The Regressed Princess - Chapter 39

Chapter 39: Fleeting Years; Time Flies

Time flies, and seven years passed in the blink of an eye.

Two travelers emerged from the forest, shaking the dust from their clothes.

The one in front appeared to be in her prime, yet her eyes were filled with the weariness of many years. She stood tall, leaning on a long staff. At first glance, she possessed the unique temperament of a scholar, but a second look revealed her clothing to be quite simple, adorned with many clinking metal objects and a tattered cloth bag.

Behind the mature traveler followed a youth. This youth was tall and sturdy, carrying a heavy pack like a snail’s shell. Her robust frame made her head appear small and pointed giving her a somewhat fierce look. Fortunately, a pair of clear, bright eyes darted about her face, significantly softening the sense of danger brought by her powerful build.

As the two descended the hillside, they soon stopped, for a vast expanse of golden fields appeared before them. When the wind blew, the golden plants swayed, looking like an ocean current of floating gold beads.

“Teacher!”

“That is wheat.” Parna wiped away beads of sweat and stayed her young apprentice’s hand.

The scholar had long heard of the Princess of Enlin; it was said that this Princess possessed a touch of the divine. Poets whispered that Her Highness Eleanor was not only blessed by the God of Wisdom but had also received secrets regarding crops in her dreams. Furthermore, she had used practical actions and real harvests to overturn the farming habits that had persisted in the nearby city-states for a thousand years.

People originally believed that the most auspicious way to farm involved birds, the blood river, and the four seasons. Simply put, it meant mimicking birds in early spring by scattering seeds across the fields in a winding, meandering shape resembling a riverbed. Then, they would irrigate as needed, clear away some weeds blocking the sunlight, and wait for the seeds to slowly sprout and grow with the changing seasons until they could be harvested in autumn.

But Her Highness Eleanor refused; she insisted on doing things the hard way.

She proposed a strange theory of “seedling cultivation,” where seeds were first sprouted in one place and then transplanted into another square, perfectly weeded field. She spent her own money to dig more wells and improve water conservancy, even placing water wheels and mills along the riverbanks.

At first, no one knew what she intended with these actions. Not only did Her Highness exempt the first year’s taxes, but she also pulled out coins to hire the populace to build houses everywhere.

In truth, all the land belonged to the Lord. As a Princess, she didn’t need to spend a single cent; she could have simply assigned tasks directly during the labor levy. But the benevolent Highness did not call for forced labor; instead, when serfs and citizens answered the call for work, she produced farming tools never seen before and had them learn how to use them.

The effectiveness of the tools exceeded imagination. Coupled with the oxen the Highness bought at great expense, the progress was lightning fast; a team of two people and one ox was worth ten strong laborers.

“Teacher.” Nana stood on the hillside gazing into the distance.

The endless golden squares and the oranges and greens of the melons interspersed between the ridges complemented each other, exuding a sweet fragrance.

The young apprentice sighed from the bottom of her heart: “Is Her Highness Eleanor truly a mortal?”

She had previously been educated in a temple and later traveled everywhere with the great scholar Parna; she was not a servant who worked with eyes closed to the world. Nana had seen towering, awe-inspiring domes, massive mountain statues that must have cost years of painstaking labor, and had even been summoned by the King along with many scholars during festivals to witness the Floating Sky Garden.

But for some reason, compared to those exquisite works of art, her heart did not truly tremble until she saw this fertile wilderness.

Farmers were busy in the fields, and many people were moving along the ridges. They were not the typical overseers holding whips; they appeared to be farming households bringing meals to their families, and there were even kind-hearted people teaching others how to use the new tools to save strength.

Nana had seen what the busy farming season looked like in many places. If it were spring, many bare-chested men would be crawling in the fields under the overseer’s whip. Nolanna was relatively better, as there were some tools to help. People used their hands and hoes to clear away extra weeds as long as it looked acceptable. However, the Lord’s fields were simply too large; they had to walk for a very, very long time to finish weeding them all.

In autumn, farmers would be driven down like flocks of goats to harvest the Lord’s grain bit by bit; only after that was finished could they tend to their own fields.

Nana didn’t ask the question: “Since the Highness’s land grows so much grain, don’t they complain about the harvest?”

