EWRN - Chapter 7
Chapter 7: Married You by Mistake (I)
The study of the Hall of Imperial Governance.
Some time had passed since her rebirth. Although she spent every day thinking about how to ruin the country, in reality, it was as difficult as ascending to heaven.
The southeastern coast of the Great Yuan Kingdom had been blessed by the heavens for nearly a century. The climate was pleasant, the land fertile, and banditry was rare—hardly a cause for concern.
To the northwest of Great Yuan, the Yan Clan of the Northern Kingdom had been defeated by the Grand General Hou ten years prior. To sue for peace, the Northern Kingdom signed a treaty, offering an annual tribute of one million taels of gold and numerous rare treasures. Afterward, when the Grand General Hou returned to court, he left his legitimate son, Hou Yuwen, to guard the northwestern border against the Northern Kingdom's villains, lest they tear up the agreement and launch a surprise attack.
Before the Yan Clan unified it, the Northern Kingdom had been a collection of steppe clans notorious in Great Yuan. Dozens of these clans, large and small, would harass the border towns of Great Yuan during the harsh winters, stealing and plundering, making life miserable for the common people. Thirty years ago, the prominent Yan Clan of the steppes subjugated all the smaller clans with an iron fist. They established a nation modeled after Great Yuan, and because of its geographical location in the north of the continent, they named it the Northern Kingdom.
Although the Northern Kingdom was only half the size of Great Yuan, its people—descendants of the steppe clans—were all fierce warriors, men and women alike. Thus, after its unification, the Northern Kingdom's army, commanded by the Yan Clan, frequently invaded, even managing to capture two of Great Yuan's cities. General Hou had risen to prominence precisely by recapturing those two cities and driving back the Northern Kingdom's forces. It was said that in the northwest, the people knew only of the Grand General Hou, not the emperor in the capital.
Huo Jinyu remembered that soon, the Northern Kingdom would seek a marriage alliance with Great Yuan to reduce their tribute payments; after all, they were a steppe nation and not wealthy. In her past life, it was the Second Prince who was to be wed to the Yan Clan princess. As the emperor, she naturally couldn't be part of the alliance. That Yan Clan princess had also been fated for a short life, assassinated shortly after crossing into Great Yuan's borders. Enraged by the assassination, the Northern Kingdom used it as a pretext to attack, blaming Great Yuan for failing to protect her. An army of hundreds of thousands laid siege to the northwestern cities. Because Emperor Yuanjin had no children at the time, they clamored for the Second Prince to be sent to the Northern Kingdom as a hostage. The imperial court was in chaos, with the ministers split into two factions. One faction sued for peace, advocating for the Second Prince to be sent as a hostage. The other advocated for war, believing Great Yuan's military was powerful and its reputation formidable, unafraid of a threat from a minor nation established only a few decades ago.
At the time, Huo Jinyu, still young and mindful of her fraternal bond, felt that sending a hostage would be a great loss of face. Besides, if the Second Prince truly went to the Northern Kingdom, his fate would be grim. Thus, after a difficult decision, Huo Jinyu chose war. If they wanted a fight, they would get one!
As the Second Prince's escort, pushed by the peace faction, had already departed, the soldier tasked with delivering the imperial edict had to ride nonstop, finally catching up to the convoy at a northwestern border city. Thinking back now, Huo Jinyu realized it would have been better to send that scoundrel directly to the Northern Kingdom. It might have eliminated a future disaster. She blamed herself for clinging to some bullshit notion of brotherly affection; a moment of soft-heartedness had brewed a catastrophe.
Afterward, the Second Prince remained in the border city to fight the Northern Kingdom. Over the next ten years, both sides had their victories and defeats. For the Second Prince's merits in defending the border, she had even enfeoffed him as Prince Anping. Who knew if, during that decade-long war, the Second Prince had colluded with the Northern Kingdom, trading victories for military achievements!
The more Huo Jinyu thought about it, the more she regretted it. Fortunately, she was favored by the heavens. The Son of Heaven was truly the cherished child of the sky, granted a chance to live again even after making such a grave mistake!
Realizing she now held all the foresight in this life, how could she not use it to its fullest? How could she justify the pain of being torn apart by chariots in her past life! How could she justify the favor of the heavens! At this thought, Huo Jinyu couldn't help but laugh out loud.
