Inside the Imperial Study.
Su Wan'er ordered the maids to light incense, then waved them all away without a moment's pause. Sniffing the wisps of delicate fragrance, she stared blankly at Si Junlin.
The servants had gone far away, and it was extremely quiet inside and outside the room. The fragmented sunlight passed through the locust tree leaves and shone on the oil-paper window. Su Wan'er tilted her head and looked over. Suddenly, she felt a bit itchy on her face. Habitually, she wiped it with her sleeve. When she saw the embroidered dragon pattern on it, she shivered. She carefully rubbed it... The gold thread hurt her face.
"Don't be so effeminate!" Someone cursed with gritted teeth.
The pair of round almond eyes that Si Junlin had squinted into long, sharp ones, the rouge on his cheeks had faded. He sat upright, with a distant and dangerous posture.
The same face had changed so much that it was unbelievable. Su Wan'er felt a strong sense of absurdity. Even if her mother came, she probably wouldn't recognize this body.
Even though Si Junlin's aura didn't match his current face, his prestige remained. Su Wan'er couldn't help but sit up straight and muttered, "I'm not you. I can't learn your appearance."
"I'm afraid my face will be lost in the time it takes to drink a cup of tea by the Queen." Si Junlin sighed with a headache. After a moment, his attitude suddenly became tough again. "Say less of those ums and ahs! Use your brain a bit. Don't bring the postures of those boudoir ladies onto me!"
After saying that, looking at Su Wan'er's innocent appearance as she tried hard to think, Si Junlin felt his heart pounding. Unable to bear it any longer, he closed his eyes.
Looking at himself was too awkward. Su Wan'er felt that something was wrong everywhere. She changed her sitting posture several times in a row and couldn't help but ask, "Is it true? You've become me. I'm not really dreaming, am I... What should we do?"
"Or should the Queen come and confirm again?" Si Junlin laughed coldly. He stretched out two fingers and poked his neck. When he touched the smooth skin, he instantly retracted his smile. His expression was gloomy. "People have always spread that there is a difference between the soul and the body. Today, I believe it. You said that was it because we almost drowned that our souls entered the wrong bodies?"
Su Wan'er didn't want to pick up this topic. One was because she didn't have the mood to discuss philosophy with Si Junlin. The second was because she felt that this kind of ghost theory was inherently cold and scary.
She calmed down. Some mixed thoughts popped up in her head.
When Si Junlin went to court, when Si Junlin had to deal with those chatty ministers... When Si Junlin had to read all kinds of miscellaneous memorials.
If people found out, they might even suspect that she had kidnapped the Emperor and locked her up in prison for torture.
It could be seen that being the Emperor wasn't a good thing. There was a danger to her life. Su Wan'er was a bit panicked and somewhat nervous.
"This matter can't be spread out." Si Junlin looked at her coldly. In an instant, he came to a conclusion. "Since it was caused by drowning, then we'll jump again and change our bodies back."
...
At noon, the sun was shining brightly. It was so hot that both people and flowers were listless. They shrank in the shadows and didn't want to move.
The third-class maid, Zhu Yun, in the embroidery workshop accidentally broke a jade bottle. She was dragged out to stand under the sun as punishment. After standing for only half an hour, Zhu Yun was so dizzy from the sun that she looked around and saw no one. Then, she secretly leaned on the vermilion corridor to rest.
There shouldn't be anyone at this time. As long as they had some ability, they would shrink in the room and be lazy. The little maids who came and went occasionally didn't dare to say a word to offend anyone. Zhu Yun was a bit sleepy. Just as she was about to close her eyes, she felt that someone had flashed by. She was so scared that she shivered and straightened her back. She stared blankly at the red and yellow figures quickly walking far away.
"That is..." Zhu Yun murmured. Suddenly, a bold thought popped up in her heart. She took two steps onto a large rock and excitedly stretched her neck to look over there.
She had only entered the palace for two years. Every time she saw a noble person, she would kneel down from afar. This time, she didn't know what kind of luck she had walked. She actually ran into the Emperor and the Queen traveling alone. There wasn't a single person beside them!
The Emperor and the Queen had stopped... by the pond. Zhu Yun was puzzled. Suddenly, she felt that the Queen was different from the rumors. She looked very fierce. She seemed to be saying something to the Emperor. The Emperor was in a daze. Then, he hesitantly stretched out a foot.
What were they doing? Zhu Yun rubbed her eyes. When she opened them again, she saw a scene that shocked her so much that her liver and gallbladder were about to split.
The Queen kicked the Emperor down!
The Queen kicked the Emperor into the water. Then, she jumped in herself!
Zhu Yun trembled as she covered her mouth. She fell off the rock and crawled towards the pond. As she shouted, "Someone come. The Emperor and the Queen have jumped in again!"
...
Ever since Su Wan'er had been fished out of the water, she had been constantly sneezing. Every time she sneezed, the old dean of the Imperial Hospital's beard would tremble.
After tossing and turning for an afternoon, not only did they not change their bodies back, but it also spread throughout the palace as expected. There were dozens of versions, including dying for love, accidentally falling, and murder.
The news that the two had jumped into the water again had, as expected, alarmed the Empress Dowager. She called Si Junlin over to lecture him. Although she didn't know what she had said, she could guess a bit from Si Junlin's angry and annoyed face.
"Should we still jump?" Su Wan'er asked. She really felt that if she jumped a few more times, she would lose her life.
"Let's do it like this for now. You act first. We'll think of a way later." Si Junlin lay on the bed on his own. His hands were folded. His upright and proper appearance clearly showed that he had received a huge blow from the Empress Dowager.
Seeing that he was about to sleep, Su Wan'er got up in a daze. Just as she was about to leave, Si Junlin on the bed tilted his head. His voice was faint. "Where is the Queen going?"
Su Wan'er was about to say that she was going back to the palace. Suddenly, she remembered her current situation. She looked at Si Junlin awkwardly.
She returned to her own palace with the Emperor's shell, and left Si Junlin here. I'm afraid it would scare the palace again, right?
Si Junlin sighed. He moved inside and patted the quilt. He said calmly, "You sleep here. In case something unexpected happens at night and you need to come out, I'll also sleep here. In case something unexpected happens to you."
"...... Alright." After all, it was a special moment.
Su Wan'er felt a huge amount of pressure. Especially when she took off her clothes under Si Junlin's strange gaze, she didn't know how to start when she had just unbuttoned her outer clothes. She smiled awkwardly, but realized that Si Junlin had already shifted his gaze.
Si Junlin didn't blow out the lamp, so Su Wan'er didn't have the nerve to blow out the lamp either. After hesitating for a moment, she chose to sleep on her side to avoid the bright light. Listening to the steady breathing beside her, she gradually relaxed. Just as she was about to fall asleep, she heard Si Junlin's helpless voice.
"You turn over there to sleep." Si Junlin was very disgusted. "Don't let me see your face. Otherwise, I can't sleep."
Looking at herself... was really scary.
Su Wan'er immediately lost all her sleepiness. She made a face and deliberately leaned in front of Si Junlin. "You finally know that you're scary, right? In the past, I had nightmares every day when I saw you."