After Rebirth, My Wife Turned Out to Be Myself - Chapter 18

Outside the capital.

Spring flowers fluttered, but this villa situated on a small hillside seemed particularly desolate.

Two stone lions, guardians of the residence, stood on either side of the villa, gazing lifelike at the path before them, majestic and solemn.

The four large characters ‘Golden Sage Villa’ were powerfully embedded on the plaque.

But at first glance, it was just an ordinary villa.

A sound of hooves arrived, and the appearance of a group of riders instantly broke the tranquility of the mountain.

“Eldest Young Master, this is the place.” The leader pulled back the reins, halting the horse beneath him.

Xie Yunyu, whom he called Eldest Young Master, merely glanced at the villa and uttered a single word: “…Raid.”

“Yes!”

The group consisted of about twenty riders, all Xie family guards.

With the Eldest Young Master’s command, they naturally dismounted and surged forward.

A young servant from the villa, hearing the commotion and rushing out, saw so many people and was instantly filled with surprise and suspicion. “Sirs, what, what are you doing?”

A Xie family guard stepped forward, holding a warrant. “By imperial decree, we are searching and seizing this villa!”

The servant hurriedly chased after him. “Sirs, this is a private villa. My master is the maternal cousin of Minister Qian’s wife. Surely there’s a mistake! You can’t just raid it!”

Xie Yunyu stepped forward at this moment. “Minister Qian’s wife’s cousin? Then there’s no mistake. Raid it.”

The servant: ?

The group quickly entered the villa. The servant couldn’t stop them, and the gatekeepers, seeing the group wearing armor and carrying swords, didn’t dare to move.

Xie Yunyu stood on the steps, quietly watching the guards enter and search.

“Sirs! Do you really want to offend my master? Behind my master is Minister Qian!” At this moment, a female attendant walked out from the courtyard. She was dressed well, looking like the lady of the house.

Xie Yunyu glanced at her and said, “I am acting on imperial orders to search and seize.”

The female attendant was expressionless. “Then search.”

Having said that, she stepped aside, as if to say, do as you please.

This attitude made Xie Yunyu feel puzzled.

“Sirs…?” The guards, seeing his silence, asked if they should continue.

“Raid.” Xie Yunyu squeezed the imperial decree.

The imperial decree the Emperor had specifically given him couldn’t be without purpose. Although he was half-believing, half-doubting… he would trust it this once. If they could really find something, it wouldn’t be a wasted trip.

A group of guards immediately surged in.

The female attendant watched this scene, only observing in silence, without speaking.

About the time it takes for two sticks of incense to burn passed.

The guards returned to the courtyard with grim expressions.

“Sirs, we didn’t find anything particularly valuable.” Especially the antiques and cultural artifacts the sir mentioned, there wasn’t a single one.

“Have all the rooms been searched?”

“Yes.”

Xie Yunyu frowned upon hearing this.

The female attendant smiled but said nothing.

Xie Yunyu caught her expression and was certain there was something hidden in this villa.

It was just…

“Besides the rooms in the villa, have other places been searched?” Suddenly, a shout came from behind him.

Xie Yunyu turned his head and saw his cousin standing at the entrance, panting, her dress slightly disheveled.

“Miss!”

“Why has Miss come!”

“Anyu.”

“Eldest Cousin!” Xie Anyu strode towards them. “This is a new imperial decree.”

Of course, Xie Anyu didn’t come alone. She also brought dozens of Imperial Guards with her this time.

Xie Yunyu narrowed his eyes, looking at the imperial decree in his sister’s hand, then was about to kneel, but Xie Anyu quickly supported him. “Look first.”

Hearing this, Xie Yunyu nodded.

The imperial decree didn’t seem to contain much content.

Only two words—Buddhist hall.

Xie Yunyu’s eyes darkened, and he asked, “Is there a Buddhist hall in this villa?”

A guard nodded. “Yes. There is also a Buddhist hall in the villa, but nothing was found there either.”

