Haidu: Top of the Tower

Chapter 35 The Beginning of the Story

Manciado, a type of merlot wine.

Rich and mellow, like layers of silk skirts of a passionate girl, deep wine red, purple red, and dark purple are rippling in the gold-rimmed crystal glass.

I don't know how many working hours it will take to go to Itami for just one cup like this.

"The perfect balance of mind, knowledge, and ability", "heroes come out of youth", "the gemstone that illuminates the future of Haidu"... and other beautiful words have been reverberating in the ballroom of Haidu Commander's Mansion for half the night.

All the people who participated in the celebration banquet seemed to have memorized the same set of polite words before coming.There were similar words one after another on their lips that were red from drinking and eating, but the twinkling lights in their eyes looking at Milady revealed a little real thought.

I don't want a young man like this in our family.

It's really unlucky for Tearose... It's not surprising that the Gaota family fell after this battle.

With no relatives and no reason, how could he take over the Gaota family?She definitely needs a friend, so let me do it.

And no one said it, but Milady had heard the thought countless times: I don't know how long she can sit in this seat?
At this moment, Milady was standing straight in the center of the ballroom, her cane, which was once bruised like hers, was held in her palm, and the other part was deeply inserted into the thick carpet.

She's probably the only woman who hasn't traditionally worn a long dress for formal occasions—she nearly spent her fortune in that one, which led her to Luna's hunting suit; Milady's gestures and gestures, though out of place for a celebratory feast, always attracted a quiet, subdued admiration.

Beside her, men and women in gorgeous clothes come and go with strong fragrances; in the peripheral vision are earrings, watch straps, and carefully crafted hairstyles, all of which shine under the lights.

It turns out... this is the world behind that door.

Milady thought almost calmly.

Like a sailor drinking beer in a tavern, she raised her head and sent the expensive glass of Manciado down her throat, and then handed it away, leaving the glass on a tray carried by a passing waiter.

Leaning on a cane, Milady slowly walked into a corner of the ballroom; after a period of recuperation, most of her injuries have healed, but she was still a little stiff and weak when she moved.

Most of the future patriarchs who won were arranged here, but there are not many people who are still in the seat at this moment.At first glance, it was Malt who was wearing her best dress inside out. After listening to the commander's praise speech all night and drinking several glasses of red wine, she was much more relaxed at the moment; when she saw Milady, she came up to her and whispered: " It's strange, there was a waiter just now, let me tell you a few words."

"What?"

"He said, he can't see you, he doesn't want to be seen by the commander. And he also said...Ye, Ye what number? The ship is about to sail, and he has to leave."

Milady frowned: "What kind of man is that?"

"A tall and thin young man with blue eyes and good looks. He said that if a kid named Marco Polo comes to you, you must meet him."

He is leaving Haidu?
Milady was taken aback.That man was undoubtedly Lu Ranzhou—but she didn't even have the chance to see him again after the game, and she never thought that he, Sein Feiya and others were about to embark on another voyage.Life at sea is so ups and downs, when we meet again, I don't know if it will be the next year, or half a lifetime later?
Milady frowned and thought about it, feeling that she had never heard the name Marco Polo.

She has been living in the small hospital in the Commander's Mansion recently. Does Lu Ranzhou mean that the child will go to the small hospital to find her?

But did he know she was moving out tonight?
Milady's next residence is the patriarch's mansion of the Gaota family.

Regardless of how turbulent the undercurrent is, at least on the bright side, everything followed the rules: all the winners attended the succession ceremony and celebration banquet, including Siyado; Arranged to withdraw from the patriarch's mansion, dismissed his duties, and temporarily froze the clan property.

This morning, before the start of the succession ceremony and the celebration banquet, Milady's poor parcels had already been sent to the patriarch's mansion; she followed the rules and went to the mansion first to get to know the new employee. The housekeeper and servants——she didn't understand why the family had to hire a dozen people when she was alone. She didn't understand until she went around the patriarch's mansion.

"No more?" asked Milady.

Malt shook his head.She cast her eyes behind Milady, and suddenly her expression changed, and she became nervous again - she didn't need to say, Milady knew who was walking behind her at this time.

When Mai Ya took the opportunity to slip away and she turned around, she met Xiyado's iron gray eyes.

Like most of the men present, he was wearing a long black dress, but for some reason, the black clothes on him seemed to have a narrow gap in the space, so dark that even light could not escape.

"Please allow me to pay tribute to your luck," he raised his wine glass, the smile on his lips was both polite and mocking. "It turns out that when I was talking to Yugan, you were hiding under our feet."

Although the details of the conversation could not be heard, several critical moments in the game were repeatedly reported by several newspapers such as "Arkana Star"; The scene of the dialogue with Yu Gan in the movie became one of the scenes that the audience talked about.

"Thank you." Milady nodded calmly, as if she couldn't understand what he meant. "If a person wants to succeed, ability and luck are indispensable, isn't it?"

Xiyado lowered his eyes and took a sip of his wine.

