After Rebirth, My Wife Turned Out to Be Myself - Chapter 37

Xie Anyu’s letter reached the capital several days later.

After reading the letter, Xie Wan was not surprised.

In her previous life, it was only after the court officially went to war with the Lingbei bandits that everyone realized the Lingbei mountain strongholds had long been engaged in weapon smuggling trade with the northern tribes.

By then, it was too late. Many of the weapons stockpiled in the mountain strongholds became badges of courage for the bandits, emboldening them to raise their swords against the Da Yue dynasty, which had long lost the people’s support.

Now, things were happening several years earlier. To be honest, before Xie Anyu’s letter arrived, Xie Wan wasn’t certain that the northern tribes had already begun infiltrating Lingbei at this time.

But discovering it early was naturally a good thing.

“Your Majesty, our northern neighbors are going too far!”

“This matter cannot be left unresolved!”

“The northern neighbors are colluding with the Lingbei mountain strongholds; their intentions are malicious!”

Compared to the ministers’ indignation, Xie Wan appeared much calmer. She simply asked, “My lords, do you think we should wage war?”

Wage war?

These two words completely silenced the indignant voices.

How could they wage war?

The north had just stabilized after a major disaster, the bandit suppression troops had not yet returned victorious, and transporting grain from the south to the north had already taken considerable effort. If a war truly broke out, who could keep up with the logistical military supplies and grain needed in the north?

That wouldn’t be fighting a war; it would be sending the northern soldiers to their deaths.

All the court officials present understood this principle, so no one dared to say another word.

Seeing that everyone had quieted down, Xie Wan said, “Minister Li, what do you think?”

Li Mingxin, called upon by name, immediately stepped forward. “Your subject believes that this weapon smuggling matter can be investigated secretly, but it is not yet time to bring it into the open. The most urgent task this year is still to restore the livelihoods of the people in the north.”

Now they knew that the various northern neighboring countries were ambitious, but provoking a war was the most unwise course of action for Da Yue.

“Your Majesty, this old subject also believes that Minister Li is correct. This smuggling case has taught us a lesson. From now on, we should establish more border checkpoints and strictly investigate such matters.”

The sudden, slightly deep voice startled many people.

It was actually Prime Minister Xu speaking?

Anyone with a discerning eye knew that Li Mingxin had made great contributions during this disaster relief effort. Although rewards had not yet been conferred, promotion was only a matter of time.

Moreover, Li Mingxin had recently become quite close to Xie Yunyu…

He was likely also part of the Xie faction.

Everyone knew that the Xu and Xie families were bitter rivals, so Prime Minister Xu speaking up for someone from the Xie faction at this moment truly surprised many.

Xu Ping, however, seemed not to care about the gazes of others. He simply bowed and said, “This year, the north suffered from drought, and Da Yue was afflicted by disaster. I fear the northern neighbors are also not faring well. This old subject dares to suggest that the northern neighbors are eyeing our Da Yue like tigers. With nowhere else to turn for help, they might once again harass the people in our northern border regions. If this is the case, the most urgent task should be to dispatch military personnel to the north to ensure the safety of the northern lands.”

“Prime Minister Xu is right,” Xie Wan nodded. “That is also Our thought. Then, Prime Minister Xu, who do you think is capable of this great responsibility?”

Xu Ping lowered his gaze. “In your subject’s opinion, the commanders for guarding the north are, firstly, Old General Ye, and secondly, Great General Xie.”

Upon hearing this, Minister Zhou frowned. For no other reason than that the Old General Ye mentioned by Xu Ping was precisely his father-in-law.

“Old General Ye is advanced in age. The northern lands are harsh and cold, let us not make the old gentleman suffer further,” Xie Wan waved her hand. “As for Great General Xie…”

Xie Wan looked at her own father below, but still shook her head. “General Xie shall remain in the capital. We have many ideas regarding military reform recently and still need to discuss them with General Xie.”

“Does Our Da Yue only have two generals available?”

Li Mingxin spoke up at this moment. “Your Majesty, your subject can recommend someone. The Xie family’s second young master, Xie Yunliang, traveled with your subject to the north for disaster relief. The second young master is brave and skilled in battle. Your subject believes that Second Young Master Xie is capable of this task!”

“Second Young Master Xie indeed made great contributions during this disaster relief. We have not yet had time to reward him. In that case… We shall confer upon him the title of General Zhenbei and have him guard the northern lands for Us.”

Xie Wan glanced at her own father. “Great General Xie, what is your opinion?”

