"Qingcao, come here quickly." Having no other choice, Su Wan'er had to take matters into her own hands. This really gave Qingcao a start.
"Miss..." Qingcao called out to her nervously. But seeing her miss just standing there laughing non - stop, she felt that something was amiss.
"I wonder what Your Majesty wants this humble maid for?" Qingcao still bowed to her properly. But she felt extremely uneasy inside.
Seeing Qingcao's obedient look, Su Wan'er found it quite funny. So she got in the mood to tease her.
"Qingcao, I've heard everything. It seems you have feelings for General Gu?"
Qingcao was startled and quickly knelt down to pay respects. "Your Majesty, please don't say such things. This humble maid doesn't dare to have any illusions about General Gu."
"Really? There's no such thing?" Su Wan'er pretended to be confused.
"No, no." Qingcao stammered, blushing.
"Is that so? But I heard from your miss that she even pleaded with me to bestow a marriage on the two of you."
"Your Majesty, this humble maid really doesn't dare." Qingcao became even more flustered. Such a thing was beyond her wildest dreams. Although she had feelings for General Gu, she still hoped that General Gu could marry a woman from a good family. Moreover, she always knew that General Gu had always been in love with her miss.
"Is that so? Then it must be your miss who is talking nonsense. I'll have to punish her for the crime of deceiving the emperor. That's a serious crime." Su Wan'er held back her laughter and looked at her coldly.
"Your Majesty, no, it's not my miss... This humble maid did say that she had feelings for General Gu, but... but it was all just nonsense and wild thoughts of this humble maid. It has nothing to do with General Gu, nor with my miss." Qingcao quickly tried to explain, but the more she explained, the more confused it became.
"Oh, in that case, why don't I issue an imperial edict tomorrow to bestow a marriage on the two of you?" Su Wan'er actually thought this was a feasible idea.
But Qingcao got anxious and kept saying, "No, no, it's absolutely not okay."
"Why? Don't you like him? I'm bestowing a marriage on you. Why aren't you willing?" Su Wan'er was also very confused. Why wasn't she willing?
"This humble maid can't say. Anyway, it's not okay. Please forgive this humble maid, Your Majesty." Qingcao just kept kowtowing nervously.
Seeing her like this, Su Wan'er knew she couldn't play anymore, so she quickly pulled her up.
"Qingcao, you silly girl. It's me."
"Huh?" Qingcao was very confused. Seeing the emperor pull her up in person, she was almost scared out of her wits.
"It's me. I'm your miss." Su Wan'er really couldn't bear to tease her anymore. It seemed that as soon as this girl mentioned Brother Jingtian, her mind became a complete mess. Usually such a bold person, but now she was so scared.
"Miss? How could... How could you? Does it mean you've swapped with the emperor again?" What kind of thing was this? They had just arrived in the capital for a couple of days, and now this happened again.
"Yes, I don't want this either. But that idle national master has been on a pilgrimage for more than half a year and hasn't come back. The spiritual item he gave sometimes works and sometimes doesn't. It just malfunctioned. After swapping the two of us once, we couldn't swap back anymore."
"Ah, then what should we do? Aren't we going on an expedition in a couple of days?" Qingcao finally understood what was going on, so she was also very worried.
"Yes, and what's more troublesome is that I have to help Si Junlin attend court these two days. I have to enter the palace now. See,"
Su Wan'er pointed to a group of people standing not far behind. "Those people will surely follow us later. Si Junlin actually brought so many people out of the palace. There will be even more people in the palace. They're all watching. I don't know when I'll give myself away. So you'd better come with me."
"Let me enter the palace? I should follow you, miss. But you're the emperor now. Can you just bring a maid into the palace?" This might not be appropriate.
"Yes, I'm also worried about this. But it's better to bring a maid into the palace than a miss." Of course, it would be better to bring Si Junlin into the palace, but that's not something that can be done quickly, especially since they have to stay in the palace overnight.
"Okay, then this is the only way."
Sure enough, not long after they left the gate of the Su Mansion, Fang Xi led a group of servants and followed them. Knowing that the emperor was going back to the palace, they put a thick velvet robe on him.
Su Wan'er really thought the dragon robe was uncomfortable. Maybe it really corresponded to the old saying that if you're not the crown prince, don't wear the dragon robe casually. She couldn't bear such honor.
"Your Majesty, shall we go back to the palace now?" Fang Xi glanced at Qingcao standing beside them. What was this all about? Why didn't the queen come, but instead the maid was brought along?
"Yes." Su Wan'er tried to talk as little as possible. After all, the more you talk, the more mistakes you might make.
"Then... may I ask Your Majesty, what about Miss Qingcao?"
"Oh, she'll go back with us."
"Well... may I ask Your Majesty, in what capacity will she go back?" After all, everyone entering and leaving the palace had to be recorded. If something went wrong, he, the chief steward, would be the first one to be held accountable.
Although she was also a maid, Qingcao's status was not ordinary. She was once the first - class head maid in the central palace.
"Capacity?!" Su Wan'er pretended to be angry. "I've taken a fancy to her and I'm going to take her into the palace. Do you have any objections?" She had no idea in what capacity.
"This humble servant doesn't dare." Fang Xi was so scared that he quickly bowed. But in his heart, it was like a thunderstorm. Taken a fancy to her? Your Majesty, your heart changes too quickly. You forgot that you drank three big jars of wine by yourself today for the queen, but now you're openly saying that you've taken a fancy to the maid and are going to take her back to the palace.
Qingcao was trying hard not to laugh beside them. Her miss really looked like a real emperor.
Su Wan'er tried not to talk and walked all the way back to the palace with Qingcao following behind.
As they were approaching the palace gate, Fang Xi finally plucked up the courage to step forward and ask after holding it in for the whole way. "May I ask Your Majesty if you're going to give Miss Qingcao a title? Should we make arrangements for tonight? The Office of Imperial Concubines can prepare accordingly."
Fang Xi had been calming himself down for the whole way. Now he thought he could understand Si Junlin quite well. After all, he had dismissed all the concubines in the harem. For such a long time, there had been no empress in the palace. It was inevitable for the emperor to feel lonely. Maybe the queen didn't agree, but this maid had been with the queen for so long. Maybe she could be a little comfort.
"What title? Nonsense. She'll rest with me in the Yangxin Hall tonight."
Su Wan'er was also a bit flustered. Then she pretended to be calm like a licentious emperor and took the beauty into her Yangxin Hall.
"Alright, I'm tired today. You may all retreat."