, the most prosperous city in Liguria, the caravans that came through Provence to the important ports of the East, the endless stream of ships brought inexhaustible wealth here, as one of the two pearls in the crown of Italy and Venice, the ****** people have reason to hold their heads high to show their nobility and pride, they rely on strong self-esteem and abundant financial resources, again and again defeated the invaders and the papacy who tried to enslave them, and basically maintained an independent posture, Until a group of fierce northerners arrived unexpectedly.

Horse-drawn carriages rolled along the cobblestone avenue where two carriages could be walked side by side, and guards on horseback shouted from time to time to disperse the pedestrians who stood in the way, and through the thin curtains I caught a glimpse of the twin lion flags fluttering at the top of the city, on which the golden male lion looked down like his master.

Baruch followed my gaze, and Shi Shiran spoke: "Those brutal Normans, whose beautiful and perfect appearance is wrapped in an arrogant heart that does not know how to keep their eyes on the ground, look at what this former Ligurian gem has become under their rule!" ”

I don't know why I feel ashamed in my heart, am I reproaching myself for giving ****** to Duke Richard?

"People are always born, old, sick and die, but ****** is always ******."

I said half-Zen, half-silently, my eyes still lingering on the increasingly familiar scenery outside the window, the Norman battle flag that was also friend and foe, the blonde soldiers carrying spears by the city gates, and the heavily armored knights galloping by, constantly reminding me that I had returned to reality.

"You like to make people feel unfathomable, my friend, sometimes it's easy to be self-defeating if you're too mysterious, and that's true for people and things."

The Jewish merchant stroked the maid's blown-out skin, and his intoxicated expression seemed to be enjoying some rare divine product: "****** has arrived, where shall I send you?" ”

It's time to say goodbye, and the melancholy that has been stimulating my nerves along the way has disappeared at this time, what am I afraid of? Or do you want to escape from something? Reality is like a villain crouching in the corner ready to knock a stick, holding a cruel stick and eager to try, I know that it will be dangerous to go any further, but my feet are the only way to get home. No matter how long you wander away, you always have to go home.

"Just find a tavern in town and put me down."

I had the strength to tidy up my clothes, but there was nothing to pack, and the head-to-toe outfit was a generous gift from Baruch, and it was even more delicate and expensive than the previous clothes.

"Let me inquire about my relatives and friends first."

The Jewish merchant was silent with his beard on his beard, he was indeed kind enough to me, and besides, because of my status, I had secrets that I could not reveal to him, and it was good that the two of them parted in such a vague way.

"After entering the city, there is a very conspicuous tavern at the first intersection, and the merchants who come and go from the south to the north choose to settle there.

Baruch leaned on the shoulder of the beauty, raised his hand and pointed in the direction of the tavern: "Enter the city gate and let Mushar send you over, my house is in the west of the city, I am afraid that I will have to break a lot of unjust roads." ”

His eyelids widened slightly, and he nodded as if he didn't have a salute: "It's inconvenient for me to send this BMW incense car, friend, may good luck accompany you, and there will be a period in the future!" ”

The carriage stopped, Mushar stood with his hands tied outside the open door, the streets were bustling with people, the Mediterranean sun filled every corner, and the air smelled of the sea breeze, and I wanted to say goodbye to Baruch, but he closed his eyes and fell into the arms of the maid and said no more.

"My lord, I have prepared a horse to send you over." Mushar helped me down, the door shut, and an attendant stood not far away with a well-saddled horse.

"I'm sorry for you."

I answered, and followed him only two steps, and the convoy behind me continued its journey, the mysterious Jewish merchant, who died as easily as he had met him when he first met, along with his hidden rivals, the wise Bishop Chuzara, the unruly octopus, and the eccentric beggar king......

Together with my memories of wandering, these people and these things may be indefinite.

The tavern that Baruch was talking about was located at the busy city gate, occupying the entire building facing the intersection, and the wine flag was hanging high at the gate, which looked quite imposing from a distance.

"Rose Garden."

Mushar helped me tie my horse and said in heavily accented Latin: "****** the liveliest tavern, and it is very convenient to inquire about the news." ”

I smiled and replied, "Thank you, you can go." ”

"No, I'm waiting for you here."

