After Rebirth, My Wife Turned Out to Be Myself - Chapter 1

At dusk, the funeral bell tolled at the Regent King’s Manor.

White cloth hung over the plaque, and the servants stood outside the main hall, heads bowed low, listening to the young Emperor’s sorrowful cries from within.

Even the steward couldn’t help but shed tears.

The master, after all, was gone.

Inside the hall, the eunuch attending the Emperor couldn’t help but step forward to advise, “Your Majesty, please take care of your health.”

The young Emperor grieved, “Heaven is unjust.”

“The Regent King is gone because she was tired. She sacrificed too much for Da Yue. The Imperial Physicians also said that the Regent King herself lost the will to live.”

The Emperor froze upon hearing this, then lowered her eyes, “Lost the will to live… But the prosperous era of Da Yue has just begun, how could she… how could she lose the will to live?”

The eunuch couldn’t answer either.

Yes, just as the wars had ceased, and Da Yue’s external threats were cleared, a prosperous era was on the horizon, but how could this greatest contributor…?

“Tell me, why did she lose the will to live! She hasn’t even had a good look at this prosperous era of Da Yue!” Saying this, the Emperor grew somewhat angry.

“Your Majesty, perhaps Lord Xie missed the Former Emperor…” the eunuch stammered in reply.

The Emperor laughed in anger upon hearing this, “Missed the Former Emperor? Do you know that the night the Regent King was… was bestowed a title and summoned into the palace by that sister of mine, the Former Emperor, she directly smashed her head open with a vase, cracking the Former Emperor’s skull.”

Yet, she couldn’t be punished.

The eunuch gasped.

“Emperor Ruiming was incompetent, she couldn’t catch her eye,” the Emperor snorted, “In this world, no one could catch her eye…” Saying this, the Emperor grew sad again—

“Not even I.”

“The Regent King will not be buried in the imperial mausoleum,” the Emperor rose and ordered, “Bury her in the most scenic place outside the capital. The Regent King must personally witness the eternal prosperity of Da Yue!”

She was no longer that Consort Wan from the inner palace.

Saying this, the Emperor shed tears again, “All the people of Da Yue shall mourn for three days.”

…

Did Xie Wan die?

To be precise, she died and then came back to life.

Looking at the row of palace maids and female officials kneeling before her, crying out for mercy, Xie Wan, sitting on the edge of the bed in only her inner garments, felt a headache.

She had avoided this position of Emperor for years, yet she couldn’t escape it in the end.

Reborn, not only had time rewound eight years, but she had also directly transformed from ‘Xie Wan’ into ‘Empress Ruiming’.

“Your Majesty, please spare me, this servant didn’t mean to knock over the tea tray…” The maid cried in fright.

And this scene before her was because the sound of the overturned teacup had disturbed her afternoon nap.

Emperor Ruiming had always been frail, a constant invalid since childhood.

Rising early for morning court, she had the habit of taking an afternoon nap. However, Da Yue’s current situation wasn’t good, and as soon as she closed her eyes, her mind was filled with vexing troubles, preventing her from sleeping soundly.

Even the sound of an overturned teacup could easily wake her.

There was nothing to blame.

Xie Wan assumed an air of authority, “Clean it up and leave.”

“Yes.” The few palace maids didn’t notice anything amiss. Granted pardon, they stifled their sobs and quickly withdrew.

Silence returned to the room, and the feeling of irritation gradually faded from her mind.

Xie Wan looked at herself, sitting on the edge of the imperial bed, her feet resting on a fine, soft rug. Her hands were placed on her knees, startlingly white. She lifted them and looked; there wasn’t a single callus, they were smooth, fair, and soft as if boneless.

Reborn, her soul hadn’t returned to her original body; instead, it had entered Emperor Ruiming’s body… becoming the Empress of Da Yue.

Ruiming was born during a relatively stable period for Da Yue. The imperial lineage was thin, so her becoming Emperor was a natural succession.

Therefore, Ruiming’s talent in governance couldn’t be described as brilliant, only mediocre.

Ruiming also wanted to be a good emperor and wanted Da Yue to be stable.

Unfortunately, she had neither a body capable of diligent governance nor the talent to strategize for the realm.

