Chapter 7 Chapter Seven A Mission

Rumor has it that Queen Lust was poisoned to death.I have decided to write here what I know for sure.The Queen of Desire was indeed poisoned to death, but she was the one who poisoned her for a long time, and had nothing to do with the king.He used to persuade her not to use narcotics like this, and he called many doctors and herbalists, but when he finally got her off one thing, she immediately found something else to try. Towards the end of her last summer, she became more restless and restless, taking several things at once, and stopped trying to hide her addiction.Her demeanor was quite the ordeal for Shrewd, because whenever she was drunk or smoked, she would make outrageous accusations and say nasty things, regardless of the occasion, Who is there next to you.You'd think that her late-life addiction to alcohol and drugs would disillusion her followers, but instead, they claim Shrewd either forced her to self-destruct or poisoned her.But I can say that I know for certain that the king did not cause her death.

Burrich cut my hair down to the width of a finger in mourning.He shaved his head, even his beard and eyebrows, to show his grief.The pale skin on his head contrasted sharply with the red cheeks and nose, making him look very strange, even stranger than the forest men who came to the city with their hair fixed in turpentine and their teeth dyed red and black.When wildlings from the forest passed by, the child stared at them and murmured with his hands over his mouth, but when he saw Burrich the child flinched away without saying a word.I think it's because of the look in his eyes.Burrich's eyes looked lifeless in those days than the holes in the skull.

Regal sent a man and scolded Burrich for shaving his head and cutting my hair short, which is the way of mourning when a king dies, not for a man who relinquishes his claim to the throne.Burrich just stared at the man until he stared away.Verity cut his hair and beard a hand's breadth short, a mourning for his brother.Some of the guards in the fort also cut their braids to different lengths, which is the way soldiers mourn their dead comrades.But Burrich made himself and me so extreme that people would stare at us when they saw us, and I wanted to ask him, why should I do it for someone I have never seen, and have never seen? My father was in mourning, but his frozen eyes and the look on his mouth kept me from opening my mouth.No one mentioned to Regal that he clipped a mane from every horse, and threw all the clipped hair into the fire as a sacrifice, and the hair stinks from the fire.I figured it meant that Burrich sent parts of our souls up with the horse, a custom passed down from his grandmother's side.

Burrich seemed to be dead too, like a walking corpse.A cold force drove his body, and he did every job perfectly, but without warmth or satisfaction.The servants, who had previously competed for his approving nod, averted their gaze from his, as if ashamed of him.Only the tigress did not abandon him. No matter where he went, the old bitch followed him quietly. Although he didn't look at it or touch it, it still followed him.Once I hugged it out of sympathy, and even dared to explore its mind, but I only encountered a terrible numbness, which made me dare not touch its thoughts.It grieves with its master.

Bitter winter winds blew and howled around the cliffs, and the lifeless cold day after day denied any possibility of spring.Junqi was buried in Xiliulin.A "fast of mourning" was held in the fort, but it was short and low-key, following etiquette rather than true mourning.Those who sincerely mourned him seemed to be considered in poor taste, and his public life should have come to an end long after his abdication, and it was unworthy of him to call attention to him again by his death. A full week after my father died, I was awakened by that familiar wind blowing from the secret staircase and saw the yellow light beckoning to me.I got up and ran up the stairs and into my shelter.It was good to escape from all this strangeness, to mix herbs with Chade and make strange smoke again.Since Junqi's death, I've felt weirdly suspended in the air, and I really don't want to continue like this.

But in his room it was dark beyond the workbench, and the fireplace was cold.Chade sat in front of his own fireplace and beckoned me to sit in his chair.I sat down and looked up at him, but he stared into the fire.He raised one of his scarred hands to my bristling hair, and for a while we sat like that, looking at the fire together. "Well, that's it, kid." He finally spoke, and that was all he said, as if he didn't need to say anything more.He strokes my short hair. "Burrich cut my hair off," I told him suddenly. "Yeah!" "I hate this hair. It pricks and pricks when I lie on the pillow, so I can't sleep. When I put the hood of the robe on, the hood won't stand up flat. And I look so stupid." "You look like a son mourning his father."

