Whispering Verse

Wow!

As Shade placed the heavy object wrapped in the coat on the table, all the items wrapped in the coat were revealed. Gold and silver coins, rings and earrings, plates and cups, stone statues and gems, all kinds of items shimmered in the warm yellow gas light of the lounge, symbolizing wealth. It’s just that for some reason, this priceless package has a very strong smell of aquatic products.

It was seven o'clock on this Wednesday night, and the location was Earl Granger's city manor that Shade had visited before.

The sound of melodious music came from the banquet hall not far away, and outside the window covered by curtains, there was the quiet manor courtyard in the night.

"If I remember correctly, you said you were going to explore the Randall Valley today. This is"

Miss Benenice, who claimed that she would not attend the banquet, asked hesitantly, while Margaret sat on the single sofa to the right of the witch, curiously looking at the pile of things:

"Look, there is also a piece of gold ore. This is really rare. This head is very big. I heard that some people prefer to collect ore instead of getting the gold out of it. But are there any gold mines in the Randall Valley? "

"I spent two hours at the bottom of the river this afternoon."

Shade complained softly:

"Just looking for the rumored creatures like aquatic monkeys. But instead of finding aquatic monkeys, I found these."

"The Ellon River is originally a commercial river. Especially in summer, there are intensive boat traffic. It would not be an exaggeration to find a sunken shipwreck at the bottom of the river."

Bernice said as she looked through the pile of things Shade found:

"I heard that a gold mine was found locally two years ago, but the direction of the veins has never been explored. I didn't expect that you would find such a large ore. I have heard rumors before that there is enough underground in the Randall Valley to buy the entire There are gold reserves in this kingdom, but no one seems to be able to find them.”

"Oh, Shade, you should have told me in advance what you were looking for. The rumors and stories about aquatic monkeys that like to pull people under the water are not unique to the Randall Valley. There are similar stories throughout the southern countries. Stories made up by adults warning children not to just go into the river and play in the water are certainly not your goals.”

Her Royal Highness the Princess said, Shade shook his head:

"But you have to check it out. Maybe this is the most important story."

He stayed at the bottom of the river for too long. Even though he had just gone home and took a shower, he still felt that he had a fishy smell:

"But picking up this pile of 'junk' is not a waste of time. I know a pawn shop owner in Tobesk who buys old things. He will be very interested in these things."

Miss Benenice raised her eyebrows. This was the first time that Shade officially admitted that he indeed traveled between the two places at any time:

"Are you short of money? I can see this."

As he spoke, he twisted out a gemstone ring that Shade had picked up. The gemstone was a rare black color, and every facet of the cut was crystal clear. It was one of the more expensive jewelry that Shade had picked up. The corrosion marks on the metal ring are not particularly serious, and it should have been dropped into the water recently. The witch noticed it, not that she liked the ring. She saw the letters on the inside of the ring:

"Look what's written here - dedicated to Heila. I'll just say that this ring looks familiar. It belongs to the Oxenfurt family. If I remember correctly, when the male master of the Oxenfurt family got married two years ago, The ring was given to the bride, Helena Oxenfurt."

"Why did you end up in the river?"

Shade said doubtfully, but now that he knew who the owner was, he didn't intend to take it for himself:

"Miss Benenice, please return it to the Oxenfurt family. You can send it anonymously or do whatever you want."

"Don't bother me all the time with such small things, just pay it yourself."

She gave the ring to Shade:

"Ston Oxenfurt must have attended this banquet. You can give it to him yourself later and say it was caught by fishing."

As she spoke, she also introduced the family to Shade:

"This is a wealthy business family that has just emerged in recent years. Mr. Stone Ossenfurt is very lucky, and his business investments can always make money. At present, he not only maintains a close red wine business relationship with the city of Huntingdon, but also has a close relationship with the city of Huntingdon. Fleets traveling to and from the New World also had quite frequent trade relations.”

Of course, this is all she knows. After all, in this era, there are always many emerging wealthy business families, but they always disappear quickly. These are not worthy of the great witch's excessive attention.

Shade did not stay in the lounge for too long. Instead, Margaret made up her mind to stay with Miss Benenice tonight instead of in the banquet hall like her brother, Prince William of Anjou. Attend social events.

Of course, in the eyes of others, taking the initiative to get close to Dame Vanessa Benenice is also a very good social activity. Miss Benenice is quite famous in Carsonlik.

