Master Zhang also realized he might have asked too many questions, so he decided to call it quits. "Yes, yes, yes. Let's talk about martial arts first."
The two of them tacitly avoided discussing what had happened before.
After the morning court session, Su Wan'er sent the secret guards with gold tokens to invite all the commercial firms willing to cooperate with the royal family to a painted pleasure - boat in the south of the city.
She disguised herself, changed carriages several times, and only when she was sure no one was following did she order the coachman to drive straight to the south of the city.
By Bingyue Lake, a painted pleasure - boat was parked there early. From afar, one could hear the singing coming from it.
The young servant guarding the entrance saw her coming and quickly bowed to welcome her onto the pleasure - boat.
As Su Wan'er stepped onto the pleasure - boat, everyone who had been enjoying themselves there turned their eyes to her in unison.
The next moment, everyone knelt down and saluted her. "Greetings to Your Majesty. Long live Your Majesty, long live, long live!"
Su Wan'er gave a light cough. "I'm incognito today. And you are all loyal to the royal family. You don't need to be so formal here."
"Thank you, Your Majesty," everyone replied.
After they were seated according to their ranks, someone naturally served up the finest dishes.
Su Wan'er raised her glass first and said to everyone, "Thank you all for coming to meet me here."
Everyone laughed. "Your Majesty, you're being too polite."
Because of this, everyone felt a bit closer to the "emperor". When they discussed matters later, they spoke more freely.
As for what was discussed on the boat, only those on the boat knew.
Anyway, as soon as Su Wan'er returned to the palace, she went to find Si Junlin.
"How did it go?" Si Junlin looked at Su Wan'er sitting opposite him.
Su Wan'er nodded. "It's settled. Once the Hua family starts a business strike, they will take over and seize the Hua family's territory. As for the title of imperial merchant, I'll hold a selection every four years. Those with high skills and virtues will be the imperial merchants."
"Your idea is good. Keep going like this," Si Junlin said, nodding in satisfaction.
"When do you think we should act?" Su Wan'er asked him.
Si Junlin looked up at Su Wan'er. "If you want to act now, it's okay."
Su Wan'er nodded. "You said so. I won't be polite then."
"Yeah, you can be even less polite," Si Junlin nodded. Before he swapped bodies with Su Wan'er, he had already wanted to take action against the Hua family. Who would have thought that before he could act, he swapped souls with Su Wan'er, and the plan had to be put on hold.
Now that Su Wan'er also wanted to get rid of the Hua family, he could use her hand to fulfill his own plan.
Thinking of this, Si Junlin suddenly paused. He suddenly wondered if this was... mutual exploitation?
"Wait," after this thought came to him, Si Junlin quickly called out to Su Wan'er, who was about to turn and leave.
Su Wan'er turned around in confusion. "What's up?"
Si Junlin coughed. "Stay here tonight. I still have something to tell you."
Su Wan'er thought he might have some advice for her before the battle and didn't think much about it. She stayed.
However, until they were almost going to bed, Si Junlin still hadn't said a word. Finally, Su Wan'er couldn't bear it anymore and asked Si Junlin, "Your Majesty, what on earth did you keep me here for?"
Why didn't Si Junlin say anything? Because he hadn't figured out what to say to Su Wan'er.
When Su Wan'er asked, he was also a bit stunned. But after all, he had been on the throne for many years. After a brief thought, he found a topic.
"Empress, I kept you here to talk about the Hua family."
Su Wan'er understood immediately. "Just as I thought." She asked Si Junlin, "Then please go ahead, Your Majesty."
Seeing Su Wan'er's eager - to - listen look, Si Junlin knew she was still resisting him. He sighed silently in his heart and had to continue his long - term plan.
"In the matter of the Hua family, you must find a pretext to attack them," he said, looking at Su Wan'er seriously. "I wonder if you've found one?"
Su Wan'er was stunned and asked in confusion, "Isn't the matter of poisoning the empress enough?" In her opinion, poisoning the empress was a major event.
Si Junlin shook his head. "No, this is just a matter in the harem. If the Hua family doesn't abandon Concubine Hua, it's okay. But if the Hua family abandons Concubine Hua and says they'll cut off all relations with her, the rest has nothing to do with the Hua family."
What Si Junlin said was something she hadn't thought of. She had always been thinking about how to deal with Concubine Hua and had overlooked the intrigues in the court.
Although it seemed that Concubine Hua was very important to the Hua family now, if she implicated the Hua family, it was inevitable that the Hua family wouldn't abandon her in desperation.
In these big families, not all families were like the Su family, which would cherish their offspring. In more noble families, offspring were just pawns to make their families more prosperous.
If the Hua family chose to abandon Concubine Hua, she couldn't do much to them.
"So, we still have to start from the court," Su Wan'er thought.
Si Junlin nodded slightly. "Yes, you guessed right."
Su Wan'er thought for a while and looked up at Si Junlin. She found that he always had a calm look on his face. Remembering his usual habits, she suddenly had a suspicion. She guessed that the man in front of her actually had a solution and was just waiting for her to ask him.
Su Wan'er thought that he had been planning for so many years and his plan should be very comprehensive. If she had to investigate again, she didn't know how much time it would take. Well... Su Wan'er took a deep breath, silently recited "One who aims at great deeds does not stick to trifles" three times, and finally said to Si Junlin, "Your Majesty, you should have a way, right?"
Si Junlin smiled. "Oh? Empress, how do you know that?"
Su Wan'er suddenly got closer to him. "Your Majesty, we are considered partners now. In order to make our cooperation go more smoothly, I hope Your Majesty can show some sincerity."
Su Wan'er's breath on his face made Si Junlin's face turn slightly red. Fortunately, in the dim candlelight, the blush on his face wasn't very obvious. Su Wan'er was focused on asking about how to deal with the Hua family and didn't pay much attention to these details.