strictlysupreme Chapter 190 Foolish but Powerful Beauty vs. Delicate but Vampiric God of War (26)
Chapter 190 Foolish but Powerful Beauty vs. Delicate but Vampiric God of War (26)
Some time has passed.
Avran's voice came from outside the carriage, "Miss, we've arrived in the upper town."
"Really?" Tao excitedly opened the carriage door and disappeared in the blink of an eye.
The carriage continued moving forward at a snail's pace.
He Suining simply went outside and sat with Tao, gazing at the upper city area.
"Wow--"
As soon as she stepped out, she heard Tao's sigh.
Qin Meng followed her out.
She looked up.
Even though he had lived on such a large and prosperous planet as Blue Star before, he couldn't help but be surprised for a few seconds when he first arrived in the Upper City.
In reality, all that was in front of me was a tall city gate.
It is very tall and very big.
Looking up, it seemed as if you couldn't see the bottom at all. The walls were covered with flags, some with knight-like patterns, others with flower-like patterns, each different and in different colors.
He Suining guessed that this might represent several forces.
The city wall bears the marks of time, with many scratches, but it is not dilapidated.
On both sides of the city gate was the boundless sea.
It's really amazing.
The Upper City is actually a city built on the sea, while the Middle City and Lower City are both on land.
They are connected in the middle by a heavy bridge.
There were many traveling merchants and people wanting to enter the city on the bridge.
Whether someone is an ordinary citizen or a wealthy businessman, it's generally easy to tell at a glance.
Soldiers patrolled the area from the city gate to the bridge, their faces serious. As soon as they passed by, the civilians nearby fell silent.
It took a little time.
He Suining and the others will be here soon.
at this time.
A commotion suddenly broke out at the city gate.
A group of well-dressed men and women were driven out of the city gate by soldiers.
Tao looked over curiously, "Were any other people kicked out?"
The voice was quite loud.
The people in the carriage next to them heard this, and the uncle sighed. Perhaps out of boredom, he started chatting with Tao, "This is your first time in the Upper City, isn't it? The Upper City is also known as Hidden Dragon City. The hierarchy in the city is very strict."
This family was probably merchants in the past. They likely went bankrupt or offended the nobles there, which is why they were kicked out.
oops.
You'll get used to it after living in the upper district for a while; this kind of thing happens often.
Tao frowned, puzzled.
His face, which was getting rounder and rounder from eating, looked even more like a meat bun. "Does going bankrupt mean I can't stay? Who made this rule?"
He Suining also wanted to know.
The man hadn't had a chance to answer yet.
The middle-aged man in the group rose up in resistance, his face flushed red, and he charged toward the soldiers, shouting, "I'll fight you to the death! Why are you driving us away! My family has lived in the Upper City for generations, how much tax have I paid!"
It's just that my business investments failed these past few months, and I can't pay the taxes. I've already said I'm trying to find a solution.
Why can't you big shots be a little more accommodating? You're actually trying to kick our whole family out.
"Are you trying to kill me? I refuse to accept this! I demand to see His Majesty!"
The middle-aged man kept charging at the soldier, which frightened the children behind him, causing them to wail loudly.
The women are holding their children.
One of the women also pounced on it.
The soldiers, their faces fierce, kicked the man in the stomach, accompanied by a scream and a woman's shrill cry.
This "negotiation" has ended unilaterally.
The soldiers pointed their weapons at the man's neck; with just a slight movement, they could easily pierce his skin. "Who do you think you are, daring to request an audience with the current king? Let me tell you, the class system was devised by the nobles themselves and personally approved by His Majesty the King."
If you fail to pay your taxes for three months, you will naturally be demoted to commoners.
while talking.
Several more men emerged from the city gate.
These men were more imposing than the soldiers, and they wore what appeared to be lightweight iron armor.
"what's going on?"
The arrogant soldiers, upon seeing these men, immediately lowered their heads, appearing very respectful, "My lords..."
He explained what had just happened.
A servant walked over, looked at the man who had been helped up, and stared at him expressionlessly. "So you mean you're disobeying the orders of the noble Esta who set the rules?"
He Suining frowned as she watched this farce unfold.
Suddenly I heard a familiar name.
Esta?
Could it be that this group of squires are Esta's men?
Also.
Esta is a legitimate member of the Knights, so it's normal for him to have squires.
