Lady of the Lord From the East

After the children had finished their porridge, the housekeeper also brought clothes and shoes.

The newly hired housekeeper along with the house is still very capable. He personally went to several tailor shops in the midtown area, and found that most of the ready-to-wear clothes inside were not suitable for children, and the prices were expensive, so he simply turned around. I went to buy a bunch of thick blankets and had them delivered by the shop workers.

When the time comes, wrap it around your body and tie it with a rope to secure it. That's the clothes. Anyway, children from poor families don't care about whether they look good or not, as long as they are warm enough.

As for shoes, shoes are no better than clothes, considering that these people will follow his master back to Sardinson, so shoes must fit,

In the era of pure handcraft, there was naturally so much inventory in a single shoe store. The butler went to several stores, and after negotiating the price with the shoemaker in the store, paid a deposit and took away the store's inventory and apprentices. The apprentices would follow him to deliver shoes to those children, keeping the ones that fit, returning the ones that didn't fit, and then customizing them to fit the size.

Therefore, some children are destined to have their feet frozen. The housekeeper did not miss this detail. When he bought blankets, he deliberately bought some rough and flawed ones at a low price, and cut them into strips of cloth with scissors and wrapped them around their feet. Also keep warm.

The children who had just eaten their stomachs and felt a little hot on their bodies did not expect that such good things would be waiting for them next.

They were asked to line up again, one by one to get blankets and shoes. Those in the front were given leather shoes with wooden soles and reverse leather. The fur in the shoes made their feet red and swollen from freezing. It becomes warmer and more uncomfortable, which is the symptom of frostbite after warming up, and everyone has long been used to it.

This is probably the first time they have put on such good shoes.

The children in the back have less luck. The children in the front have taken the right size. They can only wear shoes that are slightly larger than their feet. Some of them can only be cut from a blanket. The cloth was tangled, and the foot was tucked back into his torn shoe.

But no one was dissatisfied, they all heard the person who made the blanket and the shoes say that people who don't have shoes will get their own shoes later.

Penny was the one in charge of hair blankets and shoes. She noticed that the children had frostbite on their hands and feet. This is a common experience for all people in the lower classes. After getting it, it is very difficult to get better. She used to have this trouble until Wei Wei soaked the mashed **** and white wine for three days, and then wiped the area where frostbite had developed with the alcohol solution. After wiping it for two consecutive weeks, the frostbite on the hands and feet of the people in Sardinesburg was almost healed.

And after becoming Wei Wei's personal maid, Penny rarely has the chance to touch cold water again, plus she pays attention to keeping warm, she is now completely free from frostbite.

But she still remembers the pain of getting frostbite.

Silently keeping this matter in mind, Penny decided to ask her young lady when she went back, if she wanted to provide some medicine for these children.

She vaguely felt that Wei Wei seemed to have different plans for these young children.

The children who received the blankets and shoes became more obedient. Even if there were children who wanted to run away, they were temporarily restrained. Hank was one of them. He was wrapped in blankets, wearing new shoes, and holding his younger brother. Stay aside obediently, and wait for the next steps from these adults.

"Brother, are we not going back?" Chimi is only seven years old and has been protected by Hank. Although he matures early, he still has some childlike innocence in his character. Now that he eats hot food, he has more Warm blankets and shoes, the first time I feel so comfortable in winter.

He wanted this kind of life, and he didn't want to go back to the lower city to see the faces of the adults who made them do bad things, and he had to be afraid that he might starve to death at any time.

"Well, not going back." At least temporarily.

He absently answered his brother's words. He was still thinking about what he just happened to hear. Those people said that they would make new clothes for them later. If this is true, he will not run away for the time being.

Suddenly, Hank felt that someone was looking at him, he turned his head to look over, and met an acquaintance.

It was a few orphans who were controlled by the same organization as him. They were not familiar with each other, but at this time, they could choose to form a group.

"How, are you planning to escape?" The other party leaned over and asked him in a low voice.

Not knowing what the other party was thinking, Hank said cautiously: "If you run away now, you will definitely be caught."

When the other party heard what he said, he curled his lips and said, "If these people have been supporting me like this, then I will not leave."

They are all orphans who don't know that the days outside are difficult, and who don't want to have food and clothing. Now the situation here is not bad, and he wants to go back when he is stupid.

Hearing that he had the same thoughts as himself, Hank didn't say anything, just held Chimi's hand tightly.

