Everything Changed

I awoke to the strong sunlight of the afternoon sun. I was alone. The spot beside me on the bed was cold, like Lu Qing Yu had left long ago. Hold on... afternoon sun? Was it midday already? What about my work? As I got up, the bedclothes slid off my naked body. There was a satisfying ache in my lower body...

The candles had long burnt out, leaving pools of wax in their holders. The jugs of wine were also empty. All around the room were tell-tale marks of our tryst, including ambiguous stains on the bed. A realisation hung in the room. My heart beat furiously in my chest as I replayed the events of last night. Everything had changed, hadn't it?

Anyway, first things first. I wasn't about to let the maids come in and see me or the room like this. I went about tidying the room first, putting everything in order. Since I couldn't do anything about the stains I just threw the blanket over it. Then I grabbed my day clothes and went to the bath. After which, I made my way to the office.

"Aah!" a shriek came from my left. I turned. "What is it?" I asked. A Ling was standing in the corridor. "Young...Young Miss, you got ready by yourself?" she asked. I nodded. "Yes, I need to do my work now." I said.

"This.. This servant didn't come in because His Highness said not to disturb you until you woke up... how would this servant know you had been awake for so long and not attended to you... please give this servant a punishment!" I waved her away. "No, I wanted to get ready by myself. Don't worry about it." I said. No wonder I hadn't seen anyone around.

I had totally forgotten noble ladies typically sat in bed and waited for people to attend to them. I was alright with that most days, but definitely not this morning. I had to maintain some privacy. After expending some effort to reassure her, I managed to make it to my office in the ministry.

Although I had successful business ventures, I was still employed by the ministry. After we got back from the Northwest, instead of decreasing, the work actually increased instead as Novgorod felt there was a feasible chance of collaboration.

Although we hadn't gone so far as to actually make an alliance, we were working to expand the trading route and to create a viable marketplace. This involved upgrading the cities around the border, paving routes and building infrastructure like bridges, road signs, and accommodation. Recently, Yuan An and Norse also established a trading guild for merchants who wanted to list and exchange their goods.

This regulated the items passing through and also ensured everything was valued at a fair price. There was one branch in Xing Nan, Yuan An's closest city to the border, as well as a branch on the other side of the border in Novgorod. The trading post we had visited remained as an OTC (over the counter) marketplace. We were also working on passing bills that allowed traders to visit our respective territories and travel.

With all this work, there was hardly a lull in the day. Other than stopping to have some grapes Lu Qing Yu asked to be delivered, I was mostly quite busy. After my work ended for the day, I would then look at the work for Luna Marche.

Due to my reliable C-suite ladies as well as the organisational structure we had worked hard to build over the years, as well as constantly training employees, it had now gotten to the point I was able to leave much of the work and decisions to the others, and only focus on churning out ideas, meeting key stakeholders and making key decisions.

We had good rapport with the carpenter guild we enlisted to help us complete the new fleet of carriages and signage due to having done business with them in the past. The carriages and new logistics depots could be done slowly as we had gotten along fine in the past. The only thing of urgency was a series of signs we commissioned.

These signs had the clear Luna Marche logo embossed on them, and clearly laid out the consequences for those trying to loot the carriages. They would be hung on the contracted carriages we still used. Although most bandits could not read, they were at least be able to recognise the logo.

Since that was the case, we would be able to move forward on the first phase of our expansion plans. The 3 cities we had our eye on were Jiang Dao, Lu Jing, and Xia Hai. Jiang Dao was the furthest distance from Yuan An of the 3 cities, but most likely for our expansion plans to be successful. It was a coastal city with a very relaxed vibe, and was known for its foodie and wine culture. It produced many of the region's famed dishes and innovated on others.

It could be said that the food scene there was very competitive as many famed chefs originated from Jiang Dao or went there to test their skills, but if you were able to perfect a dish, you would gain unanimous recognition. With its picturesque views and fresh air, it was a prime vacation spot for noble families hoping to enjoy a retreat or kick back for health purposes.

Lu Jing was a bit more complicated. Because of my ties to the Imperial Family, we were at first hesitant if we should proceed. Lu Jing was a very established city which had been at the forefront of Yuan An for thousands of years, but you wouldn't guess it just looking at the architecture of the city.

Unlike the other cities, which had a hodgepodge of older and newer buildings spanning several dynasties' respective artistic styles, a fair proportion of the buildings were brand new, decked out in Yuan An's style. This was because Lu Jing had been the capital of the previous dynasties, as well as that of several dynasties before it.

When the first emperor of the Yuan An dynasty, Lu Qing Yu's grandfather had taken over, according to customs, a majority of the noble families that controlled the previous dynasty were purged, and their residences and assets seized and burned, or redistributed. Government buildings and academia fared even more badly. With every new dynasty, the imperial palace and residences, ministries, and libraries full of accumulated information were all burned and rebuilt.

Lu Qing Yu's grandfather had been a wise Emperor who cared about education and knowledge. This was the only reason scientific journals and other academic publications had survived, unlike the norm. Of course, they were all sifted through carefully to ensure they didn't contain any references of the previous dynasties, and only 1 copy of each existed in the imperial library.

Many noble families of Yuan An avoided Lu Jing because of any political influences. Even after a dynasty fell, there would still be supporters of that dynasty waiting for a chance to rebel and usurp the throne.

Because of Lu Jing's ties to the previous dynasty, underground forces might still be lurking in that city and no noble families who wanted to be in the ruling Emperor's good graces would willingly base themselves there. However, due to millenniums of nourishment, Lu Jing's infrastructure and market were very well developed with a balance of (mostly) academics, merchants, and working class people who were receptive to new entrants in the market or new fads.

Xia Hai fared a bit better. It was industrialised with each successive dynasty, and could be said to be at the forefront of Yuan An's technology. It also had a large population of merchants who grew the city into a competitive trading hub where you could find nearly every specialty from each province. Because of this, many large companies set up their headquarters in Xia Hai and it had a fresh, vibrant vibe.

People who flocked to Xia Hai were mainly those wanting to strike gold by proving their ideas, or who wanted to find work in a city more politically stable than Duan An, the capital. Although Duan An was currently Yuan An's number 1 city with immense power, it was also a little overcrowded and capital cities were always risky. You never knew if the next dynasty would move capitals again. There was indeed a lot of migration going on to Xia Hai, which was constantly expanding and building new property and attractions to attract and accommodate newcomers.