"Mother, I don't think this matter is extremely difficult to handle," Su Wan'er said to the Empress Dowager. "That Lan Tian is no ordinary child. He is a disciple of the Heavenly Artisan Sect. The Rong family's craftsmanship originated from the Heavenly Artisan Sect. If we find someone from the source of their family's craftsmanship, won't they be better than those who left halfway?"
The Empress Dowager listened to Su Wan'er's well - reasoned analysis, and her initial plan began to waver.
Some of the senior figures in the court knew that the Rong family had some connection with the Heavenly Artisan Sect. If the ancestors of the Rong family hadn't left the Heavenly Artisan Sect back then, the Rong family would have been senior members of the sect by now.
It was a pity that this was just a what - if.
However, if someone like the head of the Rong family, who had returned to secular life halfway, could achieve such high accomplishments, then there was no doubt that someone who had learned the art properly in the Heavenly Artisan Sect would be even more capable.
"But... didn't he leave halfway?" the Empress Dowager asked.
Su Wan'er smiled and said, "Of course not. He just left secretly without the Rong family's protection in order to better understand the people's conditions and find a different path."
"Are you so confident in a young and inexperienced lad? This is a matter of national importance. We can't afford to be careless," the Empress Dowager said. Of course, she trusted her son's judgment, but she was more worried about her son's throne. For such national affairs, it was better not to take risks without full confidence.
Su Wan'er nodded and said to the Empress Dowager, "Mother, you can rest assured. Since I dare to use him, I've naturally investigated his background and abilities. Mother is worried about national affairs, and as the ruler of the country, how could I not care?"
"What are you going to do about Concubine Mei?" the Empress Dowager asked. "Concubine Mei has been under house arrest for a long time. If she remains under house arrest any longer, I'm afraid the Rong family will show their dissatisfaction." As the Empress Dowager spoke, her words were filled with worry.
Su Wan'er interrupted the Empress Dowager, saying, "Mother, I have a question and hope Mother can answer it."
The Empress Dowager didn't expect Su Wan'er to ask such a question suddenly. She was stunned for a moment and then said to her son, "Lin'er, go ahead."
A very serious look appeared on Su Wan'er's face. "Mother, I want to ask, whose country is this? Is it the Si family's or the Rong family's?"
Although the Empress Dowager didn't know why her son asked such a question suddenly, she frowned slightly and said to Si Junlin, "Lin'er, how can you ask such a question? This country is naturally the Si family's. The Rong family is just a courtier who had a good friendship with your father."
Su Wan'er nodded again. "Since Mother knows this is the Si family's country, why do you always seem to be constrained by Concubine Mei and the Rong family? Isn't Mother someone who doesn't like to be controlled?"
The Empress Dowager was left speechless. If it were Su Wan'er herself who said these words, the Empress Dowager might have been angry and even had her driven out. But now, since Su Wan'er was in Si Junlin's body and it was Si Junlin talking to her, the Empress Dowager could actually listen.
"But the Rong family is in charge of the country's construction...," the Empress Dowager said thoughtfully. Wasn't she doing this because she was worried about her son?
"Isn't their power due to Father's grace? Without Father's grace, they would just be an ordinary family. Now that Father has passed away, they seem to think more and more highly of themselves. If we don't suppress them, they might act like treacherous officials bullying the lord in the future," Su Wan'er said.
Listening to her son's words, the Empress Dowager's expression gradually became serious.
Su Wan'er was right. The reason why the Su family was suppressed and feared by the royal family was that the Su family's reputation had spread far and wide, and they held military power. No emperor could feel at ease with such a powerful courtier.
The Empress Dowager sighed. "Tell me your plan."
Su Wan'er then told her plan. "I plan to use the disciple of the Heavenly Artisan Sect to suppress the Rong family this time, so that they will know that my country doesn't rely on the Rong family alone."
"What if the Rong family rebels after being suppressed?" The Rong family had accumulated a lot of power over the years. People knew that their ancestor was the sworn brother of the late emperor, so there were many people who recognized the head of the Rong family as their master in order to curry favor with them.
These people were scattered all over the empire. If they united, they would be a force not to be underestimated.
To contain these two powerful families, the emperors' method was to balance them. Support one family to suppress the other.
This had become a common practice over several generations of emperors.
Of course, Su Wan'er only learned about this after swapping identities with Si Junlin.
If Su Wan'er had felt aggrieved for her father and grandfather before, now she began to feel pity for the emperor.
Wasn't it true? There were at least dozens of court officials, but among them, the emperor could never trust anyone easily. Living a life always on guard against others' rebellions, Su Wan'er thought it was quite tiring.
Taking a deep breath, in response to the Empress Dowager's question, Su Wan'er's answer was, "If the Rong family dares to rebel, I'll have to intervene forcefully and wipe them out."
After all, courtiers were just courtiers. It was too easy for an emperor to deal with a courtier...
Looking at Su Wan'er's expression, the Empress Dowager gradually pulled herself out of the trap of concern for Concubine Mei. "It seems that you really plan to use the disciple of the Heavenly Artisan Sect to suppress the Rong family this time."
She rubbed her temples and said to Su Wan'er, "Well, you've grown up now. There are many things that I, as your mother, can no longer interfere with. From today on, I'll let you handle things on your own."
As she said this, she rubbed her temples tiredly. Years of accumulated fatigue were all released at this moment, making her look much older.
After Su Wan'er left this time, for the first time, the Empress Dowager didn't go to see the queen, which made Si Junlin quite curious.
She went straight to the Hall of Diligent Government and asked Su Wan'er, who was looking worried, "Did you say something to my mother?"
Su Wan'er came back to her senses from her thoughts and looked at Si Junlin puzzledly. "Why do you ask this?"
Si Junlin was, of course, worried that she had said something inappropriate and angered the Empress Dowager. Although he knew that the Si family owed the Su family some favors, that was no reason for Su Wan'er to anger the Empress Dowager at will.