"Lord Wu Lai, of course I want to do it." Baker smiled and bowed, "And I promise to do it well. Lord Wu Lai, I will do whatever you want me to do, without any hesitation."
"Okay, I like to hear these words." Wu Lai smiled and waved his hand, "Sit down, sit down and talk."
Baker sat down as he was told, thinking to himself, your expression changed so quickly, it's obvious that you were trying to scare me just now.
But after thinking about it this way, Baker felt a little more at ease. Unlike his other colleagues, gold coins were far more tempting to him than power. So in general, Baker could be regarded as a person without ambition.
Wu Lai spoke slowly: "Baker, I actually admire you quite a bit."
"Thank you, Lord Wu Lai, it's my honor." Baker hurriedly expressed his gratitude.
"It's been less than two days since I came to Saltmarsh Town, and Hubble, Henry, and Turles have all gone to Lovington City. Turles hasn't come back yet. I don't even bother to guess what they went there for, but I know it's not for good reasons. Baker, what do you think?" Wu Lai suddenly asked.
"This... Lord Wu Lai, I think you are right. They, um, maybe they really don't have any good intentions." Baker certainly knew why those guys wanted to go to the city of Lovington. If Wu Lai had not taken out the 8,500 gold coins at that time, he would probably have gone to the city of Lovington as well.
"Look, even you think so. To be honest, among all of you, I only have a good impression of you. Do you know why?" Wu Lai asked again.
Baker quickly shook his head and thought to himself, I don’t even know whether what you said is true or not, how can I know why?
It didn't matter that Baker couldn't answer. Woolley didn't really intend to ask him to answer anyway. Instead, he immediately gave his own answer: "Because you haven't mixed with them, Baker, you may not know how much this means to you."
Baker nodded quickly and thought to himself, I don't see how much significance this has. You just jerked off Henry the night before last and now you come to criticize me. It seems like you don't treat me any differently.
"Baker, I need a loyal assistant to help me restore Salt Marsh Town to its former prosperity as much as possible. Whether for public or private reasons, I hope that Salt Marsh Town will get better and better. Baker, how big is the difference between a rich town and a poor town? I don't think you need my reminder." Wu Lai deliberately made his words vague, but Baker quickly "understood" it.
It turned out that he wanted to invite me to "make money together". Baker was delighted and immediately patted his chest and said, "Master Wu Lai, please tell me what you want. I, Baker, will follow your lead."
"Are you serious?" Wu Lai raised his eyebrows and asked.
"Of course I mean it." Baker nodded seriously.
"Okay, then remember what you said today. During this period of time, I will adjust the personnel and organization in the official residence according to my own ideas. Then, we will see how you perform." Wu Lai said with a smile.
…
After Baker left, Woolley went to the cell where Byrd was being held.
Under Woolley's instructions, the cell had been cleaned up and replaced with new bedding, cushions, and even fresh fruits and some cooked and pickled meats. If Bird had not been injured, Woolley would not mind being more generous, such as giving him a few more bottles of wine.
Nivea was still there. Bird had a slight fever these two days. She felt sorry for him and couldn't bear to let him leave like that. Wu Lai didn't object, but just assigned two more people to watch outside the cell, but that was all. The guards were responsible for opening and closing the door when changing the dressings and delivering meals. They were not afraid that Nivea would kidnap Bird because that was impossible.
"Lord Wu Lai." Nivea heard the door lock click and thought it was the guard coming in to deliver something. Unexpectedly, when she turned around, she saw Wu Lai pushing the door and walking in.
"Sit down." Wu Lai waved his hand and walked quickly to Bird's bedside. After taking a look, he smiled and nodded, "You've recovered well. After another month or so of recuperation, you'll be full of energy again."
Bird did not say anything. He naturally knew what Nivea had promised to Wulaida. These things were obviously contrary to his usual ideas. Most of the bandits were slaves and civilians who were oppressed by the nobles and had no way out. Living on the edge of a knife was just a way to survive. But Wulai wanted Nivea to sell them out in exchange for his freedom and safety. How could Bird bear it?
Wu Lai knew what Bird was thinking. He certainly knew why the bandits became bandits, but his duty was to ensure the safety of Salt Marsh Town. The lives of the bandits were important, but the lives of the townspeople were not important, were they not? "Nivea, I have something to ask you. Last night I looked at the records of attacks on Salt Marsh Town in recent years and found something very interesting." Wu Lai sat down and continued, "Whenever there are many merchants in the town, or there are a lot of supplies, or a lot of money, the bandits will come to attack the town. How can your information be so accurate? Don't tell me it was done by an insider. Some of the money and goods were transported that day and you rushed in and robbed them. The insider is not that efficient. Tell me, what's going on?"
"Nivea." Bird frowned.
Nivea glanced at Bird, then turned her gaze to Wu Lai, with an embarrassment on her face.
"Is it inconvenient to say?" Wu Lai frowned.
"Lord Wu Lai, the questions you asked are difficult to answer, and even if you know the answers, it will not do you any good." Nivea refused tactfully. She knew that she couldn't say these things, because once they were leaked, Wu Lai might be fine, but she, Bird, and the hundreds of men and women in Crow Valley would be in danger of their lives.
"Is it widespread?" asked Woolley.
Nivea nodded and said, "Lord Wulai, the consequences will be serious. Once these things are leaked, it is hard to say whether Lord Wulai and Salt Marsh Town will be retaliated against. Those brothers and sisters in Crow Valley will definitely have no way to survive. Think about it, they are homeless and have nowhere to go, so they gathered around Bird. Once they leave Crow Valley, they will be lucky to become slaves again without losing their lives."
