"Xiaojiu, I hope you'll tell me the truth yourself instead of me having to find out through investigation." He wasn't like that woman Su Wan'er, who could be deceived by her kind - looking exterior.
It was obvious that Long Xiaojiu was struggling. After much hesitation, she decided to tell Si Junlin the truth: "Uncle Emperor... I did put that bug there. But as you can see, it's just in the shape of a bug. It's harmless. Even if it really got on the Empress Dowager, it wouldn't cause any harm." Long Xiaojiu didn't seem to think she'd done something of serious consequence.
"But its appearance was enough to scare the Empress Dowager. She had a recurrence of her headache from the fright today and almost died. Why on earth did you do this?!"
Perhaps his tone was too harsh. Long Xiaojiu seemed extremely terrified: "Uncle Emperor, do you not like Xiaojiu anymore?"
"If you tell me the truth, you'll still be the Xiaojiu I've always cherished." Si Junlin forced himself to calm down.
"Okay... Actually, Xiaojiu did this all for... for Uncle Emperor to like Xiaojiu and marry Xiaojiu as the empress."
"Marry you as the empress?! So you clearly knew that the bug was meant to harm the empress." Si Junlin immediately thought of this. No wonder. It turned out she knew exactly what Concubine Hui was going to do with the bug.
"Yes! Xiaojiu just wanted Uncle Emperor to depose the empress. The empress has never been good to you, but you've kept her because of the Su family's influence. Xiaojiu was so angry. Only the person who is truly good to Uncle Emperor and truly loves Uncle Emperor is worthy of being the empress..." Long Xiaojiu sobbed uncontrollably. She thought Si Junlin would comfort her, but he remained unmoved.
"Who told you that I kept the empress because of the Su family's influence?" There must be something fishy about this.
"Xiaojiu can't say... Wuwu... Xiaojiu promised someone not to say..." Long Xiaojiu cried even harder.
"Xiaojiu, the person you promised is a bad person. He wants to harm the empress and also wants to harm you." Si Junlin tried his best to be patient as he explained the stakes to her.
"If he really wanted to help you, then I wouldn't be here now knowing that you put the bug there. He wants to take the empress's place after getting rid of her."
"Really? So that's how it is." Long Xiaojiu seemed to understand.
"It was Concubine Mei. She said she was pregnant with Uncle Emperor's child but was harmed by the empress. Then she asked me for the bug and promised me that if the empress was gone, she'd suggest a marriage alliance between the Southern Border and the Jin Kingdom to Uncle Emperor and let me be the empress." Long Xiaojiu seemed to realize her mistake.
Concubine Mei! Just as he'd suspected. Si Junlin had long guessed that with Concubine Hui's status and courage, she couldn't have masterminded this.
Moreover, the whole thing could have really harmed the Empress Dowager, so it couldn't have been Concubine Xi. So... it was Concubine Mei!
"Xiaojiu, making a mistake isn't scary. The key is whether you want to make mistakes. Uncle Emperor knows you're still the kind Xiaojiu. Otherwise, you wouldn't have given the harmless bug to Concubine Mei. But you've seen what Concubine Mei has done. She wanted to kill both the Empress Dowager and the empress." Si Junlin decided he couldn't treat her like a child anymore.
"But you need to know that I've kept the empress not for the Su family's power or her status. Wan'er is my empress, the only empress of the Jin Kingdom. Do you understand?"
By now, Si Junlin's tone was no longer kind. He no longer saw this child as the pure and kind one in Su Wan'er's eyes. He strode out without showing any mercy.
He felt it was not worth it for Su Wan'er. The child she'd carefully nurtured had been used by others to harm her. Although there were many misunderstandings in the whole thing, Long Xiaojiu was so young and already had the idea of killing the empress and taking her place... It showed that her nature might not be so pure and kind.
The truth came to light. With Long Xiaojiu's testimony, the situation developed as Si Junlin had planned. This time, he didn't want to spare Concubine Mei anymore. He'd use the crime of plotting against the Empress Dowager to punish Concubine Mei and Concubine Hui together.
It was a lie to say he wasn't sad. After all, Concubine Mei... had been his comfort for a long time since he ascended the throne. But he'd always thought this woman was a weakling, powerless, from a scholarly family, and always tolerant in front of him...
But now, his patience with this woman had completely run out!
"Your Majesty, the empress is still angry and refuses to come to the imperial study." Since Si Junlin released the empress and restored her title last night, Fang Xi had been sent to the empress's palace twice, but both times he'd been driven out by Qing Cao.
"Really? Then I'll go see her myself."
Just when he was deeply troubled, perhaps only Su Wan'er could fill the pain in his heart at this moment and give him a little comfort.
"My empress, I've already apologized to you, and I've also apologized on behalf of the Empress Dowager. Okay? The Empress Dowager has even rewarded you with some tonics. This time, we really wronged you." Si Junlin knew he was in the wrong and tried to console her gently.
"Really? Then I must thank the Empress Dowager and Your Majesty for pardoning me in time so that I didn't have to spend the New Year in the cold palace." It was better when he wasn't here. As soon as she saw Si Junlin, Su Wan'er felt even more bitter. She just didn't know how to vent her anger.
Seeing her acting like a pouting little girl, Si Junlin didn't find it annoying. Instead, he was a bit happy.
"How could I bear to let you stay there? After three days, I sent three hundred imperial guards there. If you'd stayed there for a few more days, all the troops of the Jin Kingdom would have gone to guard the cold palace for you." The smiling monarch personally poured a cup of tea for her.
"What you said makes it seem as if I'm really fond of the cold palace. I don't know what Your Majesty was thinking. You unjustly demoted an innocent me to the cold palace and even deprived me of my title! My second promotion to empress yesterday was really a mixture of joy and sorrow." Su Wan'er was still angry and replied with sarcasm.
"Come on, Wan'er. I've already explained it to you. There's no need to be angry. We're husband and wife."
"I just can't get over it. Since you can say that we're husband and wife, why didn't you trust me? Why didn't you tell me the truth in advance and let me suffer in the cold palace for three days?" As she spoke, she felt even more aggrieved, and tears welled up in her eyes.
"I thought... I thought you really wanted to depose the empress."
"So that's what you're angry about..." Si Junlin felt a warm feeling in his heart. Perhaps in this huge harem, only she didn't care about the title or whether she was deposed. She only cared about whether he trusted her.