"It's incredible." Mr. Harriman said apprehensively, "Something big might be going to happen!"

"Where is Mr. Stephen now?" Bella asked.

"Currently in a cell at the Doge's Palace."

"Can I visit?"

"Theoretically forbidden. But......" Harriman squinted his eyes and said meaningfully, "since the three of you have come with gold medals, they are naturally distinguished guests. I can arrange if I want to go. When—"

"The sooner the better." Bella said very dryly.

"Wait a minute." Harriman got up and walked out, and came back a moment later, "The three of you must have had a hard journey. The shop has already prepared a meal, and I hope you don't dislike it."

As soon as she heard that there was something to eat, Anna ran out in high spirits.

……

As he was about to eat, a young clerk walked in and whispered a few words next to Harriman.

"It's been arranged." Harriman said to Elena.

"Thank you."

With Elena's words, the three of them followed Harriman's men out of the outlets.

The sun is already tilting, and the evening Venice is covered with a veil of dreams.

The blazing sunset and dim lights reflect on the sparkling water, which looks extraordinarily leisurely and romantic.

Bella was immersed in the scenery in front of her, it was so gorgeous.

She felt as if she was in a fairy tale.

Whether it's classical Gothic architecture, the emerging Baroque style, and even the remnants of ancient Rome and Byzantium, they all come together in this fantastic water world and are harmoniously presented.

Light boats and boats can be seen everywhere, freely shuttling through the streets and alleys.

The inhabitants of the city enjoy the tranquility of the evening.

It's a pity that at this time, Bella and the others didn't have time to appreciate the poetry beside them, so they hurried to the governor's palace.

The clerk who led the way, named Tori, said hello to the guards of the prison and walked in with the three Elena.

In the dim cell, a pungent smell of filth came to her face, and Elena couldn't help but frown.

No matter how bustling the city looks on the outside, there will always be some shady corners where the sun can't shine.

Behind the cold iron fence, a haggard figure sat on the ground depressed.

"Mr. Stephen, someone has come to see you." Tori woke him up.

Stephen looked up awkwardly, glanced at the men who walked in later, and saw that he didn't know him.

"These guys are from Florence, you can tell me any questions." Tori introduced.

"There's nothing to say." Stephen spitted out a few words weakly, "I didn't make a mistake."

"We believe in you." Elena said, "I hope you can tell me more about what happened, and maybe it can help find the culprit."

Stephen stared indifferently at the uninvited guests in front of him, looking a little hesitant.

"Don't worry, Stephen." Tori said, showing him the seal Elena had brought.

Seeing the token, Stephen finally breathed a sigh of relief and began to tell the ins and outs of the matter.

It happened a week ago.

On that day, Stephen had just arrived in Venice and, as was customary, was going to settle down at the city's outlet taverns. But before he could enter the city gate, he was stopped by a man dressed as a traveling merchant.

"Taste it, the best sweet syrup." The other party took a glass of liquid for Stephen to taste, "If it doesn't taste good, you don't need money."

Stephen was in the business of running errands, and sometimes it was difficult to get to the next village on time when he was delayed on the road, and he often slept in the wilderness. When you are hungry and thirsty, sweet sugar water is the most effective medicine to replenish your physical strength. Usually he will prepare some, but this time the journey is more difficult, and he has just run out. He thought that he would have to buy it sooner or later, so he tasted it and thought it was okay, so he asked the man to wrap a dozen or so bottles. After paying the money, he went straight into the city with the package.

"Didn't the guards guarding the city check?" Bella asked.

"Nope. Because when they were trading, they were standing at the gates of the city. The guards also saw it, so they let it go without opening it again." Stephen replied.

It seems that the other party cleverly took advantage of this psychology, and then stole the beams and changed the pillars, and evaded the search of the guards.

"Do you remember the man's features?"

"I heard an Austrian accent that was a bit like that of an Austrian, with a black cloak. By the way, there's a scar on the back of my left hand, like a knife wound." Stephen recalled as much as he could, telling everyone who could think of any clues.

"What now?" Tori asked.

"Go to the Governor first." Elena replied, "Explain the situation to him and see if you can arrange for someone to follow him."

After speaking, the men left the prison.

Arriving at the gates of the Doge's Palace, Elena handed the envelope that Miriam had prepared earlier to the guards.

The other party's eyes widened in astonishment when he saw the Medici coat of arms on the fire lacquer seal.

"Please wait a moment." After saying that, he immediately rushed in to report it.

Soon after, he ran back and let him go.

It seems that the prestige of the Medici family also had a lot of influence in Venice.

Elena and the others arrived in the Governor's Hall, and a familiar face appeared in front of them.

"Long time no see, three beautiful young ladies." Mr. Holder Lorraine Habsburg was rising from his VIP seat and greeting them.

There is also a middle-aged man next to him, it is Andrea del Verrocchio, who missed yesterday.

"Mr. Holder, Mr. Verrocchio, why are you here?" Elena asked, confused.

"Ah, I happened to be passing through Venice on some business." Holder replied with a smile, "I didn't expect to be able to reunite with Miss Medici in this situation."

"yes, I'm not happy at all." Although she said this, Elena's expression did not look displeased in the slightest.

"Huh." Holder didn't really care, "Anyway, the three of you are here, are you also here for a vacation?"

"If only that were the case." Elena said, turning to the Governor on the podium, "About Mr. Stephen......

Then Elena gave the governor a general account of what had happened.

"So, someone deliberately used Stephen to smuggle things in?" The Governor said, waving to Assistant Melson next to him.

The assistant understood, nodded, and turned to leave the chamber.

"Looks like I've come to the right place." At this moment, Mr. Holder suddenly spoke.

Then, he told Elena and her party about his purpose here.

It turned out that the empire found that a batch of military supplies was missing, and it may have left the country without going through the formal formalities, including a batch of "Barus". Due to the tense political environment on the European continent at this critical juncture, if there is a situation of illegal arms reselling, it will affect the political and diplomatic situation. Therefore, the imperial authorities attached great importance to it.

As heir to the Austrian throne, Mr. Holder was appointed head of the task and was ordered to recover the munitions. He followed the clues all the way to the Apennine Peninsula and finally gained something in Venice.

It turns out that the bottle containing the "Barus" requires a special manufacturing process to maintain the stability of the internal elements to prevent accidental bursting. And there are only a handful of craftsmen in the entire continent who can take on this production task, including Mr. Verrocchio. The bottles of the "Barus" lost by the Holy Roman Empire came from him.

Therefore, he did not come to Venice to discuss business, but to receive a commission to help identify the "Barus" that had just been captured, to determine whether they were the same batch as Holder's.

"Mr. Verrocchio has confirmed that these 'Barus' bottles are the same ones that Vienna had ordered from him." Holder concluded.

Mr. Verrocchio, who was next to him, also nodded in affirmation.