That evening, Su Qin prepared a banquet for Earl Yalun's envoy, Knight Pujin. All the ministers attended.
He even had a whole lamb roasted, worth three gold coins!
After all the drinking, Yira and Luke carried Su Qin back to the lord's bedroom on the third floor. Yira sent Luke away and ordered two maids to bring in a basin of hot water.
Beside the bed, Yira's face flushed slightly as she carefully wiped Su Qin's hands with a warm towel, occasionally stealing a glance at his lower body.
She had already removed his outer and inner robes. Su Qin's physique was quite imposing? Suddenly, she heard Su Qin mumble, "Yira... did you... kill that man? Did you avenge... your mother?"
Hearing this, Yira glanced at Su Qin's eyes. They were still closed. It seemed he had merely sensed her beside him. Her eyes reddened, and she felt increasingly moved.
Su Qin's face was bright red with drunkenness. Looking at him, Yira whispered, "My lord, I killed him myself. I stabbed him thirty-seven times with a spear. I stabbed his belly full of holes!"
"He bled more than my mother did. His child hates me. I understand him, but I still had to take revenge!"
Su Qin did not answer. He merely turned his head, shifted into a more comfortable position, and continued lying there. Yira smiled knowingly at the sight.
After carefully wiping Su Qin's hands and face, she straightened his body, tucked him in, and closed the door.
Yira then went downstairs carrying Su Qin's outer robe. Two personal guards stood watch outside the door. The twenty personal guards currently in the castle all had loyalty scores around 85. Su Qin had made a special effort to win them over.
For the twenty personal guards Earl Yalun had given him, Su Qin provided quarters in a multistory building east of the lord's castle. That building had originally housed the former lord Fett's many mistresses.
(Judging by the building layout in the story, there were many buildings around the lord's castle, as many servants needed somewhere to live.)
The accommodations were excellent: twenty rooms on the first floor, fifteen on the second, five on the third, and one on the fourth. The higher the floor, the better and more spacious the accommodations.
All those rooms also meant Fett had quite a few mistresses! Just thinking about it made Su Qin's scalp tingle! Su Qin could not imagine how beautiful a woman had to be to live on the fourth floor. Now, however, the fourth floor housed Aila, commander of the personal guard.
Su Qin intended to house the personal guards in all the remaining rooms. Each unit had three bedrooms and covered at least eighty square meters, so it was not small. The personal guard quarters beside the castle were reserved for the most trusted of Su Qin's trusted men.
The next day, Su Qin rose early. After getting up, he first sent the personal guards at the stairway back to rest, then entered the study on the second floor. He had to study every day: the house words and heraldry of important nobles, for instance, along with various accounts of natural phenomena, biographies, novels, and amusing tales...
He needed to look for clues about this world's gods!
An hourglass later, Yira brought in breakfast: rye bread, a pot of sheep's milk, and several eggs. It was actually quite good. After eating, Su Qin looked at Yira as she cleared things away. "Yira, how many new maids do you think the castle needs to recruit for you?"
Yira paused, considered it, and said, "My lord, I think around forty maids should be enough."
Su Qin nodded, then thought of the former head maid and asked a few more questions. "Thank you for your hard work, Yira. By the way, how are the head maid and the other maids settling in at the tailor's shop I found for her?"
"Very well, my lord. The maids who left the castle with the head maid are all quite happy. They can leave the manor whenever they want, and they receive one silver coin a month. They're much happier than they were in the castle!" Yira dared not look at Su Qin and could only lower her head.
From the sound of it, was Yira a little envious? Seeing her head lowered, Su Qin sighed. Everything about Yira was good except for some problems with her face. For instance, she had a nicely shaped face, with straight black hair cascading down; her figure was good too, leaving her unable to see her feet when she looked down.
Su Qin smiled. "How about giving the maids time off too, so they can go out once a week?"
Yira shook her head. "My lord, it's too dangerous outside. Besides, if the maids come into contact with outsiders, they could pose a threat to you. Better not!"
Su Qin thought it over. That was true! So he lowered his head and continued reading...
What book was Su Qin reading at the moment? It was "All Men Must Die," circulated among the followers of the Many-Faced God, one of the Seven.
The book enticed mortals to worship the Many-Faced God, claiming that the Many-Faced God was the manifestation of all gods and the one true god. It recorded the deeds of followers of the Many-Faced God-in other words, stories about assassins.
Naturally, it had a very strong religious flavor.
Knock, knock, knock. Before long, someone knocked on the door!
Su Qin glanced at the hourglass. Ten in the morning. He slowly closed the book. "Come in."
The door opened, and Yira entered. She began, "My lord, a guest has arrived at the castle. He's waiting outside the manor for your summons."