Xie Yunyu narrowed his eyes. “Take me to see.”

“Stop!”

The female attendant’s expression changed drastically when she heard them mention ‘Buddhist hall’, and then she struck out at Xie Yunyu with a palm.

At the same time, a group of black-clad figures suddenly appeared on the villa walls, quickly nocking arrows and aiming them directly at the guards and the Xie siblings in the courtyard.

Faster than words could tell, Anyu grabbed her elder brother’s shoulder and threw him back, meeting the female attendant, bending to dodge her palm, and quickly engaging in a fight with her.

The guards brought by the Xie family were also skilled.

Seeing dozens of arrows shot from the walls, the guards immediately drew their swords, their sword-flowers deflecting the incoming arrows, protecting the unarmed Xie Yunyu behind them.

The Imperial Guards who came with Xie Anyu also immediately took action, rushing towards the walls.

While Xie Anyu and the female attendant were entangled in combat, cries of agony were already rising one after another.

Although the people hidden on the walls were also skilled, those Xie Yunyu brought were all Xie family soldiers who had been on the battlefield.

The cruelty of the battlefield was now displayed vividly before these people.

Almost everyone used no unnecessary fancy moves, every strike was lethal.

They! Were no match!

Noticing that her side was at a disadvantage, the female attendant couldn’t help but become anxious.

Just as she was distracted, Xie Anyu seized the opportunity and struck her with a palm, aiming directly at her chest.

The female attendant narrowly dodged, but the palm still landed on her shoulder.

This palm strike was full of force, clearly showing no mercy!

The female attendant covered her shoulder with one hand and retreated several steps, feeling a lingering fear in her heart. If that palm strike had landed on her chest just now, she might have died on the spot!

“So young, yet so ruthless with your moves!” the female attendant cursed.

The female attendant’s heart sank. No, she had to leave.

This villa was hidden, but there weren’t many skilled fighters.

She couldn’t die here!

Xie Anyu’s eagle-like eyes stared at her. “Being merciful to the enemy is being cruel to oneself. But don’t worry, I’ll spare your life!”

After all… the Emperor said to leave them alive!

As she finished speaking, Xie Anyu attacked the female attendant again.

The female attendant narrowly dodged, flicked her sleeve, and hidden weapons shot out from her sleeve, heading straight for Xie Anyu!

Anyu dodged, but the hidden weapons exploded with a bang when they hit the ground—

Instantly, dust billowed.

She flicked her sleeve to clear the dust, only to see the female attendant had already used Lightness Skill to leap onto the wall!

Trying to escape?

Xie Anyu’s eyes narrowed.

“Anyu!” Xie Yunyu, standing in the distance, suddenly shouted, then directly threw a bow he had picked up to his sister.

Xie Anyu grabbed it, quickly picked up a broken arrow from the ground.

Nocked the arrow, drew the bow—

The female attendant had already stood on the wall, glanced at her using a broken arrow, and was about to leap off the wall dismissively, but faster than words could tell—

The next second, a sound of rushing wind came from her ear.

With a soft thud, the sharp pain of an arrow piercing flesh and bl00d came from her calf.

“Ugh—” The pain made the female attendant unstable, and she actually fell directly from the wall.

And stuck in her leg—

Was that broken arrow.

A broken arrow had actually pierced her leg?!

At this moment, the female attendant finally remembered who this skilled young girl was.

The Xie family’s young daughter, who was still young but won first place in the royal hunt every year and was quite famous throughout the capital for her archery—

Xie Wan!

“Not good…”

The female attendant’s face was covered in cold sweat.

She couldn’t escape.

She immediately grabbed someone nearby and shouted, “Go back, report… the Buddhist hall, Minister Qian… betrayed…”

That person trembled but didn’t respond, instead staring blankly behind her—

Xie Anyu, holding a knife, was smiling at them.

Trying to escape was impossible.

