Si Junlin felt that the whole world had turned into a fantasy. It was bad enough that he had inexplicably become Su Wan'er, but what was even more unacceptable to him was that Su Wan'er was seriously ruining his image.
Just like at this moment, her eyes were bright, and she was gesturing with all her might as if she couldn't wait to use her hands and feet.
It was simply... unbearable to look at.
Si Junlin took a deep breath, forcefully turned Su Wan'er's head to the side, and said in a gruff voice, "If I have a nightmare, I'll throw you out of here and let you sleep with A Huang, the dog raised by the maids."
Su Wan'er stuck out her tongue. As sleepiness came over her, she obediently lay down to sleep.
...
The news that the queen had spent the night in the emperor's bedroom spread throughout the palace. Everyone was saying that the queen was about to regain the emperor's favor, but Su Wan'er didn't know this because Si Junlin dragged her out of the covers at the fifth watch.
"It's time to go to court. Put on your clothes first. You'll go in my place," Si Junlin said, looking at her sleepily with disdain.
"Can I not go?" Su Wan'er was about to cry. She knew nothing and would only tremble with fear in the court.
"No," Si Junlin smiled. Maybe his conscience had awakened, so he patted her on the shoulder reassuringly. "If you don't go, those court officials will come looking for you. You can't avoid them. Anyway, they won't find me."
After putting on the imperial robe, Su Wan'er stood there aggrievedly for Si Junlin to examine. Si Junlin frowned and looked at her for a long time. Finally, he said nothing and gave her some emergency strategies.
It was really too hasty, but there was nothing they could do. Who could have expected this to happen? Si Junlin thought, and waved his hand in self - abandonment, signaling Su Wan'er to disappear quickly.
"If you don't understand, don't reply. Tell them to submit memorials. When they quarrel, don't say a word. If no one pays attention, it will quiet down."
Su Wan'er left. The eunuch led her on a path she had never walked before. She sat on the throne in the Golden Hall. The ministers rushed in all at once, chattering things she didn't understand.
She really wanted to wipe the sweat off her forehead, but the quarrel among the people below was getting more and more intense. The red - faced ministers who were arguing forgot about the etiquette and stared directly into Su Wan'er's eyes, trying to guess her intention from those empty eyes.
"Your Majesty, the imperial edict ordering Huainan to reinforce the dam has been issued for more than half a month, but Lord Ye has not started the work and has made all kinds of excuses. I think he is extremely negative. This is a sign of contempt for you!"
Minister Cheng, with his white beard, knelt down on the ground with a thud and cried with snot and tears about Lord Ye's crimes. Seeing that the emperor remained silent for a long time, he felt panicked. When he looked up, he saw that her eyes were clear, and her slightly thin lips were tightly pursed. She seemed to know everything and also seemed to want to say nothing.
Did the emperor already know that he had selfish motives? Minister Cheng was very uneasy. He pretended to cough weakly twice, hoping that the emperor would not pursue the matter because of his old age.
"Submit a memorial," came the calm voice from above.
Minister Cheng was startled at first, and then overjoyed. He kowtowed shakily and shouted that the emperor was wise.
This meant that the emperor wanted him to impeach Lord Ye! The emperor really trusted him!
Su Wan'er watched the old minister below change his expression several times in a short while. She pulled the corner of her mouth in confusion, remembered what Si Junlin had told her, and then listened to the others chattering with a cold face.
The others didn't suspect that there was anything wrong with the emperor sitting above. They naturally attributed her cold and haggard appearance to getting up too early.
Since the emperor was so keen on receiving memorials, when the court was over, Su Wan'er received a large number of memorials. The eunuchs carried them to the imperial study and piled them on Si Junlin's desk.
Si Junlin was in high spirits. He was sitting leisurely by the window. The sun shone on half of his body, and there was a maid fanning him beside him.
Thinking about how nervous she had been all morning, Su Wan'er felt a little jealous, but there was nothing she could do. She climbed onto the bed angrily, planning to take a nap, but was picked up by him.
"Come and read the memorials," Si Junlin said, and skillfully threw a memorial full of trivial matters aside.
There were no major events. Most of the memorials were submitted by the censors.
