brothels.
To her surprise, as soon as she said this, Li Yang and the others coughed violently. Liang Xia and Ren Dong behind her almost tripped over the doorstep, startled by her astonishing words. After a moment of chaos, they managed to steady themselves.
Lu Qing Wan, oblivious to the stir she caused, chided the two girls, "I told you I don't need so many people when I go out. Liang Xia is fine, but Ren Dong, aren't you a martial artist? How could you fall on flat ground?"
The two maids were on the verge of tears. Li Yang and the others even felt a bit sorry for them.
Feng Xi Wu was amused by her occasional thoughtlessness, "Does the Consort know what kind of places I refer to as places of lavish indulgence?"
"What's there not to know?"
Lu Qing Wan pushed Feng Xi Wu into the room and naturally walked towards the window. As expected, when the window was opened, everything outside was clear.
"It's nothing more than brothels and official residences, right? By the way, does Da Qian have official residences?"
Li Yang and the others were utterly dumbfounded. Ren Dong boldly stepped forward, "Consort, please stop talking!"
If not for her status, she would have rushed forward to cover her Consort's mouth. Saying such things in front of the Prince was asking for trouble!
Ren Dong dared not look at her master's expression.
She secretly raised her eyes, only to find Feng Xi Wu's smile exceptionally brilliant, "The Consort wants to go to an official residence?"
"Not really. Which official is as handsome as Your Highness? I'm just curious."
Li Yang rushed forward to pull away the chair by the small table by the window. Lu Qing Wan adeptly placed Feng Xi Wu there.
She then sat down opposite him, her eyes fixed on Feng Xi Wu, "So, can Your Highness take me?"
Although Lu Qing Wan's tone was full of hope, she was met with Feng Xi Wu's ruthless refusal, "No."
"Why?"
Lu Qing Wan was unwilling. Apart from her few close friends in the supernatural powers group, almost no one knew that the renowned Demoness was also a hairpin artisan in private. She had a large collection of ancient-style hairpins and Hanfu.
She couldn't resist beautiful young men and women in Hanfu. People in pleasure houses and elite brothels must be good-looking. A string of ancient-style models, Lu Qing Wan found the thought enticing.
"Didn't the Consort say it herself? Which official can be as handsome as me? I'm right here, and the Consort can look for as long as she wants. Why go to such lengths to go elsewhere and make a long journey for a short gain?"
Lu Qing Wan: ...
She really had no argument against this.
After a moment of speechless silence, before she could devise a suitable argument to persuade Feng Xi Wu further, sounds of commotion came from outside the window.
Peeking out, a magnificent procession arrived, stretching as far as the eye could see.
"Which country's envoy is this? The scale is too grand!"
Lu Qing Wan clicked her tongue, "Are they here to wish the Emperor a happy birthday, or to cause trouble?"
The procession, from the guards at the front to the unseen end, had at least a thousand people. Lu Qing Wan even wondered how they had entered the territory of Da Qian.
Feng Xi Wu glanced at it and immediately understood, "It's not a single country's envoy. The foremost is from Northern Wei, followed by Yun Qiang, and at the rear is the envoy team from Xiliang.
If I'm not mistaken, Prince Jing and Prince Ning's retinues should be arriving soon too."
Prince Jing and Prince Ning were the elder brother and eighth brother mentioned by Feng Qing Heng earlier.
Lu Qing Wan blinked, somewhat confused, "Logically, shouldn't the brothers be enfeoffed and sent to their territories only after the new Emperor ascends the throne?
Why have those two princes already gone to their fiefdoms while our Emperor is still in his prime?"