…

After cleaning up the mess in the villa, the siblings finally arrived at the Buddhist hall within the villa.

A large Buddha statue, about three meters high, sat steadily on the platform.

Xie Anyu’s movement of sniffing the bl00d on her sleeve suddenly stopped. She blinked and asked Xie Yunyu, “Eldest Cousin, is the item hidden inside this Buddha statue?”

Xie Yunyu walked closer and observed carefully for a moment, his gaze stopping at the base of the statue.

“No, the item should be inside the base of this statue.”

The dust around the base of this statue… seemed uneven.

“Someone, look for the mechanism!” Xie Yunyu ordered.

Such a large Buddha statue couldn’t be moved easily. The only possibility was that there was a mechanism here that could move the large statue.

Fortunately, the mechanism wasn’t hidden too well.

Before long, the mechanism was opened, and the large Buddha statue, along with its base, was slowly moved aside, revealing the entrance to the hidden passage.

“Eldest Cousin, amazing!” Xie Anyu gave him a thumbs-up.

Xie Yunyu glanced at her. “Anyu, are you testing your brother?”

Xie Anyu’s gaze drifted, and she chuckled dryly, “Eldest Cousin, what makes you say that…”

Xie Yunyu was the first to walk into the secret passage. “Her Majesty must have told you where this secret passage was long ago, otherwise there would be no reason for you to come here.”

Xie Anyu: !

Xie Anyu quickly followed. “How can I not understand what Eldest Cousin means? Her Majesty sent me clearly to protect you. You don’t know, Her Majesty favors Eldest Cousin and wants you to become an official.”

Xie Yunyu’s expression didn’t improve upon hearing this; instead, his eyes showed more surprise and astonishment.

“Anyu, you and Her Majesty…”

Xie Yunyu didn’t finish the rest of his sentence.

In his opinion, this was very strange.

His sister, who was forced into the palace for the sake of the Xie family’s safety, not only didn’t resent the Emperor but was now even speaking up for Her Majesty. Thinking back to when his sister returned home last time, they seemed to have entered hand in hand…

A possibility popped into his mind, causing Xie Yunyu’s face to sink as he reminded her, “Anyu, she is a woman, and even more so, a ruler.”

Xie Anyu was startled, then nodded. “I know.”

Xie Yunyu stroked her head. “If she is good, the Xie family can go through fire and water. But that is the Xie family.”

Seeing his sister’s bewildered look, Xie Yunyu hardened his heart and said, “The Xie family won’t let you stay in the palace forever, and you… don’t give your heart to her.”

Her Majesty was deeply cunning; ten Anyus wouldn’t be her match.

But even a wise ruler is not necessarily a good partner.

Haven’t there been countless examples throughout history of palace consorts growing old alone in the palace? Xie Yunyu ultimately didn’t want his sister to be heartbroken over this.

After hearing these words, Xie Anyu’s ears suddenly turned red.

Ah?

Give her heart to whom?

The sickly Emperor?

She liked the sickly Emperor? How was that possible!

“Brother… you, are you mistaken?” Xie Anyu’s gaze also began to drift. “How, how could I be fond of Her Majesty!”

She was a sickly person! She would pant after walking two steps, okay?

“And she always teases me… I hate her! I would never put her in my heart!”

Sixteen-year-old Xiao Anyu, hearing the words ‘love’ for the first time, vehemently denied it, but her face turned red.

And her brother, seeing this…

Was silent.

Seeing her brother’s silence, Anyu became more anxious. “Brother!”

Xie Yunyu: “…Mm.”

“Let’s quickly go see what’s inside the secret passage!”

Xie Yunyu: “…Okay.”

Looking at his sister’s rapidly fleeing figure, Xie Yunyu fell silent once again.

Saying she was running fast, it was more like…

Fleeing in panic.

Xie Yunyu sighed.

Xie Yunyu, oh Xie Yunyu, why did you say those unnecessary things?