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Salembonili Sorom stared at the bronze vase in front of him on a table, with a fake flower in it, the stem and leaves of which were made of pure gold, and the flower was dyed with bright red rose juice with beautiful silver leaves, and the artisan had used the best technique to make the face, and the stamen was inlaid with a red jewel.

"It's beautiful...... It's beautiful—it's false, but it's beautiful. ”

Salembonili gently picked up a magnifying glass, after the magnifying glass, his eyes were extraordinarily large, walked around the platform, carefully observed the artwork in front of him from all angles, and then when he dropped the magnifying glass, the god was relaxed: "Very good, I want it, what price?"

Standing in the room, a chubby man was obviously a little restrained, although he was the owner of the largest jewelry store in Dìdū, but at the moment he was full of respect and seniority, one hand pressed to his heart, lowered his head, and the words of praise soon flowed out of his mouth: "Oh, my esteemed lord, it is indeed your discerning torch! This is a good thing I got from the East last year!" Look at the pattern on this bronze, this is the totem of an extinct ancient dynasty in ancient times, I have found several experts in heraldry to identify, the history of this thing is at least more than 4,000 years, and the pattern of the totem fully shows that the first owner of this vase was an ancient king with noble blood. Moreover, based on a large number of documents, I can have ample evidence that the owners of this vase have been either rich or noble for generations......"

Speaking of this, the chubby jeweller wiped the sweat from his forehead and said cautiously: "The only flaw is that there is a small notch on the left lug of the bottle, but please don't mind, this notch proves its ancient history and value to some extent." You see, such a good thing......"

"Quote your price. Sarunbonelli's god was very indifferent, he took a silk scarf and gently wiped the magnifying glass, frowned, and said, "You should know that my time is very valuable, so, don't waste it!"

"Ten thousand gold coins. The jeweler quoted a number.

Sarunbonelli's brow tightened even tighter, and a mocking smile flashed in his eyes: "Ten thousand gold coins, sir, I think you should know very well that the real value of this thing is more than five times the amount you quoted." Do you want to bribe me?"

The sweat on the jeweler's forehead was even more, and the fat on his smiling face was squeezed into a ball: "My lord, I don't dare to think like that. But you know that the real good things should be in the hands of people who know the goods, and this is a truth in the collecting world. ”

"Again, my time is precious. Salumbonelli snorted.

"......" The jeweller, at last he did not dare to beat around the bush any longer, and hastened to say, "It is so, I opened a jewel shop last month, but the Countess of Lendorf ordered a diamond necklace from me, and one of my foolish servants made some mistakes...... Anyway, I couldn't deliver that necklace on time. The Earl seemed to be very dissatisfied with the compensation plan I proposed, and he asked me to pay 30% of the shares of the shop as compensation, and I thought...... For a diamond necklace, the price is a bit too high, so ......"

"So you're asking for my help?," Salembonili smiled contemptuously, "but the version of the story I heard seems to be a little different, I heard that the Countess gave you some materials and asked you to make a necklace, and among the materials handed to you was a precious water orchid, which was a gift from a magician to the Countess, and it was priceless...... And you lost it? Oh, or maybe you didn't lose it, you swallowed it......"

The jewelry merchant coughed twice: "My lord, I am a trustworthy businessman, I ...... One of my damned servants has lost something, and I've punished that fellow severely, but the Earl won't forgive me......"

"Okay. Salembonili sighed: "I don't want to know the true version of the story, Count Lendorf, I'll go and talk to him." As he spoke, he picked up the vase in his hand, looked at it carefully for a while, and then suddenly smiled: "I want this vase, just according to what you said, 10,000 gold coins...... Oh, by the way, do you receive installments? You know, I'm not a corrupt official, my salary is limited. ”

"All collectors know your virtues. The jeweler quickly praised: "Of course there is no problem with the installment!"

He immediately took out a few documents from his arms and put them on the table with a respectful gesture: "Here are the documents, all the experts who have identified this vase have signed their names below to prove the value of this thing, and then, finally, this is your document, as long as you sign your name below, then you can legally own this collection." ”

The jeweller didn't even mention the details of the payment.

A new name was soon signed on the paper—not Salumbonelli himself, of course, but the name of his butler.

As if relieved, the jeweller let out a long sigh of relief, then took his leave, and as the servant brought his coat and hat, the jeweller grabbed the hat and motioned to bend over his chest: "Thank you very much, and praise your eyes, Lord Chancellor, you are a very good collector." ”

With that, the merchant took his leave and left.

