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I considered attempting to use the excess karmic energy during normal cultivation, but I decided that would be too wasteful. If this pattern of excess energy persisted for several stages, I might consider it, but not until I understood how much energy I should expect to receive every month.

When my cultivation finally reached a point where I felt comfortable breaking through, I was interrupted once more.

It was time for the selection of the new Thunder Groom, and I had promised Minister Jin that I would attend.

While the first stages of the Groom Selection were in progress, all current and former Rulers of the kingdom gathered in the back of the amphitheater for a quaint ball.

I delayed my arrival slightly so that when I entered the hall would already be full. I did my best to remain unobtrusive as I entered and tried to slip in unnoticed. I was extremely uncomfortable in this type of gathering, so I just wanted to be in and out with as little fuss as possible.

The hall was arranged in the pattern of the Eight Flower Kingdom, with a black and blue area for North Lake City at the far end. I did my best to deftly move through the crowd without notice to avoid having anyone approach me for a conversation. When I reached my designated area of the hall without incident, I breathed a sigh of relief.

My relief was quickly cut short when a handsome man dressed in fancy dark blue robes approached me.

“Lord Su, you’ve come! Excellent. I expected you to only send your Flower again.”

I looked at the man and was surprised to recognize him. “Lord Situ,” I said, bowing my head, “a pleasure to see you here. I didn’t realize you were a former Water Groom, though maybe I should have.”

He chuckled lightly. “I was your immediate predecessor. I did my best for the city, but I’ve been amazed at what you have accomplished in only a couple of years. You should be able to advance much further than I did while city lord.”

“Thank you for your praise,” I said with a dip of my head, “but I must credit everything to my excellent ministers. Without them, I’m sure the city would have been in shambles by now.”

“A leader is best when people barely know he exists,” responded Lord Situ. “Delegating matters to your ministers and only focusing on implementing your most important policies is the correct course of action. You have done your job admirably, and your Flower has done an excellent job implementing your vision.”

I nodded in acceptance.

“Lord Situ, it has been quite some time since we discussed business matters. I trust things have been prosperous on your end. Have you managed to scale up production recently?”

“Lord Su…” he said with a small shake of the head. “Yes, we have, but this is not the proper place for such discussions. I hope you understand.”

This comment destroyed the budding eagerness I had begun to feel for this event. If business could not be conducted here, what was the point?

I made a little more small talk with the Herb Lord and then excused myself. I wandered to a far corner of my section and just stood there to observe the festivities. Since I wasn’t paying too much attention, I was surprised when Mei approached and grabbed my elbow.

“We have an audience with the queen,” she said in a quiet, rushed voice. “Don’t worry too much. Just act natural. She wants to thank you for the improvements to the kingdom. She may make an offer of some kind, but you should be hesitant about accepting it. Don’t outright reject it, but consider it carefully before moving forward.”

She hauled me by the elbow to the center of the ballroom where the queen was waiting. When we arrived in front of her, we both gave deep bows but did not speak first.

“Lord Su, nice to meet you. Flower Mei, a pleasure as always,” said the queen with an impassive face.

“Queen Duge, it is my honor,” said Mei with a pleasant smile.

“Queen Duge,” I acknowledged.

“Lord Su, the Nutrition Pills from your domain have done wonders for the kingdom. Not only have they improved the lives of our people, but they have also provided a nice increase in tax revenue. I thank you as both a queen and as a cultivator.”

“You are welcome,” I said, bowing slightly. I wasn’t sure what else to say in this situation.

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“Lord Su, are you aware of my background?”

“No, Queen Duge. I have not studied the other Rulers of the kingdom thoroughly.”

“Then you may be surprised to know that my family is not of this kingdom. Since you were not at the Queen Selection,” she said with a raised eyebrow and a meaningful glance, “you may not know that I was allowed to hold this position as part of an exchange between the Eight Flower Kingdom and the neighboring Brilliant Sun Empire. It was your own Flower Mei who was the most vocal in support of this arrangement.”

I didn’t care much about why she was chosen, but one part of it caught my attention. Was there a hook here I could use?

“Oh? Are you from one of the major clans in the Brilliant Sun Empire, then?” I could only hope there wasn’t a greedy glint in my eyes.

“It depends on how you look at it. My family is a branch of the imperial clan, and we do rule a small kingdom, but we are not held in particularly high esteem by the current Emperor,” she said, addressing my comment before returning to her planned speech. “The exchange that brought me here was to allow me to learn from this kingdom and bring new ideas back to my own. At the end of the queen’s eleven-year rule, I will be returning home, and the young lady from Eight Flower who took my place in my kingdom will return here to marry the new King.”

“I see. I hope this exchange will benefit both kingdoms.”

