Crassus's court was very different from that of the patron Lucuras, who was eager to drain all his money, as exemplified by Prima's extravagance, and it was rumored that he had a hundred Phoenician purple robes in his closet. Unlike Crassus, when Crassus entered his garden, it felt a faint silence, and the decoration and decoration of the building were plain, but there was a kind of friendliness, and it was true, Crassus would not object to anyone coming to his house to disturb a meal. He will only confront you if there is a conflict in business or defense, and he will be ruthless and unforgiving, and in this city, although Crassus seems very lazy, no one dares to provoke him.

In the courtyard, lined with rows of rooms on both sides, this is the place where Crassus's accounting accountant works, and dozens of high-ranking slaves fill the office, auditing, buying or selling various properties every day from morning to night, and of course calculating competitors, which is another face of this courtyard.

Finally, Crassus, who was standing in the front hall, smiled at the sight of Calabis, with a pair of big eyes that were deeply sunken, full of crow's feet, but unlike Caesar, he was full of a kind of city and philistine, he was definitely the kind of character who had money and was reluctant to spend, and was always thinking about how to seize more assets. "Young man, I'm sorry for underestimating you before, you're now fully qualified to sit at the same table with me and discuss any friendship and business matters."

Then a very energetic young man came out and excitedly said to Crassus, "Father, when will Cicero come". A dark cloud passed over Crassus's face, but he still laughed, and said, "I know my son, you are an admirer of Cicero, and this honorable consul will come soon, so you should be at ease.

After Calabis chose a very inconspicuous seat and sat down, the guests came one after another, and sure enough, there was Cicero, but the consul was obviously a little absent-minded about the courtesy of little Crassus, to put it bluntly, he and Crassus have always had a bad relationship, and it was reluctant to come here tonight.

The food at the banquet was far less luxurious than that of the Lord Luculas, and most of them consisted of daily meat, seafood, and beans, and a group of knights and freemen who recognized Calabis gathered around him to talk about all kinds of investments and business, but soon the focus of the banquet appeared—Cicero and Crassus had a fierce confrontation.

"You have not fulfilled your responsibilities during your tenure as Ombudsman, which is very different from Cato the Younger. Isn't it your mistake that you never count the population, and you don't compile and change the list of senators, so that conspirators like Catiline can continue to be in the mix? Cicero was the first to take it no longer and had come to the banquet to win over Crassus and unite him in a resolute struggle against Catiline, who had openly announced that he would run for consulship for the following year.

This was absolutely intolerable to Cicero, so during this period of time, he did not give up his attack on Catiline on any occasion, saying that he had signs of deliberate rebellion.

Although Crassus was angry in his heart, he still looked at his son's face and calmly enlightened Cicero: "Your Excellency, honorable consul, I also have a proposition, I advocate granting full citizenship to the southern Gaul region of Shannan and enjoying the same treatment as the Latin city-states. ”

"That's because where your business is, and you need the Republic to pay for your business expansion."

"Yes, I forgive you for the offense of your words, and we can put this subject aside for now—Catiline, who is the oldest noble descendant of Rome, could not have betrayed the Republic, and perhaps you have overthought it."

Cicero became indignant, and in his usual loud voice, he announced to the banquet audience not so much as to talk to Crassus: "I already know that the proposal that Catiline instructed Jourusti last time that was intolerable to everyone was behind you, Neruda, and Caesar as patrons!" My dear Crassus, I advise you to draw a line with that scoundrel sooner rather than later! ”

This very direct showdown made Crassus's face purple, he had a seizure, and he couldn't forbear, so he could only hold a wine glass and snort: "Your Excellency, this is not your attitude of winning friends, the republic does not operate according to your will." ”

"But I should be the benchmark, how I treat the Republic, and all the nobles should do the same, and I beg you, and Caesar, to get back on track as soon as possible." Cicero threw down these words and took his leave.

It was already dusk outside, and the wind mixed with the uneven heat and cold air was stuffed into the banquet room in clusters, and the thunder became more and more dense. The question that had hung in Calabis's mind remained unresolved: why did Crassus invite him to the banquet, and I do not believe that at this moment he was still interested in discussing business with me, Caesar? It seems that he never appeared in the High Priest's Mansion in Jocorah, and Cameth (who also moved to the High Priest's Residence) told him more than once that Caesar was also preoccupied with his work during this time.

"I beg your pardon. I must know what I can do for you, or I will be troubled at this sumptuous feast. Seeing the opportunity, Calabis stepped forward and asked, at this moment, Crassus was sitting on the couch and lost his mind.

"Oh yes, yes." Crassus replied, then smiled again, and asked earnestly, "Do you know a knight named Langis?" I heard that he had been ordered by Catiline to assassinate the representative of the African Appeals Mission, what do you know about this? ”

"Sorry, I don't know, but I've heard about it." Calabis replied directly, suppressing the confusion in his heart, trying to keep his expression calm.

"Well, as you know, between him and your mistress before, maybe you can ask Claudia for me, about the whereabouts of Langis, I have a little debt problem with him, and it has not been resolved." Crassus also had a calm expression on his face.

Everyone is acting.

"I should know some friends who have dealings with Langis in business, and I will do my best to find out his whereabouts. Ha, it looks like the whole city of Rome is looking for this guy. ”

Crassus, squinting his goldfish-like eyes, also looked at Calabis, kept a toasting posture, laughed dryly, and said, "Not really! ”

Soon, Calabis found an excuse to slip away, and he stepped out of Crassus's courtyard, and found out of his coat the bronze keys, which were the relics of Longis, and now perhaps Cicero was looking for them, Catiline was looking for them, Claudia was looking for them, and Crassus and Caesar were also looking for them.

In the small square in front of the racecourse, he saw hundreds of party members of Catiline, giving speeches, a corpse of a freeman with a nameplate, a rope around his neck, covered with the wounds of sticks, hanging from the roof of the racecourse wall, and two bloody feet, dangling in the wind.