Phoenix Flower (2)

Ten years later, the little girl was named Red Alsophila because her owner found her under an ancient Alsophila tree and saw that she had short reddish-brown curly hair.

As for her original name.

Forgot.

For the first five years, she lived in misery under the care of her master.

Relying on this face, it has changed owners one after another.

To be more precise, relying on his natural immunity to all poisons, he killed one person after another.

After coming into contact with Qingmo's industry, she was immersed in her own stupidity and regret for a long time.

But no one around her would sympathize with her or comfort her.

They all share the same tragic fate.

and those who have become even more vicious in Hell.

She became the latter, and she wanted everyone to experience the same thing as her, or even more tragically, so that she could regain a little balance.

Innocent and kind people suffer misfortunes that are beyond their control. If one searches for reasons, one will go crazy.

She relied on her face, acting skills, and body that was immune to all poisons to deceive many innocent nobles and make a lot of money.

At first she just enjoyed the process, but later she got tired of it and planned to escape to the north to live once she had saved enough money.

After she turned eighteen, she met her current owner.

He is different from those fools.

He discovered her abilities and her hobbies. He fell in love with her at first sight. He kept her by his side, leashed her like a dog, made her help him make money, and coaxed her with sweet words.

This man was the only one of her masters who had taken the trouble to deceive her.

Because of this, she stayed again.

But when she saw his massive sea lily plantation on the archipelago, her whole body went numb.

His words in her ears were like the whispers of the devil.

"How about we work together to make sea lilies bloom all over the continent?"

At that moment, she smiled with her eyes squinted and said, "Of course it will work."

The circumstances of her father's death reappeared in her closed eyes after so many years.

Who would have thought that no matter how depraved I had been, I had never thought of escaping this hell, but this time I made up my mind.

She set fire to all the sea lilies and dried plants she could reach, and took away some of the green jasmine.

The funds she had previously accumulated were controlled by that gang, so she simply threw them away.

She arrived in the northern part of Harunga territory, preparing to collect some money and then flee north immediately.

She first planned to flee to the Neka territory, where it was said that the security was very good, but her final destination was still the northern Fantas territory.

She didn't want anything this time, she just wanted to be as far away from that damn place as possible.

Even after listening to Alex's advice, she felt that eating prison food in prison and then going to the execution ground was a good choice.

"Why do you hate the nobility so much?" Inger asked calmly, leaning against the head of the bed.

Alsophila replied expressionlessly: "I chose the nobles because they have money. The common people can't get a single grain no matter how hard they try."

Alex frowned and asked, "What about the people you kidnapped?"

"I've returned them all intact. I make money by making them dependent on Qingmo. To save face, they will quietly send letters to their families asking for money. I only have a small amount of Qingmo here, and I won't care about them after I use it up."

"Even the nobles can't afford this." Inger picked up the last few packets of green jasmine and weighed them.

Alsophila numbly warned: "Don't even think about burning this stuff... The smoke can also make people sick, and it may even be more effective."

Inger knew she had been through it herself.

"Fortunately, the city's drainage is still done as usual. Pour this down the drain."

Alex pushed him down on the bed and did it himself.

Alsophila looked at him with sincerity in her eyes: "I have only one request now, either you sentence me to prison or take me away from this city."

Inger frowned and said, "This is the Duke of Harenga's territory, and you are also under the Duke's jurisdiction."

Alsophila sneered: "Then just kill me."

Inger understood the implication of her words and frowned even more. The problems in this city and this territory were more serious than he had imagined.

When Alex came back, he asked pointedly, "Who is your current...lover?"

Alsophila sneered: "Didn't I say he was the master?"

She paused for a moment. "His name is Legolas Harunga. He is the illegitimate son of the current Duke Mih Harunga, and also his only son."

She glanced at the two of them meaningfully and said sarcastically, "You are also nobles, but he is one of the six great dukes in the country, second only to the royal family. Can you afford to offend him?"

She didn't say you, but you all. After all, Alex was obviously not an ordinary guard or servant.

Being second only to the royal family does not mean that the royal family can easily touch them. The power of these six dukes has long been as strong as a cliff.

The six dukes guard the borders and check and balance each other, and things are peaceful for now. But I think many people would be happy to see a duke fall. After all, this hasn't happened for hundreds of years.

[It's more like a feudal system... the drawbacks of too strong local sovereignty...]

In the comics, Duke Harunga does not appear very often and is said to be completely neutral.

But since ancient times, has there ever been such a thing as complete neutrality?

There is no way that Duke Harunga is unaware of the turmoil in the territory.

Judging from the situation, he must have tacitly allowed or even supported his son for some purpose.

【A typical example of a corrupt noble family...】

To be honest, he had also seen nobles who were doing nothing in the capital, but under Aura's rule, there was a good balance between capable ministers, treacherous ministers and waste, and those active in the political arena were basically people who were capable, ambitious and capable of getting things done.

[If the purpose of this is to gain money, then what is the purpose of gaining money? The Duke cannot be short of money... unless he is raising private soldiers or something like that...]

But in the comics, Duke Harunga never showed any signs of rebellion, supported the war with all his heart, and his illegitimate son never appeared.

[The comics were just an initial reference, and now they can no longer be trusted... and there are still so many holes to fill...]

This fact dawned on him.

Who knows what kind of storm this butterfly has caused in the other hemisphere?

Alex sat next to him and said, "Looks like I have to go there."

Inger held his forehead and complained in his heart, "What kind of a drama is this about an emperor going on a secret visit and investigating a case... Are there going to be a few assassins jumping out from somewhere... Ugh...?"