Because Her Highness Eleanor had a sudden whim, believing that Seven and Three were auspicious numbers granted to her by the Gods. Thus, for any field owned by a citizen, she took only thirty percent in taxes. As for the Highness’s own fields whether contracted by slaves, commoners, or her own attendants she would give them thirty percent of the harvest.

This treatment was incredibly generous to the point of being unbelievable. One must know that everything belonging to a Lord belongs to the Lord, and everything belonging to a slave also belongs to the Lord. Even if you are a commoner and say this piece of land is yours, is it truly yours?

Even if the Lord recognizes certain transactions and gives you a signed parchment, how would you dare to take a larger share than the Lord? A 50-50 split was considered disloyal, a 40-60 split (favoring the Lord) was a heavenly blessing, and people might even suspect the tenant was the Lord’s illegitimate child.

In the first year, the surrounding city-states watched Her Highness Eleanor as a laughingstock, betting on when she would return to the capital in disgrace. In the second year, Enlin had a grand harvest, and everyone was stunned. In the third year, those with ill intentions grit their teeth, and the surrounding slaves and commoners began to quietly migrate to the outskirts of Enlin…

Piles of parchment thicker than bricks and wooden reporting tablets flew toward the capital, landing on Eva’s desk. Perhaps the King didn’t look at them, or perhaps the King didn’t want to care; regardless, the capital remained quiet, pretending not to see.

However, more gold than wooden tablets must have flown into the hands of numerous assassins. It was said that Her Highness Eleanor had encountered danger several times and miraculously survived each time. By the end of the third year, the Highness began to share her farming tools and planting methods with everyone for free. Even for enemies who were green with envy and suspected of foul play, the Highness did not hesitate to send people to instruct them.

The mills created by Her Highness Eleanor also allowed the Lords to taste the sweetness. Nolanna did not lack plains or rivers; whether wind-powered or water-powered, the mills were excellent. Thus, the criticisms and assassinations temporarily ceased.

Unfortunately, while the Lords copied the Highness’s methods, they refused to adopt her ideology. Those Lords didn’t care about “only charging a processing fee” like the Highness did; the mills were theirs, and they charged whatever they pleased without a fixed rate.

Nana walked along the ridge; like all young people, she couldn’t hold her tongue. “The Lords are all so wicked, why can’t they learn from Her Highness Eleanor!”

Her mentor kept her head down and walked forward. “They are doing the right thing; the Highness’s ideas are untimely.”

“Then are we timely?”

“We are also untimely.”

Teacher and student smiled at each other. They did not disturb the busy farmers but crossed the fields peacefully. At the end of the fertile land, they saw a row of grey-white buildings.

The structure was located in the suburbs, square in shape, built with bricks and mud with two floors. It wasn’t high, but it was wide enough to include a spacious courtyard and stables. Her Highness Eleanor called it a “Post House,” said to be a place specifically for caravans and travelers to rest.

This type of building was very novel, as other city-states only had small taverns within the city walls that provided accommodation. Even if the Church or some caravans set up transit stations in the empty wilderness, those were hidden and did not allow others to enter freely.

The Post House established by Her Highness Eleanor was functionally different. After taking charge of Enlin, she established the “Marigold Chamber of Commerce” in her name and announced that any merchant who joined could be exempt from exorbitant taxes like the “Ground Contact Tax” in Enlin and her subsequent partner city-states.

Thus, many merchants joined either with the mindset of “I’m here anyway” or out of respect for the Princess. What followed was an unstoppable development.

Her Highness Eleanor’s Post Houses were open to all guests who had not broken the law. There were guards to ensure safety and professionals to help care for horses. It was said she paid the slaves working at the Post House a salary and gave them a “Prayer Holiday” once a week. Therefore, everyone who entered felt a relaxed atmosphere of being at home.

The rooms in the Post House were clean and tidy, with not a single louse to be found on the sunned quilts. The toilets were cleaned promptly, and soapy water was used to mask odors—soap being another excellent cleaning invention of the Highness. Consequently, any traveler with a slightly loose wallet could not refuse the existence of the Post House, and even penniless passersby would spend some time at the water room to get hot water and buy some delicious hot food.

