Kingdom’s Bloodline Chapter 166: Active back

Oops, did he guess?

"I don't understand, what does this mean?"

The second prince lowered his right hand calmly and touched the JC dagger on his waist.

Jen stared at him intently.

"Don't you understand, Thales?"

The Duke of South Bank narrowed his eyes:

"Think about it again: Do you really not understand?"

Thales' expression remained unchanged, but he heard his heart beating.

Calm down.

If Zhan En sees through me and knows that I am just pretending to cooperate with the king...

Then what will he do?

Turn your face directly? Do it? Tell the world? Kick me out of the Emerald City?

Still...

But the next second, Zhan En smiled slightly.

He turned back to pick up the kettle and refill Thales' empty cup.

"Listen: Kingdom Secret Division killed Moss, but that was just the beginning. The purpose is to attract your attention, provoke us to fight, and let you follow this clue all the way."

Jen put down the kettle, and gave Thales a very meaningful look:

"Just like now."

Thales picked up the cup steadily: "You said that before."

Jen En didn't look at him anymore, just poured himself a glass of spring water:

"And they killed the wool merchant named Diop for the same purpose: to provoke you and your people."

Thales frowned.

"Really?"

The prince tried his best to suppress the urge to snort:

"Secret Division killed Diop in order to catch me?"

Jen nodded: "They understand your character, they know that you will stand out and charge first."

There must be something there.

The voice in my heart told Thales: Moss, Diop, behind the deaths of these people, there must be something that made Jann so eager to hide that he used the secret department as a shield.

"It's a pity that my people failed to keep the white-clothed killer of the secret department," Thales sighed naturally, "otherwise we can ask something."

"I don't have anyone either," said the Duke of Nan'an calmly, "but that's the kingdom's secret department, which is normal."

The killer in white.

Thales carefully observed Zhan En's expression, but found nothing.

No, it cannot be said that nothing has been achieved.

After all, the voice in the bottom of your heart whispered that you knew from the beginning that Jen could not be trusted.

After all, the true meaning of alliance is betrayal.

Jenn paused for a moment: "But there is no doubt that the Secret Division regards you as a **** and wants you to stand up against me: from Moss to Diop, maybe to the next person, and so on, until you Dig out the secret weapon prepared by the secret department, and drive me and Kevin Dill down in one fell swoop."

"Secret weapon?"

Thales nodded:

"So, there is indeed something wrong with that Diop?"

Jen fell silent.

A few seconds later, he seemed to have made up his mind, nodded and said:

"That's right, in addition to being in the wool business, Diop has another identity: the secret accountant of Kongming Palace."

"Dark account?"

"Agents like Dagory Moss will bring some gray income to the Emerald City that is inconvenient to talk about and record," Jann replied frankly, "and Diop manages these One of the people with dark accounts."

"You mean, illegal income, accounting and money laundering?"

Duke Iris snorted softly:

"If the Secret Division digs out his identity and his accounts, and you make an open and just accusation like you did just now, it will indeed bring a lot of trouble to Emerald City, and let me and My officials were in a hurry."

Thales frowned.

If what Jann said is true, then Diop is the one in charge of the Emerald City's dark accounts, which is why Moss is going to meet him.

However, Zhan En actually confessed so simply?

That means he has already prepared everything.

He is confident that the matter behind Diop has been cleaned up, and no clues will be left to the enemy, especially the Kingdom Secret Division.

Thales' mood became more and more serious.

"Of course you won't let this happen," the prince said blankly, "that's why you hastily cut off the clues, and even found the scapegoat. Can't make a big wave?"

Jane nodded:

"During the Emerald Festival, this matter cannot become the focus of the whole city, otherwise it will fall into the hands of the Secret Division."

"Like Moss?"

Jen En affirmed: "Just like Moss."

Thales was silent for a few seconds.

"Then you should tell me about Diop first."

"I really should," Zhan En admitted without burden, "but please understand that it involves the internal operations and finances of Emerald City, and there may be some illegal income that is not easy to see. I don't want to let more People know, at least until I remove the threat and make it safe."

Remove threats and ensure safety...

I don't want more people to know...