The man stammered.
Perhaps out of his desire and longing to continue living in the upper district, he shouted loudly, "What's wrong with that? Our family has lived here for generations, and we've contributed a lot of taxes to the adults every month."
Our family is facing financial difficulties right now, can't you give us a little more time?
The surrounding area was bustling with people.
Upon closer listening, it seemed they were discussing the same issue.
A smile twisted onto the otherwise expressionless face of the attendant, and before anyone could react, they were greeted by a flying head.
He fell heavily to the ground.
Even Tao, who was used to life and death in the caged animal arena, couldn't help but cover her face and scream.
Those who were nearby were splattered with hot blood.
Some of them fainted on the spot.
The scene was in complete chaos; apart from screams, no one dared to utter a sound.
The attendant wiped the sword with satisfaction. "His Majesty is the Mandate of Heaven, and the words of nobles are sacred edicts issued by the Mandate of Heaven. No one can defy them. Lord Esta has always hoped to establish a well-ordered and orderly kingdom. If everyone were like this man, there would be no rules in the Upper City."
Do you understand?
Some people understand.
There may still be people who don't understand.
But whether they understood or not was no longer important; everyone was afraid and only dared to nod.
The attendant left with his men, satisfied.
The soldier looked at the man's corpse on the ground, sighed, and waved his hand.
Tell the other men to quickly move the body away.
Then, as if nothing had happened, he let the others continue into the city.
Tao recovered, her voice much softer, and she leaned weakly on He Suining's shoulder, "Who is this Lord Esta? How could he do this..."
"Esta..."
He Suining muttered his name softly.
She still remembers the first time she met him; he was so handsome, refined, gentle, and gentlemanly.
This was a little interlude.
They finally arrived.
He Suining took out his city entry token and entered the city smoothly.
The upper district is really different from the outside.
Upon entering, one sees many statues, each tall and imposing, carved with lifelike detail.
These people must have been knights, nobles, or meritorious officials in the past.
The houses are built on the sea, some next to each other, some not stand alone, and each has a different style, but they create a unique landscape.
Very beautiful.
Even the sea was a clear blue.
There were vendors hawking their wares on both sides of the road, but unlike those in the lower part of the city, they were all clean and tidy, and the vendors kept a certain distance from each other.
Tao looked around.
He Suining and Qin Meng were looking for a hotel to stay in.
They found it very quickly.
After paying a certain amount of silver coins, one can stay for several days in a row.
However, prices in the upper city area are indeed much higher.
No wonder Esta gave her so many silver coins in the first place.
that's it.
He Suining and his group settled down temporarily in the Shangcheng District.
Qin Meng wanted to find his uncle.
But there were too many people in Tiancheng District, and he couldn't just grab anyone and ask them. This stumped Qin Meng; he was good at fighting, but not at handling interpersonal relationships.
My first day here went peacefully.
the next day.
Qin Meng returned from his stroll outside and planned to discuss it with He Suining.
Just got to the door.
I saw Tao standing at the door of the room, idly counting the leaves of the potted plants by the door.
He frowned, walked over with a puzzled look, and asked, "Tao, why don't you go in?"
Tao stood up and pointed mysteriously into the room, "A big shot is here to see our Ningning, guess who it is?"
Qin Mengcai didn't guess.
He lifted his leg to go inside.
Tao quickly blocked his way, "No, no, you can't go in. Ningning said that no one is allowed to go in until they finish their business."
"Neither can I?"
Now it was Tao's turn to be confused.
She tilted her head and looked at him, "What's the difference between you and me? If I can't get in, of course you can't either."
Is it possible?
Qin Meng really sees himself as He Suining's lover.
The two exchanged a few words.
Unexpectedly, the door opened.
He Suining walked out chatting and laughing with a man.
Qin Meng's pupils shrank considerably in an instant.
His narrow eyes narrowed, his pupils like those of a snake, scrutinizing his prey with a critical eye.
Esta had already noticed the strange gaze.
He glanced at Qin Meng subtly, realizing that he was one of the two children Sui Sui had mentioned in her letter. He had a youthful air about him, exuding a raw energy, and indeed looked very young.
The other one is even worse; he's like a child who never grew up, and all he does when he sees you is smile like an idiot.
Esta smiled gently at Qin Meng.
He stopped in his tracks. "Sui Ning, there's no need to see me off. There's no need for such formalities between us."
