Upon seeing that gesture, Su Wan'er watched as Su Linshan took the lead and walked out.
However, at this moment, she couldn't follow Su Linshan out.
What Su Wan'er could see, Si Junlin could surely see too. But he had no idea what that gesture meant.
Now that Su Linshan had left, Si Junlin finally got the chance to ask Su Wan'er, "Your Majesty, what did my elder brother's gesture mean just now?"
Su Wan'er's body trembled violently, and she fell into a brief silence.
"Can't you tell me?" Si Junlin raised his eyebrows, his eyes full of threatening meaning.
Su Wan'er let out a sigh. She roughly knew what Su Linshan wanted to talk to her about when he asked her out. It was nothing more than telling her about the situation of their grandfather and the others on the frontier. Maybe he would also ask her to assist the emperor well. There was nothing else.
However, if she really went out now, it would surely scare her elder brother. But if she didn't go out, it would inevitably make her elder brother suspicious whether something had happened to her in the palace.
Although something had really happened between her and the emperor, since they were far away on the frontier, there was no need to let them worry about this.
After weighing for a while, Su Wan'er decided to tell Si Junlin about the communication between her and her elder brother. "Um, could you please, Your Majesty, go and talk to General Su for me? Try your best to make him think that I'm doing well in the palace, so that your Su family members far away at the border don't have to worry."
Si Junlin looked at her pleading expression and finally nodded in agreement. He was actually quite curious to see what the Su family son wanted to say to his younger sister. "Sure, I'll go and meet my elder brother. But you should also do your job as the emperor well here. Don't let others notice anything strange."
Su Wan'er nodded. "Okay."
Si Junlin then left the banquet on the pretext of feeling unwell.
In fact, he went out to meet Su Linshan in the guise of Su Wan'er.
As soon as he walked out of the courtyard where the banquet was held, from afar he saw a figure standing like a pine tree in the pavilion in the courtyard.
Si Junlin didn't have any special feelings about this figure. He just recalled Su Wan'er's usual actions before walking towards the pavilion.
Hearing the footsteps, Su Linshan quickly turned around. When he saw his younger sister, he excitedly ran towards Su Wan'er. Without knowing that Su Wan'er had been replaced, just like when they were kids, he lifted Si Junlin up high.
"Wan'er, you've gained weight after not seeing you for a few years."
Si Junlin was extremely shocked and was about to lose his temper on the spot. But suddenly remembering his current identity, he forcefully suppressed the anger and jealousy in his heart. He struggled for a bit, broke free from Su Linshan's hands, then took a few steps back to keep a distance from Su Linshan, and said somewhat awkwardly, "E, ehm, elder brother, there are so many people in the palace. We should be more careful."
Su Linshan saw Si Junlin's gloomy face and then remembered that his younger sister was already married, and to the current emperor. He scratched his head awkwardly. "It was my recklessness, elder brother will be more careful in the future."
Si Junlin looked at the sincerely apologizing Su Linshan. From his eyes, he could tell that he really cared about his younger sister Su Wan'er without any impurities. It was much better than the people around him. He couldn't help but envy Su Wan'er.
He coughed lightly, suppressing all kinds of emotions in his heart, and then tentatively asked, "Elder brother, did you call me out for something?" Calling him out alone, couldn't it be something "important" to tell him?
Although Si Junlin's attitude and some actions were very different from Su Wan'er's, on the one hand, Su Linshan had been guarding the border for many years and hadn't seen his younger sister for a long time. On the other hand, he never doubted his younger sister. For him, Si Junlin's different actions were just evidence of her growth in the palace.
Su Linshan thought for a while and then took out a square box from his sleeve. "Although I know there are all kinds of things in the palace, these are some medicinal herbs for nourishing the body that grandfather, father, and all the men in our Su family collected in their spare time. After you go back, order someone to boil them for you to nourish your body so that you can assist the emperor in managing the harem well."
Si Junlin took it and opened it. There were really medicinal herbs inside. Although the appearance of these medicinal herbs was quite good, the way of drying and preserving them was rather ordinary. It was obviously the work of an outsider.
While Si Junlin was checking the medicinal herbs, Su Linshan took out a somewhat wrinkled paper package. "This was brought for you by our little sister. It's the first handkerchief she embroidered successfully. She said it's for you, her elder sister, as a keepsake."
Si Junlin could only listen silently and casually asked the maid behind him to take the things that Su Linshan had handed over.
Seeing his younger sister's such generous manner, Su Linshan was full of pride. "It's been many years. Wan'er is becoming more and more mature, and her actions are becoming more and more generous. If I tell father and grandfather about this, they will surely be very happy."
At this moment, Si Junlin suddenly remembered what Su Wan'er had said. After Su Linshan finished speaking, he asked Su Linshan, "By the way, how are grandfather and father doing on the frontier?"
Su Linshan gave him a thumbs up. "They're doing great. Besides inspecting the situation on the frontier from time to time, grandfather and the others always talk about you in their spare time. They're worried that you're not doing well in the palace. But now seeing how close you are to the emperor, I can go back and report to them."
Si Junlin felt even more guilty towards Su Wan'er. He hadn't treated Su Wan'er well before. Seeing Su Linshan's relieved expression, he always had the illusion that he was a villain.
Looking at the banquet hall, Su Linshan rubbed Si Junlin's hair. "Alright, you've been out for quite a while. If you don't go back, the emperor will be worried. Grandma's health has been a bit poor recently. If you have time, go back and visit her. She misses you very much."
After saying that, he walked towards the banquet hall.
Si Junlin stood alone in the pavilion, his eyes slightly lowered. No one could tell what he was thinking.
The maid stepped forward worriedly and whispered to him, "Your Majesty, look..."
"Let's go back to the banquet." Si Junlin quickly came back to his senses. He asked the maid to send the things back to the palace first, and then he returned to the banquet.
Su Wan'er let out a sigh of relief when she saw him coming back. But when Si Junlin got closer and she saw his slightly gloomy expression, her heart that had just settled down couldn't help but rise again.
"How's General Su..."
"It's okay. We'll talk about it in our bedroom later." Si Junlin looked at Su Wan'er's concerned expression, and his heart started to feel sour again.