After Rebirth, My Wife Turned Out to Be Myself - Chapter 12

Back in the palace, everything was as usual. The matter of accompanying Anyu on her return visit home did not cause much of a stir. The next day, the Xie family’s second young master, Xie Yunliang, of the General’s Manor, led a contingent out of the capital and headed straight north.

Xie Wan also immediately sent an urgent letter to Li Mingxin in the north.

If all went as expected, this northern drought would be safely weathered.

After all… the national treasury had shrunk considerably because of it.

Some people noticed that Great General Xie had ‘recovered from his illness’ and returned to court, and even his attitude towards Her Majesty had improved significantly.

It seemed the relationship between ruler and minister was harmonious, without the usual situation where Great General Xie would pour cold water on whatever was being discussed.

This… continued for ten days.

It was surprising, but recently there were rumors in the palace that Lady Consort Wan of the Xie family was suspected of gaining favor?

It was said that Her Majesty had bestowed upon Lady Consort Wan a palace pass token, even allowing her access to the Martial Arts Ground.

Everyone then understood. No wonder Great General Xie had been so amiable lately.

In fact, many people had guessed wrong.

Great General Xie’s amiable demeanor was not because Xie Wan was doing well in the palace. It was based on the urgent news sent back from the north by the Xie family’s second young master.

The news of the great drought in the north was not false, and disaster relief efforts were already proceeding in an orderly manner, making it impossible for it to develop into a terrible tragedy like a famine.

The seemingly incompetent and sickly Emperor had finally done something good, which naturally eased Great General Xie’s mind considerably.

But for the Emperor to favor a consort was one thing; allowing her into the Martial Arts Ground was quite another. This matter was unusual.

Initially, many court officials immediately submitted memorials upon hearing this – the inner palace must not interfere with state affairs, how could Consort Wan go to the Martial Arts Ground?

But Her Majesty acted as if she didn’t see these memorials at all, not even bothering to approve them, just letting them gather dust in the Imperial Study. After repeated attempts failed, the court officials gave up.

Similarly, everyone also noticed something: Her Majesty seemed to have changed somewhat.

Many officials’ memorials, once submitted, were like stones sinking into the sea.

At first, they thought Her Majesty might have overlooked one of them, which wasn’t strange. But as time went on, many realized that Her Majesty wasn’t failing to approve memorials; rather, she wasn’t approving the ones she disagreed with.

This way of doing things… had a touch of arbitrariness about it.

But did they dare go to the Imperial Study and force Her Majesty to approve them? In the past, the most common method officials used to compel the Emperor to do something was for dozens of people to jointly submit a memorial.

But now, no matter if dozens of people submitted a memorial together, Her Majesty simply wouldn’t approve it if she didn’t want to.

In Prime Minister Xu’s eyes, this was not good.

Xu Ping was the most afraid of the Emperor changing.

Although it was just not approving certain memorials, it wasn’t a major issue. But Xu Ping had a vague intuition that Her Majesty had changed, and ‘arbitrariness’ was just the beginning.

Xu Ping immediately contacted his second son, Xu Shengwen, who was in the palace.

He intended to ask Xu Shengwen about Her Majesty’s recent situation, but the letter he sent was like a stone sinking into the sea, without any echo.

Xu Ping realized something was wrong.

He sought out his palace informant and only then learned that Xu Shengwen had not only failed to gain any imperial favor but had also been punished for not kneeling when meeting the Emperor and was confined to Ningqing Palace to study palace rules and reflect on his mistakes.

Consort Wan was favored, but his son was under house arrest, coupled with all these changes in Her Majesty… when something is abnormal, there must be trouble.

“Prime Minister, what should we do?”

Xu Ping slowly closed his eyes. “Stay calm. The sky hasn’t fallen yet.”

…

In the Imperial Garden, Xie Wan was taking a stroll, listening to Zhaoxia talk about the recent situation at Wanyi Palace.

“Lady Consort Wan goes to the Martial Arts Ground every day. Ever since Her Majesty allowed Lady Consort Wan to train the Imperial Guards, I heard the Martial Arts Ground is filled with complaints every day,” Zhaoxia said with a smile. “This servant heard that Lady Consort Wan is truly training them to death. Perhaps in not too many days, Lady Consort Wan will be able to present Her Majesty with the most excellent five thousand Imperial Guards.”

Xie Wan smiled without speaking.

Training soldiers was not something achieved in a day. Moreover, there were quite a few young masters among these Imperial Guards. To train them well, little Anyu would have to put in some effort.

“I heard that when Lady Consort Wan first went to the Martial Arts Ground, no one listened to her at all. But Her Ladyship found another way, pulling out everyone who disobeyed her for a spar.” Zhaoxia covered her mouth and laughed. “Those Imperial Guards initially didn’t dare to lay a hand on Her Ladyship, but later, getting worked up, they all made a move. However, Her Ladyship’s martial arts are superb, and she subdued many of them.”

Xie Wan: “…Was she injured?”

Zhaoxia immediately understood. “No. None of them were Her Ladyship’s match.”

Xie Wan shook her head. “Send some medicinal ointment from the Imperial Academy of Medicine to Wanyi Palace to keep on hand.”

Zhaoxia nodded upon hearing this. “Yes. Your Majesty… those who refused to obey Lady Consort Wan’s command… should they be punished?”

