Not everyone from the noble families saw status as something so important.
For example, the two young masters of the Zhan family from the southern border, along with the second young master of the Yue family from the western border, burst out laughing and raised their wine flasks after learning they had placed in the top three of their examination category. They stumbled into the crowd of lower-ranking students, randomly pulled a few of them over, and dragged them to drink and chat together, claiming they were all future colleagues.
The students who were pulled along looked a bit at a loss for what to do.
The rest of the noble children couldn't be as carefree as the two from the Zhan family or the one from the Yue family, but they didn't look down on people outside their social circles either.
They just stood on the sidelines, still observing the etiquette of noble families, calmly exchanging congratulations and thanks, and started building relationships with their future colleagues in advance.
The lively and spectacular first major imperial examination of Plumera came to a close.
Inside the imperial palace, at the moment the examination results were officially announced, a familiar mechanical voice rang out in Elara's mind again.
"Congratulations! You have successfully reformed Plumera's outdated examination system and established a new selection mechanism, attracting many talented individuals to aid in governance! This has greatly contributed to Plumera's future development and changed the nation's fate! You have received 1090 National Fortune points as a reward!"
Hearing the mechanical voice of congratulations, Elara's eyes narrowed in joy.
Adding the remaining 4,584 national fortune points from before, her total had now reached 5,674 points, which was equivalent to more than 16 years of lifespan. Even if she needed to deal with all sorts of unexpected emergencies, it was enough to solve a great number of serious problems.
Elara felt even more cheerful. [But System, my diplomatic relations with the Carnation Kingdom should be tied to Plumera's future, right? Why isn't there any reward for that?]
[Master, your diplomatic ties with the Carnation Kingdom definitely contribute to national fortune points, but most likely you'll need to solve those two major problems for Carnation first. Once the goods are all delivered to Plumera and the transaction is fully completed, then it'll be settled.]
Elara nodded after hearing that.
Fine, she still had plenty of national fortune points anyway, and there wasn't anything urgent right now, so there was no rush.
That evening, Kristof returned to Plumera City earlier than expected.
As soon as he arrived, he didn't even go to his new residence. He rode straight to the palace, bringing with him all the food crops he had painstakingly gathered to claim credit from Elara.
Inside the imperial palace.
Elara looked at Kristof, who was covered in dust from travel but smiling broadly as he held a fan and proudly showed off the results of his month's work.
She couldn't help but smile too. She raised her hand and patted his dusty clothes from the fast ride. Words of praise flowed from her mouth, then she looked at his bright eyes full of laughter and said:
"Alright, I know you've done a great job this time and I know you've worked hard. I've already arranged a banquet for you tonight in the palace. But you're still covered in dust like this, how can you attend the banquet looking like that? Go back to your residence and clean yourself up first."
Kristof just smiled and didn't move. His eyes glanced at her hand, which didn't mind patting his dirty clothes, and his tall figure leaned slightly toward her.
"I heard a few companions have already moved into Your Majesty's harem?"
"They're not companions. They're just temporarily staying in the harem for various reasons."
Kristof held his fan over his mouth and stared at Elara, drawing out a long "hmm~."
"Not companions? Then they don't have any official status? Hmm, in that case, I won't go back. After all, I haven't even been to the new residence Your Majesty granted me. My belongings are still at the old place, which is too far from the palace. Now it's already so late and the banquet is about to start soon. Since Your Majesty praised my hard work, why not just grant me a new set of clothes? I'll wash and change right here in the palace so I don't have to run back and forth."
Elara glanced at him.
Kristof fanned himself with a big smile as he looked at her. "Such a small thing, would Your Majesty really refuse me~"
Elara looked away and called a palace attendant. "Go, prepare a new set of clothes for Lord Kristof, and take him to wash up."
"Yes, Your Majesty."
Kristof's curved eyes were full of delight. His tall body bent slightly as he gave a very casual bow. "Thank you, Your Majesty. You're truly generous and wise~"
"Alright, enough nonsense. Go on."
Kristof went to bathe and change clothes, while Elara carefully examined all the food crops he had brought back.
She had to admit, Kristof was truly reliable.
He had managed to find high-yield potatoes, high-yield corn, high-yield sweet potatoes, and both drought-resistant and water-resistant rice from the other world.
In addition to that, he had found peanuts, lettuce, sunflower seeds, and more. The more Elara looked, the higher the corners of her lips curled.
The culinary culture of this world was very primitive. Plus, transportation was difficult and most countries were isolated, so goods couldn't be traded or circulated. This led to every country having a very limited variety of food.
For example, in Plumera, there were only beans and a few staple crops. Fruits and nuts were extremely rare, and food options were extremely limited.
She had wanted to get more peanuts and sunflower seeds before but had no way to do so. Now it was different. She could roast peanuts and sunflower seeds in different ways. Once the plants were cultivated and mass-produced, they could be turned into commodities and sold. It would definitely become a profitable business.
Elara looked through each of the plants Kristof had found.
