Three Philosophical Questions for Travelers

Raya in Stormwind Hold, VII

"What? Miss Laya doesn't know?" Beard said with a look of surprise, "There is a rebellion in Bear Mountain! It is said that robbers, gentry and rebels joined forces to attack Bear Castle and killed the old earl. Slaughtered the entire Xiongshan family. There is really no law for kings!" He slapped his chin angrily, and said with a cold face, "There are even rumors that...you were involved in this matter. Oh, I heard this I was so worried when I was here, I thought you must have been kidnapped and threatened by those thugs, but seeing you appear here, the danger must have been saved! Come, let me toast you, brother, come too!" Said Watching him raise his glass, the young master Booker next to him raised his glass with a smile and said, "Yes, to celebrate your turning a bad luck into good luck!" Priest Putin hesitated for a moment, then raised his glass and said, "I wish you peace .”

At this time, someone handed Laya a wine glass and poured half a glass of red wine. The red wine had just been taken out of the ice, exuding a mellow aroma, and the color was as deep red as chilled blood.Laya looked at the liquid in the wine glass, and felt that the blood in her body was cooling like the wine.

This glass of wine is absolutely undrinkable. If you drink this glass of wine that "turns danger into good luck", it is equivalent to drinking Haiwen's life.Facing the smiling faces of the three people holding the wine glass, Laya pondered for a while, then raised the wine glass and said, "I don't know, this wine should be to wish me a triumphant return." After saying this, she didn't wait for others to speak , and drank the red wine in one gulp.Putin sneered and drank it, and immediately the two young masters of Fengleibao looked at each other and drank the wine with smiles on their faces.

After drinking, the eldest son Booker asked Laya to sit down, and then chatted with her about some recent anecdotes about Wind Thunder Castle.What kind of gold shop opened, which woman came out of the closet, in short, I never mentioned what happened just now.

While Laya was coping with the topic, she thought to herself: The two young masters would not come and say such things to me in vain.Most likely there was an instruction from the Marquis behind him.Either the Marquis has already confirmed this statement, or the Marquis wants to test my tone first.But no matter what, this form is not good for me and Mr. Haven.

In addition, Laya also felt the gaze from below—the guests in the hall were paying attention to her intentionally or unintentionally. Obviously, her position was the center of the storm.

After about a few minutes, there was a burst of salutary horns from the back of the hall, and then an eunuch said loudly: "The vassal of the Kahn family, the Marquis of the King, the Marquis of the Bay, the guardian of the bay and the bay , the suzerain of the Satria family and the Duralia family, the master of Fengleibao, the captain of the Silver Ship, the honorary president of the four major chambers of commerce, the master of the Iron Bank, the well-wisher of the Sea God, the giver of the White Club, Ace Don Mondalia——” He took a deep breath at this point, and continued: “—with his wife, sister of the Marquis of Flowers, daughter of Hesse, White Orchid of Wine City, and the well-wisher of the sea god , the baptized person of the ancient god, the honorary curator of the Fengleibao Library, Alianmiao Mondalia!" After saying this, the eunuch was already blushing.

Then everyone sitting in the audience stood up and bowed in the direction of the back-court.Laya saw the Marquis coming out of the door behind the screen. The fat Marquis was wearing a silk dress with a belt. He was wearing gold and silver, but no amount of gold and glitter could conceal his pale skin.

The Marquis held his lady's arm with a leather glove and many rings. The fingers were almost as thick as the woman's arm, and the Marchioness looked slender and thin by comparison-the woman was wearing a suit. The white dress, with delicate small pieces of jewelry, exudes the solemnity and elegance of an aristocratic woman.

But Raya's attention wasn't on the two of them.

Because there is another person behind the Marquis.

Arwen Nemendus, though he tried to hide himself in the generous shadow of the Marquis, still stood out like a ghost in a crowd.He was dressed plainly, just a light-colored jacket and dark-colored trousers. There were almost no decorations on his body, except for a little light-colored pattern on the neckline and cuffs, and his leather boots were waxed and polished.

Raya felt that he really didn't need any jewellery—his face could adorn gold and silver, but gold and silver did not adorn him.

He can make simple things gorgeous, and the resplendent hall is much more colorful because of his presence.

The Marquis greeted people as he walked, and the bowing people straightened up one after another.At this time, a girl saw Awen, and she let out an exclamation, and Awen also smiled at her.Then the voices of the girls in the hall rose and fell like female cats in estrus.

The Marquis laughed out loud when he saw this scene, and he said to the guests: "Ladies and gentlemen, my friends. Now I will personally introduce my new friend to you—Awen Nemendus !” He gestured for Ah Wen to come over, and the blond man quickly bowed to the people below. "Awen? Nemendus, bless you." He said in a very melodious voice.

