Moreover, it was the first time in several years since the emperor ascended the throne that he personally brought someone into the palace and arranged for her to stay in the side hall of Yangxin Hall. Naturally, everyone from top to bottom didn't dare to be negligent.
"Listen to me. I'm just a new arrival. How could anyone try to poison me? Besides, didn't they test the food one by one just now? And they used silver chopsticks. So don't remove the dishes. You," Su Wan'er pointed at Xiaotao and the other two maids, "and you two, sit down and have dinner with me." Eating like this was really annoying. No wonder Mother said that women in the palace didn't live long. It wasn't because of the loneliness in the deep palace, but because they couldn't even have enough to eat!
The three girls looked at each other and then sat down with smiles. They all thought that their empress was still the same as before. Needless to say, everyone in the palace was looking forward to Su Wan'er's return.
Before the meal was over, the eunuch who delivered the imperial edict came in again. The three of them naturally stood up nervously. Su Wan'er put down her chopsticks properly and was about to kneel down to receive the edict. She couldn't afford to be negligent about this. After all, as a subject, she had to kneel to receive the imperial edict. She, Su Wan'er, could tell the difference between what was important and what was urgent.
But when the edict was read two or three times, she really wanted to stand up and draw her sword to behead that eunuch who read the edict. She no longer cared about the importance and urgency!
The content of the edict was even more interesting than the storybooks told by storytellers. Her father always said that Si Junlin was a wise emperor, just like the late emperor. But now it seemed that he was more like those storybook writers in the book stalls!
The first sentence of the edict said that the purple qi came from the east and there was a lucky omen from heaven. Then it just rambled on, saying that Si Junlin had gone to the East Lake and the Great Marsh all day today to shoot those fat white deer. Then suddenly, the lake was filled with mist, and a white fog rose from the center of the lake. In the white fog, a figure of a fairy was seen.
Su Wan'er was still smiling when she heard this. So she had no right to ask where the emperor had gone today, even if she had seen with her own eyes that he had gone to the Su Mansion to watch someone's wedding. Even if he had said with his own mouth that he had followed her every step from when she got on the sedan chair to when she was outside the bridal chamber with Brother Jingtian.
But when she heard the name of the fairy, she couldn't sit still anymore. The fairy had no name at first, but only said her name was Wan'er. So Si Junlin bestowed the royal surname Si on her.
She had a vague premonition of something bad. When she saw the clothes brought by a group of maids following the eunuch, she knew that this bad premonition was about to come true.
"Your humble servants pay their respects to the Fairy Lady. Please accept the gifts presented by our emperor."
Sure enough, she, an ordinary woman Su Wan'er, had suddenly become the fairy Si Wan'er in the edict.
If her mind didn't constantly remind her of the words her father had told her every few months - when the king wants the subject to die, the subject has to die - Su Wan'er might have wanted Si Junlin to die right now.
What kind of an imperial edict was this?! What nonsense! How could they just put the hat of a fairy on her head? She was the female general appointed by the late emperor and was going to go to the battlefield in the future. What could she do with such a hat on her head?
Would she have to be worshipped by all the people in the future? Or would they build a temple and cast her into a stone statue? When Su Wan'er thought about her possible miserable future, she thought Si Junlin deserved to die even more. He was definitely not a wise emperor but a foolish one.
"You must have recognized the wrong person. May I ask if anyone here knows me? I'm Su Wan'er, the third daughter of the Su Mansion. I was personally named by the late emperor and am a marshal who just returned from the battlefield not long ago. I have nothing to do with the fairy you mentioned. It's better for you to let me go back to the Su Mansion quickly."
A group of maids kept their eyes on their noses and their noses on their hearts. It was Fang Xi who came out to smooth things over: "Fairy Lady, don't be naughty. The imperial edict has been issued. According to the rules of our Jin Kingdom, those who resist the imperial edict will be beheaded."
What he meant was that even if they all knew the truth, no one dared to say anything. It was almost like saying, "If the imperial edict says who you are, you are who you are."
"Well, since you say I'm a fairy, I'm going out now. If you don't let me go, I'll use my magic and won't spare you." Su Wan'er thought that if she didn't get out soon, there might be bigger traps waiting for her one by one. Why on earth should she be a fairy for no reason? She didn't know what would happen in the future.
"Fairy Lady, please calm down. The emperor said... Well, everything will have to wait until after the morning court tomorrow. He will definitely give the Fairy Lady a satisfactory answer. Please rest well here tonight. Yangxin Hall is where our monarch lives. It's the most spiritual and the best place in the Jin Kingdom. I'm sure it's not a bad place for you."
Of course, Fang Xi knew the whole story of this matter very well. Moreover, half of the maids here also knew Su Wan'er. So when she said she would use her magic and not spare them, they even thought it was funny and showed no sign of fear at all. If Su Wan'er said she would beat them up, it might be much more intimidating.
Su Wan'er was so angry that she couldn't sleep all night. But the little maid guarding outside made her feel a little used to it. Although her family had been generals for three generations, they were all very honest and clean. There were only about a hundred maids and servants in the whole family. They never needed a maid to guard at night.
"What's your name?"
Xiaotao was silently tidying up the incense burner for her. She thought Su Wan'er was already asleep. Now hearing this sudden question, she thought Su Wan'er was talking in her sleep.
But according to the rules in the palace, when the master asks a question, the maid naturally doesn't dare not answer. So she answered honestly: "Your humble servant's name is Xiaotao."
"Xiaotao? It's a nice name." Su Wan'er thought that since she couldn't sleep anyway, she might as well make the best of the situation and chat with this little girl for a while. After all, know your enemy and know yourself, and you can fight a hundred battles with no danger of defeat.
"They say I'm a fairy. Do you believe it?"
Xiaotao turned around and saw her sitting cross - legged on the bed. She knew that Su Wan'er couldn't sleep again and wanted to find someone to chat with. When she and Qingcao took turns to guard at night, they often encountered this situation.
But according to her experience, although her master seemed very energetic when chatting, in fact, as long as they chatted for a while, within a quarter of an hour, she would be so sleepy that she couldn't keep her eyes open. Then if they tucked her into the quilt, she would sleep soundly.