Elara looked at his face, asked his name, then raised her hand and gently patted his shoulder as encouragement.
The guard at the city gate became even more excited. His eyes sparkled as he continued to tell Elara about the situation within Plumera Kingdom.
After listening for a while, Elara finally let him return to continue guarding the city strictly. She then continued hurrying toward Plumera City.
Inside Plumera City, the situation was indeed as the gate guard had described.
The citizens were still going about their daily routines, carrying their belongings, leading or holding their children, walking back and forth in the streets. Merchants on both sides of the road kept their shops open and were doing business as usual.
The expressions on people's faces were mostly relaxed. There was no sense of fear or tension about the attacks from the Puppet Soldiers outside the borders.
It seemed that over the past month, the nine departments of the court had done a commendable job. Not only had they resisted the surprise attacks of the Puppet Soldiers, but they had also stabilized the domestic situation without causing any unrest.
After returning to Plumera City, Elara was soon greeted by ministers from the nine departments, who had received word of her return and came to welcome her in person.
The heads and top-ranking officials of each major department had already left Plumera City to go to various frontlines across the country due to the Puppet Soldier crisis. So Elara did not see Mathias, Oswyn, Scholar Fu, and the others here.
The ministers who came to greet her followed behind her, each reporting in detail the situation of their respective departments over the past month.
Elara listened as she walked along the streets, heading toward the imperial palace.
As she neared the entrance of the palace, she turned and looked at the attendants behind her.
"There are still several carriages at the rear of the convoy. Inside them are a few pregnant men. Take them into Plumera City and settle them into a residence. Then inform them of Elijah's residence in the city and let them decide the rest for themselves."
"Yes."
After arranging the pregnant men, Elara entered the palace with the ministers, who were still eagerly discussing department matters.
Once all the major departments finished their reports, Elara had a fairly complete understanding of Plumera Kingdom's situation over the past month.
She dismissed them and told them to return to their duties. Then she removed her outer robe and headed to the imperial study, ready to quickly deal with the accumulated political affairs of the month.
However, upon entering the imperial study, she immediately saw a frail figure in a wheelchair. He was lightly coughing into a handkerchief while his gaze was lowered, carefully examining the towering pile of memorials on the desk.
Sensing her gaze, Commander Shu looked up. His clear and cold eyes met hers, and the corners of his pale lips slightly curved.
He slowly put down the memorial he had just picked up. His thin, fair hand gently adjusted the fox fur draped over his shoulders. He patted the armrest, and the palace attendant behind him, who had just finished saluting Elara, rose and began pushing him away from the desk.
"Your Majesty, you have finally returned." Commander Shu did not glance again at the documents on the table after putting them down. As if finally free from some forced overtime task, he allowed the attendant to push him toward Elara, his wheelchair aimed at the study's doorway behind her.
"Now that Your Majesty is back, these affairs should naturally be handled by you once more. Please forgive me for overstepping. The matter was urgent, and I had no choice."
"If Your Majesty is dissatisfied with how matters were handled this past month, please direct all blame to Ning Shou Palace. I, Shu Yanyu, will not evade any responsibility."
After finishing his words, Commander Shu had the attendant push him toward the door.
As he passed by Elara, she looked down at him and suddenly said, "Thank you."
Due to lacking memories related to Commander Shu, Elara had never truly trusted this uncle by title, who shared no blood ties with her.
At most, it was because of the mysterious blood puppet contract in his body that made him her strongest puppet that she allowed his return to Plumera Kingdom.
But now, because of this incident, her view of him had changed somewhat.
Hearing her thanks, Commander Shu seemed slightly surprised. Then his gaze toward Elara deepened, as if remembering something.
"Your Majesty flatters me. This was my duty."
After watching her for a few seconds, he withdrew his gaze and lowered his eyes, letting the attendant quietly push him out of the study.
Elara did not say anything further.
In the following days, Elara swiftly handled the accumulated state affairs and instructed all major departments to temporarily halt unnecessary tasks. Only the Agriculture and Labor Department, the Military Engineering Department, and the Medical Department continued full-scale production of food, weapon mechanisms, and medicine. The others redirected their focus to resisting the Puppet Soldiers from abroad.
The Construction Department and Commercial Department kept transporting all kinds of building materials to the frontier cities. If any walls or gates were damaged, repairs and reinforcements were to be made immediately.
Meanwhile, Elara remained in Plumera City and, following the System's instructions, began researching the [Tower of Eternity]. She wanted to determine how wide its protective shield could expand and how long it could last.
Thanks to her swift decisions, all departments and border cities across Plumera Kingdom received efficient and precise task directives. The nation's overall ability to defend against Puppet Soldier egg attacks significantly improved. It reached a point where even the generals guarding the Delphinium Border were no longer afraid when they looked at the bizarre appearances of the Puppet Soldiers. On the contrary, they felt a bit eager for action.
[Your Majesty, most of the cities near the frontier outside the passes have already fallen. The former central court there has also collapsed. That land has become ownerless territory. May we open the gates and launch an offensive beyond the city walls?]
[We have been observing the Puppet Soldiers on this frontier for a month. With the special pills and steel weapons provided by all departments, their threat to us has greatly diminished. They lack intelligence and do not know how to organize formations. They are just moving targets, easy to kill. That is why we dare to offer this suggestion to Your Majesty.]