Prince Baiyu recovered the next day, and I found out that he was establishing a separate office in Shuye’s village. The reason for that, he told me, was that he wanted to keep his business and home life separate. Also, his place of work was meant to be open for all clan members to visit, and he didn’t want to give outsiders the opportunity to gawk at Emberstone Farm and its inhabitants. Nonetheless, we were still able to eat breakfast and dinner together every day.

Scholar Wu returned, and my apprentices resumed their classes.

“You know,” I said to Prince Baiyu and the kids over breakfast a few days later, “I’ve been stuck at home since everyone was busy with the demon. Now that we’re all free, I want to travel and have fun.”

“It’s a pity that the spring festivals were all canceled,” said Prince Baiyu. “Are you planning on going back to Emerald Cove?”

“Yes, and there are still quite a few places I haven’t explored.” I said, pausing.

Prince Baiyu looked concerned.

“My love, your sudden silence fills me with dread. What are you thinking?” When I didn’t answer, he put a hand on his stomach and said, jokingly, “My stomach is in knots.”

“That’s just hunger. Eat some more.” I took a serving plate and piled his plate high with delicious slices of barbecued pork. “I was just thinking that I’ve never been to Central.”

Lari, who had been uncharacteristically silent up to now, likely due to his awe of the prince, let out a small cheer which he quickly stifled when we all turned to look at him. “I heard Central is the best place to shop.”

This continent was divided into four parts, with the East, West, North, and South parts ruled by the Azure Dragon, White Tiger, Black Tortoise, and Vermillion Bird clans, respectively. The central part was inhabited and ruled by humans, and it was the smallest, most populous, and technologically advanced region.

“They say Central has markets that are open all day and all night. You can buy anything you want as long as you have enough money!” Kharli’s eyes sparkled and a huge smile stretched across her face.

Even Mo joined in the chorus of delight over the prospect of visiting Central. “They have a puppet factory! Teacher, can we buy puppets like Mr. Bear, too?”

Prince Baiyu laughed. “I’ve seen those mechanical marvels, and I’m afraid they’re nowhere as amazing as Violet’s Mr. Bear.”

“Lady Diya told me she has one. You have to wind it up with a key at the back, and it can serve tea,” said Lari.

“Teacher, do you know the legend of Yan Shi the artificer?” asked Kharli. “He made an automaton that could sing and dance, but it was too human-like, and the Lizard King fell in love with it.”

“No way! What happened then?” I leaned forward eagerly.

“They got married!” Kharli burst into laughter at my surprised look.

“No!” I covered my mouth with a hand.

My three apprentices exchanged meaningful looks. Kharli lifted a hand and when she brought it down, they all answered at the same time. “And they lived happily ever after!”

“A lizard and a clockwork human married and lived happily together?!”

Prince Baiyu smiled. “The moral of the story is that true love knows no bounds.”

“Wow.”

They told me more stories of automatons, and we discussed the trip in more detail. I decided to schedule it for summer since the end of spring was at hand, and we should save our energy for the upcoming harvest and planting seasons.

However, we could certainly take a short weekend break at one of my favorite places, the Emerald Cove, especially since I was running out of vending machine items.

***

The plants on the farm developed at different rates based on their inherent characteristics and when we planted them. Some of them were just flowering and some already had fruits. Today we were harvesting [Potato] fruits. They were poisonous, but the seeds inside them were useful since they could be used to plant more [Potatoes].

“We’re selling these seeds to anyone who wants them?” Mo asked me as we snipped off the fruits from the [Potato] plants.

We’d finished our usual morning chores, which consisted of inspecting all the crops, and then watering and weeding them. Now we were in a field where [Potato] plants stretched out in neat rows. They were knee-high, with vibrant green leaves that were damp with morning dew. Small clusters of delicate white and purple flowers bloomed atop many of the plants, while some had small green fruits that looked like tiny tomatoes hanging on them.

“Sort of. We used to sell to whomever Shuye and Deming personally vetted, but now that our products are in high demand, the White Tiger clan has set up a process for auctioning half and a lottery for the other half.”

Lari made a disapproving sound. “Shouldn’t we auction them all to get the best price?”

Kharli straightened her hat and said, “Teacher is marrying the prince, so she needs to have a perfect public image. The lottery gives everyone a chance, even if they aren’t among the richest people in the Westerlands.”

Lari rolled his eyes. “The lottery winners will just sell the seeds to the rich merchants.”

“Haven’t we discussed this before?” I straightened up and stretched my arms above my head for a moment. “Oh, this kind of work is hard on the back.”

“And we don’t get exp,” said Mo.

This seed-gathering activity was done manually because there was no such thing as harvesting parts of the crops in Adventure Incarnate, and, like every other type of activity that wasn’t part of the System, it didn’t give exp.

“Yeah. Anyway, Lari, yes, the lottery winners can sell their seeds, but every transaction is recorded and taxed. I’ll get a cut of the resale proceeds, too.” I somewhat agreed with Lari that this was a convoluted way of going about things, but the lottery was actually my idea. “Kharli is right, I want ordinary people to have a chance to make money, too.”

“I agree with Teacher. There’s no reason why only the wealthy nobles should make money.” Kharli finished her part of the area and came over to my side to help.

We each gathered a basket full of fruits, which we then handed over to the maids. We returned to the main house where we got ready for our trip. In the past, we used to take out the seeds ourselves, but these days we have more people who could help out. Now that portals were no longer a secret, I was even thinking of having a permanent residence in the desert farm, and maybe even a vacation home, all of which would need to be properly staffed.

Yinuo was in the running as my second house’s housekeeper, which would be great, since she would have a higher salary and bigger quarters to house her two husbands and the gaggle of eight kids she planned to have. Why eight? She told me that her family’s previous generation had eight siblings, and they were all quite successful, but, she said with a smug smile, not as successful as her.

“My lady, the pink with hibiscus flowers?” Yinuo held up the robes for my inspection.

I nodded and dressed myself while humming happily in anticipation. The clothes I chose were this world’s version of resort style, casual, breezy, and with minimal accessories. “This is gonna be so much fun! I’ll make vacation houses for everybody!”

After a bit of primping, I met the others at the riverside where the [Floating Solarium] was docked, and I set off for the Emerald Cove with my prince, apprentices, and staff.

I held up my champagne glass filled with a non-alcoholic cocktail made of sweet iced tea, lemongrass, and honey. The others, dressed in their holiday best and looking excited, lifted their glasses filled with their favorite beverage, and I said, “To three days of fun, relaxation, and plundering vacation houses of everything valuable!”