Chapter233

Mathias frowned slightly, looking at Elara with some concern. But when he saw the sparkle in her eyes, it was obvious she was looking forward to this journey and had already made up her mind.

His worry faded again. He gave her a gentle smile and nodded.

"Go ahead. As long as Your Majesty is safe, you don't need to worry about anything in the court."

Mathias had improved a lot in both mind and body these past few months.

Ever since Elara personally brought him back to the Pei Family, then to the inner palace, that numb, hollow feeling of no joy, no sorrow, no life, and no death had slowly faded, almost disappearing completely.

His physical condition, with Oswyn's help, was now under control, flaring up only once every two and a half months.

Those dark green eyes that used to be lifeless now showed a gentle smile whenever Elara came to see him. The emotions in them were soft and full, touching the heart.

Before he even spoke, Elara already knew he would say this. Mathias, who was nearly back to normal, was one of the kindest and most understanding men around her.

When Mathias finished, Scholar Fu, sitting next to him, also nodded. His expression remained as gentle and refined as always. "Your Majesty, just stay safe."

Next to Scholar Fu, General Q's eyes fell on Elara's hands, which had grown a bit calloused from recent training.

"There are many powerful and complicated forces in the central regions. Even though Your Majesty has trained, safety is no joke. Besides the Wei Clan, please bring at least one more team of guards."

Next to General Q, Damon looked much more emotional. From the moment he heard Elara was leaving, he had been frowning deeply, clearly very worried.

When General Q finished speaking, Damon immediately spoke up.

"Your Majesty! I've just trained an elite team skilled in both long-range and close combat. Please take them with you!"

But Elara shook her head. She wasn't going to war. Why bring so many elite soldiers? More people would only attract more attention and seem suspicious.

"You don't have to worry about this. I already have a plan."

Although she had reached the sixth or seventh level of the Divine Command Technique and ordinary fighters couldn't get close to her, Elara still took her safety seriously.

But Plumera was her foundation in this world. Though she would take some of the Wei Clan with her, she wasn't planning to take all of them.

The Wei Clan still had many duties assigned by her, so at least half needed to stay behind.

So Elara planned to take the odd-numbered members of the Wei Clan and leave the even-numbered ones behind.

As for those hundred even-numbered guards left behind, Elara intended to have her younger brother Benedict fill the gap.

Benedict also had guards of the "Shi" rank like the Wei Clan. Aside from Uno, whose power had greatly increased after learning the Divine Command Technique, the Shi Clan's strength was similar to the Wei Clan.

Plus, with the holy spirit blood inside her, when Benedict wasn't around, Elara became the top protection priority of the Shi guards and could command them as needed.

So she planned to take the odd-numbered Shi guards with her too, filling in the missing even-numbered Wei guards, bringing her total guard count back to two hundred.

After Elara explained her preparations, General Q and Damon were still frowning. They didn't think two hundred guards were enough.

But since Elara had already made up her mind, and bringing too many people really would be too obvious, they held back what they wanted to say and just silently considered other ways to strengthen her protection.

When Oswyn heard Elara was going on a journey, he wasn't angry or upset. He just furrowed his brow and stared at her for a while before saying:

"I'll go get the medicine you'll need. But you're not allowed to get hurt! Or when you come back, I'll make you drink some crap-tasting medicine to teach you a good lesson!"

Elara: ... That threat was so heavy that her eyelids twitched on instinct.

If there weren't other people around, Elara would have begged him to go easy right then and there...

That one sentence from Oswyn shattered the solemn atmosphere. Everyone around instinctively glanced at him, then at the stunned Empress, and quietly looked away again.

The silence was finally broken by Kristof's laughter.

He held his fan, swept his eyes over the men standing in front of Elara, then closed the fan and gave her a light bow.

"Your Majesty, just go without worry. There's nothing to fear in the court. As long as you remember what Master Oswyn said, all will be fine. Tsk, to be honest, I'm a bit curious too. What does that kind of medicine taste like? For Oswyn to create such an unheard-of flavor, he must be a true genius~"

Elara looked at him coldly. "Then you can drink it for me when the time comes."

Kristof didn't even refuse. He kept waving his fan and looked at her with sly, smiling eyes.

"Sure. As long as Your Majesty stays safe, I'll drink it for you~"

Elara: "..."

Oswyn, who felt something was off, glared at Kristof and snapped:

"My medicine isn't for just anyone. If you want to know what that crap tastes like, go eat it yourself in the outhouse! That'll give you a good taste!"... This Kristof really talks weirdly and clings like a pest! Ugh! Disgusting!

That night, everything concerning Plumera's internal affairs during Elara's absence was discussed and settled amid that strange atmosphere and occasional bickering.

The next morning, during court, she promoted several officials who had done well these past few months. She adjusted their positions so that the departments would function smoothly while she was away.

The uncle and nephew, Pu Wei and Pu Zhi, had already straightened out most of the massive work in the Ministry of Household Affairs. They had also sent inspection squads across the nation to verify and register citizens. Over half the citizens of Plumera were already recorded. Their efficiency was extremely high.

Both men were highly capable and behaved properly, so Elara promoted them by one rank each. Since there was still no head minister for the Ministry, Pu Wei and Pu Zhi were now the two highest-ranking officials in it, holding top authority for now.

Next was Zhan Jiapeng, the top scorer in the written exam from the Zhan family of the southern border. Elara moved him to the Ministry of Justice as Deputy Minister under Kristof.

His younger brother, Zhan Youxing, had loved martial arts since he was a child. He ranked second in the martial arts exam this year, so Elara sent him to the military to be trained under General Q.