I was silent for a while.Earlier I had thought of my hair as a slightly longer version of Burrich's extreme hairstyle, but Chade was right, it was the length of hair a son mourns for his father, not the length of hair a subject mourns for a king.It just made me angrier. "But why should I mourn for him?" I asked Chade a question I'd been afraid to ask Burrich before. "I don't know him at all." "He's your father." "He just planted me in some woman, and as soon as he knew I existed, he left. What kind of father is this, he doesn't care at all Me.” Finally saying those words made me feel rebellious.I was outraged by Burrich's deep, intense mourning and Chade's silent grief before me.

"You don't know it. You only hear it from gossipers. You're not old enough to understand some things, and you've never seen a wild bird pretend to be wounded to lure a predator to it." It's not going after its offspring." "I don't believe it," I said, but suddenly my words were not so sure. "He never did anything to make me feel like he cared about me." Chade turned to look at me, eyes sunken and red, looking older. "If you know he cares about you, other people will know too. When you're an adult, maybe you'll understand the price he paid to keep you safe and his enemies to ignore you instead of being with you." I know him." "Well, now I will never have the chance to 'get to know him' again in my life." I said sullenly.

Chade sighed. "If he admits you as his heir, your life will end very early." He paused, and then asked cautiously, "Son, what do you want to know about him?" "Everything. But you Know what?" The more forgiving Chade was, the more awkward I became. "I've known him since he was born. I've worked with him... as the saying goes, 'as hand and glove.'" "Are you that hand or that glove?" No matter how rude I was, Chade just wasn't angry. "That hand." He thought for a moment and said. "A stealthy, invisible hand, wearing a velvet diplomatic glove." "What do you mean?" I couldn't help being curious, though I wanted to lose my temper.

"Some things can be done," Chade cleared his throat. "Some things can happen to make diplomatic work easier, or make a certain party more willing to sit down and talk. Some things can happen..." My world turned upside down.Reality popped up before me like a vision, and I finally understood exactly who Chade was and what I would become. "You mean, someone can die, and then it's better to sit down with his heir, who will be more willing to comply with our goals, whether out of fear or out of..." "Grateful. Yes. " Every piece of the jigsaw snapped into place, and a cold terror shook me.All the lessons and all the careful instruction were originally devoted to this kind of thing.I got up to stand up, but suddenly Chade grabbed my shoulder.