Prime Minister...... That's right, Salembonili Sorom, the current prime minister of the Byzantine Empire.

The Imperial Prime Minister just celebrated his sixty-third birthday yesterday.

He was born into a famous family, and the surname "Sorom" was also a first-class wealthy family in the Byzantine Empire, and he was the sixth prime minister in the history of this family.

Unfortunately, Salumbonelli is perhaps the most embarrassing of the six prime ministers in the history of the Sorom family.

No, even looking at the entire history of the Byzantine Empire, he is somewhat nominal as the prime minister.

"Superfluous Sapo", this is a folk joking name for the imperial prime minister. In fact, the Prime Minister himself is very aware of his nickname, and he also knows that many nobles always like to use this nickname when they mention themselves behind their backs.

"Superfluous" - this adjective is a very accurate description of the situation of the Prime Minister.

Everyone knows that the current emperor of the empire, His Majesty Kantos, is a tough and very stubborn guy, and most importantly, in his early years, he was an emperor who was inclined to martial arts, and he was never close enough to civil officials. Therefore, among the upper bureaucrats of the empire, those young young eagle generals or eagle military officials are more likely to be appreciated by His Majesty.

Of course...... But that's not the most important reason.

The prime minister of an empire often needs to fill in the gaps for the emperor, contribute wisdom to His Majesty, and help the emperor govern the empire...... But it is clear that at the side of Kantos the Great, someone has taken on these tasks in place of the prime minister.

That guy is obviously a Bai Ding who has no official position and no title, but he has the trust of the emperor more than any prime minister in history, and almost every major decision of the emperor about the empire has that person in it.

That guy had almost snatched all the power of the prime minister, but the real prime minister, Salemponili, could do nothing about it.

Because...... That person is the guy that no one in the whole dìdū dares to provoke.

Cavishir!

It is precisely with the existence of this emperor's most trusted guy that Sarunbonili, the prime minister, is redundant.

Although the emperor didn't hate him, he definitely didn't trust him much. Nor would the Emperor ask for his views and opinions on great issues - everyone knew that the Lord Salembonili did not seem to have been involved in almost all the major decisions of the state. All the decisions were made in the small study room in the palace, and they were decided directly after being discussed by His Majesty and Cavishir.

Salumbonelli, the only role of his existence, is to appear at some major ceremonies, wearing the title of prime minister.

As for the work, the Emperor would leave to him the decisions he had made with Cavishir - yes, he had no decision-making power, not even the right to make recommendations, he just had to be an obedient echoworm and do everything as he could.

It is conceivable that such a prime minister is undoubtedly very humiliating and undignified.

In the history of the Empire, there has never been a ruler more cowardly than Salumbonelli.

He is the Prime Minister of the Empire, but in fact, the chief ministers of the ministries actually don't take this guy very seriously, and they are respectful on the surface, but contemptuous behind them.

Salemponili had spent all these years in such a strange situation, he had never fought for himself, he had never tried to reclaim his rightful position, and he seemed content to wear the title of "Prime Minister" as the most famous mascot of an empire.

Of course, in the midst of all this contempt, it is strange that the only person who has shown enough respect to Salumbonelli over the years - real respect, not the disguise of immorality - and the only person who has shown this respect to him both before and after him is none other than Salumbonelli's greatest enemy: Cavihill!

Cavishir once said that Sarunbonelli was the wisest of all the officials of the empire he knew.

We can interpret this as a sympathetic praise of the victor to the loser - but is that really the case?

Maybe there's a detail that everyone overlooks!

Sarunbonelli is sixty-three years old! But in fact, he has been in the position of prime minister for twenty-two years!!

Twenty-two years as prime minister!

This time is the longest reign among the six prime ministers in the history of the Sorom family!

Even in the history of the entire Byzantine Empire! Twenty-two years as prime minister, the world can also rank second in the reign of all the prime ministers of the empire!!

At the top of the list was an ancient prime minister, who reigned for twenty-five years.

We can believe, however, that with the age of Master Sarumbonelli and the current level of health of his body, and the fact that he continues to be in such a state of wantlessness...... He may have a good chance of breaking that record in the future.

What is even more surprising is that in twenty-two years, he has never had a single conflict with Cavihill! Salembonili has never expressed any obvious hostility towards this guy who has robbed him of all his power.

No, of course he and Cavishir weren't friends.

Guy like Cavihill doesn't have any friends.

