Chapter 599.1. Xu Tianran's Decision
“Your Majesty, it’s my fault for not managing the army well. I am willing to accept any punishment.” Ju Zi whispered to Xu Tianran.
However, Xu Tianran shook his head and turned to look at her. Compared to when she had just left, she had become a lot more frail. Her radiant skin had become a little duller. It was clear that she had suffered from a lot of stress during the war. Even Xu Tianran would not deny that Shrek Academy was extremely hard to deal with.
Afterward, Ju Zi had also had to manage the conflict between her commanders and the Holy Ghost Church. One could only imagine the stress she had been under. It was telling how she had opted to return the Commander’s Seal right after she had led the troops back to the capital.
“My dear Empress, why are you returning the seal?” Xu Tianran asked Ju Zi.
Ju Zi lowered her head and answered, “There’s no way I can return the trust Your Majesty has placed in me. Even though I am very willing to fight for Your Majesty, I am but a woman. At the end of the day, a woman will experience moments of fragility at times. Even though I am confident of taking down our enemies in war no matter how strong they are, I am powerless when it comes to some of the pressure coming from within our empire. I really want to be responsible for the hundreds of thousands of troops under me. But I am starting to doubt my ability to protect them. This responsibility is simply too heavy for me. It’s not that I want to push it away, but I really recognize the limits of my abilities. Hence, I urge Your Majesty to look for someone else who is more capable. I only wish to be by Your Majesty’s side, and spend time with Your Majesty and Little Yunhan.”
Tears immediately welled up in Ju Zi’s eyes the moment she mentioned her son. Xu Tianran could even feel that her hands were trembling.
That’s true! Even though she is exceptionally capable, she is but a woman—a lady who simply wants to stay by her husband and child’s side. It’s so unfortunate that the kid is not my own son. If not…
It pained Xu Tianran to see Ju Zi like this. He consoled her and replied, “It’s okay. You have already done very well. It is definitely time for us to settle some of the things you have mentioned. You can rest assured that I will definitely fight for the justice you deserve. You are definitely the person I can trust the most, and also the person who is closest to me. It’s time for you to rest up properly now that you have returned. The army also needs to rest and be resupplied. We need to consolidate our control over the Heavenly Soul Empire. After all, I am still decently young; we are not in a hurry to conquer the entire continent. I will make sure that you will not have any other worries the next time you set off on campaign. As of now, no one is more deserving to be the Commander of the Three Armies. I want you to remain as the Marshal.”
After returning to the Palace, Xu Tianran immediately announced the rewards that the army and the commanders would get. Even though he did not seem to give many rewards to Ju Zi, it was clear that he still placed a lot of trust in his War God Empress. He was definitely going to end his relationship with the Holy Ghost Church. That would be the biggest reward she could get.