“What? Say that again?” I gave Shuye a disbelieving look. “No way!”

“As I said twice before, the Vermillion Bird clan bought out a merchant house’s stock of your rice, and the Fox clan is protesting outside it and preventing them from leaving.”

Shuye looked quite annoyed, and I could hardly blame him. He had walked in on us while we were having breakfast in the outer courtyard. Lari, Kharli, and Mo were listening with shocked expressions on their faces, while Scholar Wu and Prince Baiyu read the report that Shuye had written, detailing all the events in minute detail and including the names of everyone involved.

“What…?” I was repeating myself, but this latest development was simply too crazy for me to accept easily. “I thought we resolved this with the Fox clan. If I’d known growing [Purple Orchid Rice] was going to cause this much trouble, I’d have stuck with plain white rice.”

Rice was brown when it was harvested. It was milled to make it edible by removing the husk, bran, and germ, which produced the most common type of rice: white rice. Brown rice was made by removing only the inedible outer hull. However, there were also heirloom rice varieties that were red or black even without the hull, such as [Purple Orchid Rice]. Back on Earth, black rice was called “forbidden rice” and was known to be healthier than the other varieties. The taste was nutty, earthy, and less sweet compared to the normal white rice. I liked it a lot, which is why I grew this particular variety.

“No, my dear, you’ve done nothing wrong,” said Prince Baiyu. “The Fox clan has absolutely no reason to protest since there isn’t even any purple rice in the warehouse.”

“What?” I said again. “Then why are they even complaining?!”

“It’s the usual troublemakers,” said Shuye. “They’re never satisfied with anything. They said spirit rice should belong only to the Westerlands, but that has no basis in law, custom, or common sense.”

Scholar Wu snorted inelegantly. “They don’t know what common sense is.”

Prince Baiyu took my hand and kissed it. “Violet, we’ll take care of it.”

I sighed. “How annoying!”

“Don’t worry, and enjoy your harvest season. I know this is your favorite time of the year. I’ll see you later.” Prince Baiyu got up and nodded to Shuye and Scholar Wu.

The three of them left after saying their goodbyes.

Lari leaned forward and whispered, “Lady Diya told me that each clan is known for a set of characteristics, and the Fox clan is always making trouble since one of their characteristics is being mischievous.”

Kharli said, “In the old tales, they’re clever tricksters who love playing pranks.”

Mo frowned. “It’s fun when it’s in a story, but not when it happens in real life.”

“I guess they make life more interesting.” I contemplated my cold cup of coffee. “We should forget about it and let Prince Baiyu handle it. After all, it’s his family’s job to manage the clans.”

Before I could even ask for it, a maid brought me a fresh cup of coffee and a new plate of hot buns.

“Thank you.” I took a sip and smiled. “Time to talk of happier things. Tonight I asked the chef to cook pommes boulangère again.”

“I love that!” said Lari.

“It’s wonderful,” said Kharli.

“I never thought I would like [Potato] and [Onion] pie this much,” said Mo.

Talk turned to food since there was a lot to discuss. Apart from the Booyah Cooking Festival, I was sponsoring a banquet for the orphanage my apprentices came from and the local Ancient Forest Hill’s Harvest Festival, to be held at Shuye’s village. During my first year in this world, I hadn’t joined because I wasn’t ready, and last year all festivities were canceled due to the Descent of the Demon Monarch, so this was the first time I was participating in community events.

Once dinner was over, we went to the western rice paddy. In anticipation of some fun today, we turned on our icons. We normally kept them off since they were distracting, but this was a special occasion.

“Watch me, I’m going to level up.” Kharli raised her scythe dramatically and swung it at the nearest rice plant with a great deal of unnecessary force. “Level up!”

System fireworks exploded around her, and I used my camera to take a picture. Though I could use a built-in System function to take photos, I’d bought an instant camera from the Cash Shop because it was more fun.

[Dragon’s Eye Camera:

Captures moments with a flash of stored starlight. The image on the paper develops before your eyes, still warm with lingering magic.]

“Congratulations!” I said.

“Congratulations!” said Mo.

“Congratulations!” said Lari.

The camera made a whirring sound and disgorged a blank piece of white paper. The others crowded around me to watch the picture slowly develop.

“Magic painting, give me good luck and more exp!” Kharli kissed the photo when it finished developing.

“More exp for everyone.” Smiling, I gestured for all of us to start harvesting.

We separated, and I worked on my part of the field alone, except for Mr. Bear.

The [Miracle Pearl Rice] stalks stood tall, a delightful sea of golden-brown stretching out in every direction. Each head was bowed slightly, heavy with grain. A gentle breeze rustled through the stalks, creating a soft, whispering sound, and the plants swayed in unison. The tips of some leaves were a lighter shade of yellow, almost white, from the sun.

According to Scholar Wu, this particular field had a more intense qi compared to the others, and I could clearly see that the plants were taller and the rice grains more numerous. I bent closer to a stalk. The grains had a slight sweet scent while the stalks smelled like grass. I had high hopes for today’s harvest.