For some reason, looking at the owner of the Emerald City in front of him, Thales remembered the Kingdom's Secret Science.

"Of course, I can understand, it makes sense, it makes sense." Thales raised the corner of his mouth.

"Believe me, Thales, the current handling method is the most ideal," Jann raised his cup, "You and I, we have cleverly maintained the balance of the situation in Emerald City under the obvious struggle. "

Thales' expression changed: "Equilibrium?"

Zhan En took a sip of the spring drink:

"For one thing, the Kingdom's Secret Division did not succeed. The Diop case entered a normal process, silently, and did not cause an earthquake or cause chaos."

"Yeah, debt disputes, it's completely normal for Bedren to act violently after drinking and kill people in anger." Thales said in a low voice.

"Secondly, you didn't fall into the trap of the secret department and became their pawn, which caused our relationship to break down and the situation was out of balance."

"Thanks to you cutting off the clues in advance, I didn't get the 'secret weapon' of the Secret Division against you."

"Three, if I really want to trouble you, Thales," Jen put down his glass and suddenly raised his voice, "How did your men who went to track down Diop escape from the Emerald Legion so easily? The blockade and roundup?"

Thales frowned deeply.

After a few seconds, the prince took a deep breath.

"So, Diop's line is broken, no matter what conspiracy is behind him..." Thales said slowly, "What do you think the Kingdom's Secret Division will do next, and how should we deal with it?"

Jane raised the corner of his mouth.

"Whether it's Moss or Diop, their deaths represent that the Kingdom's Secret Division wants to change, change, and chaos," he looked at his wine glass carefully, looking at the Distort the picture, "and we give them the opposite."

The opposite.

"You mean, there is a pool of dead water, just like the case of Moss and Diop, one is an old vendetta, and the other is a debt dispute?" Thales said quietly.

Jane didn't answer, just smiled.

"Besides, Zhan En, you shouldn't do anything to hide from me anymore, right?"

Thales stared at him fixedly:

"If there is, now is the time to confess, so as not to cause yesterday's accident to damage the trust between us for nothing."

After the words fell, Zhan En was silent for a long time.

"I can't make a guarantee, because even collaborators with the same interests will have reservations," the Duke said, "but I can say that if something like yesterday happens, you will be notified in advance."

Looking at his expression, Thales nodded slowly.

The two dukes had their own concerns and did not speak again.

In an instant, the dining room fell into a suffocating silence.

Until Jen coughed: "Now, if we have nothing else..."

"But you know, Jen."

Thales spoke suddenly.

"If your Emerald Legion, if they really captured my personal guards at the scene of the murder," the prince looked at the Duke, "then I'll get the notoriety of murder, and I can't refute it. Leaving Emerald City yo-yo, quitting this chess game.”

Jane paused: "Maybe."

"Then why not? Why don't you just throw me out of the Emerald City like this?"

Thales looked straight at Zhan En, as if to see through his heart:

"In this way, no matter what backhand the secret department has prepared for me, no matter what role they expect me to play in it, it will be discounted or even invalid. Once and for all, it will be settled once and for all."

Jane was silent for a long time.

The atmosphere in the dining room is getting weird.

"Because we have an agreement and cooperation," Zhan En said slowly after a while, his voice a little tired and hoarse, "We are still on the same chariot, fighting against the most powerful person in the kingdom, isn't it? Is it?"

The Duke of South Bank raised his head and restored his smile:

"If you leave, don't I lose an ally who can fight against the king together? I think we should be in agreement on this point, Thales."

On the same chariot, against the most powerful person...

Looking at the other person's appearance, Thales stretched out his hand unconsciously, and touched the hideous bone ring in his pocket.

"No."

Thales' answer made Zhan En slightly change color.

"The reason why you didn't drive me out of the Emerald City once and for all is not because we have an agreement."

The prince said seriously: "It's because of my father."

"Because you are jealous of him and afraid of him."

Jen En's smile froze for a moment.

Thales put down his cup and sighed:

"I came to Emerald City this time, no matter whether the purpose is to see my fiancée or not, I was sent by His Majesty the King."

