It was still early spring and the daylight was very short. In addition, the Lord of Qingzhi City must be busy with many things. By the time the servants came to inform him, the sky was already filled with stars.
According to the Ligar people's concept of time, it was probably after seven o'clock in the evening. The group of people did not shower or change clothes. Following the guidance of the servants carrying paper lanterns, they walked to the inner corridor of the big house with the samurai Narumi.
If observed from above, it can be seen that the mansion of the city lord has an orderly four-sided plan.
The mansion, which is composed of the character "Hui" that resembles the character of the Moon Country and the character "卍" wrapped around it, is not just for aesthetics. Each area is designed to perform certain functions. At the same time, it is also through a series of The corridors are connected to each other, so that in the event of an emergency, the samurai can move back and forth under the protection of the outer earth wall without being attacked.
Although it is a daily residence and there are guards from the city lord's palace outside, as the lord of a city and a relatively wealthy territory like Qingzhi, it is obvious that he has put a lot of effort into his own safety.
The rain that started in the evening became less heavy after a while, but the drizzle continued till now.
In the middle of the swastika corridor is a resting courtyard. The rain falls on a pond surrounded by white pebbles. Under the dim lantern light, orange and white carp jump up. I wonder if they are directed at the insects attracted by the fire. .
Rain is generally the norm for Qingzhi in this season, so except for foreigners like them, no one is surprised by the sudden heavy rain.
The servant leading the way walked slowly and leisurely. Kazuto is extremely particular about all kinds of things, whether it's etiquette or conversation. The servants of a noble are regarded by them as members of their own extended family. If a servant misbehaves and causes trouble outside, others will not think it is the servant's fault, but will think that "this noble family is not decent". Negative reviews of the category appeared.
Skipping the individual and paying more attention to the whole can be seen in all aspects of Moon Country society.
So even if you just want to work as a maid in a noble house, you still have to learn all kinds of etiquette, be elegant and courteous, and make precise and slow movements.
This is another practice that is very strange to the people of Rigal, but is common to the people of the Moon Country.
It is true that Rigal is not without aristocrats with strict family education. Some of the top-ranking dukes in the great empires, such as Padrosi or Otolo, are also famous for their strict family rules. But it should be noted that Qingzhi is just a small town in the northern part of the Moon Country. Even though it is relatively wealthy and has a large population due to the bamboo trade, in terms of noble status, the mayor of Qingzhi is just an insignificant role. .
If we use Rigal's concept, he is probably a bit higher than a squire, somewhere between a knight and a baron.
His political identity is not important to the country, and the relative wealth of his territory is not due to political importance, but is simply the result of his good governance and vigorous promotion of business.
After all, the country of the Ligar people is still too young. Compared with the Kingdom of the Moon, which has accumulated thousands of years of history, they are not comparable in size or in all aspects.
Although youth does not necessarily mean ignorance, it will always be difficult to compete with opponents with a longer history in terms of depth in some aspects.
After learning about the existence of the Moon Kingdom, the Lamanites were so obsessed with establishing connections. After actually coming to the Crescent Continent and coming into contact with these people and things, our Luoan girl can probably understand that feeling. .
Coming from Rigar, they stepped into the Crescent Continent, which has a history of four thousand years and has a rich material culture that is different from Rigar. This experience is like a young person who has just started entering a large library with a variety of things. , and what I saw was a book with profound contents that I had never read before.
It is a complex mood that is mixed with curiosity and desire for knowledge, wanting to know more, but may also be slightly worried to a certain extent that some parts will overturn one's existing knowledge, and is a mixture of uneasiness and excitement.
The ten-minute walk finally came to an end. They arrived at the center of the inner corridor. The ground inside was also covered with soft tatami mats, and the city lord and his family were ready to sit in it and wait.
When they heard that they were going to have dinner together, Mira and Galeva, who were from Rigar and were not very familiar with the Kingdom of the Moon, thought it would be a typical big table banquet like Rigar. But when they walked in, they found that the scene was not at all what they had imagined.
"Please take a seat." The servant who led the group in stopped at the door, bowed and then quietly exited, while a series of servants waiting in the central lobby came over and led the group to their respective seats. .
The tables are distributed in the middle and on both sides, obviously divided according to status and other relationships. Lulu and Temulun, as well as Aya and Sakura, were placed on the left side, sitting with two Kazuto samurai who had never met before and Narumi, and the remaining missionaries and Henry Those who were obviously from Rigal were placed on the right side.
In the middle, in front of the crane screen, there were four low tables perpendicular to them. Sitting there were the four members of the city lord's family.
The young master who had fought against each other before was sitting next to the city lord, and on the other side were two women who looked like the city lord's wife and daughter.
The young master of the city lord's family lowered his head and said nothing, while the city lord smiled at them. But the city lord's wife didn't give them any good words. Although Kazuto's relatively restrained culture prevented her from directly glaring at her, the faint coldness could still be felt by everyone.
"Welcome to my country. This should be my first official meeting with you." The city lord, who has a stout figure and a very kind smile, is probably around thirty-four or five years old. He has a slight beard and after careful inspection, When he introduced himself, he unexpectedly used Lamani language which has a somewhat awkward pronunciation but accurate wording.
"Sir, do you speak the language of the empire?" Priest Alfonso, who reacted smartly, immediately replied. Although they had been detained here for some time, they had only come into contact with warriors and servants, and they had never really met the city lord until today. myself.
"Yes, I understand a little, I understand a little." The city lord said, and Mira turned her attention to the young master of the same age as her - the other man had already changed his clothes. The sage was indeed merciful, and he moved It didn't look like anything serious.
