"Your Majesty, are you alright?" he asked cautiously.
Si Junlin slowly raised his head and said to Su Wan'er in a solemn tone, "Qingcao already knows about our soul - swapping, right?" His words seemed like a confirmation, but it was a definite statement.
Only then did Su Wan'er belatedly realize that she might not have been very careful with her words just now, which led to Si Junlin finding out that she had hidden the fact of their soul - swapping from Qingcao.
If it were other things that he found out, it wouldn't matter much. But this matter... wasn't it considered a crime of deceiving the emperor?
Si Junlin stepped forward excitedly and grabbed Su Wan'er's shoulders, "Why did you deceive me? Don't I deserve your trust?"
She trusted even that maid Qingcao, but why didn't she trust him? Was he even inferior to a maid in her heart?
"No." Su Wan'er quickly defended herself, "Your Majesty, please give me a chance to explain."
Si Junlin let go of her shoulders, leaned back on the armrest, and looked at her calmly, "Fine, I'll give you a chance."
Su Wan'er sighed. In fact, there wasn't much to explain about this matter. "Actually, the reason is very simple. It was just to take revenge on you for sending me to prison back then."
That's what she was thinking at that time. Later, with Qingcao's suggestions, she came up with more ideas.
"Is that really the only reason?" Si Junlin asked in disbelief.
"Otherwise, what do you think the reason is?" Su Wan'er said arrogantly.
"Forget it. I'll forgive you this time. But if there's a next time... You should know what the punishment for deceiving the emperor is, right?" Si Junlin originally wanted to get angry with Su Wan'er, but just before he got angry, he suddenly remembered how he had treated Su Wan'er, and his anger instantly dissipated.
Was he the one in the wrong about this matter?
Seeing that he didn't continue to pursue her "crime of deceiving the emperor", Su Wan'er felt a bit more at ease.
In the next three days, Su Wan'er was busy with various matters, while Si Junlin, on the contrary, stayed idle in the palace.
One day, before Su Wan'er returned, Concubine Mei came.
Hearing the maid's report, Si Junlin frowned tightly, "This woman is really restless."
"Your Ladyship, do you want to see her?" Qingcao asked.
"Of course I have to see her. Otherwise, it would be troublesome if it left a bad impression on your mistress." Si Junlin slowly got up and went directly to the main hall.
After Concubine Mei entered, she bowed respectfully to Si Junlin, "Concubine Mei pays respects to the Empress. May Your Ladyship live a long and prosperous life."
Si Junlin said calmly, "Get up."
Surprisingly, Concubine Mei didn't cause any trouble this time. Instead, she was extremely docile.
Si Junlin almost suspected that the person in front of him wasn't Concubine Mei, or... did she know something?
After getting up, Concubine Mei didn't say a word. She just sat down respectfully on a chair beside.
Si Junlin frowned even more tightly, "Concubine Mei, what's the purpose of your visit?"
If she just came here to sit in silence, don't blame him for not showing any mercy.
Concubine Mei looked up and showed a smile, "Dear Sister Empress, why are you so hostile towards me? I've thought it through this time. After I did such excessive things to you, you still had me sent back to the palace. You're really magnanimous."
In the face of Concubine Mei's flattery, Si Junlin just sneered. He wouldn't believe a single word of hers now.
Concubine Mei didn't care about his reaction. Flattering him was just to achieve her later goal.
So, she paused for a while, checked Si Junlin's reaction, and then continued, "I know that Sister is deeply favored by the emperor now and lacks nothing in terms of food, clothing, and daily necessities. But I should still show my sincerity when apologizing. So, I asked the maid who went out to buy things to bring back some common folk trinkets. I hope Sister will accept them."
As her voice fell, Cuisi walked up with a tray in her hands.
To avoid a recurrence of the incident with the southern border witch doctor, Qingcao raised her sword and blocked Cuisi's way, "Sister, please stop here." That's right, since Si Junlin found out that Qingcao knew martial arts, he had specially allowed Qingcao to stand by the "Empress" with her sword.
Cuisi turned to look at Concubine Mei. After seeing Concubine Mei nodding, she stood still and handed the tray in her hand to Qingcao.
Qingcao used her sword to lift the red cloth. What appeared in front of Si Junlin was a red embroidered purse.
"This is an amulet fetched from Jiangfu Temple in the east of the city. It is said to be able to ward off evil spirits and bring blessings and sons." Concubine Mei explained in detail, but in fact, these were the wishes people usually made when they went to the temple.
Si Junlin nodded, signaling Qingcao to put it away. No matter what Concubine Mei's intention was in giving this thing, since she dared to give it, he wasn't afraid to accept it.
"Then I'll thank you, Sister, for your gift."
Seeing that her goal had been achieved, Concubine Mei didn't stay any longer. After chatting with Si Junlin perfunctorily for a while, she quickly turned around and left.
If Si Junlin were still in his own body, perhaps Concubine Mei would have chatted with him for a while longer. But now that he was in Su Wan'er's body, Concubine Mei didn't have the patience for her number - one enemy.
After Concubine Mei had walked far away, Si Junlin asked Qingcao to directly open the purse. They found that there was only a piece of paper inside, with some Buddhist scriptures written on it. It really seemed like an object used for praying in the temple.
But for some reason, Si Junlin always felt that things weren't that simple.
The most important reason was that Concubine Mei and the "Empress" were sworn enemies. In the harem, a mother's status depended on her son. How could she give such a good amulet for having a son to him?
If the thing inside wasn't for having a son but for causing a miscarriage, then it would be another story...
So, after Si Junlin didn't find anything strange in the purse, he asked Qingcao to invite the imperial physician.
Qingcao came back with the doctor in just half a quarter of an hour.
It wasn't because Qingcao used her light - body skill. Instead, since the last time Si Junlin had an accident, the imperial physician had been living in the Empress's palace in case of emergencies.
This was a privilege only Si Junlin had. Throughout the entire harem, even the Empress Dowager didn't have this treatment.
If the others in the palace knew that there was a dedicated imperial physician in the "Empress's" palace, even the Empress Dowager might be jealous of Si Junlin.
This time when Si Junlin needed to call the imperial physician, Qingcao didn't even think about it and directly went to the side room where the imperial physician lived.