Elara turned to Kristof. "Kristof, later go with Uno and check what the Wei Clan brought back from the Lianhuang Sect. Investigate who in the factories leaked the information. Three days from now, anyone involved in the leak will be brought to the satellite city where the construction plant is. Announce their crimes first, and after the technicians and workers have heard clearly, they will be executed publicly."
She wanted everyone to clearly see the consequences of stealing or leaking technology.
"Yes, Your Majesty. I will obey."
After handling the infiltration issue with the Lianhuang Sect, Elara calculated the time left before Prince Yu's coronation and decided to depart immediately.
However, before leaving the capital, she returned once more to the Jade Flame Tower to see Imani.
"Imani, you and your Jade Flame Tower team, are you willing to join the Plumera Kingdom's Trade Ministry and become a secret post for the court in Plumera City?"
Elara was already wearing travel clothes, and she came to meet Imani before leaving the city.
Imani was still dressed in the same bright red robe from the night before, half-kneeling in front of her, his gaze full of surprise and admiration.
"This time, I truly have to thank you. But something like this may happen again in the future. Your Jade Flame Tower might get caught in different troubles or even dangers. So, do you want to join the court's Trade Ministry and become a secret agent for the court?"
"Once you become a court agent, shadow guards will be assigned to the Jade Flame Tower to ensure its safety. But the daily management, operation and income of the Jade Flame Tower will still belong to you. The court won't interfere. However, if there are suspicious people or strange news, you'll need to gather what you can and report it to the Ministry of Justice. Kristof will handle the information you send and deal with any threats early."
The Plumera Kingdom already had a large information system, including investigators from various departments and the Bai Family's Business with its traveling trade teams.
Even though the Bai Family's Business managed large-scale deals across countries and powers, it also served ordinary citizens through a kind of ancient version of a department store, providing daily necessities to people from all walks of life. In the past six months, under Damon's leadership, the Bai Family's Business had opened more than ten chain stores in other major cities of the Plumera Kingdom.
However, these focused mainly on goods. There were very few taverns or brothels involved.
If Imani agreed to join, he could make up for the Bai Family's Business's current shortcomings. If he performed well, Elara would consider helping him open more branches of the Jade Flame Tower in major cities. These branches would act as secret posts and eyes for the court, gathering and resolving street-level issues and information from all layers of society.
Imani's identity also allowed Elara to give him a hidden position in the Trade Ministry if he wished. He could be in charge of managing secret agents in taverns, brothels and inns. He seemed particularly good at this.
Right after Elara asked, Imani's eyes lit up even more. Still half-kneeling, his bright and charming face looked up at her, joy almost overflowing from his expression. "Your Highness no, Your Majesty Yu can still be useful to you I really helped?"
Hearing his cautious and unsure tone, as if he couldn't believe he had actually helped her, Elara was slightly surprised.
Imani had always been bold and flamboyant. Why was he now so careful and uncertain?
She looked at him, his eyes filled with careful hope, and nodded in reply, "Yes, this time it's all thanks to you. Later, the court will send the proper reward. Right now, I'm just asking what your plans are afterward."
Imani's eyes immediately grew even brighter. His face, which had become more handsome and striking over time, showed a stunning and breathtaking smile.
He gazed deeply at Elara, then knelt in sincere reverence, his voice trembling with joy.
"To be of use to you is Imani's greatest wish. Your Majesty, I am willing!"
No matter what Her Majesty wanted him to do, he was willing.
After settling the matter with Imani and the Yuyan Tower, Elara returned to the travel group and officially set out for the Dahlia Kingdom.
Since she had been there once already and was now in a hurry, she planned to deal with Sargassum's issues on the way, so Elara rode quickly once she left the eastern gate of Plumera City and headed straight east.
Unlike her journey to the Geranium Kingdom a few months ago, the first country to the east of Plumera, the Magnolia Kingdom, had grown even more chaotic in the past few months.
Back then it was already unstable, but now the entire nation had fallen into devastation.
As Elara led the large army across Magnolia's border, they rode swiftly on horseback, yet not a single intact city was in sight.
Even the cities where she had once rested were now divided and occupied by various rebel groups. On the roads and in the mountains, the dead lay scattered, and bandits and rebels ruled different areas.
This state was even worse than when Plumera was controlled by Lord Gregory and others.
Fortunately, this time Elara was not traveling alone. The Wei Clan was with her, along with Senior General Duanmu and General He.
Each of them brought 30,000 elite soldiers equipped with iron armor and shields, totaling 60,000 troops. They moved in a grand force, and all the rebel groups in Magnolia dared only to observe from afar.
They feared provoking trouble and did not dare come near.
The chaos around them had nothing to do with Elara's group, but her brows still furrowed at the sight.
To develop Plumera's economy, she had planned to build a trade route from Plumera's eastern gate through Magnolia and Zhao Xiang, reaching Sargassum and crossing Guo Dun to enter Dahlia.
But Magnolia's current collapse made building such a road extremely difficult and unsafe even if completed.
Among the generals Elara brought were those who had guarded the eastern gate before and knew something about Magnolia's state.
"Your Majesty, Magnolia's royal court was attacked by rebels two and a half months ago. After seizing the capital and the royal family, the rebel group was itself overthrown just a few days later by another group."
"For the past two months, the capital has been in constant flux, taken over again and again by different rebel factions."
"Since there are too many rebel groups in Magnolia and the royal family has been wiped out, Magnolia is no longer a real country, just a broken land of chaos where power is split among various warlords."
In short, after the fall of the capital and royal family, Magnolia could no longer be considered a country. It had become a lawless region filled with bandits and civil strife.
Under such conditions, Elara's plan to build a trade route to the east became even harder to achieve.
After reporting this, the general lowered his tone slightly, paused for a few seconds, and continued:
"While Your Majesty was campaigning in the north, several rebel forces from Magnolia attempted to cross into Plumera's eastern border and lay in ambush."
Seeing Elara glance sharply at him, the general quickly added, "But please rest assured. The stationed troops in the east noticed this immediately and reported it to the military headquarters. General Guo, who guards the Qianyu Pass in the far east, personally led his troops and powerfully swept through the restless rebel forces outside our border."
"He wiped out two-thirds of them, capturing over ten thousand people."
"The remaining forces were also chased deep into Magnolia by General Guo in a direct assault. After driving them to near collapse and complete retreat, he withdrew his troops, giving Magnolia a harsh warning. Since then, none of their forces have dared to target our border again."