Then there was thunderous applause from below.Arwen saluted again, and then sat down with the Marquis.

This order of seating also surprised Laya—the marquis's wife, eldest son, and third son were on the right hand side, which was no problem, but the order on the left hand side was Awen, Putin, and Laya himself.This order has never been there before. Generally speaking, Laya and Putin will take turns sitting next to the Marquis.This time she did not expect that this "businessman" could sit in such a high position.

The floor-to-ceiling windows with sea views are behind the place where Ah Wen is sitting, and the moon is especially round tonight, as if the moon had risen for him, it just fell into his wine glass.Obviously this is the best position the Marquis can give him.

Then the banquet began, the bard on the high platform in the corner played the violin, and the eunuchs sang passionate songs.The main dishes are served on the round table one by one. Fengleibao is close to the Xiawan River and the three major harbors, so you can eat fresh seafood even in summer.The Big Fish Merchant will store ice in the ice cellar, and take it out in summer to keep the fish fresh, and then sell it to the nobles in the castle.However, Laya's mind was not on the meal, she was waiting for the Marquis to speak.

However, none of the people here took the initiative to mention Xiongshan. They must have known about it, but they didn't mention it.Laya has enough patience to wait, because the lord will speak about this matter sooner or later.It can even be said that today's banquet is for this matter.Then the clown and the magician also took to the stage to perform magical tricks.The fireball emitted by the magician illuminated the hall and made people's faces bright and dark.At the moment when the third fireball exploded, Laya suddenly saw the expression of the demon monk Putin twisted. He raised his glass and said:

"My lord, I have something to ask you."

"What is it?" the Marquis asked while admiring the trick.

"It's... about Bear Mountain."

"You?" The lord wrinkled his fat face, glanced at the priest, then at Laya who was still silent, then grinned, and said, "Then I'm all ears."

Author's message:

ps: I will have a day off tomorrow, and I will organize the outline at the end of the month and do routine work.

Raya in Stormwind Hold, [-]

Raya in Stormwind Hold, [-]

The monster with huge eyes stared like a frog with a human face.

He looked at the Marquis and Arwen, and said, "Master, you must have heard about Xiongshan. I don't think it's easy to handle."

"Oh, you said Xiongshan, I don't think it's a big deal. I recruited my vassals yesterday and chose to attack Xiongbao. Although there are not many people under my command, there are tens of thousands, and the old general Youngor leads the army , and the siege weapon built by the underground craftsmen, even Xiongbao is easy to defend and difficult to attack, and I am also confident in taking it down."

Laya frowned when she heard this, and thought to herself: This time, the matter of Xiongshan can be resolved internally, so why send troops?

Then she heard the demon monk say: "This matter can be resolved internally, why send troops?"

At that moment, Laya doubted that this guy could read minds.But obviously the demon monk didn't say this for Laya, Laya could feel that this guy was more anxious than her about Xiongshan.

Does he think the same as me?The demon monk Putin also doesn't want the Marquis to beat Xiongshan?Why?

Laya was full of doubts. Grilas Vladimir Putin, this man and Laya have always been political rivals. As the leaders of the two major religions of Fengleibao, they have been intriguing and trying to get more from the Marquis. Interests come—there is only so much meat in Fengleibao, if you eat it, I will starve, so the interests of the White Clothes Society have always been in conflict with Putin's Eastern Poseidon Sect, so they have been singing opposite scenes.

What's going on today?The Marquis, who has always loved peace, wants to take the initiative to go to war, and my deadly enemy is standing on the same front with me?It's all messed up.

Laya became more and more confused, she was at a loss.

At this moment, the Marquis smiled and said, "Xiongshan can be solved internally, but there are still external problems that cannot be solved."

Laya didn't understand what the marquis meant for a while, then the earl and his wife looked at each other and said, "It's fine to hit a dozen, I hit Bear Castle, some young people may be able to settle down."

Certain young people?When talking about young people, Laya immediately thought of the little trident.

I see.Laya thought to herself, the position of Bear Castle is very delicate. The Earl of Bear Mountain is nominally the vassal of the Marquis, but he is also the Duke's confidant, and Bear Mountain has always relied on the blood transfusion of Jinsha Castle to survive. This has caused Bear Mountain to become a controversy. place.

If the Marquis hit Bear Mountain, it meant he was protesting against the Duke.

