Chapter 40: They Want to Send My Husband to War!
No matter how boring the banquet was, Rong Shuyan and Lin Xueyi couldn’t simply leave whenever they wanted.
After everyone had enjoyed the first round of wine and the opening dishes, the nobles and imperial officials began presenting their birthday gifts to the Emperor.
However, since Rong Shuyan had already revealed his gift that afternoon, there was no longer any surprise when it was his turn. Still, unlike in the original novel, no one could mock or laugh at what he had prepared.
"Xueyi, how are you feeling?" the Emperor asked as Rong Shuyan and Lin Xueyi moved forward and bowed before the dragon throne.
She knew he was only asking out of courtesy, but Lin Xueyi still put on a grateful smile as though she had just heard the kindest words in the world.
"Xueyi is feeling much better," she replied respectfully. "It is all thanks to Your Majesty. If Your Majesty had not stood up for me and given me justice, I would still be living in fear of my brother."
The Emperor gave a small nod. "This Emperor merely wished to uphold justice," he said calmly. "What your brother did should never be tolerated."
Lin Xueyi scoffed inwardly. [Yeah, right.]
She was certain the Emperor would never have bothered defending her if Rong Shuyan hadn’t stepped in and turned the whole incident around.
"But because of this matter, we are now short one soldier," the Emperor suddenly said with a sigh. He turned to Rong Shuyan. "Shuyan, have you thought about what we discussed earlier?"
Lin Xueyi frowned slightly because she truly had no idea what they had talked about before.
But judging from the expressions on both their faces, it had to be something important. Important enough that Rong Shuyan had looked troubled ever since he returned.
"This prince is still not convinced that I would be of any use at the border," Rong Shuyan said in a low voice, lowering his head.
[What?! The border?! For what?!] Lin Xueyi screamed inwardly, causing Rong Shuyan to furrow his brows slightly.
Lin Xueyi suddenly held her breath, and her hands turned ice cold when she heard that.
Whenever people mentioned the border, there were usually only two possibilities; War or rebellion.
[Why would the Emperor send Yanyan to the border?!] she cried inwardly again. [He can’t even walk properly! How is he supposed to survive on a battlefield?]
A moment later, the Emperor shook his head.
"This Emperor does not believe that," he said. He adjusted his posture on the throne before speaking loud enough for everyone in the hall to hear.
"You have studied the Southern Wolf Tribe and understand how they fight. This Emperor believes you can serve as an Imperial Military Strategist. You won’t even need to leave the command tent."
The moment Lin Xueyi heard the words Southern Wolf Tribe, her eyes widened. She immediately searched through her memories of the novel.
If Lin Xueyi remembered correctly, the Southern Wolf Tribe was the same tribe Rong Shuyan had once defeated six years ago.
Back then, he had still been the Deputy General, only eighteen years old.
Despite his young age, he had led the army to victory by personally killing the tribe’s leader. Throughout the campaign, he had also carefully studied the Southern Wolf Tribe’s fighting style, habits, and tactics until he understood them better than anyone else.
After suffering such a crushing defeat and losing their leader, the Southern Wolf Tribe no longer dared to attack the empire’s borders.
But now, six years later, everything had changed.
The former leader’s son had reached the age of twenty and taken over the tribe.
Determined to restore his father’s honor, he had gathered the warriors once again and launched another invasion of the empire’s southern border.
[Wait...] Lin Xueyi’s eyes widened.
In the original novel, Rong Shuyan had never attended the Emperor’s birthday banquet. His title as a prince had already been stripped away by then, so there was no reason for him to be sent to the battlefield.
[Damn it!] Lin Xueyi cursed inwardly. [We really shouldn’t have gone to this banquet! This is all my fault!]
The person who was originally supposed to go was the Second Prince, Rong Yanzhou.
He was currently serving as one of the empire’s generals, but to put it nicely, he was average.
To put it honestly, he had only reached that position because of his status.
When Rong Yanzhou led the army against the Southern Wolf Tribe in the original story, the campaign ended in complete disaster.
The tribe’s new leader personally defeated him on the battlefield and gouged out both of his eyes.
After returning to the capital, Rong Yanzhou lost his sanity. He spent the rest of his life trapped in endless fear and madness, never recovering from what had happened.
[No...] Lin Xueyi slowly clenched her fists beneath her sleeves.
She didn’t care whether Rong Yanzhou went or not, but she absolutely refused to let Rong Shuyan take his place.
[I don’t want anyone to gouge out his eyes!] Lin Xueyi cried out in horror inside her head. [Yanyan! I can’t bear to imagine you without your eyes! You’ll suffer so much! Yanyan, you have to know this!]
Rong Shuyan certainly knew now. And thanks to Lin Xueyi’s thoughts, he had also begun imagining himself without his eyes.
Great.
His legs no longer worked properly, and now there was even a chance he could lose his eyes.
Could life get any worse?
"This Empress agrees with His Majesty," the Empress said suddenly. She gracefully raised her fan to cover part of her face, but the smile in her eyes only grew deeper. "Prince Rui has a deep understanding of the Southern Wolf Tribe. It would be a great waste to let all that knowledge go unused."
The banquet hall fell silent and many of the officials nodded in agreement after hearing the Empress’s words.
"True. True. Prince Rui was indeed such a great soldier back then," they said.
Lin Xueyi twitched at the corner of her eye. [You were talking badly about him just a moment ago, and now you’re suddenly praising him because you want to push him into his own grave!]