The young master noticed the look in the Luoan girl's eyes, glanced over, and at the same time met the eyes of Galeva sitting next to her. The young porter suddenly shivered awkwardly, but then the young master saw the person next to him. The wise man turned his head away again.
This series of subtle actions did not escape the attention of the city lord. Although Priest Alfonso wanted to communicate with him, the city lord glanced past him and turned to the man who was sitting firmly in front of the low table, minding his own business. He picked up the tea that was still smoking and placed it on the sage who closed his eyes and tasted it.
"I heard that this man had swordsmanship exchanges with Quan Zi." Perhaps because he knew that Henry understood the language of the Moon Country, the city lord did not speak in Laman language here.
The atmosphere on the field suddenly became a little stagnant. Mira, who had been sitting on her lap for only a minute or two, imitating sitting with others, immediately began to feel numbness in her calves because of the silence. She looked around and clearly noticed that the wife of the city lord was winking at the city lord. In addition, the details of her red eyes and the unfriendly attitude she showed as soon as she entered, she wanted the city lord to punish the person who injured his son. It is easy to understand through these details.
Yes, the investigation of crimes has begun. Alfonso, who was unaware of this, looked around anxiously at Henry and Mira, while Ling was a little worried but didn't know how to speak. Galeva still looked dumbfounded, obviously confused about the situation, while Henry took a sip of tea, frowned, and relaxed again.
Mira thought about what kind of answer her teacher would give: that the other party provoked first? This is indeed true, but they are both strangers, new arrivals and in other people's territory. It is obviously difficult for the other party to accept their one-sided words. Although the samurai captain Narumi was also here, there was also a whole team of samurai who witnessed the whole process. , but will they be absolutely impartial, help the manager and not the bride, and say something unfavorable to their young master?
Thinking like this, the white-haired girl also became anxious, but Henry remained silent and just took another sip of tea.
The sage slowly placed the tea cup on the table. In the stagnant air, he glanced at the two samurai on the left, and then looked through their figures at the seemingly empty space behind the screen in the lobby. place of things.
"...Sigh." Narumi sighed, while the city lord touched his chin beard and said with a smile still on his face: "Put the knife away, you can't beat him."
"Knife?!" Galeva's Moon Country language has obviously improved a little after such a long time. The young man who heard this keyword looked around in panic again, but the warriors who are experts want to ambush How could a layman like him detect it?
Some clattering voices came from behind the screen. It was obvious that even if the weapons and equipment were confiscated, the city lord was not completely at ease with the introduction of warriors from a foreign country with no cultural understanding - or maybe these warriors were not arranged by him?
"You are." The city lord's wife showed quite obvious disbelief on her face, and she spoke to the city lord. The city lord smiled and told the story in one sentence: "I have also heard about the process. It was Quanzi who took the initiative to provoke and was defeated. The responsibility lies with Quanzi."
"When you say this, didn't you see that the child has bruises on his body? I have watched him grow up for more than ten years, but he has never suffered such an injury!" Obviously he planned to let this matter go. The city lord's remarks caused the city lord's wife to shout out in the lobby in a very disgraceful manner. This behavior stunned Sakura and Aya, two women from the Moon Country. In the Moon Country where men are absolutely dominant, The aristocratic class of the country roared their objections to the head of the family in front of outsiders. If outsiders found out about this behavior, they would definitely think that the city lord of Qingzhi was a softie.
"Boys, bumps and bumps are inevitable in the process of growing up." The city lord still said this with a smile on his face, but the city owner's wife only became more and more excited under his words: "Bumps and bumps?! That Nanman and the evil one He's as tall as a ghost, and he's bullying my son just because of his size!"
"But Yajiro was the one who provoked himself first. As a boy, if you are aggressive, you should take responsibility for your actions." The city lord was still smiling, and it was only at this time that the group of people knew the name of the young master of the city lord's family, Yajiro. He finally spoke: "Mother, this is the child's own responsibility, please don't be unreasonable."
"You." The city lord's wife said for a moment, and then wiped away tears: "I am caring about you, and you, really, when can you act like the head of the family! This concubine is Can’t eat it!”
"Ouka, let's go." The mayor's wife, whose mood had been changing for several minutes, finally grabbed her young daughter and walked out of the lobby through the back door.
After the dull air lasted for a while, Henry finished the tea in the cup and glanced at the city lord.
"Your wife, there are so many dramas."
The sage said this in very standard Japanese language, and the city lord was stunned for a while, and then suddenly laughed "hahaha".
"As I expected, this...Mr." He thought about the title and then said.
"You know everything about our country very well." The city lord's words revealed the reason why he chose to meet Henry and his party only after they arrived. He only had a few eye contact with the sage, but many details were already revealed. Metaphor.
Ling is a native of the Moon Kingdom, and Priest Alfonso and others have learned a lot about the Moon Kingdom in Padrosi, but when it comes to down-to-earth understanding of these interpersonal interactions and unspoken rules, they are all laymen.
Not to mention the great risks of communicating with laymen, and it is impossible to know many things between you and me, so communication will be very difficult.
This is why they have been detained here for a long time, but the city lord has never had real contact with them.
But Henry is different.
"A long time ago, I had the honor to visit you." He looked at the city lord and said this.
"How long ago." The other party was still smiling, but the message revealed in his words meant that he was not as simple a character as he seemed.
"Ah - let's not mention these for now, let's start eating." The sharp eyes were quickly retracted for a moment, and the city lord clapped his hands, but was delayed for several minutes, so that the appetizer tea was a little The cold dinner finally began at this moment.
"Come here, serve the food." The city lord said, while Mira and Lulu both looked in the direction of the food.
