"Fang Xi, was the wheat harvest of the farmers good this year?" Si Junlin suddenly looked at him and asked.
"Your Majesty, you've asked the right person. I may not know much about other things, but I do know this. The wheat harvest this year was indeed good."
"No wonder. That makes sense," Si Junlin glanced at Fang Xi's obsequious expression and said calmly.
"Don't let me see you shaking your head in the future."
"What?" Could this be a punishment for him, not allowing him to shake his head? That would be unbearable. Fang Xi thought it was utterly inexplicable. How had he offended the emperor this time? Was a good wheat harvest also a problem?
"Your Majesty, I'm guilty, but please tell me what exactly I did wrong?"
"If you shake your head, the wheat flour in the left side of your head will mix with the water in the right side, turning into a mess of paste."
Si Junlin ignored him and got into the sedan chair alone to return to the Hall of Mental Cultivation.
Si Junlin seemed calm and composed on the surface, but in fact, he was seething with anger. Su Wan'er wasn't just throwing a tantrum this time. She wasn't the kind of person who would be jealous like this. There must be other motives behind this, but Su Wan'er had always seemed to have few desires in the palace. What could she possibly want?
Si Junlin sat in the sedan chair, deep in thought. But it didn't take long for him to figure it out.
"Fang Xi, send the secret agents to investigate Su Wan'er's whereabouts in the past few days." He was determined to find out what Su Wan'er had been up to these days.
He vaguely felt that she was still planning to go to war, but he had clearly rejected her. Could it be that Su Wan'er dared to go against him?
On the way, Fang Xi was thinking about how to save his so - called "paste - filled head". Then he came up with an idea. He immediately sent several young eunuchs to each palace to inform the concubines that the emperor would stay in the Hall of Mental Cultivation tonight so that someone could come and offer to serve him.
"Fang Xi, I won't see anyone today. If anyone comes later, just send them away for me," Si Junlin already knew what Fang Xi was up to. He lifted the curtain and gave him a serious order.
"Ah, Your Majesty, but... I've heard that several concubines will come later. You're putting me in a difficult position."
Fang Xi really had a hard time expressing his grievances, but nothing could be hidden from the emperor.
"Qingcao, have you found out? Where will the emperor stay tonight?" As soon as Si Junlin left, Su Wan'er sent someone to follow him. Finally, the news came that the emperor had still gone to the Hall of Mental Cultivation. Wasn't he being stubborn? On such a lovely spring day, why did he stay in the Hall of Mental Cultivation again?
"If Concubine Ling can send soup and water to the emperor, why can't others? Hurry, Qingcao. Go and inform Concubine Mei that the emperor has forgiven her. Tell her to go to the Hall of Mental Cultivation tonight. It's best if she brings some soup or porridge."
"Your Majesty, what's going on? While others are busy vying for the emperor's favor, why are you helping others do so?" Qingcao was very puzzled.
"Didn't you say that only by being favored by the emperor can a concubine get pregnant? Otherwise, how can I harm the imperial heir?
"As the saying goes, pregnancy lasts for ten months. Even if a concubine gets pregnant now, it will take at least one or two months to show."
"Ah... It's so slow," Su Wan'er hesitated again. Why had this matter become so difficult?
Wait a minute. Since it's about harming someone, anyone can do it. Why not make use of the Empress Dowager?
"Qingcao, is the guzheng that Xiao Jiu left for me still with you?" Su Wan'er suddenly thought that if Concubine Mei could think of such a way, why couldn't she? Anyway, those gu worms were harmless. The Empress Dowager had seen them last time. It wouldn't hurt to let her see them again. It was just to scare her. The Empress Dowager had never been kind to her. If she didn't take advantage of this opportunity, she might not have a chance to repay her properly after going to the battlefield.
"Your Majesty, what are you up to again? Since the Empress Dowager was scared last time, the emperor has strictly forbidden gu worms in the palace. And didn't Miss Xiao Jiu say before she left that we shouldn't take them out unless it was a critical moment?"
"How is this not a critical moment? This is exactly the critical moment. Go and get them for me."
"Yes..." Qingcao quickly took out three worms that looked like gu worms.
"Qingcao, is there any concubine in the palace who has a bad relationship with the Empress Dowager?" Su Wan'er thought it would be too suspicious if she did it herself. Si Junlin might suspect her. It would be better to do a little more work.
"Yes, isn't it you, Your Majesty?" Wasn't this a rhetorical question? You and the Empress Dowager couldn't stand each other.
"Oops, I'm not talking about myself. Is there anyone else besides me?" This girl was even more panicked than she was. If it was about herself, did she still need her to say it?
"That would be Concubine Mei. Since Concubine Xi is the niece of the Empress Dowager, both Concubine Mei and Concubine Xi were very favored by the emperor before. But the Empress Dowager naturally favored Concubine Xi more. So on the surface, Concubine Mei was busy flattering the Empress Dowager, but in fact, she was dissatisfied with her. That's why Concubine Mei tried to use gu on the Empress Dowager last time."
Qingcao didn't know what her mistress usually worried about. Clearly, she was the queen, but she didn't care about the harem at all. Instead, she focused on the military policies of the court.
Concubine Mei? Good. Since she was unkind, don't blame her for being unjust. Now the war was urgent. She had to go to the Su family's army. But based on her understanding of Si Junlin, he would never let her get the military power so easily.
However, in the Su family's army, decades of faith had been accumulated. The name of the Su family was more effective than military power. So as long as she, Su Wan'er, could get out of the palace, she wasn't afraid of not being able to go to the battlefield. So the key now was to depose her as the queen and preferably drive her out.
Even if she couldn't be the queen in the future, once the war was over, Si Junlin would probably take back the military power. At that time, a cousin from the Su family could be an official in the capital.
The next day, Su Wan'er thought that since she didn't usually do bad things, the people in the palace didn't guard against her. So during the morning greeting, she followed the same method as Concubine Mei last time. She first placed the gu worms on the ceiling above the Empress Dowager's head. When Concubine Mei entered, she sprinkled another kind of attracting agent on Concubine Mei. Once Concubine Mei entered, the attracting agent would spread throughout the room. The gu worms had been trained by Su Wan'er. They had smelled the Buddhist scriptures that the Empress Dowager usually read and would naturally fly towards the Empress Dowager.
Don't think she was a fool. Maybe Concubine Mei had just stayed in the palace for a long time and learned some tricks to harm her, but when it came to strategy and tricks, she, Su Wan'er, was far superior.