Without apologizing or yelling, "What's wrong with you?", the woman in black led the horse away angrily. Hepburn, who was of a weak nature, did not take it seriously, and took Miss Ally to the river bank to prepare to cross the river. To this point
By now, this incident has come to an end.
After the carriages crossed the river one by one, the Duke escorted Miss Ellie onto the ferry.
"This river is so wide!" Miss Ellie exclaimed, leaning on the railing beside the boat: "But from the boat, it looks like the river is even wider."
"Because the perspective is different, and human beings always seem very small in front of nature. It is not a bad thing for us to face all this with awe." The Duke stood behind her: "There are five such rivers in the empire, precisely because
Only with the nourishment of these rivers can our country be so prosperous."
"Why do you say that? Don't there be floods every year?" Miss Ai Li looked at the handsome man beside her and asked curiously.
"Although there was a flood, it was short-lived, and after the flood receded, the land on both sides of the river became more fertile, so the agricultural products of Sunset Plains were very rich, and they provided food security for the empire." Hepburn said this.
He said succinctly: "As a noble of the empire, you should know more about this land."
"I understand." Miss Ellie realized something: "Your Excellency, I really like hearing what you say."
"That's my honor." Hepburn nodded and replied. He didn't mind talking about boring topics as long as it could prevent others from paying attention to his handsome appearance and create some bad associations.
"We are about to reach the shore, Your Excellency, we are about to arrive at the residence of Viscount Gironde." At this point, Ellie lowered her head: "Does the Viscount feel strange that I appear next to you?"
"I don't think so! Viscount Gironde is an amiable elder." Hepburn said with a serious face: "No matter how strange your appearance is, it can't be stranger than me..."
Ellie knew he was joking and looked at Hepburn's face and was about to answer when he suddenly put his arm around her waist - the next moment, she felt like she was flying in the air!
There was a loud bang, and a huge column of water shot straight into the sky from the center of the ship. The ship gradually fell apart amid violent shaking.
With a shout, the guards with swords in their hands also rose into the air and followed Hepburn towards the river bank, forming a defense in the air and watching the water vigilantly. Heaven took off his coat and dived in with a few guards.
In the water.
Hepburn stepped onto the river bank, put down the frightened young lady in his hands, turned around, looked at the river and the surroundings, and said: "The other party is not an assassin, don't hurt anyone."
The guards agreed in unison. They were far inferior to the Duke in martial arts, so they all fell into the water half a person deep, and were very wet and embarrassed.
The water surface rolled violently, and several water columns exploded again. From the water splashes all over the sky, two figures jumped out of the water column. After a short fight, the two figures had already set foot on the river bank. To be precise, the other figure was caught in the water column.
Heaven is about to come ashore.
Miss Ellie saw the person clearly and couldn't help but let out a low cry, because the person who was forced ashore was the unruly woman in black from before!
She put on a black swimsuit, revealing her graceful figure, her long wet hair was constantly dripping with water drops, her chest was rising and falling, and she was adjusting her breathing. Although the situation was not good, the unruly woman still had a look of indifference on her face.
But when his eyes glanced at the clothes of Hepburn and Miss Ally, there was a hint of disappointment in his eyes.
"Frankly speaking, you are very naughty. If you do such a thing in the capital, your life will be lost." Hepburn said in a cold tone: "Heaven, let her hand over the money to compensate the ship, we will wait for you in front.
"
"Yes, Your Excellency." Heaven replied, his eyes still covering the woman in black.
"You'd better not anger my guard. His martial arts skills are almost the same as mine." Hepburn took two steps, turned back and said, "If you make him blush, you will never have the chance to be unruly again."
"Bah, who is afraid of you!" The woman in black made a face and spat at Hepburn's back.
"Give me the money." Tiantian stepped into the sight of the woman in black and said coldly: "Above."
"Above? What above?" The woman in black shook her hair with a look of contempt on her face: "Are you bullying me for being a woman by saying such incomprehensible words?"
"In my eyes, there are only comrades and enemies." Tiantian's expression changed a little, and his tone became colder: "There is no difference between men and women - give me money!"
"No, I won't give it!" No matter how unruly the woman in black is, she still has little experience in the world. She was startled by Tian Tian's eyes on the spot: "What can you do? Hit me?"
Tiantian turned his wrist, inserted the knife into the ground, took a step forward, and punched Tiantian fiercely! The woman in black gave a sweet shout, turned the blade of the knife, and slammed Tiantian's fist with the back of the knife.
With a "ding!" sound, the knife in the woman's hand was broken into two pieces, and she staggered back a few steps, and finally fell into the sand on the shore.
