eastern european eagle

Chapter 575 Return to Constantinople

A ship slowly sailed into the Golden Horn Bay. The golden elk emblem on the blue background on the hull let everyone know that this was the Mason family's ship.

As a famous wealthy family in the Roman Empire, the Mason family had great influence in the business and political circles. Their practices in the colonies also became a weather vane for businessmen to invest. The things they invested in would cause a large amount of money to flow into the industry, causing fierce market competition, but the Masons always made money and didn't lose much. This made everyone feel strange.

"Dad, is this Constantinople?"

Daughter Louise lay on the bow looking at the city in front of her. Mason walked to her side, picked her up and said, "Yes, this is the Constantinople that Dad often told you about. This is Dad's favorite place."

The scenery of Constantinople is still so beautiful that the whole world is fascinated by it. Mason looked at the busy dock and lamented that the place has changed so fast. When he first came here, it was still depressed, but now it has become active again.

"What are you talking about?"

His wife Antonia came to them holding their still-breastfeeding son. As the daughter of a director of the East India Company, Mason gained the support of his father-in-law to gain a foothold in India and expand. His father-in-law also used his fame to improve his position in the business world, which was good for everyone.

"Nothing, just Louise being very curious about her first visit to Constantinople."

"That's true. After all, she is staying in Dalmatia. The scenery here is much better than there."

The ship docked, and the Mason family members who were waiting on the dock quickly came forward to greet them. Preyas began to direct them to move the luggage.

"Master, are you going to the palace now?" asked Preyas.

"Get ready now. If it's too late, you'll have to wait until tomorrow."

After receiving the order, Mason carried down the luggage he brought from Dalmatia one by one. Today he would take his family to the Hagia Sophia to ask for God's blessing.

Mason felt that Constantinople had returned to the prosperity of the Justinian era, with its population and trade increasing much more than before.

"Dad, I want it"

Louise pointed to a shop and said, Mason saw that it was a shop selling flowers. It has become a habit for citizens to grow flowers in every household in Constantinople. Some people even live in small houses, but they will plant flowers and plants in special pots and put them on the balcony or indoors to please themselves and others. Later, many people were too busy to have time to go to the wild to pick flowers and plants, so flower shops came into being.

"Okay, Daddy will buy you whatever you want. Go and pick some."

Louise pointed to many flowers and said she wanted them, so Mason bought them all. The boss saw that she was a big customer and immediately greeted her with a smile and tried his best to sell her products.

Not only flower shops, but also jewelry and cosmetics shops all bought things for his wife. Such a big investment must be from a wealthy family, otherwise who would dare to spend like this?

Although Antonia and Louise had lived in Venice for several years and had been to cities such as Trieste, they could not compare to the grandeur of Constantinople. The avenue leading to the city made them feel delighted. It was flat and wide, with deep drainage ditches on both sides of the road and neatly arranged roadside trees farther away from the drainage ditches, as well as a row of white stone tablets under the roadside trees. After entering the inner city, Antonia's first feeling was that walking was much freer. Pedestrians could walk on the main road in the middle, and the patrol team would not cause trouble for them as long as they did not deliberately block traffic.

There are many shops on both sides of the road: furniture stores, iron shops, cloth shops, pottery shops, cookware stores, pharmacies, butcher shops, fruit stalls, vegetable stalls, bakeries... and some shops that are not available in other cities.

There were so many shops that their eyes were dazzled. But Mason was still very clear that these places were not his target for the next few days. He would take his family shopping after finishing work.

Mason came to the Hagia Sophia, which is a landmark building in Constantinople. Anyone who comes here must see this cathedral. More and more people come here to make pilgrimages, and they all want to receive God's blessing here.

"God, may you bless our family..."

It is said that the higher the status of a person, the more devout he will be to religion. In fact, it is true. Even the emperor prayed in front of the holy image every day. Mason respectfully prayed to God to bless his family. From ancient times to the present, many families have disappeared due to cruel struggles. It is a blessing to be able to keep the family alive for a long time.

Mason prayed patiently, and his figure was recognized by others, including Prime Minister Listerine and First Vice Prime Minister and Finance Minister Baptiste, who came to pray together.

"Sir, why did Mason come to Constantinople? Is His Majesty going to give him a new position?"

Baptiste was a little confused about the situation. According to regulations, high officials could not come directly to the capital unless summoned by His Majesty. Mason's presence here meant that the emperor summoned him.

"Sometimes I really envy him. He took the risk of going out to sea once and gained wealth for the whole family."

Listerine was a little sour, but he still admired Mason's courage. Sailing on the sea against the wind and waves, breaking through the fog to find the East, and bringing them many benefits, such courage is hard to find in the world.

"Prime Minister, you have done as much as he has in running state affairs. You have put in a lot of effort to keep the empire going in recent years, and your contribution is not small."

Baptiste spoke well of Listerine, not only out of admiration for him, but also out of coveting the position of prime minister. Listerine had been in poor health recently, and with the recent changes in the international situation, there was news within the government that the prime minister would resign and go north as a senior official of the Kiev Province. As the first deputy prime minister, Baptiste had a very good chance of becoming the next prime minister.

"Don't say that. Everyone has their own strengths. No one is good at everything. Everyone in the world works in a position that suits him. This way, the order will not be disrupted and the country will be better."

"The Prime Minister is right."

Mason turned around and saw the two ministers, so he quickly stepped forward to greet them.

"My Lords, what a coincidence that we meet here. I was originally going to visit you at your residence after your Majesty summoned me, but I had a lot of things to do at home, so I didn't have time to visit you."

Seeing the other party's respectful attitude, Listerlin did not put on airs. "Since His Majesty has summoned you, this matter should be prioritized. As for the visit, you can postpone it for a few days. It won't be a problem."

(End of this chapter)