"I dare not, Your Majesty, but please hear me out. This is the Su Family Army, and Wan'er is the marshal of the Su Family Army. If Your Majesty truly refuses to revoke the order, I'm afraid those outside won't simply let it go."
These words were naturally quite pleasing to the ears of Su Wan'er, the marshal of the Su Family Army. She suppressed the little pride in her heart. "Really? So you're threatening me?"
"If Your Majesty thinks so, then so be it." Gu Jingtian had always been neither overbearing nor humble.
Seeing that Su Wan'er remained unmoved and was still sitting grandly on the dragon throne reserved for the emperor, reviewing the memorials that had been rushed here from eight hundred li away, Gu Jingtian grew even more annoyed. Did she think she could avoid seeing people like this?
"Your Majesty! More than a dozen generals outside are waiting for Your Majesty to come out and give us an explanation."
"No, no, no. I dare not go out. If I do, won't they skin me alive right now?" Su Wan'er was calm and composed.
"You!" Gu Jingtian was extremely angry. "Your Majesty! You must be clear. It was I who promised the generals to come and ask for an explanation that they agreed to wait outside. If Your Majesty persists in this way, I'm afraid I'll be of no help. I'll have to invite them all in."
"Hey, my dear subject. Aren't you already asking for an explanation? Whatever you want to ask, I'll answer you properly." Su Wan'er had always known his temper well and knew that his patience had reached its limit, so she didn't dare to provoke him anymore.
"Fine. Then may I ask Your Majesty, why are you going to marry our army's marshal, a renowned female general, to the Southern Border as a bargaining chip for the truce?" Gu Jingtian gritted his teeth. He thought that Su Wan'er had just escaped from the tiger's den and was about to be sent into the wolf's lair. It was simply unacceptable.
"Cough, this... Well, although General Su Wei is a rare talent in our Jin Country, she is still a woman after all. Now..." Su Wan'er tried hard to recall how her grandmother used to persuade her to get married early. "Now she's long past the age for marriage. I'm afraid if she doesn't get married soon, she won't be able to find a husband."
God knows how hard it was for Su Wan'er to say such things about herself. Her grandmother used to say such things all the time, and even now she still thought it was absurd. She, a renowned female general, wasn't that desperate for a husband, was she?
"Your Majesty, as the ruler of a country, you seem to be overly concerned. It's just a matter of a girl getting married. Do you really have to oversee it personally? Moreover, even if you're eager to find a husband for the marshal, there's no need to let her marry far away in the Southern Border. This might make people think you have other motives." There was a hint of threat in Gu Jingtian's words. He was almost accusing the emperor of deliberately sending the marshal of the Su Family Army to the Southern Border.
"I know your concerns, but... but I have no choice. This..." Su Wan'er could only bite the bullet and follow the plan that Si Junlin had come up with for her. "This was all the marshal's own decision."
"What?!" Gu Jingtian was stunned. "What does Your Majesty mean?"
"It means exactly what you think. Actually, it was the marshal's own idea. Yesterday, she came to plead with me personally, saying that..." Su Wan'er tried to look regretful. "She said that she had a fateful encounter with the Grand Elder of the Yuwen Family in the Southern Border and fell in love with him. Moreover, she couldn't bear to fight against him on the battlefield anymore, so she voluntarily proposed the marriage alliance..."
Su Wan'er's voice grew softer and softer. She was not good at lying in the first place, and now she saw the veins on Gu Jingtian's hand bulging. She was afraid that if she wasn't careful, he would start hitting people.
"Rubbish!" As expected, he was enraged. "Your Majesty, do you know that the Grand Elder of the Yuwen Family is over forty years old, only a few years younger than General Su? Do you really think Wan'er would fall for a man of her father's generation?!"
"Is... is that so?" Damn it. What a lousy idea Si Junlin had come up with. When she discussed it with him yesterday, she thought that according to the age of the Ninth Prince, the Grand Elder of the Long Family was his uncle and only in his early thirties. She thought the Grand Elder of the Yuwen Family might be of a similar age. Who would have thought... who would have thought that the elder was really that old.
"Your Majesty, I know that you've always been wary of the Su Family's control of the military power. But I dare to swear with my life that the Su Family... including myself and all the generals of the Su Family Army, have absolutely no ill intentions towards you or the Jin Country. Please revoke the order and don't let this kind of trick disappoint the old officials!"
"General Gu, please calm down first. I... what I said is indeed the truth. The marshal really did agree voluntarily. If the general doesn't believe me, you can go and ask her yourself." Su Wan'er had no other choice but to use her last resort. The two of them had discussed yesterday that since the whole army would surely be agitated, and Gu Jingtian would definitely be the most agitated one, they couldn't let him see the "Su Wan'er" who had already switched identities with her unless it was absolutely necessary. Otherwise, it would be very easy to expose the truth.
However, judging from the current situation, Brother Jingtian was always meticulous in his thinking and was different from other generals who were born as reckless men. It was very likely that it would be she, the "emperor", who would expose the truth.
Just as Gu Jingtian was about to turn into Su Wan'er's tent after leaving the emperor's special tent, he was stopped by a messenger who came to find him. "Report to the deputy marshal. The marshal has just given an order to notify the whole army that in order to ensure peace between the two countries, she is willing to marry to the Southern Border."
"What?!" Was she crazy?!
Naturally, there was another commotion in the army. But since it was Su Wan'er who had proposed it herself, everyone no longer surrounded the main tent. They just sighed and wondered what the marshal was thinking. Everyone had different speculations. Some said that the marshal must have been coerced by the emperor and felt sorry for her. Others said that maybe the marshal was just being impulsive and really wanted to do it for the peace between the two countries. Otherwise, why would she issue a marshal's order right after the imperial edict?
"Wan'er!" Gu Jingtian rushed in and saw "Su Wan'er" sitting there calmly looking at the map.
"Brother... Jingtian." Si Junlin forced a smile. He was very disdainful of the improper way Su Wan'er addressed Gu Jingtian.
"What on earth is going on? Why... did you do this?"
"Haven't I already given the order? It's very clear. I'll be married to the Southern Border soon."
"Did Si Junlin force you?" Gu Jingtian no longer cared about the superiority and inferiority between the monarch and his subjects. Right now, maybe just one word from Su Wan'er would be enough for him to kill Si Junlin in a minute, even if he had to bear the infamy of being a treacherous official for the rest of his life.
"He didn't force me. I did it voluntarily." Si Junlin didn't want to entangle with him anymore. The more he talked, the more likely he was to make a mistake. Moreover, he didn't think Gu Jingtian had any right to question Su Wan'er.
"You did it voluntarily. Do you know that the Grand Elder of the Southern Border is over forty years old, only a few years younger than Uncle Su? And according to the customs of the Southern Border, if the elder dies, the new elder will inherit everything from him, including all his concubines. Aren't you just jumping into the fire pit for no reason?"
He naturally knew how old the Grand Elder of the Yuwen Family was and was very familiar with the customs of the Southern Border.