"Speaking of which, you're lucky," Milady said calmly. "If the thing you're carrying isn't a jet ski, you wouldn't be able to catch up with us before the game ends and get back the badge."

"Even if I don't have it, I can still get it." Xiyado raised his eyes and stared at her coldly from between the drooping dark brown curly bangs.

Milady smiled. "I can win even if I don't hear your conversation."

"Well said. Then let me greet you again," Siyado raised his glass for the second time and whispered, "I can pry open a crack where there is no gap."

He did not go into detail, but Milady knew exactly what he meant.

Just at this moment, the band's next song sounded, very fittingly, it was "Rhapsody Waltz".

When couples slipped into the center of the ballroom from their sides, Milady lowered her head and leaned into his ear and said, "There is no gap? Indeed... You have always represented the will of the Judgment Family throughout the game, see It looks impeccable, which really makes me almost despair. But the executioner and the judge are two different families after all."

"The military organs issued by the trial family are all limited by their mechanism skills and building modules, and cannot be launched against members of the trial family. However, the executioner family who has always been so loyal to them... has quietly replaced the building modules. There are no restrictions, right?"

In the smooth and smooth timbre of the violin, Milady said softly: "You said that I...do not accept the existing ladder of power, nor do I want to maintain it...you are also talking about yourself, aren't you?"

Xiyado laughed hoarsely. "Just to satisfy my curiosity, how did you do it?"

"I have a friend in the spectator seats," Milady only said vaguely because it involved Lu Ranzhou.

Xi Yadu nodded, and did not ask any more detailed questions.

Judging from his attitude, Yugan should have brought the words for her; that sentence seems ordinary, but in fact, Milady thinks that Xiyado must be very clear about the hidden meaning—after all, they themselves There is no hatred between them, it is just a conflict based on different positions; it is not what a smart person should do if he is limited by discord and cannot see the overall situation.

"You have a friend here," Xiyado said suddenly in a low voice.

Milady turned her head, and found that there was another familiar face walking towards her.This night, from the end of the commander's congratulatory speech, people approached Milady to talk to her one after another; but she had waited all night to talk to this person.

"Uncle." She smiled tenderly at Tea Rose.

Tea Rose also had a smile on his face.He looked at Sidardo, then at Milady. "Unexpectedly, the two young men from Haidu are here, what interesting things are they talking about?"

"I asked him to dance," replied Milady, laughing, as if it were only a matter of relative gossip.

"Oh?" Chaluosi seemed to be very proud of this clansman, with a bright red face, he asked Xi Yadu: "Then why are you still here?"

"Because I want to see how she can do in such a situation," Siyado put down his glass and said slowly, "to finish a dance."

After he turned and left, Tea Ross looked away from his back.

Milady leaned slightly from the cane, very concerned: "How is Cousin Luo Geng?"

"It's okay now." Tea Rose replied very graciously: "The child has always been resilient, and he will feel better next time."

Milady slowly passed these words twice in her heart.

"After all, it was just a little skin trauma and choked on a little water," Tea Rose said very politely. "Failing to compete for the position of patriarch is not something irreversible. Only when a person dies is it over."

"Uncle is right." Milady felt the smile on her lips gradually cooling down, and replied, "I feel much more at ease after hearing that. After all, who knows, no matter how humble a person dies, he doesn't know the future What will be the consequences. Uncle should know best."

"I can assure you that sometimes," Tea Rose wiped the non-existent ashes on his hands, and said, "the consequences of dying a person are very small."

"Really? I will trouble my uncle to tell me then." Milady replied.

Tea Rose didn't say a word, turned and left blankly.

Milady rubbed her cane, lost in thought.

The celebration banquet ended successfully.If you look at it from a distance, in this ballroom where the top people in Haidu gather, all the people coming and going are dignified and have various postures; probably no one would have imagined that there are so many people wrapped in demeanor, knowledge and jokes. Lust and backstabbing.

After declining the driver arranged by the commander, when Milady walked to the parking lot alone, everyone else seemed to have left.All the talking and laughing with the lights, the mingling of cups, dancing steps and music were all diluted and pushed away by the cool night; she heard the soft sound of the tip of the cane and the heel of her shoes hitting the ground, and heard the sound of her footsteps leaving her behind, far away. They fled away on the night wind, as if they didn't care about the flat ground of Haidu, and only wanted to go to the distant sea to have a look.

"Miss Milady?"

Maybe it was the drunkenness that made her less vigilant, or maybe it was the short stature of the speaker; when the figure suddenly turned from behind her car, Milady was also taken aback—the cane turned forward, and she It was only then that it became clear that the speaker seemed to be a boy, only twelve or thirteen years old.

When the two met their eyes for the first time under the light, they couldn't help being slightly startled.

"Sorry," the boy walked into the light, looked at her brightly, and whispered, "My name is Marco Polo."

Milady looked him over.Because it hasn't opened yet, he looks a bit like a girl, with a pointed chin and small red lips.

