"Moreover... I'm already pregnant with his child," Long Xiaojiu said, gently caressing her abdomen.
"Really?" Su Wan'er looked at her. No wonder. It wasn't a long journey, yet Xiaojiu was so exhausted even when riding a horse. She must be extremely weak. "Is the baby all right? Why didn't you tell me earlier? I'll call the military doctor to examine you."
"It's all right. Forget it. If others see my current attire..."
Su Wan'er knew that Long Xiaojiu was concerned about her reputation, so she had Qingcao prepare a set of clothing for a Jin girl early in the morning. "Change into this. From now on, let Qingcao prepare everything for you according to the customs of the Jin. If anyone asks, you're a member of the Su family, my... my niece - in - law." Su Wan'er really couldn't accept Xiaojiu being of the same generation as herself, so she made up such an excuse. If her elder brother hadn't been delayed by joining the army for a few years, he might have had a child of this age by now.
"Okay..."
Long Xiaojiu changed her clothes. Qingcao quickly took the old clothes out, planning to throw them away. It wouldn't be a good thing for such Southern Border clothing to appear in the military camp.
But just a moment after Qingcao went out, Long Xiaojiu seemed to remember something. "Oh no! My long - life lock. I'm afraid I left it in the clothes."
"Don't move. I'll call Qingcao back. She just went out. I'll find it for you. Is it the silver one you brought when you first came? I just glanced at it. It's not a precious thing. Just sit here."
But Long Xiaojiu still got up in a hurry. "I've been wearing it since I was a child. It might be a relic from my mother."
"A relic from your mother? I've always only heard that the elders of the Long family are your uncles. Your mother? Weren't you an orphan since childhood?" Su Wan'er was now guessing that maybe Xiaojiu was an adopted child, otherwise...
"Indeed, Uncle Emperor. I lost my parents when I was about five or six years old. Then my uncles raised me as the Holy Maiden. I'm originally from a side branch of the Long family. I was trained with other girls who were selected, and finally I was chosen to be the Holy Maiden."
"I see."
When the two went out and saw Qingcao, they both breathed a sigh of relief. Fortunately, Qingcao hadn't thrown the clothes away yet, but they found that Qingcao was being stopped there.
"Whose is it? I'm asking you, whose lock is this? Where did it come from?"
As they got closer, they saw that it was the national teacher. Su Wan'er quickly stepped forward and stood in front of Qingcao to protect her. "May I ask what the national teacher wants with my maid?"
"This is none of your business. I'm asking you, where did this maid of yours come from? Is she from the Southern Border? Is this lock hers?"
"The national teacher must be joking. My maid has grown up in the Su Mansion since she was a child. What does she have to do with the Southern Border? This lock was originally something I played with. It's old now, and I just wanted to throw it away." Su Wan'er obviously didn't want him to know about Long Xiaojiu's existence.
But the national teacher seemed to be fixated on this lock and refused to let it go.
"Impossible. Moreover, this style is unique. How could you have one too?" The national teacher still stared at the lock intently. Long Xiaojiu, who was watching from a hidden place in the distance, also noticed something strange about this man. This man had silver hair but a youthful face. Wasn't this the forbidden technique of their Long family?
"How do you recognize it? This lock is unique. Why are you so sure?" Su Wan'er asked him back, holding the lock in her own hand as if the national teacher would snatch it away the next second.
"This lock was my old possession. I gave it to my elder sister before I left. At that time, our family had already declined because of me. There was no way we could make a second one. It was the thing I left for my elder sister before I left. She would never give it to someone else."
"Are you sure? Take a closer look," Su Wan'er said. Hearing his words, she even handed the lock into his hand. Seeing his reaction, it seemed that his words were true. Could it be that Xiaojiu was related to the national teacher?
"Yes, it's right. Back then, my elder sister was implicated because of me. Even after she got married, she didn't dare to hold a wedding. So she had a secret marriage with her husband. Could it be that you're my elder sister's child, my niece?" The grand elder was obviously excited and even grabbed Su Wan'er's hand.
Su Wan'er now understood what was going on, so she laughed. "The national teacher must be mistaken. I'm the third daughter of the Su family in the Jin. I've grown up in the Jin since I was a child and was highly regarded by the late emperor. Does the national teacher want to doubt my background?"
Sure enough, the national teacher was slightly stunned. "Then where did you get this lock?"
"Uncle? Are you Uncle?" Xiaojiu had witnessed everything from the side. At this moment, she couldn't help but step forward. She couldn't believe that the young man with a handsome face and a heart for the world, whom her mother had described, had now become like this. Back then, Uncle was her mother's pride. Her mother always couldn't help but mention him. She was only five or six years old at that time, but she remembered it clearly, which showed how many times her mother had repeated the past with Uncle to her while lying on the sickbed.
"This is your real niece," Su Wan'er calmly pulled Xiaojiu over and let her get closer to him. Looking at them like this, they really did look a bit alike.
After that, there was naturally a heart - wrenching drama of family reunion. Su Wan'er was now in an important position and was pretending to be the emperor. Naturally, she didn't have the time to spend the whole day watching the two of them cry. She just guessed in advance how surprised the national teacher would be when he heard that Xiaojiu was the Holy Maiden and had achieved such great things.
"Xiaojiu, you're back?" As night fell, Su Wan'er was waiting for Xiaojiu in Qingcao's tent in advance. Sure enough, this little girl was now smiling from ear to ear. There was no sign of the weakness she had when she first came back. She didn't know if it was the medicine prescribed by the military doctor or the long - awaited reunion with her relatives that was more effective.
"I really didn't expect that the uncle who had been living away from home was actually the well - known prime minister of the Jin," Xiaojiu couldn't help but show off to her. Su Wan'er looked at her with a smile.
"Now he's clearly the national teacher, not the prime minister. He's old and stubborn. Who would let him be the prime minister?"
"Uncle Emperor is just joking with Uncle again. Doesn't Uncle Emperor know? Maybe it's because the news in the Southern Border is originally blocked. In our Southern Border, he's the well - known prime minister of the Jin. In the past few decades, he's the only one who's so famous, mysterious, but extremely powerful." Long Xiaojiu looked very proud.
"Yes, you probably can't imagine that such a mysterious person is actually your uncle," Su Wan'er also felt very surprised. In this way, it was likely that the national teacher would no longer have the confidence to attack the Southern Border. And if Xiaojiu got familiar with him and persuaded him, how could he really attack the Southern Border?