Mushar shook his head: "This horse was bought by the master as a gift for you, I will watch it and wait for you to come out, and the master's orders cannot be disobeyed." He patted the horse's shiny mane and stood in the middle of a group of servants who were also waiting for their master.

"Okay!"

I couldn't refuse Barouch's kindness and Musha's stubbornness, so I smiled gratefully at the solemn squire, turned and walked into the tavern.

Pushing the door in, the tavern's unique mixture of body odor, alcohol, and vomit swept over my head and face, and I was nauseous, and the hall without windows was depressed and damp, and every table was lit with cheap candles, and the drunkards coughed from time to time, but all this could not cover the noisy noise of the crowd and the coquettish laughter of the waitress, as well as the drunkard's crazy drunkardism, and the people with ulterior motives hiding in some corner to collect information, which could not be more suitable.

I sat down at an empty table where no one was around, and the drinkers who were dancing and laughing on their left and right eyebrows frequently rubbed their arms and backs, and the hostess came over with empty wine glasses, welcoming people with all kinds of smiling faces.

"Mead? Beer or boiled brine mixed with rat droppings? ”

She put down the cup and deliberately pulled the low corset, the plum blossom mole in the corner of her eye made the candle flame shine: "I guess you want to have some fun, right?" ”

"That's right, but before I do, I want to fill my stomach."

Agreeing pretendedly, I pulled out a few silver coins that Baruch had given me before leaving, handed one to her for drinking, and one stuffed between the waitress's bottomless pairs.

"I've come from Rome to join relatives and talk to me, beauty."

"I hate it, look at your monkey anxious look, men always think that they can buy a woman's sincerity with money."

The waitress shook me off half-pushing, frowned, and threw a seductive wink: "Wait, I'll go back and get something, I'll come in a while, greedy little tiger." ”

She twisted her fat buttocks and disappeared into the crowd, I wiped the fat powder from my hands, and pricked up my ears to distinguish the high-pitched voices around me, some were talking about the secrets of the Duke of Normandy and a certain wine lady, some were boasting about their adventures to the East, some were betting with others about the amount of alcohol, and some coaxed that the newly elected pope of Rome was the master he had served in his youth, and there was no information I wanted to hear.

"Wait, aren't you?"

The hostess took down a pot full of mead wine and various melons and fruits from the tray, and pouted angrily: "It's all because a few tables of rough people who like to eat tofu take the opportunity to rub a lot of oil!" ”

She sat on my lap and shook coquettishly: "You have to compensate me for all this, okay?" ”

I was made uncomfortable by her bold actions, but I had to bite the bullet to meet it, and reluctantly took out another silver coin, two silver coins were worth the tip of the hospitality for most of the year, and the people who came to the tavern for recreation were not rich people, and there were very few lords as generous as me, and the hostess was really smiling, and the face was smeared with a thick amount of fat powder falling down, and white flowers were scattered all over the ground.

"I have a good place to go, do you want to come and see it?" She said teasingly as she circled my chest with her fingers, her big eyes seducing.

Normal men are absolutely on the brain, adrenaline soars to the high point, I am a normal man, of course my heart is swaying, but unfortunately now is not the time to flirt, there are a lot of things to do.

"You're such a charming little bunny."

I pinched the double chin of the waitress baby fat, and the slippery and greasy hand felt as if grasping a ball of jelly: "But I'm too busy today, I'm sorry beauty, I'm a newcomer, tell me about the rumors in the city." ”

"A cunning man, he is still playing tricks that he wants to catch and indulge, whatever, if you are rich, you can only do it."

She weighed the tinkling silver coins in her hand, a pair of **** trembled, who wouldn't be happy to take the reward for nothing without selling meat.

"The big and small things in this city are all in my head, and I don't want to listen to them, so the unbridled drinkers are full of chatter, my dear, what do you want to know?"

Most of the hostesses in the tavern are shrewd and sweet-mouthed, and at the same time, they also see the money, and they have learned the ability to see people and talk about people, and there is too much water between the lines, so they have to be discounted and then wrung out, and I don't know which high-bidder she will sell the content of the chat with you when she turns her head, so you need to be more careful.

