Girl, There's Something Wrong With You - Chapter 13

The Fufeng Xie Clan’s Ancestral Land.

“Divisional Commandant.” Xie Anshi pondered for a moment before smiling and asking his nephews, “What do you think of the Cheng clan leader being granted this position?”

The younger members of the Xie family immediately started discussing the matter, expressing various opinions.

Some said it was to stabilize the lower reaches of the Yangtze River by recruiting troops from the large population of refugees in Jingkou; others argued that the Jianghuai Cavalry faced pressure from both north and south and needed to seek reinforcements from Jingkou; still others suggested it was a strategy to ambush Liyang after Su Zigao’s refugee army crossed the river.

“Xie Youdu,” Xie Anshi smiled and pointed out with a book, “do you have any thoughts?”

“Uncle,” replied Xie Youdu, a young man just over twenty, calmly bowing his hands, “I fear this position was granted by Wang Chuzhong.”

Hearing this, Xie Anshi laughed heartily. The surrounding younger generation had mixed reactions—some were surprised, some confused, and others appeared to suddenly understand. They then stepped back and bowed, indicating they had been enlightened.

Xie Lingjiang was sitting on a veranda at the back, watching her uncles and brothers in the courtyard.

She casually picked up some food from a tray beside her—beef tongue pastries and osmanthus cakes. She ate very slowly, taking small bites and chewing silently.

What Xie Youdu meant by “granted by Wang Chuzhong” was quite clear.

Since the migration of the court to the south, the Taiyuan Wang clan had seized control of the empire’s power by virtue of their support during the move, leading to the saying “the Wang clan shares the world with the Emperor.”

The direct consequence of this was Wang Chuzhong’s rebellion.

Even though the rebellion was quelled, the ones truly affected were Jingzhou and the Longxiang Army, not the Taiyuan Wang clan.

Many officials, bureaucrats, and military officers were still protégés of the Wang clan.

Who could challenge the status of the most prestigious family in the land?

Although Zhongshu Yu, supported by his status as a relative by marriage and the Empress’s backing, firmly suppressed Wang Maohong in the central administration, he had no influence over regional administrative factions.

The farther from the center, the less regard they had for Zhongshu Yu. Even Jiangbei’s Su Zigao and Zu Shishao, who conspired to rebel, did so under the banner of “destroying the Yu clan,” but did not dare mention the Taiyuan Wang clan.

In such circumstances, it would indeed be strange if Zhongshu Yu, who controlled central power, didn’t seek breakthroughs from external forces, especially the military.

She continued eating her osmanthus cake, her cheeks bulging, when suddenly Xie Anshi called out from across the way, “Lingjiang, come over here!”

Xie Lingjiang quickly swallowed the food in her mouth in a few bites, then ran over with small steps, sweetly calling out, “Uncle Anshi!”

“Did you hear what Youdu just said?” Xie Anshi asked with a smile.

“I did. I think Brother Youdu is right,” Xie Lingjiang responded obediently.

Hearing this “Brother Youdu,” Xie Youdu immediately showed a complex expression.

Xie Youdu had an elder sister named Taoyuan, who was praised for her “pure mind and profound wisdom, with extraordinary talent.” She was also very close to Xie Youdu.

However, when he was sixteen, during the Lantern Festival in Jiankang, Xie Taoyuan took him to see the lanterns and they encountered a monk named Fa Lin at the festival.

The monk, standing in front of a lantern stall, looked at Xie Taoyuan’s face and sighed, saying she had the “misfortune of Cai Wenji.”

Although Cai Wenji was also a talented woman, her life was fraught with misfortune.

First, her marriage was troubled—her husband died young—and then she was captured by the Xiongnu and taken beyond the border.

Xie Youdu was furious upon hearing this and wanted to react, but his elder sister stopped him.

Xie Taoyuan asked if she could guess a lantern riddle, to which the monk smilingly agreed and let her turn the lanterns on the rack.

She chose a six-sided lantern and spun it with her hand. When it stopped, instead of a riddle, what faced her was a strange Buddhist verse:

“Rebirth without leaving the dust behind,
Till now, it cannot be shaken off.
Even if one tries to brush it away,
Why not forsake the body and abandon karma.”

Xie Taoyuan couldn’t figure it out after thinking for a long time, so she left with Xie Youdu.

That night, she suddenly fell seriously ill and died in her room due to a ruptured aneurysm causing a brain hemorrhage.

Xie Youdu was deeply grieved upon hearing this and immediately informed Xie Anshi of the matter.

The Xie family searched the entire city for the monk, but he was nowhere to be found—none of the surveillance caught him.

A few weeks later, their mother Ruan was discovered to be pregnant, and the matter was temporarily put to rest.

This time, she gave birth to another daughter.

