The Empress remarried, and I retaliated by wiping out the court.

Ye Wudao?

The person who just wrote the poem was actually Ye Wudao?

Li Yanran stared wide-eyed, her face filled with disbelief.

If Ye Wudao's previous creation of the "Eternal" was purely a coincidence, what about now?

The first half of the poem was a masterpiece she had created, and even she racked her brains but couldn't come up with the second half, yet Ye Wudao composed it with ease.

Looking at the man before her with a half-smile, Li Yanran couldn't help but recall that dream of being husband and wife.

Ye Wudao raised an eyebrow: "Why are you staring at me? Is there something on my face?"

Li Yanran smiled, a smile as gentle as a spring breeze, as clear and bright as the sky after a rain.

"Ye Wudao, I lost," she said.

Ye Wudao looked at the half-finished poem on the table and raised an eyebrow: "This is your test question?"

Li Yanran nodded slightly: "Yes."

Ye Wudao's face lit up with joy: "In that case, you will be my woman from now on, and your Li family will belong to my camp!"

Li Yanran shook her head: "First, I cannot represent the Li family; I can only represent myself. Second, your previous bet only meant for me to join your camp, not for me to become your woman."

Ye Wudao slapped his forehead.

Gan!

Hastily!

I should have added more clauses!

He wrapped his arm around Li Yanran's slender waist: "Isn't that just a matter of time?"

Li Yanran trembled, only then remembering that Ye Wudao was a lecherous man.

"Your Majesty, please have some self-respect! If you continue like this, I will no longer speak to you."

"No, do me a favor now, and I promise I won't bother you."

"What?"

"Go to the Wenyuan Pavilion and retrieve the memorials for me!"

…………

In the Wenyuan Pavilion, rows of vermilion-lacquered desks are piled high with memorials and petitions.

"Does that brat Ye Wudao really think he can manage state affairs just by getting hold of a memorial to the throne?"

"Grand Secretary Li's move was brilliant! He used some trivial memorials to appease Ye Wudao, both silencing him and keeping him too busy."

"In my opinion, Ye Wudao probably can't even read all the characters, and he can't understand those memorials..."

"Hahaha……"

Several cabinet members, including Goh Kheng Hoon, burst into hearty laughter.

Li Juzheng picked up his teacup and leisurely took a sip.

"In the end, the cabinet is the true center of power, while His Majesty is merely a figurehead."

"Rest assured, everyone, I guarantee that no matter who comes in the future, not a single important memorial here will be handed over!"

No sooner had the words been spoken than a clear, gentle female voice suddenly rang out outside the Wenyuan Pavilion.

"Grandpa, your granddaughter has come to collect the memorials on His Majesty's orders."

I heard this sound.

The smile on Li Juzheng's face froze instantly.

…………

An hour later, Ye Wudao looked at the imperial study piled high with memorials and patted Li Yanran on the shoulder with satisfaction:

"My dear consort, well done! This job will be yours from now on!"

Ye Wudao couldn't stop smiling.

He had heard that Li Juzheng, that old bastard, turned green with rage.

This man was full of wicked ideas, but unfortunately he dared not use them on his granddaughter.

"Your Majesty is wise!" Cao Ji flattered from the side.

"That's called one thing subduing another!"

Li Yanran realized she had been used, and her expression turned sour: "Your Majesty, if there is nothing else, I shall take my leave."

"Wait!"

Ye Wudao looked at her and said seriously:

"If I'm not mistaken, none of these memorials your grandfather handed me have been reviewed or revised, have they?"

"Isn't this exactly what His Majesty wanted?" Li Yanran retorted.

Normally, memorials to the throne had to be approved by the cabinet. When it came to important matters or uncertainties, they would be specially marked with vermilion ink, and some solutions and opinions would be listed on them, along with the names of the officials involved.

When Li Juzheng took the mountain of memorials, not a single one had been approved, he was certain that Ye Wudao couldn't handle so many memorials and would eventually have to return them.

But he miscalculated one thing.

Ye Wudao doesn't lack people!

Ye Wudao smiled and said, "My beloved consort, what if I needed your help to revise the memorials?"

Li Yanran was shocked and took a step back: "Your Majesty, Emperor Gaozu said that the empress dowager should not interfere in politics!"

Ye Wudao narrowed his eyes and said, "Li Yanran, I respect you as a talented woman, but I never expected you to be as superficial as other women!"

"Why does Your Majesty say such a thing?"

"You possess a wealth of talent, yet all you can do is compose sentimental, affected poems, spending your days tinkering with words and phrases, wasting your remaining years. Is this your dream?"

Li Yanran bit her lip: "Women have always been like this."

"Just because it's always been this way, does that mean it's right?"

"..."

Ye Wudao said loudly, "I allow you to participate in government affairs. As long as you have the ability, I will give you a bigger stage."

To govern the state, to manage one's family, and to bring peace to the world!

Of course, if you still hold the outdated and foolish views of an ordinary, stupid woman, then I have misjudged you!

"Going out, no need to see me off!"

Cao Ji, standing to the side, stared wide-eyed at the scene in disbelief.

If Your Majesty wishes to allow women to participate in politics, this is unprecedented in the history of the Great Yan!

If Li Juzheng and his group of corrupt scholars heard this, they would definitely cause a huge uproar!

a long time.

Li Yanran took a deep breath and opened her eyes.

Her eyes were frighteningly bright:

"Very well! If Your Majesty wishes, I am willing to oblige!"

