Lu Xia really couldn’t stand hearing the word “serve” anymore and quickly said, “I don’t need it. Go do your own things. There’s no need to follow me around all the time. If I need anything, I’ll come find you.”
She truly wasn’t a slave owner and really didn’t need someone following her everywhere she went.
Right now, she just wanted to be alone and quiet—and no, don’t ask her who “Quiet” was.
Grace looked at the serious expression on the little female’s face and understood that Lu Xia genuinely didn’t need his service. Logically, this should have been something to be happy about, but for some reason, deep down, though he was unwilling to admit it, he felt an indescribable sense of loss.
“I understand,” Grace said, clearly sensing the little female in front of him breathe a sigh of relief. It was obvious she really didn’t want him following her.
Lu Xia waved at him and turned to head back to her room. Finally, she could have some peace.
As she turned away, she completely missed the fleeting loneliness in his eyes.
Back in her room, Lu Xia lay down on the bed again. Having just eaten, she was starting to feel drowsy once more, which made her complain inwardly about this useless body of hers.
She raised her wrist, intending to browse the Light Network to learn more about potion research and development, but then noticed a light on her Terminal blinking frequently.
What was going on?
Could it be running out of power?
Lu Xia fiddled with it for a while but didn’t see any low-battery warning on the Terminal. In the end, she thought it might just be malfunctioning.
Just as she was thinking of asking the old butler to have it repaired tomorrow, she noticed the light had stopped blinking.
How strange.
Not giving it too much thought, Lu Xia opened the Light Network and began looking up information related to the Empire’s potion research and development.
Currently, the demand for Gene Fusion Agents and Gene Stabilizers in the Empire was extremely high. On one hand, these potions were scarce, and on the other, their prices were exorbitant, making them completely unaffordable for ordinary people.
But in reality, their effectiveness was only mediocre. The success rate of Gene Fusion Agents was only 25%, meaning that to achieve a 100% success rate, at least four doses were needed—and that was assuming the highest probability was triggered.
And a single dose started at tens of millions.
Gene Stabilizers, on the other hand, were auxiliary potions used to stabilize genes after successful fusion. They were slightly cheaper, but each dose still started at 100,000, and they needed to be taken long-term to be effective.
In Lu Xia’s opinion, the information about this on the Light Network was completely exaggerated. No matter how good they claimed it was, if most people couldn’t use it, what was the point? It was just written for show.
Utterly useless!
Lu Xia turned off the Light Network, pulled the blanket over herself, and closed her eyes, ready to sleep. But her mind was already thinking about how, once the research and development at Yihao Yuan was underway, she would start preparing gene-related potions. She wanted to see just how much it cost to develop such potions and why they had to be sold at such outrageous prices!
It had to be said, the old butler’s efficiency was quite impressive. Early the next morning, Lu Xia received the resumes of the applicants at the breakfast table.
A thick stack of them, enough for her to sift through for a while.
“Has the payment from Duke Lan Ya arrived yet?” Lu Xia asked, flipping through the job applications while keeping an eye on whether the 5 million investment had been deposited.
“The funds have been deposited. I checked this morning,” the old butler replied softly from the side. Only at this moment did he truly realize that Duke Lu Xia seemed to be serious this time—not just making empty promises.
Unaware of the old butler’s thoughts, Lu Xia quickly selected ten researchers’ resumes and handed them over: “Schedule interviews with these this afternoon. Hire them if they’re suitable.”
Now that the money had arrived, production could begin once the team was assembled. Oh, right: “Have you found the celebrity endorsers I asked for?”
“There are already several suitable candidates. I wanted to find a few more for you to choose from.”
“Don’t need too many. Show me the suitable ones first.”
Lu Xia and the old butler’s conversation wasn’t hidden from Grace at the dining table.
Watching the little female work so earnestly, the man felt a surge of doubt and surprise in his heart. Rumors said Duke Lu Xia was uneducated and only knew how to indulge in pleasure, but what was he seeing and hearing now?
Were rumors truly unreliable?
Just as he was thinking this, Lu Xia suddenly spoke: “Grace, when are you going home? I’ll visit Duke Leslie with you.”
The unexpected words made Grace tense up: “You want to accompany me back?”
This was a privilege reserved only for the Main Husband among male beastmen. Yet now, Lu Xia was willing to extend it to him, a mere Husband-Attendant.
Even the old butler’s sheep ears perked up beside them!
Lu Xia raised an eyebrow: “What’s wrong? Is there anything surprising about that? Can’t I go with you?”
“No, of course not. I just didn’t expect you’d be willing to meet my mother with me. It’s an honor.”
Hearing this, Lu Xia instantly understood—this was likely another “feudal” rule similar to “males not being allowed to eat at the table.”
“Then keep that in mind. Once things stabilize on my end, we’ll go together.” With that, Lu Xia stood up and said, “Take your time eating.”
Then she left the house with the old butler.
It seemed she was even busier than Grace, a male beastman who needed to work outside.
In the afternoon, Lu Xia selected eight out of the ten researchers to stay, forming two research teams.
Immediately after hiring them, she assigned research projects, practically racing against time.
Through the glass, the old butler watched Duke Lu Xia in the laboratory, wearing a white lab coat and discussing topics with the eight researchers.
He felt as if what he was witnessing was like a dream—no, not even a dream could be so extravagant.
Duke Lu Xia had truly changed her ways and started working earnestly. It was simply unbelievable. Who would believe it without seeing it with their own eyes?
Even having seen it, the old butler felt he hadn’t fully accepted it yet. It all seemed unreal, like a dream.
But Lu Xia paid no mind to his thoughts. She quickly finalized two research topics: one was a beauty cream for scar removal and skin enhancement, and the other was a hair growth solution that could regenerate hair follicles.
She had investigated—these two issues were also of great concern to the majority of the Empire’s citizens.
So, in any era and for any species, hair loss and shedding were universal problems.
In reality, many similar products for these two topics already existed in the Empire’s market, but their effectiveness was limited.
Most scars still require laser removal, but even laser treatment leaves traces and cannot completely erase them, so it falls far short of achieving true beauty enhancement.
As for hair growth solutions, many are merely superficial, with very limited actual effectiveness. Most serve only as a psychological comfort.
What Lu Xia aims to develop is something genuinely capable of removing scars and regenerating hair follicles.
Although the research direction has been set and the eight researchers present have all confirmed their understanding, Lu Xia can tell that none of them believe she can actually develop effective beauty cream and hair growth solution.
Lu Xia doesn’t mind—it’s understandable that they don’t believe her now. Once the products are created and receive positive feedback, they’ll naturally come around.
No amount of talk is as convincing as delivering something truly usable.
“Alright, that’s all for today. Everyone can head back. Work officially starts tomorrow, and I hope no one is late,” Lu Xia said, then glanced at the time on her Terminal.
It was this simple gesture that allowed everyone present to notice the green light flashing on her Terminal. Someone couldn’t help but exclaim, “Ah, Your Excellency Lu Xia, are you pregnant?”