“I believe it already has,” she said, smiling. “Lord Su, your term will end shortly before my own. When I step down, I would like you to consider venturing to my home with me. We would be exceptionally pleased if you could build a factory for us as you have in North Lake City.”

That was the ask I was expecting, and in truth, I did want to build one in Brilliant Sun, but a small fringe kingdom was not my goal. Building such a factory there would certainly improve the importance this Duge branch had to the main family, but that wasn’t my concern. If I did this, it would likely end up with me completely sidelined.

“Queen Duge,” I began hesitantly, “I don’t believe that is within my powers. I have sworn oaths with the Hu Clan. I cannot share any information about formations, not even the ones I helped design. They have complete autonomy in this matter, though, so they will be able to provide you with any assistance you may need.”

The corners of the queen’s mouth dropped slightly. “I see. So, you will not help me in this matter?”

“Your majesty, this is beyond my power. I am bound by strict oaths which prevent me from sharing any information about formations. This matter must pass through the Hu clan.” I paused briefly, trying to remember Mei’s advice. “I can help facilitate a meeting with them if you wish.”

“Thank you for your candor,” she said with a slight frown. “Please, enjoy the festivities.”

Mei pulled my arm and led me away.

After the gathering in the hall, we adjourned to our private boxes to watch the selection of the Thunder Groom. The focus of the questioning centered around building a place for people to live and enjoy. I tuned it all out and spent the time thinking about how I would proceed with my cultivation. I was at the peak of Martial Lord 2, and as soon as I returned to North Lake City, I would enter seclusion for my breakthrough.

During the competition, I only noticed Mei glance at me a single time. She didn’t say anything, and her eyes quickly darted back to the stage. Internally, I was shaking my head. I had no understanding of how to deal with the situation. Her blessing had too firm of a grip on her, and trying to talk with her would be pointless.

When the competition finally ended, I didn’t pay any attention to who was chosen. I quickly headed for my carriage and returned home.

My ascension to Martial Lord 3 was extremely smooth. I had built up an abundance of karmic energy, so there was no need to consider depleting my small supply of spirit stones. With my newly advanced cultivation, I wanted to see how I could advance as an alchemist, but Minister Lu requested an urgent meeting, and I was required to attend.

I expected a small meeting between the minister, myself, and maybe one or two others, but instead, it was a gathering of my entire council, Mei and her Seeds, and a couple of Hu Clan representatives.

Minister Lu was the first to speak. “Lord Su, the pill factory has encountered a problem, and we are having a hard time solving it.”

I gestured to her to continue.

“It’s the herbs for the Nutrition Pills. The production lines consume them at a prodigious rate, and we require constant deliveries to keep the factory working at full capacity. Because–” the minister hesitated. “Due to recent events… Many of our suppliers have decided to end their cooperation with us. If this continues, it will severely limit the number of pills we can produce.”

I furrowed my brow. “Isn’t the needed herb cheap and common? Can we buy them from elsewhere?”

“Lord Su, the necessary herb is the seed pod of a common weed. The weed grows nearly everywhere in the kingdom, and when it’s ripe, someone just needs to pluck it. However, these weeds are scattered across the kingdom, and we need strong supply channels to gather them for us. Our current suppliers are refusing to work with us, and it is likely they will not allow anyone new to encroach on their territory.”

She wanted me to ask, so I obliged. “How can we solve this problem?”

“In the short term, we can begin trying to source them from other kingdoms. It will raise the cost, but ingredient costs are minimal anyway, so this will only have a small effect on our returns. Relying on supplies from other kingdoms and empires is not sustainable in the long run, though.”

“What do you suggest?”

“We need a farm, several farms actually, to focus on the production of the seed pods. We need growing formations to speed everything up, high-quality roads to transport materials, enforcers to make sure everything runs smoothly, and countless other things. Only by providing the ingredients ourselves will we no longer be tied to the whims of our suppliers.”

I considered the idea, and it was something that would have to happen eventually. “How are we going to pay for this? As you know, I cannot personally fund it.”

“Lord Su, the factory has made sufficient profits to fund any such projects by itself. Putting everything in place might temporarily stretch the budget slightly, but we should be able to handle that with a small increase in pill prices.”

I waved that away. “You are the minister in charge of these things, do what you think is best.”

“Thank you, Lord Su,” she said. Then, she stepped back into line with the other ministers.

“You have all heard the proposal on the table,” I said, addressing the room. “I would like everyone’s input on this and suggestions for improvements.”

That began a long-winded debate amongst the various members of my council. Everyone could agree on the broad strokes, but countless small details touched on other interests that needed to be negotiated.

I only listened for a short time before tuning out the discussion and only listening for my name. Mei seemed more than willing to control the discussion in my absence.

Creating a farm was important for the city, and understanding the process would benefit my plans, but worrying about the small details of the project was a distraction. I wanted to return to my workshop so I could focus on more important tasks.