Just a little instigation from the civil officials made her fear that allowing the General’s Manor to gain power would lead to major problems in the future. Thus, she summoned herself, the only daughter of the Great General, into the palace.

Thinking that this way, she would have a handle on Great General Xie.

Years later, Xie Wan still remembered every word Ruiming had said to her that day in Wanyi Palace.

“I will not share a bed with you. Your Xie family knows well the reason I summoned you into the palace as a consort, so… I will not give you supreme favor. Of course, as long as the General’s Manor has no rebellious intentions, I will not treat you poorly either.”

What was Xie Wan’s reaction upon hearing those words back then? Xie Wan thought about it. She seemed to have used the vase in the room to crack Emperor Ruiming’s skull.

At that time, she was still young and single-mindedly wanted to follow her father into the army. She had never even considered something like marrying into the palace.

Ruiming’s foolish act of summoning her into the palace further convinced Xie Wan that Da Yue had no future, that the Emperor was an incompetent woman, so incompetent that she could use innocent people to balance the treacherous court just because she was instigated by others.

Later, Da Yue indeed went downhill.

Four years later, the sickly Emperor Ruiming died, and the undercurrents of the court were brought to the surface. Treacherous officials held power, and surrounding states eyed them covetously… Da Yue truly fell into dire straits.

It was also at that time that Xie Wan finally shed the identity of ‘Consort Wan’.

During Da Yue’s turmoil, she donned armor and personally led troops. With a bow and arrow, she took the enemy general’s head from a hundred paces away, boosting morale.

She eliminated the bandits in Lingbei, asserted Da Yue’s might, and forcefully cut off the greedy desires of the surrounding states towards Da Yue.

Later, Da Yue suffered internal strife, foreign relatives rebelled, and bandits besieged the palace.

Xie Wan seized power, executed the corrupt officials, and protected the then-young Prince, directly breaking through the encirclement. She personally wielded her sword and cut off the head of the treacherous official, forcefully helping the young Prince ascend to the throne.

She quelled external threats and resolved internal troubles.

From then on, Da Yue revered her as a god.

But she was still a mortal after all.

She couldn’t escape birth, aging, sickness, and death.

She never expected that after closing her eyes and opening them again, she would be alive.

Not only alive, but she had also become the culprit who had caused her difficult life in the first place.

Xie Wan rubbed her head and sighed softly.

A sickly body plus the position of Emperor, with this configuration, how many more years could she live?

“Your Majesty, the Imperial Academy of Medicine has sent the medicinal soup,” a maid’s voice softly sounded from outside the bedchamber, as if afraid of disturbing her.

Xie Wan came back to her senses, “Bring it in.”

The maids carefully carried the tray in. Their steps were small and quick, their clothes neat, and their appearances pleasant.

The strong smell of medicine instantly filled the air.

“What kind of medicine is this?”

The maid was startled, then quickly replied, “Your Majesty, this is the invigorating tonic you take daily.”

Invigorating tonic daily?

Medicine is inherently toxic. Ruiming’s eventual death from incurable illness was likely related to these daily medicines.

She was concerned with state affairs and had to deal with memorials after her afternoon nap, but her body wasn’t up to it. Now it seemed she was using medicine to forcefully sustain her energy.

But in Xie Wan’s view, if she wanted to live a few more years, she couldn’t take too much of this medicine.

“Take it away. Instruct the Imperial Academy of Medicine that they don’t need to prepare invigorating tonic for me daily,” Xie Wan said.

The maids exchanged glances and nodded, “Yes.”

“I will go to the Imperial Study to review memorials today.”

“Yes.”

Xie Wan allowed the maids to drape an outer robe over her and walked out.

Her casual demeanor stunned the maids.

“Your Majesty, this servant will call for the sedan chair,” a maid called out in a hurry.

Xie Wan waved a hand, “I’ll walk there myself.”

The maids: !

Xie Wan yawned, suppressing the fatigue in her body, pushed open the door, and welcomed the spring sun.

Letting the light fall on her body, her slightly cool hands could feel the warmth of the sun… it truly gave her a sense of being alive again.

