The next afternoon.
Today was the official start of Plumera's first round of the newly reformed imperial examinations.
Students from all over Plumera, after long preparation and organization by the Ministry of Examinations and the Military Department, entered the large examination site specially set up for them in front of the royal palace in Plumera City.
Crowds flooded the streets of Plumera City as examinees hurried back and forth, their faces filled with tension.
At the half-completed West City Gate, many locals who weren't participating in the exam gathered, watching curiously as a long procession slowly entered the city under military escort.
The people in the procession were dressed in strange and unfamiliar clothing. Compared to the restrained and modest style of Plumera, they were much more flamboyant and colorful.
At the front were two massive war elephants that none of the locals had ever seen before, covered in gold and silver. With every step their thick legs took, the ground seemed to shake slightly, which left the onlookers both scared and fascinated.
On the back of the first war elephant was a delicate golden cage.
Inside the cage, two beautiful male figures could be vaguely seen behind sheer fabric.
They were dressed very scantily, only covered in light gauze that revealed the unusual curves of their chests, and every part of their bodies was adorned with gold and silver accessories even more exquisite than those on the elephant.
Their long, pale legs were elegantly folded inside the cage, and their perfect bodies had golden chains locked around their ankles.
Their thick, slightly curly hair, like seaweed, had a soft golden hue and fell behind them. The skin they exposed was even whiter and more delicate than a newborn's.
Their faces were veiled, so no one could see their features clearly, but it was obvious they were stunningly beautiful. Otherwise, why would they be locked in such a luxurious golden cage?
Around the elephant carrying the beautiful prisoners were twenty equally beautiful veiled men.
Surrounding these pretty men were tall warriors in foreign armor.
Most of these warriors had strong and tall physiques, looking no different from men in male-dominant nations. However, their faces were also covered, and each had a floral symbol marked on their foreheads.
Leading the group were several women who were also tall and powerfully built.
Each of them was striking and carried themselves with great authority, completely unlike the typically gentle women of male-dominant countries.
The woman at the very front was especially impressive. She stood about 1.7 meters tall, had tanned skin, and wore heavy armor. Her presence not only overwhelmed all the men behind her but also nearly matched the dominance of General Qi, who walked beside her.
"Tsk tsk tsk! They're caged like playthings. Those men from the female-dominant kingdoms are so shameless and degraded!"
"And these women from the female-dominant kingdom, tsk tsk... that aura, they really are like fierce tigers. I wonder how their men can stand it!"
"Shut up! They're honored guests of Plumera! Didn't you see General Qi personally coming out to receive them? Keep talking nonsense and upsetting our guests, and you might lose your head over it!"
The noisy crowd was pushed back by the city guards, and General Qi led his personal guards to escort the large foreign procession through the gates of the palace.
...
Inside the palace
Elara had originally planned to visit the examination site in person today to get a general idea of what kind of people would soon be working under her.
But since a representative from the Carnation Kingdom had suddenly arrived, she had no choice but to stay in the palace and wait to meet Plumera's first foreign envoy after her ascension.
Before agreeing to receive the envoy, Elara had checked the "Diplomacy" tab in System 92.
Sure enough, the Carnation Kingdom had suddenly shown a favorability of one hundred and fifty points toward Plumera.
Elara didn't know why this female-dominant kingdom, which she had never even met, would suddenly become friendly toward her. But since they were showing goodwill and Plumera lacked trade partners, she agreed to meet them first and decide later.
Yesterday, after receiving news from General Qi, Elara had asked System 92 to do a basic scan of the Carnation Kingdom.
Though she had never been there, as long as she entered the name, the system could pull up the basic information.
[Carnation Kingdom]
[Nation Level: Third-Class Medium-Sized Nation]
[Ruler Gender: Female-Dominant]
[National System: Semi-Feudal System]
[Military Strength: Upper Third-Class Medium]
[Economic Strength: Lower Third-Class Medium]
[Population: Upper Third-Class Medium]
[Land Area: About 589,000 square kilometers (Top Tier of Third-Class Medium)]
[Location: Western edge of the southwestern continent]
[Current Status: Strong military, rich in resources, but plagued by natural disasters, with weak cultural and economic development. Society is rugged and primitive.]
[Key Leaders: Royal Family of Carnation, major clans (click for individual profiles)]
[Main Powers: Royal Family of Carnation, major clans]
[Vassal States: Yaxis (female-dominant weak nation), Ferran (formerly male-dominant, now female-dominant weak nation)]
[Sovereign State: None]
[More details: Pending exploration]
From the map, the Carnation Kingdom wasn't too far from Plumera. From the westernmost pass of Plumera, traveling west for just over seven hundred kilometers would lead into its territory.
This world had both male-dominant and female-dominant nations. Overall, male-dominant ones were slightly more common, making up about sixty percent, while female-dominant ones made up the remaining forty.