"No matter how annoying I am, how much you hate me, as long as I'm still in the Emerald City for a day, you can use me to spy on the plans of the Fuxing Palace, spy on the king's actions, and always be on guard against the kingdom's secret department. Through my plots: whether it's my marriage, or my character, or the deaths of Moss and Diop."

He looked up:

"But if my bright chess is forced away, defeated by your means, and completely out of the chess game, who knows how the Kingdom Secret Division will react, who knows how my father will react? Who knows them What other means will you use that you don’t know? Maybe it’s impossible to guard against, maybe it’s getting worse, maybe the price is terrible?”

"And this is why I haven't been driven away by you, or why you dare not drive me away," Thales said lightly, "Look, facing him, you, including me, we even Overturn the chessboard and turn around and leave, saying 'I don't play anymore' has no right."

Zhan En's eyes slowly focused, nailed to the wine glass.

"His Royal Highness, come and mobilize the rebellion now," the Duke said maliciously, "Isn't it too early?"

Telston for a few seconds.

"You didn't understand me," the prince said softly, "or do you not want to understand?"

Thales clenched his bone ring tightly.

"When I was in Xihuang, I asked Falkenhauser: If you knew in advance that the king had bad intentions and the other party's conspiracy in advance, why didn't you stop him in advance?"

The Duke of South Bank did not speak.

"The Duke of Xihuang's answer was tactful and cautious. He said that the conflict was necessary, and he said that sometimes doing nothing is the best choice." Behind him, he saw the deep fear that belonged exclusively to the Duke of the Western Wilderness, Lord of the Ruins, and Duke Cyril Falkenhaus. That kind of fear may not be exaggerated and obvious, but it was so deep that he even sneaked a glance at it Don’t even look at the courage.”

Jen En was expressionless and didn't answer, but he was clutching the napkin in his hand tightly.

"That's right, the meaning of my stay here, as you said, is to maintain a balance," Thales said here, with a little interest, "to maintain the tacit understanding between the two sides, to maintain this invisible struggle , still stay in the category that you can understand, accept, and deal with.”

"Because the butcher's knife on the top of the head is deterring you and me, deterring everyone: Even if you resist, you must be respectful and polite, and you must be rational and peaceful, and you will not dare to cross the line or break this terrifying balance. "

Jane still didn't answer.

But it is worth a thousand words.

The dining room was completely silent until Thales let out a long sigh:

"So, what's the point?"

Jane raised his eyes: "What?"

Thales' tone was a little emotional:

"I mean, what's the point of all our fights, cooperation, resistance, infighting, intrigue, coming and going, including you and Fuxing Palace, and my father and me? It's just a butcher knife after all. The discord under the hood, the war in the cage.”

He stared at Zhan En, depressed:

"Why, Jen, why do we have to be like this?"

Zhan En was silent for a while, but suddenly smiled, with a desolate and tragic smile:

"Because that's who we are."

Thales came back to his senses and exchanged a glance with him.

"I'm sorry, I lost my temper by talking too much." The prince said in a deep voice.

But unexpectedly, Jen shook his head.

"We all have those moments."

The duke was slightly lost in thought: "And you are right, the discord under the butcher's knife."

At that moment, Thales felt for the first time: the man in front of him was in the same room as him, sitting at the same dining table.

Thales calmed down, got rid of unnecessary emotions, and took a deep breath.

"That said, you know, things didn't get that bad, and we didn't have to go there."

"Which step?"

Tels paused for a moment: "My father, maybe, maybe he didn't want to kill them all."

Jane narrowed his eyes.

"If I could..." Thales took a deep breath, trying to sound confident, "As long as you and Emerald City take a step back..."

But he was interrupted by Zhan En.

"A step back?"

The Duke of South Bank looked at him with a half-smile.

Facing the other person's eyes, Thales tightly clenched the bone ring in his hand, as if it could give him strength.

"I mean..."

"I know what you mean," Zhan En said coldly, "I figured it out, you probably solved the matter in the West Wilderness a while ago: take a step back, hehe."

Thales frowned slightly.

"Take a step back, that's right, the power belongs to the throne, the finances go to the central government, the rule belongs to the Fuxing Palace, and the resources flow into Eternal Star City."

