Chapter 85

Plumera State

Because the number of men brought back on this trip was decent, Elara finally allowed General Qi to return to the Qi residence. Right now, he was staring at his older brother in frustration.

"Brother! Why are you still doing whatever Elara says? Grandfather and Grandmother were forced to stay in her palace for so long. Haven't we suffered enough under her?"

"And now she wants us to bring back men for her, but then she throws them all on me. She even told me to train them! What does she think I am, some brothel madam? Am I supposed to spend the rest of my life training men for her to sleep with?"

"I get so mad just looking at those men in the back courtyard! What does she take me for? I swear I want to send them all to the military camp and beat them until they cry for their mothers. That's the only kind of training I know how to give!"

A few days ago, after General Qi and his brother returned from putting down the rebellion, they brought the three hundred men to Elara's palace. She glanced over them once, said the number was acceptable, but complained that they looked sloppy. Some were too fat, some too thin, and none of them understood basic rules, so she sent them all back to be trained before returning.

Francis had been dumbfounded. After working so hard to deliver the men, he didn't expect Elara to continue finding new ways to torment him.

"Then send them to the military camp."

He was still venting when General Qi suddenly spoke.

He froze and turned to look at his brother. But he couldn't tell from that calm, blank face whether he was joking or serious.

"Brother, you..." He frowned, confused, until General Qi pulled a few sealed letters from inside his robe and handed them over.

"These were sent from Grandfather during the mission."

He took the letters immediately. This trip had been his first real battle, and even though he'd been forced into it by Elara, once he was in the fight, he actually enjoyed it. He hadn't even realized their grandparents had been able to send them letters from the palace.

He quickly opened them and began reading, his eyes widening as he went. In the end, his gaze was stuck on a few short lines.

"Grandfather actually said Elara wasn't as cruel as the rumors made her out to be? That she seems different from before? No one in the palace has died without cause lately? No one's been tortured for no reason? She hasn't even forced herself on anyone? In fact, she's being waited on well, and aside from not being allowed to leave, everything else is fine? Grandfather even said Elara seems to be secretly investigating serious matters in the state? And that if we can help her within reason, we should?"

He stared at the letters in disbelief, rereading the same parts over and over before finally looking up at his brother. "So this is why you're listening to her?"

General Qi nodded. "It's one of the reasons."

But Francis still didn't believe it. Even though the handwriting matched Grandfather's exactly, he was convinced Elara had forged them somehow.

"Brother, this is impossible. I lived in her palace for years. I know exactly what kind of person she is. There's no way she's changed like this. She would never do something good. She's just—"

He didn't finish. General Qi cut him off.

"But this time, she really did send us medicine through the imperial doctor to help us finish the campaign. And after we returned to Plumera City, she kept her word. She hasn't made any trouble for us."

She had even spoken to him calmly about working together. During the royal rites, she made her move and quietly intercepted the tax funds that Lord Gregory and others had been stealing for years. She crushed the Bloodcloak Hall members and didn't leave Lord Gregory any evidence to fight back.

General Qi's fingers moved slightly on the edge of the table. He had spent most of his life on the battlefield, and aside from recently being locked in the dungeon, he had hardly interacted with Elara. But her confident tone during their conversation and the careful plan she'd laid out told him this wasn't the same woman from the old stories.

Francis stood speechless, the rest of his argument stuck in his throat.

General Qi stood and gently patted his brother's shoulder.

"Francis, I know how much you've suffered these past years. I owe you for all of it. But if Grandfather and Grandmother managed to send these letters, they must have their reasons."

"Our family has served Plumera State since the beginning. That duty is carved into our blood. No matter what happens, we can't run from it. But if..." He stopped.

If the one in charge really turned out to be cruel and heartless, destroying people with no care for their lives, then he would never let their family suffer any longer.

When he was locked in that dungeon, he had already prepared for the worst.

But Elara... she seemed different now.

He had sensed it faintly in the dungeon, and after witnessing how she calmly took control upon their return, he was even more certain of it.

The way Grandfather and Grandmother wrote in their letters also hinted they felt the same.

So he decided to try once more.

If there was even the slightest hope, no one would want to throw everything away.

