When I arrived in Paraven, I learned that His Majesty the Emperor had gone to the palace, and that the Normans had gone with him.

According to the custom, the emperor left the capital either to lead his soldiers against foreign enemies, or to go hunting, and only such a reason would make people think that his majesty was not wandering around with nothing to do. This time, without exception, I heard that Emperor Haraus had gone hunting again, and of course, everyone knew that hunting was just a cover. The Emperor grew to love his palace, and he was eager to remove his entire palace from the intriguing city of Paraven and stay out of it, but assigned his vassals to participate in the intrigues of the lords. If it weren't for the fact that the palace didn't have a complete palace for the emperor, then the emperor would probably go out hunting all year long and never return.

The new palace was built on a flat, open field, which met almost all the conditions for building a palace, except for the swamp watered by a few small rivers. In order to drain these swamps, the emperor recruited hundreds of people to build stone fences and erect water wheels here all year round, so that the swamps could be drained as soon as possible. Hundreds of people have died from exposure to toxic gases in the swamps. His Majesty the Emperor was very saddened by the death of these people, but he did not stop the process of draining the swamp, nor did he arrange for doctors to provide treatment to the people, he only ordered the people around him not to mention this matter.

The silt was piled up on the other side of the riverbank, which soon attracted farmers who had lost their land. The emperor did not expel these people, but only asked his soldiers to be on higher alert and not let these people cross the river. On the edge of the river, the Emperor often roamed haphazardly, followed by a huge guard of honor, and the ugly farmhouses on the opposite bank often made His Majesty frown. At that time. The Emperor would ride a tall steed and complain gladly about why it was so difficult to find a 'place where no one was inhabited'. Behind the emperor, the vassals who had stepped on the mud of the river beach looked at each other. Secretly dissatisfied with His Majesty the Emperor.

Although the Emperor tried to convince people that he was fascinated by the beauty of the wilderness, everyone knew that the Emperor would take care of everything that happened in Paravon. It is an open secret that in every aristocratic family, there are emperor's eyes. The Norman family once got a Salander horse, which was born tall and handsome, with always full muscles and a high-toed posture like a stone carving, which made the Norman patriarch extremely loved. After a long time. When the emperor rode his tame little mare, he would always complain sullenly that the swadian horse farm could no longer produce good horses. This word reached the ears of the patriarch of the Norman family, who laughed and presented his Salander horse to His Majesty, who happily rode around at a trot.

The emperor's palace is expected to mobilize 2,000 people and craftsmen, and it will take 19 consecutive years to complete the construction. Considering that His Majesty the Emperor was already gray-haired, it was unknown whether he would be able to or see the palace completed.

Today, however, part of the emperor's palace has been built on a relatively dry flat land. Although the building claims to be a castle, it is not protected by a wall. The Emperor arranged a few of his most trusted troops around it, and then he was able to turn it into a huge villa surrounded by gardens. Rhodoklai's engineers designed for His Majesty the Emperor a kind of dome that did not require columns, and such a dome was not a single room, but a massive structure half a swadiali long. Such a huge building, even the pedestal is enough to make people jaw-dropping. It is said that there are craftsmen in the market who get lost at the construction site of His Majesty's palace after dark. Around this sprawling complex, six villages of artisans were born. In view of the long schedule for the construction of the palace, many craftsmen have already brought their families from other places. Make your home here. It is said that after the palace, there were plans to build a church, a horse farm, a square, and a grand triumphal arch. Generals who will return with honors in the future. No longer had to crowd the narrow streets of Parabun to tarnish their majesty, they could show off all their homes and walk proudly under the Arc de Triomphe. Such a huge architectural complex can't help but remind people of the huge handiwork of the emperors of the Chanda period, but the Chanda Emperor can use all the wealth of the empire to build a dreamlike city for himself, but the land directly under the jurisdiction of His Majesty Haraus is only less than a quarter of the entire empire--- and even these small unconnected lands are also many of the legal territories of the nobles, which often attract disputes between the royal family and the nobles in various places.

The only part of the palace is now completed is the villas scattered around the hills--- which were gifts from the emperor to the nobles--- and the triumphal hall used by the emperor for banquets.

After I had pounced on Paraven, I took Jefferson and a few of the Wallan Guards to the Hall of Triumph. Of course, before leaving, I spent most of my gold and wealth on bribing the Norman and Roland families, and at the same time, at Jefferson's behest, I bribed several of the Emperor's close ministers, whose names I never knew, and when I gave them money, it was always in a cheap citizen's inn, and I guess Jefferson stole a lot of his wealth from me.

When I arrived at the Triumph Hall, I was taken directly to a guard lounge by one of the emperor's female courtiers.

This is the first time for me to have such a direct audience.

I waited for a full three hours, and His Majesty the Emperor finally arrived.