"A guest?" Besides Pujin, what other guest could there be? Somewhat puzzled, Su Qin asked another question. "Did he say what his name was?"
"My lord, he said his name was Kuyang."
"Kuyang?" Once he remembered who this was, Su Qin nodded. He seemed to be that timber merchant. "Bring him to the garden pavilion and prepare some refreshments. Also, have the maids keep their distance from him."
"Yes, my lord." Yisha withdrew, and Su Qin returned "All Men Must Die" to the bookshelf.
He straightened his Gull knight's attire and slowly left the room. Two personal guards stood watch outside the door.
The pavilion in Gull Garden was surrounded by all sorts of flowers and plants. Whenever Yira had free time, she would have the head maid teach her to read here. How could a baron's personal maid be illiterate?
At that moment, sitting in a chair beside the pavilion table, Kuyang was admiring some beautiful flowers in the distance. They had been tended very nicely. Suddenly, Kuyang sensed someone sitting down beside him. He turned his head-it was Baron Gull!
Kuyang immediately stood. "My lord baron, the medicine you gave me yesterday worked very well. I've been coughing half as often today. Thank you very much for your generosity!" His eyes shifted slightly, as though he were hiding something?
Su Qin sat down. Behind him, Yira motioned for the maids to set down the refreshments. Su Qin smiled. "I'm glad I could help, Kuyang." He considered why Kuyang had come to visit today. After a moment's thought, he had an answer.
Seeing Kuyang hesitate to speak, Su Qin smiled. "Mr. Kuyang, speak freely."
Kuyang gave an awkward smile and turned to have a knightly guard in iron armor behind him bring forward a small cloth bundle.
Outside knights had to surrender their weapons before entering the manor. The cloth bundle slowly opened, revealing a small pile of gold coins the size of a thumbnail. "My lord, these fifty gold coins are to thank you for yesterday's generosity."
"I came today to ask whether you have any more of that medicine. I'm willing to pay a high price for it!"
Su Qin glanced at the gold coins, then shifted his gaze back to Kuyang. It seemed the fish had taken the bait. Su Qin was indeed rather short of money, so he said, "Kuyang, I have four capsules left. If you finish them, your illness may be mostly cured. With some further recuperation, you should be able to regain your health."
The antibiotics worked very well. Although they were not a specific treatment for typhoid, they were still quite effective.
"But this is medicine I brought from my homeland. Every capsule used is one fewer left. It's very valuable to me!" Su Qin added, revealing what he wanted. In a negotiation, this was a very obvious signal of demand.
Su Qin thought to himself, Very valuable indeed. One gold coin per capsule! But how could he say that aloud?
Making money was all about mutual willingness. There was no shame in asking for more!
Kuyang considered briefly and named a price. "Fifty gold coins each?"
Su Qin stared straight at him and shook his head. Seeing this, Kuyang thought for a while before offering another price. "Seventy-five gold coins each!"
He checked Su Qin's reaction again. Su Qin said nothing. Seeing this, Kuyang gritted his teeth. "One hundred and fifty gold coins each!"
"Deal! It's a pleasure doing business with you. Here are four capsules, worth a hundred gold. Please keep them safe!"
Su Qin agreed immediately. Enough, enough-six hundred gold coins. He could start putting some of his ideas into practice now. What a generous soul! He was rich! Filthy rich!
He truly had seen little of the world, taking this "huge sum" for a genuine fortune. The Vale of Arryn's official annual income alone could have frightened the current Su Qin to death.
Dressed in silk and accompanied by four knights in iron armor, Kuyang slowly left Gull Manor.
The militia guarding the manor gate returned their weapons. As soon as they were some distance away and had boarded the carriage, a smile immediately appeared on Kuyang's face. Holding a wooden box, he opened it, then took out four silver boxes and placed the four capsules inside them.
He felt he had made a killing! In fact, the capsules worked very well. One more would more or less cure him completely.
Everything he had done inside the manor had been an act! He had actually brought a full two thousand gold coins today. Although that was half his fortune, it was still well worth it. Selling each of the remaining three capsules to those great nobles for several thousand gold coins would be no problem. Some nobles knew about his illness.
A living medical miracle. By reselling them, or even taking them to the Iron Bank's auction house, he could multiply his profit three or four times. Making three thousand gold coins back was a sure thing.
Su Qin had lost out badly! He had not realized how wealthy some merchants and nobles were. Nor did he have any experience in trading, and he had been thoroughly duped.
Still, a transaction was about each party getting what they needed, with both willing to agree. That was what happened when one had seen little of the world.
Without knowledge or a suitable buyer, even good things usually could not fetch a high price.