In the past two years, the Grand Duke has been bedridden with serious illness, and he is hanging on his breath, so the little trident Earl Kahn has already taken the position ahead of schedule.It is said that he has been putting pressure on the two marquises under his command these days, asking for money, food, and recruiting troops.The son of the Marquis of White Bird is also a hawk full of blood and courage, more radical than Earl, needless to say; but the Marquis of Fengleibao's first-order businessman personality, why would he want to fight a "battle of honor"?

Marquis Eston had negotiated with the two young kings a lot before, and he also tolerated everything, but it was obviously not effective.That being the case, it is necessary for the Marquis to use some means.

Laya felt that there were very complicated reasons why the Marquis planned to attack Bear Mountain, and deterring the little trident was one of the reasons.If Marquis can succeed in showing off his muscles this time, then the little trident will have to weigh it carefully.

Beating the bear mountain is fake, but beating the small trident is real, this is knocking the mountain to shake the tiger.

Laya will not let this happen, but she is not in a hurry now because she wants to see what the demon monk is capable of.

The magician performed a face-changing trick, and he performed while dancing, which attracted the amazement of the audience.The face of the magician is changing, and the face of Putin is also changing. "My lord, let me divination for you." He sullenly, his huge eyes began to roll, his eyeballs were like crystal balls in a glass jar, wriggling in the pupils in a strange way.Raya gets goosebumps every time she sees this scene.The clown on the stage was stepping on the ball and circling wildly, and the demon monk's eyeballs were also spinning like the ball. At this moment, he made a deep and long voice: "I saw it!"

"What do you see?" said the Marquis.

"I saw..." His eyes stopped spinning, "I saw the northerner's flag planted on Bear Mountain, and your blood stuck to the woman's white dress!"

The woman's white clothes, well, this guy really won't talk to me.Laya was no stranger to this, and according to the demon monk's prophecy, she would have to kill the Marquis's family seven or eight times.

The Marquis didn't take this seriously, he said with a smile: "Hahaha! Master Putin, you are good at everything, but the prophecy has never been right! If you want to use these two words to make me change my mind, I'm afraid it's a slap in the face Wrong calculation."

"No!" The demon monk showed horror, "I didn't talk nonsense this time!"

Laya said at this time: "Master, you were just talking nonsense before?"

Everyone else laughed, but Putin gave Laia a hard look and said, "I'm speaking for you!"

Does the blood on the white clothes also speak for me?Laya ignored him, but said to the Marquis: "My lord, let's put aside the prophecy first. There is indeed some misunderstanding about Xiongshan. You know, rumors cannot be trusted, and news among nobles is inevitably mixed. I have a personal opinion, so I think, let me explain this matter to you, after all, I am the person involved. "

The Marquis didn't speak, Awen chatted and laughed with a noble girl passing by, and the Marquis suddenly said, "I heard that you were held hostage by the rebels, Mrs. Laya, and you were rescued by the warriors of the White Clothes Society." The woman The man showed a kind smile, "It's really great that there is no danger."

Raya realizes that the Marquis wants to target Bear Mountain, but wants to keep her.Whether it is the young master or the madam, their tone is the same, that is, I was held hostage and had nothing to do with the rebels.

But I can't accept your love.

Laya shook her head lightly, "No, madam, I..."

"Wait a minute!" At this moment, Booker picked up the wine and said, "Miss Raya, let me toast you first."

This glass of wine came so suddenly, like a wild horse rushing out of the intersection.Laya was stunned and asked, "Why?"

Booker didn't answer, but talked about this wine: "I offer you a toast, just because this wine is excellent, you can't miss it. This wine is fermented for 18 years with blue jade plums, wild jujubes, snake tail flowers and other rare fruits. Today, this cup is a hundred-year-old wine. At the Three Kings Meeting 200 years ago, the Grand Duke Kahn chose to serve the northern king after drinking this wine, and thus the Kahn family and the Duke of the Trident came into being today. ;If he didn't drink this wine at the beginning, I'm afraid the end will be the same as that of King Chauvin. The blue jade plum represents the goddess of wisdom in the north, so this wine is also called the wine of the goddess of wisdom, and only wise people can drink it. You should try it Yes." He finally said in a very serious tone.

The aristocrats of the Bayland love to show off and use hints, and the Mondalia family is especially prominent among them.It's just that the hint this time is too obvious, and it's not an exaggeration to say it's an explicit statement.Laya judged from experience, the more obvious the hint, the more serious the matter.

The wine was lying in front of her like a tiger blocking the way—to drink or not to drink?

Raya in Thunderbolt, [-]

Raya in Thunderbolt, [-]

Laya stared at the purple liquor, as if two cows were colliding in her heart.

Drink, this means that I will admit what the Marquis said, and then I can indeed keep my position in Fengleibao, but Lord Haven will suffer.

