"How about it? Isn't this move of mine brilliant?" Ordinarily, such a strategy would be a piece of cake for Si Junlin. But with Su Wan'er around, he couldn't help but show off proudly.
"Come on. If it weren't for those over a hundred thousand troops backing you up, would you dare to act so arrogantly?" If the Grand Elder weren't wary of the Jin Kingdom, how could he have allowed Si Junlin to act so recklessly here?
"Miss, there's a letter from General Gu." Qingcao naturally handed the just - received carrier - pigeon letter to Su Wan'er. But Si Junlin spoke up seriously beside them, "Let me have a look. Don't you even understand this basic rule? Any letter or intelligence should be shown to me first."
Su Wan'er unfolded the letter on her own.
"This is a family letter. Your Majesty is being too nosy."
"Since it's delivered to the enemy camp, how can you be sure it's a family letter?" Si Junlin snatched it without hesitation. He naturally couldn't allow any communication between Gu Jingtian and Su Wan'er that he didn't know about! Su Wan'er had no choice but to lean over and read it with him.
"The national teacher is back." Why did the national teacher have to come back at this particular time? They had written to him a few days ago asking him to return, but there had been no response. Now that they were far away in the Southern Border, it was impossible for him to help.
"This person has always been unruly. We don't need to blame him. Since we're both in the Southern Border now, I'll issue an imperial edict to ask the national teacher to assist in governing the country."
"Who on earth is this national teacher? How can someone so casual be a court official? Unlike the Su family, who are all loyal and obedient to the monarch."
"Marshal, your words really break my heart. If you were truly obedient to the imperial order, who was it that defied the imperial edict and rushed out of the palace alone? And you still have the nerve to say you're obedient?"
"I... I did it to serve the country and be loyal to the monarch. Besides, there was also the imperial edict from the Empress Dowager back then." Su Wan'er murmured softly, losing her confidence.
"But can we trust this national teacher? In my opinion, it's better to stay put. Anyway, there's nothing major going on in the country for now. It's just the war here, and we're watching it personally. Even if you don't issue this edict, the national teacher won't be idle, right?" When they left the capital, because the Empress Dowager was a woman and there were concerns about the public's opinion on a woman in power, on the surface, it was claimed that Si Jingcheng was overseeing the country with the Empress Dowager behind the curtain. In fact, it was the Empress Dowager leading a group of veteran officials to handle the overall situation. Si Jingcheng usually just stood beside the dragon throne during the morning court.
"It's safer to have him in charge. Won't be idle? You really overestimate him. A free - spirited person like him won't bother to move without an imperial edict."
Si Junlin immediately wrote a reply to Gu Jingtian with a big stroke of his pen and asked him to copy it and send it back to the capital.
"Right, I almost forgot about Xiaojiu. I'll go now. You stay here." It was all the Grand Elder's fault for causing trouble here for no reason. He himself didn't gain anything and just suffered these grievances in vain.
"At this time, where do you think you're going?!" Si Junlin wanted to stop her. But Su Wan'er was naturally agile and flexible, so he couldn't stop her.
"Qingcao, go with her and have a look." Just as Si Junlin was about to tell Qingcao, he saw that Qingcao had already followed her out. This mistress - servant pair was really alike.
Just as they reached the outside of the Holy Maiden's Palace, someone stopped Su Wan'er.
"Your Excellency, it's getting late. The Holy Maiden has already rested."
"Resting? Didn't she just... want to talk to the queen? Let me go in and pass a message. I'll leave right away." Su Wan'er originally thought that Long Xiaojiu's people should recognize her and wouldn't stop her. Moreover, Xiaojiu might not fall asleep so quickly at this hour, since she had been waiting for Su Wan'er and Si Junlin just now.
But unexpectedly, the maid outside seemed very unaccommodating and strongly blocked her with a tough tone, "Your Excellency, please respect yourself. I'll pass the message for you."
"Presumptuous! The queen has something urgent to discuss with the Holy Maiden. Can you afford to delay this?" Seeing that soft tactics didn't work, Su Wan'er had to resort to tough ones.
"I dare not, but the Holy Maiden didn't order to see you. If you force your way in, I'll have to report it to the Grand Elder."
Su Wan'er was very angry at first, but she was stunned after hearing this. How could the people from the Long family not know about the feud between the Long and Yuwen families? How dare they invite the Grand Elder?
"Little sister, you look so unfamiliar. I've met the Holy Maiden a few times, but I've never seen you before." Su Wan'er thought that with Si Junlin's face, most girls would be deceived to some extent. This good - looking appearance was the result of generations of the royal family's selection during the beauty pageants. It would be a waste not to use it.
"Your Excellency, don't make fun of me." The maid still looked serious.
"I'll give you one more chance. If you don't let me in, I'll shout. Everyone knows that the Holy Maiden and the queen are on good terms. What's the meaning of blocking me outside?" Su Wan'er was already panicking. Not only was this maid acting very strangely, but her voice outside was quite loud. If Xiaojiu was inside and heard her, she would surely come out. Could it be that Xiaojiu wasn't even inside?
"Your Excellency, do you know where this is? This is the Southern Border Palace, not your Jin Kingdom. If you continue to act unreasonably here, we servants will have to be rude." An eunuch who seemed to be of a higher rank walked over. Only then did Su Wan'er notice that there were more than twice as many guards outside the Holy Maiden's Palace as usual.
"Sorry, sorry. I was impolite for a moment." As the saying goes, a wise man never fights when the odds are against him. Moreover, with Si Junlin's body, she had no martial arts skills. How could she fight against so many people? So Su Wan'er had no choice but to bow her head and apologize, then quickly returned to the queen's palace.
"Si Junlin, hurry! Something terrible has happened. Hurry, come with me to save someone!"
She rushed in in a hurry. Si Junlin was quite surprised. "What's wrong with you? Weren't you going to see Long Xiaojiu? Why do you look like this when you come back?"
"Xiaojiu, something must have happened to her. There weren't so many guards outside the Holy Maiden's Palace. I called her, but she didn't come out!"
"Don't be so anxious. She's the Holy Maiden now, and we've already made it clear that the Emperor of the Jin Kingdom still wants to see her. Who would dare to do anything to her?"
"It's the Grand Elder! It must be the Grand Elder. I was so loud outside the door. If Xiaojiu was inside, how could she not come out to see me?"
"You didn't even get in. Why are you so panicked? Do you think everyone is as willful as you? She's a noble - born Holy Maiden in this palace. Do you think she'll come out just because a guard calls her? She still has to save some face." Si Junlin clearly didn't think anything serious could happen.
Su Wan'er hesitated. It seemed that Si Junlin had a point. Maybe Xiaojiu just didn't dare to come out because of the rules.