Although I had heard of the Emperor's casualness, this time, His Majesty the Emperor surprised me by dressing himself up as a Salander, and beside him, the young girl who looked like Count Robert, dressed as a concubine in Salander's harem. Behind them, there were several laughing Rigoletto and a dwarf clown. The emperor asked the 'concubine' to protect himself. Although dressed as a Salander, His Majesty still retains his majesty as Emperor, and Robert's sister drove away all the surrounding courtiers for the Emperor, and when she said something in the Emperor's ear, the Emperor gave the woman a reproachful look, and she giggled and walked away.

"Ah, woman." The emperor opened with me, "It always reminds me of when I was young." ”

"Yes. Your Majesty. ”

"I forgot, you're still young. It's time to have fun. My faithful boyar. The Emperor tore off his belt and tossed it aside. so that he could sit down without cracking his belt, "This fancy dress has cost me a lot of things." Earlier, the bathhouse sultan said that he would not give me a sultan's suit, but unfortunately, he ended up drowning in the river. ”

He didn't drown in the river, Your Majesty.

"I've heard of people on the border of Salander using his banner to try to restore the Sultanship." I said cautiously.

"I have heard," replied the Emperor, "that he is only a false fool." I have already given the bath Sultan a decent funeral. He has lost his legitimacy, and no matter how much that impostor resembles him, he will not be the Sultan anymore. ”

"Yes, Your Majesty."

"I heard that you haven't seen you for dozens of days, and you turned that thief's den upside down?"

"Yes, Your Majesty." I bowed to Your Majesty, "The actual population there is more than two thousand, but I killed the mob in the middle of it when I dealt with some of the uncooperative people there. Now. The population there is probably around two thousand. All guilds under the patronage of the nobility have been taken over by the municipal magistrates as you have directed, and the nobles' estates have been retained. Now you don't dare to send even the most cowardly mayor there, not a single person who will not listen to his instructions. But '''"

"Alright." The Emperor lost interest in my statement, "I don't care how many more bags of gold I can take, or how many more soldiers can be levied there." Did you kick those nobles in the ass? ”

"Your Majesty?"

"There are only two answers to this question, to kick it or not to kick it."

"I kicked them in the ass." I said to Haraus.

"Not bad. Well done, boyar. The Emperor said happily. I like to comfort the sad-faced nobles very much, and I like to go crazy, and you have to give me such happiness all the time. ”

He ripped off his turban and clumsily untied it with both hands. The bandana of the Salander was so intricately bandaged that the emperor did not untie it along the threads, and soon his head was covered with strips of cloth like a fly that had fallen into a spider's web.

"Help, boyar." Haraus said as he buried his turban in his turban.

I walked up to him and pinched the strip of cloth.

Suddenly, a thought crossed my mind: the Emperor is now just a blessed man at my disposal, and I only need to tighten the strip of cloth in my hand, and he will leave with all my hatred. No, that Rhodotte's sister knows that I am talking to the Emperor alone, and she will come back at once when she does not see the Emperor come back, and then she will see me murderous.

Then even she killed?

But there was also the courtesy, who, when she led me here, deliberately avoided the servants on the road, but there were still two people who looked up and saw us, and they recognized us?

My heart was pounding.

The Emperor had already broken free from the strip of cloth. I only need to make two circles, and the emperor will be tied around his neck and suffocated.

"boyar?" He untied his turban and looked at me suspiciously, "Why are you stunned?" ”

Is it hands-on? I'm doing my last struggle.

The Emperor looked at me, stood up, and kicked open the small wooden door with his foot. Two ironclad guards entered and stared at me intensely.

The opportunity slipped away.

I took the emperor's turban and helped him take his arm out.

"What were you doing?" The Emperor said, then turned to the two guards and said, "Boyar's hands are a little clumsy, you come to help me." ”

One guard separated me from His Majesty, and the other did not hesitate to pull out his dagger and cut the strip of cloth wrapped around the Emperor's body, which made the Emperor cry out in distress.

The two guards did not say a word, waiting for the Emperor's instructions, and the Emperor waved his hand and asked the two of them to find a stool to sit on at will. Then the Emperor walked up to me again, frowning and thinking about something.

"Two lawyers are ready to sue you. There is a lawyer who still serves the royal family and has filed a complaint against you today. **The courtiers of the official have already accepted it. He said, "And the Roland family, who have organized a citizens' petition to say that you are expropriating in the city. As for the Stone family, they have sued you for killing their innocent staff. These are the two largest families, and the other small lawsuits are already countless. How many people did you kill there. Nobody cares at all, though. With so many lawyers being entrusted to sue you, this is not common in Palaubun. ”

Looks. Hereddin did not choose the Varans in the end.

"I serve Your Majesty and don't have to worry about how many enemies there will be." I tried to throw the words to the emperor.

