Chapter209

Inside the teahouse, several groups of scholars were also discussing new and interesting things they had discovered in their circles, all sounding amazed.

"Let's not talk about the stone paving for now. Brothers, do you know what surprised me the most during this trip to the capital? It wasn't the reconstruction of Plumera City or the big factories, but those things on the street called 'public toilets'!"

When the others heard about this magical structure called a "public toilet," something they had never seen anywhere else, even the surrounding scholars who hadn't been talking much turned to listen.

"Brother Azalea is absolutely right! Don't laugh, everyone, but it took me three full days after arriving in Plumera City to finally understand what that 'public toilet' was for! Seriously, it's amazing!"

"Yes, yes! Although it's not very refined to talk about toilets here, I was really shocked! I've never seen standalone toilets built like that anywhere else before. And they're so clean and spacious that they're almost like small buildings of their own! Even the floor inside is paved with stone! It's way cleaner and brighter than the toilets in any rich family's house!"

"Did you all notice something? Because of those public toilets, the corners of Plumera City are incredibly clean! In other cities, when there are lots of people, the air always has a strange smell, and you have to walk very carefully or you might step in something nasty by accident."

"But now? Heh! The streets of Plumera City are even cleaner than the floor in my own house! I've been here for three days, and I've never seen anyone dare to relieve themselves on the street!"

Everyone's expressions became a bit strange as the topic got more detailed, but when they thought of the public toilets built all around the streets, their faces showed admiration again.

"Do you know why the streets of Plumera City are so clean? Besides the public toilets, the more important reason is that half a month ago, Her Majesty issued a personal order. From now on, no one is allowed to relieve themselves in the street corners. If caught, they'll be fined and, in serious cases, even detained for a few days!"

Talking about this new rule, one scholar immediately spoke up loudly, "You all came late and don't know. I arrived half a month ago and saw with my own eyes some people who dared to relieve themselves in the corner and were immediately taken to the authorities!"

"The consequences weren't just fines and detention. They were also publicly humiliated for half a day! That scene—tsk tsk—was so embarrassing it could make your ancestors roll in their graves! If it were me, I'd want to slam my head into a wall and die! I'd never be able to face anyone again!"

As he described this miserable event, everyone's expressions changed again, with many showing a lingering sense of fear. It was as if that shameful situation had almost happened to them too.

The young man noticed their reactions and chuckled. Another scholar beside him seemed to remember something and spoke mysteriously:

"Don't think the public toilets are just for relieving yourself. There's a huge hidden secret inside them!"

The others stopped smiling and showed curiosity. The young man cleared his throat and continued mysteriously:

"I've been in Plumera City for over half a month and have never seen anyone take anything out of those toilets to dump. Out of curiosity, I once chatted with an official in charge of managing them. That's when I found out there are deep trenches dug underground! The waste goes directly to the fertilizing pools in the farmland!"

Everyone looked surprised, and many quietly put down their snacks. A few couldn't even drink their tea anymore, but despite the nausea, their faces still showed admiration.

"This way, no one has to work hard to clean up the dirty stuff from the toilets, and it also provides fertilizer to the agricultural department. It's killing two birds with one stone!"

"Whoever came up with the idea of public toilets is a true genius!"

"This building is such a good idea! In the past, there were no public toilets on the streets, and people have urgent needs. It often caused awkward and uncomfortable situations with no way to solve them. But now, that problem is completely gone!"

Everyone held back their nausea and agreed.

...

Outside the building, after a few days of being trained by the guards in basic inner strength techniques, Elara's five senses had become much sharper. So even though she was only standing at the entrance of Lianyi Pavilion, she could clearly hear most of the laughter and conversations happening inside.

She found it a little funny. It wasn't the first time she had overheard people talking about her, but this time, especially when she heard the discussion about the public toilets, she couldn't help but smile.

Just as she was about to step inside, a sudden burst of loud insults and the sound of whipping came from across the street.

Elara turned her head and saw three young men dressed in ragged clothes but standing upright, with striking features and noble bearing. They were being humiliated and whipped by a luxurious nobleman carried in an eight-person sedan chair.

"Tsk tsk tsk, Pu Wei, Pu Zhi, Gongliang Cheng, all three of you are just this young master's slaves and servants. Do you really think you've turned into something just because the court abolished slavery? You think you're actually human now?"

"Pfft! And you think you deserve to come to the capital to take the imperial exam? You think you're worthy to sit in the same exam hall as me? Get lost. If I see you again, I'll make sure you can't even enter the city. You'll end up wandering outside, eating dirt in the hills like the lowly beggars you are."

Elara looked at the noisy scene at the doorway.

