Thanks to my paying a fortune in wages, I had plenty of people to take care of the household tasks for me, but I still made sure to check that everything was clean and ready for occupancy. Prince Baiyu was visiting me with his royal guards, personal attendants, secretary, cook, and other staff in tow. Thank goodness Fengying knew their ranks and where they should be housed in the third courtyard along with Scholar Wu and her staff.

We finished working on the [Potato] field and moved on to planting more fruit trees and taking care of the desert farm. Since my apprentices were used to going through the door on the magical mustard tree, they weren’t fazed at all by using my portal to the desert.

A day before Prince Baiyu was due to arrive, I got a series of wonderful System messages.

[System Announcement: World Boss Event

Status: Completed

Congratulations to the players!]

I was the only player around, therefore, it came as no surprise to me that I got most of the badges, except for the ones that were impossible in this world, like “Most Deaths” or “Most Damage Absorbed.” The System only showed the ones that I could achieve and left the other ranks blank.

[World Event Leaderboard:

[First Hit - Violet]

[Highest Hit - Violet]

[DPS Champion - Violet]

[Most Spells Cast - Violet]

[Most Damage Absorbed - ]

[Most Deaths - ]

[MVP - Violet]

I scrolled down the list and clicked on the boxes where my name appeared to collect my rewards. This was an easy yearly event for everyone, which meant the exp and items I got were somewhat lacking, but I did get a few levels and one cool item out of it. Since Magic was my lowest level, it improved the most.

[Violet

Level 50→53

HP: 5,000→5,300

MP: 40→60

Strength: 50→53

Attack: 48→51

Archery: 46→49

Magic: 12→25]

I also got an [Azure Dragon Scale Shield] which boosted defense and had no level requirements. Best of all, it wasn’t bound to me, so I could sell it at auction.

Now came the tedious part. I used to hate this when I played Adventure Incarnate, but there weren’t many distractions in this world, so I wasn’t too annoyed. The Event tab had a familiar illustration in it of the Demon Monarch battlefield, and I had to mentally click on every single part of the Boss as well as every rock, tree, blade of grass, etc. to find the hidden prize.

“Yes!” I did a little happy dance when I finally clicked on the right spot. The prize was always a golden treasure chest with a random event item inside it. I crossed my fingers and prayed to the RNG gods for luck as I clicked it.

[Congratulations! You have received Mayor Louis’ Lucky Purple Shorts]

“Dang it, why did I get something useless?”

***

“We’re almost there.” Lari used a garden trowel to examine the soil which was currently planted with [Buckwheat]. “It’s turned quite dark.”

[Buckwheat:

A fast-growing herbaceous plant with heart-shaped leaves and delicate white or pink flowers that bloom in clusters. The roots of the buckwheat plant grow deep into the ground and break up compacted soil, improving soil structure. The plant’s nutrient-rich grain has a hearty, nutty flavor and can be ground into flour.]

I nodded. “Yes, I think we can look forward to using [Black Soil] this summer.”

Last year, we started planting soil-enriching plants on this plot of land with the goal of making [Black Soil], the most fertile type of earth in Adventure Incarnate. A large amount of decomposed organic matter had been added to it, and Immortal Herbs could only be planted on this rich substrate.

Of course, now that I had the mustard tree farm which was full of that type of soil, this field was not as valuable as before, but when I mentioned this to my apprentices, they disagreed.

“The System gave us the mustard seed as a reward, but this is different. We made this ourselves.” Kharli looked around at the other two who nodded their agreement.

I had to admit that she was right. “Yes. It’s so satisfying when a long-term project is completed. And a farmer can never have enough top-quality planting areas!”

Lari and Kharli got to work writing down notes and drawing a few basic sketches that chronicled the soil’s development. Mo added her observations for them to write down and checked their work using the System to read the notes to her.

“The center of the area is darkest,” said Mo. “The edges are a few shades lighter.”

Lari smiled mischievously at her. “There are plenty of earthworms today.”

Mo’s phobia of worms was well-known. She made a face and couldn’t help but look nervously down at her feet as though to scan her surroundings for creepy crawlers. “I don’t like them but they are good for the soil.”

I let them work as I circled the field of [Buckwheat]. The plants were almost fully grown, around two feet tall with red stems. I examined the plants closely for signs of disease or pests. They were tall and sturdy, their heart-shaped leaves lush and vibrantly colored. Since it was almost time for them to flower, we should plow them into the soil today to add more organic matter to it.

Once the kids were done, I took out my [Hoe] and said, “Shall we plow this [Buckwheat] under?”

Normally, when a crop was grown, we harvested it, but this was a special case where we wanted to use the [Buckwheat] as green manure.

“Yes, teacher,” they said.

I swung my hoe down and the System automatically tilled the earth for me. The [Buckwheat] got cut into tiny pieces and mixed into the soil. Over the next few days, the pieces would decompose, which was definitely System magic, since I was sure that something like that would take much longer back on Earth.

“Okay, that’s it for today. When the plant matter has decayed enough, we’ll plant [Soybean] and [Spirit Grass] in alternating strips.” I gave them the seeds they would need.

[Soybean:

An important legume plant that produces protein-rich beans that is used to make a wide variety of products such as oil, soy sauce, tofu, soy milk, tempeh, miso, etc. Soybean plants also help improve soil productivity by enriching the soil with nitrogen.]

I yawned. Last night, I was too excited and couldn’t sleep until the wee hours of the morning. “If you all will excuse me, I’ll return to my rooms, where I have very important matters to take care of.”

Kharli and Mo giggled, and even Lari couldn’t suppress a smile.

I was referring, of course, to the important business of primping. After all, a woman who was unofficially betrothed to a prince should look her best when he arrived to take up residence in her house. “See you later!”

Heading straight to the second courtyard, I started my preparations with a nice bath in the hot spring to relax. Then I retired to my chambers, where I dismissed the gaggle of maids waiting for me. I didn’t need their help since both Fengying and Yinuo told me that wearing makeup, jewelry, and elaborate robes were not needed for this occasion.

Thus, I simply dried my hair and gathered it up in a loose French twist. A pretty mint green frock from the [Auspicious Spring Flowers] set from the [Cash Shop], made of green silk and embroidered with a light gold floral print, was my choice for today. To make it less flashy, I wore it without the belt that was hung with jade and pearl ornaments. Since this was a casual, friendly visit, I didn’t need to meet him in the formal reception room, so I waited in the guest chambers for my prince to come.

However, when Prince Baiyu appeared, he wasn’t alone.