For her to admit to it was such an audacity Si Ning respected, it was just like his enemies showing who they were and that would not have to stress in out on trying to find them out the moment he joins the harem. From what he had seen the Queen Dowager doesn't like him and Ran Chunhua was against him too and he could see the unknown list of enemies standing in front of him and he wished they would also be bold and tell him to his face so he doesn't have to sit and start racking his brain and who would want to harm him.

The conversation was like he was giving two options which were either he refuses to sign and say bye to being the Empress or sign and be the Empress while being an underlying of the Queen Dowager and losing half of his army. No matter how he sees it, the first option was the better one but if he does that it would mean all his goals would be far from reach because his sole goal he had been trying to acquire and now he was close to it and wasn't going to lose it.

"And what do Queen Dowager have against my family?" Si Ning raised a brow.

"General Si Ning." Song Ouyang whispered. "It is advisable for you to sign it." He whispered in an extremely low voice that his mouth wasn't moving that if Si Ning wasn't closer to him he would never hear him.

Because Song Ouyang seemed worried made Si Ning glanced at the paper and the first sentence that caught his eyes was that when he hands over half of his army, he would never seek for them and they would permanently be the Imperial family and never answer his call or have any relationship with the Si family.

"And if I don't sign this?" Si Ning had to measure how strong she was. He had to measure her capabilities and how to avoid clashing with her while looking for a solution to make the deal better since she wasn't interested in answering the first question he asked then she might at least answer the second question.

"Simple, you will be killed for treason and in front of your family and my son, it will be quick before your army gets here." She stated showing that Si Ning had no choice than to sign the document to be safe.

To frame him for committing treason would be easy and he could already see half of the court backing the claim up. He doesn't know them well but he knew they would side with the Queen Dowager and he could see the head of the government Officials, the Prime Minister would be the one to support her because he seemed loyal to her, Si Ning knew because he was giving a vibe similar to Ah Dai.

For Xiu TianZhao and Xiu Zhicheng to watch him die was something Si Ning sees as impossible but with the majority of the Ministers support and if Xiu Zhicheng thinks he committed treason then it was possible but no matter what as soon as he becomes the Empress then he would have more power than her which means he had nothing to fear. To get disposed as a Concubine was possible but as an Empress, he doesn't think so because he wasn't even going to ever relax and watch himself being disposed of as the Empress.

"Seems you are convinced I will betray Xiu Zhicheng and betray Xiu." Si Ning stood up having no reason to continue their discussion or sit like he was almost kneeling like her subordinate.

The moment he was on his feet, her expression wasn't different just calm and it was Song Ouyang that looked a bit confused, looking out of place like a mouse dropped in two lion's den.

Si Ning doesn't understand Song Ouyang who always seem rational and following his duties perfectly seem to be a little afraid of the Queen Dowager but no matter how intimidating she was Si Ning wasn't going to cower because now he doesn't even fear Xiu Zhicheng anymore he only wants to monopolize him and at first, he was only nervous to meet her but now seeing her and seeing that she intends to meddle with politics instead of knitting and sipping tea while watching some performance in the palace made Si Ning concluded that they might get along but first he needs to find a way to crawl in and make her see him as the perfect fit or Xiu Zhicheng and the world.

"What I think I none of your concern." Queen Dowager told him.

"What are you so afraid of?" Si Ning moved closer to her and bent a little just to see her face, now he could see some wrinkles on her forehead, barely noticeable, and closing the distance between them she doesn't seem scary at all.

"Are you trying to be sarcastic?"

Seeing how confident she looked and looking down on him reminded Si Ning of Ran Chunhua. He assumed it was just how the women in the Imperial family have been trained and when he saw it this way he wasn't that offended by her insult.

For one thing, Si Ning doesn't want to continue their discussion to avoid offending her because the Prime Minister would act as the witness which means if he made a mistake then he might be thrown into prison. He had never seen the prison in his era but he could imagine how it should look and from what he had seen in the historical dramas then the prison wasn't a nice place to be.

"I just woke up since I was unconscious for six days and the Imperial doctor told me to rest, I apologize I will have to read through the document when my sight is clear and because I am weak and mustn't get in contact with the outside atmosphere then I will like my guard Xiao Pei to escort the Queen Dowager and the Prime Minister to the safety of your palanquin." Si Ning said softly as he straightened up while he wore a calm expression maintaining and eye contact to trick her into picking the important thing in his sentence while disregarding the rest.

Si Ning had expected that she would throw a tantrum if she picks up the rude part of him making it clear he was going to not escort her to the gate but she only stood up and Song Ouyang was a bit surprised then she smirked.

"I am not very patient and I want to see your seal on it and it is an order from me." She said. "My guards are waiting outside so your incompetent guard can stay."

Song Ouyang picked the hat with the veil on the floor next to where was sitting and placed it on her head before trying the robes attached to the hat under her chin while a vein dropped to cover her face and Si Ning bowed watching her head to the door and were surprised that she was almost as tall as him.

Song Ouyang nodded as a form of parting greeting to Si Ning before following the Queen Dowager out. When the door closed behind them Si Ning started laughing because he found that his coming days in the palace might not be boring at all.