Lu Qing Wan, however, ignored her confusion, her eyes soft as she pretended to doze.
Ru Yue's heart churned like a cat scratching at her insides, yet she dared not disturb her, pacing anxiously like an ant on a hot pan.
Li Su, on the other hand, was perceptive. "Traveling at night is dangerous for ordinary people. The Consort is surrounded by countless experts. Any ill-intentioned person who dares to cross our path would merely be providing the Consort with some amusement!
Moreover, with Feng Qing Heng in the capital, and many others whose methods are unfathomable, the Prince likely wishes for the Consort to leave this place of trouble as soon as possible!"
Ru Yue thought to herself that if one had an idea, they should just say it directly, instead of playing this guessing game. If they guessed wrong, wouldn't they both fall into trouble?
Just as she was lost in thought, Lu Qing Wan suddenly spoke.
"Calculating the time, shouldn't Cheng Nan Shu be taking Su Shang and storming out in anger?"
This was the script she and Cheng Nan Shu had planned.
She would be furious with Cheng Nan Shu because of Nie Wu Ming, Su Shang would break ties with her to protect Cheng Nan Shu, and then the two of them would flee north to seek refuge with Nie Wu Ming.
Perhaps influenced by their mistress, Lu Qing Wan, Ru Yue and Li Su were no longer sleepy when the topic of acting came up. Both leaned in.
"They left around noon. Before they left, they had a fierce argument with Meng Sheng. I even slapped Su Shang!"
Li Su exclaimed excitedly, "Cheng Nan Shu even vowed in front of everyone to deal with me. Consort, you must protect me!
Nie Wu Ming is such a schemer; I truly fear I cannot outsmart him!"
To dare use his woman and child to exchange for Lu Qing Wan's trust when he had nothing, and then successfully coerce the Emperor of Northern Wei into making him crown prince through intelligence disparities – Li Su calling him a schemer was no exaggeration.
But it was precisely because of this that Lu Qing Wan felt Cheng Nan Shu and Su Shang's act lacked sufficient drama. She asked with concern, "Is that all?"
Cheng Nan Shu and Su Shang had their skills, but Lu Qing Wan and Si Feng Wu were even more capable.
If Cheng Nan Shu and Su Shang could escape the capital and reach Sheng Jing, the capital of Northern Wei, with a child without a hitch, it would be akin to telling Nie Wu Ming that this whole affair was a trap.
Li Su understood the complexities and then proudly presented her efforts, "Consort, please rest assured. I sent Ying Er to pursue them.
As for Cheng Nan Shu, on the night she reached an agreement with you, she sent a plea for help to Wu An Palace and Nie Wu Ming.
In addition, she had Meng Sheng leave several needle marks on her body. The act is certainly dramatic enough."
As for whether it could fool Nie Wu Ming, that would depend on Cheng Nan Shu's own skills.
In any case, Lu Qing Wan was satisfied as long as nothing went wrong on their side.
The carriage wheels creaked on the snow, the sound too loud to sleep to.
She decided not to sleep and rubbed her eyes fiercely, asking Li Su, "How is the equipping of firearms in the army coming along?"
"Including what you provided earlier, we currently have one hundred and thirty-two cannons, each with five hundred rounds of ammunition.
In addition, there are one hundred thousand long-barreled arquebuses and three hundred short firearms, with unspecified quantities of ammunition.
The strategist also specifically instructed the forge to prepare a batch of loose explosive packages for emergencies."
After speaking, Li Su took out several booklets from a hidden compartment in the carriage. "This is the military equipment reform situation compiled by the strategist over the past year. The Consort can review it on the road.
However, Consort, Northern Wei also possesses firearms now. Unless we immediately deploy cannons, our advantage in weaponry against Northern Wei is not significant."
Lu Qing Wan took the booklets from Li Su and opened them, saying, "The Prince and the strategist already knew about this situation. Several months should be enough for them to devise countermeasures. This is not something I need to worry about.
What I want to know is, why are Yun Qiang and Xi Liang so subservient to Nie Wu Ming?
Hu Yan Che is understandable; he rose to power by relying on Nie Wu Ming. But Xie Shi Luan, what is she cooperating with Nie Wu Ming for?"
Lu Qing Wan's calm gaze swept over them. This mission had been arranged when she crossed the Emerald River.
Now, almost a month had passed, and there was still no movement. She reasonably suspected that these people were hiding something from her.
The two looked at each other for a moment, and Li Su rubbed her face, looking troubled. "Consort, I know you and Xie Shi Luan were once friends who admired each other, but what she's done this time is truly not proper.
We didn't mean to hide it from you; it's just that this matter is difficult to explain."
Lu Qing Wan raised an eyebrow. "We did admire each other, but that is a thing of the past.
The moment she chose to stand by and watch when my father and the Prince were imprisoned, she ceased to be my friend.
Tell me, what good deeds has she done?"
Li Su's face contorted. "Didn't she ally with Prince Li, Xiao Mu An, to force the Emperor's abdication?
Before the army entered Xi Liang City, she killed Xiao Mu An and entered the palace under the guise of supporting the Emperor and saving the throne.
Not only did she not kill Xiao Jing An for revenge as agreed, but she also volunteered, exchanging military power for the position of Empress.
Later, by whatever means she used, she managed to coax Xiao Jing An into handing over his authority. While Xiao Jing An is nominally the Emperor of Xi Liang now, the real power has long fallen into Xie Shi Luan's hands."
Lu Qing Wan interjected impatiently, "There's no need to bring up such old news.
Just tell me directly, what agreement has Nie Wu Ming and Xie Shi Luan reached, and what threat does it pose to us?"
Li Su then dared not delay and directly presented the answer. "We have learned that Xie Shi Luan agreed with Nie Wu Ming that as long as she remained inactive and allowed Nie Wu Ming to take down Da Gan with peace of mind, Nie Wu Ming would provide Xie Shi Luan with a type of high-yield food that can be grown in Xi Liang, to help Xie Shi Luan resolve Xi Liang's grain crisis."
"A high-yield crop that can be grown in Xi Liang?"
Lu Qing Wan's brows furrowed. "The grain shortage has always been a common problem for Xi Liang, Northern Wei, and Yun Qiang, which is why they have repeatedly attacked Da Gan over the years.
Much of Northern Wei's territory has climate and soil conditions highly similar to Xi Liang.
If Nie Wu Ming could solve Xi Liang's grain problem, he would have long ago freed the people of Northern Wei from hunger. How could he abandon his own country to help Xi Liang?"
Li Su nodded vigorously. "That's what we thought too! But Xie Shi Luan actually believed him.
It is said that Nie Wu Ming took her to see an experimental field he had in Northern Wei. I suppose he used that experimental field to convince Xie Shi Luan."
In this resource-scarce era, whoever controlled food controlled the password to wealth.
If Nie Wu Ming truly possessed new agricultural crops, it would be a significant threat to them.