Fortunately, he had never intended to embezzle these things and claim them as his own. Otherwise, he would really have fallen into someone's trap.
"I'll give you 12,000 taels of silver according to the market price now," Si Junlin said.
"No, that's too much. 500 taels will be enough." These were ill - gotten gains to him, and he didn't dare to take so much.
Si Junlin frowned. "Are you sure you only want that much?"
"Yes," Lan Tian replied firmly.
Su Wan'er nodded. "Fang Xi."
After Fang Xi came in, Su Wan'er told him to give 500 taels to Lan Tian.
After Lan Tian received the money, he went back to rest.
After he left, Su Wan'er turned to Si Junlin and asked, "Hey, Your Majesty, what do you plan to do with these jewels?"
According to the convention, the jewelry in each palace would bear the symbol of that palace. These pieces all had plum blossoms on them, which obviously indicated they were used in Concubine Mei's palace. It wasn't appropriate to keep them anywhere, unless...
"Let's keep them in the imperial study," Si Junlin said, sharing the same thought as Su Wan'er. These things were marked with Concubine Mei's symbol, so they definitely couldn't be placed in the Queen's palace.
Otherwise, if things got out of hand in the future, Su Wan'er, as the Queen, would be in big trouble.
Whether considering the long - term situation or safety, keeping them in the imperial study was the best choice.
As for how to store them, it was naturally up to Si Junlin, who was most familiar with the structure of the imperial study.
The next day, Lan Tian finally set off. For his safety, Su Wan'er summoned three secret guards. One pretended to be his page boy, while the other two hid in the dark to protect him.
After bidding farewell to Su Wan'er, Lan Tian set off with the "page boy" and the invisible secret guards in the dark.
As soon as he crossed the threshold of the capital, a carriage came towards him.
"Mr. Lan, it's quite a long distance from the capital to Nanhe. For your safety and to spare you the fatigue of the journey, our clan leader specifically ordered me and the young master to wait here. We hope you won't mind," a man said.
Lan Tian could have refused, but when he saw the swords on their waists, to avoid conflict just after leaving the capital, he agreed.
From beginning to end, the so - called young master never showed up until Lan Tian was about to get on the carriage.
After he got on the carriage, he saw a man sitting in the middle. The man only had eyes for the sword in his hand and showed no interest in anything else.
However, when Lan Tian came in, he still lifted his eyes and glanced at him.
Out of courtesy, Lan Tian gave him a martial - arts greeting.
Normally, the man should have returned the greeting, but he just snorted and then turned his head away.
Lan Tian could only sit down awkwardly beside him. Then the carriage slowly started moving.
The secret guard acting as the page boy sat outside the carriage.
After Lan Tian made sure he wouldn't leave, he leaned against the carriage wall and dozed off.
As for the young master of the Rong family, who was sitting in the middle of the carriage and should have been carefully examining his sword, his attention was now on Lan Tian.
In the evening, Su Wan'er received a message from the secret - guard camp.
"The Rong family is really impatient," Su Wan'er said with a cold smile.
Si Junlin laughed. "In this court, which family doesn't strive to secure a foothold for themselves and their clan? For those who compete with them for status, they either take them under their wing or get rid of them."
Since Lan Tian had accepted Concubine Mei's things last night, before Concubine Mei knew that he had given them to Su Wan'er, as long as Lan Tian did as the Rong family wanted during this trip, he would be safe. However, if he really did so, Su Wan'er would have to consider whether to replace him.
Si Junlin looked at Su Wan'er's expression and felt a bit relieved.
He was worried that Su Wan'er would hesitate because of compassion. As a ruler, one should never be merciful or soft - hearted, otherwise, things might be delayed.
So far, Su Wan'er had done a good job. But he wondered what she would choose if the Su family's affairs were involved in the future.
After thinking about this question for a while, Si Junlin forced himself to give it up.
He didn't know if it was because he was afraid of hearing an answer he didn't want or if he didn't want to think about future things. Anyway, after failing to find an answer to the question of "whether Su Wan'er would side with the Su family or the royal family", Si Junlin gave up thinking about it.
To cover up his thoughts, Si Junlin changed the topic. "If you're worried, you can send a few more people. If the situation gets out of control, the secret guards can become sharp blades."
This showed the difference between an emperor and others. No one who could ascend to the throne was not ruthless, and they were even more merciless when dealing with those who were useless to them.
Su Wan'er was slightly taken aback, then shook her head. "It's not the time to think about these things yet. He hasn't shown any sign of defecting to the Rong family." Even if he did show such a sign, she didn't think it was necessary to kill Lan Tian. After spending several years in the harem and even sitting on the throne that others would never dare to dream of for several months, she still couldn't get used to the idea of killing people at will and eliminating those who were not on her side.
Even if Lan Tian really defected to the Rong family, she would only find a way to get rid of him. At most, she would just make sure he could never make a comeback. She would never directly execute someone, unless the person really went too far, in which case she wouldn't show any mercy.
"Do as you like. Just remember that you're the emperor now. Every decision you make, even a small one, can have far - reaching consequences and may even lead to the downfall of the country," Si Junlin said to Su Wan'er seriously for the first time.
This matter was even more serious than when Su Wan'er had summoned all the women in the harem to serve her.
In the face of national affairs, any other matter, even the reputation he had always cared about, could be compromised.
Su Wan'er nodded. "I know." Even if he didn't say it, she knew.
The country was the bottom line. Everything else could be negotiated.
Unaware of what was happening in the capital, after seven days of a tiring journey, Lan Tian finally arrived near Nanhe.
It was the flood season of the Nanhe River. From afar, one could see the surging river.
People would always take a few more glances when passing by Nanhe to see when the river was approaching the embankment, and then it would be time to move.
Lan Tian took a look at the scene outside and then turned to look at the young master of the Rong family, who had been silent all the way.