His youngest son! How has he grown up so quickly?
On this journey, Zhang Fang brought many treasures. Father Hubert knew Zhang Fang was headed west for trade and took the time to inform him about local conditions.
Zhang Fang roughly understood the local situation. However, to know the specifics of what to do, he needed to gather information from the locals before implementing any plans.
The ship sailed for over a month before finally reaching the land of the setting sun.
Father Hubert took Zhang Fang and his companions off the ship, where customs officials conducted a strict inspection. Initially, they thought Zhang Fang and his group were slaves, but they soon realized they were merchants here to conduct trade. The officials’ greed was piqued by the exotic treasures and beautiful clothing they carried. They intended to find a reason to detain them until a high-ranking official arrived to escort Father Hubert.
“Dear Father! You’re finally back!”
“Alira, you’ve grown up! Now you are wearing a military uniform!” Father Hubert looked at him with astonishment.
Alira proudly patted his epaulets and told Father Hubert, “I am now a member of the Royal Guard!”
“You are truly remarkable! Alira, this is my friend, Zhang Fang! He is a merchant from the Eastern Empire!” Father Hubert introduced Zhang Fang to Alira.
Alira had already noticed this large group of Easterners, especially the young man whose outstanding demeanor was hard to ignore.
“He looks really handsome! The hair of Easterners is so long!” Alira regarded Zhang Fang with admiration.
Zhang Fang waved to Manager Wei, who quickly pulled out a box and handed it to him.
Holding the box in front of Alira, Zhang Fang presented it with a smile, greeting him in the language of this country: “Hello, Alira! I am Zhang Fang, and this is a gift for you. I hope you like it!”
Alira was taken by surprise as he opened the box directly. Inside were several gold bars!
Gold!
Alira picked up a gold bar and bit into it, looking at Zhang Fang in disbelief. He did not expect this Eastern boy to be so generous!
Alira immediately smiled at Zhang Fang, his attitude becoming particularly friendly. He offered to help them find a hotel and began to arrange accommodations for Zhang Fang and his companions.
In a foreign land, surrounded by unfamiliar people, Manager Wei and the others felt tense under their scrutiny. Only Zhang Fang remained calm and joking with Alira.
Having left his hometown for over twenty years, Father Hubert was not aware of the current political situation. In his usual correspondence with friends and family, he only discussed mundane matters.
Since her husband’s passing, the queen had been overwhelmed with grief and had withdrawn from politics, retreating from the capital. In recent years, it was the prime minister who managed state affairs.
By the queen’s side now was a man named John. John was a friend of the queen’s husband and had stayed by her side, offering her comfort after his death.
John had earned the queen’s trust. However, he treated her children poorly, even daring to scold the eldest prince harshly and mistreat the princesses. Once he got his brother a position in the castle, John’s brother often beat the young prince.
The princesses and princes had tried many times to report John’s abuse to the queen, but he was always prepared, subtly suggesting to the queen that her children held grievances against him. After all, the queen was very close to John. Her children worried that he sought to court the queen as their stepfather. With such insinuations in play, the queen showed little concern for her children’s complaints. She firmly believed the innocent would clear themselves and thought her children were inconsiderate of her sorrow. Each time she heard them recount John’s misdeeds, she viewed them as lying deliberately, growing weary of their narratives. Under John’s manipulative efforts, the queen became estranged from her children.
Recently, the eldest prince had fallen seriously ill, and as a mother, the queen was ultimately worried about her child. Therefore, she decided to return and check on him.
With this information, Zhang Fang felt it was time to act. However, he still needed to investigate further.
Zhang Fang took out delicious food and fine wine from his homeland and invited Alira to share them.
Alira greatly appreciated Zhang Fang, his generous foreign friend. He could also see that Zhang Fang needed his assistance, which thankfully was not a troublesome request. Zhang Fang merely asked him to find out whether local merchants involved in export trade had connections with the officials sent by the prime minister.
It turned out to be an easy task, and that night, Alira learned that those doing business in the Eastern Empire did indeed have close ties with officials sent by the prime minister. This was no secret.
Zhang Fang gifted Alira a few more gold bars that night, making him especially happy! He considered Zhang Fang a good friend!
Once the doors were closed, Zhang Fang devised a plan and shared information about the political hierarchy in the land of the setting sun with Manager Wei.
“If I am correct, that John must have been sent by the prime minister to the queen. The purpose is to keep her entrenched in sadness and depression, making her incapable of dealing with the outside world.”
Otherwise, it would make no sense for John to curry favor with the queen while abusing her children. If John had ambitions, he would appease both sides unless he was instructed to sow discord between the queen and her children.
And now with the eldest prince gravely ill, the queen must return to check on her child.
Once she learns the real situation upon her return, no matter how silver-tongued John may be, he will lose the queen’s trust.
Thus, the most frightened individuals at this moment are John and his brother. After all, they often abused the queen’s children within the castle. As soon as the queen investigates, the truth will come to light!
This complex political environment left Manager Wei slow to respond, pressing Zhang Fang with a dull question, “What should we do?”
Zhang Fang wrote down a few words on paper, making the key points clear to Manager Wei.
“The biggest foreign trader in our country is called George. This George has strong ties with the prime minister. If we want to challenge George, we must first ensure that the queen returns to take up her duties again. John is the one we should use.”
Manager Wei was confused and asked, “But John and his brother always mistreat the queen’s children. Once the queen returns and learns the truth, she will surely no longer trust him. How can someone without the queen’s trust be of use to us?”
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