The Emperor grinned, "Once, I had a hunting dog and was so loyal to me that the servants who served my meals also made him feel uneasy. It roared tirelessly, trying to make me happy at first. I have to say, it feels pretty good. But then I found that I had become its servant, and it was biting in my name, but there was no cage to tie its mouth. Haraus continued, "It has the audacity to waste my shelter and make everyone--- including ---me unhappy." When I got tired of this game, I gave it to a shepherd. And then it did a good job on the ranch. Not a single sheep will be taken away by the wolf, but it is still not satisfied, and even the shepherd is not allowed to take a single sheep away. Later, I heard that it had been eaten. Who knows. Boyar, do you like dogs like this? ”

"When I don't like it, I slaughter it. Won't give it away. ”

"Haha," the Emperor laughed. "I'm not that cruel."

The Emperor clapped his hands, and two women walked in with a beautiful set of clothes.

"Boyar!" The emperor said loudly. "You've got to change your outfit, or all the women will leave you. Women will look at your boots first, then at your attire, then at your face, and finally at your friends. There are always stupid scholars who are in reverse order, and you can't fall for them. Rejoice, boyar, for though you are hated by so many nobles, you have captured an ally. Someone has already paid for a lawyer to defend you. The Emperor rubbed his hands, "I want to know, how much money did you count?" ”

I said a number.

The Emperor frowned, "You're actually poorer than me?" How did you catch this vampire family. ”

He shrugged his shoulders and left with the people around him.

The two women began to untie my clothes, and I immediately pushed them away, which drew ridicule from them. They said that they didn't expect that the more ordinary-looking men were, the more amorous they were, and they just came to change their clothes. I had to endure having them change my clothes for me. After changing into a blue and green comical silk dress, they put on a soft hat for me, then tied my trouser legs with strips of cloth, and then helped me put on two shiny boots. In a matter of minutes, my light linen coat had been transformed into a fancy aristocratic gown, but it was uncomfortable.

Which nobleman is ready to speak for me?

I walked along a corridor through the corridor where the servants passed, and the servants on either side bowed to me. Then, with the sound of loud music, I found my way, and I walked towards a large door, and as I approached it, two servants helped me open it. Inside the door was not the scene of the banquet, but a small square room, and two mild-looking young men stood up and motioned for me to raise their arms, and they touched the place where I might have hidden my weapon, and then apologized to me, saying that it was their duty. After these two men had checked on me, they opened the door to the banquet for me.

When I opened the door, I saw a clown in a hexagonal hat spewing out a breath of fire in an open space, surrounded by scantily clad women scratching their heads at the nobles seated around me, and some well-dressed servants scurrying around smartly, serving wine to the nobles and bringing them their favorite food and drink.

As I walked down the steps, almost no one looked at me.

The Emperor was surrounded by a group of noble men and women, and had just told a joke that caused everyone to laugh.

At this point, my arm was grabbed.

I turned around and saw Aniah.

She rested her head on my shoulder and led me into the middle of the feast, where she would introduce me to people she knew.

A singer playing the piano blocked our way, singing noisily about men and women who had been caught cheating. Ania giggled, and I glared at the singer, who didn't care, whistled at me, and started singing "The Weak Lord" again.

"Aniah," I said into her ear at a noisy banquet, "who's helping me?" ”

"Who are you allowed to write to me?"

"Is it Norman?"

"You'll find out right away."

She took me and went to meet with some nobles, some young men asked me to hunt with me, a young mother invited me to teach her young son to ride a horse, and an old man offered to help me find a house in the city for a fair price.

I maneuvered between these nobles, like a boat sailing through the sea, feeling powerless.

I suddenly felt ashamed of Aniah, I had always resisted her, even a little disgusted, but now I could only rely on her help. I even introduced her as a bargaining chip to Earl Robert.

"Thank you, Aniah." I whispered to her, "But you don't have to please people you don't like for my sake." ”

She smiled and led me past the two noblewomen holding hands, but in private she pinched me hard.

"Victor, don't arrange me! You promised me, do you remember? She whispered, then pinched me again.

"But, Aniah" I don't know what to say.

She looked up and asked me to look ahead, "Okay, I wasn't the one who moved the Normans, I didn't get into Robert's bed." It's those two men who help you. ”

When I looked up, Copernicus was looking at me, and next to him was the heir of the Norman family? How could Copernicus get in touch with the Normans?

No, Aniah said that there were two people, who was the other person besides Copernicus?

I looked up and saw a man leaving.

The man seemed to be a monk, but his figure did not appear rickety, but had the air of a soldier.

He didn't look back at all, but left the banquet scene directly.

"Who's that man?" I asked Aniah.

"I don't know," said Aniah, "the stranger that Copernicus brought." (To be continued.) )