Sure enough, this damned imperial dog still had not stopped suspecting him. But it was no big deal. Before setting out, he had specifically done his homework with Butler Pino and asked which goods sold best in the Victoria Kingdom.
He already knew the answer, so as long as he answered calmly, he would definitely gain this damned imperial dog's trust.
Once this damned imperial dog let down his guard, he could find an opportunity to escape!
John Maslow, no matter how cunning you are, you would never have imagined that the great Lord Ben had long since made thorough preparations, would you? Heh heh heh!
Thinking of his flawless plan, Dick's heart immediately brimmed with pride. Yet on the surface, he still spoke respectfully to John:
"Reporting to Ensign John, the reason I brought people to the Victoria Kingdom this time was actually to engage in the silk trade."
"Judging by your hair and eye color, if I am not mistaken, I believe you are one of the descendants of the Xianqin Empire who ended up abroad. So when it comes to silk, a specialty from that great Empire that mysteriously vanished thousands of years ago, you likely understand the value it represents even better than I do."
"Moreover, His Majesty William Perus of our Empire is deeply fascinated by Xianqin culture. So I thought that if I could travel to the Victoria Kingdom, which is currently capable of producing silk, spend heavily to recruit craftsmen who can make silk, and bring them back to the Empire—"
"For an Empire that can only import silk from abroad, causing its price to remain exorbitantly high, if I could recruit craftsmen, produce silk belonging to our Empire, and bring down its price—"
"Then it would surely spark a frenzy among all the Empire's nobles. Perhaps our Deman Lineage might even win His Majesty's favor because of it."
"It was precisely driven by such profit that I took the risk of selling off every asset my family had accumulated over a century, intending to carve out a future for my descendants!"
"So I truly am not an Allied Forces spy. Please, you must believe me!"
After saying that, Dick stared nervously at John, afraid of missing even the slightest change in expression on this damned imperial dog's face.
John, upon hearing this answer, could not help falling into thought.
In truth, as a player, John naturally knew exactly what had happened to the mysteriously vanished Xianqin Empire Dick had mentioned.
After all, the game itself had borrowed heavily from the background of the real world in his previous life.
The so-called Xianqin Empire was merely a backstory designed by the game company to avoid censorship and pass review.
Simply put, Xianqin was Great Qin from his previous life. The difference was that after the Ancestral Dragon unified the realm and completed the Fengshan ceremony, Great Qin experienced a resurgence of spiritual energy, ushering in an era where everyone cultivated immortality.
Later, the Ancestral Dragon found the Luo Shu and gave it to Guiguzi, who had already joined Xianqin, for divination. The conclusion was that this world's spiritual energy could not last forever and would eventually perish.
After much deliberation, the Ancestral Dragon decided to lead all of Great Qin in ascension to the true immortal realm.
However, in order to preserve traces of Xianqin, before the entire nation ascended, he left behind a group of Great Qin descendants who lacked the qualifications to cultivate immortality, along with vast wealth, entrusting them with the mission of recording Xianqin's history.
After Xianqin transcended the mundane world, these descendants of Xianqin began spreading across the world to survive, while also carrying Xianqin's culture and history to every corner of it.
Thus, after more than a thousand years of influence and inheritance, nearly everyone on the continent where John lived, from emperors to commoners, held an unprecedented fervor for the mysteriously vanished Xianqin Empire.
As attire highly esteemed by Xianqin's upper class, silk garments were not only magnificent in appearance but also extremely comfortable.
Therefore, they had always been favored by the upper echelons of the various kingdoms.
Furthermore, William XIII, the emperor of the Norman Empire, was established in the game as an extremely fanatical admirer of Xianqin.
To that end, the developers had designed an Easter egg in the game: following the surviving legends of Xianqin, William XIII had spent a fortune having a set of black dragon robes identical to those of the Ancestral Dragon made for himself, along with a perfect replica of a nine-tasseled crown.
Perhaps because he felt this was too disrespectful toward the Xianqin emperor he worshipped, he later secretly altered it into a six-tasseled crown.
If John remembered correctly, this set of true dragon emperor attire replicated by William XIII should currently be hidden beneath the emperor's bed. He had already regarded it as his most precious treasure, and even his most favored consort knew nothing about it.
As for this secret, aside from William XIII himself and John, there was likely no third person in the world who knew it.
If that explanation was used, then Dick's act of carrying a large amount of gold to the Victoria Kingdom in an attempt to conduct business did indeed hold water.
So this guy really was just a merchant driven mad by greed, rather than an Allied Forces spy?
After all, there was nothing wrong with this explanation no matter how he looked at it. Had he guessed wrong?
John could not help sinking into thought as he listened to the answer. But after carefully considering Dick's suspicious behavior earlier, he felt he could not dismiss the matter outright just yet.
Since this idiot was using silk as an excuse, why not simply follow that lead and probe him further?
After all, when it came to information from the game, no one in this world understood it better than the clever Ensign John.
As long as this man calling himself Reddick was with the Allied Forces, John could guarantee that with just a few sentences, he could trick even the kind of underwear this idiot was wearing today out of him.
With that thought, John immediately broke into a smile.
"Yes, Mr. Reddick, silk truly is an excellent commodity. You are indeed a merchant with remarkable foresight. If you can bring silk-making techniques back to the Empire, then even I can foresee the day when you rise to great prominence."
"If you gain the approval of His Majesty the Emperor, then perhaps before long, I will have to salute you as my superior officer~"
Sure enough, this idiot believed him!
An imperial pig was an imperial pig. Did he really think he could interrogate the brilliant Lord Dick? He could go somewhere cool and drink the northwest wind, heh heh!
Realizing that he had successfully "fooled" him, Dick not only breathed a sigh of relief but also could not help feeling smug.
Believing he had now firmly established his identity as a merchant, he immediately waved his hand modestly and said:
"Not at all, not at all. It is merely an idea. Ensign John, you flatter me too much. I am only an ordinary merchant. How could I possibly become your superior? You really know how to joke, haha!"
"That may not be the case. After all, His Majesty the Emperor is especially fond of Xianqin culture!"
John smiled noncommittally, but quickly changed the subject and spoke with feigned confusion:
"However, I have a question. If I remember correctly, because there were too many private silk producers, resulting in uneven quality and cases of passing inferior goods off as superior ones, the Victoria Kingdom seemed to have issued a new commercial policy in early May six years ago. Article Thirteen appeared to mention an order changing silk production from private operation to state operation."
"After that commercial measure was introduced, the production and sale of Xianqin silk came under the control of the Victoria royal family. That was why silk prices in the Empire's market had risen steadily these past few years, reaching the terrifying price of 400D per foot."
"As a qualified merchant, you should logically know this commercial law better than I do. Yet judging by your reaction, you seem not to know much about it at all. What is going on? To be honest, I am truly rather surprised, Mr. Reddick."
Seeing Dick's smile abruptly stiffen and countless beads of cold sweat appear on his forehead, John could not help revealing a smile that said, I knew I was right.
Then, looking into the other's trembling eyes, he spoke calmly:
"My dear Mr. Reddick, you... were not lying to me, were you?"
"!"
Before you continue