The longship texture on the beams was constantly distorted by candlelight, and the king was in the halls of the manor to attend to the affairs of the kingdom, and although he had no support at his side, he was adept at writing all kinds of official edicts himself, including reducing the share of the levy on the Channel fleet from eight to four marks per oar, and buying wheat at 45 pence per sester, to reserve for the construction of the avenue. Edgar expected that the two would break even, and that they would net three thousand pounds, but that this part of the income would not go into Winchester's treasury, but would become the Earl of Kent's naval reserves.

Gold and silver were no small matter, and saints like Edward the Confessor were inevitably turned against his own mother, and Edgar did not want to repeat the mistakes of the past, so he set up an independent treasurer for his eldest son to avoid future disputes.

For Edric's relatives, gold and silver meant everything, and their power came entirely from their untold treasures, and although the buying and selling of the priesthood was now forbidden, it was a matter of little to maintain the power of the family members in the local area.

"One more day." Edgar said to the Edwin knight, "If we don't see anyone in a day's time, we'll head north." ”

"Everything is ready, Your Majesty...... Need to be notified to Chester? ”

Edwin's second half of the sentence made the king look up, and he suddenly felt a pang of nervousness, but the king did not say anything, but shook his head, and pressed the ring on the parchment covered with slender letters.

Burton of Buckingham, a gatekeeper armed with a bow and arrow, staring condescendingly at Theowulf, who was almost twice as large as a shepherd.

"My adults are sleeping."

"I know where your lord is, and I have something to talk to Madame about."

"Business, you say?" The gatekeeper almost laughed out loud, "Then go find a brothel, don't linger here, get out of here!" ”

The shepherd sighed and untied a money bag from his waist, an action that immediately attracted the attention of the gatekeeper.

"You can't bribe me." The gatekeeper said duplicitously, his right hand was very honest, almost instinctively to take the money bag.

"I didn't plan to do so." The shepherd clenched the purse and slammed it on the bridge of the nose, then his temple, and the big man fell to the ground in a blink of an eye, and Theowulf picked up the key and paced through the door as if he were his own.

"You're crazy! How dare you come here at a time like this? Mrs. Hildegard stood up incredulously, and the needle and thread in her hand fell to the ground.

"I have to come, I know you saved me." The shepherd whispered.

"You don't have to thank me, I'm just doing it for myself." Mrs. Hildegard lowered her eyes, her eyelashes fluttering as if she were kissing.

"You know, it's not over yet."

"No, it's all over, my husband is finished, he won't have any chance, His Majesty the King and the magistrate know it."

"But my wife is dead!" The shepherd seemed to want to confirm something, but the woman did not react and did not deny it.

"My wife is dead...... Whether it's a bandit or not, I have nothing to do with this village, and you know my relationship with those people, they won't show mercy. ”

"Do you think my husband, if he was still around, would let you stay as he used to?" Hildegard looked up, "The person he hates most right now is you, and if I hadn't said that, he would have killed you." ”

"So, I will be evicted, they will say that my sheep have broken the farmer's fence, my property will be divided among the whole village, and my children will be homeless."

"Unless I come to shelter you." The woman's voice was very thin, she didn't want to alarm the other people in the house, especially the fat cook who liked to talk a lot, "I will soon be a widow, and I have the right to choose anyone." ”

"But not a shepherd." He interrupted the woman, "You know that very well. ”

"I understand, so I'm not going to choose anyone. But I am still the only nobleman in the land. ”

The voices of the two grew softer and softer, and finally turned into green smoke from the fireplace, and disappeared without a trace.

"Why do we do this every time?" Theowulf asked.

"What else can we talk about? You don't even know a word. ”

"I remember there was a time when you wanted to teach me."

"What's the use, no matter which book you pick up, the end result is to go to bed." The woman's voice was sweet and sour, "You know I'm not that kind of person. ”

"I know it all, my lady."

"I was a shy girl, scared of getting fat all day, I loved to pray and read, and I liked to go to church."

"I don't remember you ever going to church."

"I almost died after that bastard raped me." Her voice was like a kitten whimpering, "It's good that you showed up, my husband is crazy with jealousy of you, but he doesn't know that if it weren't for you, I might not be here a long time ago." ”

Theowulf was silent, he was not a bold man, never, but he took risks for the sake of this dangerous feeling, and when he heard her mention the old thing, he had the idea of murder, the priest who had almost killed Hildegard, the sanctimonious Billig, who wanted to kill him.

When the sun floated to the surface on the side of a mahogany boat, the two woke up at the same time.

"You know, I could get pregnant at any time."

"You haven't had a baby, you've never been pregnant, I thought ......"

"Fool, the priest once said that a strong seed can open the womb."

"Which priest?"

Hildegard smelled the shepherd's vinegar, and she immediately closed her mouth.

This morning the same sun, the king's sun, rises over the western land.

Oswoolf of House Edric gave in anyway, and all the captives—those who were still alive—were sent to Ethelmer's estate, including Abbot Benedict of Oxford.

"That's all?" Edgar frowned and covered his nose with his hand.

"Your Majesty, everyone else is dead, our lord has already caught those bandits, and he will personally escort them to Your Majesty."

The king bowed slightly, he understood what these people had been through, and the first lesson of a slave was not labor.

One of the captives fell to her knees, and the king's soldiers immediately helped her out.

"Your Majesty, she's dying."

"Tell me, what's your name?" Edgar endured the smell of her and stepped closer.

"Edith ......" The woman had never seen such a pretty face, and she made a gossamer voice in a daze, "The shepherd's wife." ”

"Take care of her." The king turned back and gave an order, and no one dared to slack off, and this ordinary woman was cared for by the nuns and healers herself, like a noblewoman.