I swung the scythe again and again. Each time, the rice and crop residues automatically appeared in my inventory. My energy bar emptied, and I stopped.

“Almost. I almost leveled,” I said to the others. “But that’s okay. Tomorrow should be my level-up day. I’m excited to show today’s harvest to the chef. Kharli, hold out your hand.”

I poured a handful of rice into her hand, and we examined it closely.

“The grains are all perfect. They all seem to be the same size, shape, and color,” said Kharli.

“No cracked grains I can see,” said Mo.

Lari sniffed it. “Clean, fresh scent.”

“Guys, I think we have a good batch here. Mid-grade for sure,” I said.

When we showed the chef our haul, he confirmed that it was mid-grade, and we decided to celebrate. However, our merriment was interrupted when Prince Baiyu returned just as Deming and his assistant were making drinks for us to use in a toast. He didn’t come alone, though.

“Lady Hoshi! Lady Meihui! Welcome to my humble abode.” I bowed. This time, since I was now a duchess, I inclined my body only slightly, as etiquette demanded.

I exchanged greetings with both ladies, as did my apprentices.

Lady Hoshi was the head of the Fox clan by virtue of her bloodline, even though she was just a little girl. Clan members aged differently compared to humans. I’d peg her as ten years old if this were Earth, but it wasn’t. She was around thirty years old.

In her human form, Lady Hoshi had reddish-brown hair, big brown eyes, and pointed elvish-looking ears. Her attendant, Lady Meihui, was a stunningly beautiful clan member with red hair and green eyes.

While Lady Hoshi was dressed in simple white robes with a green bamboo pattern. Lady Meihui, on the other hand, looked a lot more high-fashion. Her robes had wide sleeves so long that they draped over her hand, and her hem trailed on the ground. The material was silk embroidered with gold thread. The last time we met, her hair was in a towering updo, but this time only half of it was swept up her head in a bun, while the rest hung loose down to her waist. Half a dozen golden hairpins, three on either side of her head, and eight jade and gold waist accessories completed her outfit.

“Lady Violet,” said Lady Meihui as soon as they were seated in the courtyard house’s main hall. “We’ve come to explain that you needn’t worry about that trifling matter yesterday. The troublemakers have been apprehended and fined an appropriate amount. They will also have to do a hundred hours of community service restoring the southern desert.”

“Oh my.” I smiled as graciously as I could. “It’s good of you to visit me. There’s no need to talk about this further. How have you been?”

The maids served tea and osmanthus cakes, and we spent a few more minutes making small talk before Lady Meihui finally got down to business.

“Is there any chance at all that you would consider selling us some tea plants?” she asked.

I almost choked on my tea. “None whatsoever!”

While I was willing to sell seed rice and cuttings from my trees, tea was a luxury product. My plan was to make it one of the cornerstones of Emberstone Farm’s profitability.

Lady Meihui’s face fell, but she took the rejection gracefully. “If you ever do sell, I hope you will keep us in mind.”

We chatted a little more, then I offered a farm tour, which they leaped at. We finished our tea and went on a walk around the farm, where I showed them the vegetables and rice fields.

“I see you’re marrying that ugly,” Lady Hoshi said to me. She made a face and stuck her tongue out at a certain someone.

My lips twitched.

She was referring to Prince Baiyu. There used to be some talk about her marrying into the White Tiger clan’s ruling family because Prince Baiyu’s mother had no female heir, an idea that Lady Hoshi loathed. Of course, it was childish for her to call my boyfriend “ugly,” but she was, after all, just a child despite being the head of a clan.

“Yes, I’m marrying this handsome man.” I linked my arm with Prince Baiyu’s arm. “Stop calling him ugly or I’ll stop selling the [Purple Orchid Rice] to you.”

“Kyaa!” Lady Hoshi made a cute sound of alarm and disbelief. Her fox ears and tails popped into existence and twitched.

Lady Meihui laughed and pinched her cheek. “Don’t be a brat. Apologize.”

“Sorry.” After saying that one word, Lady Hoshi hid behind her attendant’s skirt.

“It’s fine,” said Prince Baiyu. “I won’t quarrel with a child.”

To defuse the tension, I browsed my inventory for two gifts I could give the ladies. Luckily, I found two bouquets of wild spring flowers. I had picked them from the forest weeks ago and forgotten about them.

I handed them two bunches of wild daffodils, snowdrops, and hyacinths. The pure white petals of the snowdrops contrasted nicely with the pale blue of the hyacinths and the bright yellow of the daffodils.

“Thank you,” said Lady Hoshi. She smoothed her hair, and the fox ears disappeared though her tail remained.

“What an elegant bouquet. Thank you very much,” said Lady Meihui.

We continued the tour, and they were quite complimentary about the beauty of the plants and the quality of their qi, but when we finished walking around and I was about to send them off, Lady Meihui blindsided me with another suggestion.

“I’ve heard your apprentices have all come of age recently. Have you thought about joining this year’s marriage market?”

I was going to dismiss her suggestion out of hand, but a System pop-up made me change my mind.

[Event Notice: Deity Procession & Festival]