She wasn't surprised something like this happened, in fact, it was expected.

This world had been stuck in rigid class divisions for too long, with slavery practiced for many years, so it was normal for people of higher status to treat those beneath them as less than human.

Actually, this kind of behavior wasn't very obvious in Plumera anymore.

Except for those corrupt officials who colluded with Lord Gregory and others, people in Plumera had once been crushed by national weakness and chaos, with rebels rising all over the land.

The uprisings broke the class system that had been in place for centuries, making those who once looked down on slaves and commoners realize those people were not easy to deal with.

So during the chaotic years in Plumera, the difference in class status had been broken by the lawless rebellion, which meant Elara didn't face much resistance when she started reforms to abolish slavery and reset the class system.

Over the past half month, whenever she passed through Plumera City, she rarely saw cases of people using their status to suppress others or look down on freed slaves or ordinary people.

The remaining sons of noble and merchant families who survived the rebellions clearly understood that those at the bottom were not to be provoked.

So whether it was the scholars chatting inside Lianyi Tower or people moving about the capital, they each stuck with others of the same status.

They didn't interact with those of lower ranks, but they didn't try to offend them either.

Still, even after all that, not everyone was smart.

Take the noble young master who was publicly humiliating three bedraggled examinees in the street.

Elara had issued the new order to abolish slavery half a month ago and clearly stated that anyone coming for the exams would be treated equally, regardless of background.

But this arrogant young noble dared to openly break the rule in the capital, right under her nose.

Elara watched as the commotion grew and more people gathered.

Her gaze swept over the noble standing tall and the three examinees, whose faces showed either coldness or humiliation, but she didn't step forward.

This wasn't something she could solve just by stepping in.

With more and more people coming to Plumera City recently, this incident was just something she happened to witness.

Even if she hadn't seen it, this sort of thing could still happen.

She had already issued the related rules, so someone had to step in and enforce them.

Elara stood still in front of Lianyi Tower.

She was waiting, waiting for the newly appointed city guards of Plumera City to deal with the matter.

It was also a chance to observe how well General Qi's orders were being carried out.

General Qi now held the rank of Fifth Rank City Guard Commander.

He was responsible for keeping Plumera City safe and handling disturbances.

Fortunately, she wasn't disappointed.

The uproar lasted less than five minutes before a squad of guards in uniform came running from the nearby street.

The squad leader stood out immediately, tall and strong, his muscular body stretching the guard uniform tightly, giving him a powerful figure with broad shoulders and a slim waist.

His features were well-defined and very handsome.

Elara saw him and suddenly recalled the moment she first entered Plumera City and met General Qi.

Back then, there had been three hundred muscular young men following behind him.

This leader looked like one of those men who had stayed close behind General Qi.

With a spear in one hand, the muscular young guard stepped quickly into the crowd.

He ordered some of his men to disperse the bystanders while the rest surrounded the noble and the three examinees.

After moving them to the side of the road to avoid blocking traffic, they began checking identities and questioning them.

Elara watched his calm and precise method and silently nodded in approval.

She thought General Qi truly lived up to being one of the last descendants of his family.

Even without much battlefield experience, he trained his subordinates very well.

At first, the noble being questioned was furious, outraged that a mere guard would dare interrogate him.

He shouted all kinds of arrogant things, boasting openly about his family background.

It was a classic display.

But what he didn't expect was that the muscular guard didn't even blink.

He simply reached to his firm chest, pulled out a notebook, and took a pen from his waist.

Then, licking the brush head, he swiftly wrote down every name the noble mentioned.

"Qv family from Westpond Town, got it. According to current law, publicly humiliating exam candidates, refusing to obey the new class reforms, maintaining an old noble attitude, and violating the law abolishing slavery — these are all crimes.

You'll be detained and sent to prison, undergo seven days of behavior reeducation, and be fined three hundred silver taels.

If you still refuse to change after seven days, the sentence will be extended to one month, the fine increased to one thousand taels, and your record will be marked as 'morally unfit,' losing all rights to take exams or hold office for the next year."

While the noble stared in shock and fury, the muscular guard ignored him completely.

After reading out the sentence, he gave a big wave of his hand and had the soldiers tie him up and drag him to prison.

Elara stayed in place and watched the whole process with satisfaction, now curious about this muscular young man with such a large chest he could hold a notebook under it.

Seeing him already leaving to carry out his duties, Elara knew it wasn't the right time to stop him for questions.

She looked away and turned to the three exam candidates, who were still stunned by what had just happened.

Noticing their thin and ragged appearance, she told her palace servant in regular clothes to go buy three sets of men's outfits from a shop nearby, then walked with the servant holding the clothes toward the three scholars.