In her swaddling clothes, Ruan tearfully said she was my Taoyuan reincarnated, and finally, Xie Wuyi named her “Lingjiang,” which was Xie Taoyuan’s childhood name.

So, Xie Youdu’s attitude toward Xie Lingjiang became very strange.

When she was two or three years old, the elders all said she looked a lot like Xie Taoyuan when she was young, which left Xie Youdu completely at a loss.

His respected elder sister suddenly turned into his younger sister, and she even called him “brother Youdu”.

What should he do?

Asking for help online!

Xie Taoyuan had once sewn a purple lotus sachet for him, which he treasured and kept with him day and night.

Now that Taoyuan was gone and Lingjiang had come, he no longer wore the sachet, which showed how complicated his feelings were.

Seeing Xie Youdu’s strange expression, Xie Lingjiang thought she couldn’t tease him anymore and said seriously, “There is one point that needs correction: it wasn’t given by Wang Chuzhong but was due to Wang Chuzhong’s defeat.”

“What do you think?” Xie Anshi asked Xie Youdu with a smile.

Xie Lingjiang’s answer included one more word, “defeat,” which naturally made a subtle difference in meaning.

If it was only due to fear of the Taiyuan Wang family, would it be okay to support another family?

No, because there was only one Iron Giant Soldier, unique and unparalleled.

Because of Xie Lingjiang, the Fufeng Xie family was more certain than other families about the connection between the Iron Giant Soldier and Cheng Jinyang.

Therefore, Xie Youdu hesitated for a moment, then respectfully stepped back half a step and bowed deeply to Xie Lingjiang: “I accept your teaching.”

Xie Lingjiang: ……

She looked to Xie Anshi for help, and Xie Anshi patted her head with a smile, praising her: “Our Lingjiang has innate wisdom.”

Now, everyone else’s gaze toward her became strange.

Xie Lingjiang was speechless.

To be honest, she knew nothing about Xie Taoyuan and didn’t think she was anyone’s reincarnation.

It was all Xie Youdu’s excessive sister complex making things up.

But now that Uncle Anshi endorsed it, everyone in the Xie family would probably misunderstand.

What a headache.

“Youdu,” Xie Anshi said again, “have you considered entering officialdom?”

“I will follow Uncle’s arrangements,” Xie Youdu replied seriously.

“Then go find the Sima of Jingkou Prefecture and ask him for an official position,” Xie Anshi laughed heartily again, stood up, and left with his hands behind his back.

The remaining Xie family members looked at each other in confusion.

In the Taiyuan Wang family’s estate.

“Jinghe,” Wang Maohong said leisurely in the study, “are you interested in entering officialdom?”

“Father, I still have some business to handle at the company,” Wang Xinzhi immediately refused.

Are you kidding? Let me go work for my brother-in-law? Where’s my dignity?

“Who among you is willing to go?” Wang Maohong wasn’t surprised and looked at his other sons again.

After a moment, someone stepped forward and cupped his hands, “I am willing to go.”

“Good.” Wang Maohong gladly wrote a letter for him to take, “Jinglun, take my letter of introduction and go to the Shendu Cheng family. You can set off today.”

“Yes,” Wang Jinglun nodded.

“Ah, this…” Wang Xinzhi was a bit depressed.

I don’t want to go, so you let my fifth brother go? Does our Wang family have to work for him?

He wanted to say more, but Wang Maohong had already picked up his tea cup.

In the Shendu Cheng family’s estate, in the corridor outside the room.

Xing Yuanzhi finally heard about it.

With an expressionless face, she clasped her hands tightly inside her sleeves.

“Yuanzhi, don’t worry,” Cheng Jinyang comforted her, “I’ll come back to marry you after the war is over… hmm?”

Why did he suddenly have a bad feeling after saying that?

“It’s nothing,” Xing Yuanzhi shook her head and said softly, “For our Cheng and Xing families, this appointment is a very rare opportunity that we must seize.”

However, it still felt very painful!

She turned and pushed the door open, sweeping her gaze over the girls in the room.

Officially, this appointment came from Zhongshu Yu, but Xing Yuanzhi had a sharp intuition that this matter came at such a convenient time, right before she and Jinyang were to fulfill their marriage contract…

Someone here must be involved in this!

She let out a long breath, feeling as if her heart had been twisted into a knot, and the taste of iron in her mouth, probably from accidentally biting her lip earlier.

First… take a bath to calm down…

As she entered the bathroom, Cheng Jinyang walked into the bedroom, scanning the girls present.

He suddenly remembered a little story: put a bunch of crabs in a bucket and there’s no need to watch them. Because whenever one crab tries to climb out, the others will pull it back down.

Even though he felt sorry for Ah Zhi, he thought…

So even if I do nothing, you will pull each other down, won’t you?