After Rebirth, My Wife Turned Out to Be Myself - Chapter 58

Anyu never expected Her Majesty to kiss her without so much as a greeting.

Her mind was filled with that soft, cool touch and those captivating eyes.

Emperor Ruiming’s appearance wasn’t bad; looking at her features, she was even quite charming, with a pair of peach blossom eyes that should have looked deeply affectionate at everyone, but perhaps temperament was the most influential factor.

When Chu Long used this face, she lacked some imperial presence. And because she was sickly, her face was always pale, making her look weak no matter how you looked at her.

Her Majesty, on the other hand, was the opposite.

No one would think she was weak.

Her Majesty was like a lion that was always sleepy and loved to laugh. Although she looked harmless, once her eyes deepened, it would make people tremble with fear and realize belatedly—

She was a lion.

She was the king standing in the forest.

Now, the king stood before her, every frown and smile seemingly deliberately trying to entice her, making her heart itch.

“Anyu, maybe I’m not so bad after all?”

That sentence made Anyu burn all over. In the end, she could only grab her clothes, take a deep breath, and call out in embarrassment and annoyance, “Your Majesty!”

“Mm.”

“From now on… you’re not allowed to smile at others like that. And, and you can’t try this kind of thing with others! Men and women… even women and women shouldn’t touch intimately!”

Just saying “try” and then trying it? This was a kiss!

Xie Wan was puzzled, “Does Anyu think I’m that frivolous?”

Anyu puffed up her cheeks and glared at her. Not frivolous? Who was it who touched her chest at the military camp gate just now!

So cute.

Such a cute person, was it really herself? Xie Wan touched her lips, the sensation seemingly still lingering.

She had to admit, she was indeed very good to kiss.

“I won’t do this to others,” Xie Wan’s thumb rested on Anyu’s rosy lips, gently rubbing, as if still reminiscing about the touch just now.

“I’ve never liked anyone else. Anyu is the first.”

“You can’t lie to me.” Anyu was clearly appeased, her embarrassment and annoyance fading, revealing her calm side. “Your Majesty is me, so you should know that I… am very possessive.”

She grabbed Xie Wan’s hand that was teasing her lips. “If you’ve kissed me, you can’t go back on it. If I find out Your Majesty treats anyone else like this, then…”

Anyu’s eyes darkened.

If she were to give what she had given her to someone else… Xie Anyu thought, she would definitely go crazy.

Xie Wan sighed, “I won’t.”

Anyu in this state truly made her feel as if she was seeing herself—

The side of herself that she had never shown before Anyu, even a little ferocious.

Xie Wan thought, that’s right.

Xie Anyu was her, there was no doubt about it.

She seemed to be truly a lunatic.

Otherwise, how could she feel that this ferocious side of herself appearing on Anyu was also quite exciting?

There was a desire to devour the little girl in front of her on the spot.

No, maybe the little girl would eat her first.

If refusing Anyu earlier was reason taking the upper hand, then saying she liked Anyu was possessiveness occupying the high ground. And now… Xie Wan didn’t know anymore.

In the end, she could only conclude that she and herself were the most suitable match.

“There’s one more thing I want Your Majesty to promise,” Anyu suddenly said to her.

Xie Wan’s eyebrow twitched slightly, “I kiss you once, and there are so many conditions?”

Anyu coughed lightly, “…The last one.”

Xie Wan: “I’m listening.”

“I want Your Majesty to be healthy and live a long time.”

Anyu’s voice suddenly softened, like a light breeze, brushing past Xie Wan’s ear.

Xie Wan was silent for a moment, then said, “You’ve said this many times. Are you that afraid of me dying?”

“If Your Majesty doesn’t want to die, you definitely won’t die. I haven’t seen Your Majesty’s past, nor do I know what Your Majesty has experienced.” She considered herself a simple and cheerful girl, but what did a cheerful girl experience to become this quiet and profound person she was now?

Anyu said in a low voice, “Your Majesty is a wise ruler, diligently handling court affairs. But has Your Majesty ever thought about what Da Yue will look like decades from now?”

“I didn’t understand Your Majesty before, but later, thinking that you are me, I put myself in Your Majesty’s shoes, and it seems I understand you a little better.”

Anyu lowered her gaze, “If I were Your Majesty, and I wanted to be a good emperor, I wouldn’t allow myself to have a sickly body, because being an emperor is not easy. Just like how I want to be a general, I will work desperately. Your Majesty is me, so you must be the same as me.”

“I know medicine, and Your Majesty does too. I know how to take care of my body, and Your Majesty must know as well. But before I begged Your Majesty to exercise, why didn’t Your Majesty do anything… like a rootless duckweed drifting with the current, with no intention of settling down.”

Anyu looked at her deeply, trying to see into the deepest part of her eyes. “So I was thinking, Your Majesty, are you… perhaps not wanting to live…”

She was still young, she didn’t understand matters of life and death. But she knew that she had to pull this person back, and only she could pull her back.

Xie Wan looked at her, not knowing what to say.

She was originally just a lonely soul. After being reborn, her plan for herself was to change the most difficult path Da Yue had taken in her past life, and then, after achieving success, follow the already written ending for Emperor Ruiming in the Book of Life and Death – if she was supposed to die, she would die.

