Si Junlin was lost in his own thoughts and didn't notice at all that the expression on the face of the maid serving beside him had changed.
Maybe he himself didn't realize that Su Wan'er had been influencing his emotions all the time.
"No, I must leave the palace," Si Junlin said anxiously. He was really worried about Su Wan'er meeting the eldest young master of the Sun family. Although Su Wan'er was now in his body, for some reason, he still felt uneasy.
Qingcao smiled helplessly and said, "Your Ladyship, in what capacity are you planning to leave the palace?"
This question from Qingcao immediately stumped Si Junlin.
Yes, Su Wan'er and he had swapped bodies. Su Wan'er could leave the palace, presumably in the way of the emperor meeting his subject. But what about him? Although in the previous dynasties, there had indeed been records of the queen meeting court officials, it was only when the emperor was present. If she were to meet court officials privately, the gossips from the outsiders alone would be enough to drown her.
Qingcao didn't say anything else. Since she was sure that her young lady had been replaced, all she needed to know now was where her young lady had gone.
Before Si Junlin could come up with a reason to leave the palace, no matter how anxious he was, he could only stay in the palace obediently.
On the other side, Su Wan'er arrived at the gate of the Sun family. When the people of the Sun family heard that the emperor was coming in person, they were so frightened that the whole family came out to greet her at the gate.
Su Wan'er got off the carriage. The first thing she saw was Sun Ming, the eldest young master of the Sun family, kneeling among the crowd.
"Rise, my subject," Su Wan'er said. She had come here to talk to the Sun family. After the greetings, she followed the head of the Sun family inside.
After they were seated according to their status, the head of the Sun family asked carefully, "I wonder what the emperor wants this old official to do?"
Since the passing of the old ancestor of the Sun family, the family had been declining day by day. At present, the situation of the Sun family could be described as "birds can be caught at the door".
As the head of the Sun family, he always hoped that he could regain the emperor's attention and be reused by the emperor.
After the head of the Sun family finished speaking, Su Wan'er glanced at the people in the room and said to the head of the Sun family, "I've heard that the eldest young master of the Sun family once had a marriage contract with my queen?" Her eyes fell on Sun Ming.
Although Sun Ming was her childhood friend, this was a very important matter. The years in the palace had made her dare not take risks easily.
When the head of the Sun family heard this, his heart skipped a beat. Since Su Wan'er married into the royal family, he had ordered people to block all the news about this matter. How could the emperor still know about it?
While he was thinking, Su Wan'er was also observing his reaction to this matter.
Before the head of the Sun family could say anything, Sun Ming spoke first.
"Your Majesty, this is just a rumor in the market. I have no relationship with the queen. Back then, it was just the queen who pestered me. And the power of the Su family was too great. I had no choice but to accompany her for fun," Sun Ming said.
Su Wan'er was deeply shocked. She never thought that the person she once trusted most would be such a person.
No matter what, she didn't believe that this was true. She coughed lightly to calm herself down, and then continued to ask Sun Ming, "Are you sure this is your true thought deep in your heart?"
Su Wan'er's tone was very calm, and it was impossible to tell any emotion from it. But because of Su Wan'er's current identity, Sun Ming subconsciously thought that Su Wan'er was confirming whether what he said was true or not.
In order to make Su Wan'er believe that this was true, he didn't hesitate to swear to the sky, "I swear here that if there is any falsehood in my words, I am willing to be struck by lightning."
Since he had sworn like this, if Su Wan'er didn't believe him, it would seem a bit unreasonable.
Su Wan'er couldn't help but feel lucky that she didn't tell him about the current situation because they were childhood playmates. Otherwise, she would surely regret it now.
Since he had said so, she didn't need to save any face for him.
"But I've heard that you have a jade pendant named 'Sparrow', which is a pair with the 'Swallow' jade pendant in the queen's hand. This makes it hard for me to believe that you have no relationship with the Su family," Su Wan'er said slowly. Her deliberately slow tone naturally carried a sense of oppression.
Under this kind of oppression, Sun Ming and the head of the Sun family glanced at each other.
Then, Sun Ming said to Su Wan'er, "Your Majesty, please make a fair judgment. This jade pendant was also forced on our Sun family by the Su family. They intended to use it as a threat to force us to cooperate with them. If your Majesty doesn't believe it, we are willing to hand it over to your Majesty for disposal."
Su Wan'er sneered in her heart, but on the surface, she still said calmly to them, "Well, since you have admitted it yourself, I won't pursue the matter of your secretly hiding weapons anymore. Now... take out the 'Sparrow' jade pendant in your hand."
Sun Ming knew that they had no other choice but to take out the 'Sparrow' jade pendant. Fortunately, they had no intention of marrying into the Su family.
If the Su family was still powerful, they could still have some dealings with the Su family. But not long ago, the eldest daughter of the Su family was imprisoned. They had to reconsider which family to attach themselves to.
Under Su Wan'er's repeated pressure, the head of the Sun family finally handed over the 'Sparrow' jade pendant.
Of course, when handing over the jade pendant, in order to clear their relationship with the Su family, the head of the Sun family didn't forget to slander the Su family.
"Your Majesty, the jade pendant in our hand is only half of the token of the Su family's army. If your Majesty wants to completely eradicate the Su family, we are willing to do our best."
Su Wan'er sneered disdainfully in her heart, but as the emperor, she still had to "reward" these "loyal officials" properly.
"Your Sun family is indeed a loyal subject of the Jin Kingdom. Don't worry. Since you have shown your loyalty to me, I won't treat you badly." After saying this, Su Wan'er left with the 'Sparrow' jade pendant.
Before leaving, she made a gesture to the secret guards in the dark, asking them to monitor the Sun family well and report the news of the Sun family to her at any time.
After Su Wan'er left, the head of the Sun family immediately pulled Sun Ming into the study.
"Father," Sun Ming was very respectful to his father.
The head of the Sun family motioned for Sun Ming to sit on the chair, and then asked him worriedly, "Ming'er, how sure are you about this matter?" The Sun family didn't have many connections in the court. Even the current connections were gathered with the help of the Su family. Now that they suddenly wanted to abandon the Su family, he couldn't help but feel a little worried.