Xie Chengdong sighed inwardly, stepped forward, and said, “Your subject thanks Your Majesty for this great favor on behalf of my nephew!”

The ministers present gasped inwardly.

General Zhenbei…

How many generals was the Xie family going to produce!

This point remained a concern for the ministers even after the court session ended.

Some even couldn’t help but ask Prime Minister Xu, “Why did you speak up for that side…”

Prime Minister Xu merely smiled.

Was he speaking up for the Xie family?

He was speaking in accordance with the Emperor’s will.

“If you don’t understand, then shut up,” the Minister of Rites scolded him directly.

He had been by Prime Minister Xu’s side for a long time and could understand this move by the Prime Minister.

The Xie family was currently favored, and Xie Yunyu was soaring.

And once upon a time, the Xu family was also this favored. Xie Yunyu’s current situation was something the Prime Minister had enjoyed exclusively back then.

And being favored… ultimately depended on who could best guess the Emperor’s intentions and who could make Her Majesty happy.

Now, the Xu family was suspected and neglected by Her Majesty due to the case involving Minister Qian. If the Prime Minister continued to be ignorant and oppose the Xie family, he feared…

The Minister of Rites was also clear on this, which made him sigh even more.

“Prime Minister, wait until this year’s imperial examination, wait until the eldest young master and second young master enter the court, and the Xu family will definitely not lose to the Xie family,” the Minister of Rites comforted him.

In his view, Her Majesty’s heavy reliance on the Xie family’s eldest and second young masters was due to Xie Anyu’s whispers and because that brute Xie Chengdong was still somewhat loyal and upright.

But when he mentioned his two sons, Xu Ping’s face became uglier than anything else.

He never thought Xie Chengdong could outdo him.

But when it came to the next generation, he had to admit he had lost.

His second son entered the female Emperor’s palace but was kicked out without even receiving a rank.

Xie Chengdong’s daughter, however, could become the female Emperor’s favored consort.

He had placed great hopes on his eldest son, but he turned out to be a fool who couldn’t think straight.

Xie Chengdong’s nephew, however, could gain Her Majesty’s favor.

He had absolutely not expected the Xie family to have a raw gem like Xie Yunyu, but the Xie family’s Xie Yunliang was actually also a military talent!

What could Xu Ping do?

He could only silently swallow that unwilling resentment.

When he rose again and regained imperial favor, he would surely…

Xu Ping rubbed his head. Forget it, forget it, he would think about it then.

He had to admit, thinking of his two disappointing sons… it did dampen his great ambition by three parts.

Meanwhile, Xu Shengming had once again arrived at his younger brother Xu Shengwen’s courtyard.

Ever since Her Majesty’s birthday banquet, Xu Shengwen had shut himself away, becoming more gloomy than before.

Fortunately, the two brothers were united in their desire to kill the two main figures who had gone to suppress the bandits.

Thus, a plan came into being.

“Have those people gone? It’s been so long, why hasn’t any news come back yet?” Xu Shengming rushed up to Xu Shengwen, asking loudly.

Xu Shengwen glanced at him sinisterly. “Big brother, that’s Lingbei.” Even the court’s urgent letters take several days to travel.

“If they succeed, news will naturally come back.”

“No news is no news…” Xu Shengming also knew he was in the wrong. “Then are the people you arranged reliable? Are they sure to succeed?”

Xu Shengwen: “They are death warriors. Even if they don’t kill them, they won’t betray us.”

“Who asked you if they’d betray us?” Xu Shengming said in a deep voice. “I want her dead! Success is the only option, failure is not allowed!” The thought of having been bedridden for half a month before finally being able to walk made Xu Shengming wish he could see Zhou Ning’s corpse immediately!

Xu Shengwen’s face turned cold. “Then why didn’t Big Brother arrange it himself?”

Success is the only option, failure is not allowed?

Why didn’t he use his brain to think? The person he wanted to kill was Zhou Ning, the current military champion!

Xu Shengming choked, paused, and then said, “Then you must tell me when there’s news!”

Xu Shengwen remained silent, not even looking at him.

If it weren’t for the fact that he also wanted Xie Wan’s life…

Forget it.

Xu Shengwen walked to his desk on his own, looked at the phoenix painting he had drawn these past few days, and carefully dotted its eyes.

After putting down his brush, Xu Shengwen gazed at the painting with almost obsessive fascination.

He also prayed every day that Xie Wan would just die in Lingbei.

Author’s note: The weather has really changed quite a bit recently, everyone please remember to stay warm. It’s a little better today, didn’t update much, no strength to hold up the pot lid, don’t hit me!