On the battlefield, Lu Qingwan deliberately kept a distance from Si Fengwu, so as not to make the soldiers feel that Si Fengwu, the commander, was unprofessional and obsessed with female beauty.
Li Su and Ru Yue quietly followed her.
Ru Yue reported softly by her side, "Your Highness, according to reliable intelligence, the headquarters of the Wuan Palace only has the elders and their subordinates led by the Great Elder.
Nie Wuming and Liu Hanyan's subordinates are scattered everywhere, so bombing the headquarters of Wuan Palace will not cause them significant losses."
Lu Qingwan was indifferent, "It doesn't matter. I didn't expect to completely eliminate the Wuan Palace's forces in one go. I just wanted to teach them a lesson.
Have you found out who is behind Liu Hanyan?"
Liu Hanyan and Nie Wuming, while hiding in the dark, were so troublesome that they seemed very powerful.
But once they appeared, they were one weaker than the other.
Lu Qingwan did not believe that two mere straw bags with only cunning plans could devise such a meticulous plan to gradually deplete her and Si Fengwu's forces, and to extract the King of Ten Thousand Phoenixes and the True Dragon Token from them.
Whether it was Nie Wuming or Liu Hanyan, they were just two pitiable pawns being used. If Lu Qingwan hadn't wanted to find the people behind them, she could have killed them at any time.
To her disappointment, Ru Yue shook her head. "I can confirm that Liu Hanyan's most valuable identity was the former Saintess of the Reincarnation Hall.
Although she is the Empress of Southern Qi, the Emperor of Southern Qi has many consorts and more than thirty children, so she has no advantage in the harem.
There were faint traces of her interacting with someone, but after she returned to the Reincarnation Hall last time, those clues were broken."
How could a force that could stir up the southeast three kingdoms and cause turmoil in Qin, Southern Qi, and Tuyur be so easily found?
Therefore, although Lu Qingwan was disappointed by this answer, she was not surprised.
"Then, besides Li Jin, who else was present when Nie Wuming was interrogated last night?"
"I was there."
Ru Yue flicked her horsewhip and rode abreast of Lu Qingwan. "Nie Wuming confessed that he initially only wanted to destroy the Nie Dynasty's empire and the Wuan Palace to avenge his youth and lack of accomplishment.
But after he returned to Northern Wei, someone approached him.
That person told him that Empress Xiaochengren was still alive.
As long as he could disgrace you and His Highness and kill you, and obtain the King of Ten Thousand Phoenixes, that person would let him see Empress Xiaochengren.
Your Highness, as you know, all of Nie Wuming's suffering in the first half of his life began with the death of Empress Xiaochengren, so he agreed to the transaction with that person."
Another familiar recipe, another familiar trick.
Lu Qingwan was no longer surprised to hear that someone who had been dead for many years was still alive.
She asked calmly, "Did he mention any characteristics of the other party?
And, regarding the headquarters of the Wuan Palace, did he say anything?"
Nie Wuming's past might indeed be tragic, but when the victim becomes the perpetrator, Lu Qingwan could not sympathize with him.
Now, she only wanted to quickly understand the mysterious force hidden behind Liu Hanyan and Nie Wuming.
"When the other party approached Nie Wuming, they used internal energy to disguise their voice and wore a cloak from head to toe, so Nie Wuming didn't even know if it was a man or a woman.
However, Nie Wuming said that the person smelled strongly of fish, which is the only information about that person.
As for the headquarters of the Wuan Palace..."
Ru Yue carefully considered her words before saying, "The Wuan Palace we know, which is notorious for its arson, murder, and looting, is the real Wuan Palace.
Its core members were all silently eliminated long ago.
Liu Hanyan, Nie Wuming, and those hiding in the underground palace of the Northern Wei Imperial Mausoleum are just an unnamed underground force, using the name of Wuan Palace to make people from Wuan Palace their cannon fodder and work for them.
People like Nie Wuming and Liu Hanyan were just small henchmen running errands for them.
If Your Highness wants to understand the details of this Wuan Palace, you should look for someone called Madam You. That person was the one with the highest status Nie Wuming had ever met, and he might be able to provide some useful intelligence."
"Madam You?"
Lu Qingwan pondered and nodded.
Si Fengwu, who had returned at some point, heard this and sighed, "No wonder I felt that the Wuan Palace's actions in recent years were increasingly unlike their earlier style. I thought the leaders of Wuan Palace had become smarter, but it turns out they were all wiped out?"
"Yes, such a large Wuan Palace was wiped out, and we didn't receive any news. Don't you suddenly feel a great pressure?"
It's not that enemies are strong, but that they dig pits for you one after another, and you don't even know what they look like.
This is too disadvantageous for them, not knowing where to swing their swords.
Si Fengwu, however, had a good attitude. "No, I don't feel that.
No matter how deeply they hide or how meticulously they plan, didn't we still find them?
Moreover, have you considered that they went to such great lengths to find the King of Ten Thousand Phoenixes and the True Dragon Token?
From a certain perspective, doesn't this just show that their hard power is actually insufficient to contend with us, so they have to rely on these two antique objects?"
This understanding... Lu Qingwan unhesitatingly gave him a thumbs up, "As expected of Your Highness, you are indeed formidable!"
Si Fengwu was very pleased with Lu Qingwan's sudden praise. "Lian Yu has made arrangements. Take Duanyue with you, and we will jointly set up a formation at the exit of the Northern Wei Imperial Mausoleum's underground palace to trap them inside before closing the door.
We will interrogate everyone inside one by one, and I don't believe we won't get any useful information."
Lu Qingwan's raised thumb met his. "Good idea!
Shall we leave now?"
The imperial mausoleum was not within the city. As long as they were prepared, they could leave at any time.
As soon as Lu Qingwan learned that the people hidden in the underground palace of the Northern Wei Imperial Mausoleum were related to Liu Hanyan and his group, she could not wait any longer.
Her hands, gripping the reins, were itching to rush into the imperial mausoleum's underground palace and wreak havoc.
Si Fengwu helplessly stepped forward and, along with Ru Yue, flanked Lu Qingwan. "Don't be reckless. Although we are not afraid of the other party, there is no need to confront them head-on.
This grassland is flat. If we charge in broad daylight, they will discover us from dozens of miles away.
It is beneficial for us to depart with the army and make the scouts think that you and I are going to attack the city. Then, we can break away from the main force after dark and go directly to the imperial mausoleum, minimizing the risk."
Lu Qingwan pouted in disappointment, but she also knew that Si Fengwu's arrangements were correct, so she could only patiently wait for nightfall.
Fortunately, in Northern Wei, dawn was late and nightfall was early. Not long after following the army to Guihua City, the vast grasslands within sight welcomed night once again.