…

No one expected that Xie Wan would actually leave just like that, and even walk all the way to the Imperial Study.

Although by the time she reached the Imperial Study, fine beads of sweat had appeared on her forehead.

The servants guarding outside the Imperial Study were first startled by her actions, then they all knelt down, shouting “Long live Your Majesty” in unison.

Xie Wan waved her hand, excusing them from the salute.

Then she entered the Imperial Study.

She was not unfamiliar with this place.

After the internal strife in Da Yue, this place had almost always been used by her. The reason was simple: there was a library in the palace, and many rare books could be found here.

She sat down with practiced ease.

The ink had already been ground, and the fine scent of ink seemed to momentarily overpower the invigorating incense in the room.

“From now on, no invigorating incense is needed. This Imperial Study should be quiet.”

“Yes.” The attending female official quickly noted it down.

Xie Wan glanced at the thick pile of memorials placed on the desk before her and gently shook her head.

She didn’t want to be Emperor; she just wanted some leisure.

But this busy fate wouldn’t allow her to rest.

With that thought, Xie Wan opened the memorial placed on top, picked up her brush, dipped it in ink, and began to write with flowing strokes, her writing divine.

When she was young, she wanted to protect her home and country, to be a general.

Later, after experiencing everything, she felt no joy from achieving her ambition; instead, every time she closed her eyes, she saw a mountain of corpses piled high with the remains of soldiers and generals.

Since she had become the Empress of Da Yue, she would save Da Yue.

Xie Wan’s gaze was sharp. She took a blank sheet of Xuan paper, picked up her brush, dipped it in ink, and wrote with flowing strokes, her writing divine.

The female official, Zhaoxia, stood a few steps away, waiting quietly. Occasionally, she would glance up and catch sight of Her Majesty’s pale face. Just as she was about to remind her, her focused expression stopped her.

Your Majesty… seems a little different.

When reviewing memorials, not only was there none of the usual fatigue and irritation, but her brows seemed sharper?

She had originally thought Her Majesty would stay in the Imperial Study for a longer time today, taking advantage of her good spirits.

But who knew that in less than half an hour, Her Majesty got up.

“I’m tired. Pass down these that have been approved. Issue decrees where needed, and dispense aid where needed.” Xie Wan got up, rubbed her wrist, and prepared to leave.

This body of hers was truly not up to par.

The female official hurried forward, glancing back. That small mountain of memorials… wasn’t it still a small mountain? Her Majesty seemed to have only approved a small portion of them.

“Your Majesty, what about the rest?”

“Only pass down the ones I have approved. The others…” Xie Wan said word by word, “Leave them here.”

These three short words made the female official shiver. She said solemnly, “Yes.”

“Right, the Xie family…”

The female official was puzzled by her hesitation, “Your Majesty?”

“Nothing.” Xie Wan looked at the female official, “What is the name of General Xie’s daughter?”

The female official replied, “Your Majesty, General Xie’s daughter is named Xie Wan, courtesy name Anyu.”

Xie Wan nodded as if nothing was wrong.

Xie Wan, still called Xie Wan, even the courtesy name was exactly the same.

But she had become Emperor Ruiming here, so who could the Xie Anyu in the General’s Manor be?

Hearing her proactively ask about the Xie family daughter, Zhaoxia’s mind became active. She lowered her head and asked softly, “Your Majesty, will you choose Wanyi Palace for tonight?”

Xie Wan was startled, “What?”

“Today is the day Consort Wan is entering the palace. Everything is prepared at Wanyi Palace,” Zhaoxia said softly.

In the past, Emperor Ruiming was busy and in poor health, so the inner palace was naturally very quiet at night.

But today was different. The young lady from the General’s Manor had entered the palace. Even if Her Majesty considered her status, she would stay there for a night, right?

Hearing these words, Xie Wan’s breathing hitched.

That’s right, how could she forget? The 73rd year of Da Yue was the year she was bestowed the title of Consort Wan by Emperor Ruiming and entered the palace.

But Consort Wan, wasn’t that herself?

Now she had transmigrated into Emperor Ruiming and had summoned Xie Wan into the palace. So, she had married herself?

Xie Wan gently rubbed her numb fingertips, thinking how absurd it was.