"Carpet?!" Qi Ji was slightly surprised.
Is there any need to spend money on this thing?
"You also find it incredible, right?" Lunxi laughed bitterly at himself. "You don't know, father said that carpets are the 'face of nobility', so we must buy the best... For example, the one in our living room costs one thousand aires."
"Ah this."
"There are also pictures, screens, wall paneling and the like. These are what father considers 'necessary'."
Qi Ji had nothing to say.
She and old Edward are from completely different worlds in terms of ideology. Judging by her own values, this old man is a complete weirdo.
He had an obsessive desire for all kinds of expensive jewelry, and it was not a revengeful consumption of a nouveau riche, because his family was an old aristocratic family with many years of heritage.
To be honest, his psychology involved Qi Ji's blind spot of knowledge, and Qi Ji had no way to analyze it.
Not long after, the three of them arrived at the main house located in the center of the villa area.
"You two, please come in."
The door was open, and the gatekeeper led them into the villa. They turned right in the magnificent hall and came to a well-planned and well-lit living room.
After the two sat down, the gatekeeper left, probably to report to Baron Lionsmith.
"Lunxi," sitting on the soft leather sofa, Qi Ji suddenly said seriously, "If he really did all this, what would you do?"
"Uh..." Lunxi was really stumped by the question and pursed his lips without saying anything.
Even if Baron Lionsmith is really a villain who is profit-driven, withholds supplies, and makes money from hardship, what can she do?
This means that Pastor Rosago also has huge problems, and even the entire Stio Church has been captured by some corrupt and evil force.
Because they wanted to intercept the church's supplies and sell them openly in the city, but it was impossible to get through the church, so reporting it to the church would undoubtedly be like a drop in the ocean, without any meaning, and it would even attract unnecessary vigilance, thus paving the way for disaster.
This option can be excluded directly.
"Let me... think about it..." Lunxi leaned against the back of the sofa, staring at the ceiling, his expression becoming increasingly heavy.
Things have developed to this point...it is far beyond her ability to deal with.
Chapter 69: Lure the snake out of its hole, fishing enforcement
"Perhaps, I can tell my father about the situation..." After hesitating for a while, Lunxi said hesitantly.
"Your dad? Will he care?" Qi Ji laughed, "How can he care?"
"I think so..." Lunxi was unsure, and his tone was weak. "He is a noble, and his voice in the circle of the rich and powerful is much stronger than mine. I believe that as long as he is willing, whether he submits a petition to the Holy Church or directly discusses with Baron Lionsmith... he can effectively improve the current situation."
"I hope so." Qi Ji expressed great doubt about this.
According to the paradoxical attitude of old Edward, who despised the bourgeois behavior of Baron Lionsmith who sold land and started a business to set up a factory, and at the same time flatteredly wanted to give London to Lanchester to form a marriage between the two families...
Qi Ji had reason to believe that this old man's stance was closer to that of traditional landlords.
He did look down on the new bourgeois aristocracy, but under the pressure of reality, he knew that if he did nothing, he would inevitably be excluded by other powerful people and his status would gradually be marginalized.
Since he could not accept abandoning his traditional aristocratic reputation and joining forces with Baron Lionsmith and others, the only thing he could do... was the equally "traditional" method of family marriage.
If he were to learn of Baron Lionsmith's crimes now, his first reaction would most likely not be "This guy dared to commit corruption and pervert the law, I must uphold justice!"
Rather, "If he falls, what will happen to my family's revival? Who else can become a marriage partner for my family?"
Although in addition to Baron Iris and Baron Lionsmith, there are two other nobles in Stio: Baron Hodge-Tongzhongmen and Viscount Lord Double-Headed Axe.
But since old Edward chose Lanchester as the primary target of attack, it means that the other two families are relatively more difficult to attack.
In other words, if Baron Lionsmith was punished for his crime, from old Edward's perspective... the disadvantages would outweigh the advantages.
Qi Ji felt that if Lunxi really told old Edward about the situation, there was a 50% chance that he would ignore it, and the other 50% chance that he would... use it as a handle to threaten Baron Lionsmith and make a profit for himself.
Either way, it will not help improve the current situation or the living conditions of the people of Stio.
Even though Lunxi could not understand all of the above due to class limitations, she was still smart enough to understand some of them.
So, the look in her eyes at this moment... was very pessimistic, giving a sense of being a tragic hero who was powerless in the face of a disaster.