Most female-dominant nations were concentrated in the eastern part of the continent and near the southeastern coastal areas. For example, one of the strongest top-tier nations, the female-dominant Freesia Empire, occupied nearly six million square kilometers of fertile eastern land and had a powerful naval fleet.
The surrounding nations of various levels were also mostly female-dominant and showed deep respect for the Freesia Empire.
Mathias's mother came from the Carnation Kingdom. It was said she was the daughter of a royal from a second-rank matriarchal nation in the eastern part of the continent.
Aside from the large cluster of matriarchal kingdoms in the east, the rest of the continent had far fewer of them.
Plumera was in the southwest corner of the continent, very far from the east, so the neighboring countries were mostly patriarchal, with only a few matriarchal ones.
Still, a few didn't mean none. Carnation was one example. Besides that, to the north and east of Plumera, there were also a few scattered matriarchal kingdoms of different ranks.
When Elara finished reading the data given by System 92, the envoys from Carnation had already arrived outside the palace.
Elara nodded toward General Qi and the palace attendants. The Carnation envoys entered through the main gate.
The first to come in were seven female envoy leaders, all dressed in heavy armor and full of heroic spirit.
Behind them, female soldiers carried a large golden cage.
Inside the cage were two beautiful men, and around them stood twenty other handsome men.
Behind that came a long procession carrying well-packaged gifts, including gold, silver, animal skins, spices, and other tributes.
"The envoy from Carnation, Princess of Carnation, greets Her Majesty, the Empress of Plumera!"
The lead envoy, wearing armor, bowed in the etiquette of her own country toward Elara.
The other female envoys behind her all followed with bows.
Elara raised her hand slightly. "The sudden visit from Carnation is truly unexpected. You've come a long way, and it must have been tiring. Please, be seated."
The female envoys sat at the banquet seats Elara had prepared. The men with them, whether soldiers or not, all knelt on the ground with humble postures.
The Princess of Carnation didn't sit. She bowed again to Elara and said in a bold voice with a slight accent,
"No need to be surprised, Your Majesty. Since you were chosen by the Divine Pulse, Carnation naturally wishes to seek your friendship."
Elara raised her eyebrows. She had just learned about the Divine Pulse at Lianyi Tower yesterday. Now a foreign envoy had arrived, and it was also related to that.
"Are you from the royal family of Carnation? That's interesting. When I received the news yesterday, I was quite surprised. Plumera and Carnation never had contact before. Why do you say I am favored by the Divine Pulse? Can you explain?"
The Princess of Carnation lifted her hands in greeting, her eyes looking up at Elara with a powerful gaze from years of war. "Of course. I carry royal blood. Her Majesty the current Empress of Carnation is my elder sister. I am the Princess of Carnation."
So she was a princess of a matriarchal kingdom?
It was Carnation's first time sending envoys to Plumera, and they had sent someone of royal rank?
Elara had many thoughts, but her expression didn't change. She only smiled more warmly.
"So it's the royal princess of Carnation. Her Majesty the Empress is very thoughtful. We in Plumera are honored. Attend to the Princess of Carnation and all the envoys with the highest standard of hospitality. They are our most esteemed guests. Do not slack in any way."
"Yes, Your Majesty." The palace attendants quickly replied and moved to make arrangements.
The Carnation envoys smiled upon hearing this and bowed in thanks.
The Princess of Carnation's expression softened. She looked at Elara and continued,
"Carnation and Plumera haven't had much interaction before, but a year ago, our Divine Pulse suddenly revealed a prophecy. It said Carnation's future would be closely tied to your nation, and that we would receive great help from you. So six months ago, Her Majesty the Empress began preparing for this visit."
Elara's eyebrows rose higher. The many officials of Plumera standing in the palace also looked toward her.
So it was a prophecy from the Divine Pulse. No wonder Carnation, with no connection at all to Plumera, would suddenly send envoys.
Elara had received Mr. Yu's letter last night.
Although Mr. Yu didn't know much about the Divine Pulse, he had written the general situation in the letter.
Basically, the Divine Pulse's gifts in this world included not only advanced knowledge and technology, as Elara had guessed, but also many strange and mysterious things.
Some countries received sacred objects with divine power. Some got advanced theories or technologies.
Others might receive powerful weapons with great military use.
There were even countries that received strange and legendary items or mysterious abilities.
In short, the Divine Pulse's gifts were incredibly diverse. They could be anything from heaven or earth.
That's why the people of this continent worshipped them as blessings from a god and had been doing so for thousands of years.
After reading Mr. Yu's letter yesterday, Elara knew that her earlier guesses were too narrow and conservative.
The Divine Pulse's gifts might include supernatural techniques beyond her imagination.
"So Carnation's gift from the Divine Pulse is a form of prophecy?"