After making sure that all the children got blankets and shoes, and the foot size for those who didn't have shoes, the housekeeper and the apprentices settled the accounts, returned the unsuitable shoes, and determined when the remaining shoes would be delivered. After the money was exchanged, it was returned to the Earl's Palace.

And Penny stayed here with the other maids to take care of the children, waiting for the next instructions from the Earl's House.

On the other hand, Felix had already borrowed the house from Alan, and by the way, he also borrowed a group of people to help him guard the house. He brought not many people this time, and he really had no skills. Because of this, he was also taken by Alan. Laughed a while.

"This is not your style. Anyway, your fiancée must have asked you to do it."

Felix smiled rightly, not ashamed but proud.

After Alan laughed, he said, "People can be loaned to you, but how are you going to send those people back to Sardinson County? The road in winter is not easy."

Felix had already thought about it for a long time: "Hire some carriages and then find mercenaries to **** them. If you walk slowly, you can walk back." It was nothing but time-consuming and labor-intensive.

"Mercenaries?" Alan stuttered: "You hired them to send those poor people? Don't you think it's too expensive?"

The price of hiring a mercenary is much higher than that of a group of serfs.

Felix Very Rich Williams: "I need them for another job, and escorting those people is just by the way."

He is also true. The manpower in Sardinson County is tight. Although he can award knights and train soldiers, the former has a limited number, and the latter cannot be used in a short time. In comparison, find a few with good reputation. A team of mercenaries worked and even fought for themselves, which was something that many nobles would do.

If the two sides cooperate happily, it is not impossible for long-term cooperation or direct absorption.

Hearing what he said, Allen had to ask him, "Do you need me to recommend a few mercenary groups for you?"

"No, have you forgotten that I have been in the capital for many years." Felix looked at his friend amusingly: "I don't know the origin of those mercenary groups."

Many large mercenary groups need the support of noble forces. Such mercenaries are not what Felix is ​​looking for. At present, he has several goals, all of which are not large in scale but have a good reputation in the industry. I had planned to get in touch and have a look, and this time was an opportunity.

Felix borrowed a man and a house from Allen, and asked Allen's entourage who knew the way to help him run a trip to inform Penny that they sent people out of the city.

On the other hand, Penny also inquired from the maids who cooked the porridge and asked a few suitable people to take care of the children and cook. After all, these maids are only here to help temporarily. After they are sent away, others still need to take care of them.

The life of ordinary people in winter is not easy. The salaries offered by the Earl Williams family are not low, let alone cooking and taking care of the children. Even if they are asked to do twice as much work, many people are willing to do it. of.

If the servants were not still working by the river, they would have recommended themselves.

But this kind of good opportunity can't be used by myself, it is naturally reserved for close people. They lived nearby, and they were allowed to run back and call someone. After Penny saw it, she felt that they all seemed to be able to work. After discussing with the other maids, all five were left behind.

"Go back and pack up, and come with us later."

When the newly hired women packed their luggage and returned, Allen's entourage happened to be here. After receiving the notice, they arranged for the women and children to get on the carriage and go outside the city.

Of course, the cauldrons and wooden cutlery for the children and some other miscellaneous items were also brought.

The children made a commotion when they went out of town, but after they touched their blankets and their full stomachs, they were quiet again.

The elder sister who was in charge just now told them that when they got there, everyone would have food to eat.

Allen's house is on the outskirts of the city, and the journey is not too far. When they passed, there were already soldiers stationed around them. These people didn't need the Williams family to take care of them. Penny and the others just needed to settle the children.

The old couple who guarded the house received the notice, and although they were reluctant, they put a large group of people in.

It was a busy time to settle them down. Although the house was old, there was no air leakage. Even though there wasn't much room to live in it, it was borrowed here. In the room, they can only make the floor in the living room. Fortunately, after the things in the living room were removed, the remaining thick blankets were spread out, and the fireplace was set on fire. The children also had blankets wrapped around themselves to keep them warm, so they didn't have to worry about freezing.

Such conditions are already much better than the leaky thatched huts they used to live in.

The kitchen is cleaner than other places because the old couple often uses it. The newly invited women quickly start to prepare dinner, which is still barley porridge, but the portion will be larger than that at noon, which can make the children more full, and They will also eat together.

