"Right, Uncle can do everything. Most of the secret arts he has delved into were passed down from our Long family. But from ancient times till now, few people have been as proficient as him. He even gave me this bracelet. After I put it on, I feel much more refreshed and comfortable all over. It's said to be very beneficial to the fetus in my belly too."
"You told him you're pregnant?" Su Wan'er was surprised. She thought that since it was their first meeting, Xiao Jiu would be too shy to mention it. Besides, the father of the child was the grand elder of the Yuwen family, and her uncle had been shouting about exterminating the four major families just a few days ago.
"I... I didn't originally plan to tell him so soon. But he just figured it out by himself." Obviously, Xiao Jiu was extremely shy.
Figured it out by himself. He's really amazing. How many secrets does he actually have?
"Did you also tell him who the father of the child is?"
"It's because... because Uncle insisted on asking. After I told him, he didn't seem very angry. He just silently let me come back after learning the whole story."
"I see. In that case, I guess your uncle won't be so eager to attack the Southern Border anymore. You're so naive, Xiao Jiu. In just such a short time, you let him get all the information out of you. This way, the national advisor will know all our details."
"Maybe Uncle really has my best interests at heart and doesn't want to go against the Southern Border anymore." Long Xiao Jiu was clearly very touched.
"Xiao Jiu, you silly girl. Do you really think your uncle is on our side? Privately, he's your uncle. But publicly, he's been in that position of one under the emperor and above ten thousand people in the Jin Kingdom for decades."
"Yes, isn't he the national advisor of the Jin Kingdom now? Emperor Uncle, oh no, General Su, aren't you the marshal of the Su family's army? Aren't you really good friends? Uncle must be on our side." Xiao Jiu seemed to think her logic was flawless.
"Did your uncle tell you this? He and I are hardly friends. The day before you came, I went to play chess with him just to persuade him not to send troops to the Southern Border, but he refused to see me. How can this be called friendship? If someone who dares to raise an army in the capital and stage a rebellion just because he's been the prime minister for decades can be considered loyal to the Jin Kingdom, then we wouldn't have to be so on guard against him now."
"Does Emperor Uncle mean that Uncle had the intention of attacking the Southern Border?" Xiao Jiu was shocked.
Su Wan'er rubbed her forehead. It seemed that this girl had really been filled with a lot of sweet talk from her uncle in just one day. Now she thought her uncle was a great guy.
"Never mind. You don't need to worry about these things. Just take good care of yourself here."
"Marshal, the grand elder has come with a troop. General Gu asks if we should capture him or talk to him behind the shield formation?"
The next day, just as they were talking, the scout reported this news. Usually, only those eager-to-make-merit vanguard generals would dare to lead a few thousand or even a few hundred soldiers to provoke the enemy. Now, the grand elder, a man over forty, came like a hot-headed young man. This made Su Wan'er inexplicably want to laugh at him.
"What? He really dared to come. How about this? Let's capture him. Lock him up for a few days, give him no food or water, and let him starve for two days. He didn't even take good care of our Xiao Jiu."
"Don't... Emperor Uncle, this will make him look so bad. How can he go back to the Southern Border?" Sure enough, Xiao Jiu immediately stopped her.
"Alright, alright. I'll go out with you and see what he has to say. If he says something wrong, you can capture him yourself and torture him. How about that?" Su Wan'er said with a smile. Only then did Xiao Jiu relax her wrinkled brow.
"Th... that's fine."
"Who's this reckless young man provoking us outside the tent?" As usual, at the beginning of the provocation between the two armies, they would curse at each other like this. Su Wan'er was usually not interested in this kind of wild and throat - straining game among men. But today, she wanted to try it herself, so she stopped a few officers who were about to curse at the enemy.
"Your Majesty of the Jin Kingdom, please forgive my rudeness. I have no intention of offending today. I've heard that my queen is now in your army. I hope Your Majesty can help me find her. After I find her, I'll leave immediately."
"Queen? If I remember correctly, wasn't the queen the General Su married from our Jin Kingdom? Why did she run away?" Su Wan'er deliberately pretended not to know and made things difficult for him, as if she was going to blame him.
"No, Your Majesty has misunderstood. Now in our Southern Border, there are two queens. The one who's missing this time is the other queen. The situation is urgent. I hope Your Majesty can do me a favor. I'll look for her myself."
"Presumptuous! If you say so, can your Southern Border just find an excuse to come and wander around in my army? Isn't that too casual? How about this? Leave your army behind. The grand elder can come over alone. No one will stop you."
"Emperor Uncle, you really let him come? Then I'll go back." As soon as Long Xiao Jiu heard this, she quickly wanted to hide inside.
"Alright, then you go back. Come out when I call you. But now that your husband is here, he should meet the elders. Someone, go and invite the national advisor out."
"What? Emperor Uncle, don't act rashly. Although they've never had any dealings, it doesn't mean they'll get along well. It won't be good if they have a conflict then." Long Xiao Jiu was naturally very worried.
"Don't worry. If there's going to be a conflict, it would have happened long ago."
How couldn't they get along? If these two met, they might even consider each other as kindred spirits. Anyway, both of them were eager to start a war between the Jin Kingdom and the Southern Border. Since everyone was here, why not sit down and have a good talk today.
The grand elder's face seemed to be turning green. It was obvious that he had been extremely anxious these days. He must have spent a great deal of effort to find out that Xiao Jiu was here.
"Your Majesty, how have you been?" At least he still remembered the etiquette.
"The grand elder seems to be unwell. I wonder why the second queen that the grand elder painstakingly married and claimed to cherish so much is missing?"
"Your Majesty, don't tease me. I'm here today because I know Your Majesty must have met Jiu'er." A smart man doesn't beat around the bush. He naturally knew that this emperor had a connection with Long Xiao Jiu.
"I'll tell you clearly. I've not only met her, but she's right here with me. But do you think I'll let you take her away?"