Old Du froze for a moment, his whole body tense. Then he suddenly raised his head.
"You... you sent Francis to Marigold City to suppress the rebellion?!"
Elara gave a cold smile in her heart. As expected of a former high-ranking official, Old Du immediately saw the key point. He wasn't fooled by her carefully maintained image and words.
She calmly lifted her teacup and took another sip. "Your little grandson went too. So during these ten days, to make sure neither of them does anything I don't like while outside, you both will stay here with me. While you're here, tell me more about the customs and traditions of Plumera Kingdom."
Francis's younger brother went too! Old Du's eyes widened slightly.
Although it was only ten days, the Marigold City rebellion was just a group of commoners forming a temporary force. They weren't trained soldiers. With both Francis and his brother there, Old Du believed his two grandsons could handle it.
But more than that, what shocked him was that even though he had been dismissed, he still kept track of some court affairs. Many officials had advised the emperor to send troops to suppress these uprisings.
But all their requests had been ignored.
Old Du had long since lost hope. A while ago, the emperor finally approved Francis to lead a troop, only for Elara to snatch him into the princess's residence the day before deployment.
Old Du thought all hope was gone, and that Plumera Kingdom's last fragile support was going to collapse.
But now, not only did Elara allow Francis to lead troops, she even let the other grandson, who had been taken into her residence two years ago and was assumed to be lost forever, go with him!
That glimmer of despair in Old Du's heart suddenly saw a spark of hope.
Even if this hope was like a weak star in the dark sky, and Elara's reasons for sending them were hard to explain…
As long as they could suppress the rebellion in Marigold City, Plumera Kingdom might be able to survive a few more years!
Compared to that, any suffering his two grandsons might face was nothing!
Nothing was more important than the fate of Plumera Kingdom!
Old Du suddenly thought of something, his eyes moved quickly, then he looked at Elara and said,
"Princess, if you wish to visit peaceful places outside the capital, although I don't know much, I do know some parts of Plumera Kingdom have beautiful scenery perfect for your leisure.
But those places have also been taken over by rebel forces. Before you visit them, the rebels must be cleared out first."
Elara sneered again in her heart. As expected, this old man was smart. In just seconds, he figured out how to "use" her traveling for pleasure as a cover to send people to crush rebel forces.
But that worked perfectly. That was her plan all along. She was only worried he wouldn't understand or be too cautious to take advantage. Luckily, Old Du played along.
Elara nodded without hesitation. "Of course. How could I go enjoy myself in places crawling with insects? Your two grandsons will come with me, and they'll be the ones to take care of those bugs."
"Good!"
Old Du slapped his palm hard.
Just moments ago, he was furious when Elara brought Francis into her residence as a male companion.
But now, hearing they could go suppress rebels, it was like he couldn't wait for her to take them away at once.
His face even turned slightly red with excitement, as if years of built-up frustration had finally found a solution.
Madam Du was confused by her husband's sudden change, but she wasn't clueless.
She quickly understood, and the sorrow on her face faded a little. She stood beside her husband, showing the same attitude.
Elara chuckled inwardly. At the same time, she developed a new sense of respect and appreciation for this old couple.
They were truly loyal to Plumera Kingdom.
As long as the country could survive, even if their only grandsons had to lower themselves into the harem of a woman, they would accept it.
They were the kind of people who would serve their country until death.
Both sides had their own plans but shared the same goal.
Without needing Elara to say more, Old Du had already walked to the large map of Plumera Kingdom and started introducing the areas around the capital.
Elara listened carefully and combined the new information with what she had seen earlier in the study.
She quickly formed a clear picture of the current state of the kingdom.
In short, Plumera Kingdom was like a dying man hanging on to his last breath.
First, there were natural disasters and manmade problems.
The north was suffering drought, and the south was flooded.
The court ignored the people's suffering.
Bodies were left unburied, leading to rampant disease outbreaks.
Refugees were everywhere, spreading the diseases into cities.
Now, disease was an even greater threat than hunger or flood.
The original Elara had never left the capital. Benedict, the emperor, didn't care about any of this.
