After Rebirth, My Wife Turned Out to Be Myself - Chapter 76

Snow fell again in the capital at night, covering the treetops and branches with a layer of white frost. Then, on the morning of the first day of the new year, it melted away under the first rays of the sun.

The Xie Manor was very lively during the New Year.

Both Anyu and Xie Wan received New Year’s money.

Strictly speaking, married people shouldn’t receive it, but Younger Aunt said it was the first time this year, so she still gave it to them.

The misunderstanding about dismissing the harem had dissipated, and the crackling sound of firecrackers also dispelled the coldness that winter should have held. The family sat together, filled with joy and warmth.

After the New Year passed, Younger Aunt still didn’t come to inquire.

Occasionally, Anyu would notice Younger Aunt’s gaze on Her Majesty, which seemed to be probing.

Anyu thought that Younger Aunt had probably guessed, but she ultimately didn’t come to ask or confirm. Thus, they skipped over what Her Majesty had said about whether someone would obstruct them if this layer of secrecy was broken in the future.

It was also possible that Younger Aunt didn’t want to obstruct them, so she didn’t break the silence and didn’t tell anyone.

Xie Wan and Anyu didn’t stay at the Xie family for too long. On the second day of the New Year, they returned to the palace.

She was the Emperor, always busy.

When they got into the carriage, she saw Anyu lost in thought and asked, “What’s wrong?”

Anyu leaned against her and smiled, “I was thinking for a long time about how I should tell Younger Aunt that I’ve fallen for Your Majesty if she asked, and how I could make her not stop us. But I thought about it so much, and she didn’t ask at all.”

Even just to voice her own guess, she didn’t come.

“She’s considerate of you.”

“And also considerate of you.”

Xie Wan chuckled and nodded, “Yes.”

“I remember Your Majesty said that later… Younger Aunt passed away,” Anyu suddenly said.

“Yes, during the war between West Jin and Da Yue.”

“When will West Jin attack?” Anyu looked up at her. Even just hearing about it, she already felt a sense of aversion towards West Jin.

If Da Yue and West Jin were to clash in the future, she would show absolutely no mercy.

Xie Wan said seriously, “West Jin is also in chaos now. After the West Jin Emperor died, several slightly powerful princes and princesses joined the struggle for the throne. The Eldest Prince and the Third Prince of West Jin fought fiercely. Later, the Eldest Prince won, and the Third Prince died. But before he could even sit on the throne, he was stabbed in the back by his second sister, Ajirui, and ultimately died in the West Jin imperial palace.”

“Was it also Ajirui who led the allied forces to attack Da Yue?”

“It was Ajirui after she ascended the throne. Ajirui is very ambitious. The invasion by the neighboring allied forces should have happened a few years after the Northern Border Truce Agreement. However, based on the current situation, I cannot conclude what will happen in a few years.”

Everything was already different from what she had experienced in her previous life.

In her previous life, the West Jin and East Ming allied forces invaded when Da Yue was in internal turmoil, after the Xu family’s coup and the Lingbei uprising. At that time, Da Yue was in decline and on the verge of collapse.

If things continued to develop at this pace in this life, after Ajirui seized the West Jin throne two years from now, perhaps she wouldn’t be ambitiously trying to annex Da Yue, but rather should be worried about whether Da Yue would turn around and devour them.

Anyu frowned, a hint of sternness in her eyes, “Your Majesty, raising a tiger invites calamity.”

Xie Wan’s expression was languid, “Mm, I think so too.”

Since she knew the future early on, if she didn’t take some countermeasures, she would be letting down her experiences from her previous life.

“What does Your Majesty plan to do?”

Xie Wan’s eyes darkened, “Naturally, I’ll give the West Jin Eldest Prince a reminder. His second sister is not someone to be trifled with.”

Anyu was slightly startled upon hearing this. Did Her Majesty’s words imply she had already done this? Letting them fight among themselves was indeed a good method, but it surprised her that Her Majesty had already made arrangements so early.

As if understanding what Anyu was thinking, Xie Wan explained, “Danyu is also a strictly controlled poison in West Jin. Yet, Xu Ping was able to easily find Danyu and give it to Imperial Physician Su to make poison and then attack me. Tell me, was Ajirui involved in this?”

Perhaps Xu Ping hadn’t connected with Ajirui, but she didn’t believe that no one had facilitated his smooth acquisition of Danyu.

“Ajirui’s ambition towards Da Yue was already taking shape at that time,” Xie Wan said lightly. Once she died, Da Yue would fall into internal chaos, with various factions fighting among themselves, depleting Da Yue’s strength and fortune.

Once West Jin was in Ajirui’s hands, the first thing she would do after ascending the throne in West Jin was to attack Da Yue.

Ajirui’s calculations were practically audible to her.

It was a pity, but in her previous life, she could make West Jin submit and pay tribute, and in this life, it would be the same.

“Does Your Majesty want West Jin and East Ming?” Anyu asked for the first time, asking if she also harbored such ambition.

Xie Wan’s expression paused, “I merely wish for peace under heaven and stability for Da Yue.”

Anyu understood her meaning.

She only wanted Da Yue to be stable, and Da Yue could only be stable by becoming a truly powerful nation that no one dared to offend.

