When Tana and El walked to the front of the white stone building, their hearts began to beat involuntarily as soon as their eyes touched the continuous stone walls and the huge doorway.
Woolley was waiting for them in the small reception room, wearing only a loose bathrobe and sitting barefoot in a large wooden chair. Beside the chair stood Hippo and two female servants.
Gauguin brought Tana and El to Woolley.
As Tana and El knelt down to pay their respects, Wu Lai glanced at them, then sighed and said, "Just kneel there."
Tana and El, who were already half standing, were startled at the same time, then knelt down again nervously.
"Look up and look at me." After Wu Lai said this, Tana and El hesitated for a moment, then looked up at Wu Lai at the same time.
In their eyes, Wu Lai still looked like a young boy, but the look in his eyes was more majestic and slightly cold.
"You guys go back first." Wu Lai waved his hand gently. Gauguin, Hippo and two female servants bowed and left at the same time.
After everyone left the reception room, Wu Lai retracted his gaze from El's face and said, "Tell me, who are you? Why did you come to frame me?"
Tana and El looked at each other in dismay. After a moment's hesitation, Tana trembled and fell to the ground, but he defended himself loudly: "Dear citizen, how can you say that? Our origins have been explained very clearly. If you still have doubts about this, Tana and El will let you deal with us and die without regrets."
El, who was standing by, also quickly fell to the ground.
"Shut up!" Wu Lai frowned and asked, "Now, do you still think this is just a test? Now, do you still think you are living under the protection of someone?"
Tana and El became increasingly panicked, but still tried their best to explain.
"Enough!" Wu Lai stood up, pointed at the two people lying on the ground, and cursed bluntly, "Do you know what I hate the most at this moment? I hate that you trust your IQ too much, or trust others' arrangements for you too much! Well, you don't accept it, right? Then I will open your eyes today and let you know that in this world, there are people who can see through your disguises clearly even when they are drunk!"
"My oxcart team from Wuleglindo passed through Menia on the way back and stopped at Pingfan Town for a rest. Yes, we stopped by the roadside. But I am sure that the slaves escorted by my men would not be so careless as to fail to notice someone sneaking on the car. So, you two did not get on the car halfway, but during the checkpoint inspection in Menia City. And at that time, there were soldiers protecting you two!"
"The story you made up sounds very reasonable, but it's actually full of loopholes! I won't talk about the deputy general's part, let's just talk about the woodshed. Is that a place to lock people up? Even ordinary citizens like me will build dungeons and prison rooms in their mansions to punish disobedient slaves. This is a standard feature of a citizen's mansion. Otherwise, it won't be enough to deter those idiots who dare to rebel! Not to mention the mansion of a deputy general! Okay, let's assume that the dungeon in the deputy general's mansion is full of people, so they had no choice but to lock you two in the woodshed, and you two happened to find an opportunity to escape from the woodshed. Then please tell me, did you two escape by climbing over the wall? Or did you walk out of the main gate in a swaggering manner?"
"I'm telling you two idiots, you were blessed by the god Amon, and a thick fog rose up to cover your figures, allowing you to leave the mansion without any danger and effort. So, how did you two get out of Menia? Don't tell me that the deputy general's mansion is outside the city. I happen to know its exact location."
"You still don't admit it? Never mind. Let me continue. Two slaves who have been locked up and beaten for more than a month and have whip marks all over their bodies, their skin and hair must be dull and lifeless. How could they be as healthy as you two?!"
"Although the marks on both of you are the same, Tana's mark is obviously larger than El's. Why is that? Let me tell you! That's because when Tana was branded, he was younger than El. As he got older, his body grew taller. The longer the branding lasted, the more it deformed and expanded! So, of the two of you, at least Tana wasn't branded a month ago."