When she got to the last one, she paused slightly.
The last plant wasn't one that bore food. At the top of the plant, clusters of white flowers bloomed like clouds. It was cotton.
Elara's eyes lit up. She quickly stepped forward and pulled off a piece of the white cotton.
The [Encyclopedia of Foreign World Plants] in her mind activated automatically. After comparing all aspects, Elara confirmed that this really was a foreign world version of long-staple cotton.
The corners of her lips curled higher in delight.
Although this world already had silk, the textile industry had remained at a very basic level of processing. The production materials mostly came from very expensive silk.
Back at the Bai Family's Business, Elara had once asked the craftsmen to try making cloth from vine hemp. But vine hemp, even in ancient Hua from the twenty-first century, was still considered low-grade fabric.
Even though it was cheap and easy to produce, it lacked strong market competitiveness as a sellable product.
Now Kristof had actually found cotton for her.
In her past life, Elara had learned many things. She also knew the general process of turning cotton into cloth.
But knowing the method wasn't enough. To really make cotton clothing, she needed the proper tools.
Luckily, after completing the [One Million Bricks] task and receiving the Ancient Basic Construction Techniques, she had triggered a new task.
The new task was: [Consume three million bricks to construct at least one basic ancient building facility. This will unlock Ancient Tool-Making Techniques].
That book included weaving looms and a whole range of ancient textile manufacturing tools.
Coincidentally, Plumera City was now in full reconstruction. After a few brick kilns were built, both the new and old parts of the city needed a huge number of bricks and modern-style buildings.
That made Elara's new task [Consume three million bricks to construct at least one basic ancient building facility] already halfway completed.
Once the reconstruction of the new and old city was nearly done, the task would be completed. By then, she could get a new skill book and set up new workshops for future development.
The cotton tree Kristof had found could now be collected and transplanted by people from the Ministry of Labor and Agriculture to a unified cultivation area.
By next year, when large quantities of cotton were produced, the tools and machines would likely be ready too. Plumera's textile industry could finally take off.
Still, in the process of doing these things, she had to find ways to hide overly advanced features.
Things like machinery had to be concealed so no one would notice anything strange and become suspicious or greedy.
But how should she cover these up?
Holding the cotton in her hand, Elara thought about the information sent by Lianyi Tower about the Heavenly Works Pavilion.
If she wanted to use these techniques without drawing attention, the best way would be to disguise them under the name of the Heavenly Works Pavilion.
That place was known for recording gifted technologies from all over the continent. Any new technique or invention was considered normal there.
If she could really use the "cover" of the Heavenly Works Pavilion, then with its massive influence and power, even if strange things happened again in Plumera, no one would dare to challenge her easily. It would save her from many hidden threats and troubles.
But the problem was, she hadn't even met a single person from the Heavenly Works Pavilion yet. How was she supposed to borrow their name?
Time slipped by as she sank into thought.
When Kristof walked in from outside, wearing the new clothes she gave him and his wet hair still dripping, Elara was still frowning, unconsciously rubbing the cotton in her hand.
"Elara, what are you thinking about so deeply?"
A faint, refreshing fragrance drifted over from the side. It was a scent Elara was very familiar with because she used the same bath solution every time she bathed.
She turned her eyes to look at Kristof, who had already washed up and returned to his refined and elegant appearance. She put down the cotton in her hand and stood up.
"I'll tell you once I figure it out. Let's go, there's not much time. We should head to the palace banquet first."
Kristof moved along with her. His tall and slender figure followed behind her.
"Yes, Elara."
At night, the palace banquet.
It was said to be held for Kristof, but in truth, Elara used this banquet to invite everyone who had helped her since she crossed into this body, or who had played a major role in the battlefield or court.
Among these people were General Qi, Francis, the father and son of the Pei Family, Damon, Scholar Fu, Oswyn, Emory, and others. Also included were those who had followed her from Marigold, like Hector, Egbert, and the rest.
From a purely rational perspective, this banquet served as a gathering and bonding event by a leader for her loyal subordinates and faction.
But the banquet wasn't just about rationality. It was also Elara's sincere way of expressing her gratitude to them.
Without them, even with her ideas and the System's help, she wouldn't have reached her current position in such a short time.
No matter how strong a lone commander was, they couldn't go far. She needed a team that would always stand behind her and support her.
And these people, no matter what happened in the past, were now the ones standing by her side.
That's why this banquet was Elara's heartfelt invitation to them.
Once the banquet began, everyone, dressed either simply or lavishly, took their seats.
After everyone was seated, Elara raised a cup of wine from the table and made a toast to everyone.
"Everyone, I, Elara, couldn't have come this far without the support of each and every one of you. Plumera was once in a state of chaos and ruin, but now it has transformed into a land of renewal and progress, and that change is thanks to your efforts."
"Plumera is my home, and it is also your home. Meeting all of you is the fortune of both me and Plumera. I will continue to rely on your support in the future, so our home, our Plumera, can keep moving forward steadily, toward a safer and more prosperous future."