Chapter 726: Arrested
In the underground warehouse of Wellsburg, Salter's fingers were jumping wildly in the firelight. Twenty boxes of enamel vessels seized from Lombardy were uncovered with bitter cloth, and the rubies inlaid on them looked like drops of solidified blood in the light of the torches.
"The third box has six pieces with cracked cup rims, which can only be discounted by 30% according to the market price." Salt's eagle-like gaze swept over the goods, and his quill made a scratchy sound on the parchment, "Tell those profiteers in Genoa that the Province of Wales only accepts silver or weapons transactions."
Everyone turned their heads in horror and saw Spencer leaning on a cane, exuding the pungent smell of gunpowder, "Who is responsible for the tarpaulin on the fifth carriage? The rainwater has seeped into the sulfur tank!"
"It's you who requested that loading be completed tonight!" The captain of the coach wiped the cold sweat from his forehead, "The craftsmen said that the fireproof mud needs to be dried...:
The chief officer suddenly raised the torch and approached the carriage, and the dancing flames reflected the crazy light in his eyes, "Then use fire Bake it dry!"
Hence the screams of the crowd, he thrust the torch into the wet mud, "The sulfur will release acid mist when it gets wet, and the entire convoy will turn into burning snakes!"
Sart's fingers suddenly stopped. The shrewd businessman slowly took off his gold-rimmed glasses and wiped the lenses with his velvet cuffs. "Spencer, do you know how much thirty-seven boxes of bombs are worth?" His voice was as soft as a poisonous snake's message. "It's equivalent to three years of salt tax in Wales."
The crutch hit the bluestone ground heavily. Spencer's bandage oozed blood, but he smiled like a child who got a new toy, "But their roar would have made the Lombards afraid to look north for thirty years!
A loud sound of a wooden box falling to the ground suddenly came from deep in the cellar. Everyone The moment he drew his sword, he saw little George emerging from behind the pile of goods, holding a clay pot bigger than his head in his arms, "Uncle Spencer, how many Lombard villains can this blow up?"
Spencer's pupils suddenly shrank. He recognized that it was an experimental object that was not filled with gunpowder, but the detonator device had not yet been removed..::.:
"This can blow up a lot of Lombard bad guys, but, kid, you should give him to me~" Spencer gently took the clay pot, wiped the cold sweat from his forehead, and carefully took the clay pot out~
As twilight soaked through the west tower of Wellsburg, Lottie was feeding fresh elderflower nectar to her mother's lips.
Cough~
The breeze leaking in through the window was still a little chilly. Mrs. Galvin leaned on the goose down soft pillow and coughed twice, but her face was no longer as pale as the previous few days.
"You kid, the government affairs are enough for you." The old man tapped the edge of the porcelain bowl with a silver spoon, and the emerald forehead ornament in his hair swayed slightly as he shook his head. "Doctor Thomas said it, I just caught a cold, nothing serious...
Lottie persisted in saving another spoonful of amber concoction, and the steaming heat dampened the golden powder on her eyelashes. "Have you forgotten that last autumn, when I was hunting, I said that a small cough was okay, but I ended up in bed for half a month?" When the skirt saw swept across the floor, it brought up a violet-scented wind, which was the flower juice she had caught when counting spring seeds in the barn this morning.
咚～
Little George suddenly burst open the carved wooden door like a golden retriever. The brown paper bag held on the wooden sword was dripping with honey, "Grandma! Newly baked gingerbread in the kitchen!" The boy rushed to the bed like a whirlwind, but stopped like a sudden brake and carefully placed the paper bag beside the bed - he had not forgotten the lesson of knocking over the medicine bowl last time.
Mrs. Galvin smiled and took George into her arms, and suddenly noticed the faint ink stains on Lottie's sleeves, "My dear, it's time for you to change clothes." Her fingertips brushed the pattern of the map of Wales on her daughter's sleeves, "I heard that Salt has been waiting at the horse for half an hour~"
Lottie stood up helplessly, and the medicine spoon made a clear sound when it collided with the porcelain bowl. When she passed by the dressing mirror, she was suddenly shocked by the reflection in the mirror. Her pearl hairnet was tilted to a funny angle at some point, and there was only one amethyst pendant left in her left ear.
"Mother has turned into a unicorn!" Little George pointed at the top of her head and laughed. The boy's laughter disturbed the nightingale on the oak tree outside the window, and also diluted the lingering bitter smell in the pharmacy.
The torches in the underground warehouse turned Salt's gold-rimmed glasses into copper. The Minister of Commerce of the Government was examining an enamel wine flask with an ivory-handled magnifying glass when he was suddenly startled by the sound of a cane behind him and almost broke the treasure.
"Madam, you should be at the weapons workshop." Salter continued to count the goods without looking back, "Spencer has already set off with thirty-seven boxes of bombs."
Lottie approached with a whale oil lamp, and the light illuminated her new dark green satin robe, with dark patterns of Welsh wolf heads on the cuffs. "I'm here to remind you that the caravan needs to carry twenty cans of elderflower nectar to the soldiers in the south."
