"Uncle, you're a good person." Long Xiaojiu looked up at Su Wan'er with her big, watery eyes, tears still hanging from the corners, which glistened like dewdrops on morning petals.
Su Wan'er reached out to wipe away the tears from the corners of her eyes and comforted her, "Xiaojiu, be a good girl. Stop crying. Let's just let this matter go."
She was about to say something else when she was interrupted by the commotion outside the palace gate.
"Fang Xi, go and see what's going on," Su Wan'er ordered.
Fang Xi went out to check. Su Wan'er asked Long Xiaojiu to sit on the stone bench beside her and casually handed her a date cake.
"Come, have some date cake. You lost some blood just now. Red dates are good for replenishing blood. It'll do you good. Otherwise, when you go back and your father sees you've lost weight, he'll blame me for mistreating you."
Su Wan'er said this as a joke, but Long Xiaojiu took it seriously.
She took the date cake from Su Wan'er's hand and then said to Su Wan'er, "I won't let Father blame Uncle. If he dares to, I'll stand by Uncle's side."
Su Wan'er didn't expect to gain a little follower so soon.
This child was really innocent. But at this age, innocence was only natural, wasn't it?
Fang Xi finally managed to calm the situation outside the gate. After he told the imperial guards to guard the palace gate, he hurriedly came to Su Wan'er, bowed, and reported, "Your Majesty, the commotion outside was caused by Concubine Xi. She said she wanted to come and visit the Southern Border Saintess."
Su Wan'er frowned. She had kept this news very secret, fearing that the concubines in the harem would find out that Long Xiaojiu was from the Southern Border Empire and had some connection with the Long family there, and then try to win her over for their own power and status.
She glanced at Long Xiaojiu and motioned for Fang Xi to go out and bring Concubine Xi in.
Meanwhile, during this time before Concubine Xi's arrival, Su Wan'er said to Long Xiaojiu, "Xiaojiu, dare you make a bet with Uncle?"
"What kind of bet?" Long Xiaojiu asked excitedly.
Seeing her interest piqued, Su Wan'er said to her, "Later, an aunt will come. She'll give you a lot of nice things. Uncle will bet with you on how many things you'll accept from her. If you don't accept any, Uncle will give you a mysterious gift. If you do accept, for each thing you take, you'll have to do a favor for Uncle. How about it?"
Long Xiaojiu now regarded Su Wan'er as a family member, so she readily agreed to the bet.
Anyway, she thought that Uncle would never hurt her.
Soon, Concubine Xi arrived. The first thing she saw was the "emperor", and all her attention was drawn to the "emperor"'s outstanding back.
Fortunately, her personal maid knew the purpose of their visit and tugged hard at the back of her dress to prevent her from forgetting why she was here.
To be honest, Concubine Xi mainly came here this time hoping to win over the so - called "Southern Border Saintess" beside Su Wan'er. She didn't know that Su Wan'er was here until she reached the palace gate.
When she saw Eunuch Fang Xi, she was quite startled.
Seeing the "emperor" here was an unexpected pleasure for her. In an instant, her mood brightened.
After entering the pavilion, she respectfully bowed to Su Wan'er and said, "Your humble concubine pays respects to Your Majesty. May Your Majesty live long and prosper."
Su Wan'er glanced at her indifferently. When she saw the smile on Concubine Xi's face that she tried to suppress but became even more obvious, a look of mockery flashed in her eyes.
This woman really had the "emperor" on her mind all the time.
She said in a calm voice, "Get up."
"Thank you, Your Majesty," Concubine Xi said happily as she got up from the ground and walked to sit on Su Wan'er's right - hand side.
Originally, she wanted to sit on the left - hand side of the "emperor" because the left side was more honorable. But at this time, Long Xiaojiu was sitting on Su Wan'er's left - hand side, so she had to settle for the right - hand side.
For a moment, her eyes were cold when she looked at Long Xiaojiu.
But she clearly knew the purpose of her visit here, so that cold look flashed in her eyes for just a moment and then disappeared. Her face still showed a kind and amiable expression.
Unfortunately, she miscalculated. Long Xiaojiu was not an ordinary child. Since she came from a family that raised poisonous insects, she was very sensitive to hostility. She completely caught that momentary hostility from Concubine Xi.
If she had been curious about Concubine Xi before, now she had already put Concubine Xi into the category of bad people.
Moreover, she had made a bet with Su Wan'er...
Su Wan'er could feel the sense of alertness coming from her left. She reached out, picked up a shrimp crisp, and brought it to Long Xiaojiu's mouth. "Come, have some snacks."
Long Xiaojiu opened her mouth and ate the shrimp crisp right from Su Wan'er's hand.
This action really irritated Concubine Xi.
This was an action she had always dreamed of. She also hoped to be fed by the "emperor". But... no. The "emperor"'s eyes were all on that little bitch at this moment. Not to mention being fed, the "emperor" didn't even look at her. What was so special about a child in her teens? Was she not more beautiful?
Thinking like this, a ferocious look involuntarily appeared on her face.
This made Long Xiaojiu even more vigilant.
Seeing that she had irritated Concubine Xi enough, Su Wan'er then turned to her and asked, "It's almost dinner time. Concubine Xi, why aren't you staying in your palace and instead come here?"
Reminded by her, Concubine Xi then remembered the purpose of her visit.
She quickly adjusted her expression, turned to look at Long Xiaojiu gently, and then replied to Su Wan'er, "Your Majesty, your humble concubine heard that the Southern Border Saintess has come to live in our Jin Kingdom's imperial palace. As one of Your Majesty's concubines, I naturally should come and entertain her properly."
A sneer appeared on Su Wan'er's lips. "Concubine Xi, have you forgotten that you're just a concubine? The matter of entertaining foreign guests has always been the responsibility of the queen. Or do you already consider yourself the queen?"
The system of this dynasty was extremely strict. Whether in the court or in the palace, acts of overstepping one's position were never tolerated.
Concubine Xi quickly knelt down to plead for mercy. "Please forgive your humble concubine, Your Majesty. I didn't mean to overstep. I just wanted to share your and the queen's burdens. Please forgive me."
"Forget it," Su Wan'er waved her hand, motioning for her to get up.