Drinking more hot water was also a concept proposed by Her Highness Eleanor. She believed that boiling water to its peak and praying to the Gods during the process of boiling and cooling was a very auspicious act that could remove a portion of filth. Because of the Highness’s high status and her kindness and wisdom, many people believed this claim. People who followed the practice claimed that drinking boiled and then cooled water made them feel lighter in spirit, with a refreshing sense of closeness to the Gods.

That said, due to the scarcity of firewood, ordinary people still had to go to the boiler rooms and Post Houses opened by Her Highness Eleanor to enjoy hot water service. However, it was said that the Highness was already promoting a burning material called “coal briquettes.”

The teacher and student walked toward the Post House. They had neither mules nor horses; they passed the stables and walked straight toward the fragrant food stall. It was lunchtime, and many people were sitting at tables enjoying their meals. Nana ordered a plate of meat-filled roasted buns. Before the buns were served, her ears caught some gossip.

“Her Highness Eleanor is so smart and beautiful, which country’s Queen will she become in the future?”

“No, no, no, the Highness is too smart; she will definitely stay here with us forever.”

Some even dared to say, “If the Highness were a Royal Daughter, she would certainly become a Saint-King!”

Nana made a face at her teacher.

A staff member brought the meat buns and placed them on the table, while also diligently pouring two cups of tea for them. Before they could ask, the staff member enthusiastically introduced: “Ladies, this leaf-water is called Red Leaf Tea, it’s very delicious! If you add two more copper coins, you can even put milk and sugar in it.”

Milk? Sugar? Those were expensive luxury items.

Before Nana could say anything, her teacher raised her sleeve and decisively produced five copper coins. “One cup each for me and her, add plenty.”

“Hehe, thank you for your patronage.”

The staff member scurried to the back and then, under Nana’s disbelieving gaze, brought out a copper pot and a ceramic cup. She deftly lifted the copper pot, and pure white milk splashed into the black tea. Then she took a spoon ha, that spoon was not small at all! She scooped two large helpings of sugar and stirred them in.

Nana stared wide-eyed at those sugar grains. They were light in color, very close to expensive white sugar, just with larger grains and a slight yellow-red tint. No wonder Her Highness Eleanor’s caravan had flourished in recent years. If she could easily refine sugar this close to white sugar, coordinate a portion of taxes, and continuously provide large amounts of grain and hides, anyone could do it, right?

No, they couldn’t. Nana’s fervent heart soon cooled.

She couldn’t do it, because if she held the Highness’s power, she would never be willing to distribute profits to everyone along the channel like the Highness did. According to her teacher’s inquiries, whether it was commoner merchants or the lowest-level slave employees, Her Highness Eleanor did not exploit them, but gave salaries based on relatively fair performance.

Slurp~ The teacher wasn’t as conflicted as the apprentice. Parna gulped down the warm milk tea. There seemed to be small, chewy balls made of thickened powder inside. She didn’t know when the staff member had added them, but the texture was excellent.

As the sweet and warm sugar water rolled in their bellies, the tired expressions on their faces instantly softened.

“Teacher,” Nana said sincerely, “I think Her Highness Eleanor truly has received divine grace. Let’s stay in Enlin a bit longer.”

The two of them had come by invitation; the Princess had specifically sent a letter.

Parna was a healer, and specifically, a surgeon who had been expelled from the Church. In truth, she practiced both internal and external medicine like all Church healers, but she couldn’t help but delve deeper and take action because the field of surgery was unexplored.

Once she took action, problems followed. When she “killed” a third patient during an amputation surgery, neither her prominent family nor the Church of the God of Wisdom was willing to protect her anymore. Although Parna was allowed to keep her name because of her early writings, she was expelled by the Church and forbidden from practicing her so-called surgical techniques on anyone other than slaves.

If she wanted to continue practicing medicine, she had to obtain the protection of another great Noble.

Why would Princess Eleanor invite them? Nana had many doubts at first, but she was no longer confused; she preferred to believe this was a revelation given by the God of Wisdom to his believers.

“Mm, I am naturally willing to follow this Highness,” the teacher said unhurriedly as she put down her cup. “But the premise is that this Highness can live for a few more years.”

“Huh? Is someone going to assassinate Her Highness Eleanor! You must go and tell her!” Nana was startled.

Parna spread her hands helplessly and whispered: “How could one favored by the Gods die of assassination? I am talking about… war.”

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