Si Junlin gave a soft cough to calm his nerves a bit, then said to Su Wan'er, "You always talk about my sincerity. But where's yours?"
"Isn't it sincere enough that I helped you get rid of the Hua family?" Su Wan'er stared him down.
Si Junlin had his own motives for saying this and naturally wouldn't follow her train of thought. "That's just our common goal. I can give you the sincerity you want. But can you give me the sincerity I need?"
Su Wan'er thought for a while and found she had no way to refute. "Fine. Tell me then. What kind of sincerity do you need from me? As long as it doesn't cross my bottom - line, I can promise you."
Su Wan'er thought his talk about sincerity was just his way of getting back at her.
If Si Junlin knew what she was thinking, he'd probably spit out three liters of blood. However, the fact that their relationship had deteriorated to this state was also his own doing.
Giving another soft cough, Si Junlin composed himself, then said to Su Wan'er, "Can we... resume our previous way of addressing each other first?"
Su Wan'er was slightly taken aback. She didn't expect Si Junlin's request to be this.
Looking at his serious expression, Su Wan'er really didn't think he cared so much about the way they addressed each other.
Oh well. Considering all the help he'd given her, she'd just... let him call her that.
Su Wan'er pondered for a long time. After finding a reason to convince herself, she finally nodded and agreed. "Okay."
"Cough, cough. What did you say?" Si Junlin choked on his own saliva. He didn't expect this matter to be resolved so easily. He thought he'd have to do a lot more persuading.
Seeing his stunned expression, Su Wan'er found it a bit funny. "What? Your Majesty, isn't this what you wanted?"
Only then did Si Junlin react. "Wan'er, I..." He didn't know what to say now.
Su Wan'er shrugged indifferently. "Your Majesty, I've shown my sincerity. Now it's your turn to show yours."
Si Junlin's happy mood was instantly dampened by Su Wan'er's words. He thought that was why she'd agreed so easily. In her eyes, it was just a way to show "sincerity"?
Seeing Si Junlin's suddenly darkened face, Su Wan'er was full of confusion. Sure enough, "a man's heart is as hard to fathom as the bottom of the sea." She couldn't figure out what Si Junlin was thinking at all.
She'd already agreed to his request. What else was there to be unhappy about?
"Your Majesty, you're not going to go back on your word, are you?" Su Wan'er's eyes turned cold. She'd already called him that. If he was still not satisfied, she wasn't going to play along anymore.
Si Junlin sighed silently in his heart. From Su Wan'er's expression, he knew that if he made any more requests, Su Wan'er would probably get angry again.
In the end, he'd be the one to suffer. To avoid trouble for himself, he'd just not be so demanding for now.
At least, she was willing to let him call her by her name now, right? He thought they could gradually get closer and repair their relationship step by step.
Thinking this way, Si Junlin said to Su Wan'er, "Of course not. I'm the emperor of a country. I still have this much credibility. Since you've shown your sincerity, I naturally won't go back on my word."
Saying this, he took out a secret letter and handed it to Su Wan'er.
"This contains the evidence of the Hua family's crimes, such as embezzling military rations and imperial tributes. Just one of these charges is enough to have the entire Hua family executed and their property confiscated," Si Junlin said.
Su Wan'er looked at the thin secret letter in surprise and opened it to check. Sure enough, it was filled with all kinds of crimes committed by the Hua family. It was obvious that a great deal of effort had been put into it.
Apart from these charges, there was also a complaint letter. The complainant was Hua Xixi.
"Who is this Hua Xixi?" Su Wan'er looked up at Si Junlin.
Si Junlin didn't say a word.
Su Wan'er frowned. "Your Majesty, what do you mean?" He'd given her this person's name but didn't tell her who this person was.
Although this person was indeed from the Hua family, since she'd submitted a complaint letter, she probably hoped to save herself and the people important to her when the Hua family fell.
Was Si Junlin not going to tell her because he intended to have this person disposed of as well?
Of course, Si Junlin didn't think so. He just... "If you want to know the truth of this matter, you should offer something in exchange, right?"
"You..." Su Wan'er took a deep breath and asked him, "Fine, Your Majesty. What do you want this time?"
"Call me A Lin," Si Junlin said to her.
Su Wan'er's eyes widened. She suspected her ears were playing tricks on her. The great emperor actually wanted her to call him such a... such an intimate name. Didn't he care about his reputation?
Seeing Su Wan'er's shocked expression as if she'd seen a ghost, Si Junlin realized how inappropriate the name he'd just mentioned was. But the words were already out, and since it was what he'd been thinking in his heart, he could only give a soft cough and explain, "You can only call me this in private. In public, you still call me Your Majesty."
Although Su Wan'er still didn't understand why the great emperor wanted her to call him a name that ordinary couples would use, in order not to harm the innocent, she finally called out as Si Junlin had hoped, "A... A Lin."
After saying it, Su Wan'er felt extremely uncomfortable.
But Si Junlin felt elated. In a good mood, he now answered Su Wan'er's question. "This Hua Xixi is no ordinary person. She originally entered the palace with Concubine Hua, but due to the schemes of Concubine Hua and her parents, she fell seriously ill and missed the chance to enter the palace."
"She's always harbored hatred towards the Hua family. After I learned about the situation, I sent my secret guards to contact her and asked her to be my inside - man in the Hua family."
"What were the terms?" Su Wan'er asked. Even if Hua Xixi hated the Hua family, it didn't mean she'd help Si Junlin unconditionally. Si Junlin must have promised her something for her to help him.
This time, Si Junlin didn't come up with any tricks. Maybe he couldn't think of any conditions to ask of Su Wan'er. "At that time, I promised Hua Xixi that as long as we brought down the Hua family, I'd allow her to take her sister's place."
After hearing his words, Su Wan'er frowned slightly. For some reason, she always felt that Si Junlin's decision was inappropriate.
Seeing her frown, Si Junlin thought she cared about this matter.