“Besides, when I appeared in front of you two, although you looked panicked, fearful, and at a loss, El was intentionally or unintentionally showing her body. Yes, your body is very attractive. Even if it is covered with dust and whip marks, your curves are still enough to drive a man crazy. And when El was doing all this, you, Tana, were observing me, narrating and observing at the same time…”
"At that time, I gave you three choices: return to Menis, let you two go, or stay and hide. If you were a real runaway slave, you would definitely choose the second one, because the first choice means death, and the third means being enslaved again. A real runaway slave would not choose these two options, unless he is an idiot or has ulterior motives."
"You two are the ones with ulterior motives. Of course, if you had met someone else instead of me, your plan would have had a 50% chance of success. After all, El is a genuine beauty. But unfortunately, you met me. Although I like beautiful women, I will not forget my ideals because of them. In order to realize my ideals, I remain a hundred times more vigilant even when I am drinking or sleeping."
"I believe you are from the residence of Vice General Yi Jiang, because I met with him yesterday and had a friendly talk with him. Then, we became partners. Therefore, not only do you two no longer need to continue your mission, but from yesterday on, your lives are in my hands!"
"No! Impossible!" When El blurted out, Tana was completely stunned.
"Nothing is impossible." Wu Lai smiled slightly, and his voice became lighter. "I already know everything, so I don't even have the interest to ask you two."
Immediately, Wu Lai threw the contract signed with Yi Jiang in front of the two of them: "Take a look. I believe that you two can read and you must know the private seal of Deputy General Yi Jiang."
Tana was startled and was about to reach out to pick it up, but El had already grabbed the contract in his hand. After spreading it out, the two of them looked at the end of the contract - there, Yijiang's private seal, Mikoyan's temple priest seal and Wu Lai's private seal were prominently displayed side by side.
Tana and El were distracted.
Wu Lai sat back in his chair with a smile on his face. "I will now give you two three more choices. First, become a slave that I can trample on at will. For the rest of your life, don't even expect to receive my mercy. Second, do an errand for me. It's dangerous but not life-threatening. After that, I will send you two back to Menia City and let Vice General Yi Jiang decide your fate. However, I will give you appropriate suggestions based on your performance during the errand, suggestions that are beneficial to you. Third, die under Ma Long's sword, or under Hei Wa's whip. Start choosing now. I don't have the patience to talk nonsense with you anymore."
"I choose first!" El bravely met Wu Lai's gaze.
"It seems that you are very confident about your beauty." Wu Lai said with a smile, and then turned his gaze to Tana, "What about you?"
"I, I choose the second one." Tana lowered his head.
"It's a very good choice." Wu Lai looked at El and then at Tana. "It's exactly what I expected, so I have no reason to regret it, right?"
In the evening, an ox cart loaded with firewood drove out of Baishilou.
When the night completely enveloped the entire city, Wu Lai's carriage also drove out of the Baishi Building and slowly moved towards the main street. Not long after, the carriage passed a street corner. A man in black standing on the street corner bowed respectfully to the carriage, waved the torch in his hand, and then turned and left. After watching the back of the man in black disappear, Wu Lai in the carriage showed a smile.
The carriage continued to move forward, and the crisp sound of horse hooves carried far away in the evening breeze.
After a long while, Woolley's carriage stopped, and in front of it was the residence of Tribune Aesop.
Woolley jumped out of the carriage...
Although he had been lying in bed for quite some time, Doji still couldn't fall asleep. During dinner, he had a big fight with his wife because she actually advised him to make friends with Wu Lai because the first few people who showed goodwill to Wu Lai had received rich rewards.
"Their woodworking workshops have earned thousands of gold coins more every month because of this," said Doji's wife.
Then, Doji got angry.
"What do you know? Wooleglindo will be finished soon!" Doggie roared.
Soon, his wife also became angry.
As a result of the quarrel between the couple, the tableware in the dining room was broken all over the floor and at least three slaves were injured. Finally, Doji, who was still angry, walked into the bedroom and locked the door, while his wife led the maid to another bedroom with a sneer.
"If he wants to ask anyone to sleep with him tonight, you must tell me the first time!" Doji's wife instructed the housekeepers before leaving.
She was obviously worrying too much, because at least in these few days, Doji was not in the mood to mess with women.