Jen leaned back in his chair in a rare relaxed posture, counting:

"The Emerald City lost its aura of self-government, the queen of the city let go of her freedom and pride, and Kevin Dill threw down the power to dominate one side, willing to become the supreme king's slaves, servants, tools, weapons, chips and stepping stones, to go Helping, influencing, and controlling other backward territories, distant borders, and unruly subjects, to create more of the same kind, and so on, until every inch of the country is like this, in order to realize his grand vision: the stars are from now on, like arms. Use your fingers, just like the empire of the past."

Thales was in a heavy mood and was about to speak, but Jann never stopped:

"But why?"

The owner of the iris turned his head, his gaze was as sharp as a knife:

"The system of the Emerald City has been established by us over the years. We have accumulated the wealth of the people on the South Bank bit by bit. The prestige of the Kevin Dill family here has been earned through hard work."

"Why should we be made to pay, let us dedicate, let us cooperate, let us sacrifice, let us destroy our families to relieve difficulties, let us be loyal to the country, let us hand over all the possessions we have, let us hand over More tax, to serve more service, to bear more debts, to support the soldiers of the royal family, to help the officials of the royal capital, to write the history of Canxing, to strengthen the authority of the Fuxing Palace, to achieve the nine-star crown To realize the ambition of the supreme king, to share and bear the disasters brought by the dignitaries from the central government, such as the **** year?”

Thales wanted to say something, but still gritted his teeth.

The duke continued with a sneer: "Why, why should the people on the south bank who have the best life, the best situation and the best prosperity in the stars take the initiative to retreat and support the idlers in the whole star for no reason, so that the mountains in the Yadi The savages, the vulgar barbarians in the northern border, the profiteers and lazy men in the East China Sea, the sandy people in the western wasteland, the bandits and robbers led by the blade, and the group of leaders in the central government who look above the top and despise everything. The princes who came here, let them come and take everything from us, share our dividends, and drag down our lives?"

"Just because a certain person from your ancestors who didn't know how many generations drank too much one day, except when he was peeing, he fainted and shouted 'if the stars are there'?"

Facing Zhan En who looked like this, Thales took a deep breath.

"You just said, 'Everyone looks like they're from the backcountry', right?"

The prince looked at the Duke with a weak smile.

"But you, you speak as if the South Shore Territory is a person, a fisherman living on a deserted island with no friends, no one to rely on, self-reliant, as if Kevin Dill has always been isolated from the world, as if in the past It didn’t exist for seven hundred years, as if you built today’s Emerald City with your own efforts.”

Jen frowned.

"But there are no islands in this world, Zhan En, you are not different from the stars, you are not different from the kingdom, and you are not alone in the world."

"If there is no well-developed communication line behind the territorial water system on the south bank, the population, territory, history, culture, and market of the entire Star Kingdom... How do you think the transoceanic trade that you are proud of will be realized? What you have transshipped Where are the resources and goods going? Every Queen's Day, how can there be so many visitors from foreign countries in the Emerald Festival, looking for business opportunities and profits?"

Thales raised his head and said decisively:

"Commerce, market, raw materials, supply, land, system, history, politics, immigration, culture, there are too many... The South Bank collar is not only drawn in the territory of the kingdom, but also deeply embedded in the huge world called stars. In the system, there is interaction back and forth, and it is indistinguishable from each other.”

Jen En was silent for a while, then sneered disdainfully.

"How long have you lived in Fuxing Palace, Your Highness?"

Thales was taken aback.

"Long enough to think that the kingdom is you and you are the kingdom?"

Jane's words turned cold:

"According to what you said just now, Xingchen and Exeter have been fighting for many years, fight and stop, have the same history and experience, and have already interacted back and forth to form an inseparable whole. Why don't you go to Black Sand City, Give the crown of nine stars and the staff of the stars, kneel down on your knees and call Chamain Rumba a father? Or cross the Sea of ​​Ending and go to Sunwatch City to swear allegiance to the 'Kadir of the Mountains and the Earth', maybe he will be mad Mercy, let the Canxing family become the eighth clan to serve him?"

Thales swallowed.

"I don't make such sophistry, but you understand what I mean," the prince felt tired, he shook his head, "Sometimes, for peace, for stability, for balance, maybe we have to pay the price."

