The pier, and the nearest to the pier, Rocco Square, is always a gathering place for the latest novelties in Athens. The curiosities that come from the sea always sell for the best price here.

The merchants here each have an excellent eye, so when Kerry the butler appeared in the corner of the square, many merchants soon rushed to introduce their goods.

Du Zhe followed behind Kerry, and as he listened, he gained a new understanding of Thucydides' fame in Athens:

Thucydides' family owned a wealthy gold mine in Thrace, and because he was a profligate and extravagant man unlike the other Athenian nobles. Over time, Rocco Square had an unwritten rule: the goods that can win Thucydides' favor must be the best goods.

"You're so polite," Kerry smiled and bowed, "The young master didn't add anything, I came to the dock today just because I heard that someone had caught a lion and wanted to see something new." ”

"So you're here to see the lion, too?" The merchants did not retreat, but instead hugged Kerry and his party tighter, "Then let's go together!" ”

Du Zhe rolled his eyes (#"′) in his heart, just a lion, he really hasn't seen the world.

Because of Thucydides' honorable status, the people gathered in the center of the square quickly made way for them. I saw that in the center of Rocco Square, there was a huge prototype cage, and in the cage was a golden lion with a very beautiful mane.

Surrounded by so many people, the beast also had people who bared their teeth irritably and waited viciously outside the cage. Outside the cage stood a merchant with a somewhat funny goatee, who looked somewhat similar to Avanti:

"Ladies and gentlemen, this lion I saw in the desert as it fought a giant crocodile, it was a battle to the death, and I swear to the sun god that it was the fiercest battle I have ever seen in my life—"

Du Zhe didn't have the heart to listen to this kind of nonsense, he just looked thoughtfully at Kerry standing in front of him, he didn't understand the purpose of the old fox bringing him here.

"Although he was wounded and captured alive by my caravan and locked in a cage, I promise that this lion is still as brave and wild! If you want to keep this beautiful creature in captivity at home, you must feed it live food as we do! ”

As the merchant spoke, he took out a live chicken and threw it into the cage, only to see the male lion who was originally a little irritable in the cage, his eyes flashed with a glimmer of essence, and with a short body and a short jump, he bit the chicken that was still flapping its wings in mid-air.

The sound of flesh tearing and bones clattering and breaking came, and everyone present gasped.

"Ladies and gentlemen, I have said it," said the merchant, clapping his hands proudly, "this lion is not easy to come by, and it is so beautiful, whether it is bought back as a pet or domesticated, it is an excellent choice." To be honest, I've never sold such a good item – for the price, I'll sell it to the highest bidder. ”

To put it bluntly, isn't it an auction? Du Zhe rolled his eyes, thinking that it wasn't just for money to foreshadow so much.

Obviously, the attraction of lions is greater for the nobles, and in the distance, there are already a few young nobles who are eager to try, whispering about the price. At this time, Kerry, who had been silent, suddenly spoke:

"This lion is good, but it is also a big expense to find something to feed."

The merchant was stunned for a moment, he looked at the smiling expression on Kerry's face, sweated on his forehead, and said with a smile, "You got to the point, if you are a pet at home, you will naturally not save this expense." However, if you use it for hunting......"

"You mean, it's possible to domesticate lions?" Kerry interrupted the merchant and asked with a smile, "I've never heard of a precedent for domesticating lions for hunting. I'm afraid, the gods of Olympus - it is also difficult to do such a thing. ”

At this time, some of the young nobles who were eager to try it were discouraged. The merchant was embarrassed, not knowing what the butler Kerry meant, and he wondered to himself - did the butler want to give up the lion, or was Thucydides interested in the lion and did not want to bid with others?

Du Zhe also pondered for a while, and suddenly chuckled: "I think this lion, there is one person who is the most suitable to raise." ”

His voice was clear and penetrating, and this opening immediately attracted the attention of many people. In addition, although Du Zhe's hands were handcuffed to symbolize slave status, the loose Greek robe blocked this sign of shame for him.

The innate nobility and elegance of the Persian sacrifice made many Athenians, even the merchants, believe that the man with beautiful blond hair in front of him should also be an Athenian nobleman and a friend of Thucydides.

"Oh, there are still such people?" Kerry didn't tear down Du Zhe's platform, and he seemed to be very interested in asking, "Who is it?" ”

"Oakley," Du Zhe winked at Kerry slyly, but a hint of murder flashed in his eyes, "Oakley likes to keep slaves the most, and I've heard that there are many disobedient slaves among his slaves, so isn't it just the right thing to serve as an appetizer for this lion?" ”

"Eat, eat people?" The merchant took a step back in fright, his face pale, and he couldn't believe that such cruel and bloody words came from the mouth of a slender and beautiful man.

