The Crescent of the Sultan

The distance from Baghdad Palace to the Second Courtyard Atrium was not that far, at least Selim didn't feel it. The scenery along the way was actually not bad, but it was a pity that by the time the Sultan came to his senses, he had already arrived.

Walking through the Imperial Garden, Selim could already see a group of noble ladies waiting. He caught a glimpse of a figure on the observation deck, and immediately understood that it was Justinian, and immediately walked up.

On the observation deck, Justinian felt that something was wrong with him at this time. He was a little scared. He was obviously a person who had climbed out of the mountain of corpses and sea of ​​blood countless times, but he felt a sense of unreasonable panic.

While Justinian was pacing, Selim had already walked up.

Little Mahmoud had been let go by the guards at this time. He rushed in front of Justinian and shouted.

“Dear Justinian, who do you like?

Tell me which one is more beautiful and I will give it to you right away. "

The spy leader then realized that the Sultan had arrived, and he hurriedly saluted.

Selim said with a smile as he pulled Mahmoud aside.

"Okay, no need to be polite, are you here so early?

Did you pick the right one? "

The secret agent blushed a little, opened his mouth several times but then shut up, as if he didn't know what to say.

While Selim and Justinian were meeting, a group of noble ladies had heard Mahmoud's voice. They immediately turned to look at the observation deck and giggled.

Justinian heard the laughter and hid behind Selim.

The Sultan couldn't help but feel a little funny. In fact, this was also related to Justinian's childhood.

He has lived on the Western Aegean Islands since he was a child, with only his father taking care of him.

As for his mother, when he was nine years old, because she yearned for life outside and Justinian's father had lung disease, she found a lover and ran away from the family with him.

But her escape did not go smoothly. The man who said he would take her to the big city sold her to a slave trader who served the Mamluks immediately after boarding the ship, not for anything else, because she was indeed beautiful.

For Justinian's father, the loss of his wife was a devastating blow, and his health deteriorated rapidly, eventually leading to his death when Justinian was ten years old.

And this poor man never told his son, his wife, or his son's mother that he had eloped with someone. He just told Justinian that the other party had gone to a big city, and he would pick up both father and son in a few years.

This man lived in a small village in the Western Aegean Islands all his life. The story he heard most was the great cause of Emperor Justinian's restoration of Rome, so he named his child Justinian.

He didn't want this heavy fact to be known to his children. He hoped that he could go out and have a bright future.

Because starting from his grandfather’s grandfather’s grandfather, there has been a rumor in their family that he is a descendant of Komnenos. Although Selim felt it was very nonsense when he found out about this news. After all, everyone in the village knew about it. And it's completely inappropriate.

After all, if your family is so poor, it doesn't look like a wealthy family.

Closer to home, although Justinian's father has always claimed that he is a descendant of Comnenus, he showed a kind of arrogance, which caused people in the village not to like him very much. Even the daughter-in-law was bought by his father from a slave trader. .

But when faced with a ten-year-old child whose father died of illness and whose mother was missing, the villagers still helped him from time to time. Everyone who had a meal would treat him to a bite.

Until Justinian himself could no longer bear this kind of life of eating from hundreds of families, he finally chose to go to his mother who, according to his father, lived in a big city.

This is also the reason why Selim and the spy leader met. By coincidence, Justinian, who bought the ferry ticket to Thessaloniki with the last silver coins at home, met the man who kidnapped and trafficked his mother a few years ago. slave trader.

For reasons of appearance, after all, Justinian did look like his beautiful mother, and the other party recognized him at a glance.

So the next plot can be said to be a matter of course. How could a teenage boy outplay the cunning slave trader? After just a few tricks, Justinian followed him on the ship to Egypt.

After all, Egypt's religious elders and Mamluks still like this kind of handsome boy very much. It can be said that there is a market for Justinian.

By the way, Ayub Bey, who accompanied Selim to the slave market back then, was the buyer of Justinian's mother. Unfortunately, Selim couldn't touch him at the time, otherwise he would have been killed by Justinian. Just a slave trader.

After such a tragic childhood experience, Justinian became a person who was extremely resistant to strangers. He refused to have deeper communication with others and was withdrawn. Except for Selim, he hardly interacted with anyone. say.

So when Selim proposed to find him a wife, one can imagine his resistance.

But Sudan will not change his mind. In these incidents, the other party's performance was not very good.

No matter how loyal the other party was, Selim felt that he could no longer go on like this. The nature of the other party destined him to only live in the shadows and serve himself.

But Selim felt that it was difficult to control him. What did the Sultan need?

It is a kite that can be tied to your hand by a rope, rather than a balloon that floats freely in the direction of the wind.

No matter how much Justinian resisted, Selim had to put shackles on him. His wife and children were the gentlest restraints.

Selim has many ways to deal with this kind of young man who has lacked love since childhood, such as understanding his living habits and empathizing with him.

These ladies definitely don't know Justinian's identity, but is it difficult to pick out a few green tea bitches among so many people?

The tutors of these noble ladies will learn this knowledge.

As long as Selim controls the other party's family, it is equivalent to indirectly controlling Justinian.

Of course, it is best if there is someone who can truly love Justinian. Selim still hopes not to use too many means. It is not that the Sultan has any guilt, but sometimes, if you do more, you will make more mistakes. If you can do less, do less. Do.

If there really isn't one, then Selim can only make his own choice. With his eyesight cultivated over many years in a certain book, a certain music, and a certain blog in his previous life, it is not difficult to find a green tea bitch.

When the time comes to reveal Justinian's identity slightly, these women will naturally use all their strength to capture him. Will those who capture him live, and those who fail to capture him?

Who the empire's spy leader is is no longer a secret among the upper echelons of the empire, but it is not something that the daughters of a group of small and medium-sized families can know.

For the ladies who failed to win, the Sultan had no choice but to perform an American style Iai for them, and then took them away quickly and solved the problem painlessly.

To explain, regarding compulsory education, Islam has its own church schools. The quality is unclear, but the education of the four major millets is quite good.

The money for compulsory education is actually part of the government and part of the four millets, and it is only set up for Muslims, so the consumption is actually relatively small.