Xiao Anyu was the biggest variable.

She never thought she would meet ‘herself’ in this timeline.

A few months ago, little Anyu said she wanted her to live, to live longer. She had never heard anyone say such things to her before, and she was a little moved, so she did it.

But she didn’t expect that after sending Anyu to the North for over two months, she would think so much.

Xie Wan sighed, “Before, I didn’t not want to live, nor did I particularly want to live.”

Anyu’s heart felt as if it was tightly squeezed by a large hand. She thought, as expected.

“Then from now on…”

“From now on, I’ll listen to you. I’ve been charmed by you, and I want to live a little longer.”

In the two months Anyu wasn’t in the palace, she had reported to the Martial Arts Ground every day, and was extremely careful with her diet. Otherwise, she wouldn’t have been able to come to this freezing Jinghe City.

Anyu’s eyes sparkled, and she smiled, “A little while isn’t enough. Your Majesty must live with me until we’re old and gray. When that time comes, we’ll come back to visit the Winter Flower Fest in the North.”

Seeing her not speak, Anyu pouted, “Will you?”

Xie Wan pinched her face, her eyes full of Anyu’s reflection. She was helpless and said, “…Alright.”

Another day passed, and the Northern Army set off back to the capital. Anyu was returning, so Xie Wan naturally had no reason to stay in Jinghe.

Even when Zhou Ning teased that Her Majesty had picked up her consort, Xie Wan didn’t blame her.

The journey back to the capital was long. Zhou Ning and Xie Yunliang both saw it: when no one was around, Her Majesty and Anyu were closer, their relationship… seemed even better than when they were in the palace.

Before, Her Majesty would at most pat Anyu’s head or pinch her cheek.

Now, Her Majesty would occasionally pull her into her arms, or simply rest her head on Anyu’s shoulder.

Xie Yunliang didn’t know whether to be sad or happy.

His sister got what she wanted, he should be happy. But Her Majesty would marry many consorts in the future. Thinking of his sister silently shedding tears when alone, Xie Yunliang felt as uncomfortable as if a cat were scratching his heart.

Seeing this, Zhou Ning merely scoffed, “Worrying about nothing.”

She didn’t think Anyu was the type to let Her Majesty marry many consorts.

Moreover, it seemed that ever since Anyu entered the palace, no new people had entered Her Majesty’s palace, and quite a few had even been sent away.

“General Xie, prepare a horse for me.”

“What for?”

Zhou Ning: “I need to return to the capital first.”

“Her Majesty’s order?”

“Mm.”

Xie Yunliang frowned slightly. Lately, he could also feel that the closer they got to the capital, the less Her Majesty showed her face among the troops. In fact, more often than not, she only stayed in Anyu’s tent.

Even Zhou Ning wasn’t being too conspicuous.

Her Majesty and Anyu’s intimacy was never displayed openly.

Apart from the few close to them, Her Majesty had not revealed her identity to anyone.

He had originally thought Her Majesty’s trip to the North was just to bring Anyu back, but if that were the case, there would be no need to hide her identity after seeing her.

Now that he thought about it, Her Majesty pretending to be an imperial envoy to the North was not a whim, nor was it for a ridiculous reason like missing Anyu, as he had thought. Her Majesty had her own purpose.

What was Her Majesty plotting?

Xie Yunliang looked at his friend, “What happened in the capital?”

“Prime Minister Xu is about to be released from the Censorate Office,” Zhou Ning said.

Xie Yunliang was stunned for a moment.

Since going to the North, he hadn’t heard anything about the Xu family. Prime Minister Xu and his two sons were arrested and taken to the Censorate Office because of the bandit suppression and assassination incident involving Anyu and Zhou Ning. Prime Minister Xu’s two sons, as the main culprits, were beheaded by Her Majesty.

Prime Minister Xu, however, was fine.

But Xie Yunliang was still surprised, “Her Majesty kept Xu Ping locked up until now before releasing him?”

Zhou Ning nodded faintly, “He hasn’t been released yet.” Even if they found ways to keep him locked up, they couldn’t keep him forever.

Xu Ping had, after all, worked diligently in court for so many years and had many allies. Furthermore, the bandit suppression and assassination case was indeed unrelated to Xu Ping himself, and he was the Prime Minister of Da Yue. Without a crime, it was impossible to keep him locked up indefinitely.

“But what does Xu Ping’s release have to do with Her Majesty leaving the palace?”

“I don’t know.”

Xie Yunliang: ?

Zhou Ning glanced at him, frowning, “Her Majesty claimed to be ill and has been absent from court for over a month. Her Majesty chose this moment to release Xu Ping…”

Those who didn’t know might think Her Majesty wanted Prime Minister Xu to take charge of state affairs for her. But only they knew that Her Majesty wasn’t sick at all, and had even gone to the North, inspected the results of the Ministry of Works, and incidentally brought the Northern Army back.

She also didn’t know what Her Majesty planned to do. Her Majesty’s thoughts, even Elder Brother Xie couldn’t fully guess, let alone her.

But Her Majesty asking her to return to the capital early must have her reasons.