"My relatives are decent businessmen, and the family business naturally looks down on me as a shabby, and I will inevitably be looked down upon if I rush to defect, so I ......" I have a look you understand, and the smart hostess immediately understands.

"Call me Marilyn."

She filled her two glasses with inferior mead, and picked up the fruit in her hands.

"****** is a city of gold, there are business opportunities everywhere, and you can always make a living if you are diligent."

The hostess gulped mead like a man, and the yellowing syrup slipped from the corners of her mouth and ran down her skin into the furrow on her chest.

"However, after the northerners came, the business was not as good as before, they doubled the tax money, seized every opportunity to eat and take cards, the general foot merchants did not come to ****** to do business, and the larger chambers of commerce also reduced the time to settle here, only maintaining the necessary manpower and trade, I am afraid that your relative will not have a good life."

"I see."

I took a shallow sip of the mead, and the impurities suspended in it were quite uncomfortable: "I heard that the battle in the north is very fright, so I guess the Normans are going back and mingling, right?" ”

The waitress who called herself Marilyn raised her neck and drank the remaining liquor in the cup: "Fighting a war is just a battle between lords and lords riding horses, does it matter who loses and who wins?" ”

After three rounds of drinking, Marilyn obviously got up, opened the conversation and began to chatter: "You know what? The north side was lively in the fighting, the two kings of the Franks confronted each other on the border, the little fox in Paris conscripted all the lords in the country to participate in the war, and the Duke of Richard in the ****** naturally could not be exempted from the army, but the northern Yankees had Xiao Jiujiu in their hearts, and repeatedly made excuses and refused to enlist. ”

"No, the Duke of Nijmegen who captured Rome, you know? It was the despicable and shameless fat man with a pus-filled face, his army defeated the Marquis, the Pope of Rome, and became the dominant force in Italy now, Duke Richard finally had a fair and honest reason this time, and even the envoy of the King of Paris was not good at saying anything, so he had to go home in a stupid way, but people said that their family could not fight, Duke Richard's beloved daughter was the wife of the Duke of Nijmegen's favorite courtiers, and some Norman lords were also opposed to the confrontation at this time, In addition, the Duke of Burgundy had refused the Normandy army's request to cross his border a few days earlier, which made the situation even more tense. ”

The hostess's crimson cheeks were like ripe apples, full of healthy colors, and she picked up the flask and shook it, which was already empty.

"Damn miser, only half a pot at a time, and it's all fake wine mixed with water, which makes people can't drink it enough......"

She stroked her curly hair on her sideburns, bit her lip and looked at me, her eyes were misty and seductive: "Little tiger, my room has a fine wine, which was given by a Vatican priest who passed by here to take the opportunity to have fun, why don't we change places and go to my place for a good chat?" ”

Drunk women are the most troublesome, especially women who are in the wind and snow.

Seeing that she was hot and panting, I wondered if she was eager to prepare for the three hundred rounds of the battle, my small body could not withstand the toss, but there were many people in the tavern, and it would be good to change places, so I left her.

Having made up my mind, I put on a squinting expression and helped Marilyn slump through the noisy crowd and into the small door next to the bar.

Behind the door was a deep alley full of garbage and excrement, and there was a drunk unconscious, and the two of us turned left and right and finally came to her house.

The hostess's room was conceivable, so I didn't show any surprise when I pushed the door in and faced the mess, the messy cups and plates of clothes, the dirty bedding that could not be seen, the long-haired and moldy walls, and the foul-smelling kettle, were better than the peasants with the walls of the house, didn't they?

"You're still here, gluttonous little tiger, see how I feed you......"

Marilyn couldn't wait to stick it up and take off my clothes, and she couldn't prevent the garlic from being mixed with the soles of her feet, and she slammed it onto the bed.

"Oh, I'm shy, hehe, I like decent people like you who want to refuse and welcome. Wait, I'll go get the wine, and we'll have a good time. With that, she staggered to her feet and knelt in front of the rudimentary cupboard.

I shook my head, and quickly got dressed, the musty smell and all kinds of inexplicable sources of the bed made it impossible to arouse the interest of sitting on it, and while she was looking for something, I opened the door to make sure that the street was empty, and then turned my head to look at the room furnishings.

(End of chapter)