Empress Of The Lost Kingdom

The twins thought that the biggest surprise for them was the truth of their mother being the CEO of the two corporations in the country. However, when they learned that Li Juan was the queen of Yu palace, their little brains almost exploded in astonishment. 

Their mother, who always preferred to stay inside the four walls of their little house, was actually a great CEO and a Queen!!! How cool is that? 

Even the respect and admiration given to their mother by everyone in the corporation and the Yu clan has immediately changed Li Juan's image in their heart. 

They wished their mother to be a beautiful lady, like the rest of their classmate's mothers, but in reality, Li Juan turned out to be far better than what they had imagined. 

They simply couldn't hide their happiness even after proudly telling everyone how great their mother was, 

Even during the Lunar New Year ceremonies, the twins were practically hovering Li Juan as if they were her bodyguards instead of going to their father or uncles.

At last, Bai Yu had to lure the twins with video games to take them away from Li Juan and give her a moment of peace.

"Uncle Yu, did you know that mommy was a queen?" Little Yong repeated the question he asked everyone for the one last time.

"Of course, you guys were the only ones who never believed me when I said that your mother is a queen." Bai Yu haughtily cocked his head as if he foresaw such a response from the twins. 

"Is that why you kept calling her majesty or my queen? I thought you were just teasing mommy." Little Hyun almost dropped his jaw when his little brain connected the dots. 

"Yes, me, your uncles, even your great-grandpa, everyone addresses her by the title of the queen." 

"What about daddy? Does he also call her a queen?" 

"That is something you should ask your father and hear it from Tae Yang itself." Zhang Zhi Jun, who listened to the twin's conversation, added with a smile, 

"I'm damn sure, brother in law calls her queen too." Bai Yu commented while trying to hold in his laughter as he wondered about the twin's reaction when they learns that their father was also from a royal family.

"Then should we also call mommy 'queen', like everyone else?"

"You better be." Zhang Zhi Jun instructed them. 

"Really? Then we will go and greet mom- no, our queen." The twins said together and quickly rushed back to their mother with no delay. 

"Uffooo, what's wrong with you first brother? I somehow managed to give Jie and brother in law a moment of break by keeping our nephews here. You just ruined everything." Bai Yu complained like a sulky giant baby, 

"It's her kids...She will be fine." Zhang Zhi Jun flashed a smirk, as he watched how the twins happily surrounding Li Juan, who was busy receiving blessings and gifts from the elders and the guests of the evening. 

"I'm not going to save you when she gets mad at you,"

Bai Yu shrugged his shoulders as if he was calling himself out and save from the possible trouble awaiting them. 

An angry Li Juan is the last thing he wants to see, so he prepared himself to run off if his calculations go wrong. 

A couple of minutes later, Zhang Zhi Jun saw Li Juan walking towards them with an expressionless face, as he expected.

"First brother, what did you say to my kids? Did you ask them to address me as their queen?" Li Juan sounded sulky as she spoke, without even minding the fact that she was the most important person in the Yu palace. 

"No, no, I just taught them some etiquette lessons." Zhang Zhi Jun smilingly rephrased her claims and gently grabbed her hands, making her sit next to him. "Why it is so hard to talk to you these days? Sit here for a sec, and take a break from all this chaos." 

When Li Juan noticed that her first brother was being too affectionate and caring, she couldn't help but lift her eyebrows in query, 

"What's it?" She asked, right way, 

"Why don't you take a break from this busy corporate life and do something you like?" Zhang Zhi Jun dotingly expressed his concerns. As per the old corporate norms, it was always the first heir in line, who take in charge of the business. However, since Zhang Zhi Jun decided to take care of the media and entertainment branch of Yu corporations, Li Juan was forced to take care of the rest, adding to her burden. "See, you even lost a couple of pounds. I know you are busy, but dear sis, you should take care of your health." 

"Really? But everyone said that I gained weight." Li Juan smilingly added when she realised that he was trying to cajole her so that he could ask a favour from her. 

"Heyyy...you look thinner than when I saw you last time." 

"You saw me six months ago," She reminded in a docile voice. Since Zhang Zhi Jun took charge as the director of the entertainment division, he had to cut down the time for his acting and singing career. She thought he would miss his acting career, but luckily, he quickly adjusted to his new responsibilities, unlike her. 

"Woah!!! That happened six months ago? Damn! I was busy that I lost track of time. Apologies, my queen." 

"Busy? You?" Bai Yu gawped at his first brother as if he heard something unbelievable. "You were on semi-hiatus," 

"Of course, do you think it's easy to write a movie script while working as a producer and act on two projects a year?" Zhang Zhi Jun asked as a matter of fact. 