If you don't drink, maybe you have to tear your face apart now - you don't even drink the prince's toast, what are you going to do?

The situation on the wine table was as dangerous as the battlefield, and Laya felt haggard, and the blood vessels on her left chest and the top of her head throbbed with pain.

She sniffed the wine, frowned, and said, "What a strong wine."

Booker laughed, and said, "Gulflanders drink hard liquor, how can they look like girls in the south?"

Laya had an idea at this moment, and said, "It's a pity that I'm tired from the journey today, and I feel that I can't drink enough—Ma'am, please ask a gentleman to have a drink instead, the young master won't mind?"

In the customs of the Gulf, it is a lady's privilege to ask someone to drink a drink. "This..." Booker's fat face wrinkled.At this moment, Laya let out a dry cough, and the veteran Aaron behind her turned around instantly, picked up the wine glass and drank it down in one gulp.After drinking the wine, he bowed to Booker and said, "I'll drink this wine for you. Your Excellency is not well. I hope the young master will forgive me!"

That wine is just one glass, and if it's gone, it's gone.The young master had no choice but to wave his hands with a dry smile, and said, "It's nothing! Mister is a good drinker." After saying this, his brows sank, and his face became much colder.

At this time, Laya looked at Lord Marquis again, and the bloated old man also looked at Laya, and said, "Since you insist on this, Mr. Chairman, let's talk about it, maybe you, the 'client—'" He pulled He made a long and subtle voice, "Can you tell me the truth about Xiongshan's rebellion!"

"Yes, my lord, I must tell the truth."

After going through this level, Laya finally got a chance to speak.However, the atmosphere at the wine table is already very unfavorable to her. The two sons of the Marquis are talking about irrelevant matters, the lady is greeting some guests who came to toast, the Marquis is yawning, and the demon monk is looking at her with big eyes , It seems to be a joke.But this is not what worries Laya the most. The person she is worried about has not yet participated in the scene—Awen Nemendus just watched all this with a smile, and occasionally quarreled with the girls who came over. Personality.But Laya felt that this man would never be a simple spectator, otherwise he would not appear in this hall and sit on this chair.

But she still had to bite the bullet and say it, but fortunately she had prepared her lines.So she explained everything that happened in Xiongshan, from Wenkai's scheme to frame Haiwen to Lavidia's brother-killing and usurpation of power, and then the earl covering up the kinslayer to turn black and white.In the end, she vividly played up the relationship between Lavidia and the ogre, portraying the whole incident as an infiltration of the Bear Mountain by the Vulcan Cult, and portraying Haiwen and others as righteous and awe-inspiring national heroes of the Gulf.

"A lesson to be learned from our ancestors, Lord Marquis!" She stood in front of her seat and said emotionally, "Lord Ambside is not a robber or a rebel as the rumors say, he is the hero who saved Xiongshan. If they hadn't raised troops to serve the king , then Bear Mountain will fall into the hands of the northerners, and the Antler Pass will be broken. In this way, the northerner’s cavalry can drive straight in, and then enter the Reach, Three Bays, and even Stormwind Castle from the Mustang Plain.”

"Huh, this is really scary." The Marquis said lightly.

The reactions of the Marquis and others disappointed her. Obviously, what she had prepared didn't have much effect.But Laya was able to hold her breath, and she continued: "Heroes should not be drowned in the saliva of some villains, my lord, please learn from me."

His lord was silent.At this moment, the performance of the banquet is also over, and the banquet is gradually coming to an end.Many people were staring at Sir Alex's table, pricking up their ears, hoping to hear something.

"Then you are not being held hostage, but are you really involved?" the Marquis said to Laya.

Obviously the Marquis' focus is not on this incident, or he doesn't care about it at all.He had already confirmed the matter of rebellion, and Laya really didn't understand—is it necessary to launch a war just to beat the little trident?She had to change her strategy, and she tried to tell the Marquis how uneconomical it was to attack Bear Mountain.

"My lord, you know that Bear Castle is easy to defend and difficult to attack, but you don't know how strong that castle is. At that time, we used 5000 people and seven siege engines to attack the castle, but we couldn't shake that fortress at all. You know, there are only 500 people in the castle. If our soldiers did not respond from the inside, I am afraid we would not have succeeded at all. I don’t know how many people are stationed in Bear Castle now, how many thousand? Ten thousand? If you go to the Bear Castle from here , then there will inevitably be a fierce battle. It’s okay if you win, but if you’re unlucky..." At this point, the Marquis raised his head and looked at Laya with a pair of smiling eyes. Although he was smiling, Ke Laya felt a chill in her heart.