"Who?"

The Duke of Iris asked fiercely:

"Who are 'we' when you say that, when you're always like 'we have to pay'?"

"Is it you? Is it the king? Is it the Star Kingdom? Is it the central leader? Is it the capital? People who go out and talk to others?”

Thales did not answer.

Because he has no answer either.

He just clutched the "Guertaxa" in his pocket tightly.

He knew that his answer was pale no matter what.

"And who is the 'price'?"

Jane said disdainfully:

"Is it me? Is it the South Bank leader? Is it the Emerald City? Is it the Kevin Dill family? Or are they those grass-roots people who can only be slaughtered by this huge mechanism called the stars?"

Thales snorted:

"A grassroots person?"

He shook his head feebly:

"These words should be spoken by those ordinary people who are struggling to survive, not a prince who stands tall and has a magnificent palace."

"When you face the royal family of Canxing with a long history and eternal authority, and the descendants of the emperor's lineage who are on the top and overlooking the stars," Zhan En snorted coldly, "Who can say that he is not a grassroots, let him be slaughtered?" ?”

Thales was silent.

He finally sighed:

"To be honest, from what I've seen and heard these days, I quite like Emerald City..."

"Does your father like it?" Zhan En interrupted him unceremoniously.

Thales frowned: "So, there is really no room left?"

Jane looked at him seriously and smiled.

"When I was a child, at a family dinner, my father once said: 'As long as someone is willing to take the initiative to back down, there will always be room.'"

Thales squeezed the bone ring "covenant" again, feeling a glimmer of hope.

"Your father, the old Duke is a wise man."

But there was a mocking look on Jen En's face:

"Until my uncle added coldly: 'This is only for the strong.'"

The voice fell, and Thales understood it.

The two were silent for a long time.

"Your uncle, he is also very interesting." Thales said bitterly.

"Not interesting enough."

"Then do you think my father will take the initiative to retreat?"

Jen En sneered: "What do you think?"

Thales looked at him, his eyes flickering: "What if he was forced?"

The Duke of South Shore paused. He raised his glass, but found it was empty.

"In this country, who can force him, the supreme king?" He said quietly.

Thales turned his head.

"Believe it or not, Jann," the prince said earnestly, "he also has the fear we face."

Jen En snorted coldly:

"I don't take part in rebellions especially doomed ones."

The two faced each other silently, without saying a word.

A few seconds later, Thales took a deep breath and stood up.

"I see. So, wish us luck."

But just as Thales was about to walk out of the dining room, Jann suddenly stopped him.

"Thales, if, I mean if, if things really come to that point, can I trust you?"

Thales stopped and thought for a while.

"No, you can't."

Jen En frowned deeply.

Thales turned around:

"You know this yourself."

But the next second, Thales smiled slightly.

"But at least you can believe in the interests," he nodded, "and now, we have the same interests."

Zhan En looked at him and nodded in the same way.

Thales turned around, opened the door and left.

But the moment he stepped out of the dining room, Thales' expression turned cold.

"Did you get your interest back?"

The watchman Majoros who followed him at some point asked him this.

Thales paused for a while.

When he spoke again, he cleared all his luck and weakness out of his brain, and threw him into the river of **** along with Zhan En's nonsense just now.

Because you know, Thales said coldly in his heart:

Behind you, Jen is the same.

Even more decisive than you.

"Moss, and Diop~IndoMTL.com~The Duke of Xinghu said coldly, "One is Zhan En's agent, and the other is an accountant who manages his secret accounts. They must be hiding something. "

Mallos raised an eyebrow.

"Dig three feet, Thor, even if you dig through the mine veins under the South Bank collar, you must find out their secrets."

Mallos was silent for a while: "But you know they are dead, and the clues are broken, right? And according to official records, they all died of very normal..."

"I don't care!"

Thales raised the volume in a rare way, causing Huai Ya, who was waiting for them in the distance, to look sideways.

"Find a way, Thor, find a way," the prince said with burning eyes, "I have a hunch: as long as we dig something..."

Thales let go of the bone ring and looked at the garden outside Kongming Palace.

"The Emerald City is ours."

(End of this chapter)