Chapter 266 The Wizard from the East
At this time, Venice was not very famous in the Northern Song Dynasty, but it was extremely famous in the northeastern part of Europe.
Although Venice was still ostensibly part of the Eastern Roman Empire, it was already showing signs of independence and was also the richest region in all of Europe at that time.
Richer than Constantinople.
It is because they are too wealthy that they have the desire to be "independent".
When Lu Sen arrived in Venice, he attracted everyone's attention.
Traditionally, only Europeans went east to do business and transport silk. This was the first time Venice welcomed guests from the East in the true sense.
It was even obvious that he was a noble guest.
Lu Sen and Alice stayed in the most luxurious mead inn in the city. Since he was new there, Lu Sen was not in a hurry to show off his magical powers.
Sitting on the so-called softest velvet mattress, Lu Sen smiled and said, "Since I came here, I have seen that he seems to be in a trance."
Alijie was leaning on the window looking out. After hearing this, she turned around and said, "When I was ten years old, I lived here for a year. This was also the opportunity for me to become an Assassin."
"A very sad past?" Lu Sen asked.
Alice shook her head: "Let's not talk about this. If I hadn't become an Assassin, I wouldn't have been able to meet my husband... There are many people waiting outside the hotel now. My husband, what are you going to do?"
"It's impossible for the two of us to find the Fusang tree alone." Lu Sen smiled, "So I want to ask for help."
Alice came over, sat next to Lu Sen, and asked, "Does my husband have a plan?"
"Venice is currently the most prosperous place in the entire Roman region, and it also has the most intelligence resources." Lu Sen propped up his cheek and said, "Besides, as far as I know, Venice's army is a 'private army'. As long as there is enough money, it is very easy to ask them to help do things."
When Alice heard this, she laughed: "Yes, given your status as a man, it is indeed not suitable for you to do it yourself. Then, do you need me to inform the Governor of Venice?"
"No need, he will come to me on his own." Lu Sen said firmly.
It was just as Lu Sen said, the Doge of Venice, Domenico, was holding a banquet at home.
The ladies, wearing low-cut dresses, who hadn't taken a bath for months and whose bodies were filled with a mixture of spices and sweat, gathered in groups of three or four to chat.
A noblewoman showed a small piece of silk handkerchief in her hand: "This is the silk my husband bought from the merchants in the east. Look at the transparent color, the smooth surface, and the charming fragrance. It is indeed a treasure from Qin."
At this time, there was a very strange phenomenon. Due to the inconvenience of communication and even the lag of information, the Northern Song Dynasty called Rome on the European border "Da Qin", and then the European side called the Eastern Jue "Qin".
"I heard that the Qin people all wear clothes made entirely of silk." A woman sighed, "A small piece of silk has wiped out our savings of several years. I can't imagine how wealthy the Qin people were to use it to make clothes."
"In addition to silk, there are also porcelains." A woman pointed at Domenico who was sitting at the main seat and said, "The governor has a set of smooth blue-printed porcelain in his hand. I heard that it is a special item for Qin nobles."
The ladies nearby immediately responded, "Yes, I've seen it too. It's really a polished bowl, very beautiful, and full of artistic flavor. It's completely different from the pottery we have now. The pottery is too ugly."
The central figure in the women's discussion, Governor Domenico, was pinching a small porcelain teacup with his fingertips. There was a little light yellow liquid in it and a few tea stems floating in it.
He could vaguely hear the discussions around him, and of course he was happy to receive so much flattery.
This was also the purpose of his holding the banquet. He had finally obtained tea from the East from a big businessman. He had spent nearly one-fifth of his military budget this year, but it was just a small bag.
How can I not show off?
He sniffed and felt the charming fragrance of the tea in the cup, which covered the strange smell of spices in the entire banquet.
At this time, a servant boy came in and leaned over to whisper something in the governor's ear. The governor was shocked: "Really? There are really guests from the East? And they are staying in the Mead Inn?"
The servant nodded repeatedly.
The Mead Inn is the Governor's property.
He thought for a while and said, "Tell the kitchen to extend the banquet time and let the guests stay here. Then prepare a carriage for me and I will go there myself."