Qi Ji looked at her expression and shook his head imperceptibly:
"Actually, I have a solution, but I don't know if you have the courage to accept it..."
Her voice was very low, almost like she was talking to herself, but Lun Xi still heard it and looked over at her suddenly: "What's going on?"
"My two young ladies, I'm very sorry. The master has something to attend to and has gone out." A voice came through, "The young master was originally at home, but... it's really unfortunate that he went out just a few minutes before you arrived."
An old man in a suit appeared at the door of the living room. He seemed to be the butler.
"Not here?" Lunxi was surprised, and then whispered to Qi Ji: "Should we continue to wait? If we can't see Augustus..."
"It doesn't matter," Qi Ji also lowered his voice and said, "It's okay to let the servants and butlers help to transfer it, as long as the things can finally reach Augustus' hands."
Lunxi couldn't help being curious: "Xiao Qiji, what on earth is this?"
"Here, this is it." Qi Ji didn't keep her in suspense anymore. He revealed the answer and took out a small object from his pocket.
"The emblem of the Order of Saint Hydra?" Looking at the emblem quietly lying in Qi Ji's palm, Lun Xi was a little confused, "What's the use of this...? What will happen if Augustus sees it?"
"Think about it," Qi Ji said with a smile, "assuming that there are really more than 10,000 doses of the antidote in the church's supply, and Augustus took them all for himself, deducting the portion for his own use and the portion given to other dignitaries, and the remaining portion is priced at a few thousand Ferums, how much can it sell for?"
"Not many can be sold. Apart from some big merchants and factory owners in the North District, the number of adventurers and civilians who can afford this price will not exceed one thousand... Yeah, I understand!" Lunxi suddenly realized:
"His methods of selling stolen goods for cash must be more than just selling them in the market!"
"Then tell me, what other methods do you have?" Qi Ji smiled, his beautiful eyebrows curved, "Just a reminder, this badge is stained with spiritual residues of the antidote..."
"Sell in bulk to foreign merchants!" Lunxi gradually clenched his fists, "It's this 'Saint Xudela Society'!"
"Correct answer." Qi Ji snapped his fingers.
The church supplies were delivered to Dastiou last month, which means that Augustus already had a large amount of antidote for the fever at that time.
And we know that he only arranged for people to sell them in the city in recent days. Then, before that, had so many antidotes been stored in a warehouse for more than a month?
What is the picture?
Based on this, Qi Ji had enough reasons to speculate that Augustus had already sold most of the antidotes in bulk to foreign merchants, and this was his main source of profit.
As for why they are being sold on the market again these days, Qi Ji guessed that the number of antidotes is too large, and even the itinerant merchants are unable to consume them all.
When the second fever outbreak happened, Augustus simply sold the remaining antidote at a high price, hoping to make one last profit.
Why is there a spiritual remnant of the antidote on the emblem of the Order of St. Hydra? This is simple, because they are the ones who purchased the antidote in bulk.
A large amount of antidotes had been stored in the trucks of their caravan for a long time, and the regiment emblem placed nearby was therefore contaminated with the spiritual aura of the antidotes.
"Xiao Qiji's plan is to give this badge to Augustus and observe his reaction?"
"That's right. If he is really innocent, he will definitely not have any abnormal reaction to this. On the contrary..." Qi Ji smiled, "I can't say anything else, but when it comes to judging whether a person is sincere... I am still very confident."
"But Augustus is not at home now. You can only hand the badge to him indirectly through the servants," Lunxi said, "If we can't communicate face to face..."
"Don't worry about this," Qi Ji held the badge in his hand, "If he is really the mastermind behind everything, and sees that we have obtained this key physical evidence... do you think he will not say anything?"
What Augustus did was not at all honorable, and he certainly did not want his actions to be exposed.
From his perspective, how would he feel when he found out that several people who had nothing to do with his plan had obtained the emblem of the stolen goods caravan and sent it to him specially?
Maybe shocked, maybe scared, maybe angry.
Whatever he decided to do, whether to rush to eliminate the evidence or try to win them over, he would have to make a statement.
Once he makes any move, Qi Ji can use it to judge what role this person plays in this conspiracy.
"Luring the snake out of its hole and conducting a sting operation is a very simple logic," said Qi Ji.
At this time, the butler's apologetic voice sounded again:
"My two young ladies, the young master and the old master are not here, but if there is anything, we can convey it to you. What do you mean...?"
=========================
It's the beginning of the month, please kill me with your steaming hot monthly tickets!
