"Return to the palace," Su Wan'er said briefly to Fang Xi.
Then, the group returned to the emperor's sleeping quarters.
Finally, Concubine Mei had the time to talk to Su Wan'er. "Your Majesty, you've been running around all night. You must be exhausted. Come and drink this ginseng tea to replenish your energy."
Su Wan'er gave Concubine Mei a nonchalant look and said in an even tone, "It's so late. Why aren't you resting yet, Concubine Mei? It's cold and dewy at night. I'm worried you might catch a cold."
Before Concubine Mei could say a word, Su Wan'er called for the maids. "Come, escort Concubine Mei back to her palace to rest."
No one around dared to say no. They stepped forward and invited Concubine Mei to leave.
As Concubine Mei left, her eyes were filled with grievance. She kept looking back at Su Wan'er, hoping to get a chance to stay.
However, at this moment, Su Wan'er was preoccupied with how to go in and talk to Si Junlin. How could she possibly care about Concubine Mei's feelings? So, Concubine Mei's aggrieved looks were ultimately received by the air.
Finally, when it was late at night and all was quiet, the person who should have been resting in the sleeping quarters quietly left the palace. She tiptoed to the imperial garden, picked a few blooming flowers, and then came to the outside of the queen's palace.
Instead of entering through the main gate, she took a detour to the other side of the palace. There was a huge tree of an unknown species. She climbed onto the branch, flipped over, and landed in the courtyard.
In the entire palace, only the palace lanterns on the corridor illuminated the path. The rest of the place was plunged into darkness.
The shadow made her way to the side of the sleeping quarters with ease, opened the window, and climbed in.
The person in the bed was deep in thought. Suddenly, hearing the sound of the window, she quickly and warily dodged to a hidden corner beside the bed.
Su Wan'er had come here to secretly visit the queen's boudoir. She crept quietly to the bed. It was pitch - black, and she had no idea if there was anyone in the bed. She assumed there was someone, so when she reached the bed, she yanked the bed curtain hard and said a bit too loudly, "I've caught you."
When her hand then touched the bed, she was stunned because there was no one in the bed.
As she got up in confusion, a long, cold object suddenly touched her neck.
"Who are you?"
Hearing the familiar voice, the fear caused by the sudden attack instantly dissipated.
However, for the sake of her safety, she quickly answered Si Junlin's question. "Cough, it's me, it's me, your emperor."
After hearing her voice, the person in the dark removed the cold object from her neck and said in a voice full of annoyance, "What are you doing here? It's time for you to rest. Don't you have to attend the morning court tomorrow?"
To avoid attracting the attention of others in the palace, Si Junlin didn't light a lamp. He just took out a night - shining pearl so that he could barely recognize the person in front of him.
Su Wan'er coughed lightly and presented the bouquet in her hand. "Your Majesty the Queen? I spoke out of turn today. This bouquet is my apology. Please don't be angry, okay?"
Si Junlin originally thought that Su Wan'er came to him for some other matter, but he didn't expect that she came specifically to apologize.
Actually, Si Junlin wasn't angry with Su Wan'er anymore. Although what Su Wan'er said at that time made him uncomfortable, when he thought it over carefully after returning to the palace, he realized that given what he had done to Su Wan'er at that time, how could he blame Su Wan'er for saying those words to him?
If it weren't so late, he might have gone to her... Who would have thought that this little woman would come to him first.
Si Junlin hesitated for a moment and finally took the bouquet that Su Wan'er offered.
"Fine. Seeing that you're so sincere, I, as a magnanimous person, will forgive you and not hold a grudge," Si Junlin said as he casually stuck the bouquet aside and took the opportunity to smooth things over.
In her excitement, Su Wan'er reached out and put her arms around his shoulders, then gave him a kiss on the face.
Su Wan'er wanted to pull back, but Si Junlin wouldn't let her. He grabbed her shoulders and deepened the kiss on her lips.
"Mm!" Su Wan'er didn't expect him to do this. She wanted to struggle, but found that he was holding her so tightly that she couldn't even resist. She had no choice but to let Si Junlin have his way.
After a long time, when Su Wan'er felt that she was about to suffocate in Si Junlin's arms, Si Junlin finally let go.
"You!" Su Wan'er gasped for breath. Looking at the satisfied Si Junlin and thinking about the reason for his anger, she didn't know what to say for a moment.
"Alright, it's getting late. Do you want to rest here or go back to your own place?" Si Junlin asked.
"I'd better go back. Otherwise, they won't be able to find me when they come to wake me up tomorrow," Su Wan'er thought for a while and finally decided to go back to the palace to rest.
Su Wan'er finally left.
Si Junlin also lay in bed, gently sniffing the scent on his hand, and had a good night's sleep.
Because of what happened last night, Su Wan'er was summoned before the empress dowager again.
"Lin'er, what happened to you last night?" the empress dowager asked with a worried look on her face.
Don't blame the empress dowager for being overly sensitive. It's just that Su Wan'er's actions had been quite abnormal recently.
Su Wan'er coughed lightly. Since she had anticipated that the empress dowager would ask this, she had already thought of an excuse.
"Your Majesty, your son just suddenly wanted to exercise his body last night. After all, after dealing with memorials for a long time, one can get tired. It's better to go out and move around. Then I can deal with the memorials more quickly when I get back."
If someone else had said this, the empress dowager wouldn't have believed it. But in the empress dowager's deep - rooted impression, her son always did things in an orderly manner. Naturally, he must have his own reasons for doing this.
So, she believed Su Wan'er's words. "Lin'er, if you want to exercise, you can ask the martial arts instructors in the palace to teach you martial arts. You must never do such things that are beneath your dignity again."
Su Wan'er of course replied, "Yes."
Originally, she thought that the empress dowager was just saying it casually, but when the martial arts instructor was brought before her the next day, Su Wan'er realized that the empress dowager was really a decisive person.
"Greetings to Your Majesty. Your subject, Wu Tailiang, has come to the palace to practice martial arts with Your Majesty by the order of the empress dowager."
Before he came, Si Junlin was discussing something with Su Wan'er. Hearing his words, Si Junlin looked at Su Wan'er in surprise. "What are you up to again?"
Su Wan'er couldn't help but rub her forehead. "Don't ask me. I don't know what's going on either."
Sighing slightly, Su Wan'er turned to look at Wu Tailiang. "You may step down first. When I need you, I will naturally order someone to summon you to the palace. Now I still have something to discuss with the queen. You may leave first."