Below her, the two eunuchs, Eunuch Wang and Eunuch Li, jumped in fright at the sudden laughter. Heavens! Please take away this demon possessing His Majesty's body! Little did they know, the demon was their very own dear Majesty.
In this life, military power was still entirely in General Hou's hands. The general was a loyal subject, but who knew if he would harbor rebellious thoughts after the Emperor stole his son's fiancée. Perhaps... she should marry the general's daughter as well?
"Eunuch Li, in the next two days, investigate for Us what the Northern Kingdom's Yan Clan has been up to recently," Huo Jinyu ordered, tapping her fingers on the desk.
"Yes." Eunuch Li received the order and withdrew from the study. Truth be told, the most capable and trusted eunuchs Huo Jinyu had were Eunuch Li and Eunuch Wang. She had used them throughout her past life as well. She just didn't know how long she could use these two in this life. If they were disloyal, they shouldn't blame her for being ruthless. Having been reborn, Huo Jinyu's trust in people was practically zero.
"Eunuch Wang, help Us look at this stack of memorials." The more she suspected him, the more she had to use him, to squeeze him dry within the limits of his utility. Huo Jinyu's expression was unreadable as she summoned Eunuch Wang to her desk.
"Your Majesty! This is not permissible!" Eunuch Wang fell to his knees in terror, kowtowing desperately. If he really read these memorials, he feared he wouldn't be leaving this small study on his own two feet.
"Eunuch Wang, did you not hear Us? Hurry up," Huo Jinyu said, her tone hardening.
Hearing the anger in her voice, Eunuch Wang scrambled to his feet. He walked tremblingly to the desk, opened a memorial with both hands, and held it high, his eyes squeezed shut, not daring to look.
"Open your eyes and read it for Us!" Huo Jinyu pressed him relentlessly.
Eunuch Wang's heart was filled with unspeakable bitterness. With a pained expression, he cautiously glanced down at the memorial.
Huo Jinyu urgently needed someone to help her with the memorials. First, it would be convenient to have someone looking after things in the palace when she went out. Second, she had been reviewing memorials for decades and truly didn't want to look at them anymore!
The following afternoon, Eunuch Li returned, his mission a success.
Entering the study, he saw Eunuch Wang standing there with a miserable look on his face, reading a memorial, and was so shocked he nearly fell over.
"Eunuch Li, did you find anything?" Huo Jinyu's voice pulled Eunuch Li's startled consciousness back from the brink.
"Reporting to Your Majesty, this slave has made great gains." Eunuch Li, after all, was a man who had seen the world. He quickly composed himself and replied, presenting two scrolls he had been carrying in his robes.
Huo Jinyu unrolled a scroll and began to read.
The previous emperor of the Northern Kingdom's Yan Clan had passed away. He left no final edict, suggesting a hasty departure. Several Yan Clan princes were causing a ruckus in the imperial city, and the two princesses were not to be outdone, each eyeing the Yan throne. The Yan Clan had once been a tribe with a precedent for female leaders.
With chaos in the imperial city, the elders of the former tribes all rose in rebellion. The Northern Kingdom was recently in a state of utter civil war. Just a few days ago, beset by internal and external troubles, the princes had turned on each other in a blood-soaked frenzy, creating an opening for the Wu Clan. The Wu Clan's private army stormed the imperial city and its palace, capturing two princes alive. Two other Yan Clan princes managed to escape with their troops. Of the two princesses, one died in battle, and the other was captured alive. It seemed the Northern Kingdom was on the verge of splintering.
Huo Jinyu saw the perfect opportunity. Attacking the Northern Kingdom now would surely throw them into disarray. Internal strife and external threats would be enough to push them into a desperate situation. Then, they would propose a marriage alliance to sue for peace. The Second Prince would have no choice but to marry a princess from the Northern Kingdom with no background to speak of, making her his primary consort. With that, the Second Prince's rear court would only have positions for concubines, and the daughters of high-ranking ministers would naturally be unwilling to become the concubine of a prince with no real power. This would sever the Second Prince's path to forming alliances with influential ministers. She would have the Second Prince send people to welcome the Yan Clan princess, and if that princess were to meet an untimely demise under his protection, and the Northern Kingdom had by then quelled its internal chaos and consolidated its forces, they would use the princess's death as a pretext to attack Great Yuan. The ministers of Great Yuan would certainly split into two factions again. This time, she would definitely choose the peace faction, conserve military strength and expenses, and send the Second Prince into the tiger's den. Perhaps she could use this chance to deal with this future disaster! As for Prime Minister Bai, who sided with the Second Prince, his beloved daughter was still in her hands; he shouldn't dare to object.