Xie Wan waved her hand. “Leave them be.”

She could manage the Imperial Guards in the palace for little Anyu, but if she truly went to the army in the future and became a young general, how would she command respect? Although she was the Emperor, she was inevitably beyond reach.

“Yes. However, Lady Consort Wan hasn’t forgotten Your Majesty. When this servant occasionally goes to Wanyi Palace to deliver something, Her Ladyship will also inquire through this servant about what Your Majesty is doing.”

Xie Wan shook her head. “What can I do?”

It was nothing more than a three-point-one-line routine: approving memorials in the Imperial Study, and when free, taking a couple of steps in the Imperial Garden. The Emperor’s life was busy and boring, and there was a pile of disagreeable officials constantly submitting memorials to her over trivial matters.

Fortunately, the good news from Li Mingxin’s side brought her much comfort.

Being able to alleviate the drought in the north was the best outcome.

“Are there any other movements in the inner palace?”

“Your Majesty, that one in Ningqing Palace…” Zhaoxia almost blurted out ‘that master’, but suddenly stopped. “That Young Master Xu has almost finished studying the palace rules, and the governess has also returned.”

“Mm.” Xie Wan dismissed it lightly.

Zhaoxia couldn’t guess Her Majesty’s thoughts and was a bit troubled. “Your Majesty, Young Master Xu has repeatedly sent people from Ningqing Palace to deliver messages, saying he wishes to see you.”

“No rush. We’ll talk about it when Prime Minister Xu comes.”

Zhaoxia was puzzled. “Will Prime Minister Xu come?”

“His son has been in the palace for half a month with no news. He’ll have to show some concern eventually.”

“Your Majesty used to quite like Young Master Xu. Why now…” Only Zhaoxia, who served closely, dared to ask this.

Xie Wan’s tone dropped a few degrees. “You said it yourself, ‘used to’.”

Zhaoxia immediately dared not ask further.

Xie Wan reached out and plucked a cluster of vibrant spring chrysanthemums, her eyes dark.

Spring chrysanthemums, they reminded her of many past events.

Back then, after she was summoned into the palace by Emperor Ruiming, she settled in Wanyi Palace.

At that time, she wasn’t like Anyu, able to freely enter and exit the Martial Arts Ground. Wanyi Palace wasn’t far from the Imperial Garden, and she was naturally active. Since she couldn’t go anywhere else, she often came to the Imperial Garden.

Unfortunately, one day she happened to run into Emperor Ruiming strolling in the garden with a male consort.

Emperor Ruiming saw her and was reminded of the pain of having her head cracked open. She wanted to leave, but the male consort beside her aggressively insisted on giving her a hard time.

For no other reason than that the male consort was none other than the second son of Prime Minister Xu.

In fact, after Emperor Ruiming summoned her into the palace, Prime Minister Xu also immediately sent his second son, Xu Shengwen, into the palace, making him a male consort with a rank equal to Xie Wan’s.

Unlike her, a daughter of the Xie family who only knew how to wield swords and spears, the female Emperor loved men. Xu Shengwen was not only handsome but also came from a scholarly family. In every aspect, he was the person most suited to the female Emperor’s liking.

Therefore, at that time, Xu Shengwen was the most favored as soon as he entered the palace.

And Prime Minister Xu was the head of the civil officials, always at odds with the military Xie family.

Xu Shengwen naturally couldn’t stand her, so he would ridicule her with pedantic words.

At that time…

It seemed the topic was these spring chrysanthemums. Circling around, he was saying she was completely ignorant of poetry and literature.

These were common tactics for vying for favor in the inner palace.

Unfortunately, at that time, Emperor Ruiming didn’t help anyone and left in a hurry with Xu Shengwen.

After all, Xie Wan was the woman who dared to crack her head open.

Thinking about it now is quite amusing. It was also thanks to her cracking Emperor Ruiming’s head that from then on, the female Emperor never turned over the plaque for her Wanyi Palace even once.

But Xie Wan was strong-willed; she wouldn’t allow others to say there was anything she couldn’t do.

She could do needlework, she could read poetry and literature, and she could also wield swords.

Perhaps thanks to Xu Shengwen, during her few years of boredom in this palace, she learned almost everything she should and could learn.

Just as she was thinking, a palace servant came to report from outside—

“Your Majesty, Grand Consort Qin is coming towards the Imperial Garden.”

Xie Wan: “Oh?”

Grand Consort Qin, Xie Wan was not unfamiliar with this person.

When the late Emperor passed away, the young Grand Consort Qin was still pregnant with Emperor Ruiming’s half-brother – the Prince who was later supported by Xie Wan to become Emperor after Emperor Ruiming’s death.

Now Grand Consort Qin remained in the palace, still raising the Prince, who was probably around twelve years old. Because she was well-behaved and had been kind to Emperor Ruiming when she was young, Emperor Ruiming also treated her as half a mother.

But what was Grand Consort Qin coming for?

“Your Majesty, Grand Consort Qin is requesting an audience, accompanied by Young Master Xu.”

Xie Wan’s eyes narrowed. “Accompanied by whom?”

Xu Shengwen?

As soon as he could leave Ningqing Palace, he started causing trouble again?

Young Master Xu really couldn’t stay idle.