In the imperial study, the empress dowager sat there menacingly, waiting for Si Junlin to return from the court session.
As soon as Si Junlin stepped down from the morning court, someone reported that the empress dowager had arrived. Fang Xi, the eunuch in the imperial study, was startled. He quickly ordered the servants to treat the empress dowager well.
Si Junlin had never been a person who would be swayed by the harem or others in governing the country. However, he always showed great respect to the empress dowager. With a sense of unease in his heart, he naturally felt a bit afraid.
"Fang Xi, is there anything that requires me to go out of the palace recently?" At this moment, the empress dowager must be extremely angry. If he rushed to meet her now, it would only make her angrier.
"Your Majesty... there is nothing of that sort." Fang Xi was also wracking his brains to find an excuse. But after some thought, he felt that if the emperor evaded the issue, it would be him who would suffer the consequences from the empress dowager.
Si Junlin pretended to be exhausted after the court session. He deliberately took a memorial from a eunuch who was carrying them and walked into the imperial study while reading it. He put on a good show of a wise emperor, looking worried and preoccupied.
"I wonder what urgent matter brings you here, Mother. Why didn't you just send someone to summon me? It's tiring for you to come here in person. You should take care of your health."
As soon as these words were spoken, even though the empress dowager was still angry, her anger softened a bit.
"Lin'er, you are my only son. Not only for me but also for the Kingdom of Jin, you are the only one. You've seen your younger brother. He is so useless. During the few months when he was in charge of state affairs, he filled the court with people full of the stench of brothels. Moreover, you have no heirs yet. If anything were to happen to you, what would happen to this vast Kingdom of Jin? Wouldn't it make me a sinner of the kingdom?" The empress dowager had been using such tactics to dominate the harem for more than a decade. Her ability to change her expression and shed tears at will was unmatched by others.
"Mother... please don't cry because of my incompetence. If there's anything I've done wrong or offended you, just send someone to beat me." Si Junlin knew her tricks but could only try to console her.
"You've been excellent in everything since childhood, and I've never interfered in the affairs of the court. But I will never tolerate this matter." The empress dowager wiped away her tears and changed her expression again.
"What a mess it was in the court today! If it weren't for something extremely serious, your uncle wouldn't have come to complain to me. I heard that you picked up a fairy or a demon in the East Lake Swamp."
Si Junlin had no choice but to explain the matter clearly. After all, the empress dowager had to pass on the seal for the matter of establishing a queen. "Mother, I was hunting some white deer in the East Lake yesterday. I originally wanted to take their antlers to nourish your body. Who would have thought that I saw a fairy in the thick fog."
The empress dowager was extremely angry. Looking at Si Junlin, who remained calm and composed while telling such a lie, she said, "Really? I've lived for decades. From being a queen to an empress dowager, I've assisted the emperor and given birth to a new emperor. I've met countless mages and alchemists. How come I've never heard that there's a fairy in the East Lake Swamp?"
"She really exists, Mother. Please listen to me. At first, they all advised me not to go deeper, saying that I might get trapped. But I thought the antlers of that deer were so plump. If I took them for your nourishment, it would be excellent. So I went a bit deeper. The fairy said that she was touched by my filial piety and was willing to descend to the mortal world to spend a lifetime with me."
"Nonsense!" The empress dowager waved her sleeves and slapped the table hard. "If you were really filial, you wouldn't keep making me angry. I've never heard of a fairy willing to come down to the mortal world to be with a mortal. I've often heard that there are some demons that can bewitch people. Seeing how handsome and talented you are, maybe this one wants to entangle you and harm your life!"
"Mother, what are you saying? The fairy is really dignified and beautiful. How about I bring her here for you to see?" Originally, this matter was just an excuse to make Su Wan'er the queen. If the empress dowager followed what she said a few days ago, she might not object. So it would be better to let the empress dowager know the truth so that she wouldn't stop him.
"Fang Xi, you go personally and invite the fairy to meet the empress dowager."
After Fang Xi left the palace gate, he didn't know how to choose the sedan chair to pick up Su Wan'er.
What was Su Wan'er's status now? Although she had been a queen before and was the only queen in this dynasty, since she was going to be made a queen again, she couldn't really use the sedan chair for the queen. But it wasn't appropriate to use other ones either. Moreover, the title of "fairy" was something unheard - of since the beginning of time. This really gave him a headache.
Finally, one of his subordinates came up with an idea. He said that they might as well use the emperor's dragon sedan chair to pick her up. After all, to avoid suspicion, the emperor's intention was that he would even bow to the fairy and treat her as a divine being.
He ordered sixteen people to carry the emperor's dragon sedan chair, followed by the emperor's honor guard, and slowly headed towards Su Wan'er's place.
But if that was the case, wouldn't the empress dowager also be considered a mortal, and wouldn't she have to bow to the fairy later?
Fang Xi was a bit scared when he thought of the conflict between the empress dowager and the queen in the past. These two had been in open and covert struggles for several years. In particular, the empress dowager had made things difficult for the queen every day. Now that the queen had suddenly become a fairy, wouldn't it make her even angrier?
As soon as Su Wan'er heard that she was going to meet the empress dowager, she was naturally very nervous. When she was a child, she had paid a distant homage to the empress dowager with her mother. Through the curtain, the empress dowager looked like a majestic and solemn woman. But when she got home, her mother scolded her, saying that her etiquette was not proper. Now, all those rules that she hadn't paid much attention to came back to her mind.
"Xiaotao, hurry up. Teach me how to bow to the empress dowager later."
"Ah, with your current status, Miss... I mean, Fairy, how should you bow?" Xiaotao walked while looking at Fang Xi.
Fang Xi was really at a loss. He still wanted to keep his head.
"In my humble opinion, as a fairy, you are a supreme divine being. But the empress dowager is the mother of the country. How about you two just cancel out the bowing?"
What kind of algorithm was this? "Explain it clearly to me. I can't afford to lose etiquette." Su Wan'er still felt it was inappropriate.
"Please forgive my words, Fairy. With your status, you don't need to bow to anyone. We'll talk about it after you're made the queen in the future."
After Fang Xi led Su Wan'er into the imperial study, he obediently led the others out, leaving only two maids and Xiaotao to serve her.