He Suining nodded.
I know that Esta said this because she was worried that if they went out and were seen by someone with ulterior motives, it would affect their future plans.
"I will come to pick you up in person tomorrow night."
Estad's gentle, star-like eyes gazed at her.
She smiled.
He smiled very politely.
Qin Meng crossed his arms and leaned against the wall, knees bent and feet pressed against the wall, looking unhappy.
He tilted his head to look at Tao, his voice barely audible to the two of them, "Who's this?"
Tao blinked twice and covered her lips with one hand.
He told Qin Meng everything he had overheard at the door.
After all, Qin Meng is one of our own.
No matter how gentle and beautiful Esta was, she felt nothing for her, and was even worried that Ningning had been deceived.
However, Ningning is so smart, she shouldn't be like her.
"I heard that," Tao said, not daring to look at Esta, afraid that he would notice.
She speaks very gently and seems easy to get along with.
But she was still a little scared, so she decided to talk to Qin Meng instead, "This is Ningning's childhood sweetheart. Do you know what a childhood sweetheart is?"
Qin Meng glanced at her speechlessly, "I was just sent to a caged animal field when I was young, it doesn't mean I'm mentally challenged."
"Oh."
Tao scoffed and continued, "Esta had been looking for Ningning, and after finding her, they got in touch. The beautiful bird we saw was a gift from Esta to Ningning. Oh, and by the way, Esta also invited Ningning to some kind of banquet tomorrow."
talking.
She pouted dejectedly, "It's a pity they only invited Ningning, so we can't go and play together."
Qin Meng remained silent.
The two of them kept talking and talking.
He is unhappy.
He walked over and initiated a conversation about social niceties, saying, "I'm Qin Meng, hello."
"?"
Even Esta was caught off guard and stunned for a moment.
He didn't know what to say.
He nodded to him. "Hello, I'm Esta Eisler." He glanced at He Suining. "You're Suining's friends, so just call me by my name."
Ah.
Qin Meng laughed in exasperation.
He didn't understand anything about nobility; he just couldn't stand Esta's arrogant attitude.
"My surname is Qin and my given name is Meng. Sui Sui usually calls me Meng. You can call me that too, since Sui Sui's friends are my friends."
He Suining punched his hard abs with a moderate amount of force.
Glancing at him.
If Esta said that, she wouldn't say anything more, because Esta was a nobleman, and he was born with a sense of class.
But Qin Meng couldn't do that.
She was worried that his careless talk would cause trouble for people in the Upper East Side.
It's not that I'm afraid of offending people, it's just that I'm a nuisance.
Esta was once again taken aback by Qin Meng's "rude" and blunt words, which lacked any sense of social etiquette. For the first time in her life, she didn't know how to respond and could only smile and say, "Qin Meng, Ningning, Tao, I'm leaving now. See you tomorrow night, Ningning."
Peach politely raised her hand to wave.
He Suining watched Esta's departing figure with a smile.
Qin Meng, on the other hand, had his lips agape and his tongue licking his teeth, as if he had an urge to mutate on the spot and grow fangs to bite him to death.
Wait for someone to leave.
They returned to their room.
Qin Meng sat on the bed, feeling depressed.
He Suining patted his head, "That's ridiculous. Luckily, Esta didn't hold it against you. You and Tao should be careful. Didn't you see what happens when you offend a nobleman at the city gate?"
While speaking.
Qin Meng clicked his tongue.
He Suining pinched his face hard, and he yelped and rubbed his face in annoyance, but he was neither angry nor did he stop her.
“We’re not afraid of trouble, but we can’t provoke it. Especially you, Qin Meng, don’t forget why you came to the Upper City.”
Qin Meng knew that He Suining was doing it for his own good.
He was very annoyed with Esta, but he wasn't really stupid. "I know."
He Suining nodded in satisfaction, turned around and went out, "I ordered some delicious food, I'll go get it for you."
Tao sat obediently with her knees together.
After she went outside, she patted her chest and breathed a sigh of relief, "Thank goodness. No, Qin Meng, I've always been very well-behaved. You dragged me into this. Ningning even told me."
Qin Meng remained silent.
Tao chuckled, a hint of gossip in her eyes, and sat down beside him. "Qin Meng, are you very concerned about the relationship between Esta and Ningning?"