"It's eating slaves," the corners of Du Zhe's mouth turned up, but there was no trace of a smile in his eyes, "It's not cannibalism." ”

"That's a good idea," Kerry, the butler, nodded, and looked at Du Zhe with a smirk, "It seems that this lion should have been bought and given to Master Oakley, and he would be happy to think he would have been happy - but I think the slave who led the trouble at the docks in the first place should have been the first to be given to the lion for lunch, right?" ”

It turned out that Kerry was playing with the idea.

Du Zhe smiled slightly and was silent.

The butler Kerry also smiled at Du Zhe with great restraint, and turned around and continued to deal with the merchant with a word or a word, and the others saw that Thucydides' butler was so attentive, and they all felt that they had no competitive advantage, and the crowd gradually dispersed, and the sky gradually darkened, and it was about to rain heavily.

Lion? Du Zhe raised his eyebrows, and then looked at the fierce bird in the cage, Kerry was going to buy a lion, and then let the lion eat him with a trick?

This method is a bit too stupid: although it is a knife to kill people, but even if Kerry succeeds, so many people can testify today, and Thucydides will definitely know that Kerry is secretly doing it to him when he returns. Such a simple and crude method that leaves people with infinite handles really doesn't seem to be made by a cunning person like Kerry.

However, if it wasn't for buying it back and killing him, Du Zhe couldn't guess for a while what Kerry could have in talking about this lion here.

The sky gradually fell into a light rain, Kerry looked at the sky very deliberately, he smiled and patted the merchant on the shoulder, "It's getting late, I'm also affecting your business, Menes, Jill, let's go!" ”

"Alas?!!" The merchant looked shocked, and he subconsciously grabbed Kerry's wrist, "You, you, don't you even buy this lion?" ”

"Huh?" Kerry also looked at the merchant with a strange look and said, "Didn't I say I wanted to buy it?" Didn't this little gentleman of ours already tell you that in the whole city of Athens, the most suitable master of this lion is Master Oakley, how could I be interested in such a beast. ”

The merchant opened his mouth and looked at the few people left around him, and the expression on his face was very depressed.

Kerry, the butler, smiled at the merchant and bowed deeply with great restraint, then turned his head and walked away with Du Zhe and Jill Yang, leaving the merchant alone in a daze, almost drenched in soup by the sudden heavy rain—

Du Zhe followed Kerry back, and felt a little strange in his heart: Is Kerry really just here to have a good time?

No matter how suspicious Du Zhe was, after that day, the butler Kerry did not make much change, and the matter of the lion was over. The housekeeper still entertained Du Zhe with good food and accommodation according to Thucydides' instructions, and even intervened and reprimanded the troublesome slaves when some young and handsome slaves provoked Du Zhe.

Du Zhe observed the housekeeper Kerry for more than ten days, and the vigilance in his heart slowly relaxed.

Thucydides had gone on an expedition to Corfu in the autumn, and these days there were many good news, everyone in the city of Athens was admiring Thucydides' bravery, Collins and the Spartans behind it were somewhat retreating, and Du Zhe believed that it would not be long before Thucydides would return from Corkyra.

After the Battle of Corfura, the Corinthians would be forced to retreat.

But in the following autumn, the Peloponnesian League would unite with the other Greek city-states and demand that Athens surrender the leadership of the Delian League, and Duzhe was worried about this, and wanted to wait for Thucydides to return and find an opportune time to warn him of Pericles.

◎◎◎

On the day of the official winter of the Greek peninsula, Thucydides returned to Athens from Corfu with his fleet. The docks were crowded with Greeks who had come to greet the hero, and Kerry, the butler, instructed the cooks and the slaves in the house to prepare a sumptuous meal and clean the house.

From the wharf to the square in the center of the city, people lined up to cheer on both sides of the road, Thucydides rode among the soldiers, and Oakley followed him, accompanied by one of the local consuls of Corfu. They were to bypass the main streets of Athens and go to the chief general, Pericles.

This was another great victory for Athens over Sparta, and Perikles should be happy, and so should the Athenians.

Du Zhe leaned back on the balcony with a shallow smile and a little laziness, and looked at Thucydides from afar: this man had tanned a little on the battlefield of Corfura, and his muscles were tighter, and as he rode slowly through the crowd on horseback, the sun shone on his body, and he really looked like a god of war carved in a temple.

Unexpectedly, Thucydides, who had been interacting with the crowd on the side of the road, suddenly turned his head and glanced at the balcony of his house and Du Zhe, as if he was like a divine help. Even across tens of millions of people, Du Zhe was tightly held by those dark blue eyes in an instant.

It was a wonderful tacit understanding, and it was also a heartwarming, heartfelt gratitude.

Thucydides smiled at Duzhe, knowing that the beautiful Persian priest had seen him, and that Menes had kept their agreement on the days of his departure. For some reason, Thucydides felt that seeing Du Zhe like this, he felt happier and more at ease than if he had won a battle.