Heaven took another step forward: "Give me money!"
The woman in black raised her head and could clearly feel the murderous aura emanating from Tian Tian's body, and her anger was even more shocking. But in the blink of an eye, she was already bursting into tears, looking like she had been wronged.
Heaven takes another step forward: "Even if you cry to death here, I still have to give you money!"
"I have no money, and I won't give it to you even if I die!"
"Then you die!" Just as he was about to give this unruly woman a show of strength, there was a burst of chaotic footsteps coming from behind. Tiantian snorted coldly, but turned around and froze...
At this time, Duke Hepburn's motorcade drove into a large manor. The manor was decorated with lights and the owner was standing not far from the gate to welcome the distinguished guests.
As soon as the carriage stopped, Duke Hepburn got out, with a hearty smile on his face, and stretched out his hand to shake hands with Viscount Gironde. Viscount Gironde was dressed as a farmer, wearing an ordinary sun hat on his head, and said:
Holding a big pipe in his mouth, he reached out and patted Hepburn on the shoulder, laughing.
"Long time no see, Mr. Viscount." Hepburn looked at Viscount Gironde's bronze skin: "How are you lately?"
"As soon as I return to my hometown, I will be full of energy." Viscount Gironde laughed boldly: "It's you, Your Excellency! It's hard work along the way, right?"
"I am a soldier in my early twenties. I am not that delicate. Besides, the scenery along the way can relieve fatigue." The Duke turned around and introduced the person behind him to Viscount Gironde: "This is my sister, Miss Allie.
, who traveled with me."
Miss Ellie took a few steps forward with a smile and saluted: "Good day, Vicomte Gironde."
"Welcome to the Gironde Manor, beautiful and demure lady." The Viscount returned the greeting, stroking his chest: "I have a granddaughter who is about the same age as my grandma. I hope they can become friends."
"By the way, I haven't seen Miss Gironde yet!" Hepburn then remembered that Viscount Gironde had a granddaughter: "Where is she?"
"She is at the tutor's place. I have sent a letter to inform her. She should be back today." Viscount Gironde replied: "If she didn't cause trouble on the road, she should be home by now."
"Causing trouble?" Hepburn was surprised: "Viscount, what does your granddaughter look like?"
"What does he look like?" Gironde was stunned: "He looks pretty good! He dresses like a boy, is good at wielding swords and sticks, and also likes to wear a black mask on his face in broad daylight..."
Dressed like this, he looked too much like someone Hepburn had met before... Before Hepburn could say anything, there was a rush of horse hooves at the door, followed by a sweet shout: "Here comes someone! Close the door, don't leave."
Let these people run away - let this lady's devil dog out!"
"You..." Viscount Gironde asked doubtfully, "Have you met before?"
"I'm afraid so." Hepburn cried out bitterly in her heart: "We met by chance once."
On the road outside the gate, Heaven is marching with difficulty. The reason why it is said to be difficult is that it is covered with children - there are twenty or thirty children pulling on his clothes, grabbing his hair, and biting his teeth.
Thigh, there was a child next to him who was throwing stones at him while shouting "bad guy, bad guy, the bad guy who beat the lady". Even if he couldn't hurt anyone, he didn't dare to throw it away, and he couldn't bear to hit him. He could almost say that he couldn't move even an inch.
The clothes on his body have long been pulled to pieces, and he looks like a beggar...
On the same day, the two parties spent a lot of words to resolve the "misunderstanding". However, the angry Miss Gironde seemed not very happy, because in her opinion, Duke Hepburn's apology was just a reluctant social interaction. Of course,
She won't show her dissatisfaction immediately. After all, if she knows the other party's identity, the future will be long! There will be plenty of opportunities to regain her face.
Moreover, she felt quite satisfied with having such a famous "brother"... If he was abducted and sold, it would be worth a lot of money! In order to achieve this goal, she first had to be friends with Miss Alli.
After dinner, Duke Hepburn and Viscount Gironde took a walk in the yard. The old and the young followed the paths in the garden and walked among the blooming summer flowers. Viscount Gironde also taught Hepburn how to enjoy the local mellow tobacco leaves.
, it’s a pity that Hepburn was not good at this, she was choked to tears.
"Are you traveling now? My manor should not be on the list." Gironde asked Hepburn to sit in the pavilion in the garden, and then ordered his servants to bring red wine: "Why did you suddenly change your itinerary to come to Sunset Plain?
What happened?"
"Yes, my travel itinerary was arranged by His Majesty the Emperor. I don't have much free time. I originally wanted to come to you on my return trip." Hepburn smiled and did not hide anything from Gironde: "Because something strange happened.
