It turned out that she was still worried about the draft. Qingcao didn't know how to respond and could only prevaricate. "This matter concerns the entire Su family, and it's an imperial edict, Miss. Don't you want to go?" Actually, she was eager for Su Wan'er to go. Although both of them had lost their memories, they couldn't just drift apart. Did all that had happened in the past not count anymore? As the saying goes, a day as husband and wife means a hundred days of affection. Moreover, the emperor had been so determined back then, whole - heartedly infatuated with her young lady. Could it be that just because there was a mishap with the national teacher, the two would have no more connection?
Furthermore, the national teacher said that they would regain their memories in two or three years. If so, what should they do then? So in these two or three years, those who knew the inside story had to think of a way, or things would really get out of hand.
"I definitely don't want to go. Since childhood, Father and Elder Brother have taught me these things. Finally, I've gained some confidence to go to the battlefield. If I enter the palace one day, what shall I do? Wouldn't I be trapped there for the rest of my life?" Su Wan'er looked at Qingcao, only to find her concentrating on sorting the tea leaves, showing no sign of being worried for her.
"Qingcao, I'm not joking with you now. Have you ever seen a woman who entered the palace and came out again? If I never return, wouldn't I be doomed there for the rest of my life?" Su Wan'er said with a worried look.
Qingcao almost couldn't help laughing. "This servant... has actually seen one."
Not to mention whether a woman could come out of the palace. Even a queen could leave. "If Miss doesn't want to stay there later... just come out again. It's not a big deal." If it were someone else, this would be quite impossible, but for her young lady, it was another story. Although she couldn't come and go as she pleased, no one could stop her. Moreover, it was precisely because she had entered and then come out once that she needed to enter again now. Otherwise, if she remembered in the future and in these two or three years, instead of entering the palace, she had gone somewhere else or even married someone else, it would be a big problem if the emperor remembered.
"Qingcao, what are you talking nonsense about?" Su Wan'er said in disbelief. "You may not have heard, but Mother often told me that once a woman enters the palace, she has to stay there for the rest of her life and cannot have contact with ordinary men. Otherwise, it's a serious crime..."
"It was this servant who spoke out of turn. But now Miss has no choice but to go. Or maybe Miss will fail to be selected? Aren't there many women who are eliminated every year? Miss might as well give it a try. Otherwise, there's no other way here."
The troops returning in triumph were marching extremely fast, seemingly even more rapid than when they set out for war. This was also because many soldiers missed their hometowns and relatives very much. The march was mostly uneventful along the way.
Si Junlin now regarded Su Wan'er as a complete stranger he had never met before. Su Wan'er felt the same way. However, Gu Jingtian was still the Jingtian elder brother who had grown up with her. So the two naturally walked together. Qingcao following behind didn't find anything amiss. But Si Junlin always subconsciously glanced at them. He didn't know why he felt extremely uncomfortable seeing the two of them walking together.
"National Teacher," Si Junlin looked at the national teacher walking beside him and also found him very annoying.
The national teacher was immersed in the joy of just reuniting with his relatives. And now that he was separated from Xiao Jiu again, there was naturally a sense of sorrow. So he was very absent - minded on his horse. Hearing Si Junlin calling him, he immediately came to his senses. "Your servant is here. What are Your Majesty's orders?"
"This is the first time for me to personally lead the troops in battle and be with the soldiers. I'm not very familiar with the military etiquette. Why don't the national teacher tell me about it?"
Although the national teacher was puzzled why Si Junlin suddenly asked about this, he remembered that Si Junlin had been well - read since childhood and how could he not be familiar with military affairs. So he sized him up and began to tell something vaguely.
"The military officers have a clear - cut hierarchical system. Although it's not as strict as the rules of hierarchy in the palace, it also emphasizes that the subordinates must absolutely obey the orders of the superiors. For example, under the marshal, there is a deputy marshal. Under the deputy marshal, there are great generals, regular generals, and deputy generals. Under the deputy generals, there are vanguard generals, middle - route generals, and rear - guard generals..."
"That's not what I want to know. I naturally know these things," Si Junlin frowned, seemingly very dissatisfied, as if he thought the national teacher was being too wordy.
No matter how shrewd the national teacher was, he couldn't guess what his emperor was thinking now. So he rubbed his nose, feeling like he had hit a wall, and changed the topic. "Then what does Your Majesty want to hear? How about I tell you about the carriages and horses? There are infantry, cavalry, and charioteers in the army. Four horses plus one carriage make a chariot, and each chariot needs two people to drive..."
"Do you think I don't know these things? Is the national teacher getting senile? Actually talking to me about these trivial details?" Si Junlin's tone became even more impatient. Then he glanced meaningfully at the group where Su Wan'er and Gu Jingtian were walking together.
The national teacher felt like he had hit a wall again. He rubbed his nose and followed Si Junlin's gaze to see the marshal. Then he understood. Sure enough, the emperor wanted him to talk about this. Really, when the emperor's face was thick, no ordinary person could match him. But when it was thin, he even had to split a sentence into two to avoid blushing.
"Oh, then this old servant will talk about the positions of the generals during the march," the national teacher coughed lightly to clear his throat, raised his voice a little, and said loudly, "In a normal battle march, the marshal and the high - ranking generals should command from the rear. The vanguard general should lead the cavalry in the front. But now that we are returning in triumph and don't need to be on guard against enemies, it's natural that the marshal should walk at the very front. The deputy marshal and the generals should follow closely, and then come the cavalry and infantry in order."
The national teacher looked at Si Junlin and found that he still seemed dissatisfied. He deliberately held back for a while before getting to the point. "Now that Your Majesty has personally led the troops in battle, when we return in triumph, the marshal should walk at the very front of the team with Your Majesty. After all, it's a victorious return, and it's good to welcome the people's welcome."
"Really? If the national teacher hadn't told me, I wouldn't have known there was such a rule," Si Junlin deliberately looked at Su Wan'er and Gu Jingtian again. He found that this person didn't seem to have any self - awareness. Didn't he know he was the marshal? So he raised his voice and said to the national teacher, "Does it have to be that I walk side by side with the marshal? Is this rule really so strict?"
"Yes - no rules, no standards. Even Your Majesty has to abide by the military regulations," the national teacher almost couldn't help laughing.
Only then did Su Wan'er realize that the responsibility had fallen on her head.