In contrast to their dejection, Su Wan'er was in high spirits at the moment.
This was the first time she had negotiated with foreign envoys. Although she had completed it with Si Junlin's help, she had to admit that she was quite excited.
After leaving the embassy, she rushed to Si Junlin's palace in the imperial city and told him what had happened.
"Not bad. Everything went smoothly," Si Junlin nodded approvingly.
Su Wan'er scoffed disdainfully. "Just look at who my teacher is!"
Si Junlin nodded. "Indeed, your teacher is truly remarkable."
"..." Su Wan'er fell silent. She had never met such a brazen person.
Si Junlin glanced at her indifferently. "What? Do you have any objections to what I said?"
Su Wan'er forced a smile. "No." Then she mumbled in a very low voice, "Shameless."
Si Junlin moved swiftly, pinning Su Wan'er between himself and the wall. "What did you just say? Say it again!"
"Didn't I say I didn't say anything?" Su Wan'er averted her eyes guiltily.
Si Junlin reached out and grasped her chin. "What? Is the mother of the nation afraid to admit what she said?"
Su Wan'er turned to glare at him. "Of course not!"
Si Junlin asked with a smile. "Then tell me what you were muttering just now. Hmm?"
Su Wan'er was speechless and didn't know what to say.
Si Junlin sighed and finally released his hold on Su Wan'er.
"Actually, I know even if you don't say it. You probably think I'm narcissistic, right?"
Are you a mind - reader?
Su Wan'er's eyes widened in surprise.
Si Junlin chuckled. "What? Did I really guess right?"
Su Wan'er didn't want to dwell on this topic any longer. "Your Majesty, let's talk about what to do next."
Si Junlin didn't say a word and just stared at her intently. After a long while, when he was sure that she really didn't want to continue this topic, he sighed and followed her lead. "Alright, since you don't want to talk about it, I'll tell you about the next steps."
Su Wan'er finally breathed a sigh of relief.
Then, Si Junlin continued to teach Su Wan'er how to deal with the envoys and how to maximize the interests of the Jin Kingdom and the Southern Border Kingdom in the negotiations.
Qingcao yawned in front of the window and looked towards the palace gate. The view at noon today was really nice.
Thinking that it was almost lunchtime, Qingcao didn't want to disturb her mistress and the emperor. To prevent them from forgetting about eating and sleeping, she decided to go to the imperial kitchen to prepare lunch for them.
Walking on the palace path, she finally had a rare moment of relaxation. Now that the relationship between her mistress and the emperor had temporarily improved, she could finally feel a bit more at ease.
As Qingcao was thinking about how to further improve the relationship between her mistress and the emperor, a man suddenly emerged from around the corner. Neither of them was looking where they were going, and they bumped into each other.
"Ouch!" Qingcao opened her eyes ruefully. In front of her was a handsome white - haired man. Judging from his appearance, he was definitely no older than thirty.
"Hey, why don't you watch where you're going?" Anyway, she had to strike first to gain the upper hand in this situation.
However, after she had rambled on for a while, the man on the ground remained motionless with his eyes closed, as if he were dead.
This really scared Qingcao. Although she had practiced martial arts since childhood, she wasn't so powerful that she could knock a man out just by bumping into him.
She put down the tray in her hand and approached the man on the ground.
"Hey, are you okay?" Qingcao pushed the man and found that he had fainted.
"Hey! Who are you? What do you want to do to my senior brother?" A sharp cry rang out. In the distance, a teenage girl came running over.
Seeing that someone had come and the man on the ground would surely receive proper treatment, Qingcao didn't need to get involved anymore. She picked up the tray and was about to leave.
"Stop! You're just a palace maid. How dare you be so rude? Do you think you can get away with it after bumping into my senior brother?" The little girl stood in front of Qingcao angrily.
"Tell me then. How can you let me go?" Although the man on the ground was unconscious and Qingcao felt a bit guilty, she thought that the man had fainted because he probably had some underlying illness.
"Stand here obediently. Wait until my senior brother wakes up and let him deal with you." After saying that, the little girl returned to the man's side. She took out a valuable mutton - fat jade bottle from her pocket and poured out a pill, trying to put it into the man's mouth.
But the man's lips were tightly closed. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn't pry his mouth open.
The little girl was so anxious that she was about to cry.
Qingcao couldn't stand it any longer. She strode forward, snatched the pill from the little girl's hand, and before the little girl could react, she pried open the man's jaw and forcefully slapped the pill into his mouth.
"Water," Qingcao said bluntly, turning to look at the little girl.
The little girl was stunned by her actions. Although she hesitated for a moment, she still obediently handed over the water pouch.
Qingcao forcefully poured a few mouthfuls of water into the man's mouth. "What? Still not waking up? Do I have to drown you before you wake up?"
The man on the ground slowly opened his eyes. "Qingcao, are you trying to murder your husband?"
"Get out of here!" Qingcao pushed the man away roughly. "I don't know how you got into the palace, but I'm warning you. Stay away from me, or I'll make sure you'll never get up again."
The white - haired man slowly sat up, brushed his hair back, and gave a charming smile. "Qingcao, why are you being so cold? You know, your brother once intended to betroth you to me."
"I'll never get married in my life. Give up this thought," Qingcao said without looking back and left.
The white - haired man watched her back and a faint smile appeared on his lips. "You're wrong, little Qingcao. The stars tell me that we'll meet again soon."
"Senior brother..." The little girl looked at her senior brother in confusion. She had never seen her senior brother smile like this at anyone.
"Let's go. To the queen's palace," the white - haired man said and led the way.