Shade did not return the ring first. He still remembered that the most important thing he did tonight was to ask the Earl for other information about Mr. Thomas Granger, who disappeared seventy years ago.

As the host of this banquet, the count has been chatting with the guests in the banquet hall. Of course, the most important thing is to accompany Prince William of Anjou.

Shade easily saw them in the banquet hall. Earl Granger was still the same, and His Royal Highness the Prince, who had the same hair color as Margaret, was the second time Shade saw him outside the train station.

After generations of bloodline optimization, the descendants of the royal family all have good looks. There are three princes and two princesses in this generation of the Anjou royal family. Margaret is the youngest daughter, and William Anjou is the second prince, younger than the eldest princess and the eldest prince.

At this time, His Royal Highness the Prince was in a corner of the banquet hall where soothing music was playing, chatting with a few noble gentlemen who seemed to be quite famous. A group of people seemed to be chatting about an interesting topic, and the prince looked surprised.

He said something to his servant, who quickly left in a hurry. After a while, he brought a man who was taller than Shade, with a medium build but looked quite strong. His hairstyle is very distinctive. His black hair is very thick. The sides of his forehead are shaved to reveal only stubble, and the hair on the top of his head is slightly raised.

This is also a guest attending the banquet, and compared with the traditional nobles, his appearance clearly shows that he is an ordinary person without a title. Not only that, this man looked more like the leader of a dynamic social group operating in the city than a guest at a banquet.

This does not mean that he looks like a bad guy, but that he has a rather fierce temperament. This is not the military temperament of Shade's good friend Captain Rades. Coupled with his tall and well-proportioned figure, broad hands, and muscles that look very strong, ladies will probably like him very much.

This kind of dress and appearance seems to be the "Mr. Stone Oxenfurt" mentioned by Miss Bernice not long ago. He was brought to Prince William of Anjou by the valet. He put his right hand on his left shoulder and bowed to the prince very respectfully.

He was then invited to sit down and took out his Rhodes deck.

Shade naturally came forward at this time, and then saw Margaret's brother checking Mr. Stone Oxenfurt's deck, and then proposed to play a game with him.

Only then did Xia De know why the prince was interested in this gentleman. Mr. Oxenfurt's deck actually contains 12 special rules cards. And from the enthusiastic discussions among the people around him, Shade knew that all 12 special cards were won locally by Mr. Oxenfurt through card games in just two years.

You know, Shade relied on his amazing luck and encountered various card games in various places in the old continent, and encountered a major event like "Big City Players" that gathered players from all over the world. At this time, he only had 21 special cards. .

"It's amazing."

He stood calmly in the crowd, watching His Royal Highness the Prince and Mr. Oxenfurt playing cards. The two of them used a special card of their own as a bet, using the more traditional "win out of three games, with 3 points for each game" rule. Of course, for the sake of fun, there is also the rule of "throw a die before the start of each round, and the number of cards drawn cannot exceed the number of the die", which is very popular locally.

If Shad Hamilton is a "legendary player" known throughout the world, then Mr. Oxenfurt is a legendary player in the Randall Valley. Maybe Margaret's brother was also a good Rhodes player, but in front of such a player with both luck and strength, he was still easily defeated.

The best-of-three games did not even progress to the third game. During the card game, Mr. Oxenfurt actually drew 5 special cards. Among them, the bet [Southern City·Randall Valley] was even more It has played a decisive role.

As a result, Mr. Oxenfurt easily obtained His Highness the Prince's bet. William Anjou was not discouraged. Instead, he praised the local poker players to those around him for their very good abilities. This made the atmosphere more lively, and everyone felt that His Highness the Prince was approachable.

And now that the Rhodes game has started, naturally we can't just play one round. Prince William of Anjou enthusiastically invited people nearby to play a few more rounds with Mr. Oxenfurt, and offered 5 crowns as a lottery. The person who defeated Mr. Oxenfurt could take the money.

This was originally a means to liven up the atmosphere of the banquet, so Earl Granger, as the host of the banquet, also announced that he could contribute 5 crowns. The nobles who originally surrounded the prince donated generously, and finally accumulated this small fortune to 20 crowns, which is about 240 to 260 pounds.

Play cards with Mr. Oxenfurt, and the winner will be determined in one round. A total of ten people can challenge. If none of them win, Mr. Oxenfurt will take the money. This amount of money is certainly not much for a wealthy businessman like Mr. Oxenfurt, but he values ​​​​maintaining his relationship with the prince, so he accepts the challenges of his guests with confidence.