Esteemed Princess

Wanting to test the device out was natural. Kazi offered a cordial smile to Prince Yuzin. "Understood," Kazi said, getting up. David tentatively copied him. "Lead the way, Your Highness."

"Shouldn't we ask for permission, Laoba?" Lady Ann asked.

"Permission has been granted," Prince Yuzin stated. From a locked drawer needing a key, he pulled out a medallion. He pressed on the top two buttons on the medallions. "Grant dimensional access to Kazi and David: guest."

[ You have been invited to Princess Liuying's dimension. Do you accept? ]

[ Yes or no? ]

[ Invitation accepted. Loading…]

[ Authority: Guest ]

One by one, Prince Yuzin, Kazi, David, Bi Sheng, and Lady Ann disappeared from the office. In a matter of seconds, they were in a whole different region.

"Woah..."

Woah indeed, David. This dimension was a farm, through and through. 

Twenty-some workers toiled under the sweltering sun and tended to the delicate opium poppy plants. The field stretched out before them, row upon row of green foliage interspersed with bursts of red blooms.

The supervisor of the area quickly approached them, bowing respectfully to Prince Yuzin. "Your Highness, we are honoured to have you here." He turned and added, "You too, Lady Ann."

"Thank you for your diligence," the Prince of the Second Rank acknowledged. "Take us, please."

The supervisor led them through a pathway in the field, going past the workers. Poppies grew best outdoors in well drained soil and was some of the most laboriously intensive in the world. Nearly every farmer that Kazi met never complained about it. It was their way of life. It just was.

Kazi had no right to play hero and interfere. They were being paid.

'Hopefully, someday, I can pay them better.' 

On Earth, that was what he did in Afghanistan. He couldn't stop opium production. He could only change ownership of the farmers to individuals that were kinder and better suited for it. It was a bitter sweet fact of the world. 

They reached a designated area where no one was around and the suitcase could be operated without anyone seeing. Kazi gestured to Bi Sheng to operate the device.

"No use in me using it," Kazi said. "You'll catch on quick. You're smart."

Bi Sheng smiled shyly. "Thank you." He carried the suitcase with one hand and the connecting cable-scanner with the other. "Ah, I saw it can scan multiple samples and combine them for an average analysis."

"Up to a thousand. Scan all the stuff all the way there." Kazi directed a hand between his current position to the end of the field. "It will be a five minute walk."

Bi Sheng did as he was told and returned ten minutes later. Prince Yuzin waited eagerly. His best engineer was returning and already looking happy. "Prince, prince," Bi Sheng called out. "This is…wow, it's very accurate!"

"Explain."

"Well, a couple of the opiums were dead and guess what? It was true. The base was structurally unsound."

The process to farm opiums was long and required skill: first, cut the flower bulb, scape off the few drops of sap several hours later, and wait three days to repeat the process. Multiple harvests per plant, like maple syrup. 

'But it's even more inefficient because they don't use the poppy straw method.' Kazi smiled to himself. 'Another invention to bargain with.'

"Oh." The supervisor, who had no idea what this was about, blinked. "I-is that right? I will go and fix it now—"

"Fix what?"

Behind them came a voice. Beside him, Lady Ann froze. A regal tone of a woman tinged with a hint of impatience. Impatience that even caused Prince Yuzin to tense up. Everyone turned to look and were greeted by a flowing robe with wide sleeves in shades of deep blue and emerald green. Over her robe, she wore a long, elegant navy blue cloak accented with gold and silver thread. On her head was a fan shaped headpiece that sat on her head like a flat crown. Flowers of pink and red lay across it.

She did not stand. The door to a carriage was opening her presence up to everyone. The carriage wheels red, the horse reins purple, and the horse itself an extinct Ferghana horse, a distinct sense of distance was created. An authority. An understanding.

This was hers. This was all hers.

"Princess Liuying…" Lady Ann said, lowering her head. "We…did not expect you."