In addition, a pot of **** soup was also boiled. This is to prevent anyone from getting sick. After drinking porridge by the river before and resting for a while, after making sure that the children's stomachs could receive some more water, they were all given A bowl of **** soup, the spicy taste made them stick out their tongues for a long time, but they knew it was a good thing, it was good for themselves, even if it was bad, they drank it all.

When the arrangements were almost finished, Penny asked the other maids to go back first. She herself planned to stay here for the night to see the situation.

She remembered Kingsley saying that these kids might run away, and she didn't feel at ease if she didn't watch.

In fact, Penny thought too much, not to mention that the current situation is more comfortable for the children, they are not willing to leave at all, they say that the soldiers guarding the door are not something they can get rid of, and they also know that they are caught after escaping. , it must not be as good as it is now.

These precocious kids know this well, so they cherish their present life and don't allow anyone else to change it.

When sleeping at night, as long as there is a little movement around, someone will open their eyes and stare, making sure that there is no child who was also sold to escape before closing their eyes and continuing to sleep.

Penny, on the other hand, had long since fallen unconscious from exhaustion, wrapped in a blanket on the sofa chair near the fireplace.

She had not stayed the night for a long time, how could she resist the call of the Sleeping God.

Early the next morning, Jean came over to take over Penny's job.

Penny rubbed her neck, which was uncomfortable because of her poor sleeping position, and wondered, "Why are you here? Don't you have other things to do?"

"Miss Weiwei asked me to come here. She said that these children will stay in the capital for a while. Rather than leave them alone, it is better to organize and learn some knowledge."

And the person responsible for teaching them is Qin.

Qin was literate before she became a maid, and she followed Wei Wei to learn mathematics. Teaching these children simple words and arithmetic is not a big problem at all.

Although she was very confused about the necessity of this work, since it was Wei Wei's order, she just had to follow it.

Hearing that she was going to teach those children to read and count, Penny stayed for a while. She was also illiterate at first. After following Wei Wei and seeing how much she valued Qin, she learned some of the spellings that are commonly used today. There is no problem.

But is it necessary to teach a group of future serfs knowledge?

Penny, who couldn't figure it out, could only sigh: "Miss really likes people who can read."

Qin nodded and said, "Yes, didn't she always say that knowledge is power?"

After the two talked for a while, Penny told Qin some precautions and then went back. She had to report the situation to Wei Wei.

In the next few days, many more children were sent over one after another. Compared with the children who were sent on the first day, the parents of these children were obviously reluctant. Families must be sacrificed.

Compared with the majority of girls on the first day, the number of boys has increased since then. Originally, these children could spend one last time with their families before leaving, but they probably knew that they provided food and warmth. , those children did not leave in the end.

So the number of children eventually expanded to more than 200, all of which were crowded into one house. Later, the children naturally could only sleep in the aisles and some free lounges. It was really at night that they had to worry about whether they would step on them. to people.

They couldn't go out during the day, but no one complained about it, and they didn't make a fuss. Qin alone could keep everyone in check.

Because they cherish the opportunity to learn, as long as Qin starts class, everyone will sit quietly and listen to her lecture. It is obviously a hall where two hundred children are crowded together, and only Qin's voice is heard.

In the middle, Wei Wei also came over to take a look. After confirming that Qin could handle it, she left everything here to her and Penny. One of them was responsible for teaching the children and the other was responsible for other things. The division of labor and cooperation were very cooperative.

In addition to these children who were sold alone, Kingsley also recruited nearly 500 people. Basically, they brought their families and sold them to them together. There are very few adult laborers alone. Such people want to It's relatively easy to support yourself, so naturally you don't want to become a serf.

Therefore, there are actually quite a few children among the remaining people. In a total of more than 700 miles, children account for almost half of them. However, these children who are with their families are basically very young, and some are even in babies. , if it is not a bonus with their parents, they will never accept it.

"The recruitment is almost done, should we arrange for them to go first, or go back with us?"

Wei Wei held a list in her hand. It was the cost of recruiting in the past few days. More than 700 people did not even spend 700 gold coins. The different prices made the account a bit messy. .

Felix: "I found a few mercenary groups and negotiated with them. Let them send people back first."

Wei Wei: "Is there a notification from Sardinson County? So many people are suddenly sent back, can you arrange them?"

Felix: "Don't worry, I made arrangements when we came out to make sure it was settled."

Before he set off, he thought of taking people back, so naturally he would not do nothing.