After saying that, he went back upstairs, changed into his military uniform, and after leaving the Governor's Mansion, he got on a carriage, followed by a team of leather-armored guards.
Of course, the guards' attire was not uniform, and they wore all kinds of leather armor and weapons.
Venice is a water city. The carriage went around several bridges and made many turns before arriving at the Mead Inn.
In fact, it is faster to take a boat, but the river in Wales is only accessible by small boats, and it would be unimpressive to sit there.
When Governor Domenico arrived at the Honey Tavern and got off the carriage, he subconsciously straightened his clothes, then slung the ceremonial sword at his waist, and stepped in.
At this time, Alice, who was leaning against the window to enjoy the view, turned around and said with a smile: "My dear, your guess was right. The governor is coming."
Not long after, there was a knock on the door. Alice went to open the door and looked at Governor Domenico outside the door. She smiled and said, "Welcome, respected Governor. My master has been waiting inside for a long time."
After saying that, Alice stepped back and stood beside Lu Sen, looking particularly well-behaved.
Domenico was a middle-aged man, thirty-three years old.
He looked at Alice and felt quite amazed.
In fact, Alijie was really pretty, but the people of the Northern Song Dynasty were naturally "discriminatory" against the Semites, so in the eyes of the people of the Northern Song Dynasty, Alijie's appearance was just pretty.
But the Venetians don't see it that way. They think that Alice is as beautiful as the goddess in their dreams.
Domenico licked his lips subconsciously, and then saw Lu Sen in the room, and his eyes immediately froze.
The concept of beauty is universally accepted, unless your XP system is too weird.
Apart from his face shape, Lu Sen had a clean and fair complexion and an extraordinary temperament. In Domenico's opinion, this was a special kind of beauty that the Venetians, or even the Romans, did not possess.
The charm of scholars?
Domenico thought about it and could only come to this conclusion.
He stopped looking at Alice and took two steps forward, bowed like a gentleman, and said with a smile: "Excuse me, are you a noble from the Eastern Qin Kingdom?"
Lu Sen naturally didn't understand the current Venetian dialect, but Alice did, so she immediately helped translate.
Lu Sen clasped his fists and said, "We are an ordinary family from Hangzhou City in the Great Song Dynasty. We are here to do some business. Please take care of us, Your Excellency the Governor."
Alice rolled her eyes helplessly. She knew very well that people in Song Dynasty liked to be modest and elegant when speaking.
This is of course not a problem in Song Dynasty, and she also likes her husband's appearance like this.
But the problem is that this is a territory of the Roman Empire, and the people here generally like to exaggerate.
If you have a strength of 5 points, you have to be praised as 15 points, then other people will look up to you.
At that time, Alice said, "Your Excellency the Governor, my master comes from the highest class in Qin. He is a young noble who can talk directly with the emperor. His reputation is known to everyone in the Qin Kingdom."
Domenico knew the habits of his people. When he heard Alice say this, he subconsciously took it in a moderate way, but he found that even so, the Oriental man in front of him seemed very extraordinary.
He couldn't help but ask: "Why did such a distinguished person come all the way to the territory of our Roman Empire? And it seems that he didn't bring his own private soldiers."
Wandering noble?
It doesn’t seem like it.
Listening to Domenico's doubts, Alice said: "My master is a magician from Qin. No matter how far the distance is, it is not a problem for him."
Domenico's eyes widened immediately, somewhat unable to believe it.
Europe at that time was still a world of "gods and ghosts", and people believed in things like "gods" and "devils" much more than people in the Northern Song Dynasty.
It's not that he didn't believe that Lu Sen had "magic", but he couldn't believe why such a noble Oriental person would come here?
Of course, he still had some doubts in his heart, fearing that these two people were scammers.
Seeing that he seemed to be unconvinced, Alice was not in a hurry, but said, "It just so happens that my master said he needs to discuss something with the Governor!"
Domenico touched his stubble subconsciously. He thought for a while and said, "Since we want to discuss business, we have to go to my house. There is a banquet going on there, and there are many beautiful women... Oh, your master doesn't need those beautiful women."
