By the time the third month came by and spring was almost done, Mei was starting to feel it might be time to venture outside. She had taken strolls all over the Marshall Estate grounds by now and made Aridel guide her through every corner of even the most hidden places and vaults the place had. They had taken a few nights to try out stealth practice and test both their own habilities as well as those of the guards, to the great disadvantage of the last because their failures at the begining ended up causing them great shame and harsh training so they could improve.
-We will go out in public before the summer festival-Aridel said one night-to take a stroll around the city.
-See and be seen?-
-No, just for the sake of recreation. To see and be seen will happen at the imperial banquet and you need to prepare a lot for that- Mei rolled her eyes at that because it meant lots of protocol lessons, conversing with strangers and worst of all, dressing up on those heavy and complicated dresses she honestly disliked, specially as the days became hoter and more stiffling with the coming summer.
Lady Fu and Nanny Coco had been preparing clothes and luxurious ornaments for that particular event for a long time. Mei knew they were personally doing the needlework for her garments and that Aridel had ordered only the finest of fabrics were used for everything they would make. For someone coming from a world where everything was done using machines and only the best artisans ever did something with their own hands anymore at prices fit only for the richest of the rich, watching how people did needlework, household chores and armaments was quite the eye opener.
-I got lucky by marrying you-she mused during one of their morning spats-I became a rich princess and have good excuses to not do any of those chores...ever...
Aridel had sincerely laughed at her horrified expression. He knew she held nothing but the deepest respect for all the people who worked in their manor and liked her sincere care and gratefulness. He noticed that she made a point to always ask Lady Fu and Nanny Coco about their wellbeing, always talked to Steward Fu in a friendly way and never made the servants life´s hard. Once, they had passed a pair of young girls who were training to become servants and were currently tasked with the heavy work of the laundry. Mei had not only saluted them, but fused about their age and meals. She had even gone to visit the servants living quarters as a general passing revision to their soldiers barracks and requested that a doctor came to check on everyone living there immediately and once everymonth afterwards. When they were alone, she asked many questions about the way servants entered the manor, how they were paid, what happened to them when Aridel was not in the manor, and suggested he build certain simple structures for them so their life would be more comfortable. Of course the servants adored the Princess after that and soon, her meals, clothes and daily necessities became even better than they were already simply because she was a good master. In the servants minds, the Princess was an angel and if she was happy, the Lord would stay happy, no other mistress would enter the family and their happy days would have no end.
From all that Mei had read about this new world, she understood that she would be unable to arrive, stir things up or solve all the injustices in the universe. That was an impossible dream, no matter which world it was. She hated that slavery, servitude and general mysoginia were the norm in this world, she really did, but she understood that people sometimes sold themselves out of their own free will, not only as slaves. The notion that an Emperor or a feudal Lord owned your very life and fate was simply not a thing nor a valid knowledge for her. But from all her experiences in her previous life, she knew those changes took decades and centuries to really happen and needed not one person, but the work of many. She could, however, deal fairly with the people under her command, set an example for everyone living under her roof.
This Kirrian Empire, this whole version of Earth and its civilization were rooted on traditions. People in her world tended to think of anything before the 19th century as the olden times, before humanity had technology to make their life easier and that the greeks, romans, egyptians and the likes had lived in deep ancient times. The Kirrian Empire left all those in the dust, as it had been around for over 15 thousand years and was even considered a newly settled country when compared to other nations that could trace their roots to over 80 thousand years ago clearly. And of course, same as her world, every nation and country had started on the ashes of even older civilizations. Despite many catastrophes, natural and otherwise, the surviving people picked up the pieces after a calamity and started all over again. For all that time, things had stayed pretty much the same. People were born, grew up if lucky, began training since young in qi and on occupations, got married young, at barely 15 years, had children right away and if they had trained to attain the Martial Flame level, could expect to live until at least 60 years old. Since cultivation took away a lot of time and effort, usually only nobles and people in the military path had the time, energy and resources to work and attain the levels further up and longer lifespans with them. It was also a matter of potential, as it was well shown in her own case.
The fact that nations had to go to a literal war every year with the magical beasts was the factor that made things even harder and human progress a barely noticeable thing. Every year, a great many people died defending the nations borders from the advance of the beasts and it was a worldwide thing meaning that nations stood as islands separated from each other by vast and dangerous deserts, oceans and jungles where spirit beasts ruled.
Mei was not a woman of over 50 for nothing. That time and experiences had taught her many things, specially to deal with problems on a systematic way, with no rush or desperation. She came to the conclusion that she needed to become a power on her own, yes, enhanced by the power Aridel held, but her own power nonetheless. She understood that this world was ruled by those who held greater power, and that their current blissful days could easily be gone with just the change of a season or the death of the current Emperor. To keep living safely and comfortably within the reality she had been given, she needed to gain a sphere of influence, a position that would not be shaken out of her feet even by the greatest calamity posible. A lot had been already set by the powers that brought her to this particular world. She had been given enourmous potential, a fair and powerful husband and comrade, even the nuissance of the Lan family had been left behind and replaced by a family that adored her. All that she had to do was work hard and smart to match Aridel´s power and if that meant dressing up in complicated dresses and making small talk like a highborn lady, so be it.