At this moment, she didn't care at all about how the Empress Dowager would view her. The war in the Southern Border was imminent. All she wanted was to be deposed as the empress and to go on the expedition.
"Your Majesty flatters me, but how could this powder be a common thing?" Su Wan'er kept telling herself to stay calm. She had given Si Junlin a chance, but it was he who had pushed her away step by step. There was no time to think about love now. She must go on the expedition!
"This is sheer nonsense! I've lived in this palace for decades. I've seen all kinds of perfumes and spices. It was this powder that made me twice troubled by the poisonous insects. How could it be a common thing?"
"Your Majesty the Empress Dowager, it's true. This servant has never seen it either. But this powder was found not only in Concubine Mei's palace but also in the palaces of Imperial Concubine Xi, Concubine Xian, Concubine De, Concubine Shu and... even Concubine Yang in the Yongshou Palace."
"May I ask Your Majesty if you specifically bestowed this powder on these high - ranking concubines?"
The female official couldn't help feeling suspicious. Why did only the two imperial concubines and the four concubines have this thing?
"Lin'er, what on earth is going on? Why is this thing everywhere in the palace? Isn't Concubine Yang ill for many years and has moved to the Yongshou Palace for recuperation? She also has this thing. Does she want to harm me too? I've always treated her the best."
"Humph, I've never bestowed any powder on them. Mother, I recognize this powder too. It's clearly the primer for casting the curse. These concubines are probably not good people. They should all be arrested."
Si Junlin was extremely angry when he heard the reply. What kind of people had he made concubines back then? Why did they all have this thing?
Arrest them all? Su Wan'er couldn't help being a bit puzzled. Si Junlin was being too exaggerated. They were all his beloved concubines he had carefully selected. She still remembered when she first entered the palace, he didn't even look at her, the empress, but was very gentle and caring towards others.
"In my opinion, this matter is not that simple. Someone must have deliberately placed this thing in their palaces."
The Empress Dowager was indeed the Empress Dowager. The big stone in Su Wan'er's heart finally fell. If Si Junlin's method was followed, how could she continue her plan? Instead of being deposed as the empress, so many concubines would be deposed. What was the use of that?
"Mother, don't exhaust yourself. Why don't you leave this matter to me and Wan'er? You've just been frightened. You should rest well." Si Junlin suddenly seemed not to want the Empress Dowager to continue investigating.
"How can that be?" Su Wan'er interrupted. "After all, among all the sisters, only the Empress Dowager has no suspicion of partiality. If Your Majesty handles this matter, I'm afraid many will not be convinced."
If Si Junlin were to investigate, it would take ages for her to be deposed as the empress.
"..." The Empress Dowager gave Su Wan'er a cold look. Naturally, she didn't believe that Su Wan'er was trying to please her. She wondered what Su Wan'er was up to.
"Then follow what the empress said." Si Junlin seemed to sigh slightly.
The Empress Dowager wasn't really hurt this time and wasn't too severely frightened. Instead, she was full of anger and naturally wanted to investigate thoroughly.
So Concubine Mei was arrested, and several maids were sent to the Punishment Department and ordered to be tortured severely.
Su Wan'er felt a twinge of guilt again, but then she thought that the people around Concubine Mei might have done many evil things with her. A bit of torture was not too much.
The chrysanthemums in the imperial garden were in full bloom at this time. Su Wan'er silently followed Si Junlin back to the palace.
Originally, she had something on her mind and was afraid that Si Junlin would notice something. So she planned to stay silent all the way and just go back to the palace quietly.
Unexpectedly, Si Junlin would talk to her from time to time. His melancholy tone made it hard for her to decide whether to answer or not.
For example, now, Si Junlin was looking at a brilliant yellow chrysanthemum but praising the imperial palace.
"Wan'er, don't you think the imperial palace of the Great Jin is wonderful? Look, the flowers here grow better than anywhere else."
"Of course it's wonderful. The imperial palace has beautiful scenery and good feng shui. Just like people, flowers also need good surroundings to thrive." Su Wan'er absent - mindedly echoed.
"Then why does the empress always want to go out?" Si Junlin's sudden seriousness made Su Wan'er a bit panicked. Did he... know something?
"Your servant... your servant never wanted to go out." Suddenly, she remembered that since the day Brother Jingtian left and told her to lead the Su family's army, Si Junlin had heard it and had been on guard against her ever since.
"Your Majesty, don't worry. If you don't allow your servant to go, your servant won't. Let's wait until the army escorting elder brother and father comes back and then make a plan." Su Wan'er subconsciously tried to hide her true thoughts, but Si Junlin's eyes were unfathomable.
"Wan'er, there's no one else here now. I remember on our wedding night you said... after you married in, you regarded me as your husband. How about you just call me by my name from now on?" Si Junlin picked the flower and put it into Su Wan'er's hand, his eyes full of reluctance.
He always had the confidence to keep her because he was the emperor and Su Wan'er couldn't disobey his order. But now she was standing right beside him, yet he had a feeling that he couldn't keep her.
"Your servant doesn't dare. That was just a childish thought. It's against the etiquette. Please forgive your servant, Your Majesty." Su Wan'er didn't expect he still remembered.
Yes, at that time... indeed, when she learned that she was going to marry, and it was the emperor, even though she was a wild - tempered girl, her heart was pounding with both panic and joy.
Moreover, Si Junlin was so good - looking, and her father had praised his talent and said that he would surely be a wise emperor when he was still the crown prince.
How could she not be happy? How could she not take it to heart?
But after a while, she found that things were not as wonderful as she had imagined. This emperor, on whom she had poured her innocent but passionate first - love - like feelings, didn't seem to like her. Marrying her, as her grandmother had said, was probably because she was the daughter of the Su family.
For a long time, she thought that as the empress, the highest - ranked woman in the palace, she should be the most beloved by the emperor. But later she found that every time she had a dispute with those women, Si Junlin's attitude was always ambiguous and sometimes even favored those women.
So gradually, she got used to it and accepted the fact that Si Junlin didn't like her.
But now, Si Junlin was standing in front of her, offering her the privilege of calling him by his name. Did this mean... Si Junlin liked her?