Madmen don't keep diaries

Chapter 189 188 Banquet and Gift Giving
Toverson Zhao asked Feng Xiuhu to take him to get the Yulin Bell, but Feng Xiuhu refused.

He said he had important things to do, so he asked Mike to find Mao Walnut, and then asked Mao Walnut to take Toverson Zhao to get Yu Linling.

Toverson Zhao asked him what business he had, and Feng Xiuhu said that he had to go home to dress up and then attend the birthday party of the Duke of Daguo.

Toverson Zhao was surprised: "Did Elder Vadela get the invitation for you?"

Apparently he misunderstood.

From the temple and the church, everyone from cardinals to bishops, from temple elders to high priests, received invitations. However, the leaders of both families would not attend the banquet, and the Duke of Daguo was well aware of this.

Therefore, Toverson Zhao will attend on behalf of Vadracho, and Ma Binghe will attend on behalf of Wan Laiqiu. In addition, the bishops and high priests who received the invitation will also have to give face to the Duke of Daguo and come to the banquet.

Father Feng Xiuhu was obviously not among them. He was not even qualified to receive the invitation, so Toverson Zhao thought it was arranged by Vadracho.

Feng Xiuhu shook his head and said, "It was Konate who told me that the Duke of Daguo had some opinions about me, so he wanted me to explain it to him in person."

"Where did he get the extra invitations?"

Toverson Zhao was a little confused, but didn't think much about it.

……

The final battle lasted from midnight to dawn.

After parting with Toverson Zhao, Feng Xiuhu went straight back to his house on Bibo Street.

Shunzi did not go with Feng Xiuhu because Kalus wanted to use some internal means to help Shunzi become an official member of the Divine Guard, so Shunzi went to the Upper City Cathedral with the Divine Guard.

According to the procedure, Feng Xiuhu should also go to the Life Prayer Hall.

After the war, all the injured would be sent there for treatment as soon as possible, but because there were too many wounded, Feng Xiuhu didn't want to waste time and was too lazy to go through all this trouble, so he went straight home.

The banquet process will start at noon and continue until the evening, but it is still morning.

After returning home, Feng Xiuhu asked Narcissus and Ganoderma to help treat the wound. After bandaging it carefully, he planned to take a rest while there was still time.

Lingzhi wiped the blood off Feng Xiuhu's body with a warm, wet towel. "Master, I heard from the housekeeper that the port area has become a dead city these days. The people living there don't even dare to go out during the day, and no one is out doing business. Even the merchant caravans entering the port have been affected..."

"Shh-"

Narcissus glared at Lingzhi, then pointed at Feng Xiuhu.

Lingzhi looked up and found that Feng Xiuhu had started snoring.

They moved gently, carefully covered Feng Xiuhu with a quilt, and then quietly retreated.

Fortunately, Feng Xiuhu had made arrangements in advance, and around noon, Narcissus came in and woke Feng Xiuhu up.

Feng Xiuhu didn't sleep for long. When he opened his eyes, he still looked tired.

Narcissus was still so considerate. After Feng Xiuhu sat up, she brought a small bowl from the side and handed it to him.

"This is a refreshing and invigorating soup I made myself. I added astragalus, ginger, wolfberry and ginseng slices. Master, you will feel refreshed after drinking it."

Feng Xiuhu took it in his hand, looked down, and saw a few wolfberries floating on the soup.

He muttered, "You can embroider and make tonics. You really know a lot."

After testing the temperature with his lips, Feng Xiuhu drank the medicine in one gulp.

After receiving the praise, Shuixian happily took out the clothes and said, "The priest's robe is full of holes. It is no longer suitable for the banquet. This is the new dress that Sister Ruan ordered for you before going to the city. Take a look at it, Master. How about wearing this one?"

Feng Xiuhu didn't care. After changing his clothes, he put on the newsboy cap on the hanger.

Shuixian took it off for him and stuffed a top hat into Feng Xiuhu's arms: "You should be more formal when attending a banquet. What's the use of this flat hat? Don't let the gentlemen in the upper city laugh at you."

Feng Xiuhu yawned. He was listless at the moment and too lazy to argue with Narcissus about these trivial matters, so he just followed her.

After packing up, Feng Xiuhu took out his pocket watch, lighter, and battle-damaged hatchet and placed them in the cabinet. Toverson Zhao reminded him that no weapons or magical instruments were allowed at the banquet today, and that he would be searched before entering the Duke's Mansion.

Feng Xiuhu thought about it and decided to do as he was told. After all, it was really inappropriate for him to bring his men to break into the Duke's Mansion right after the war.

……

Feng Xiuhu took a rickshaw to the upper city, then changed to a horse carriage to arrive at the Duke's Mansion.

As soon as I jumped out of the car, I saw Mike waiting at the door.

Feng Xiuhu was very happy. He was worried that no one would talk to him after he went in.

He patted Mike's shoulder from behind: "Are you coming to the party too?"

Mike was startled, but he was relieved when he saw it was Feng Xiuhu.

"How can I be qualified?"

Mike smiled bitterly: "I'm here to give you something."

He held up the gift box in his hand and showed it to Feng Xiuhu.

"Elder Vadra learned from Archbishop Toverson that you were coming to the banquet. He guessed that given your personality, you would definitely not prepare gifts in advance, so he specifically asked me to bring something to wait for you."

Feng Xiuhu slapped his thigh and said, "Hey, you should have told me earlier—there are still two dried fish left at Shunzi's door."

Mike smiled awkwardly: "Dried fish? That's too rude."

Feng Xiuhu took the gift box and asked casually, "Why bother you to go all the way here and ask Toverson Zhao to bring it to me?"

Mike's smile became even more awkward. "Letting the Archbishop wait for you at the door like me? I'm afraid that's not appropriate."

During the conversation, Feng Xiuhu had already opened the gift box.

Inside was an exquisite and ancient scimitar, with many gems inlaid on the scabbard.

Feng Xiuhu's eyes suddenly turned serious. "Wadlacho's words have a deeper meaning... Does he want me to stab the Duke to death with a single blow?"

Mike was startled and quickly stepped forward to cover his mouth.

He looked down at the machete in the box and breathed a sigh of relief, "You think too much."

Feng Xiuhu didn't believe it: "How could Vadracho not know that weapons are not allowed at the banquet? This is a deliberate violation!"

"Everyone says you think too much."

Mike quickly explained, "This is an antique, a specialty of the Ozma Empire. There's nothing inappropriate about giving it as a gift to the Duke."

"Ozma Empire?"

This was the first time Feng Xiuhu had heard the name.

Mike continued, "It's one of the five great empires of the Western Continent and the headquarters of the Church of the Mist."

"Of the five great empires, the Ozma Empire possesses the largest number of coastal areas. Long ago, this region was teeming with pirates, and the scimitar was considered a symbol of honor. The more gems inlaid on the scabbard, the higher the status of the wielder."

He pointed at the scimitar in the box. "But with the change of dynasties, after the Church of the Mist came to rule the Ozma Empire, pirates gradually lost their living ground, and people no longer regarded the scimitar as a symbol of honor. But as an antique itself, its value is definitely not low."

"And precisely because of this old custom, it is most appropriate to give a scimitar to a powerful Duke."

Feng Xiuhu nodded in understanding: "I was so scared. I thought Vadracho was so petty."

This time it was Mike's turn to be confused: "What do you mean?"

Feng Xiuhu shrugged. "This time, the Duke of Daguo intervened on behalf of the temple to negotiate peace. I think Vadracho is going to target him."

(End of this chapter)