The champion of this year's martial arts exam was Yue Kan, second son of the Yue family from the western border.

The Yue family had held positions in the Plumera court before, and an ancestor of theirs had even served as a general. Yue Kan was clearly following in his ancestor's footsteps. He was naturally gifted in martial arts, loved military strategy, and had strong theoretical knowledge. Elara also assigned him to the military to be polished under General Q.

Guo Ziqian, the younger brother of the Guo family head from the eastern region, was a rare noble who loved farming.

Over the past few months, he had solved many problems in the Ministry of Agriculture and Industry while working on high-yield seeds. He also corrected many small issues in the department, so Elara promoted him slightly and let him remain there.

As for the Ministry of Commerce, Gongliang Cheng had performed exceptionally well these past few months. He clearly had a great talent for business. Since taking office, he had handled most trade between Plumera's districts, the Royal Merchant Headquarters, and Cleome and Clematis, with high efficiency and great results that satisfied Elara.

But Elara didn't promote him. Instead, she promoted a few other Ministry of Commerce officials who had also done well, to ensure smooth operations while she was gone.

This decision surprised everyone in the Ministry of Commerce. All eyes turned to Gongliang Cheng. The two officials who were promoted blushed, glancing at him nervously, afraid he would misunderstand.

Gongliang Cheng, however, showed no emotion. No joy or sadness.

From the day Elara met him, he had always been like this. It seemed that ever since his family was destroyed, nothing could stir his emotions anymore.

After court, Elara kept Gongliang Cheng behind and looked into his emotionless eyes. "Do you know why I haven't promoted you?"

Gongliang Cheng shook his head, showing no emotion, no resentment or anger.

Seeing his expression, Elara didn't bother to hide the reason. "Because you did too well, so I've decided to take you on a business trip."

The reason Elara hadn't promoted Gongliang Cheng was because she planned to take him along on this journey.

After all, Elara's future business plans extended far beyond just the nearby regions of Plumera.

This trip was a perfect opportunity. On the way to the Banquet of Nations, she planned to observe the customs, local specialties, and business needs of each country, along with potential future trade routes. She wanted to record it all.

Gongliang Cheng was the highest-ranking commercial official in the Commerce Bureau aside from Damon. He was directly responsible for commercial affairs, so it was necessary for him to travel with her and personally witness and record the business development of other nations and their supply and demand.

Gongliang Cheng was slightly stunned after hearing her words, seemingly not understanding what "business trip" meant.

Elara patted his shoulder. "Go home tonight and pack your things. Meet me at the east gate of Plumera City tomorrow. I'm taking you abroad for about two months. Make sure to bring enough clothes and supplies."

Without waiting for Gongliang Cheng to react, Elara went straight to Benedict and took one hundred single-numbered guards from the "Attendant" unit.

Benedict had no objections. He just hugged Elara for a while, trying to persuade her to take him along.

After being rejected, he hugged her for a long time again before reluctantly letting go.

Once everything was ready, even the Cleome and Clematis twins in the harem, who had been helping her produce milk for months, had finally learned to do it on their own under Elara's guidance.

The next morning, Elara dressed as a regular merchant's daughter and stood at the east gate of Plumera City. Behind her was a long caravan.

The one hundred Attendant guards were also disguised as caravan guards, riding horses and surrounding the convoy.

For this trip, Elara naturally had to assume a new identity. Since the Bai Family's Business was already well known in over a dozen neighboring countries after joining the Zhaiyun Guild, she wouldn't use her old identity as Miss Bai the Third anymore. This journey was too far, and they were all unfamiliar nations. In case anything happened, it was better to use an identity with no link to Plumera.

So after thinking it over, Elara gave herself a new identity: the third daughter of a noble family from a matriarchal nation in the southwestern part of the continent.

This way, she wouldn't need to wear a veil anymore. Though the veil was light, it always blocked her vision and annoyed her.

But she didn't show her real face either. Instead, she went to Emory and asked him to change her appearance. He reshaped her features into a more delicate and new face.

Emory came from the Thousand Faces sect and was very skilled in disguise. Once he altered her appearance, it wouldn't change for years unless removed with a special cleansing solution.

Speaking of Emory, although he was once an unlucky beauty Elara had dragged back, her attitude toward him changed after she fulfilled her promise to him. She didn't force Scholar Fu and even promoted him to the head of the Personnel Department. She also gave Emory the antidote she had used to threaten him with.

Emory's opinion of Elara greatly improved. At least, he no longer resisted everything like before or needed threats to make him speak.

Emory had suffered all that in the princess's manor for the sake of Scholar Fu.

But after Lord Gregory and the others were removed and Scholar Fu moved out of the manor, Emory and Scholar Fu didn't seem to remain close.

Elara didn't know what kind of past they had. That same curiosity she felt when first meeting Emory still hadn't been resolved. Emory clearly came from the far northeastern edge of the continent, thousands of miles away from Plumera.

Yet Scholar Fu, a poor student from Plumera, somehow had a connection with someone from so far away. Emory's sect once caused chaos across the continent, which was very strange.

Still, since both of them had behaved well lately, and Scholar Fu's serene nature hadn't changed even when Emory risked everything to save him, Elara chose not to dig further.

Though Emory was powerful, the System's description said that the Thousand Faces sect was nearly destroyed. Emory also carried the label of a traitor. He had been fleeing ever since he arrived in Plumera.

Elara had been busy with internal affairs lately, and since both of them had been acting normally, she decided not to investigate their pasts for now.