In order to prevent the assassination of the Queen, they have gone through many detours. He doesn't believe that there are rebels everywhere in the country, not to mention that Alex is not well-known now.

Inger pressed his temples: "When do we set out?"

Alex patted his head with his palm and said, "Of course I'll go. You should stay here and rest."

Inger was stunned.

This is of course good for him, the protagonist handles everything and he doesn't have to get involved in the dispute.

He thought for a moment and asked, "How do you get there?"

"Rowing a boat? Should I rent a boat to go there?"

"…More than ten kilometers, you rowed the ship by yourself? Where's the pilot?"

"There must be a way, right?"

Inger's forehead was throbbing with joy.

[This person has never considered the method...]

Alex is always careful and decisive in big matters, but doesn't care about small things.

Alex smiled and said, "Or I can just tie up a boatman."

Listen! Is this what the protagonist should say?

Inger put his hand over his mouth and said, "Stop. I'll take you there and leave the rest to you."

Alex was unhappy now. He touched his forehead and said, "You are not well yet. You can't force yourself."

Inger brushed his hand aside and said, "It's not as fragile as you think."

At Alex's insistence, they had to stay one more night. They had nothing to do, so they played chess for a while. Inger asked Alex to go down to find out the situation and ask him about the Phoenix Flower in the South China Sea.

Inger said as he fed Finne, "You think you can taste the poison?"

Alsophila shrugged: "So what?"

"Then I want you to make a deal with me, a deal that will allow you to survive."

Alsophila was stunned for a moment, then sneered, "Do I have a choice?"

Inger smiled and said, "No."

Considering what she has done, it doesn't matter how many times she dies.

But it would be a good thing for her to die like this. She needs to pay off her debts before dying.

While Alex was working, he wrote a letter to Avatiye, the current ruler of Neka Territory, asking him to send a small team of knights to Harunga Territory to pick up people.

Judging from the time, they should be there after returning from the island chain tomorrow.

When Alex came back, he had finished writing it too.

"There are some clues, but I don't know what they mean." Alex came in after washing his face.

"Tell me about it."

"No one has heard of the South Sea Phoenix Flower, but some people have heard of a strange flower that grows in ashes."

Inger remembered the weeping tuberose he had seen in a documentary in his previous life.

"Only a few people have seen this flower. The conditions for its growth are very harsh. The trees spontaneously combust or are struck by lightning, causing the forest to be burned up. In the ruins, only an orange-red flower sprouts and blooms from the ashes. People call it the fire lily."

[Even the names are exactly the same...]

"…Um, is there anything else?"

To be honest, he already knew the principle of how this flower bloomed, so naturally he was not interested in it anymore.

Alex sat down beside the bed and handed him a bag of fried clams. "I'm not done yet."

Inger signaled him with his eyes to speak quickly.

Alex continued, "It is said that when this flower blooms, it turns into a faint scarlet flame, burning and spreading on the ashes. Wherever it passes, everything awakens and the dead earth comes back to life."

Inger nearly choked as he gulped down a glass of water Alex brought him.

[Should I say this is indeed a fantasy world…]

"I think this has something to do with the legend of the phoenix you told me about, what do you think?"

"Not a big deal. It's not a coincidence that a forest would catch fire. And this is the South." Inger sighed.

"Why don't we just bake one ourselves?" Alex said with an innocent look on his face, but his words were shocking.

Inger's mouth twitched and he said, "Do you know what you are talking about?"

Alex turned his gaze toward the window, as if looking at a place far away, ten miles away. "Isn't this what we are going to do?"

Inger also understood what he meant and shook his head: "It's not that easy, just go with the flow, it's not important."

Alex pointed at the red tree also lying on the ground and said: "What should we do with her? It will be too troublesome to bring her back to the capital."

"I have written a letter to Deputy Headman Awatiye. You can take the letter to the post office tomorrow. Someone should be sent over in a few days." Inger understood what he meant by his gestures and let the red tree also fall asleep again.

Alex said softly, "The navy and army here are not well equipped. There are no hidden bases along the coast. No money is spent on armaments."

"Well, Duke Harenga is not a person who advocates luxury. The Duke's Mansion also looks very simple."

"I have also checked all the stores around the mansion, and there are no suspicious items coming in or out in large quantities."

[So where did all the huge amounts of money they made from drugs go? ]

The two looked at each other and saw the same doubts in each other's eyes.

Inger held his chin and thought for a moment: "Does the Duke of Harenga have anyone he keeps in touch with regularly, or a place he likes to visit often?"

Alex recalled and said slowly: "The current Duke of Harenga...is neutral on the surface, rarely contacts anyone...seldom attends banquets...basically stays in the territory...only returns to the capital to report on his duties...wait...in the past few years, the Duke has personally returned to the capital to report on his duties, and he has maintained this practice once a quarter..."

Alex's eyes suddenly lit up. Inger looked at the gradually dimming light and reached out to light the oil lamp.

Alex frowned and said, "This is unusual. Usually, except for Duke Neka who stays in the central government to assist in government affairs, the other dukes will stay in their own territories to maintain their power. Most of them will only send important retainers to the capital. Due to the royal family's requirements, they only need to come to the capital once a year and do not need to stay for too long. Every quarter is too frequent. He was not like this before."

Inger flicked out the match, and the scarlet flame outlined the profiles of the two men. "Who do you think he is most likely to be in contact with?"

"Ola is ruled out first, the second or third prince is a possibility..." Alex paused here.

Inger smiled and said the answer that both of them knew: "...The Queen."