Zhang Heng arrived at the palace before dark. Now, the guards outside the palace were familiar with him. They knew that he was Commodus' favorite, and they no longer stopped him when they saw him.
Of course, Zhang Heng would never be able to enjoy the same treatment as Altrus, who had a secret passage that led directly to his study.
Commodus's trust in Altrus had reached a level that no one could match. Their relationship had long surpassed the relationship between the emperor and his advisor.
From this point of view, Zhang Heng could understand why the Balance Blade, who had considerable political resources, wanted to get rid of Altrus. Other than assassination, there was basically no way to separate Altrus from Commodus.
As a result, Zhang Heng became a little curious about the Balance Blade's stance. He did not know which side they were on. Did they kill Altrus to weaken the emperor's power and make Commodus useless? Or did they not want Commodus to continue to be bewitched by Altrus?
Of course, this kind of thing had little to do with Zhang Heng. He just thought about it casually on the way to the palace. He then handed his Persian dagger to the maid beside him and followed another maid into the palace.
There were already a lot of people in the hall at this time, but the emperor had not shown up yet. Zhang Heng did not see anyone who looked like Altrus.
Clint, on the other hand, arrived early and was shuttling through the crowd. It could be seen that he was quite popular. Basically, everyone respected him. Clint also saw Zhang Heng, patted the back of a young man who was talking to him, and walked over to him.
"Welcome. I heard about the mine. You handled it well, and the delivery of the bronze statues was on schedule," Clint said. He then lowered his voice, "Did you find out who is behind this?"
Zhang Heng shook his head, "I don't know. I looked for Elder Divo Braille, hoping that he could provide me with some help. However, he rejected me. After that, the matter was solved."
"Divo Braille?" Clint raised his eyebrows, "That old fox. It's not surprising that he rejected you. That guy is a fence-sitter, and he doesn't want to offend anyone. But why did he help you solve this matter secretly? Is it to show his goodwill to us?"
Clint seemed a little puzzled.
"I heard that you have also encountered some trouble on your side." Zhang Heng changed the topic after helping Divo Braille to divert his attention.
"Oh, some people wanted to stop the introduction of the new copper coins. I killed some of them, so the rest became obedient." Clint said disapprovingly, "Some people in the Senate seem to think that they are living too comfortably. They have forgotten where their power comes from. When His Majesty's father was on the throne, he was too lenient to the Senate. That's why some people are so complacent. We need to change this situation. If everything goes well, this is what we need to do next."
Clint inadvertently revealed some of his future plans to Zhang Heng. This was also one of his little tricks to win over political allies.
After that, the two chatted for a while. Clint did not talk about politics anymore. Instead, he shifted the topic to eating, drinking, and having fun. He recommended several famous restaurants in Rome to Zhang Heng, and Zhang Heng noted them down. He planned to bring the slave girl to try them out one day. First, he wanted to check out the popular Rome restaurant in the second century AD, and second, he wanted to see if he could earn some game points.
After a while, Commodus finally walked into the hall.
Everyone stopped talking and saluted the young emperor. The latter seemed to be in a good mood tonight. He waved his hand and said, "Tonight's banquet is to welcome a new friend. There are no outsiders here, so don't be too restrained." After that, he looked at Zhang Heng.
Upon seeing this, Zhang Heng walked up to Commodus, and the emperor put his arm around his shoulder. Commodus then said excitedly, "Next, I would like to introduce my new consultant to you. I believe you are no stranger to him. No one in the entire city of Rome doesn't know his name. All the women are crazy about him. He is the gladiatorial champion of the Amphitheatrum Flavium, and he can subdue a bison with his bare hands. He is Zhang Heng from another empire in the far east!"
The emperor deliberately raised his voice when he called out Zhang Heng's name. After that, there was a round of applause in the banquet hall.
When the applause died down a little, Commodus continued, "I bet all of you together might not be Zhang Heng's match. But don't think that he is just a reckless man. In fact, I'm also amazed by his wisdom. Do you know the southeast city? The security problem there has existed for one or two hundred years, and it has been a headache for every emperor. Most people can't do anything about it, but Zhang Heng spent two months to improve the security situation there. Compared to his strength, his wisdom is more precious to me. Because my father always said that in governing a country, the brain is always more useful than the sword."
Everyone nodded in agreement.
Commodus took two glasses of wine from the waiter and gave one to Zhang Heng. After that, he raised the glass in his hand. "Let's toast to this amazing oriental man who will never let us down. Welcome him to join our cause. Let us make Rome greater together!"
Zhang Heng raised his glass when he heard this. He then added, "To His Majesty. Under his leadership, Rome will be filled with glory."
"To His Majesty. To our new friend, Zhang Heng!" Everyone also raised their glasses and shouted.
After that, Commodus asked Clint to introduce Zhang Heng to the guests at the banquet.
Zhang Heng shook hands with the guests one by one and listened to Clint's introduction. However, his heart gradually sank because he found that his target, Altrus, did not show up.
At tonight's banquet, almost all of Commodus's guests were present. Only the most mysterious Altrus was missing.
As a result, not only did Zhang Heng's previous plans become useless, but he also found that he could not find a way to get close to Altrus in a short time.
If Altrus was so cautious that he would not even attend a banquet with his own people, it meant that no one could see him except for Commodus. Then, it would be very difficult to assassinate him. Not to mention, Zhang Heng had to hand him over to the priestess for a period of time before killing him.
After that, Zhang Heng was no longer in the mood to make new friends. His purpose was different from everyone else. After all, he was just a passerby in Rome in the second century AD. Even if he managed to get into Clint's position, it would be meaningless for him.
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