Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation Laurist was very busy. While he was training, he was also waiting for news from the capital about the queen's pregnancy and the second prince being cuckolded. He was very interested to see how this would turn out. If this had happened to a commoner or a Knight's family, Laurist would definitely not be interested. He would just forget about it. However, this happened to the second prince. This made Laurist's gossipy heart soar. He hated that Moronte City was too far away from the capital. Even a messenger eagle would take a day or two to arrive.
So, when Fatty Shi put the protest document that Earl Kate had spent three days and three nights writing in front of Laurist, Laurist only glanced at it before he crumpled it into a ball and threw it into the dustbin. "Protest my ass. You're just like those watchdogs. You don't dare to bite, and you only know how to bark. If the Trade Union had the power to challenge us, they would have sent their troops long ago. Why would they need to do this? Ignore him. "
"I know, but we have to give them some face." Fatty Shi smiled. "Actually, Earl Kate's protest letter is really well written. I didn't know he had such literary talent. It took him a few days to finish writing this protest document. It was well-founded, and he also took into consideration our family's reputation. He didn't directly accuse us, but used a lot of hidden words … Unfortunately, His Highness didn't care and just threw it into the trash can … "
"Pick it up from the trash if you want. I don't care if he's talented or not. No matter how talented he is, it's useless if he can't be used by our family," Laurist said. "Is there any problem with your arrangements? How much money did you get from the Trade Union this time? "
"Nothing. The food warehouse outside the east gate is now the settlement for the inner city residents who were released from the prison camp at the docks. Earl Kite had no choice but to sign an agreement with our family to help him transport the inner city residents. He paid us 250,000 gold fords, and the rest was for us to provide him with potatoes and other coarse grains to feed the freed inner city residents.
Earl Kate should be thanking us for releasing the captives in batches. The first batch was 3000, the second batch was 2000, and the third batch was 8000. Just these 10,000 captives were enough to keep him busy. If he released all 100,000 captives at once, there would be a huge mess. He even protested that we only released the inner city residents who had lost their wealth. He didn't think about it. If we really let those people out with their belongings, without our supervision, many people would die.
So far, the Trade Union had paid more than 6.3 million gold fords in ransom and other expenses for all the captives. Earl Kate complained that this was more than double what they had expected. He also mocked the Norton Family for being from a remote place in the North. He said that the Norton Family must be afraid of being poor and shameless. As an envoy to our family, he had to pay for his own food and lodging. I pretended I didn't hear anything. Tell me, it wasn't easy for us to catch a rich guy like him, so how could we not ruthlessly slaughter him?
Spear was personally in charge of the prison camp at the docks. Ever since Lord Tagger secretly spread the news that only those who spent all their belongings would be the first to be freed by the Trade Union, the number of people in the prison camp increased immediately. At the same time, Lord Tagger also spread two pieces of news. One was that these people would be confiscated by the Trade Union even if they brought their money out. The other was that if they won red chips in the casino, they would be free, and the Norton Family's armed forces would protect them and their private property. So these days, the two casinos in the prison camp were overcrowded.
According to the report submitted by the captive camp, in these ten days, our family had earned nearly three million gold coins. Spear, the second supervisor, was so happy that he couldn't even close his mouth. He said that just the hundred thousand captive camp could bring our family nearly ten million gold coins in income. Also, Lord Tagger planned to put on another show at the docks in the next two days. This time, he gathered nearly 2,000 residents of the outer city and prepared more than 20 buckets of cow and sheep blood. He wanted to put on a show of our family's armed forces suppressing the rioters. First, he wanted to scare the stubborn old people in the prison camp, and let them know how dangerous Morent City was. Second, he wanted to let Earl Kate and the Trade Union know that the Norton Family's armed forces had fallen into the big trap of Morent City as they had hoped … "
Fatty Shi's report made Laurist laugh uncontrollably. The cause of the matter was the two captives that were sent over as gifts by Ledos, the leader of the outer city's society. They were the chief steward of the Livord Chamber of Commerce, Mister Mento Otto, and the Gold-ranked Swordsman Pinkeff. After falling into Tagger's hands for less than two days, the two quickly revealed the Trade Union's plan to set off a riot in Morent City.