"Or someone who can live 2, or 5, or 10 years longer than anyone thinks he'll live, with old wisdom and tolerance making it easier to negotiate. Or someone coughing to death The child can be cured, and the mother suddenly sees in gratitude that our proposal is good for all concerned. The hand does not always kill, child. Not always." "But often enough. "I never lied to you about that." There were two things in Chade's voice I'd never heard from him before: self-defense, and sadness.But young people are ruthless. "I don't think I want to learn from you anymore. I think I'm going to see Shrewd and ask him to find someone else to kill for him." "The decision is yours. But I suggest you don't, at least for now don't want." His calmness overwhelmed me. "Why?" "Because this will make all the hard work Junqi has done for you come to naught. At this moment, it is not a good idea to do so." His words were thoughtful and slow, full of truth. "Why?" I found myself whispering. "Because some people want to end the story of Junqi completely, and the best way is to get rid of you. Those people will pay close attention to how you react to your father's death. Are you cranky and restless because of it? Now you will Won't be a problem, like he used to be?" "What?" "Kid," he said, pulling me closer to him, and for the first time I heard the closeness, the possessiveness in his tone. "At this point, you have to be quiet and careful. I can see why Burrich cut your hair short, but honestly, I wish he hadn't, and I hope no one remembers that Joker is your father because of it. You're just a fledgling...but, listen to me. Don't change anything for now, just keep doing what you normally do, and wait six months or a year to make up your mind. But now—" "My father How did you die?" Chade's eyes searched my face. "Didn't you hear that he fell off his horse?" "Yes. And I heard Burrich swear at the man who told the news, saying that a horse would never fall off a horse, and neither would the horse." Definitely won't bring him down." "Burrich has to say a few words less." "So how did my father die?" "I don't know. But I don't believe he died from horseback as much as Burrich. It fell." Chade fell silent, and I sat slumped at his thin bare feet, staring into the fire. "Are they going to kill me too?" He was silent for a long time. "I don't know. I won't let you be killed if I can stop it. I think they'll need to convince King Shrewd that it's necessary first, and if they do, I'll know." "So you Do you think someone from the castle did it?" "I think so." Chade waited a long time, but I remained silent, refusing to ask.He answered anyway. "I was completely unaware beforehand that this incident had absolutely nothing to do with me. They didn't even come to me, probably because they knew that I would not only reject them, but also try to make sure this never happened." Oh." I relaxed a little bit, but he had trained me so well that I was too familiar with the courtly way of thinking. "Then, if they decide to get rid of me, they probably won't come to you. They will also be afraid that you will warn me." He held my chin with one hand, turned my face away, and met his eyes. "Your father's death should be warning enough to you, now and in the future. You're a bastard, boy. We're always a risk, a weakness, always expendable, Unless we are absolutely necessary for them to keep themselves safe. I have taught you a lot over the years, but you must always keep this lesson in mind. If you make them no longer need you, they will Kill you." I looked at him with wide eyes. "They don't need me now!" "Really? I'll be old, and you'll be young and tame, with the face and look of a royal family. As long as you don't show any undue ambition, you'll be fine." He paused, and then emphasized cautiously: "We are the king's people, boy, completely exclusive to him, you may not have imagined how 'special' before. No one knows what I do, most People have long since forgotten who I am, or who I was. If anyone knows us, the King himself told him." I sat there, carefully putting everything together. "So... you said it was the people in the castle. But if they didn't use you, it didn't mean the king ordered it... the queen!" I said, feeling suddenly sure. Chade's eyes didn't give away his thoughts. "It's a dangerous assumption. It's even more dangerous if you think you have to do something about it." "Why?" Chade sighed. "If an idea pops into your head and you decide it's true without evidence, you lose sight of the alternatives. Think of every possibility, boy. Maybe it was an accident .Maybe Junqi was killed by someone he offended in the willow forest.Maybe it has nothing to do with him being a prince.Or maybe the king has another assassin that I don't know at all, and it was him who killed his son Yourself.” “Even you don’t believe what you said.” I said confidently. "Yes, I don't believe it, because I have no evidence to claim that these claims are true, just like I have no evidence to say that your father's death was caused by the queen." About our conversation, now I only remember this, But I'm sure Chade was trying to get me to think about who might have murdered my father and make me more wary of the Queen.I keep that in mind, and not just in the