“If Your Majesty wishes, whether it’s West Jin or East Ming, I will take them for Your Majesty,” Anyu suddenly said.

“You certainly are confident,” Xie Wan smiled.

Anyu tilted her head, “Don’t you believe me?”

“I do.” How could she not know what she was like? “But…”

Anyu: “But?”

“While a renowned general is certainly important to a country, a strong army and prosperous people are the foundation for becoming a powerful nation.” Xie Wan gently rubbed her earlobe, “If you want to gallop on the battlefield, you’ll have to wait until I’ve prepared all of this first.”

War isn’t something you can just start whenever you want.

A strong army, prosperous people… Anyu’s cheeks flushed, “But I only know how to fight. I don’t know anything else.”

It seemed she couldn’t help Her Majesty much.

“If you don’t know, then read more books,” Xie Wan smiled with an inscrutable expression.

Anyu: ?

“My Empress cannot only know how to fight.”

As if to prove that statement.

Anyu’s days that followed were no longer as idle as before.

Xie Wan always managed to find all sorts of books for her to read and study.

Of course, military strategy and martial arts were not neglected either.

In winter, light snow drifted across the sky, settling on the eaves of the vermilion palace walls. When Xie Wan came to Wanyi Palace, she could always see Anyu’s figure in the courtyard, either practicing punches repeatedly or meticulously wiping her bow and sword.

After finishing, she would take the hot tea brought by Qingcui and come to Anyu’s side. Then, those bright eyes would curve into a smile, and she would happily call out, “Your Majesty.”

Besides practicing martial arts, she also compelled Anyu to read books.

From medical texts and pharmacology, to strategy and policy discussions, and then to etiquette, court regulations, poetry, and prose.

By springtime, new buds had appeared on the treetops in Wanyi Palace, and Anyu would still shake her head and ask her if she could read something else, saying it was too boring.

Xie Wan gently shook her head, her gaze allowing no room for argument.

“When you find a book you like, you read until the maid lights the lamp at night. When you find one you don’t like, you complain it’s boring, shaking your head and having no interest in it at all. Who is it that spoils you so?”

Anyu wasn’t afraid of her at all and replied with a grin, “It’s Your Majesty.”

Seeing that smile, the troubles from the imperial court would instantly vanish like smoke.

Xie Wan shook her head and had no choice but to sit down beside her.

She took the book from her hand and, using the spring sunlight, read it to her word by word.

At least Lady Consort Wan would listen carefully to the words read aloud by her personally.

Xie Wan didn’t feel anything was amiss, only Qingcui and Zhaoxia sighed inwardly, thinking that Her Majesty was truly too indulgent towards the Lady.

In the spring of another year, Xie Wan’s health improved further, so she accepted Anyu’s suggestion and practiced martial arts with her.

The internal energy in her body also grew from nothing, gradually manifesting under her increasingly rosy complexion.

Many martial arts couldn’t be learned; her physical foundation was already set. This was something even Xie Wan, reborn, couldn’t change.

However, with her health improved, she naturally gained strength.

Thus, when Anyu practiced martial arts, it changed from being alone to being with someone else.

Sparring, practicing swordsmanship, shooting birds.

Chu Long’s body dictated that Xie Wan could not possess the same strength as in her previous life. Her physical foundation was already formed, and even Xie Wan, reborn, could not change this.

Xie Wan didn’t care about her martial arts skill.

In this life, she was not that sharp blade.

Looking at Anyu, who was holding a weapon and confronting her, her brows gradually becoming sharper, she thought that in this life, she should be the one holding the blade.

As this thought emerged in her mind, the spring of the third year also arrived.

Along with the arrival of spring, news finally came from West Jin.

The two-year struggle for the throne had ended.

The West Jin Eldest Prince, who was only a step away from the throne and possessed supreme power and territory, had died. The one who ascended in his place was the Third Prince, who had contended with the Eldest Prince.

In the news that came, there was no mention of the Second Princess Ajirui, who had become Emperor in the previous life.

“What about Ajirui?” Two years had passed, and most of the youthful greenness had faded from Anyu’s face. Anyu’s eyebrows were somewhat like her father’s; her features were beautiful, yet also sharp and prominent.

Xie Wan said calmly, “I don’t know.”

Xie Wan had secretly intervened twice in the affairs of West Jin, causing the winner of this struggle for the throne to change from Ajirui, who had always stood by the Eldest Prince and hidden her sharpness, to the Third Prince. The twists and turns involved were probably only known to the West Jin imperial family.

Xie Wan looked towards the north, narrowing her eyes, “However, with the new Emperor of West Jin ascending the throne, as a neighboring country, Da Yue should send congratulations.”

“Is Your Majesty sending an envoy?”

“That won’t be necessary.”

Anyu: ?

Xie Wan said lightly, “West Jin has sent people over, hoping to use this opportunity to form a marriage alliance.”

Anyu was shocked: “Marriage alliance?!”

This time, not only was the new Emperor of West Jin different, but after ascending the throne, the new Emperor hadn’t immediately joined forces with East Ming to raise troops against Da Yue. Instead, they were preparing… a marriage alliance?