The more Huo Jinyu thought about it, the more excited she became. She could hardly wait for the day of the Northern Kingdom's marriage proposal.
At this thought, Huo Jinyu immediately drafted an imperial edict and had it sent by express courier to the general's manor. General Hou was startled to suddenly receive an order to attack the Northern Kingdom, but as a good minister loyal to His Majesty, he did not question the emperor's intentions. Instead, he packed his bags and led a portion of his household troops stationed outside the imperial city toward the northwestern frontier, simultaneously ordering a guard to carry the edict overnight to the northwestern border city. Huo Jinyu did not look at the other scroll, casually setting it aside.
Two days later, the general arrived in the northwest, and he and his son led their troops to attack the Northern Kingdom.
In the blink of an eye, twenty days passed. While the ministers at court were still incessantly petitioning Huo Jinyu to abandon the attack on the Northern Kingdom, a steady stream of victory reports flowed in from the northwest. Great Yuan's sudden attack, in disregard of the ten-year-old treaty, caused the Northern Kingdom to suffer defeat after defeat. They had no choice but to send an envoy to sue for peace. This was the second time their Northern Kingdom had been defeated by Great Yuan. The Wu Clan felt this defeat was a great injustice. They hadn't even quelled their internal rebellion when they were hit by a sudden external threat. It was truly galling. After ten years of recuperation, their military strength was far greater than before. Thus, using this peace negotiation as an opportunity, they decided to offer the Yan Clan princess in a marriage alliance to Great Yuan. They had heard that the current emperor of Great Yuan was a lecherous fiend who had eagerly married the prime minister's beautiful daughter right after ascending the throne, just after the previous emperor's death. And the Yan Clan princess was a peerless beauty herself; surely the emperor of Great Yuan would be pleased.
When two nations are at war, envoys are not to be killed. The envoy came with the intention of seeking peace and even brought a portrait of the princess. Unable to make a decision, General Hou wrote a letter and had it sent back to the imperial palace along with the portrait of the Yan Clan princess.
In the Emerald Flower Garden of the imperial palace.
Huo Jinyu was teaching Huo Jincheng to play chess when a palace attendant came to report that a man from the general sought an audience. A man in a soldier's uniform entered, knelt, and paid his respects. Only after Huo Jinyu said, "You may rise," did the soldier get up and hand a letter and a scroll to Eunuch Wang, who was waiting at the side.
"Eunuch Wang, read the letter to Us." Holding a white stone, Huo Jinyu captured a group of Huo Jincheng's black stones, causing the boy to cry out in protest. Huo Jinyu ruffled Huo Jincheng's fluffy little head to soothe him, then prompted Eunuch Wang to begin reading.
After days of being tormented by the task of reviewing memorials, Eunuch Wang was no longer surprised by such things. He began to read the letter. The gist of it was that the Northern Kingdom's envoy had come to propose a marriage alliance, offering the Yan Clan princess of the Northern Kingdom to the emperor of Great Yuan, hoping the emperor would agree to the marriage and the peace treaty.
Huo Jinyu was busy teasing Huo Jincheng and paid no mind to the letter's contents. She felt she already knew what was happening, and when she heard Eunuch Wang's last sentence, she naturally declared, "We allow it!" It's just a marriage alliance with the Second Prince, she thought. Everything is going according to plan.
It wasn't until two days later, when she read the letter herself, that she discovered the person who was to marry the princess had become her!
Meanwhile, the imperial edict had already reached the border and the ears of the envoy. The Northern Kingdom had long since packed up the princess, ready to dispatch her to Great Yuan.
Back in the study, Huo Jinyu was furious with herself for not listening properly. She slammed the letter in her hand onto the desk, accidentally knocking over a stack of memorials to her right. A scroll tumbled to the floor with the memorials and slowly unfurled. A woman with cool, clear eyes and brows appeared on the paper. Even in a painting, her beauty was so nation-toppling that few in the world could compare. For a moment, Huo Jinyu found herself staring, utterly captivated.
Was this the Yan Clan princess from the Northern Kingdom she was supposed to marry? Truly beautiful!
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