"Enough. Failing to keep the emperor's heart is hardly something to brag about. Concubine Mei, after being under house arrest for so many days, you should have learned your lesson."
Concubine Mei had never been the favorite of the Empress Dowager. She merely knew how to feign weakness and pity to win her favor. However, this time, with her fall from grace so obvious that everyone in the palace knew she had lost the emperor's affection, the Empress Dowager no longer favored her.
"Yes..." Concubine Mei lowered her head and gritted her teeth.
"Mother is reading Buddhist scriptures. I have a few... Well, a few that the emperor just sent over. They're said to be hand - copied by eminent monks. How about I bring them to you?"
Si Junlin thought that if even Concubine Mei could easily flatter the Empress Dowager, why couldn't Su Wan'er? He subconsciously thought that in terms of beauty, Su Wan'er was even more outstanding. She just didn't know how to play the game.
With such good conditions but not knowing how to use them, today he would take matters into his own hands and surely flatter the Empress Dowager to her satisfaction. Then he could use his successful experience as a reference for Su Wan'er, that blockhead.
"Your Majesty the Queen is truly blessed. The emperor sends you this and that, and even Buddhist scriptures," Concubine Mei added fuel to the fire. "But... Hehe, I remember, Your Majesty the Queen comes from a military family." She laughed provocatively.
"What are you trying to say, Concubine Mei?" Si Junlin looked at her sarcastic face with disgust. It was as if he was the queen in her words, and he could empathize with how Su Wan'er had been disgusted by her on a daily basis.
"Nothing much. I'm just a bit confused... As the daughter of a military family, Your Majesty must have witnessed a lot of bloodshed. Do you really believe in Buddhism?" After saying this, she saw the Empress Dowager's face change. Concubine Mei smiled triumphantly.
"I also want to ask, Lin'er, why did you send you Buddhist scriptures? Does the queen believe in Buddhism?" The Empress Dowager indeed became suspicious.
Now Si Junlin understood that flattering the Empress Dowager depended on the person. It wasn't just about being beautiful and eloquent. For someone like Su Wan'er, the key was her background in the Su family.
He and the Empress Dowager had always been wary of the Su family's heavy military power and were full of suspicion. Naturally, it wasn't as easy for Su Wan'er to flatter the Empress Dowager as it was for Concubine Mei.
Now, if he said she believed in Buddhism, it would be far - fetched for a woman from a military family who had seen so much killing since childhood. And the Su family had been on the battlefield many times. Did they secretly believe in Buddhism? If so, when they were on the battlefield killing the enemy, would they put down their weapons and let the enemy go just because of the Buddhist teachings?
But if he said she didn't believe, it was obvious. The Empress Dowager had a Buddhist scripture on her knees, clearly believing in Buddhism. And then you tell her you don't believe. Birds of a feather flock together. Concubine Mei would probably laugh her head off.
"I... I naturally believe in Buddhism. It's mainly because the emperor believes, and I follow my husband's lead," Si Junlin weighed the pros and cons. He thought he had been so ineffective today. He had suddenly brought Su Wan'er's body to see the Empress Dowager, and now he had failed to flatter her and was even suspected.
"Oh, Your Majesty the Empress Dowager, look. Sister has only said a few words since she came in, and every word is about the emperor," Concubine Mei's sour and sarcastic tone was obvious.
"Mother, please understand. I have no intention of showing off. I'm just telling the truth." If Concubine Mei hadn't mentioned it, Si Junlin wouldn't have noticed that he really kept bringing up the emperor.
"Humph, it's fine that you monopolize Lin'er, but you still come to show off in front of me?" The Empress Dowager was really angry.
"Why did the queen come today? Don't think I don't know. Isn't it because you've monopolized Lin'er these days and felt so proud that you dared to come and show off in front of me?"
Oh my god, Si Junlin was just here to pay respects. He thought he knew his mother well, but he didn't expect that she was completely unreasonable when it came to Su Wan'er.
"I know my mistake. It's getting late. I'd better take my leave and not disturb Mother's peace." Obviously, judging from the current situation, even with all his strategies, he couldn't gain the upper hand.
Si Junlin knew well the strategy of retreating in time. Staying here now would probably lead to no chance of turning the tables. It was time to leave.
"Humph, fine. I know you're not a filial person. Leave." The Empress Dowager frowned and let her go.
"..." Si Junlin rubbed his forehead. Su Wan'er really couldn't do anything right in front of the Empress Dowager.
Si Junlin fled from the Empress Dowager's palace in less than an incense - burning time. Qingcao and the others didn't ask anything. They just seemed to breathe a sigh of relief. Fortunately, the Empress Dowager hadn't made things difficult. They were right. Why bother going to pay respects to the Empress Dowager?
At this time, in the Empress Dowager's palace, Concubine Mei didn't stop.
"Your Majesty the Empress Dowager, in my opinion, the queen's face looked really ugly when she left. I'm afraid she's resenting Your Majesty for being too harsh," Concubine Mei said. That shameless woman monopolized the emperor and now even tried to win the Empress Dowager's favor. How dare she!
"What? Can't I even say a word to her? She's gone too far!" The Empress Dowager was even more angry.
After this instigation, the Empress Dowager was extremely angry and disgusted with Su Wan'er.
When Concubine Mei returned to her palace, she immediately ordered someone to bring water to wash her face, as if she was extremely disgusted.
"That bitch Su Wan'er has monopolized the emperor for so long and even got me under house arrest and out of favor. Now she even wants to win the Empress Dowager's favor. She doesn't even know her own place!"
Cuisi served her to wash her face. Seeing that the handkerchief for drying her face was almost torn to pieces, she quickly comforted her, "Your Majesty, why get angry for such a person? The Empress Dowager won't be easily fooled by her. Just now, I could see that the Empress Dowager still clearly favors Your Majesty."
These words indeed made Concubine Mei feel more triumphant. That's right. The Empress Dowager had never thought highly of that bitch and would never side with her.
Su Wan'er's attempt to win over the Empress Dowager was just a dream! However, this gave Concubine Mei an idea. To bring down Su Wan'er, she still had to start with the Empress Dowager!
But... But now she had almost nothing. Even the imperial favor, which was her only reliance, was gone.
"Cuisi, I'm so angry! The emperor used to dote on me the most and didn't even want to look at that bitch. What should I do now?" There was still hatred in Concubine Mei's eyes.
"Your Majesty... You can't go on like this. I think you should regain the emperor's favor instead of being so depressed." In fact, Cuisi also had her own selfish motives. She had long been fed up with the snobbish people in the palace.
Before, when Concubine Mei was the most favored, she was a high - and - mighty first - class maid wherever she went. But now? Although her position remained the same, no one except the little girls in her own palace took her seriously. So she had long hoped that Concubine Mei would find a way to make a comeback.