"Obviously not." Bai Yu agreed, 

"Yes, especially when you are working on a big-budget project. Most writers never leave their offices when they work, especially on historical projects." Li Juan half-jokingly said, 

"Yes, yes. That's the reason why first brother never visited you, even though you two practically lived in the same city." Bai Yu also added his fair share of opinion, while siding with Li Juan.

"Yaa...She had multiple jobs and had to take care of her children. Why should I visit and add to her burden?" Zhang Zhi Jun implied as he was only looking at the well being of his sister. 

"How thoughtful of you? Is that why you met my husband once in a fortnight so that we won't feel left out?" Li Juan asked in a teasing tone, just to express her disappointment and turned to face Bai Yu, "I thought these two are going to change after marriage, but I don't think so,"

"Well, Tae Yang seemed to have more free time than you...you know it's crazy when a doctor is getting enough time to hang out, but not you.  I'm telling you, Juan. Enjoy while you can," 

"That comes a lot from someone who wants to take a break and still refused to marry," Li Juan jabbed in the same tone, 

"I'm a celebrity, I can't marry this early. Also, I told you, I won't plan to settle down unless I wear the director's cap and make my blockbuster movie." 

"Hmm. If that's what do you want, then do it. But how's your project going?" Li Juan stopped joking for a moment and indulged into 

"I'm already done with the scriptwriting part. We are planning to start the pre-production works as soon as possible." 

"Woah, that's great. Do you have anyone in mind to play the roles?"

"We did a few preliminary nationwide auditions, we did get some capable actors and actresses, but as for two out of the three main leads, we are having a bit trouble." 

" To be very honest, I'm literally dying to see who will play who...." Li Juan almost shrieked like a fangirl, when she thought about Zhang Zhi Jun's movie based on the Yu clan's history.

"When I wrote the Wei Emperor, I had only one face in my mind, and luckily, he also agreed to play the role. But for the Queen's and Guan emperor's roles, we are not satisfied with the applicants so far."

"Huh? I thought you would be playing the role of Guan emperor?" Li Juan's eyes narrowed when she heard it, 

"Hell, no...I am not playing a lead role while I have too many things on my plate." Zhang Zhi Jun quickly corrected her and thought for a moment before continuing, "Maybe a Cameo role, that's it. I can't do anything more than that." 

"We have enough talented people in our country. Don't worry, you will find the right person among the applicants." Bai Yu tried to console his brother who was going through a crisis, "But, first brother, who did you sign to play the Wei Emperor's character?" 

"Mo Yan." 

"What?" The surprised shrill came out from Li Juan and Bai Yu at the same time.

"Don't tell me you selected him... because...you know...the obvious reasons..." Bai Yu, who was about to say Li Juan's name, hesitated to continue, 

"He is just perfect for that role,"

"But first brother, does it become an issue if you cast an A list celebrity as an Anti-hero who is well known for playing protagonists, especially against rookie actors?" Li Juan's doubt sounded legit and direct,

"So what? Everyone started as a rookie actor. Also, Mo Yan is looking for something different to break his stereotypical roles."

"'Hmm.If you say so."

"But the thing which makes me stressed is the climax. For some reason, I'm not satisfied with the climax." 

"Oh my dear, how many times did you rewrite the climax? You wrote it like how our ancestors had to flee from the home, then you changed it into how we fought valiantly. What else could be the climax?" Li Juan touched her forehead when she recalled he was a perfectionist who never compromises.

"I don't know. You tell me the climax. Aren't you the one who saw it?"  Zhang Zhi casually tried to remind her.

"Those stories are something my mind cooked up on its own. I even went for therapy and took medicines for it." Li Juan denied it without any second thoughts.

"What if I say that some of us really can see our past lives?"

The moment Zhang Zhi Jun's question fell into her ears, the smile on Li Juan's face disappeared in a glimpse,

"Don't joke about mental issues, big brother." She harshly warned him. However, Zhang Zhi Jun wasn't ready to quit as he tried to convince her.

"I'm not joking. I'm just stating some facts. In your journals about Jade land, you have clearly mentioned "Deja Vu" kind of experience, multiple times." 

"I agree. But my therapist said that my subconscious mind created those stories-" Li Juan once again tried to refute. However, even before she could finish, Zhang Zhi Jun grabbed her shoulders and stopped her from speaking,

"Let's forget about the science behind your so-called cooked stories and hear some of my hypothesis based on the Yu clan's ancient beliefs and myths." He calmly suggested

"Hmmm." 

"Though the Yu clan believes in, equality, there is a concept called 'chosen ones- the nodes that connect the dead and alive."