"Lu Ranzhou asked you to come to me?" She asked in a low voice, looking around.Except for the locomotive of the Commander's Mansion, almost all the nearby cars had left, and the night was silent, as if the celebration banquet just now was just an illusion.

"Yes," Marco Polo took a step forward with some urgency, "Miss Milady, don't blame me for speaking abruptly, but now that you are the patriarch, you have to let other clansmen continue like your mother. To clean up?"

As the person who caused the earthquake in this year's trial competition, her experience, as well as Itami who died in the polluted area, have already been circulated more than once in various newspapers in Haidu.

Milady clutched her cane tightly, but said nothing.

But the child seemed to have made up her mind, even if she offended her thoroughly, she would finish the sentence: "If you hire the poor to clean up the pollution, don't you push those people to the same path?"

Milady was silent for a while, then suddenly opened the car door, and tilted her head to Marco Polo: "Get in the car."

Marco Polo was taken aback, and hurriedly crawled in.

The Haidu road in the middle of the night is only lit up by street lamps in groups of light yellow, empty, straight and vague.The locomotive was driving in the dark blue wind, and the white moon was always floating steadily in the window like a picture frame.

The young boy's clear voice was a little cautious, and together with the sound of the engine, it seemed that the car was becoming more and more silent.

"I hope you are not angry with me...you are the only one among all the patriarchs and high-ranking officials in Haidu who really understands the weight of pollution crystals...if you just ask people to clean up the pollution, you will continue to fill up that forever place with human life. A pit that can’t be filled—”

"I've thought about everything you said." Milady interrupted him in a low voice, "I'm going to develop a new mechanism technique to clean up the pollution with mechanisms. It doesn't matter if it's a year or two, as long as I'm still the head of the Gaota family, I'm going to let that mechanism come out."

Marco Polo was silent.As if there was something in his chest that couldn't help it anymore, he turned around on the seat like a puppy, looked at her profile and said, "If... let me tell you, the mechanism technique will come out soon , and not only clean up the pollution, but even solve the pollution from the source?"

Milady felt goose bumps spread out on her skin.

She finally understood why Lu Ranzhou let this child come to her.

"You should understand the weight of this matter," even though the other party was still a child, when Milady spoke, she still treated him as an adult. "So I hope you can think about it before you go on."

"Of course!" Marco Polo said immediately, "Miss Milady, this matter has been brewing in my mind for a long time. I have a teacher named Finch. He has been researching and developing a A mechanism called 'Difference Engine'..."

When the car stopped on the road by the dark sea, Marco Polo's light, urgent, and occasionally stuttering narration finally came to an end.

"When the 'difference engine' can create the 'wave of life' again," he said, completely immersed in faint excitement, looking at the endless sea outside the window, "the sea capital will be able to obtain inexhaustible clean energy again... ...Crystal pollution is about to become a thing of the past. This...isn't this the residence of the Gaota family?"

Marco Polo was so engrossed in talking that he realized that there was only the sea outside the window—they had already left the central area of ​​Haidu.

Milady leaned back in her chair, closed her eyes, and let out a long breath.

If there is a goddess in the world, then the goddess treats her well.

"Can you drive?" she asked, turning her head.

Marco Polo's eyes were bright, but he was a little embarrassed: "It's driving...well, it's okay."

It seemed that he was bragging a bit to himself, but he didn't hide it.

Milady smiled slightly and said: "First, go back and tell your teacher Finch that I will go to see him as soon as I finish handling the matter at hand. And you tell him that he cannot transfer the difference engine matter Then leak half a word to others."

Marco Polo nodded.

"Second, I need you to drive my car and park it outside the gate of the High Tower Patriarch's Mansion." Milady whispered: "As soon as the car stops, you leave immediately, don't stay...for your Safety."

The dark and forgiving night gradually engulfed the tail lights of the locomotive as it drove away.

Milady crossed the road and walked along the coast.

Under the cold white and sparse stars, the dark and soft sea wrinkled and stretched out with the waves.

She knew that not far ahead, there was a see-off boat waiting for her.

After leaving the trials, she has not told anyone what she has experienced and what she will face in the future—fortunately, Itami is quite patient with her daughter.

When Marco Polo parked the car at the gate of the High Tower patriarch's mansion, jumped out of the car and disappeared, Milady was heading for the sea.

She had just stopped the engine of the old ship when the door of the High Tower Patriarch's mansion was opened a crack in the night.

When the flames of the explosion pierced through the roof of the patriarch's mansion with a loud bang, Milady was lying on the deck of the night boat, gently rocked back and forth by the waves like a cradle.

When the screams and organs roared across the night sky, when someone shouted "Where is she", she looked at the pale stars and moon, and slowly closed her eyes.

She thought of the sea monster called Tears of Chaos.

She was also awakened from the sleeping seabed, wave after wave of hatred, desire and fate, supported her footsteps, and went ashore.

When she looked back, there was no one like her in the world.

And ahead, there is a Haidu that belongs to her.

Milady was on the verge of falling asleep.

She knew that her journey had only just begun.

(End of this chapter)