This is alarming!
Lu Qing Wan's fur stood on end. "You mean, someone discovered the Prince was not in the manor and wanted to use Consort Dowager Wen to probe whether the Prince was actually present?"
Li Jin still kept his head down. "This is merely my subordinate's conjecture, but Consort Dowager Wen's assertiveness is indeed rather unusual."
Lu Qing Wan's eyes darted around, and she beckoned to Li Jin. "Come here!"
Li Jin leaned in, and Lu Qing Wan whispered a stream of words. Li Jin's expression changed by the moment as he listened.
In the end, he calmed down with a strange composure. "Yes, this subordinate will prepare immediately."
"What's the hurry?"
Lu Qing Wan, however, was calm. "Xue Hong Yi and Wu Ying's forces are jointly gathering provisions. At least some of the supplies should have reached Sai Bei by now, right? Have any messages come from below?"
Li Jin's expression soured at her words. "I find it inconvenient to contact the leader of the Hong Yi cult, so I'm not clear on the situation. However, Your Highness, with Wu Ying, the transportation of supplies appears to be encountering difficulties."
"How so?"
Lu Qing Wan sprang up. "Were the items not procured, or did the transportation route encounter problems? Didn't Wu Ying say their express delivery business was mature? How could there still be issues?"
She wasn't worried about anything else in Shang Jing, only about Feng Xi Wu encountering problems on the front lines. That was a battlefield where lives were at stake. After being so cautious and vigilant, how could there still be problems?
Before Li Jin could explain what happened, Lu Qing Wan had already imagined a series of disasters involving Feng Xi Wu as the center and the Xuan Jia Army as the radius.
Li Jin wanted to comfort Lu Qing Wan, but he couldn't ignore the facts. Therefore, he said in an extremely heavy tone, "Reporting to Your Highness, due to continuous heavy snow in recent days, the supply transport team has lost contact with Wu Ying for three days, and the specific situation is unknown. However, earlier reports indicated a snow disaster in the northwest, with a large number of disaster victims flocking towards Shang Jing. The people in the northwest are naturally fierce, and local officials are only suppressing them mindlessly, leading to the phenomenon of disaster victims turning into rioters. My subordinate fears that if the transport team encounters those rioters, our hard-earned supplies may not be safe."
The supplies being sent to Sai Bei were a significant strain even on Lu Qing Wan, a wealthy woman. Hearing this, she frowned. "I recall that before the Prince left the capital, someone had already reported the severe snowstorm in the northwest to His Majesty. After so many days, has the court not sent anyone to provide disaster relief? How can there still be so many rioters?"
Li Jin clearly knew that the transportation team from Bu Ye Zhou had stronger capabilities in self-preservation and cargo protection than ordinary escort agencies. Yet, he was worried about the goods being robbed by rioters. Just how fierce must those rioters be?
Hearing Lu Qing Wan's words, Li Jin had a look of indescribable exasperation. "His Majesty did dispatch people for disaster relief immediately, but that Jiang Ding Kun is simply a brute who only knows how to fight and kill; how can he provide disaster relief? If he's sent to provide relief, the number of victims might only increase?"
"Jiang Ding Kun?"
Lu Qing Wan clicked her tongue. "Isn't he the general who came to the capital to assist the Emperor when Prince Ning rebelled? He's the commander of the Capital Garrison, isn't he? Why would His Majesty send him to provide disaster relief?"
It seemed as if the general responsible for the security of the capital had gone to a place hundreds of miles away from Shang Jing to provide disaster relief, as if he didn't care about the safety of Shang Jing at all. However, Lu Qing Wan knew clearly that Emperor Jing You wasn't so foolish, so she was even more perplexed.
Having Li Jin, a knowledgeable person, by her side, she asked, "Jiang Ding Kun is indeed the commander of the Capital Garrison, but he lacks the ability to defend the capital. With Marquis Lu and the Shen Ce Battalion in Shang Jing, His Majesty can rest assured. Although Jiang Ding Kun is a brute, disaster relief in the northwest requires a military general to help deter the populace. Besides him, the other official responsible for disaster relief, Feng Chu, a Lang Zhong from the Ministry of Revenue, hails from the Feng clan of Jiangnan. The Feng clan started as merchants and has extensive connections, and Feng Chu is somewhat concerned about the welfare of the people. If these two are to successfully complete the disaster relief mission, they will need to cooperate. Although the disaster relief will be a bit slow, they should be able to complete the task. However, it is likely that these two have not yet had time to synchronize, and our transport team will not be able to benefit from the disaster relief."
Lu Qing Wan understood. "In other words, disaster relief hasn't even begun, and these rioters have no one to suppress them militarily nor anyone to provide for their sustenance, so our transport team has become their makeshift supply unit, right?"
Li Jin nodded. "If nothing unexpected occurs, that is the result."
"Send a message to Wu Ying. The transport team should try their best to deliver the supplies to Sai Bei. However, if the road ahead is impassable and they truly cannot deliver them, they should do business with Feng Chu first, exchange the supplies for money, and strive to minimize losses. As for the provisions for the Xuan Jia Army, the portion sent by Xue Hong Yi should be enough to last for some time. I will think of a solution for the rest."
Li Jin nodded. "The court has allocated a month's worth of provisions for the eighty thousand Northern Army cavalry and fifty thousand Xuan Jia Army. If absolutely necessary, the Prince can have them spare some for the Xuan Jia Army. Your Highness, please don't worry too much. The issue of provisions is not urgent at the moment."
Given the circumstances, Lu Qing Wan could only pretend to be calm and agree to Li Jin's requests.
With a complex mood, she saw off the worried Li Jin. Li Su cautiously inquired, "Your Highness, Miss Chi is still waiting in the side hall. Shall we see her now?"
Lu Qing Wan then perked up. "Let her in."
Chi Yao Yao's background was top-tier in Shang Jing, and she was not yet betrothed, so she naturally could not escape the imperial selection. However, after failing to gain an audience with Lu Qing Wan that day, she had not seen Lu Qing Wan privately until they met in the Chuxiu Palace. As a noble lady selected for the imperial harem, she represented not only herself but also her family. Therefore, Chi Yao Yao was dressed exquisitely.
After Li Su led her into the main hall, she bowed respectfully. "This commoner greets the Regent's Consort. May the Consort be well!"
"Get up. There's no one else here, so there's no need to be so formal." Lu Qing Wan motioned for Chi Yao Yao to sit opposite her. "You're looking for me so late. What is it?"
Chi Yao Yao, by nature, was not a person who could remain composed. Upon hearing Lu Qing Wan's question, she blurted out, "Ah Wan, of the more than five hundred chosen women, only ninety remain. Do you have any ideas about who will be Consort Chen or Consort Jing?"
The moment Lu Qing Wan heard this question, her head began to ache. "Please give me a break. Anyone I've met privately these past few days has been asking about the selection of consorts. Why are you doing the same thing?" Lu Qing Wan covered her face in despair.
Chi Yao Yao chuckled awkwardly. "No, it's just that only ninety chosen women are left. They are either daughters of renowned families in Shang Jing, daughters of powerful provincial officials, or at the very least, talented women from various regions. But I know I can stay only because my mother is one of the judges, and my grandfather is a Grand Academician of the Wenyuan Pavilion. Yet, I know my own capabilities. I don't want to be a consort either. Ah Wan, please eliminate me..."
The young girl was straightforward and couldn't keep her thoughts to herself. The moment she opened her mouth, her intention was revealed.