To Si Junlin's surprise, all the palace servants in Su Wan'er's palace were extremely loyal to her.
No matter who it was, even around the Empress Dowager, there were always some maids who would betray the Empress Dowager's information to the concubines. As long as their actions didn't endanger the Empress Dowager's safety, he simply ignored them.
However, that was exactly why he was so astonished when he saw that none of the servants in Su Wan'er's palace betrayed her.
Although Su Wan'er seemed to be low - key on the surface, even reaching the state of being indifferent to worldly strife, she did have her own ways in training the servants.
He wondered if her methods could be applied to the court. If all the people in the court were as loyal as those in Su Wan'er's palace, being the emperor would be a lot easier for him.
But... as soon as this thought popped up in his mind, he immediately laughed at himself and put it away.
He didn't even know why such a thought had come to his mind. He clearly knew that the affairs in the court were far more complex and difficult than those in the harem, yet he had such an inappropriate thought.
Maybe he had stayed in the harem for too long, which was why he had such an out - of - place thought. It seemed that he should spend more time dealing with court affairs.
"Your Ladyship, what's wrong? Have you thought of something difficult?" Qing Cao asked puzzledly.
It turned out that when Si Junlin was deep in thought just now, he unconsciously made some movements. This made Qing Cao, who was waiting for Si Junlin's next order, subconsciously think that she had done something wrong and made Si Junlin dissatisfied.
Si Junlin looked up in surprise, then shook his head. "It's nothing. Bring my embroidery frame. I should continue."
"Yes." Hearing that Si Junlin wasn't dissatisfied, she breathed a sigh of relief and then fetched the embroidery frame beside her.
Su Wan'er knew that Si Junlin was extremely busy because of the Empress Dowager's birthday banquet. So, she took the initiative to handle those relatively simple memorials. As for the difficult, complex and significant ones, she would have someone take them to the Queen's palace for handling.
People outside the palace were already used to the affection between the emperor and the queen. So, they subconsciously carried out Su Wan'er's orders.
"You've embroidered very well. You deserve praise." Su Wan'er glanced at the embroidery frame in Si Junlin's hand, with a look of satisfaction in her eyes.
Si Junlin glared at Su Wan'er angrily. "It's easy for you to say." He was almost exhausted. He had been embroidering with his head down for a full seven days, ruining more than a dozen handkerchiefs. It was only today that he had made some progress.
Si Junlin felt that, compared with dealing with embroidery handkerchiefs, he would rather deal with more than ten thousand memorials...
Su Wan'er actually knew exactly how Si Junlin felt. Back then, when she was trying to embroider a beautiful handkerchief, she had suffered as much and ruined as many handkerchiefs as Si Junlin.
Don't think that Si Junlin's embroidery seemed okay now. If he really wanted to finish the handkerchief, he still had a long way to go.
Whether it was the hardships or the ruined handkerchiefs...
Looking at Si Junlin's rather tired expression, Su Wan'er felt a twinge of heartache for no reason. Then she slowly walked behind Si Junlin.
Si Junlin immediately became alert. "You..."
"I won't harm you. I just want to relieve your fatigue. It's very effective. Every time I came back from practicing martial arts, my mother would massage me like this, and I could go practice martial arts again the next day." Su Wan'er put her hands on Si Junlin's shoulders and explained to him.
Only then did Si Junlin turn his back to Su Wan'er.
There was nothing he could do. This reaction had become a habit for him. Being in a high position made him dislike it when people in front suddenly walked behind him, because this made him easily suspect that others might be trying to harm him.
Su Wan'er didn't blame Si Junlin. She understood his feelings very well.
It had to be said that Su Wan'er's techniques were extremely skillful. Every time the strength was just right, which effectively relieved the stiffness in Si Junlin's shoulders and neck.
Si Junlin couldn't help closing his eyes in comfort. This feeling was just like soaking in a hot spring.
After Su Wan'er massaged him for a while, she withdrew her hands. "How is it?"
"I feel much more relaxed." Si Junlin moved his neck and found the effect was excellent.
At this moment, a thought even popped up in his mind that he hoped Su Wan'er could massage him like this when he was reviewing memorials. In this way, he wouldn't have to go soak in the hot spring every time. It would save time and effort.
However, he still held back what he wanted to say. It wasn't the right time to say these things yet.
Su Wan'er nodded. "If you think it's suitable, I'll teach this technique to Qing Cao and the others. In this way, you can get a massage anytime you want."
After hearing Su Wan'er's words, Si Junlin refused. "No need. Just come here yourself. Anyway, you come here every day, don't you?"
"Um... okay." Although she did come here every day, but... forget it.
"I heard that you gave some fake embroidery patterns to those concubines. Aren't you afraid that the embroidery works they make will be better than yours and steal your limelight?" Su Wan'er asked.
"Although it's not very nice to do so, those patterns are not good ones. Many things in them are what the Empress Dowager dislikes. If they really embroider according to those patterns, they will only annoy the Empress Dowager instead of pleasing her." This was Si Junlin's advantage. As the Empress Dowager's son, he knew her likes and dislikes like the back of his hand, even those that she wouldn't show in public.
In this way, he could use this to control those concubines.
After hearing Si Junlin's words, Su Wan'er didn't say anything else. "As long as you know what you're doing."
"Starting tomorrow, come to me right after you finish your court session." Si Junlin said.
Su Wan'er asked with a bit of amusement. "Aren't I already coming to you?"
"I mean right away." Si Junlin said.
Su Wan'er was stunned. "What's so important that you don't even need to read the memorials?"
Si Junlin waved the embroidery frame in his hand. "In order to finish it before my mother's birthday, I need you to give me some pointers beside me. This can prevent me from having to start all over again."
He was really afraid of starting over. The most important thing was that time was getting more and more urgent. He was worried that at this speed, he wouldn't be able to make it in time for the birthday celebration.
Su Wan'er thought it made sense. "Okay, I can come directly. But... what about the memorials? We can't neglect state affairs just for my mother - in - law's birthday, can we? That would be like sacrificing the big for the small."
In Su Wan'er's mind, state affairs always took precedence over family affairs. She would never give up state affairs to deal with family matters.