Chapter 654: The Mysterious Empress! The Empress

"The Flame Empire?"

The commoner heard those four words and paused slightly.

Clearly, he had never heard of the Flame Empire before.

In fact, not just him—among the nobles around him, very few had heard of the Flame Empire.

"It's actually an empire; no wonder they're so generous."

A minor noble said.

For the Emperor of the Eternal Night Empire's thousand-year birthday, the invitations naturally extended beyond neighboring kingdoms to include several empires allied with the Eternal Night Empire.

Clearly, this minor noble mistook the Flame Empire for one of those pre-existing empires.

"They have so much silk and porcelain; it seems likely silk and porcelain are both produced by the Flame Empire. I wonder where the Flame Empire is—could we buy silk and porcelain directly from them? That's a huge business opportunity."

Some great nobles had already begun calculating in their minds.

The minor nobles felt mostly awe.

But the great nobles had already spotted a new path to wealth.

Yet Lady Hester, the female dwarf giant, clearly was only the guard captain, and in this setting it was inappropriate to ask further questions—so the great nobles did not approach.

Instead, they were plotting whether they could speak to the people of the Flame Empire during the Emperor's banquet and secure the right to import silk and porcelain.

After uttering the four words "Flame Empire," Lady Hester said no more.

As a dwarf giant, she rarely spoke much in daily life.

Dwarf giants are few in number and live long lives; most of their lives are spent in silence.

"Duke Laurence, Young Lady Anne, I still have duties to fulfill; after completing them, I must return swiftly to the Queen's side, so I cannot stay longer."

After thanking Duke Laurence for his reminder, Lady Hester led the convoy onward again.

The convoy slowly moved toward the inner city.

Yes, the capital of the Eternal Night Empire was divided into inner and outer cities.

The outer city housed commoners, some officials, and minor nobles.

The inner city, by contrast, was the core of the entire empire, with the imperial palace at its center.

The imperial palace was the Emperor's residence and occupied a vast area.

Almost everyone living in the inner city was wealthy.

Many dukes, marquises, and other great nobles held fiefs far from the capital, yet they still bought homes there and resided in the capital for periods each year.

This was to ensure they were never excluded from the center of power.

"Look, look—they're coming!"

Along the way, this convoy, laden with silk, porcelain, diamonds, tea, wine, and other precious treasures, caused a massive sensation.

"That's silk—it looks so exquisite. If I could own just one piece of clothing made from silk in my lifetime, I'd be content."

"Yes, look—those are porcelain! So beautiful, far prettier than gold or silver bowls by a hundredfold."

"What kind of wine is that? Why is it dark red?"

"..."

The crowds along the route buzzed with chatter.

As the convoy passed, it made over a million people in the capital familiar with silk, porcelain, diamonds, tea, wine, fruit wine, and other goods from the Flame Empire.

Through their words, these items sent by the Flame Empire spread rapidly throughout the capital, causing a tremendous uproar!

Even the tribute caravans sent by other great empires allied with the Eternal Night Empire paled in comparison to the spectacle generated by the Flame Empire's gifts.

While Lady Hester led the convoy toward the inner city, Meng Ying's flying ship, guided by a squad of flying beast mounts, had already arrived at its destination—a manor.

This was the residence prepared for them by the Eternal Night Empire.

Within the inner city, such manors were numerous; they stood empty most of the time, reserved solely for hosting guests, and the one assigned to the Flame Empire was among the larger ones.

This squad of flying beast mounts was certainly not legendary, but they held royal-issued barrier permits, allowing them to fly through the skies.

"The birthday celebration doesn't officially begin until tomorrow, Your Majesty. We can rest here for the night. I've already sent the tribute list ahead."

The Crown Princess said.

Meng Ying nodded and began meditating in her room.

Several hours later, Hester returned.

"Your Majesty, all tribute has been delivered."

Hester said.

Meng Ying gave a slight nod.

Hester then recounted some of the observations from the journey, and the Crown Princess listened with great interest, saying:

"This is an unexpected gain, Your Majesty. The silk and porcelain have drawn such immense admiration in the Eternal Night Empire—if we sell them here, we can command an excellent price."

There was never a shortage of demand for silk and porcelain; currently, small quantities are supplied to the three eastern provinces of the Eternal Night Empire, and every shipment is snapped up instantly by nobles.

But this trip to the capital has now spread the fame of silk and porcelain far and wide—allowing the Flame Empire to raise prices significantly and sell them at a very high premium.

As always: the nobles' money—why not take it?

Meanwhile, inside the Eternal Night Empire's imperial palace, chaos reigned.

Officials streamed in and out, the scene one of frenzied activity.