Later, after meeting Perikles, Thucydides returned home with a few good soldiers, and when he saw the sumptuous dinner prepared by Kerry, Thucydides was in high spirits, and asked for wine, singing and dancing, and beckoned them to sit down and celebrate.

But after the banquet, Thucydides found a reason to slip away, went directly to the back kitchen to serve good wine and meat, and ran up to the small building where Du Zhe was in three steps and two steps-

When he opened the door, Thucydides found that Duzhe had not lit the lamp, the Persian priest was sitting on the balcony, his long golden hair was blown by the wind, his slender legs hung down from the balcony, his white robe barely covered his slender figure, he looked at him with his hands on his cheeks, his eyes shining brightly—

"You're back," Du Zhe squinted, but smiled like a fox, and he looked at Thucydides teasingly, "it's just that the great hero of Athens, instead of accompanying your heroic soldiers to celebrate your victory, became a thief, and went to his kitchen to steal wine and meat." How? Did the heroes of Athens also want to offer sacrifices to the Persian sacrifices in order to seek the protection of the Persian gods? ”

"Oh, I can't talk about you, sharp-toothed Persian sacrifice." Thucydides glanced at Du Zhe with some apprehension, smiled helplessly, walked over and placed the tray on the table, and then lit the candle in the room.

At this time, Du Zhe noticed that there were two wine glasses on the tray.

The mellow wine poured into the glass, Thucydides went to the balcony and handed Du Zhe a glass, and then he just lay on the balcony with the glass. The distance between them was so close that Duzhe could even feel the heat on Thucydides' skin, the one that came from the southwest coast of the Greek peninsula.

"It seems that the moon is good tonight," Du Zhe raised his glass and took a sip, "Thucydides, you have something to say to me, and besides, you can only say these things to me." ”

Thucydides turned his head and glanced at Du Zhe, who laughed heartily: "Sometimes I really suspect that the Persian sacrifices are as mind-reading as you are? Indeed, I would like to say a few more words to you, the empathetic, intelligent and beautiful priest, than to discuss that victory with a group of warriors. ”

"Is it about your sweetheart?" Du Zhe put down his glass, looked at the starry sky above his head, and saw the surprise on Thucydides' face, and he naturally explained, "In my hometown, there is a saying called 'the moon is lacking and there is much mourning'. Come to think of it, the only thing that you Thucydides can mourn is your deceased lover. ”

"Hahaha-" Thucydides was amused by Du Zhe, and couldn't help laughing, his eyes swept to see the metal shackles on Du Zhe's wrists, he squinted, suddenly put down the wine glass, picked up Du Zhe, and then carried the person into the house with a smile on his face.

"Hey—what are you crazy about!" Du Zhe punched Thucydides, a little embarrassed, "You let me down!" Hey—what are you going to do—"

At that moment, the thin red on the face of the Persian priest made Thucydides palpitate.

However, soon, Thucydides had an idea of a malicious joke in his heart, he evoked a bad smile, flipped Du Zhe and threw him on the soft bed, and then bent down and slowly pressed on Du Zhe, he pressed Du Zhe with one hand, supported Du Zhe with the other hand, and winked at Du Zhe ambiguously condescendingly:

"Guess what I'm going to do?"

"Thucydides!" The wine was a little upper, and Du Zhe didn't pay attention to the banter in Thucydides' eyes, and he shouted with some annoyance, "You said you wouldn't touch me!" And you have to be loyal to your loved ones too! ”

After staring at Du Zhe's flushed face for a long time, Thucydides couldn't help but laugh: "Hahahahaha-"

Having had enough of teasing the kitten, Thucydides laughed and threw himself on the bed, he let go of his shackles on Du Zhe, rubbed Du Zhe's long hair and said, "Okay, I'll tease you, I mean—I'll untie this for you." ”

Du Zhe was stunned for a moment, looked at the handcuffs in Thucydides' hands, and then realized that he had been tricked by Thucydides, his face instantly became even more red, and he turned his head with a cold snort in shame, ignoring Thucydides angrily.

Thucydides stood up, with a smile on his face, and was about to take the little golden key he had with him to unlock it, when the door was suddenly opened—

"Young Master, there's a merchant out there who says he's looking for you," said Kerry, the butler, as he walked in, "and he said he had an important gift for you, Young Master—to congratulate you on your triumphant return." ”

"What kind of gift?" Thucydides laughed as he prepared to open the handcuffs for Du Zhe, he was in a good mood, so he naturally didn't care about the abnormal fact that the butler came in without knocking, "If you look suitable, take it for me, don't ask me-"

"It's a lion," Kerry, the butler, looked at Thucydides and Du Zhe with a smile, "Young Master, I think it's up to you to decide." ”