"What happens to bad luck?" Marquis Eston asked her.

"It will be counterproductive." Laya said in a deep voice, "At that time, you will lose the prestige of the master of Fenglei Castle, and you will even face enemies. My lord, the words of advice are harsh, but you have always treated me like a distinguished guest, so I shall speak the most useful words for you .”

"Oh, lost prestige..." The Marquis sneered a few times, and the flesh on his chin trembled, "I understand, I understand, Laya, Putin, you two are the leaders of the two major religions in Fengleibao, He is my most trusted wise man, and I will not ignore your advice. But... I also hope that you can think for me. Bear Mountain was already rotten before anything happened, the Duke didn’t care about it, and I was far away Fengleibao is also out of reach, but this place is my territory after all, and those who die are my vassals, I must take care of it.” He sighed, and said: “Tell the people below that they should eat and drink, I'm taking a few guests to another place - Alian Miao, please preside over the banquet."

The Marquise nodded and said, "Yes, my lord."

Then the Marquis rose to his feet, supported by his two sons.The Marquis gestured for his sons to stay here, and then he walked behind the screen with Laya and Putin.Laya asked Aaron to stay in the hall temporarily, and servants are not qualified to go to such a place with her.

Before leaving, Laya glanced back at Awen, and the man was still drinking by himself in his seat.Am I paranoid?Laya thought, is he really an ordinary businessman who sneaked into the castle?

Time did not allow Laya to think too much, so they followed the Marquis into the small door behind the screen and came to the moonlight corridor of Fenglei Castle.

The desolate moonlight shone on the long corridor pavilion, making the night wind icy cold. The three people's shoes left the soft carpet and knocked on the cold and hard brick floor, making harsh noises.The hilarious banquet behind him has gone, leaving only Wanfeng Hanyue, Castle Waves, and three people with their own concerns.

The Marquis stopped in front of the bluestone fence in the corridor, looking at the sea in the distance.Raya and Putin stood beside his shadow, waiting for the Marquis to speak.The sound of the sea is pleasant, and the evening breeze is pleasant, but for Laya, all these are torments.

At this time the Marquis said: "You two, I said before that you are the wise men I rely on, and I respect you - but I want to ask, although I rely on you, are you really loyal to me?" The Marquis said turning Over the head, the moonlight shone on his side face, making his skin paler, and that generous smile became more permeable.

Raya in Stormwind Hold, Ten

Raya in Stormwind Hold, Ten

"What are you saying, my lord?" The demon monk spoke first, "My loyalty to my lord is like the bright moon in the sky and the waves of the sea. It will never change from time immemorial!"

The lord nodded with a half-smile, and said, "Laya, what about you?"

"My lord, I am not a foolish and loyal person, let alone give my loyalty meaninglessly. But I am loyal to morality, conscience and justice. I think the Marquis of Fengleibao is a man of virtue and talent, so I am willing to share your worries .”

The lord nodded again, and said: "Understood." Then he said in a playful voice: "I think there must be two liars among the three of us."

Both Laya and Putin lowered their heads, not daring to answer this sentence.

"Now the king occupying Bear Mountain must have promised you something to make you speak for him so hard. You think this matter seems reasonable, so you want to use your mouth to tell the truth. But think about it for yourself, this may ?"

Putin said: "My lord, I just hope that you don't send troops. Once you send troops, Fengleibao will definitely suffer heavy losses, and the gains outweigh the losses."

The Marquis sneered, and said, "The losses are heavy if you send troops, so if you don't send troops, there will be no losses? Do you know where Xiongshan is?"

Putin remained silent, but Laya said, "It's the fortress guarding the Antler Pass."

The Marquis nodded and said: "Not only that. This is the card table for me and the Grand Duke of Trident. Bear Mountain belongs to me as well as the Grand Duke's. I control Bear Castle in name and legal principle, and the Grand Duke controls Bear Castle in gold. We are half of each other." But now that the little trident is here, this arrogant person has always wanted to completely occupy Bear Mountain. Now that something happened to Bear Mountain, if I can’t express it at this time, I’m telling Bayland: Eston is scared , Xiongshan, I gave the little trident!"

It was only at this time that Laya understood the difficulty of the Marquis.

Xiongshan is an important border town, since Little Trident has plans to go to war, then Xiongshan is the place he must fight for.The Marquis has always been an anti-war faction, and he will never let Xiongshan fall into the hands of the little trident.The matter of Lavidia became the fuse of the conflict between the Marquis and the Duke. If the Marquis could not solve the problem of Xiongshan with thunder, he would lose Xiongshan.Not only that, but he will also lose the prestige of the Marquis of Fengleibao.