Especially not with the entire Qi family and one hundred thousand soldiers standing behind him.

So he would try again.

If it didn't work, he would not hesitate to protect his brother, no matter the cost.

But if it did...

He thought again of the noble, poised girl who had talked strategy with him so calmly.

He looked at his brother and said,

"Francis, we can't change the past, but the future still has hope. If things really do improve, and if we can preserve the honor that our ancestors bled and died for, then none of this will have been for nothing."

"You can train those three hundred prisoners however you see fit. Elara said you don't need to return until they're ready, so for now, you can stay with the army."

"But remember, when you train them, keep them separate from our own troops. They belong to the Princess. Don't forget that. And make sure they understand it too. Got it?"

Francis finally started to recover and nodded slowly.

General Qi patted his shoulder again and glanced at the letters in his hand.

"I will make up for what you went through. Grandfather and Grandmother should still be resting after leaving the palace. If you still don't believe the letters, then go ask them yourself."

Elara received the message from Lord Gregory's residence the next afternoon.

As expected, Lord Gregory agreed to let her leave the capital and allowed General Qi to escort her with the Qi family army. But he made two conditions. First, Francis must stay in the capital and cannot leave. Second, she must take Imani with her to serve her while she recovers in her fief.

In simpler terms, this meant keeping Francis as a hostage in the capital, and Imani would be a spy to report back to Lord Gregory.

These two conditions were within Elara's expectations. She had already planned to leave Francis behind because the over three hundred men still needed training. The remaining family soldiers of the Qi family in the capital also needed someone to take over.

Besides, the two brothers could serve as hostages for each other. Keeping one in the capital would ease both Lord Gregory's and her own worries.

Overall, Elara still had a good impression of the two brothers.

Even though General Qi and Francis had long lost faith in the Plumera royal family, they still carried the Qi family's loyal duty to the country. This was beneficial to Elara, and she intended to win them over sooner or later.

But due to the original host's past behavior, and the lack of their trust at present, Elara could only rely on these "objective" means to make sure they didn't go astray.

As long as General Qi stayed by her side, Francis wouldn't dare act recklessly, even if he remembered the original host's past.

And with Francis in the capital, the more mature General Qi wouldn't do anything he shouldn't.

Later on, once the private soldiers trained by the Bai family were ready, the private forces under Damon might work in a useful way with Francis's men and the leftover soldiers from the Qi family.

That could create a subtle, helpful balance for her within the capital. So from all these points, leaving Francis in Plumera's capital was a good choice.

As for the other condition about Imani… Once they arrived at her fief, it would be extremely far from the capital. Lord Gregory wouldn't be able to spread his eyes so far.

So once she reached her fief, Elara planned to find an excuse to lock him— cough, to keep him under control.

After reading Lord Gregory's message, Elara immediately called for Uno and ordered him and the other "Wei" guards to begin preparing everything for her departure from the capital.

This included informing the Bai family business group of the coming months' goals, and preparing the many carts hidden in the forest path. Those carts were loaded with silver, gold, and food that would serve as her start-up funds.

Once everything was mostly ready, Elara walked out of the main hall of the princess mansion and glanced at the courtyard where Mathias usually stayed.

After leaving Plumera's capital, she would leave most affairs here to Mathias. He would manage things for her.

To ensure Mathias stayed loyal and hardworking, she wanted to boost all his "stats" before she left.

Half an hour later, at Cuiwei Tower—

Elara watched as Tres carried a person in a sack and climbed in through the attic window.

"Mmm mm mm!"

The person inside the sack kept squirming and making muffled sounds after being dropped on the floor.

When the sack was finally pulled off, it revealed a young man with messy clothes and a refined, handsome face.

If one looked closely, they would see his features were very similar to Mathias.

He was the second young master of the Pei Family, born of the same mother as Mathias.

With his mouth stuffed, he could only stare around the room. When he recognized the situation, he glared straight at the person behind this whole scheme— Elara.

"Mmm mm mm!"

His angry muffled protests were aimed at her.

Elara smiled gently, ignoring the furious red flush on his face, and said with a soft laugh,

"Second Young Master Pei, I'm borrowing you for a bit."