However, for a long time, the Prime Minister showed no resistance to Kavehill's various actions.

In fact, twenty-two years ago, after the death of the previous Prime Minister, His Majesty the Emperor chose Salembonili, who was only forty-one years old at the time, as the new Prime Minister for three reasons.

First, he comes from the Solom family, and his background and seniority are sufficient for this position.

The second reason is that the Solom family has always been incompatible with the emperor's henchmen, and in terms of loyalty, Salumbonelli is not picky.

As for the third reason, it is simpler and more obvious.

Because...... He's obedient enough!

The emperor is a tough man, and his modesty will only be shown in front of Kavihir, so the emperor does not need a prime minister...... There is no need for a "real prime minister".

Then, the obedient Salon Bonili is the most suitable person.

In fact, for 22 years, he has played the role of this mascot very well, and he generally does not make any suggestions at any major state meeting, nor does he compete for any attention.

His greatest hobby in life is collecting all kinds of cultural relics and antiques.

Because of his "obedience" and cooperation, although the emperor did not rely on and trust him enough, he gave him enough indulgence and tolerance. Therefore, Salembonili occasionally used his position to make some oil and water, or accept some bribes, and the emperor hardly blamed him.

On the one hand, the emperor does not rely on him, only needs him to play the role of a prime minister. On the other hand, in addition to major state resolutions, the emperor almost responded to his requests and showed connivance in some other small affairs...... And collecting antiques and cultural relics, this hobby, is very expensive.

Sending off the great jeweller, Salon Bonili was dressed in a comfortable loose robe under the service of the servant, and then his butler, an old servant who had followed him for forty years, sent a gift list.

This is when the Prime Minister celebrated his birthday yesterday and received all the gifts.

"What an irony, my dear butler, isn't it?" said Sarembonili, who took the gift slip and read it with a congratulatory letter, each one full of warm words—God knows, the men who wrote them, these nobles, called themselves "superfluous" prime ministers behind their backs.

The butler did not speak, but silently handed the letters one by one to the prime minister for the prime minister's attention: according to etiquette, the prime minister should select some people from these congratulatory letters who he considered important and worthy of his attention, and write a letter of thanks in his own hand—this is an important etiquette among the high nobles.

"No, my butler, I'm not talking about me ironically, but it's not what these guys say about me behind my back. Salembonili pursed his lips, his teeth were still intact despite being sixty-three years old, and he smiled strangely: "I know exactly what these guys are talking about me behind my back, I know all about it." Hmph......Oh, that superfluous fellow," "Oh," the talkative prime minister," "Ah, the prime minister who only makes money, sits at home and mediates disputes between jewellers and small nobles," hmph, do they think I'll not know. But I don't care about that, my dear butler, I don't care at all. ”

When the Prime Minister said this, he took out one of the letters, his eyes changed slightly, and when he saw the signature on the envelope, a strange smile appeared on the corner of his mouth: "What I mean by irony is that for an old man of my age, it is really not a thing to celebrate. I'm sixty-three years old, and I've lived a year older, and I'm one step closer to death — God knows why everyone thinks it's something to celebrate. What to celebrate? Do you celebrate that you are one step closer to death? Or do you celebrate that your life is one year less?"

But when he said this, the prime minister still smiled: "Look, there are still people who understand what I mean, look at how this letter is written, it is not a frivolous congratulations, nor a mockery of pretending to be respectful, ah, look at the words on it, 'In this frustrating rì, I feel sad. I know it's frustrating to see the time of life go by, but I hope you have a good time in the rest of the rì. 'Haha! It seems that there are not no smart people in this world. ”

The Prime Minister held the letter, and the smile on his face gradually became deeper: "The following signature is...... Oh, Dear Mr. Cavishir. Hah!"

The Prime Minister seemed to be in a good mood, and he immediately picked up a pen and wrote a letter of thanks in reply, which was just as brief and ...... It's just as eccentric and anachronistic.

"Dear Mr. Cavishir, thank you for your letter of congratulations, and I want to say: I still don't like you guy!"

After signing his name, the Prime Minister handed the letter to the butler: "Send someone to send it over, now, immediately, immediately." ”

The butler didn't ask any questions, and in fact, his xìng was the same as the prime minister: he never seemed to argue about anything.

The servant of the house sent the letter, and in less than an hour, he actually brought back a reply from Cavihill.

The content of the reply from the Cavishel was even simpler, as simple as one sentence:

"Honorable Prime Minister, so am I. ”