"Your Majesty... do you still not like us...?"
In Carnation Kingdom's traditions, if a wife-lord refuses to take her male attendants or even refuses to drink their..., it means she despises them.
Once despised, whether they are official husbands, secondary husbands or low-ranking attendants, they would only end up treated like livestock, a very miserable fate.
After being given to Her Majesty, although she always treated them kindly, never punished or whipped them, and even personally helped express their..., she still never took them, and it seemed she never even tasted what she had helped express...
They thought it was because she disliked their taste, so over the past three months they cautiously tried to find out her preferences and even used Carnation secret methods to gradually change themselves...
But even now, it seemed Her Majesty still did not like them.
Elara looked at the disappointment and faint despair on the faces of the two men... she let out a silent breath in her heart, then glanced at the large bowls of freshly expressed liquid, still steaming slightly and smelling sweet and milky... she exhaled softly, paused for a while, then said, "Alright then, bring it over and I'll try..."
The two men's once dim and hopeless eyes immediately brightened with joy. They leaned in again, one on each side, clinging to her. Their beautiful faces showed a tempting expression as they leaned closer and whispered:
"Your Majesty... there's no need to drink the cold ones over there..."
"Your Majesty, let us feed you directly... this way it's warmest and freshest..."
Elara didn't come out of Meiyuan Palace until two hours later.
Inside the palace,
Cleome and Clematis's previously full chests had already slightly relaxed. The two of them lay inside the golden birdcage, looking satisfied and resting peacefully.
Elara, however, felt like she was covered in the smell of milk...
She exhaled quietly... thinking that unless truly necessary... she would rather come here as little as possible...
She lifted a hand to wipe the damp hair from her forehead. Elara planned to go take a bath first to wash off the milky smell.
Imperial Palace Bedchamber
After bathing, she remembered that the second national exam was fast approaching. There were even more examinees this time, so Elara changed into a fresh outfit and got ready to check the situation on the streets.
Since her return, she hadn't had the chance to look around the new Plumera City. Now was a good time to take a walk.
North District of Plumera City
Elara, now dressed like an ordinary wealthy merchant's daughter, strolled slowly through the renewed Plumera City with Uno, who was also in disguise. They observed the city's completely new scenery bit by bit.
The new Plumera City was much cleaner, livelier, more spacious and prosperous than before.
Aside from the tall buildings densely lining every street that Elara had already noticed upon her return, every road was now paved with flat reddish-brown tiles. There were no more muddy pits or the occasional pile of... the kind you'd accidentally step on and feel cursed.
At the ends of every street, separate public toilets for men and women had been built.
Underground drains below the public toilets were already finished, continuously channeling away waste. On the surface, there were no traces at all, and no smell leaked out to pollute the street.
The citizens and nobles walking throughout the city all wore smiles, spoke calmly, and there were no more incidents of bullying and oppression like before.
Most people had their own "jobs" or "affairs" to attend to and moved with quick purpose.
Groups of young scholars from all parts of the nation gathered in elegant restaurants and halls, discussing the changes in Plumera City and the details of the upcoming national exam.
There was no sign anymore of the old street bones or refugee beggars at the ends of alleys.
The patrolling city guards wore neat uniforms. They held their weapons and marched up and down the streets regularly, checking the situation everywhere.
When Elara and Uno walked from the North to the West District, they saw a few patrol guards catching a man trying to relieve himself in a street corner. The guards punished him, escorted him to the public toilet and taught him to read the signs and understand their meaning.
In all four districts of Plumera City, every street was filled with all kinds of shops. Major businesses displayed a dazzling variety of goods and supplies. From a distance, the prosperity already resembled that of the famous commercial sanctuary, the Xiuyun Pavilion in the royal city of Sargassum.
Seeing the current flourishing state of the capital, Elara felt very pleased.
She and Uno walked down a bustling street and noticed vendors already selling familiar snacks.
She walked up and bought a piece of grilled meat for herself and Uno.
"Try it."
Uno took the small grilled meat from her hand and continued walking slowly behind her along the streets of Plumera City.
After walking through a few more streets, the usually lively and orderly Plumera City finally had some disharmonious sounds of cursing, mocking and shouting.
Elara's senses were much sharper than ordinary people. She heard the sound of fighting and swearing coming from the southern corner area and, still holding the half-eaten grilled meat, she and Uno headed toward the hidden street corner where the sound came from.
Then they saw a few older boys fiercely cursing and kicking a skinny child in the hidden corner.
The child looked only about eight or nine years old, thin and bony, with ragged clothes. But his expression was fierce, like an angry little wolf, biting down hard on a piece of flatbread and glaring viciously at all the older boys attacking him.
Just as Elara and Uno walked over, the child seemed to sense them instantly and sharply looked toward them.
Elara met his eyes at that moment.
Then she suddenly paused and stared at the child's face for a couple of seconds.
...Haochen?