, that’s why I set off early, so it’s not considered a violation of the emperor’s order now… Even if there is a slight violation, His Majesty the Emperor will not lock up my nephew.”
"I forgot about this level." Gironde picked up the wine glass: "Cheers to the future important ministers of the empire!"
"For your health."
Gironde put down his glass: "Can you tell me what happened before you set off?"
"That's right, I encountered several assassinations in a row before setting off. Of course, in the current situation, my sensitive identity can easily encounter such things. This is also one of the reasons for traveling..." Hepburn took a sip of wine.
: "But in these two assassinations, the identities of the assassins were very strange."
"Strange assassin?" Gironde leaned forward and asked in a low voice: "Your Excellency, you are saying..."
"According to analysis from various aspects, the assassin is not from this empire or the demon type... he comes from the opposite side. In terms of personal ability, he is almost equivalent to the level of a low-level poisonous scorpion warrior."
"That is to say, they are the divine knights of light." Gironde shook the wine glass in his hand, with a solemn look on his face: "My friend, your situation is not good! Why are you still running around?"
"I can handle a small assassination! But if I stay in the capital now, it will be even more dangerous." Hepburn was amused by Gironde's serious expression: "Besides, I can get rid of the dirty atmosphere in the capital.
I'm happy even if it's temporary."
"The situation in the capital is complicated, I understand this, but you will be in more danger during your travels."
"Sitting quietly at home, danger will never be far away." Hepburn shook his head: "Although I was kicked home by the coalition forces, I am still a soldier after all, right? Being greedy for life and fearing death cannot be called a good officer."
After hearing Hepburn's words, Viscount Gironde said hello, and then laughed several times.
"In fact, it's not that dangerous. As long as you survive these six months, the assassinations from the gods will naturally stop." Facing Hepburn's confused eyes, Viscount Gironde explained: "Many years ago, I was ordered to protect a person.
A child of a famous family, he encountered the same trouble as you. We guarded him day and night for half a year. After that, no divine assassins came to assassinate him."
"But this is a very strange phenomenon. Why is it happening?" Hepburn asked.
"This is a topic that can only be discussed in private, but fortunately I have discussed it with others." Gironde blinked: "Of course, with my wisdom it is impossible to understand the whole thing, I just know some phenomena.
.”
"please tell me."
"Okay! As far as I know, this phenomenon has been happening for a long time." Gironde blew out a smoke ring: "Every time the war between gods and demons ends, there will be such large-scale assassination activities between gods and demons.
The targets are all the nobility and high-ranking military generals... We don’t know the reason, but we know one thing, except for those who fish in troubled waters, the backbone of the killers are those who belong to the temple and the devil temple."
"The temple and the devil's palace?" Hepburn couldn't believe his ears: "You mean, the devil's palace also sent people to assassinate?"
"That's it. The temple sends people to assassinate demons, and the temple sends people to assassinate gods. In the past six months, the dividing line is full of killers coming and going." At this point, Viscount Gironde
Sighing: "Those who were killed were all nobles, either famous or wealthy... Your name is on the killer list, which in itself shows your ability."
"Should I feel honored?" Hepburn shrugged: "Who started this?"
"It is no longer verifiable which party instigated it, but I prefer to attribute this assassination to revenge." Gironde blinked again: "The defeated party wants to save face, and of course the victorious party also wants to save face.
I will return the favor, it’s that simple.”
"Is this really true? Mr. Viscount, I find you are very naughty."
"As I said, I feel full of energy as soon as I return to my hometown. After all, it is very dangerous to show your sharpness outside." Gironde laughed: "Your Excellency is one of the few calm-minded people I have ever seen. You will definitely
I have my own answer...and as an old man, what kind of truth can you ask me to tell you?"
"The answer...is a little bit!" Hepburn nodded thoughtfully.
"Your Excellency, I sincerely say something to you." Viscount Gironde's eyes showed the kindness of his elders: "It is destined that you will become an important official in the empire in the future, and there are many things that we are unable to fight against. Living too clearly is
It’s a very heavy burden, for yourself, for your family, for your clan... just be confused!"
Hepburn smiled bitterly, turned away and looked at the flowers around her, and after a long time she said: "It's painful to live in confusion!"
"Your Excellency, if you have the ability to protect yourself in this matter, don't touch the so-called truth. I was young and I know how you feel..." Viscount Gironde said in a low voice: "Life is like this, ordinary.
Living is a gift, don't think about the short-lived glory. Besides, you have a more important mission on your shoulders!"
Duke Hepburn remained silent and nodded slightly. (To be continued)