Sart's hands suddenly stopped. When this shrewd businessman turned around, his eyes narrowed into two slits behind his lenses, "Madam, every inch of our cargo hold has been converted into silver coins..."
"Then free up two boxes of enamelware." Lottie's fingertips touched the emblem on the wine flask, "Tell the Genoese that these trophies are stained with a curse - unless they are purified with rosemary essential oil, a specialty of the south."
The torch suddenly exploded with sparks. Salt's hands began to beat rapidly again, as if there was an invisible force playing with them. "The market price of rosemary essential oil is fifty times that of nectar..."
Suddenly a child screamed from deep in the cellar. Little George emerged from behind the pile holding a clay pot, with spider webs on the tip of his nose. "Mother, this pot can sing!" He shook the sample left by Spencer, and the sulfur particles inside made a rustling sound.
Lottie snatched the clay pot in an instant faster than a cheetah. When she made sure the pot was safe, she suddenly hugged her son to her side, and our little George discovered the treasure. The song of this pot could keep the Lombards awake at night——"
"Remember, bring twenty jars of elderflower nectar with you!" Lottie's tone was more of an order.
"Yes, ma'am!" Salter replied with a slight nod, watching Lottie and George leave.
On the second day, the sky was slightly bright, and the sound of whips and whistles was already heard in the fallow land on the northern slope. Scott walked through the dew and inspected the fields. His old saddle bag was stuffed with marigold seeds exchanged for the countess' jewelry - it is said that the roots of this flower can repel ground maggots.
"Put half your hand to the left!" The warden suddenly shouted, startling the skylark that was pecking at grass seeds. He jumped off the horse and grabbed the serf's plow handle, demonstrating the deep plowing technique with his cracked palms, "Remember, let the seeds lie on the velvet mattress, not the slate!" As soon as he finished speaking, the fragrant violet breeze suddenly drifted from the morning mist. Lottie held up her skirt and stepped into the renovated black soil, the golden wheat hairpin in her hair trembling slightly with her steps. Behind her were more than twenty peasant women, each holding clay pots filled with high-quality manure.
"Madam, the slope of the field ridge on the east side needs to be adjusted." Scott drew an arc with the plow blade, "Otherwise there will be flash floods in the rainy season...::
"Plant seeds on the third field ridge." Lottie knelt down to crush the soil, and the morning dew wet her cuffs. "This deep-rooted plant can stabilize the soil." When she looked up, the rising sun was leaping over the distant mountains, dyeing the water droplets on her eyelashes amber-gold.
Not far away, a sudden cheer spread like wildfire. When the morning fog cleared, people saw thirty oxcarts loaded with seeds driving over the hillside~
When Scott's old tears fell into the newly plowed soil, Lottie was burying an amethyst earring in the field. That was the treasure that little George found in the corner of her dressing room last night. It will now be used as a sacrifice in the spring plowing ceremony and turn into morning dew among thousands of wheat ears during the autumn harvest. While everyone in the province of Wales was immersed in the joy of victory, the members of the escort team that was about to arrive at Besancon were in an unusually low mood.
It has been three hours since the melted snow mixed with new mud fermented in the ruts, creating the smell of humus. Four black horses, whose manes were covered with ice crust, dragged the gilded chariot out of the shadow of the manor in the south.
Phoenix stared at the herbal sachet fluttering on his father's mink collar—it was a special tranquillizer made by St. Maurice Abbey. At this moment, it was leaking a bitter smell in the cold wind with Lord Galvin's cough.
“Tell the guards to tuck the silver edge of the shroud tighter.” Lord Galvin ordered as he curled up in the bearskin rug, his blue-gray fingertips tracing the gap between the spiritual core. The ice flowers condensed on the surface of the coffin are melting into tear-shaped water stains under the noon clouds, soaking the cover cloth embroidered with the double-headed eagle emblem.
Hence Mr. Galvin, who was supposed to stay in the monastery for a few more days to recuperate, quickly caught up with the team under the escort of his guards when he felt a little better the next day.
At this time, although his health was improving, he was still a little weak.
Bishop Olof added a handful of frankincense to the censer, "God will forgive the lost souls."
"But the vultures of Besançon only recognize flesh and blood!" Lord Galvin took over.
Although he was getting closer to Besançon, Lord Galvin's heart became heavier.
"Lord Galvin, the best way to deal with that group of vultures is to let a group of wolves drive them away! I believe that Art will arrange everything." Bishop Olof crossed his hands on his chest, without any panic in his eyes.
Phoenix stepped forward and said, "Father, my brother-in-law has already made arrangements. If the important officials in the palace have any objections at that time, the more than a thousand people we have are enough to deal with those bastards!"
"I hope so!" Lord Galvin sighed softly, walked forward slowly, and got into the carriage with the support of the guards.
"Everyone, keep going!"
Fenix gave the order, and the group once again walked through the wind and snow, heading north. When the news of Flanders' death was about to spread throughout Burgundy, all the Lombard spies who had spread the "rumors" were arrested.
But it was not the palace guards who captured these Lombards, but the eagle eye planted by a powerful man in Besançon.