Zhang Heng did not expect Commodus to come to him so soon. Logically speaking, it would take at least two days for Fabino's evaluation report to reach Commodus.
Therefore, Zhang Heng gave himself a break during this period. He took the slave girl to wander around the city of Rome. They first went to Perfume Street, and the slave girl was a little curious. She saw Zhang Heng opening the bottles of perfume on the shelf, sniffing them, and putting them back.
"Why? You don't like them?" the slave girl asked, blinking.
"Oh, no. I just want to smell them." Zhang Heng said as he picked a bottle and paid for it. He then tossed the bottle of perfume to the slave girl, "You can have it."
"Really?" The slave girl happily took the perfume, opened it, and applied some on her hair while Zhang Heng was not paying attention.
After that, the two walked out of the perfume shop and went to Martius Square for a walk. After that, they went to the Octavia Portico. This place was far away from the city center. There were no markets or apartment buildings. Instead, there were large patches of greenery, temples, and sculptures. It was a perfect place for sightseeing and leisure.
The vast portico surrounded the verdant atrium. In the center was the temple of Jupiter, the king of gods, and Juno, the queen of gods. The wet murals and stucco portraits on the portico told ancient myths and legends. In the distance, there was a bronze statue of Alexander the Great. Tourists and believers either shuttled under the portico or stopped in front of the statue. It was a peaceful and solemn place.
The slave girl found a patch of grass and sat down. She then took out the lunch she had carefully prepared and chatted with Zhang Heng while having lunch.
When she was in the Victor Arena, the slave girl did not think about what happiness was, but at this moment, she felt that she had grasped it.
"Is everything going well with the patrol team?" the slave girl asked while taking a bite of bread.
"Well, although there are some deviations, it is basically in line with my previous plan," Zhang Heng said. "Perhaps I should say it is going better than expected."
"So, are you going to work for His Majesty the Emperor next?"
"If everything goes well, yes." Zhang Heng nodded.
"That's great. You can expose Clint's true colors to His Majesty the Emperor." The slave girl was obviously still thinking about Clint, the two-faced villain.
Zhang Heng burst into laughter. "It's not that simple. Do you think the emperor will believe me if I tell him?"
"Because I trust you." The slave girl said confidently, "You are much more credible than Clint. No, I shouldn't compare the two of you to each other. You are not comparable at all."
"That's because you lived with me for a long time." Zhang Heng shook his head and said, "You don't have to worry about me. I'm not afraid of a guy like Clint, and his main target is not me. We might even have a lot of opportunities to work together in the future."
The slave girl was confused when she heard what Clint said. She pouted and wanted to say something, but the next moment, she saw that the person she was talking about just now had appeared in front of her, and he was walking towards her with his guards. The slave girl was shocked, thinking that Clint had used some kind of witchcraft to hear what she said just now from a distance. Now, he was going to bring his men to catch her. So, she quickly ran behind Zhang Heng.
"Your days are so leisurely. It's really enviable, but I'm afraid you will have to say goodbye to such days from now on," Clint said to Zhang Heng with a smile.
"Huh?"
"His Majesty the Emperor is very satisfied with your performance in the southeast city. He asked me to bring you to the palace to meet him, but it's not easy to find you. I went to your residence, but I couldn't find you. So, I went to the patrol team and heard that you went on an outing. I thought you might be here. It seems that I'm in luck. Come with me. Don't let His Majesty wait for you," Clint said.
Zhang Heng stood up from the grass and said to the slave girl behind him, "There's no other way. Let's call it a day. You should go home first."
"Then, you have to be careful." The slave girl looked at Clint worriedly and whispered.
Zhang Heng followed Clint in the carriage and went straight to the palace. However, before entering the palace, Clint stopped the carriage and asked the coachman to stop the carriage in a place where no one would notice.
After that, Clint cleared his throat and said, "I know you have heard some rumors."
"What rumors?" Zhang Heng raised his eyebrows.
"For example, only unlucky people who have offended someone or have no background will be sent to the patrol team in the southeast city. That place is like a penal colony in the city of Rome."
"Oh, I …" Zhang Heng was about to say something, but Clint interrupted him before he could finish.
"It's true. Although this statement is not accurate, it's not far from it. The problem in the southeast city has been around for a long time. To be honest, neither I nor His Majesty the Emperor thought that someone could solve the problem there."
"I didn't either. I just reached an agreement with the major forces there to slightly restrain the criminal activities on the surface," Zhang Heng said.
"You are too modest. In short, I wanted to assign you to the north bank of the Tiber River because the security there is the best. You can easily complete the task given by His Majesty the Emperor. But as you know, halfway through our conversation that day, I encountered something urgent. So, I could only let Pannonax be in charge of your constituency. A few days later, when I learned that you were assigned to the southeast, I was shocked."
A touch of guilt appeared on Clint's face. "Forgive me. I didn't go to you immediately because I didn't know how to face you. I mean, His Majesty put me in charge of this matter out of trust. But in the end, you were assigned to the southeast. There is no doubt that I have to bear a lot of responsibility for this matter. However, I did not stay idle for the next few days. I did something for you."
"Really?"
"Yes, I investigated Pannonax. Guess what happened?"
"How did it go?"
Clint lowered his voice and put his mouth next to Zhang Heng's ear. "I found out that he is Altrus's man. He hid his identity very well. The two only communicate with each other through letters. And every time he finishes reading the letters, he would burn them. My men tried their best to get a letter that Pannonax wrote but did not have time to send. Look at it yourself."
After Clint finished speaking, he stuffed a papyrus full of words into Zhang Heng's hand. Other than that, he also handed Zhang Heng a letter written by Pannonax so that Zhang Heng could compare the handwriting on it. After that, he asked with concern, "May I ask if there is any grudge between you and Altrus? Because I have no idea why he is targeting you. "
"I have no clue about it either," Zhang Heng said. Zhang Heng said, "I heard that Altrus is a very mysterious person. I don't even know what he looks like or where he is. How could I become enemies with him?"
"That's true," Clint nodded. "But it's better to be careful. Although everyone is working for His Majesty, it is inevitable that some people will have some ulterior motives. You should also pay attention to your safety. I heard that Altrus has a group of people hiding in the dark, doing some shady things for him. If you encounter any trouble in the future, you can come to me. I also hope to give you some compensation for what happened before."
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