immediate aftermath.I continued with my routine, my hair slowly grew out, and by the time summer actually started, things seemed to be back to normal.Every few weeks someone would send me into town to run errands, and I soon found out that no matter who sent me, one or two items on the list would always end up in Chade's room, so I guess he sent me To enjoy those brief moments of freedom.I don't necessarily have a chance to spend time with Molly every time I go to town, but I just need to stand by the window outside her store and wait for her to notice me, and at least a nod is enough.Once I was in the market and heard someone say that her scented candles were of good quality, that no one had been able to make such good-smelling and wholesome candles since her mother died, and I smiled, happy for her. Summer is here, and warm weather is coming to the coast, and so are the people from the Outer Islands.Some were decent merchants, trading with wares of cold regions—furs, amber, ivory, barrels of oil—and telling wild tales that still make my hair stand on end, Just like when I was a little kid.Our sailors mistrust them, calling them spies and worse.But their goods were plentiful, and the gold they brought to buy wine and corn from us was fine and heavy, and our merchants took it. There is another kind of Outislander who visits our coast, though not too close to Buckkeep.When they came, they brought swords, torches, bows and arrows, and door bumpers, and went to those villages that had been ravaged for many years to burn, kill, loot, and rape the women of the people.Sometimes it felt like a complex, bloody race to find unguarded or undermanned villages, and we lured them in with seemingly easy targets, and when they arrived, we killed them with their own men. The way to punish the people is to burn, kill and loot these pirates.But if it was a contest, we lost badly that summer, and every time I went into town I heard the heavy news of the wreckage in many places, and the murmurs of people. The soldiers at Buckkeep thought we were being played around, and I felt the same way.The Outislanders' ships always eluded our patrol ships, never fell into our traps, and attacked where we were least outstretched and least expected.It was Verity who was most frustrated and embarrassed, because after the knight abdicated, the task of defending the kingdom fell to him.I heard someone in the tavern mutter that things have gone sour since he lost the wise counsel his brother offered.No one has spoken ill of Verity yet, but disturbingly, no one has spoken strongly in favor of him either. I childishly dismissed the looting as none of my business.It was unfortunate, of course, to be looted, and I felt a little sympathy for the villagers whose houses had been burned and their things looted, but I was safe and secure in Buckkeep, and I felt almost nothing like other seaports. Everywhere there is fear of the heightened security situation, and the pain of those villagers who rebuild their homes year after year, only to see their efforts in vain again year after year, is not felt.But my state of innocence could not last long. One morning, I went to Burrich's for a "lesson," though I spent as much time healing livestock and training young ponies as he did my lessons.I've basically taken Cobb's place in the stables, and he's gone to Regal as groom and dog.But I was surprised that day, because Burrich took me upstairs to his room and made me sit down at the table, and I was afraid I would spend another morning in the monotonous and tiring business of fixing harness. work. "I'm going to teach you etiquette today," Burrich announced suddenly, with a slight skepticism in his tone, as if he didn't quite believe that I was capable of learning such things. "Etiquette with horses?" I asked in disbelief. "No, you already understand those. It's the etiquette for getting along with people. What should you do when you eat at the same table, and then what should you do when you sit and chat together? It's this kind of etiquette." "Why?" Burrich frowned. "Because, for some reason that I don't understand, you are going to accompany Verity to Jieyi Bay to meet the Duke of Kelva of the Grand Duchy of Reben. Sir Kelva did not cooperate with Sir Shemsey of the Grand Duchy of Hux to send someone Watchtowers stationed along the coast. Shemsy accuses him that his ?watchtowers are completely ungarrisoned, allowing ships from the Outislanders to drive straight in, and even drop anchor off Watch Island, and from there plunder Shemes Villages in the west. Prince Verity is going to speak to Kelva on these matters." I get into the situation right away.This is already a well-known gossip in Buckkeep.Sir Kelva of the Grand Duchy of Reben has three?Lookout towers, two of them surround Jieyi Bay, one on the left and one on the right?The watchtowers are always fully manned, because these two?The Watchtower protects the finest harbor in the Duchy of Reben.But the one on Watch Island?The watchtower was of little use to Ryburn, and it did not protect what Ser Kelval thought important: the coast of his land was a steep and high rocky bank, and it was difficult for a raider to avoid running into the rocks, and his The southern coast is less disturbed.Watch Island