Even though she was very reluctant, Su Wan'er didn't know how long she would have to play his role. To make her look more like the emperor, Si Junlin still endured his impatience, picked out a few memorials, and wanted to tell Su Wan'er about what might happen in the court.
When he turned around, he found that she had fallen asleep on the desk. Her mouth was slightly open, and her saliva was about to soak her sleeve.
"You..." Si Junlin was so angry that he laughed. He felt a little uncomfortable thinking that it was his own clothes, but this feeling was soon dispelled by another subtle emotion.
It was really... difficult for her.
He covered Su Wan'er with a thin blanket, stared at her for a while, and then turned to approve the memorials.
...
Su Wan'er slept groggily. She had many dreams. In the dream, she didn't swap bodies with Si Junlin. Instead, she was locked in the cold palace and had to raise pigeons there every day.
The more she thought about it, the funnier it seemed. She let out a snort of laughter and was then shaken awake forcefully. In front of her was that familiar face again.
"What do I have to do again?" Su Wan'er seemed to have a premonition and sighed with a headache.
She had no idea that the emperor had such a busy day and couldn't even sleep peacefully. She really didn't know this before.
Si Junlin was surprised by her rapidly increasing awareness. He raised his eyebrows and said calmly, "It's getting late. It's time to pay respects to the queen mother."
Su Wan'er looked over his shoulder and found that all the memorials had been approved. Only then did she feel a little comforted. With a bitter face, she was led by Si Junlin to the Taihe Palace.
Paying respects to the queen mother used to be one of the things Su Wan'er least wanted to face because the queen mother didn't like her.
How times had changed! Su Wan'er sighed. She was holding a bowl of hot porridge in her hand, and the queen mother opposite her was looking at her with concern.
"Your Majesty, eat more. Doctor Zhao said that you've caught a cold and have been so tired every day. You must take care of your body and don't overwork yourself."
The queen mother watched happily as Su Wan'er finished the porridge, and then kept signaling the maids to serve her food. She also glanced at Si Junlin standing there and said indifferently, "They say that a woman's virtue lies in her lack of talent. Even common people understand this. Since you're the queen, you should pay more attention to your words and deeds. Don't lead the emperor into mischief!"
Su Wan'er knew that she was alluding to the incident of diving into the water yesterday. She quickly coughed twice, trying to divert the queen mother's attention.
"My son, what's wrong?" The queen mother was startled. Then she frowned and scolded Si Junlin, "You can't even take good care of the emperor. How can you be a queen!"
The queen mother's impression of Su Wan'er had already hit rock bottom. She thought Su Wan'er was both talentless and immoral, as well as malicious and jealous. Seeing 'Su Wan'er' looking so unrepentant, the queen mother's long - pent - up anger suddenly flared up.
The queen mother threw down her chopsticks heavily. "I went to see Concubine Mei earlier. She looked so pitiful, like a lost soul. I didn't expect the emperor not to punish you. I thought I'd just let it go according to the emperor's wishes. But I didn't expect you not to repent. You probably don't even put the emperor in your eyes! What's the use of having a queen like you? I think it's better to depose you!"
Deposing the queen would also be a blow to herself, so Su Wan'er naturally couldn't let Si Junlin be punished. Besides, it really wasn't her who caused Concubine Mei to have a miscarriage.
"To depose the queen, there must be a reason, but the queen hasn't done anything disrespectful. Those rumors in the palace are all misunderstandings. As for taking care of me, she has done her best," Su Wan'er said seriously. At the end, she added, "Mother, don't be biased against her."
"I haven't seen the queen doing her best," the queen mother said unhappily. Although she didn't believe it, seeing her firm attitude, she didn't say more.
Seeing that the queen mother was no longer paying attention to him, Si Junlin finally breathed a sigh of relief. He suddenly felt a little grateful to Su Wan'er.
Si Junlin was first surprised by Su Wan'er's protection, and then felt guilty. Usually, when Su Wan'er was blamed, he always watched indifferently.
The Su family held heavy military power and was a noble family for generations. As the emperor, he had to be on guard against them. Even though the daughter of the Su family was his queen, Si Junlin was happy to see her being mistreated.
But today, it was himself who was being mistreated. Si Junlin still felt a huge sense of disparity.
Looking at Su Wan'er, who was now amusing the queen mother, Si Junlin felt a twinge of self - blame. He had the illusion that he was a sinner.