Laurist felt that he could have some fun when he saw the report. After all, this chief steward and the Gold-ranked Swordsman were in charge of carrying out this plan. So he let them continue to send information to the Trade Union, asking for reinforcements. Laurist's thoughts were actually very simple. He only wanted the Trade Union to send a few people over to let Genolio spar. This third disciple of his had a good character. The only thing that dissatisfied him was that he didn't have a competitive heart and didn't like to fight. Even when he fought with the guards, it usually ended in a draw.
After Laurist became a Swordsman, his three disciples also became the focus of the people. The first disciple, Redi, didn't need to be mentioned. He was a level 2 Great Swordsman and had an extremely strong killing nature. Shihuard, the second disciple, was a 3-star Gold Swordsman. He had a resolute and calm personality and was deeply liked by Laurist. The third disciple, Genolio, was a tall, well-built man. His swordsmanship and aura level should be at the level of 3-star Silver. Compared to his tall and well-built body, Genolio also had a very delicate heart. His handwriting was very beautiful. This might have something to do with the fact that he followed a female tutor when he was young.
Laurist was also very puzzled. How did a pirate like Sunbarwood give birth to a son who was like a good person? The old pirate roamed the sea, committing all sorts of crimes, robbing and killing. Many family knights were ashamed to be associated with him. However, this eldest son of his was liked by everyone. It was mainly because of his pure nature and good temper. Also, his loyal personality made it hard for people to hate him. His only flaw was that he didn't like to fight.
If he let Genolio charge and break through enemy lines on the battlefield, the possibility of him dying in battle would be far greater than the possibility of him surviving. Even as a Swordsman, Laurist couldn't guarantee that Genolio would be safe if he stayed by his side. Sparring with the guards had already lost its meaning because Genolio's temperament was not arrogant and did not care much about winning or losing. That was why Laurist set his sights on the Trade Alliance. He wanted to let the people sent by the Trade Alliance become Genolio's sword testers. That should give his disciple some insight, because these competitors would really fight with their lives on the line. For the sake of his own life, Genolio had to see some blood.
However, what Laurist didn't expect was that his idea would be taken by Fatty Shi and Tagger and turned into a big plan. If they wanted to lie, they would lie together. They wanted to make the Trade Alliance think that the Norton Family's armed forces had already sunk deep into the quagmire of Moronte City. On one hand, it was to buy time for the newly formed Moronte City Autonomy Committee to get through the initial period of unaccustomed management and firmly control Moronte City. On the other hand, it was to mislead the Trade Alliance's judgment and wait for a favorable opportunity on the battlefield to give them a fatal blow.
"You guys go ahead and do it." Laurist smiled. "What Moronte City needs the most is time. Let the Trade Alliance think that the Norton Family's armed forces are fighting to the death with the millions of citizens of Moronte City. Then, when they send their troops to take advantage of the situation, we will give them a hard slap in the face. After half a year, when the Moronte City Autonomy Committee has a firm foothold, we can let them form a new Trade Alliance, or perhaps call it the Freedom Alliance. When that time comes, I really want to see how the Trade Alliance will put their face. If they lose their base, will they still have the face to call themselves a Trade Alliance? Next, the Norton Family's armed forces will help the Freedom Alliance resist the Trade Alliance's invasion of the Mana Hill Plains. I believe many people's jaws will drop … "
"I'm sure that the Trade Alliance will regret it. If they knew this would happen, they would have immediately signed a truce with Your Highness to achieve peace between the two countries. Your Highness's plan is a bit too ruthless. Not only are you trying to change a cage for a bird, but you're also trying to uproot the Trade Alliance's foundation! "Fatty Shi sighed.
Laurist shook his head. "They asked for it. On one hand, they want to enjoy the respect of the nobles. On the other hand, they want to earn as much money as they used to. There's no such thing as having the best of both worlds. In the past, the Trade Alliance could only develop in the Mana Hill Plains and Moronte City. That was why the various Merchant Associations were able to unite and fight against foreign enemies. But ever since these merchants implemented the Lord system in the Trade Alliance, it's completely different. Everyone has their own selfish motives. Since the various Merchant Associations have their own territory, they will naturally gather their financial and material resources to develop their own territory. It can be said that the Merchant Associations are responsible for Moronte City's current state. If Duke Moronte knew that the Trade Alliance had developed to such a state, he would definitely crawl out of his coffin in anger. All we need to do is kick these Merchant Associations out and develop Moronte City back to how it used to be. "
"Yes, Your Highness, you're absolutely right." Fatty Shi first complimented him, then asked with a mischievous smile, "By the way, Your Highness, is there any new news from the capital these two days?"