itself is basically only inhabited by seagulls, goats, and a lot of clams, but if the Grand Duchy of Hux wants to defend their Little South Bay in time, this?The lookout is very important, because the entrance and exit of the strait can be seen here at a glance, and this?The watchtower is located on a natural high hill. If the beacon fire is lit, it can be easily seen from the mainland.Under Shemsey's own administration, there is one on Egg Island?Lookout, but Egg Island is basically just a pile of sand piled up when the tide is high, there is no way to really see the situation of the entire sea area, and this?The watchtower is always in need of repairs, because the topography of the sand often changes, and storm surges occasionally submerge it, but from here you can see the beacons on Watch Island, sending warnings across the country.The problem is Overwatch Island?The watchtower needs someone to light a beacon. Traditionally, the fishing grounds and clam-digging beaches on Shouwang Island are the territory of Ruiben Park, so which one should people be stationed at?Responsibility for the watchtower also falls to the Grand Duke of Ruiben.But if you want to send troops to garrison there, you need soldiers, food for the soldiers, wood and oil for lighting the beacon, and maintenance?The watchtower itself, so that it would not be destroyed by the violent storm that swept over the little desert island.Soldiers did not like to be stationed there, rumors that sending people there amounted to implicit punishment, used against disobedient or politically weak troops.Kelva declared more than once while drinking, if someone is stationed there?If the watchtower is so important to the Grand Duchy of Hux, Sir Shemsey should find a way by himself.However, the Grand Duchy of Ruiben has no intention of selling the fishing grounds around Watch Island and the seabed rich in shellfish. As a result, in the early spring, the village of Huokes was plundered, not only the fields could not be sown in time, but also most of the pregnant sheep were either killed, stolen, or fled in all directions, so Sir Shemsey protested to the king, saying: Kelva didn't do his best to send people to garrison?Watchtower duties.Kelva denied it, saying that the place seldom needed to be defended by force, so the small force he sent there was enough. "Watch Island? Watchtowers need watchmen, not soldiers," he declared.As for the guard?The people on the watchtower, he found a group of old people, both men and women.A few of them were ex-military, but most of them were the fringes of Jie Yi Wan - some said they were debtors, pickpockets, old whores, and those who supported Kelva insisted that they just needed to be fixed. Working senior citizens. I've learned all this from the tavern gossip and the political lessons Chade gave me, far more clearly than Burrich could have imagined, but I shut up and sat patiently and listened to his details. And difficult to explain.This isn't the first time I've gotten the feeling that he thinks I'm a little unresponsive.He mistook my silence for insanity, not that I just didn't feel the need to speak up. So now Burrich took pains to teach me manners, which he said most boys learned naturally when they were with the grown-ups in their own families.Every day when I meet someone for the first time, or when I enter a room with people in it, I greet them, and it is impolite to keep quiet and walk away.I'm supposed to call people by their first names, and if they're older than me, or of high political standing—which, he reminded me, is almost always the case with everyone I've met on this trip—I'll have to call them by theirs too. title.Then he went on and on about a bunch of etiquette: who the other person is, and under what circumstances I have to let the other person go first when I leave the room (almost anyone, in any situation, takes precedence over me).Next comes table manners.Pay attention to where I am arranged to sit: pay attention to who is sitting at the head of the table, and match his eating speed: how to not drink too much when toasting; and no matter who is sitting near me Anyone has to say something interesting, or what I'm more likely to do is to concentrate on what someone is saying.And so on and on and on, and finally I started daydreaming that we were cleaning out a lot of harness. Burrich poked me hard enough to bring me back to my senses. "Also, you are not allowed to look like this. You look like an idiot, sitting here and nodding your head, where your mind has gone. Don't think that no one will notice that you are in a daze. When others correct you, you will Don't stare like that. Sit upright with a happy look on your face. I say a happy look, not an empty smile, you fool. Hey, Fitz, what am I going to do with you? When you get in trouble How can I protect you? Why did they suddenly take you out?" These last two self-asked questions revealed what he was really worried about.I didn't see this before, maybe I was a little stupid.They didn't want to take him, just me, and he couldn't see any plausible reason for that.Burrich had lived on the outskirts of court long enough to know to be very cautious.This is the first time I've left his watchful eye since he started taking care of me.My father