Wasn't he supposed to be beaten to death? Why did this powerful cousin love him so much?

As soon as Xie Jue returned, he practiced his swordplay. Each move was sharp and swift, carrying an uncontrollable fierce aura. The servants stood at a distance, not daring to breathe.

After performing the sword technique three times, Xie Jue finally stopped, and the pent-up frustration that had been churning in his chest all the way subsided somewhat.

Xie Jue tossed the sword to his attendant, took the handkerchief to wipe his hands, and was just about to walk towards the main courtyard when he saw Jiang Sese return.

Xie Jue: "Went horseback riding?"

"Yes." Jiang Sese nodded. "I saw the weather was nice, so I went for a run."

There's not much to do.

But you can't just go out and wander around aimlessly.

At this point, Jiang Sese suddenly remembered something, glanced at Xie Jue, and hesitated before speaking.

Xie Jue could tell at a glance that Jiang Sese had something to say: "What's wrong?"

Jiang Sese hesitated for a moment, but still said, "I ran into my third brother at the horse farm."

Xie Jue's expression remained unchanged; he only slightly raised his eyebrows.

"He has injuries on his face." Jiang Sese carefully chose her words, observing Xie Jue's expression as she spoke. "It doesn't look like he fell, but rather... he was beaten. I asked him what happened, and he said he accidentally fell, so I didn't ask any further questions."

Jiang Sese paused, then tentatively asked, "Was Third Brother... beaten up outside?"

Xie Jue said indifferently, "He deserved it."

Jiang Sese's heart skipped a beat.

She knew that Xie Jue and Xie Yao were not close.

Xie Jue, the eldest son, was precocious and was raised by his grandfather from a young age to be the future pillar of the Xie family. He was cold and composed. Xie Yao, on the other hand, was pampered by Princess Anning. The two brothers had completely opposite personalities and their daily interactions were not particularly warm.

But I never expected it to have come to this.

A thought involuntarily popped into Jiang Sese's mind... Could it be because of differing political views?

After all, the two served in the same court, so their positions were bound to differ.

She didn't understand much about court politics, but she knew that sometimes political disagreements hurt feelings more than anything else.

If that's the case, then the rift between the brothers is probably much deeper than she imagined.

Xie Jue realized that his tone had been too harsh. He glanced at Jiang Sese, softened his expression slightly, and said, "You don't need to worry about his affairs. He's a grown man, he should be responsible for his own actions."

Jiang Sese nodded and didn't ask any more questions.

Anyway, Xie Yao is his brother, not hers.

She certainly wouldn't create trouble for herself.

Because Xie Jue returned early, the two had breakfast together. Since Jiang Sese always liked to talk while eating, Xie Jue gradually got used to talking to her about things during meals. At this moment, he brought up a matter: "The court has recently been discussing sending troops to the Northern Rong."

Upon hearing this, Jiang Sese's heart stirred: "Send troops to the Northern Rong? Who will lead the army?"

Xie Jue said, "The Di family, with General Di in command and Di Ye as the vanguard."

Jiang Sese stopped what she was doing.

Di Ye.

Of course she knew this person.

Zhang Fumeng married Di Ye, the young general of the Di family. She even attended the wedding banquet on their wedding day.

Over the past three years, Jiang Sese had visited the Di residence quite often and knew that Zhang Fumeng and Di Ye had a good relationship. She had met Di Ye twice; he had thick eyebrows and big eyes, and was completely different from Shen Ziyu, but one thing was certain: he treated Zhang Fumeng genuinely well.

It's one thing for a couple to have a good relationship, but it's another to see if the mother-in-law is easy to get along with.

Zhang Fumeng's mother-in-law, Zhou, the matriarch of the Di family, was not an easy person to get along with.

Zhou was born into the Zhou family of Lujiang, whose ancestors included two vice ministers of the Ministry of War.

On the first day after Zhang Fumeng married into the family, when she was served tea, Zhou Shi made a sarcastic remark in front of all the maids and servants in the room because her gestures for serving tea were not standard enough. She said that the Zhang family was a prestigious family, so how come they hadn't even taught her such basic manners?

Madam Zhou was dissatisfied with her daughter-in-law Zhang Fumeng, but unfortunately, the marriage of one's children was never in the hands of a woman. It seemed that the mistress controlled the inner quarters, but in reality, the decision-making was made by the head of the family.

"Will we win?" Jiang Sese's voice tightened involuntarily as she thought of Zhang Fumeng.

The Northern Rong are entrenched in the north of Dayong, spanning vast grasslands and deserts. Dayong has been recuperating for a century since its founding, and its agriculture has flourished. However, the Northern Rong have a harsh climate, and their grasslands have degraded from time to time. They have always coveted the cities, grains, cloth, and ironware of Dayong's northern border.

Seeing her nervous expression, Xie Jue laughed and said, "The Di family has been fighting against the Northern Rong for over a hundred years. No one knows the terrain and enemy situation there better than them."

"Di Jia is a seasoned and shrewd strategist. Although Di Ye is young, he went to the battlefield with his father and brothers when he was twelve years old. He is not just a pretty face who lives off his family's wealth. So you can rest assured."

"Furthermore, the court has been preparing for this battle for three years. If we are not confident, I will not give the nod to the cabinet."

Jiang Sese was finally relieved.

Xie Jue is a man who never boasts; when he says he is confident, he truly is confident.

But then, Jiang Sese asked curiously, "But why would the Northern Rong suddenly invade Dayong?"

The novel she was reading ended shortly after Xie Yihua's marriage, so Jiang Sese was completely clueless about what was going on.

Xie Jue suddenly glanced at Jiang Sese and said unhurriedly, "The Northern Rong have a new Chanyu in the past two years."

"The new Chanyu is young, ambitious, and eager to establish his authority. Last winter, the grasslands suffered another snow disaster, and countless cattle and sheep froze to death. The people in the tribe were instable, so he thought of diverting internal conflicts by raiding southwards."

"In addition, the border markets between the court and the Northern Rong had been closed and reopened intermittently in the past two years, which caused a lot of friction between the two sides. As soon as the new Chanyu took office, he tore up the previous peace treaty, gathered cavalry from five tribes, and launched a surprise attack on several garrisons."

This statement was perfectly logical, with a clear beginning and end, cause and effect.

In fact, this was the same explanation that the cabinet presented to Emperor Jingyuan.

Jiang Sese glanced at Xie Jue but didn't say anything.

Xie Jue lowered his eyes.

However, what he didn't say was—

Why did the new Chanyu of the Northern Rong suddenly break the peace treaty at this juncture?

Three months ago, in his capacity as Grand Secretary, he instructed the Ministry of Revenue to reduce the annual subsidies for the northern border markets. Ostensibly a preferential treatment for trade, this subsidy was actually a form of appeasement from the Great Yong Dynasty to the various tribes of the grasslands. Because of this money, the tribal leaders had the resources to appease the herders under their command, and life on the grasslands was not too difficult.

He had already anticipated this outcome when he reduced the annual allowance.

Chaos is inevitable within the Northern Rong, and the new Chanyu's foundation is unstable. To stabilize the situation, there is only one way to go—to wage war against external forces and shift the conflict to the border.

This was exactly what he wanted.

If the Northern Rong do not make the first move, the Dayong will have no legitimate reason to wage war.

So when the news of the new Chanyu breaking the treaty and launching a surprise attack on the garrison reached the capital, the entire court was in uproar, and the voices advocating war overwhelmed everything.

But he couldn't tell Jiang Sese these things.

Some people intend to provoke a war between the two countries for the sake of some vague and uncertain concept of eternal life.