Chapter 70 It seems...something went wrong?
"Keep this thing safe," Lunxi took the badge from Qi Ji and handed it over. "If Baron Lionsmith comes back, please give it to him. Remember, this is very important and must be handed over to him."
"Okay, okay, of course no problem." The butler held the badge in both hands and carefully wrapped it with a handkerchief.
"The 'Mennon Inn' in the north district," Qi Ji said, "If Baron Lionsmith asks about our location, tell him this address. We will be waiting there."
"Okay, okay." Qi Ji's words were strange, but the housekeeper didn't ask any questions.
Afterwards, the two of them politely drank a cup of tea in the living room and then got up and left.
"Go away. I'm sorry to have you come here for nothing."
After seeing off the two guests, the butler returned to the living room of the main house and directed the servants to clean up.
"Is this... the emblem of a certain merchant group? Tsk, it looks familiar." The butler held the emblem with his handkerchief and glanced at it casually. "Giving something like this as a gift? How strange."
But he didn't think much about it. He just glanced at it and wrapped it up again and put it in the inside pocket of his coat.
Soon the living room was cleaned and he went on to other matters.
More than an hour later, there was a sound of wheels rolling at the door.
The butler stopped what he was doing reflexively, trotted to the door, put his hands neatly in front of him, and bowed respectfully to the carriage parked at the door:
"Master, welcome home."
"That woman is really troublesome," Lanchester got out of the carriage listlessly after the carriage curtain was opened, "She knew I couldn't drink enough but still forced me to drink... Now I have to sleep for the whole afternoon again."
"Master, Miss Iris came just now. Do you need me to arrange a return visit for you?" The butler stepped forward and said.
"Lunxi? She came to my house?" Lanchester was slightly surprised, but soon lost interest, "It's really rare... Forget it, I'm not interested."
"Okay. Oh, by the way, there is one more thing," the butler wanted to mention the fact that she gave him the Augustus badge, "She gave me something and asked me to pass it on to the master... Would you like to take a look at it?"
"Not interested, give it to him yourself."
Lanchester had drunk some strong liquor, and the aftereffects made him feel dizzy. He just wanted to go to bed as soon as possible and didn't care about anything else.
"Okay, okay." The butler bowed again and said, "Oh, by the way, there was someone else coming with Miss Iris. It should be a little girl. She was wearing a cloak. She was quite special. Is she also a friend of the young master?"
"Not interested, not interested... Uh, what!?"
Lanchester's heart sank, and the slight drunkenness he felt instantly disappeared, as if a basin of ice water had been poured over his head.
"Is he the small one with a hood on and a nice voice?!" He stared at the butler with wide eyes.
"Yes, yes!" The butler was startled by his sudden change in attitude. "Master...what do you want?"
"Haha, I knew you wouldn't be so ruthless!" Lanchester laughed excitedly.
He was very familiar with this description. It was Qi Ji! She was here too!
She was so cold last night, but she came to my house in person this morning!
I see. He must have changed his mind after thinking about it all night!
"As expected of me, no matter how proud and cold a girl is, she can't resist my charm!"
Happiness came too suddenly, and he felt elated, as if he was about to fly to the sky, but soon a feeling of regret filled his heart:
"Damn it, I actually missed the meeting with her. I should have stayed away from going out if I had known!"
He had a long-awaited erotic dream last night, so he had to change the sheets again. When he woke up early this morning, he couldn't hold back his lust, so he got up in high spirits and ran to the North District Customs Street to relieve himself.
As a result, he missed a good opportunity and he regretted it very much.
"Hurry! Prepare the most formal dress for me! I have something important to do!" Lanchester ordered the butler, sweeping away all the sleepiness in his mind.
"Okay, I'll arrange it right away." The butler's eyes moved, as if he understood something, "Master, that girl said... they are waiting at the Menong Hotel in the north district, do you want to...?"
"Really?!" Lanchester's eyebrows were full of joy. "Arrange a car and take me there immediately!"
"Okay, okay." The butler bowed three times and led Lanchester into the main house.
A few dozen minutes later, Lanchester, dressed in formal attire, walked out of the main entrance of the house.
He was dressed extremely formally, in a straight-ironed royal blue suit, with a folded towel in his chest pocket, and all kinds of expensive and gorgeous accessories such as cufflinks, collar clips, and tassels.
It was like attending a wedding. It wasn't that formal last night at Lunxi's house.
