The war seemed on the verge of breaking out. Maybe as the Queen of the Jin Kingdom, the war had nothing to do with Su Wan'er. But as the third young lady of the Su family, the war was closely related to her and had always been of utmost importance.
In the end, the two of them decided to send Long Xiaojiu away as soon as possible so that the Jin Kingdom could focus on preparing for war.
After they swapped identities, the "Uncle Emperor" personally sent Long Xiaojiu onto the carriage. Maybe for this little girl who had been the Southern Border Saintess for more than a decade, the comfort of the Jin Kingdom was equally hard to part with.
"Uncle Emperor, do you really have to send Jiu'er away? I know what's going on in the Southern Border... Xiaojiu isn't afraid."
"Xiaojiu, be obedient. When Uncle Emperor personally pacifies the war in the Southern Border and then brings you back, you won't have to leave again." Su Wan'er tugged at the dragon robe on her body and found it unusually warm.
Anyway, Si Junlin didn't lack this one dragon robe. Thinking so, she draped it over Xiaojiu.
"This... Jiu'er can't accept it."
Su Wan'er had no idea that according to the etiquette, only the betrothed queen could receive a dragon robe as a gift.
"Xiaojiu, I always feel that you'll catch a cold on the way. Take it."
In an instant, Long Xiaojiu's eyes changed several times: "Uncle Emperor, wait for Xiaojiu..."
At this moment, Su Wan'er had no idea that Long Xiaojiu didn't just ask him to wait because of her reluctance.
The group bid farewell reluctantly. The mountain roads wound and the snow filled the sky, only leaving the tracks of the horses.
Before leaving, Long Xiaojiu seemed to glance at Si Junlin who had been standing silently beside them. Naturally, his body was now Su Wan'er's. Maybe Long Xiaojiu was looking at the Queen who had always been a thorn in her side.
"Let's go. We should go back and sort out the war reports properly. Maybe the war will break out in a few days." Si Junlin pulled Su Wan'er back from her wandering thoughts as she watched Long Xiaojiu's carriage fade into the distance.
"In a few days? So soon?!"
Long Xiaojiu's carriage made a few turns, and then two young girls of about the same age as her appeared in front of the carriage as if they had made an appointment.
"Your servant pays respects to the Saintess." The two girls were obviously from the Southern Border and performed the unique courtesy of the Southern Border.
"What's the situation now? How is Uncle exactly?" In an instant, Long Xiaojiu changed from an innocent young girl to a calm and composed one.
"Reporting to the Saintess, according to the elders' wishes, it's best for you not to return to the country now. All the elders of the Long family are being held hostage." One of the girls stepped forward and replied.
"Do you think the Long family will have a chance to turn things around if I don't go back? It's simply a joke!" Long Xiaojiu suddenly scolded severely, seemingly looking down on her uncle.
"But the elders said that as long as the Saintess doesn't go back, the Yuwen family will never be able to control all the people in the Southern Border..."
Long Xiaojiu suddenly got angry: "Does Uncle only know how to drag out an ignoble existence like this? In the past, he was the powerful chief elder. I always gave him some face, but now he has almost ruined Grandfather's foundation! He's so useless!"
With such a delicate childlike face, a baby face, big eyes, long eyelashes, and a cherry-like mouth, she said such mature and sharp words.
"Come on, turn around! Let's go back to the Southern Border now. We must reach the capital city within two days." The coachman of the carriage was originally from the Jin Kingdom, but somehow he had been replaced by a slave from the Southern Border.
All of a sudden, they whipped the horses and rushed forward. Two slaves got on the carriage, and the three of them rushed towards the Southern Border.
At this time in the palace, Su Wan'er, who picked up the war report without having time to change back to her own identity, seemed to be born to command troops on the battlefield.
In this situation, Si Junlin placed his hand on her shoulder and whispered in her ear, "My queen is so beautiful. Why do you need such great talent? You are simply a treasure to me and to the Jin Kingdom."
"Si Junlin!" Su Wan'er suddenly looked up at him from the war report with a look of panic on her face.
She originally thought that when such sweet words reached her ears, she should be shy and blush.
"What's wrong with you? Can't I praise you?"
"No, it's the war report! Look quickly. Big Brother wrote that it seems the Yuwen family has assembled 120,000 elite troops!"
This was impossible. How many people were there in the Southern Border in total? How many people had they conscripted? Looking at this absurd number, Su Wan'er could even imagine how many children or old men in the Southern Border had been conscripted as soldiers.
"120,000? General Su probably only has 50,000 troops there. But obviously, both sides know that among these 120,000 troops, nearly 100,000 are probably the old, the weak, the sick, and the disabled. General Su can hold out for a while. But it may be necessary to transfer the Su family's army from the northwestern border city to the Southern Border." Si Junlin analyzed rationally, but he didn't know that at this moment, an idea had popped up in Su Wan'er's mind. She wanted to go to the battlefield.
"Si Junlin, why don't you let me go now? Or you can personally lead the troops to war in my body." Su Wan'er's heart suddenly boiled with excitement.
"Nonsense. Even if it comes to the worst, I'm still here. You're a weak woman. With the total strength of 200,000 troops of our Jin Kingdom, do we still need you?" Si Junlin immediately dispelled her absurd idea.
"But I want to go. Maybe Big Brother is too busy there. Besides, where am I weak? I went to the battlefield with Big Brother when I was 14. In terms of military strategy, I'm better than you in every way." Her words left Si Junlin speechless.
Actually, when it came to being a king, knowing how to assess the situation and handle people's hearts, Si Junlin was very proficient. But in terms of force and military strategy, this was probably his weakness in front of Su Wan'er.
"Don't say any more. I said no means no. Come here. The queen has been busy with this and that these days and is very tired. Go back to your own palace and rest for a few days."
After saying that, Fang Xi really sent someone to carry her back to the palace in a sedan chair.
"Your Majesty, the kitchen has prepared these three dishes for you to choose from. Do you want to keep them all or just one?" All day long, Qingcao would only ask her questions like what to eat and drink. Even in the queen's palace, Si Junlin had privately set up a kitchen.
She asked Fang Xi if this was the long - standing rule of previous generations, but Fang Xi said that everything, including the cooks, one for each of the four major cuisines, was personally arranged by Si Junlin.
The news had spread all over the palace that Su Wan'er was now the most glorious queen in the Jin Kingdom. She was the only one to receive the emperor's favor to such an extent that all her food, clothing, and daily necessities were carefully selected by the emperor.
Fortunately, the war in the Southern Border seemed to have calmed down a bit. It wasn't so easy to recruit 120,000 troops. The Yuwen family seemed to be suppressed by the people's will.
Otherwise, no matter how delicious the food was or how beautiful the clothes were, Su Wan'er wouldn't have used them so calmly. There was always an itch in her heart, and she always remembered her dream from her youth, to be a female general.
One day, Qingcao suddenly asked her, "Your Majesty, this servant can see that the emperor really cares about you. Why don't you give it a try?"
Actually, Qingcao had also noticed that Si Junlin seemed to have placed Su Wan'er at the tip of his heart. But her mistress always avoided the emperor. In the past, their harmonious relationship seemed to be just for show to prevent the Empress Dowager from making things difficult.