His corrupt officials cared even less.
Outside the capital, nearly every major city had fallen into disease. Corpses littered the streets, dead from starvation or sickness.
No wonder this small kingdom, just 800 kilometers long and 400 kilometers wide, had over ten different rebel groups.
This was the part Old Du made sure to emphasize.
According to him, all these rebel-held areas happened to be beautiful, scenic places perfect for leisure.
Elara didn't call him out on it.
Instead, she followed along. As he spoke of each location, she marked it on the map, planning her "pleasure trip."
To Old Du, her route looked like a planned campaign of rebellion suppression.
Elara noticed the suppressed excitement in his eyes.
She sneered inwardly but showed annoyance on her face as she complained,
"Why are there so many bugs wherever I want to go?
I remember my royal brother sent people to deal with this.
Why are there still so many left?"
At this, honest and outspoken Old Du grew even more worked up.
Naturally, he shifted the topic to the state of the court,
Then furiously scolded every corrupt official who drew royal salary but did nothing for the country, naming each one subtly but clearly.
Elara listened to all of it, taking notes of each corrupt name while organizing the court's current state.
In the end, it all boiled down to this:
Corrupt officials ruled the court. Loyal officials had been pushed out.
Talents had fled the country, and the court was basically empty.
When Old Du finally finished his rant and gave a full picture of the current government, Elara had them escorted to rest.
She stayed behind to organize the intelligence she'd just received.
At the end of her notes on Plumera's dying state, she added two more lines:
National Treasury: Empty.
Ruling Emperor: Immoral and useless.
Tsk. The more she looked, the more the kingdom resembled a terminal patient beyond saving.
Elara spoke to System 92 in her mind:
"The country you chose sure is 'great.'"
System 92 whispered softly, afraid to speak. After a long silence, it replied in a voice as small as a mosquito:
"Don't worry, Host... we... we have support tools..."
Elara let out a soft snort and didn't comment.
She glanced at the first task reward: "Complete Pandemic Encyclopedia."
That was exactly what Plumera needed now.
In her previous life, Elara had been a CEO.
As the heir of the Xia family, she'd been trained in everything.
But medicine was something she had never touched.
After all, she'd always had a top medical team with her, monitoring her health at all times.
She had no need or time to study medicine herself.
Now, she just had to wait for the Francis brothers to handle Marigold City.
Then this reward could be put to use.
But how to present this medical solution in a reasonable way was something she still had to figure out.
As she turned to return to the study to think further, a male servant ran in from outside in a panic.
The servant was clearly terrified, but the matter was urgent. He had no time to retreat.
He knelt far from the door and knocked his head to the floor, saying,
"Your Highness! Mathias might not make it!"
Mathias?
Elara paused for two seconds before remembering who that was.
The only person named Mathias in her residence was the beautiful, severely injured man she had ordered placed in her bed earlier.
Inside the bedroom, the handsome young man with pale skin lay dying on her bed.
His body was covered in wounds.
Like a piece of fine white jade that had been cracked and was now bleeding, there was a tragic beauty to him that made people want to crush him even more.
Elara stood at his bedside. "He can't swallow the medicine?"
The kneeling imperial physician trembled.
"Yes, Your Highness. Even if we force it into him… he immediately vomits it out...
Your Highness… I… I am useless… please… please forgive me…"
The physician spoke in panic and fear.
Since being sent to the princess's residence by the emperor, he had learned very well how cruel this princess could be.
He had seen the many horrible deaths of men who were tormented by her.
He lived in constant fear and always reminded himself to close his eyes and ears, and only follow her orders.
Now he was being asked to save this man who had already lost the will to live.
Even while unconscious, Mathias resisted the medicine.
He clearly wanted to die.
The physician felt bitter.
He could understand why Mathias wanted to die after what Elara had done.
But why did he have to be dragged into it?
He had a family at home. If he failed Elara now…
The more he thought, the more he trembled.
After a moment, he clenched his teeth and said,
"Your Highness… there might be… one way to save Mathias."