…………

The King's Palace of Zhenwang.

"What? Ye Wudao actually took the memorial? How could Li Juzheng agree to that?"

Upon hearing the news, Xiao Linyuan stared wide-eyed in disbelief.

Reviewing memorials was the most important task of the cabinet, and Li Juzheng's move was tantamount to handing over his power to others.

Sima Chang gestured slightly and said, "I heard that Li Juzheng's granddaughter, Li Yanran, came to ask for it in person. She was so insistent that the old dog couldn't bear to lay a hand on his own granddaughter, so he let her have it."

"You, Ye Wudao, you actually know how to use someone's strength against them!"

"My lord, should we sabotage him further? For example, let the Imperial Study catch fire and all the memorials be burned?"

"No need, he won't collapse for long! Once the army arrives, it will be the day Ye Wudao dies!"

Xiao Linyuan could almost see Ye Wudao kneeling on the ground begging for mercy as reinforcements from all sides approached the city.

He had even figured out how to humiliate Ye Wudao.

half an hour.

He frowned and said, "Still no news of Xiao Luan?"

Sima Chang shook his head: "Not only is there no news of Miss, but there is also no news of the four empresses, Luo Hanyan, Liang Mei, and Ma Wanlan."

Xiao Linyuan's eyes were frighteningly cold: "Ye Wudao has placed them under house arrest? How dare he!"

Once the news gets out, I don't believe those three families will be able to sit still!

Seven days later, I want them to help me raze the palace to the ground!

Sima Chang clapped his hands and laughed, "Your Excellency is wise!"

…………

At the same time.

The usually quiet and deserted Imperial Study was now brightly lit.

More than thirty desks were neatly arranged, with memorials piled up like mountains on them.

More than fifty students of the Imperial College wrote furiously, their vermilion pens flying across the paper.

Besides.

Li Yanran, Luo Hanyan, Mo Zhaozhao, and Qin Yunyi each sat behind a desk.

The entire Imperial Study was even more bustling than the Wenyuan Pavilion.

Qin Yunyi nudged Mo Zhaozhao's arm: "Zhaozhao, didn't you look down on Ye Wudao the most? Why are you helping him today?"

"I'm not helping him!" Mo Zhaozhao pouted. "If Father hadn't sent me to gather information, I wouldn't have come even if he knelt down and begged me!"

"You're just being stubborn!"

"Hey, Yunyi, you're asking for it!"

The two little cuties were making a ruckus, as if what lay before them was not a memorial concerning important national affairs, but rather a game of children's house.

Li Yanran put down a memorial in her hand and slowly walked to Ye Wudao's side.

"Your Majesty, memorials concern matters of great importance to the state. These people are a mixed bag. Aren't you afraid of making mistakes by summoning them to review them?"

Ye Wudao raised an eyebrow: "So, so far, where have you seen any mistakes?"

"without."

"That settles it."

Throughout the afternoon, faced with a mountain of memorials brought from the Wenyuan Pavilion, Ye Wudao did not review them immediately. Instead, he ordered his men to categorize them into three grades: superior, medium, and inferior, according to their importance.

He personally reviewed the best memorials.

The memorials of medium quality were reviewed by the four empresses.

Lower-ranking memorials were directly submitted to the students of the Imperial Academy for review.

Li Yanran asked, "If Your Majesty categorizes things this way, what if someone accidentally makes a mistake?"

Ye Wudao explained, "For each memorial, I will have ten people review it independently. They are not allowed to discuss it with each other or look at it. Each of the ten people will write their own version."

"If all ten people agree, it means it's pretty close to the mark, so just pass it. You only need to do one or two spot checks afterward."

"If nine people agree and one person disagrees, another group will review the report. If both groups agree, the report will be approved. If the two groups disagree, the report will be submitted again."

"Finally, only the most controversial memorials will be sent to me."

At this point, Ye Wudao smiled and shrugged.

"In this way, I will only need to deal with a few dozen memorials each day, instead of hundreds."

Li Yanran's beautiful eyes grew brighter and brighter.

Does this work too?

Why didn't she think of this method before?

Ye Wudao is truly amazing!

Li Yanran was initially worried that Ye Wudao would be overwhelmed by the mountain of memorials, but to her surprise, Ye Wudao easily resolved the crisis with a few simple tricks.

But soon, she began to have a vague feeling that it was unreliable.

"Your Majesty, didn't emperors throughout history always personally revise memorials?"

Ye Wudao shook his head.

"This is the misconception of you scholars. You always feel that you have to do everything yourself, but a person's energy is limited."

"If I spend half a day arguing over a chastity memorial arch, what will feed the hundreds of thousands of soldiers locked up there? If I spend a whole day busy over two families fighting over land, who will take care of disaster relief and food distribution in various regions?"

Finally, Ye Wudao concluded:

"Governing a country is never about who does more, but about who is more efficient and does it better!"

"A good boss doesn't do everything himself, but rather lets his employees handle most of the work; he only needs to make the final decision!"

These few words enlightened Li Yanran!

Unexpectedly, Ye Wudao is not only talented, but also has a mind for governing the country that far surpasses that of ordinary people!

Luo Hanyan, who was standing to the side, looked up:

"So, we're basically working like slaves for you, and you don't have to do anything?"

Ye Wudao was greatly alarmed.

broken!

This person is breaking workplace rules!

Dismissed!

This black sheep must be expelled!