[Yes, Master. Your body is tied to the national fate of the Plumera Kingdom. Since it was occupied by wandering spirits for so long, your yang energy has been completely drained. Originally, you wouldn't have lived much longer anyway.]
[But now it's different! You're here! Everything will definitely get better!]
System 92 was full of confidence in her, sounding a bit like an obsessed fan.
After going over all the information from System 92, Elara said, [Then add those 20 fate points to lifespan first.]
At least now she could live 20 days longer. Elara thought this with a helpless look.
[Got it～]
[Ding～20 fate points converted to lifespan. Total remaining days: 50.]
…
After talking with the system, Elara had the half-conscious boy taken back to the Princess Manor. She took Uno and Dos with her and started exploring the capital of Plumera Kingdom.
She had to admit, actually being in ancient times was completely different from how it looked in the dramas she used to watch.
Though maybe it was just because the Plumera Kingdom was in such a terrible state.
Even though this was the capital, Plumera City was miserable. Except for the northern area where the royal family lived and the east where the powerful officials stayed, the southern and western areas were simply desolate.
The roads were so narrow they could barely fit one carriage, and they were full of holes and muddy water.
Sitting in the carriage, Elara felt like her butt was constantly bouncing. These carriages were primitive and had no shock absorption. After a few days, she was sure her hips would be sore.
Aside from the terrible roads, the street corners were crowded with beggars. Their faces were numb, their bodies were thin like skeletons. Just looking at them made her heart sink.
Most of the shops were closed. The homes were tightly locked. The whole street had this abandoned, poverty-stricken feeling. If she hadn't seen it herself, Elara wouldn't have believed that the capital of a kingdom could be in such a pitiful state.
When people saw her carriage coming from far away, even the few shops that were still open quickly shut their doors in fear, as if some disaster was arriving.
Elara was speechless.
She had wanted to observe just how bad the capital's economy was. Turns out it was even worse than she imagined.
This wasn't just a weak foundation. It had no foundation at all.
…
After circling around and entering the eastern district where the nobles lived, Elara felt like she had entered a whole different world, even though it was just one wall away.
The place was lively and bustling.
The streets were full of luxurious carriages and fancy horses. People came and went from the shops, all looking wealthy and important, with nobles and their servants everywhere.
Elara lifted the curtain and studied the shops closely. While it looked much more prosperous than the rest of the city, the goods being sold were still far below her expectations.
Not only were the categories limited and few in number, but the craftsmanship was also rough and primitive. Even the jewelry and hairpins the noble ladies bought from so-called "boutiques" looked crudely made.
[System 92, how does this world's production level compare to the era in my old world?]
[It should roughly match the early Spring and Autumn period. But it's not exactly the same. Some things they have here didn't exist back then, and vice versa. After all, they're two different timelines…]
No wonder she had just seen many stone ornaments and stone household tools…
Elara dug through the original owner's memories for anything related to production in this era.
Unfortunately, the original owner only cared about enjoying life and never paid attention to the common people. So there was nothing helpful in her memories.
But based on her extravagant lifestyle, Elara could still tell that even the finest items were made using outdated, inefficient methods.
For example, the best clothes she owned were made from ancient handwoven silk. Things like brocade didn't even exist in this world yet.
Since silk production was complex and there was no machinery to help, each roll of silk took months and several skilled workers to produce. So hardly anyone could afford it, except the royal family and a few powerful figures.
Other officials with less power wore decorated leather, wool, or coarse linen at best.
As for ordinary citizens with no title, having rough cotton clothes was already considered lucky.
Oh, and by the way, cotton hadn't been used as a fabric material yet. There didn't seem to be any cotton in the Plumera Kingdom at all. So clothes had to be made either from expensive silk, tough vine fiber, or animal hides.
Not just clothes. From the food, accessories, tools, and farming equipment to even the most basic items, everything was extremely primitive.
Iron hadn't even been widely adopted in the military. The technology to forge quality iron weapons didn't exist yet. Creating usable iron tools required a massive amount of manpower and resources. Only top-ranking generals like the ones from the Qi family, who she had tricked into handling the rebellion, had access to them.
As for machinery, there was almost none. Everything was handmade, which led to very low productivity in every area.
Elara kept calculating the data on production levels as she observed from the window.
Her hand tapped lightly on the sill, then she noticed something in the corner of her eye. A group of soldiers was boldly walking past, dragging along a line of young men and women, shouting about selling slaves.
She paused. Right, slavery hadn't been abolished here. It was completely normal to sell people.
Elara watched the ragged, numb faces of the bound slaves for a moment, then turned her attention back to the shops and asked Uno, standing behind her:
"Do you know who owns these shops?"
As a shadow guard, Uno never left her side. His job was to protect Elara, and unless these merchants posed a threat to her, he didn't care about them.
But now that she asked, Uno thought back to what he'd overheard during past missions.
He answered softly, "About half of the shops in the east are owned by the Gregory family. The other three-fifths are split between the Yan, Zhu, and Lin families. The remaining two-fifths belong to Lianyi House."
The Yan, Zhu, and Lin families were the three biggest powers in the Plumera Kingdom after the Gregory family.
In other words, if the Gregory family were the top corrupt officials, then the other three families ranked second to fourth. Their family heads were all under Lord Gregory and were his biggest allies. Over the years, they helped him steal royal wealth and push out loyal officials.
But even so, they only controlled about a tenth of the east district's shops each. Lianyi House had twice as much.
"Lianyi House. Who owns it?"
Uno lowered his head again. Then, to Elara's surprise, he suddenly knelt down to apologize:
"I don't know. I only know their influence is spread across the continent. As for which country they belong to, I don't know. Please punish me."
After saying this, Uno started undressing.
Elara quickly reached out to stop his hand, trying to hold back her twitching mouth.
Uno froze, looking up at her. Though he was a cold and deadly shadow guard, his eyes now showed rare confusion.
"Princess?"
Elara sighed, pulling his robe back over his white chest.
"This doesn't count. Don't rush to take punishment."
Blame the original owner. What kind of ghost was she? With such a strong punishment kink.
Uno looked even more confused.
Elara bit her lip. She wanted to slowly change how she acted, to avoid acting out of character too much. She knew Uno's loyalty couldn't be shaken even if she completely broke character, but it was better to go step by step.
She gave a soft sigh, fixed his clothes, and pulled her hand back. "Don't worry. I'll have something for you to do later. If you mess that up, then I'll punish you."
Uno straightened up and nodded, his confusion fading. He went back to standing quietly behind her.
Elara thought about the name Lianyi House. A multinational business spread across the continent. No doubt it belonged to one of the three strongest countries on the continent.
No wonder they could control so much of the east district. Even Lord Gregory didn't dare provoke them.
While she was thinking, Uno suddenly spoke again:
"Princess, I remembered something else. If you want information in the capital, Lianyi House is the best source."
Elara turned to look at him. "They sell information?"
"Lianyi House is said to sell anything, including information. But their payment methods seem to be a bit unusual."
Elara gave a sarcastic smile. Figures. A foreign super-chain store selling everything. She had no doubt all the dirty secrets of the Plumera Kingdom had already been passed on to their boss through Lianyi House.