Si Junlin smiled but said nothing.
Su Wan'er knew that he was leaving the decision to her.
He summoned the secret guard in a special way and told the guard to follow Rong Xijiu.
Rong Xijiu walked with the palace servant for a while towards the palace gate. Suddenly, he said he had a stomachache and wanted to go to the toilet.
The palace servant didn't suspect anything and led him to the latrine.
However, after Rong Xijiu entered the toilet, he didn't actually use it. Instead, while the servant wasn't paying attention, he circled around to the other end of the toilet.
Cui Si had been waiting there for a long time.
She was one of the personal maids brought into the palace by Concubine Mei. Although she was the least important one, she had still met the Rong family members.
Seeing Rong Xijiu, she quickly bowed and saluted, "Young Master Cousin."
"Grandpa has learned about Cousin's situation. He asked me to bring a box for her. You must deliver it to her personally and tell her to wait patiently in the palace. It won't be long before the Emperor issues an order to lift her restriction," Rong Xijiu said. At this moment, he didn't look like an innocent child who only knew to ask for candy at all.
Cui Si took the box from his hand. After bowing to him, she rushed towards the palace where Concubine Mei lived.
The palace servant who had brought Rong Xijiu didn't notice any of this. After Rong Xijiu came out of the toilet, he continued to lead Rong Xijiu away.
After Su Wan'er heard the secret guard's report, a look of great surprise flashed in her eyes.
The actions of the fourth young master of the Rong family really opened her eyes. She turned to Si Junlin and said, "You're right. The people of the Rong family are really capable."
Si Junlin waved his hand indifferently. "That's not important. The important thing is, what do you plan to do? Lift Concubine Mei's restriction or..."
"Is there any other way besides lifting Concubine Mei's restriction?" According to what Si Junlin had said, the Rong family was like a prickly ball that couldn't be touched now. For the peace of the country, Su Wan'er had to make a decision.
However, she was a bit reluctant to just let Concubine Mei go like this...
Seeing her reluctant expression, Si Junlin didn't feel much better than her. Although it was Su Wan'er's body that was injured, he was the one who had endured the pain.
If he hadn't risked his shoulder and shot the wild boar dead, he might have gone to the underworld by now.
For the sake of the country... Wait a minute. "Actually, there's another way," he said.
Su Wan'er turned to look at him. "Are you sure there's a way? I don't want you to gamble with the whole country." Although she was just a woman, she didn't want to see the country decline. Even if she was wronged, she should put national affairs first.
This was what her grandfather had told her: "Put national affairs first and family affairs second..."
"Everyone's skills are learned from their masters. No one is born knowing everything," Si Junlin said slowly. "The head of the Rong family is no exception."
"Their family's skills are not inborn. I've had people investigate. Their skills are very similar to those of the Tian Gong Sect. If I'm not wrong, more than seventy years ago, there was an internal strife in the Tian Gong Sect. The people inside split into two groups. One group stayed in the sect, while the defeated group was expelled as traitors."
"Do you mean for me to look for the people of the Tian Gong Sect?" Su Wan'er immediately understood his meaning.
Since they couldn't get through to the Rong family because of Concubine Mei, they could only go to the source of the Rong family, which was the Tian Gong Sect.
"But... Do you know where the Tian Gong Sect is?" Su Wan'er understood what Si Junlin meant, but would the people of the martial arts sect accept those from the court?
"I do know the location of the Tian Gong Sect. When I was investigating the sect before, my secret guards even infiltrated it in case of emergencies," Si Junlin said.
"Shall I set off for the Tian Gong Sect tomorrow?" Su Wan'er pondered.
Si Junlin shook his head. "Don't be in a hurry. Your current identity is the ruler of the country. First, send someone to the Tian Gong Sect to test the waters."
Su Wan'er nodded.
Just then, there was a soft knock on the door of the imperial study. Then, Fang Xi's voice came from outside, "Your Majesty, Empress, Mrs. Su requests an audience."
Su Wan'er turned to look at Si Junlin. Seeing that he didn't show any intention of stopping her, she said to Fang Xi, "Please invite Mrs. Su in."
Fang Xi responded and then announced Mrs. Su into the imperial study.
At this moment, Mrs. Su was dressed in the attire of a noble lady. She walked directly to the center of the imperial study. When she saw Su Wan'er, she was about to kneel and salute.
Si Junlin lifted his chin at her, clearly telling Su Wan'er that as one of the oldest people in the dynasty and a person with the title of "Protector of the Nation Lady," she had the privilege of not having to salute in front of the Emperor.
Su Wan'er immediately understood. She had wanted to stop Mrs. Su from saluting when she came in, but she didn't dare to act because of Si Junlin. She was afraid of accidentally embarrassing the Emperor.
Now that Si Junlin had clearly signaled, Su Wan'er naturally didn't hesitate.
She stepped forward to help Mrs. Su up. "You've made great contributions to the country. There's no need for such a salute."
"The rites cannot be abolished, Your Majesty," Mrs. Su said seriously although she had stood up.
Su Wan'er asked Fang Xi to arrange a seat for Mrs. Su. Then she asked Mrs. Su, "Did you come here for something important that requires my help?"
"Thank you for your concern, Your Majesty. I didn't come here for anything urgent. I just heard that Wan'er was injured during the hunting and came to see her. I also brought some medicine for her," Mrs. Su said. Then she took out a small white porcelain bottle from her sleeve.
Fang Xi took the bottle and placed it on the table.
Mrs. Su continued, "I know that the imperial physicians in the palace are very skilled, but this medicine was made by Hu, the divine doctor in the martial arts world. I think it should be much better than the medicine from the imperial physicians."
Si Junlin took the medicine bottle that Fang Xi handed him and played with it. An idea that even he thought was unrealistic popped into his mind.
But in order to solve the problem of the water conservancy project, Si Junlin glanced at Su Wan'er and still asked Mrs. Su, "Ahem, Grandma, do you know people in the martial arts world?"
Mrs. Su looked at Si Junlin in confusion. Then she hesitated for a while and finally sighed and said, "Wan'er, don't you already know about this? Your second grandfather is a person from the martial arts world."