Wu Lai nodded and suddenly asked, "Are you worried about Baiguo Town..."
When Nivea heard the word Baiguo Town, a hint of surprise flashed across her eyes. She subconsciously glanced at Bird, and then saw the same emotion in Bird's eyes.
Wu Lai smiled even more, as Nivea and Bird's performance confirmed his idea. After listening to Siban Oak's report about his encounter with Turles and Henry at the Baiguo Town Tavern that night, Wu Lai felt that the Baiguo Town Tavern was an intelligence contact point for the bandits, perhaps even the largest one.
Now it seems that this guess is obviously correct, but the details are still a little vague.
It was a good start, so Wu Lai naturally had to press on. After a slight smile, he stood up leisurely and said, "Actually, I understand this matter, but I just want to know more. Since you two are not sincere, forget it, I'm leaving."
"Lord Wu Lai, please stay." Nivea felt a little regretful. She was worried that this would anger Wu Lai and make her original hope go up in smoke, so she called out hurriedly.
Wu Lai turned back slowly, frowned, and asked, "Anything else?"
"Nivea, forget it, whatever happens, just accept your fate. I can just die, so don't let anyone else get involved." Bird suddenly stopped her.
"No, I can die, but you can't." Nivea said hurriedly, "You have to live well. You promised me."
"Alive? Yes, of course you can live, but your sincerity disappoints me. Suddenly, I have an idea. If I lock you two up separately so that you never see each other in your life, that would be a good idea." Wu Lai snorted coldly and walked towards the door.
"Lord Wu Lai, I beg you, I will tell you everything you want to know." Nivea quickly stopped Wu Lai. She was frightened by what Wu Lai had just said. These words might be useless to Bird, but they were a fatal threat to Nivea.
"Nivea, don't say it! You will hurt everyone!" Bird shouted.
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"Shut up!" Wu Lai frowned and was about to say something when the voice of the guard suddenly came from outside the door.
"Report to Lord Woolley! Lord Hubble was assassinated while giving a speech! Tribune Baker asks you to go over and take a look!" The guard's voice was urgent.
Assassinated? Could it be less exaggerated? Wu Lai smiled bitterly and shook his head. He stretched out his hand and pushed Nivea away. As he walked out, he said, "You two should discuss it first. I'll come back later."
"Yes, Master Wulai," Nivea replied.
…
When he saw Hubble's injuries, Woolley was certain of one thing - this guy was not pretending, but had really been assassinated.
If Hubble knew what Wu Lai was thinking at the moment, he would definitely jump out of bed and point his finger at Wu Lai's nose and scold him. In fact, even if he didn't know, he also wanted to scold Wu Lai, because if Wu Lai hadn't asked him to go to the canal protection site to give a speech, he might not have been hit like this.
But at this moment, Hubble could not scold Wu Lai, because he was seriously injured. The most serious injury was that a thin dagger pierced directly into his mouth from the right cheek. His face and tongue were broken, and even several teeth fell out. Now his face was covered with bandages, so how could he speak?
"Where are you injured?" Wu Lai asked Baker, who was standing nearby with a frown on his face.
"There was a stab wound on the face, a stab wound on the buttocks, and a stab wound on the left thigh." Baker felt cold all over when he thought of Hubble's bloody appearance. You know, Hubble looked too miserable at that time.
"I heard that the person was caught?" Wu Lai asked again.
Baker nodded. "There were three people in total. We originally caught them all, but one of them was beaten to death by the townspeople. By the way, the townspeople who caught them just asked about the reward, saying that you had promised it."
"Yes, I did promise. I'll write a note and give out a reward of two gold coins per bandit. You have to continue to do a good job in the street cleaning operation." Wu Lai paused and then asked, "Have you interrogated them?"
"The results will be revealed soon," Baker replied quickly.
"After questioning, he was sent to the official residence." Wu Lai suddenly sighed and said, "The time when Harper was injured was not right. He was assassinated just when he needed people. Harper was injured while on duty, so we can't let Harper feel disappointed. Baker, I will give you a note later. You can go to the treasurer of Gulu to collect some condolence money for Harper. By the way, what do you think of a hundred gold coins? Is it too little?"
"Lord Wu Lai, you are so kind. One hundred gold coins is already a lot." Baker sighed sincerely, thinking that it was too good of a deal for Hubble to get one hundred gold coins for such a small injury.
Although Hubble couldn't speak or move while lying on the bed, he could hear the conversation between the two clearly. Woolley's words were okay, but Baker's words were really irritating. What did you mean by "it's already a lot"? Baker, how about I give you a hundred gold coins and you take the pain? Hubble said to Baker in his heart while enduring the pain.
"Baker, send someone to report to Lonvington immediately that Harper the Tribune was assassinated and injured," Wullie ordered. "At the same time, ask Lonvington to immediately arrange for someone to replace Harper as the Tribune. Tell them that before the new Tribune arrives, I, the Archon, will take on the work of keeping Saltmarsh safe."
"Okay, Lord Woolley." After nodding, Baker was suddenly stunned, thinking, could it be that Lord Woolley hired someone to do the assassination of Hubble?
It would have been better if this thought had not occurred to him. After it had occurred to him unintentionally, when Baker looked at Wu Lai again, he suddenly felt that Wu Lai's appearance had become somewhat hideous.
Lord Wu Lai, I am on your side, don't go after me just to consolidate your power. Baker couldn't help but say to Wu Lai in his heart.