"You." Si Junlin said simply and directly to Su Wan'er.
"What did I do to upset you?" Su Wan'er asked, feigning ignorance.
Si Junlin put down the pen in his hand, then suddenly turned around, grabbed Su Wan'er, and with a flip of his hand, pinned her between himself and the imperial desk.
"Su Wan'er, I see your courage is really growing. I warned you this morning not to do anything that would disgrace me. Just look at what you did yesterday!" Su Wan'er looked into Si Junlin's eyes and could see the raging flames of anger in them.
Is he really this angry?
Su Wan'er felt a twinge of regret deep inside.
If she had known Si Junlin would be this angry, she wouldn't have gone to the Drunken Red Chamber. Then she wouldn't have heard those bad remarks about her elder brother.
However, at that time, on the one hand, she was curious about the Drunken Red Chamber, and on the other hand, it was Si Chengjing who had egged her on.
Right... To soothe the man in front of her whose reason had been clouded by anger, Su Wan'er decided to throw the Prince of Luo under the bus first.
"Your, Your Majesty, there's no need for you to be so angry. Not many people outside will recognize you. Even if they see you, they'll probably just think you're some young master from a family."
But Si Junlin's anger didn't abate one bit because of her words. "Not recognize me? Do you really think the court officials won't go to the Drunken Red Chamber?"
"And you even went to the polo field? Hm? That's the favorite place for the sons of the court officials. They might not recognize you when they were there, but what about after they go back?"
Su Wan'er pouted. "I know I was wrong." It was the first time she had acted pitiful. She had learned this from Mei Hong. It gave her goosebumps for some reason, but if she didn't act pitiful, Si Junlin probably wouldn't let it go today.
Sure enough, as soon as she showed a hint of remorse, Si Junlin's tone wasn't as aggressive. "Where was you wrong?"
Su Wan'er murmured, "I shouldn't have gone out against your words and ruined your reputation."
"Is that all?" Si Junlin's anger gradually diminished as Su Wan'er admitted her mistake, but the pace of it was rather slow.
"I won't make the same mistake again." Su Wan'er held up three fingers, looking like she was about to swear.
Si Junlin reached out and pressed down her hand. "I've seen too many promises and oaths. They're not novel at all. Come up with something else."
Su Wan'er frowned. "How about I invite you to dinner some other day?"
"Do you think your cooking can compare with that of the imperial chefs?" Si Junlin said disdainfully.
Su Wan'er frowned even more tightly. "Then what exactly do you want, Your Majesty? Just tell me directly. If you don't, how will I know what you want? As long as you tell me and I can do it, I'll definitely do it for you."
"Are you sure?" Si Junlin narrowed his eyes slightly.
Su Wan'er sensed a hint of danger... "I... I'm not so sure..."
"Heh..." A disdainful smile appeared on Si Junlin's face. "Is this how the grand empress always vacillates in her words?"
"No, no! I... I'm sure. Just tell me. I'll do it for you!" Su Wan'er puffed out her chest, looking like she was going to her death.
No matter what it was, as long as it could appease his anger. He couldn't possibly ask her to die, could he?
This was exactly what Si Junlin had been waiting for. "Good. Now remember this clearly. If you ever do anything that damages my reputation again in the future, I'll punish you like this!"
With that, before Su Wan'er could react, he lowered his head and kissed her lips.
Unlike the gentleness before, this time Si Junlin kissed her extremely forcefully, like a violent storm and a hungry predator that had captured a sweet prey.
The overpowering aura made Su Wan'er feel that her breath was completely snatched away by the other person. She struggled to push the person in front of her away with her hands, but the person in front of her hugged her tightly and just wouldn't let go.
Su Wan'er's breathing became more and more difficult, and the things in front of her eyes also became blurred. Just when she thought she was about to be kissed to death, the man finally let go.
When he let go, he even bit her lips maliciously.
Su Wan'er was finally able to gasp for air.
"You're in really good health," Si Junlin whispered in her ear.
"Wh, what do you mean?" Su Wan'er's consciousness was just starting to return, and she didn't have the ability to think yet.
A charming smile appeared on the corner of Si Junlin's mouth. "Your physical strength is much better than mine. You know martial arts, right?"
Su Wan'er's face flushed suddenly. "You..."
Si Junlin patted her chest. "For the sake of my health, don't forget to practice martial arts every day besides going to court from now on."
The satisfied Si Junlin slowly withdrew his hand and started to deal with the memorials again. By now, they had formed a tacit understanding. As long as Si Junlin finished dealing with one memorial, Su Wan'er would take out another one and place it beside Si Junlin.
When it was getting completely dark, Fang Xi reported outside the door, "Your Majesty, Empress. Dinner is ready."
Su Wan'er put back the memorial she had picked up, then said to Si Junlin, "Your Majesty, let's have dinner first. I have something to tell you."
Although revealing this matter might put the Su Mansion in danger, she couldn't keep it a secret forever. Otherwise, if he found out that she had hidden the memorial in the future, the consequences would be even more serious. She had thought about it all afternoon and finally decided to expose the matter herself. In this way, at least she still had the initiative.
Si Junlin looked into Su Wan'er's eyes and finally nodded silently. "Okay."
After the dinner was served, Su Wan'er asked the people around to leave. After there was no one in the room, Su Wan'er took out the memorial from the vice minister of the Ministry of War and placed it in front of Si Junlin.
"This is the memorial from the vice minister of the Ministry of War impeaching my elder brother," Su Wan'er said bluntly.
Si Junlin didn't look at the memorial. He just looked at Su Wan'er seriously. "What's your opinion?"
Su Wan'er was silent for a while, then suddenly stood up, took a few steps back, and saluted Si Junlin. "Wan'er is willing to stake her life to guarantee that my Su family's loyalty to Your Majesty and the country is as clear as day. The things in the memorial will never happen."
Only then did Si Junlin pick up the memorial in his hand. After casually glancing at it, under Su Wan'er's puzzled gaze, he slowly walked to the incense burner beside him, lit the memorial with the flame of the burner, and silently watched it turn to ashes in the fire.
"Your Majesty, what are you doing..." Su Wan'er didn't understand... No, she understood the meaning of Si Junlin's action, but she didn't understand why he did it.
Si Junlin walked back to the dining table and motioned for Su Wan'er to sit down on the chair.