It was clearly not appropriate to go out now, so Sailerpeisi and Xiao Xun rested in the side hall, waiting for the funeral procession to leave before they went out.
Xiao Xun stood by the window, watching the princes and ministers who stepped forward to pay their respects and mourn. "Your Majesty, the assassin who attacked him was not caught?"
Unexpectedly, Sailerpeisi said, "It might not be Winter. They don't have a history or habit of assassination. Although they are warlike, they have always been open and upright and would not do such despicable things."
Xiao Xun turned to look at her. "But Winter is really attacking. In this situation, who else would target the main figures of Saint Roman?"
Sailerpeisi reached out and set up a spatial defense domain. "Do you think the court is that harmonious? As far as I know, there are two factions, the 'hawks' and the 'doves'. Their opinions are not unified, and it is inevitable that such a thing would happen."
"Which faction is the Prime Minister from?"
Sailerpeisi sighed. "The Prime Minister might lean towards the hawks, but he is not entirely a hawk. At least, when facing the invasion of the beastmen, he was for war, but this time against Winter, he chose to negotiate. So it's hard to say..."
Looking at the haggard Empress, Xiao Xun felt a bit distressed. Both sides had their reasons, and the art of kingship was most about balance.
Now, Winter was attacking one of the strongest nations on this continent with overwhelming force. If they fell into internal strife, the entire country would be doomed.
This incident also led to setbacks on the front lines. Vincent had been defeated and was rushing back to the capital. Then, Sailerpeisi could discuss with him how to defend against Winter.
At this moment, Xiao Xun noticed a map on the wall. "Your Majesty, is this the entire territory of Saint Roman?"
Sailerpeisi got up, looked over, and nodded. "Yes, there might be some discrepancies, but it's generally like this."
Xiao Xun walked to the map. It faced the sea on two sides, was surrounded by mountains on one, and a vast plain on the other. "This location is great! It's good for offense and defense."
Sailerpeisi let out a long sigh and walked to Xiao Xun's side. "Do you even know how to read a map? This is a vast plain, and that is a mountain range, not hills. On two sides are the vast oceans. With nowhere to retreat, how can you defend?"
Xiao Xun placed a hand on the map and tapped several places. "Precisely because there is nowhere to retreat, we can only occupy advantageous terrain, defend important passes, and first fight a defensive battle.
Then, we can find a way to attack. As long as we understand the enemy's tactics and attack patterns, when they are at their wit's end, we can strike with all our might and defeat them."
Sailerpeisi looked at him with disdain. "You make it sound so reasonable. Why don't I let you be the commander of the empire and lead the entire army to win this war, how about that?"
Xiao Xun puffed out his chest upon hearing this. "Sure! No problem."
Sailerpeisi looked at him with a blank expression. "You should think carefully. This is not a game where you can log out if you lose. This is war, and people will die. And you won't just be talking here; you'll actually have to go to the front lines."
Seeing that Sailerpeisi didn't trust him, Xiao Xun immediately reached out, grasped her hand, and placed it on his chest. "No problem."
He didn't know why he did it, but Sailerpeisi didn't pull her hand away, only saying faintly, "Alright, I believe you."
Seeing that the funeral procession was slowly leaving the Fire Shield Divine King's Palace, Xiao Xun looked at Sailerpeisi. "Your Majesty, shouldn't we go back to the castle?"
Sailerpeisi nodded. "You go back first. I still have many important matters to attend to. The Prime Minister is gone, and a new one hasn't been selected yet. There's a lot I have to do."
Xiao Xun looked at Sailerpeisi's haggard appearance. "I'll stay with you. Although I can't help you much, I want to accompany you, is that okay?"
Sailerpeisi smiled, a rare occurrence. "Okay."
With that, she led Xiao Xun to the top floor of the Fire Shield Divine King's Palace, her office.
It was nearly five hundred square meters. Upon entering, there were ten desks on each side, where the ten most powerful administrative officials of the country sat.
In the very center was a huge desk for the Prime Minister. Her position was on a platform behind the Prime Minister, with only a throne forged from steel. Three adult men could sit side by side without issue, but there was no desk.
Sailerpeisi sat in the Prime Minister's seat, and Xiao Xun stood behind her.
At noon, the castle's kitchen delivered food to the Fire Shield Divine King's Palace.
Xiao Xun was pleased to see that they had made dumplings.
"Your Majesty, food is essential. Please eat something. They made dumplings."
Sailerpeisi waved her hand without looking up. "Not hungry, take it away."
At this moment, officials of all ranks who had attended the funeral returned to the Fire Shield Divine King's Palace. They entered the top-floor office and were surprised to see Sailerpeisi.
Then, they paid their respects to the Empress one by one and returned to their seats.
Sailerpeisi put aside the finished documents and patted them. "Take them to them."
Xiao Xun picked up the documents and, seeing the dense text, didn't know who to give them to.
At this moment, the Chief Minister of the Interior stood up and took the documents from Xiao Xun, then distributed them to the respective ministers' desks.
The ministers then made changes based on the Empress's directives. If they agreed, they would directly issue them to their subordinates; if they had queries, they would revise and resubmit; if they disagreed, they would be invalidated, sometimes with reasons for disagreement provided.
Xiao Xun watched the busy crowd and suddenly felt as if he had nothing to do, standing by like a eunuch from a bygone era.
So, he pushed open the door and walked out. The corridor outside was filled with staff from the House of Representatives and the Cabinet.
The moment he stepped out, all eyes turned to him.
But upon seeing it was him, everyone shifted their gaze back to their work.
At this moment, the office door opened, and several ministers walked out. Their ranks were mostly the same as Xiao Xun's, with a few one rank lower.
But they all looked at Xiao Xun with disdain. It was a natural human reaction, and Xiao Xun didn't say much about it.
As dusk fell, the Fire Shield Divine King's Palace was brightly lit.
Sailerpeisi was still poring over official documents, which made Xiao Xun's heart ache.
"Your Majesty, you should rest. You haven't eaten all day. Even if you're not hungry, it's already dark."
Hearing Xiao Xun say this, Sailerpeisi looked back out the window, stood up, and stretched without regard for her image. "Now I realize how difficult it was for Gerya before. No wonder he went bald so early. I used to mock him for it. It seems that no matter who is in this position, it won't be much easier."
Xiao Xun saw that a few ministers had not yet left, including the Chief Minister of the Interior who had helped him deliver documents.
Considering the succession system, Xiao Xun said to Sailerpeisi, "Your Majesty, why don't you directly appoint the Chief Minister of the Interior as Prime Minister?"
His voice was not loud, but everyone present heard it and focused their attention on him. The Minister of the Interior, embarrassed, stood up. "This absolutely cannot be done. This cannot be done. There is no such rule."