"Then you can figure it out." Wei Wei nodded and changed the subject: "How about the river, any new discoveries?"

Speaking of those who tried to kidnap Wei Wei, Felix's face condensed: "No, but it is basically certain that the remaining four people are not dead."

Although the facts are in front of us, the king has already planned to let go of the investigation and stop investigating. I really wait for his order. Once the investigation team is disbanded, the blockade at the city gate in the central area will be lifted, and the remaining four people will be very May escape and never be found again.

Even, they may not be in the central area now.

However, Felix was not without a search during this period. The soldiers he sent to investigate the section of the river where the second body was found also determined which ships were traveling on the river in those days. People started and found the identities of the other four people. Although it is not ruled out that they found fake identities, the credibility is still very high.

"After confirming their identities, I have sent their identity information to the City Guard, revised the content of the wanted notice, and added a bounty. These people will always be found."

And about the identity of the man behind the scenes, Felix also has some speculation.

"There are currently three suspects, but it's not clear which one is behind it."

Wei Wei's curiosity was raised: "Who do you suspect?"

The first is the Beresford family. The owner of this family is also an earl, but unlike the frontier earl like Felix, the Beresford family has a very good geographical location and rich territory. Wealthy Earl.

The second Clift family's title is relatively low, only a baron, but the head of the family is the king's official seal minister, responsible for keeping the king's private seal, and occasionally drafting and issuing various documents for him. This position is very important. It will even be upgraded to become the chief minister of the government in charge of the national seal, but at present this position is only a retainer of the king, but even so, the Clift family is considered a real power-level noble in the capital.

The last suspect, Wei Wei, is no stranger to Baron Clive, who is the chancellor of the exchequer. His young lady has always been fond of Felix, and even regards Wei Wei as her rival in love.

"Is there even her home?" Wei Wei was surprised, she had excluded Miss Clive: "Am I guessing wrong, she really hired someone to kidnap me because she wanted to eradicate me, a rival in love. ?"

But if it had been arranged before the salon, the jealousy of Miss Jessica Clive would have been too strong.

"Although I'm glad you have such self-awareness, it shouldn't be like this." Felix spread his hands, and he followed Wei Wei's example: "I don't think that lady has the ability to plan this kind of kidnapping plan."

Wei Wei squinted at him: "It seems that you know her well."

Realizing that he seemed to have said something he shouldn't have said, Felix, who had a high emotional intelligence, immediately changed the subject: "I suspect the three of them, mainly because the business of these three families is more or less in conflict with our business."

These three families are all in the spice business, and unlike the spices generally used for food seasoning, they mainly deal in incense spices, so after the essential oil went on the market, their business suffered a major blow.

"In addition, these three families are also in the cosmetics business. The cosmetics you provided for Queen Mirabelle before may also be the reason why you were almost kidnapped."

These three families, like the others, had expressed their desire to cooperate with Felix, but Felix had no such plan at the time, so they all rejected them one by one, and as far as Felix knew, the owners of the three families were not very ambitious. Broad guy, so it's quite possible to hold a grudge against him.

And if Wei Wei can be captured alive, then not only essential oil formulas, but also the formulas of various cosmetics will naturally be in their pockets. In the eyes of many people, this is probably more cost-effective than working with Felix.

As for whether they will be retaliated against after being discovered, I am afraid that these people who can't see the border nobles do not care at all. As long as they hold the valuable formula in their hands and join other nobles to seize the market, then the value of Felix will be reduced. Infinitely lower, and will no longer be particularly valued by the king, so they still need to worry about his revenge?

Wei Wei: "If you just rely on these evidences, it shouldn't be enough to prove that they did it?"

"Of course there are other reasons. The soldiers who were sent out to investigate secretly investigated the boats that came in and out of those days from the residents along the river, and only locked these three houses after excluding them one by one."

"In addition, the identities of the six kidnappers have also been locked. One of the two who died seems to have worked at the Beresford family's house, and the remaining one has contact with the Clive family. As for the disappearance All four of them were born as mercenaries, and it is reported that these three families had contact with the mercenary group they belonged to before the accident, so the suspicion of the three is the greatest."

Of course, it is also possible that all three are ready to attack them, but one of them is the first.

"In short, since it's impossible to determine which of them did it, let's put all three of them as suspect targets for the time being, and then conduct an in-depth investigation."