Su Wan'er also spotted Si Junlin sitting upright and looking in their direction. He was sitting right in the middle of his seat. Even if she didn't understand the rules well, she knew that the emperor couldn't just sit there dry - waiting for them. So she couldn't help but wonder if Si Junlin had been stimulated recently and gone crazy with a messed - up mind.
"The humble general and the humble official pay homage to the emperor." Seeing that everyone had arrived, naturally all the people in the hall knelt down to pay their respects to Si Junlin.
After that, Si Junlin simply said something like "Let the banquet begin." Everyone took their seats. Su Wan'er watched reluctantly as Gu Jingtian sat in the lower - left corner, but then thinking of what he had said just now, she obediently sat in the seat arranged by Si Junlin.
Well, it was just a meal. What was there to be afraid of? Su Wan'er stared straight ahead.
As was the custom, after about half an hour of various singing and dancing performances, the dishes should have been served up. Si Junlin offered wine, and everyone toasted him in return.
After all the formalities were over, Su Wan'er stood up respectfully. Then, assuming the posture of a marshal and looking a bit nervous, she began to report formally.
But unexpectedly, just as she was about to talk about the merits and hardships of the various generals, Si Junlin stopped her.
"Everyone has traveled a long way. I'm sure you've been traveling day and night to return to the capital. Why don't you just enjoy the drinks today and go home to rest first. Let's not talk about the war for now."
Su Wan'er was so angry that she was speechless. What kind of reasoning was this? If they didn't talk about this at the banquet, what else could they talk about? But then she thought that maybe the generals also wanted to go home earlier. So she obediently sat down again.
Gu Jingtian could clearly see that she was very angry, so he gave her a slight smile to comfort her. Su Wan'er saw it too, but in order to show that she wasn't so petty, she also smiled. It was originally a very bright smile, but as soon as she turned her head, her expression became serious again.
Si Junlin was so angry that he placed a pair of silver chopsticks on the bowl. It was simply outrageous! What was Su Wan'er doing in public? Didn't she even know what kind of occasion this was?
Just as everyone was relaxing because of Si Junlin's words about not talking about the war and were persuading each other to drink, they suddenly saw this scene and fell silent all at once. They didn't know what had made the emperor so angry.
Si Junlin also felt quite bored, so he told everyone to do as they pleased.
Then, in front of everyone, he said to Su Wan'er, "I've always been quite puzzled about some aspects of this war. Why don't you, Marshal Su, come and explain them to me in person today?"
Su Wan'er immediately stood up, as if she had been well - prepared. It was hard for her to have prepared so much. If she wasn't allowed to say something, she would really be suffocated. "Your Majesty, if you have any questions, this humble general will tell you everything I know."
"How about this? I have a new sheepskin map in my study. It's clearer to look at there. Marshal Su, come with me there alone to explain it."
Su Wan'er was stunned and almost lost control of herself. But there were more people who were unaware of the situation than those who knew among the ministers. Naturally, she couldn't refuse openly. So she gritted her teeth and said yes.
Unexpectedly, just as they walked out of the palace gate and reached the corridor, Si Junlin suddenly hugged her from behind.
"Wan'er, I've missed you. Have you missed me?" Si Junlin whispered in her ear. Su Wan'er naturally knew that she couldn't make a scene no matter what, but she was really angry. So she stomped hard on his foot.
Si Junlin dodged in pain. Su Wan'er bowed briefly and said that she had been really tired these days and couldn't even walk steadily, so it was an accident that she stepped on the emperor's foot.
"Why do you have to be so distant from me? There's no one else here now." Si Junlin frowned, as if Su Wan'er had done something inhumane to him.
"Your Majesty, we are now a sovereign and a subject. I don't want to mention the past anymore. If Your Majesty persists in acting like this, then I'm afraid we don't need to see each other again in the future." After saying that, Su Wan'er left the palace without looking back.
At this hour, her grandmother must have already gone to bed. She had written a letter saying that she would arrive in a couple of days, just to prevent her grandmother from waiting anxiously. And Qingcao and the other followers would surely arrive later. So she was quite at ease being alone. With a display of her light - body skill, she flipped over the wall of the Su Mansion and went to her room to sleep soundly.
Actually, what Brother Jingtian said was right in some ways. If you didn't care about anything and didn't think about anything, you would feel more relaxed instead.
In the morning, she was in a hurry to go and pay her respects to her grandmother, thinking of giving her a surprise. But she hadn't even combed her hair properly, and her grandmother seemed quite disgusted as she dragged her to comb her hair for a long time.
She had said that she would return to the capital in a couple of days, but her grandmother insisted on dressing her in women's clothing and brought up the matter of being afraid that she couldn't get married, which made her laugh and cry.
But unexpectedly, before she had even finished breakfast, an imperial edict suddenly came from the palace, saying that General Su was exempted from the morning court today because of her continuous fatigue. After the morning court, she should go to the imperial study to discuss with the emperor the war that hadn't been fully discussed yesterday.
Su Wan'er suddenly felt that the crystal crab - roe steamed buns in her hand didn't taste so good anymore.
"Grandma, you see. I shouldn't have worn this dress. It's so troublesome. I'll have to change it soon."
"Change what? Although this is women's clothing, it's all formal wear. Besides, you're a woman after all. Why can't you enter the palace? I dressed like this when I was first granted the title of imperial - order lady."
"Oh, Grandma, stop teasing me. You're an imperial - order lady, and I'm a marshal. How can it be the same?"
Unexpectedly, her grandmother really got stubborn with her and just wouldn't let her change.
Su Wan'er had no choice. She didn't even look in the mirror before going into the palace with the eunuch who delivered the edict. There was nothing she could do. According to the etiquette, when the emperor summoned a minister, the minister had to go early and wait.
But since she didn't even look in the mirror, she naturally didn't know what kind of hairstyle her grandmother had arranged for her today.
Logically speaking, there were quite a few matters in the court. Si Junlin's morning court should last at least two hours. But unexpectedly, it was only about half an hour's journey from the Su Mansion to the palace. Su Wan'er sat in the upper study and drank a cup of tea, which also took about half an hour. Then Si Junlin arrived.
Su Wan'er bent down to pay her respects. But when she looked up, she saw that both the master and the servant had beaming faces. Su Wan'er felt quite uncomfortable. Yesterday, she had reluctantly believed Si Junlin when he said that he missed her. Could it be that Fang Xi also missed her? Why did he have such an expression?
Sure enough, Si Junlin ordered all the maids and eunuchs in the hall to leave, as if he was afraid that the military secrets would be leaked.
When she unfurled the sheepskin scroll, it was really a military map. Su Wan'er suddenly felt that this matter was getting a bit more serious, so she cleared her throat and prepared to report properly on her duties as a marshal.
"Your Majesty, this war wasn't easy to win. When I led the troops there, we mainly encircled and suppressed several camps in this area of the southern border." Su Wan'er pointed to the area on the map where the battle had taken place that day.