As a consistent opponent of the second prince, Fatty Shi was also very concerned about the color of the king's hat. Some time ago, after receiving the news that the Empress was seven months pregnant, Fatty Shi had been waiting to see the Second Prince and the Fisablon Family fight with each other …
"There's no new news. There's only news from three days ago that the adulterer has been caught, but we haven't been able to find out the details of the adulterer. It's said that the imperial guards have implemented martial law in the capital, forbidding people from talking about the empress' pregnancy. The funniest thing is that when the news of the empress' pregnancy came out, there were still a lot of fools who didn't understand the situation and put up lanterns and decorations to celebrate that our great king has a successor. This is simply a slap to the king's face … "
Laurist and Fatty Shi both laughed in an unkind manner. Amidst the years of war, there was suddenly a piece of royal gossip that everyone loved to hear. It made them feel very relaxed and happy.
Tagger hurriedly came in, "Your Highness, there's new news from the capital …"
"Quickly, read it." Fatty Shi urged.
"Yes, the identity of the empress's adulterer has been investigated. He's the vice commander of the royal guards, called Wilksas, 27 years old, 2-star Silver … "
"Hm? Wilksas, only a 2-star Silver at 27 years old. Which family is he from? How did he become the vice commander of the royal guards? "
Laurist's first reaction was that this guy must have used some sort of backdoor to become the vice commander of the royal guards. The vice commander of the royal guards was usually at least a 1-star Gold Dou Qi rank. Otherwise, it would be impossible for him to command the royal guards who were all Silver rank. Especially three years ago, a swordmaster from the trade union mistakenly thought that Laurist was recuperating in the palace and attacked the palace. A swordmaster from the Andinac Kingdom died in battle. When the second prince heard the news, he was furious and strengthened the palace's defenses. Nearly three hundred royal guards were all Silver Dou Qi rank.
"Your Highness, this Wilksas is not from a noble family." Tagger looked at the words written on the thin grey silk in his hand and said, "The letter says that he's only a quasi-knight. His adoptive father was a royal knight who had followed His Majesty for a long time and retired due to old age …"
Tagger suddenly opened his eyes wide and stuttered, "Your Highness, Your Highness … The letter says … that this Wilksas is actually … actually His Majesty's … His Majesty's illegitimate … illegitimate child …"
"What did you say?" Laurist pulled the silk from Tagger's hand and spread it on the table. Fatty Shi no longer had the concept of seniority and rushed to Laurist's side to read it.
What the letter said was true. The rumor that this Knight Wilksas was actually the illegitimate child of the second prince had long been spread in the imperial capital, but it had not been confirmed by the person involved. And after the queen's pregnancy, as the queen's adulterer, Knight Wilksas, was naturally arrested. But the strange thing was that the second prince didn't deal with the Knight of Wyksa after arresting him. As a result, the rumor that the Knight of Wyksa was the illegitimate son of His Majesty the King spread like wildfire in the capital.
The head of spies sent by the Norton family to the imperial capital was a very dedicated general. In order to confirm this information, he inquired about an old servant who had served the second prince since he was a child. After the second prince was granted the title of Shirovas Island, he did not follow the second prince because of his illness. After spending a large sum of money, he finally got a piece of information from the old servant. When the second prince was seventeen years old, he had an affair with a little maid of his father. Later, this little maid gave birth to a child, but the little maid and the child soon disappeared, and no one had seen them again. So it was impossible to confirm whether this Wilksas was the second prince's illegitimate child. Although they were estimated to be the same age, it had been twenty-seven years since then.
F * ck, this is getting more and more interesting. So the second prince had an affair with his father's little maid and gave birth to a child. Now, his illegitimate child went one step further and directly slept with his wife, causing the queen to become pregnant. This generation is getting more and more ferocious …
"Tagger, send a messenger eagle to Makinohara Province and ask my cousin Christie if she knows about this situation. Confirm whether this Wilksas is the illegitimate child of His Majesty …" If he wanted to know about the second prince's personal situation, Laurist was sure that his cousin Christie, who had followed the second prince for nearly twenty years and maintained the closest relationship with the second prince, would definitely know about these things.
"Yes, Your Highness," Tagger replied.
…
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