Guard Captain Wo Zhan involuntarily straightened his body, stiff as a flagpole. He had seen important figures before; since he came to work at Qiming Manor eight years ago, he had seen two different Imperial Prime Ministers vacationing there. But today was unlike any other day; now residing in the manor was the Chancellor, a figure constantly spoken of with reverent awe by all Iridium Star inhabitants, yet also considered more like a mythic character.
He personally directed the manor's chefs to prepare the finest cuisine, and it seemed that the Chancellor was quite satisfied with the meal. As evening approached, shuttle after shuttle landed on the small airstrip in front of the manor. Wo Zhan's eyes darted about as he saw the former Prime Minister Guo Lingmei, whom he had once served, along with over ten cabinet ministers whose names he could recall, and various individuals who were unmistakably of the nobility.
Important figures are usually very busy; after working hours, there are seldom formal events, yet they had made the effort to come, clearly to meet the Chancellor.
Even though Wo Zhan lacked a strong political sensibility, he sensed that a change was imminent in the United Empire.
At that moment, the Imperial Prime Minister Guo Lingmei, whose forehead was slightly sweating, looked the picture of scholarly refinement. At the age of one hundred sixty-seven, he had long been a scholar before entering politics, had served as a provincial governor on Iridium Star, then was appointed to Administrative Star for his outstanding achievements, and two years ago, the United Empire's congress had elected him as the new Prime Minister.
He was not of noble birth, but his ancestors had been declining nobility, and after gaining prominence, he had married a noblewoman, so he was not considered a commoner.
If he had previously felt that the Chancellor's sudden return seemed more like a farce and harbored great doubts, now he no longer felt that way at all.
On the way to Qiming Manor in the Prime Minister's private shuttle, Guo Lingmei received startling news. Mysterious military forces had suddenly appeared throughout the Empire, seizing the Xiao Family estate. Not a single member of the Xiao family had escaped; all were captured. During the process, private security from the Xiao family and Empire's Army had attempted to resist, but their weapons were completely unusable, even turning against them, ultimately allowing the mysterious forces claiming to be from the Chancellor to capture the Xiao family members without bloodshed.
A congress member from the Xiao family was taken away upon landing at Qiming Manor, a scene that left Guo Lingmei and others at a loss and filled with dread.
Only the Supreme Command could have prevented those who attempted to resist, this was the only explanation.
Outside the guest hall of Qiming Manor, Zang Xingyan, clad in a hemp robe with unkempt hair, along with Xu Lanzhou in an Iridium Star military uniform, appearing meticulous, seemed to relax the expressions of two officials in the arriving group.
A man with an effeminate appearance but a rough voice quickly approached, feigning concern but clearly harboring ulterior motives, and asked Xu Lanzhou, "My niece, you're really alright, what a relief. You have no idea, your mother at home was almost crying herself to death. It's good you're back, good you're back."
This Xu family member was named Xu Pangying, Xu Lanzhou's uncle and the Xu family's spokesman within the Empire government, a congressman. Traditionally, families from the Twelve Knights of Destiny did not hold office in the Empire's core, at most serving as congressmen.
Another congressman from the Zang family also came up to exchange pleasantries with his least favorite brother, Zang Xingyan.
Actually, both men had the same objective, which was to glean from the two descendants of the Knight Families who had been in touch with the Chancellor what exactly was going on.
Xu Lanzhou was too bored to talk, but Zang Xingyan charmed everyone as he said, "My uncles and brothers, there's no need to worry. The incident with the Xiao family was their own fault. The R19 Fleet passed through a wormhole to another time and space to find the Chancellor, but in the midst of it, Xiao Yu from the Xiao family attempted a rebellion and has been executed. Only then did the Chancellor realize that the Xiao family had harbored anti-Chancellor and anti-Iridium Star sentiments for generations, which led to their immediate capture. This has nothing to do with others. The Chancellor's return to Iridium Star is a great thing and it benefits everyone here as well. Simply do your jobs well and follow the Chancellor's orders, and you won't have any problems."
His words did not reassure everyone, because the implication behind them was clear, that whatever Bai Zhongqi said was final, and they had no room to negotiate.
With uneasy thoughts, Guo Lingmei and the others entered the guest hall and saw Bai Zhongqi sitting at the head of the room. At that moment, he was dressed in an appropriate Chancellor's attire, his face full of smiles.
"Greetings, Your Majesty."
As they bowed, their feelings were still quite strange. After all, in their lifetimes, they had never imagined they would personally meet the Empire's Chancellor.
Bai Zhongqi smiled and instructed them to sit down.
"I know many of you are skeptical and find it hard to believe. I have stood behind the United Empire for five thousand years, never showing my face, and now I have come out on my own, which undoubtably takes some getting used to. But this doesn't matter. I was the one who drove out the Evil Dragon and united the people of Iridium Star to establish the United Empire. The Supreme Command has guided this great country for five thousand years. You may find me unfamiliar, but I have never been a stranger to my civilization."
"There will probably be a period of getting to know each other, and I'm looking forward to meeting each one of you, because I believe you are all pillars of the Empire with admirable talents and ambitions, capable of bringing welfare to the Iridium Star people. The Empire will continue to develop on its original trajectory, and we will set even more ambitious goals. We need a stronger and more efficient Empire mechanism. So, after I returned, the Empire needs to undergo certain reforms. Some people's piece of the cake might be touched, but I assure you, the cake will get bigger. What you lose today, you might gain a large piece in the future. What you need is to have faith in the United Empire and in me."
"I have already recalled the Twelve Knights of Destiny, but the glory of the old Knight families will not fade. I cherish the relationships and memories with your ancestors. The new Knights of Destiny will serve as my agents, assisting me with many issues. Below the Chancellor, the Privy Council, Administrative Institute, and Stellar Transmission Academy will be re-established, and I will give you the specific statutes later. The Empire Army will be removed from cabinet oversight and placed under the Privy Council. Besides that, there are basically no other changes to the cabinet government's authority."
"I will temporarily reside in Qiming Manor to oversee the progress of the Empire's reforms. I also want to remind everyone not to entertain any tedious thoughts. If I have to get involved, it would be messy, and it wouldn't look good for you to be removed from your position."