The soldiers followed their commander’s lead, and as soon as Shen Qingzhou spoke, they echoed his words.
For a moment, the phrase "We are willing to follow the Princess Consort" buzzed in Lu Qingwan's ears like surround sound.
Lu Qingwan’s head ached from the noise. She raised a slender hand, and the soldiers immediately fell silent.
Lu Qingwan glared at Shen Qingzhou, a hint of annoyance in her voice, "Settle the soldiers first. We can talk after everything is in order."
Shen Qingzhou flashed a fawning grin, "Princess Consort, this is a lawless zone. Where shall we settle the soldiers?"
Lu Qingwan subconsciously looked at Feng Xiwu. Seizing the opportunity, he chimed in, "Tianxuan City's defenses are weak. Let the Sky-grade Camp garrison there; it will perfectly fill the void."
Feng Xiwu had hinted at this before, but he hadn't explicitly stated he wanted to change the command of the Black Armored Army's Sky-grade Camp.
Lu Qingwan frowned, pondered for a moment, then nodded, "My mission ends once I bring them out. You can arrange the rest."
"That won't do. You are the sole commander of these sixty thousand troops now. I can at most offer suggestions; the decision rests with you."
"Is that so?"
Lu Qingwan smiled sweetly.
A chill ran down Feng Xiwu's spine, sensing something was amiss. Yet, he stubbornly nodded, "Of course. Look, they all agreed to follow you..."
"So, you never intended to give me a choice. You, the Regent, no, now Prince Qin, whatever you give me, I must accept, whether I want it or not. When you leave, I must wait in place, silent, without questioning, acting like an understanding mute. Then, when you wish to see me, I must eagerly come find you, right?"
Li Jin and the others saw the situation turning sour and attempted to slip away.
As they turned, they discovered that Shen Qingzhou had already taken his sixty thousand troops and vanished. Only Feng Xiwu’s remaining cronies, unaware of their Princess Consort's prowess, were still watching the spectacle with keen interest.
Cursing them as "idiots" under his breath, Li Jin grabbed Li Yang with one hand and dragged Li Qing with the other, making his escape.
They hadn't gone far when they suddenly heard a series of thudding sounds.
Turning back, they saw their amiable Princess Consort pummeling their Prince with her tiny fists.
Those small fists swung like meteors, almost creating afterimages.
Thus, the men who had just called their colleagues idiots stood frozen in place, watching.
Lu Qingwan had a gut full of pent-up anger. She had intended to give Feng Xiwu some face and refrain from fighting in front of his soldiers.
Unexpectedly, he kept provoking her sensitive nerves, successfully igniting Lu Qingwan's rage. Regardless of whether his subordinates were present or if he would lose face, he would first endure her fists.
Her mind hadn't even processed it before her fists were flying.
Feng Xiwu knew Lu Qingwan had suffered greatly during this period. He had intended to passively take a few blows to let her vent her anger.
However, after enduring just one punch, Feng Xiwu's expression changed. It wasn't due to pain, though Lu Qingwan's punches were not light, he was not made of tofu. It was that her punch clearly and directly told him that she was not joking; she was serious.
He hesitated for just a moment, and then another punch landed on his waist. For the sake of his future happiness, Feng Xiwu had to act, even if he didn't want to. He didn't intend to truly fight Lu Qingwan, merely to defend himself passively.
After blocking a few of Lu Qingwan's moves, he realized her anger had intensified. He belatedly understood that Lu Qingwan was already seething, and his constant defensive posture, without any counterattack, was like hitting cotton, making her even more irritated.
Once he understood this, he stopped merely evading and began to counterattack, controlling his strength. Neither of them used weapons, engaging in pure hand-to-hand combat. Precisely because of this, Feng Xiwu could constantly sense Lu Qingwan's emotional shifts.
After more than ten rounds, he discovered that Lu Qingwan had gotten caught up in the fight, completely setting aside her anger and solely focused on defeating him. He couldn't help but feel amused and exasperated.
Meanwhile, the subordinates watched in stunned silence.
They had initially been mere spectators, but seeing the couple throwing punches and kicks at each other without holding back, Feng Xiwu's men began to feel scared.
A general, about forty years old, quietly approached the group and whispered, "I say, aren't you going to try and stop them? The Princess Consort looks like she wants to kill the Prince. Will there really be no trouble if they continue like this?"
The men exchanged glances and shook their heads in unison.
The general looked confused, "Are you really just going to watch them fight?"
Li Yang shook his head, his expression horrified, "General Lin, it's not that we don't want to stop them, but that we don't dare. The Princess Consort merely wants to kill the Prince. If we intervene, it won't be a desire to kill, but a desire to be killed."
As he spoke, they heard a gasp. They quickly turned to look and saw Lu Qingwan had just kicked the flagpole held by a soldier. The flagpole, bearing the flag with the character "Xuan," had been snapped in half by her kick.
The soldier stared blankly at the broken flagpole in his hand, utterly shell-shocked.
Li Yang turned to look at General Lin. The latter silently averted his gaze, "Ahem, well, now that we've seen the Princess Consort, I'll take my men to drill. Let's go drill."
As General Lin left, the other generals also made their excuses and departed.
Soon, only Lian Yu and a contingent of Feng Xiwu’s personal guards remained. About a thousand soldiers stood on the Gobi desert outside Zhenyuan Pass, watching their Prince and Princess Consort fight.
Lu Qingwan and Feng Xiwu's fight lasted for an hour and a half. Lu Qingwan had too much negative emotion pent up that needed to be released. Initially, she maintained an offensive and defensive strategy, aiming to defeat Feng Xiwu. Later, it became purely about venting. Her mind went blank, and her fists and legs moved instinctively until she was utterly exhausted, at which point Feng Xiwu forcibly stopped the melee.
When it was over, both their hairstyles were disheveled, and their clothes were tattered like beggar’s rags. Lu Qingwan stood there swaying precariously. Feng Xiwu stepped forward and embraced her, marking their first hug since reuniting.
Lu Qingwan's voice was hoarse, her breathing ragged. Too weak to struggle, she buried her face in Feng Xiwu's chest and cursed him, "Feng Xiwu, you bastard!"
"Yes, yes, this King is a bastard," Feng Xiwu replied placatingly, his hand still stroking her back to soothe her. "When you've rested, we'll continue fighting until you're not angry anymore, alright?"
Lu Qingwan mumbled from within his embrace, "Feng Xiwu."
"Hmm, what is it?" Feng Xiwu gently lowered his head to look at her. Lu Qingwan, however, kept her head down, refusing to let him see her face, and said in a muffled voice, "I almost couldn't hold on."
Feng Xiwu tightened his embrace, about to speak, when he heard Lu Qingwan sob, "The day Feng Qingheng forced me to become his consort, I thought, since my father is already gone, I have no reason to stay in Shangjing. Feng Qingheng is no match for you, and with his abilities, he couldn't harm you. As long as I leave Shangjing, with the world so vast, I could roam freely..."