Sun Ming said disdainfully, "Father, you're overthinking. It would be a huge mistake if we really attached ourselves to the Su Family."
He told his father the information he had gathered. "I heard from the steward of the Rong Family when I was drinking with him yesterday that the emperor is truly planning to wipe out the Su Family this time. The empress has already been secretly executed by the emperor in prison. Next, it's likely that the Su Family will be raided."
"If we can't get out now, our family will probably be implicated by the Su Family when they fall."
"But if we leave the Su Family, our Sun Family won't have such good connections," the head of the Sun Family said worriedly.
"As long as we keep the foundation, Father, there's no need to worry about running out of firewood. Leaving aside the emperor, the Rong Family has promised that as long as we leave the Su Family, they will support our family."
"Is this true?" The Rong Family seemingly had much greater power than the Su Family on the surface. It would be great if their family could really attach themselves to the Rong Family.
"Father, don't worry. This was promised by the steward of the Rong Family. I think if he didn't have the authorization of the family head, he wouldn't have dared to make such a definite promise to us," Sun Ming said. He still remembered the promise the steward had made to him and the serious look on his face.
That was why he had dared to say such things in front of Su Wan'er.
After Su Wan'er heard the report from the secret guard about the situation of the Sun Family, a sneering smile appeared on her lips.
She had said that the Sun Family wouldn't have had the guts to oppose the Su Family without support. It turned out that they had the backing of the Rong Family.
Her goal this time was not the Sun Family or the Rong Family, but the army that could only be mobilized by the joint efforts of the Sun and Su Families.
According to her grandfather, this was an army jointly established by the Sun and Su Families before the Sun Family declined. This army was hidden in the mountains, and only the descendants of the two families working together could mobilize it.
Now that she had the token of the Sun Family, all that was left was the token of the Su Family.
This was easy. Since it was in her palace, it wouldn't be difficult to retrieve it.
Just as she was thinking about how to distract Si Junlin, suddenly there were three knocks on the roof.
Su Wan'er was stunned. She naturally knew what this sound meant. After hesitating for three seconds, she blew out the candle.
The wind blew open the window, and almost silently, a dark figure appeared behind Su Wan'er. "Your Highness."
Su Wan'er was slightly stunned, and then a look of helplessness appeared in her eyes. "Qingcao, when did you discover my identity?"
Qingcao said rather helplessly, "Your Highness, what on earth are you thinking? How could you do such a silly thing? What puzzles this servant the most is what the emperor's purpose was for agreeing to your unreasonable request?"
Saying this, she took a few steps forward and reached out to touch Su Wan'er's face.
She had thought that her mistress might be wearing a human skin mask to disguise herself, but when her hand touched Su Wan'er's cheek, she realized she was wrong.
Because she couldn't find any trace of a human skin mask on her mistress's face... Something was wrong. Had she guessed wrong?
Su Wan'er could probably guess what she was thinking and could only helplessly push her away. "Qingcao, I'm not wearing a human skin mask."
By the moonlight, Qingcao looked at Su Wan'er's face that resembled the emperor's and her voice was full of confusion. "Then what's going on, Your Highness?"
Looking at the worried look on Qingcao's face, Su Wan'er remembered the day when Qingcao had told her about the "empress".
Such a maid should be trustworthy, right? After thinking for a long time, Su Wan'er decided to take a risk.
"Qingcao, you've been with me for more than a decade. I don't intend to hide some things from you anymore," Su Wan'er said seriously, looking at Qingcao.
Qingcao knew that Su Wan'er was going to tell her the truth. She didn't say a word and just stared at Su Wan'er quietly, waiting for her to tell the truth.
Su Wan'er coughed lightly, suppressing the feeling of guilt in her heart, and then told Qingcao the whole story.
After Qingcao heard what Su Wan'er said, her eyes widened in disbelief. "Your Highness, is what you said true?"
Su Wan'er shrugged. "Do I look like I'm lying?"
"You don't," Qingcao shook her head. But this kind of thing was too fantastic, wasn't it?
Su Wan'er didn't care what Qingcao was thinking. She just wanted to retrieve the other jade pendant that could mobilize the hidden army.
"You'll understand this later. Since you could guess my identity, you should also know who the person in my palace is now, right?" Su Wan'er asked.
Qingcao nodded. "Yes, that person should be the emperor, right?"
Su Wan'er nodded. "That's right. So, I need to mobilize my hidden forces."
"Your Highness means..." Qingcao guessed what she meant.
The forces that had been exposed to Si Junlin were insignificant compared to this army jointly established by the head of the Su Family and the ancestor of the Sun Family.
If the emperor of the Jin Kingdom hadn't suddenly intervened when this army was established, forcing the two family heads to swear that this hidden army could only be mobilized when the Jin Kingdom faced a danger it couldn't resist or when the royal family of the Jin Kingdom had let down the Su Family.
That's right, it was only when the royal family had let down the Su Family, not the Sun Family, because from the very beginning, the former emperor had regarded the Sun Family as a follower of the Su Family.
Or rather, the rise and fall of the Sun Family was closely related to the position of the Su Family in the emperor's heart.
At first, the head of the Sun Family had a clear understanding of the Sun Family's position, so there had never been any trouble. But now...
Su Wan'er told Qingcao her plan. "Our bodies won't be swapped back until the national advisor returns. I don't want to use the emperor's secret guards, so I have no choice but to mobilize that army."
"But... that army is not easy to mobilize," Qingcao said, full of worry.
Su Wan'er nodded. "I know. But this is a last resort."
Qingcao sighed and said to Su Wan'er, "Alright. If Your Highness wants to mobilize that army, this servant will go and get it for you."
But Su Wan'er shook her head. "No need. You just need to distract the emperor. If you go to get it, it will be difficult for you if the emperor blames you later."
Qingcao nodded. "I understand. I'll do as Your Highness commands."
Su Wan'er nodded. After discussing other matters with Qingcao, she let Qingcao go back first.
Early the next morning, Qingcao came to Si Junlin and said, "Your Highness, the purple lotuses are in bloom today. Do you think we should put some in the room?"