Si Junlin sat in the teahouse beside the auction venue. He withdrew his gaze from the surging crowd below and turned to look at Su Wan'er. "Your method is really good. You've managed to get so many people to fight for the Hua Family's territory. In this way, even if there are descendants of the Hua Family in the future, they won't be able to fully reclaim their territory."
Su Wan'er smiled. "I have to thank a foreign merchant for this. If it weren't for him, I might not even have known about this."
"Really? A foreign merchant?" Si Junlin mused.
Su Wan'er looked at Si Junlin's inscrutable expression. She had no idea what he was thinking, so she could only silently shut up and turned to look at the auction venue below to calm the fear in her heart caused by not understanding Si Junlin's thoughts.
Si Junlin didn't continue to inquire. His gaze also shifted to the auction site.
The list of the inner - circle people had been delivered to him just before the auction started. They knew something about these inner - circle people.
Most of these people were merchants and some were landowners. Only they had the means to buy the Hua Family's territory, right?
The auction lasted for several hours. It was the first time Si Junlin had seen these people sit so patiently in one place. When he went incognito to discuss matters with them in the past, he had never seen them so patient.
Sure enough, only interests could drive people to do things...
"The auction is over. Let's go and see who bought the Hua Family's territory later." While Si Junlin was still deep in thought, Su Wan'er saw that the auction was almost over and turned to say to him.
Si Junlin suddenly came back to his senses and nodded. "Okay." Knowing who bought the Hua Family's territory would make it easier for them to take control in the future.
After all, the Hua Family's territory accounted for almost half of the Jin Kingdom.
However, the Emperor and the Empress didn't need to investigate in person for the things they wanted to know. To find out who bought the Hua Family's territory, they just needed to wait for everyone to pay the silver and then ask Zhang Shunyuan, the eldest son of the Prime Minister's Mansion who hosted the auction, to hand over the compiled roster.
Because the amount was too large, the accounts were not delivered until the middle of the night.
Su Wan'er had been waiting. Seeing Zhang Shunyuan looking extremely tired after getting the ledger, Su Wan'er directly said to him, "You can go back and rest first. You've worked hard today."
Zhang Shunyuan didn't insist on staying. He had done what he should do. As for the rest, it was up to these two people in power to handle.
Su Wan'er handed the ledger to Si Junlin.
Si Junlin looked up at her. "What's wrong?"
"You're the Emperor. Of course, you should take a look." Su Wan'er said seriously.
Si Junlin didn't take it. "Now you're the Emperor. As for me... I'll just assist you from the side."
Su Wan'er said helplessly, "A Lin, are you really going to abandon your kingdom now? This is not what a king should do. Aren't you afraid that I'll seize your kingdom?"
"You won't. At least, you won't seize my kingdom for now." There was a confident glint in Si Junlin's eyes.
"Do you trust me so much?" Su Wan'er thought of the past and looked at Si Junlin doubtfully.
Si Junlin sighed. "Naturally. After all these days, if you really wanted to seize my kingdom, you would have done it long ago."
It would be really easy for Su Wan'er to do something now.
Su Wan'er snorted. "Thank you for your trust, Your Majesty." As she said, the ledger in her hand fell onto Si Junlin's lap without hesitation.
After giving the ledger to Si Junlin, she sat back in her seat and began to check the remaining accounts.
Si Junlin couldn't help but rub his forehead. Had he indulged her too much? How dare she be so arrogant in front of him, the Emperor?
He didn't know that Su Wan'er had already decided to throw caution to the wind at this moment and didn't care what he thought. If he had the guts, he could just kill her.
Of course, Su Wan'er wouldn't say it so explicitly because she was really busy at the moment, extremely busy.
However, while checking the accounts, Si Junlin suddenly wanted to thank Su Wan'er.
Because... "The Song Family is actually on this list?" Si Junlin said in slight surprise.
Su Wan'er looked up in confusion. "What's wrong with the Song Family? Do you have a feud with them?"
She didn't notice that her tone had become the kind of tone that only close acquaintances would use when talking to each other.
But Si Junlin noticed. A faint smile flashed across his eyes. In a great mood, he said to her, "Wan'er, you're overthinking. The people who have a feud with me in this world now have grass as tall as a person on their graves."
Seeing that Su Wan'er seemed about to look away boredly, he quickly added, "The reason I'm particularly concerned about the Song Family is that the Song Family's strength was second only to the Hua Family back then. However, after the Hua Family became the imperial merchant, they continuously suppressed the Song Family's power, which led to the Song Family completely leaving the capital."
"Even so, the Song Family was able to preserve half of their family's power at its peak. That's why I pay special attention to the Song Family."
After listening to him, Su Wan'er just let out a faint "oh".
Si Junlin looked at her indifferent attitude and reminded her helplessly, "Wan'er, this matter is of great importance. You're the Emperor now. You should pay more attention."
"The Song Family is currently recruiting servants." Su Wan'er suddenly said.
Si Junlin was stunned for a moment and then nodded. "If that's the case, then you should send someone in as a spy."
Su Wan'er didn't say this to get his approval. She needed his help. "Do you think it's that easy to send someone? Aren't you afraid of losing them?"
"Are you asking for my help?" A smile appeared on Si Junlin's lips.
Su Wan'er could only say helplessly, "Yes, I am asking for your help. So, A Lin, what conditions do you have? Don't forget, this is your kingdom."
"Of course, I won't forget." Si Junlin said helplessly. Did he look like a fatuous king who would indulge in pleasure and neglect state affairs?
Rubbing his temples, Si Junlin continued, "This kind of thing really requires some trained people."
Glancing at Su Wan'er faintly, he said thoughtfully, "I've heard that when you were a child, you dressed up as a man and joined the army with your father. Besides learning martial arts, you also learned how to cook..."
"If you're not afraid of people saying 'the Emperor is cooking' and losing your face, I don't mind." Su Wan'er said.