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"Why is there still no movement?" Doji muttered to himself, frowning and rubbing his equally thick chin with his fat palm.
"Deputy General Yi Jiang won't change his mind, right?" Doji changed his sleeping position and glanced at the half-burned candle on the lamp stand in the corner.
Soon, there was a noise outside the window...
After a while, Doji walked into the reception room angrily: "Aesop! You've gone too far..." Doji didn't finish his words in the end, because he not only saw Aesop who came with his troops to visit in the middle of the night, but also saw Wu Lai standing next to Aesop with a smile on his face.
"Oh, Tribune Doji, it seems that you have really gone to bed. I'm very sorry." Aesop glanced at Doji with a fake smile, raised his hand and pointed at Wu Lai, "I don't want to see you at night, but Wu Lailindo citizen just reported to me that you, Tribune Doji, secretly hid the escaped slaves from the residence of Lieutenant General Yijiang in Menia City, so I decided to come and take a look."
"Ridiculous! I am a tribune appointed by the Assyrian Noble Council. How could I do such a thing?!" Doji glared at Wu Lai fiercely and argued loudly.
"Yes, it shouldn't be done, but, Tribune Doji, as far as I know, you have violated the Assyrian Code and the wishes of the nobles more than once or twice." Aesop took out a scroll from his arms, "This is the order of Archon Antony. He has approved the search of your house, so, Tribune Doji, please tell your people to step aside."
"Tribute Aesop, if you can't find it, you will pay the price!" Doji was so angry that his fat body was shaking.
"No, I'm just following orders. Any consequences will be borne by Consul Antony and have nothing to do with me. Besides, your words just now contained a threat. If you dare to repeat it again, I don't mind getting angry to defend my dignity, Tribune Dogian!" Aesop's face turned cold.
Doji paused for a moment, gritted his teeth, and waved his arm: "Okay! Search! I'll argue with you after the search! And you, Wu Lai! Your death is coming!"
"Oh, I don't think so, Officer Dojian. I'm only fourteen years old, and you, huh, it seems that between the two of us, your death will come sooner. You'd better take the time to pray. If a runaway slave is really found in your house..." Wu Lai smiled slightly and stopped talking.
When Doji saw Wu Lai's smile, his heart skipped a beat.
Not long after, Doji's heart started beating again because the soldiers sent by Aesop to search the backyard brought back a young stranger, who was neatly dressed but looked not very well.
"What's going on? Are they working together to frame me?!" Doji muttered to himself.
The young man was dragged by the soldiers to the front of Wu Lai and Aesop. He kept his head down all the way. When Aesop ordered him to kneel down, he suddenly struggled to break free from the soldiers who were dragging him, turned around and jumped in the direction of Doji, and knelt on the ground with a "thump".
"Master Doji! You said you would protect me! Master Doji! We can't let them take me away!" the young man shouted in panic.
Doggie's head suddenly felt dizzy.
Aesop frowned, and immediately ordered the soldiers to bring the young man back to him: "Tell me, what's your name? Where did you escape from?!"
"Lord Doji!" The young man ignored Aesop's question and turned his head to shout at Doji, "Lord Doji, I will be loyal to you! Please don't let them take me away! You can't forget your promise! The golden wine pot! The golden wine pot!"
"What golden wine jug?" Aesop and Doji were both stunned and thought to themselves at the same time.
"Lord Aesop, we just found this thing in the pantry of Lord Doji's kitchen. Please take a look at the emblem on it." Two soldiers brought a box that was two cubits long, one cubit wide and one cubit high to Aesop.
Aesop glanced at the wooden box, leaned over to open the lid and looked at it carefully for a while, then closed the lid with a "bang" and looked at Doji with a cold look in his eyes: "Doji Anminguan, you are really brave."
"What's in the box?!" Doji was stunned and asked immediately.
Aesop snorted coldly and raised his right hand: "Come on, take this fugitive and the stolen goods back!"
"Stolen goods?!" Doji was stunned and couldn't help but yelling, "Aesop, you are framing me!"