At this moment, General Su Yu was the one at the table who knew best about the relationship among the three of them.
Watching Gu Jingtian pick up some dishes for Su Wan'er, he deliberately glanced at Si Junlin's expression. Only when he found no sign of blame did he feel relieved.
But he had no idea that the look of blame now appeared not on the emperor's face but on his younger sister's.
As soon as Gu Jingtian put the dishes into his younger sister Wan'er's bowl, his dear younger sister Wan'er picked them up and put them into the emperor's bowl intact.
"Yes. After drinking so much wine, Your Majesty should eat some dishes too."
Su Wan'er glanced at the dishes he had picked for her and felt utterly speechless. It had been a long - standing habit for Brother Jingtian to pick dishes for her since childhood. But the way Si Junlin, under Gu Jingtian's guise, so coyly picked this chopstick of dishes for her, she really couldn't bring herself to eat them.
Gu Jingtian's expression immediately changed.
General Su, who had long seen through all this, immediately spoke up to defuse the situation. "Cough, Wan'er. I noticed from the battle reports these days that the three - sided encirclement strategy you used against the Southern Border the other day was quite novel. I wonder which military book this strategy came from?"
This question was originally asked to defuse the situation, and it should have been a piece of cake for Su Wan'er. Based on General Su's understanding of Su Wan'er, she should have been able to answer it without even thinking.
But at this moment, General Su looked at his younger sister, fully expecting that he had given her a chance to shine. However, to his surprise, she stammered and couldn't say a word.
He had no idea that inside his younger sister's body now was a soul that, although having read military books, was far from being familiar with them.
Si Junlin usually only cared about the overall military deployment. How could he answer a question about the specific techniques used in a battle?
So after stammering for a while, he supported his head and said that he had drunk a bit too much today and had temporarily forgotten.
Gu Jingtian seemed to notice that Su Wan'er was quite different today. So he asked with concern, "Wan'er, have you been over - tired these days? Do you feel unwell?"
Although this question seemed to be asked to Su Wan'er, the one who heard it was Si Junlin, and he naturally felt quite uncomfortable. So he didn't give Gu Jingtian a good look. "I'm fine." Whether I'm okay or not has nothing to do with you. You've been so nosy.
"There's nothing important here. How about I send you back to rest first?"
Su Wan'er was naturally paying attention to the conversation between the two, afraid that Si Junlin might say something wrong by accident. Hearing that Gu Jingtian wanted to send her back to rest, Su Wan'er originally thought that Si Junlin would definitely refuse.
But unexpectedly, Si Junlin actually said coyly, "Then thank you, Brother Jingtian."
Su Wan'er was completely bewildered and felt like she was going to vomit. What kind of tone was that? She would never talk like that. How could someone be so coy?
So the two of them first politely excused themselves from the emperor, then from their father and elder brother, and then calmly left the table.
Su Wan'er was naturally extremely flustered and nervous. God only knew what Si Junlin was up to.
But at this moment, as soon as the two of them left, her father's and elder brother's gazes naturally focused on her. She still had to act the part of the emperor well.
Her mind was in a complete mess. What on earth did Si Junlin want to do?
"Your Majesty, earlier... my daughter caused you a lot of trouble. This old minister would like to offer you a toast to apologize." Seeing her father use this as an excuse to offer a toast, Su Wan'er felt aggrieved. It wasn't her daughter who had caused trouble for Si Junlin. It was herself who had been troubled, okay?
"Where, where. You're being too polite, General." Su Wan'er had no choice but to pick up the wine cup and drink the wine.
She absent - mindedly dealt with the two of them. Originally hoping to end this banquet early, but her elder brother actually asked her another question.
"Your Majesty, my younger sister was really quite naive a few years ago. Since we're all family here today, I'll be blunt. I've always had a question."
Su Wan'er was absolutely terrified. She wasn't Si Junlin. No matter what the question was, it shouldn't be asked now. But she could only accompany them with a forced smile.
"Back then, Your Majesty, whether considering the imperial court or the harem, you shouldn't have deposed my younger sister. Moreover, there were rumors that Your Majesty was reluctant to depose the queen. I wonder what the real reason was?"
This was a matter that the Su family had always been reluctant to mention. Originally, it had been extremely glorious for the daughter of the Su family to be the queen. Although the Su family had the strength and didn't rely on this, once she was deposed, it still had an impact on the reputation of the Su family.
Moreover, now that Su Wan'er had been deposed but took on the position of marshal under the name of Su Wei, the close families in the capital naturally knew what was going on.
"Back then, it was the queen who voluntarily requested to leave the palace. Wasn't the war critical? And the Su family's army lacked a commander." Su Wan'er could only tell the truth. After all, it was herself who had been willing to go back then.
"Sure enough, my younger sister was naive." But even if she had been the queen back then, it wasn't impossible for her to go to the army. Su Yu was still very puzzled.
"Maybe General Wei was really concerned about the country and the people." Su Wan'er was really afraid of talking about this matter anymore, so she quickly glossed it over.
"I heard that Your Majesty has also dismissed the concubines in the harem. May I ask what your plan is?" Naturally, in his heart, Su Yu hoped that the two of them could reconcile. And he had always suspected that Si Junlin had dismissed the concubines in the harem for Su Wan'er.
But at this moment, Su Wan'er was completely confused. How could she know why Si Junlin had dismissed the concubines in the harem? But now she had to answer, so she could only reply casually, "Those women are old. It's time to replace them."
Su Wan'er was really afraid that Si Junlin, who had gone out with Gu Jingtian, would say something wrong. So she was naturally absent - minded. She didn't even know what nonsense she had just said.
But at this moment, General Su and Su Yu were stunned. Was this something the emperor should say? Old? Time to replace them? This was simply the words of a fatuous monarch!
General Su had been a pillar of the previous court. His loyalty to the current emperor was just a long - standing tradition. Moreover, he had been stationed at the border all year round and didn't often have contact with the emperor. Now that he heard the emperor say such things, he was really disappointed.
"I still have some matters in the palace. How about we end it here today?"
Su Wan'er found an excuse to leave. Su Yu stood up to see her off, but the expression on General Su's face was no longer as respectful as when they had first arrived.
"Yu'er. In my opinion, the emperor is really out of line. It seems that it was right for Wan'er to leave."
Su Yu was also very puzzled. "Son thinks that the emperor can still be regarded as a wise monarch. Moreover, he is usually very diligent in government affairs. I don't know what's wrong with him today."
"Diligent in government affairs? I think he is diligent in selecting beautiful women to expand his harem." General Su was completely disappointed in the emperor at this moment and thought that he was far inferior to the previous emperor.