He looked at Alice's face, then thought about the appearance of the women at the banquet at his own home, and shrugged and spread his hands helplessly.
Alice immediately translated this to Lu Sen.
After listening to this, Lu Sen smiled and said, "Okay, let's go and have a look."
Alice turned to look at Domenico and said, "Mr. Governor, my master has agreed to your invitation, but please make sure to provide the best hospitality."
"Of course there is no problem with that." Domenico looked at Lu Sen's black hair and black eyes, and felt quite happy.
Being able to host a true noble from the East at one's own banquet, even if it costs more, it would be a great honor if it gets out... It should be called an honor here.
Then Lu Sen followed Domenico out and took a carriage with him to the Governor's Palace.
It was almost evening, but no one at the banquet had left. As night fell, the nobles began to get a little drunk.
As soon as Domenico and Lu Sen entered the banquet hall, they found many men and women hugging each other and kissing each other!
There were also some women sitting on the men's laps, with their collars wide open, looking up and laughing happily.
Seeing this situation, Alice's face changed on the spot.
She had lived in the Song Dynasty for several years, so how could she not know the customs and values of the Song people?
Even in a brothel, there is no such exaggerated scene, let alone in formal occasions.
Her face gradually became ugly.
At this time, Domenico noticed the change in Alice and felt something was wrong, but he didn't know how to explain it for a while.
This was originally the banquet tradition of their Roman Empire.
At this time, Alice also looked at Lu Sen, she was afraid that her husband would get angry.
If the half-immortal really starts taking action, no one will be able to survive in this place.
But the fact is, Lu Sen was very calm.
His eyes swept across the banquet hall without the slightest fluctuation.
I'm used to it.
As mentioned before, Lu Sen has seen everything in the information age.
When he was still in high school, he watched the famous "Bald Eagle".
That series of movies used exaggerated techniques to show the "chaos" in the high schools of the Bald Eagle Country.
Many of the scenes show the protagonists and other students having sex on campus when school starts, not to mention the banquet that takes place later.
So Lu Sen didn't feel anything strange.
These Europeans and Americans are like this. Their essence has not changed at all in the past two or three thousand years.
When Alijie saw that Lu Sen looked normal, she felt relieved.
Domenico was relieved when he saw that Alice's expression was much better. She was a rare Oriental person, and he really didn't want her to have a bad impression of Venice.
"Mr. Lu, please come this way." Domenico led the way personally.
Just now in the carriage, the two of them exchanged their names.
Lu Sen sat down as he was told, and then the waiter immediately brought a wooden plate and two porcelain bowls.
This is already the best tableware in the Governor's Palace.
At this time, many guests at the banquet have temporarily calmed down from their excitement.
They also gathered around quietly, many of them were not even wearing clothes.
This is a very normal behavior for them.
"Doge Domenico, is this your guest or your 'slave'?" a man asked, licking his lips.
"Distinguished guest."
“That’s such a pity.” The man shook his head helplessly.
Then someone else said, "How could such a pure Oriental man with black hair and black eyes, dressed in pure silk clothes, whose clothes alone could buy one-third of Venice, be a slave? Besides, if there really were slaves of this level, they should have been sent to the palace, not here."
The man who was naked just now looked embarrassed.
Many women also gathered around. These women casually covered their bodies with towels, not caring at all whether they were exposed or not. They just looked at Lu Sen, wondering if they could have a taste of him .
As they got closer, a strange smell filled the air.
Lu Sen has a barrier formed by "clothing transformation" and cannot smell it.
But Alice couldn't stand it, she even covered her nose.
Domenico clapped his hands and said, "Let me introduce to you all this distinguished guest. He is Mr. Lu, a top noble, top scholar, and powerful magician from the Eastern Qin Kingdom!"
At this time, there were fewer people making trouble at the banquet. After all, something new had happened, and they couldn't help but end it hastily and come over to watch.
They can do that kind of thing anytime, but this is the first time they have seen a real Oriental.
After listening to Domenico's introduction, all the nobles found it a little unbelievable.
The combined title of noble and scholar, not surprising!
But what is a magician? Is he really the mysterious wizard in the legend who possesses magical powers?
