I have no problem with what we getting out of Cai in the sense of support. I really think she invest enough in us.
I just feel her stance is kinda vague? I maybe am wrong, but did the girls ever talk about any kind of plan beyond the sect?
We know she want to create a lawful state, but that can mean many things. Maybe she herself doesn't know what exactly want, which I personally find most likely.
I dont want to stress anyone anymore, but I feel our interaction with our liege is very shallow and we should increase out interaction with one of the most important people in Ling Qi future.
I think we definitely should increase our interactions with Cai and figure out some of the more concrete underpinnings to her goal. However, there is a couple of possibilities that might be present.
The first order of business is to get the support needed to enact meaningful change. Renxiang cannot do it alone and without the support of other major players. Not even Duchess Cai could get the Duchy without the support of other counts and families. And she was white! No, Renxiang will need to gather support from the people in power if she ever wants to enact the changes she envisions.
Part of this may be where we come in. If Cai is currently seeking to have us be a more public diplomat, then we will be sent to various clans to start getting a feel for how people feel about the Cai, how people feel about Renxiang, and how people feel about certain minor changes that Renxiang is trying to implement. Convince them that it is in their best interest to either adhere to the current laws or interpret the laws in such a way as to create a more stable consistent stage.
Our job will probably be interacting with the Weilu conservatives given our Moon inclinations.
After that, the task will be most likely to start working on the ministry of Law. Carve out any corruption that can be found there and replace those bureaucrats with individuals who come from the families that support Renxiang's changes. Start trying to influence the families that have the most influence on the Ministry of Law to get them to be more systematic and consistent in their approach. Our job at this stage will probably be to travel and make nice with the individuals in the Celestial Peak. Smooth over ruffled feathers and convince them that it is in their best interest to let Renxiang do what she's doing.
Then we will probably start working on the Vis-counts or even the count families. Making nice with them and convincing them that these changes will be in their best interest as well. This will be a major hurdle as the count clans are powerful and secure in their power. It will be delicate, tedious, and thankless work but the goal is to convince the count clans that legal consistency is in their best interest. We will most likely be dealing with the Weilu conservatives again because of our Moon inclinations.
All in all, it can be summed up as: gain support from some key baronies. Influence the Ministry of Law and smooth over the rough feathers in the Celestial Peaks, and then start working on progressively powerful families from the roots up. Target the vis-counts and other vassals of the counts to slowly work our way into the Count's political spheres and then convince them that this change is good.
I'm not sure of the nitty gritty for this, or even the timescale that Renxiang is expecting, but this outline is probably something that she is considering.