was buried not long ago.So, although he didn't dare to say it clearly, he wondered if I would come back, and wondered if someone would take this opportunity to get rid of me quietly.I realized what a blow to his pride and reputation it would be if I "disappeared."So I sighed, and cautiously said maybe they wanted to bring an extra person to help with the horses and dogs.Verity has gone nowhere with his wolfhound, Leon, and only two days ago he complimented me on how well I handle him.I told Burrich about it, and it was satisfying to see how well this little excuse worked.A look of relief first appeared on his face, then pride that he had trained me so well.The conversation immediately shifted from etiquette to how to properly care for a wolfhound. The previous etiquette class made me tired, and listening to the hounds again was painfully boring, and when he let me go to other classes, I disappeared in a flash. I was in a daze and absent-minded for the rest of the day, and Howard threatened me that she would give me a good whipping if I didn't pay attention.Then she shook her head at me, sighed, and told me to go and come back when I feel like going to class.Of course I'm happy to do so.I couldn't hold anything in my head, but all I could think about was getting out of Buckkeep, and actually going on a trip, all the way to the distant Jie Yi Bay.I know I should wonder why they took me, but I'm sure Chade will tell me soon.Shall we go by land or water?I wish Burrich had been asked about it just now.I've heard that the road to Jie Yi Wan is not that good, but I don't mind.Soot and I never travel long distances together.But if by sea, on a real ship... I took a detour back to the castle, a path that led through a rocky hillside with sparse woods, where a few birches and a few alders struggled to survive, but mostly featureless shrubbery.Sunlight and breeze play among the high branches, dappled with shadows and fill the daytime air with excitement.I looked up through the birch leaves into the blinding sunlight, and when I looked down again, the King's Fool stood before me. I stopped abruptly, taken aback, and reflexively glanced sideways to see where the king was, although it was absurd that he should be here.But here the Fool is alone, and out in the sun!Thinking of this, the skin on my arms and neck tensed up, and the hairs stood on end.Everyone in the castle knew that the king's jester could not stand the sunlight.Everyone knows.But, despite what every footman and kitchenmaid say with experience in their gossip, here stands the jester, his fair hair blowing in the breeze.The reds and blues of his silk mottled garment looked startlingly vivid against the pale complexion, but his eyes were not as colorless as they had been in the dimly lit corridors of the castle.He was staring at me just a few feet away in the daylight, and I noticed a very faint blue tint to his eyes, like a drop of pale blue wax in a shallow white dish.Nor was his skin so pale, for here, in the dappled sunlight, I could see a tinge of pink all over his skin.I suddenly and timidly realized that it was the color of blood, the color of red blood showing through layers of skin. The Fool paid no attention to what I was whispering, and held up a finger as if to pause not just my thoughts, but time around us.But I stared intently at his fingers, and the Fool gave a satisfied smile, revealing small white teeth here and there, like a baby's newborn smile on the boy's mouth. "Fitz!" he screamed. "Fitz's madness can only be caught. It's only barking." He stopped suddenly, and smiled at me again.I looked back at him uncertainly, without speaking or moving. The finger was held up again, this time it was shaking towards me. "Fez Wind's Feydog Throne. Zhibo is not a wart." He tilted his head to look at me, and his dandelion-like fluffy hair fluttered in another direction with this movement. I gradually became less afraid of him. "Fitz," I said carefully, tapping my chest with my index finger, "Fitz, that's me. Yes, my name is Fitz. Are you lost?" I tried to sound gentle and comforting, not wanting to scare The poor man.He must have somehow gotten outside the castle, which was why he was so happy to see a familiar face. He took a deep breath through his nose, then shook his head so violently that all his hair flew out like a candle flame blown by the wind. "Fitz!" he said emphatically, his voice hoarse. "Fitzfonzhi's fat dog has a fit. It's just flying waste oil." "It's okay." I said reassuringly, bending over a little, even though I wasn't much taller than the Fool.I spread my palms and made a slight beckoning motion. "Come on! Come on, I'll take you home, okay? Don't be afraid." The Fool suddenly dropped his hands, then raised his face to the sky and rolled his eyes.He looked at me again with fixed eyes, and pursed his lips as if he was about to spit. "Come on!" I waved at him again. "No!" he said, his tone clearly exasperated. "Listen to me, you idiot. Fitz has a fit. It's a waste of money." He bowed, turned, and walked up the path. "Wait a minute!" I pressed, my ears turned red with embarrassment.How do you explain to someone without being rude that for years you thought he was not only a jester but also mentally retarded?I have no idea.So I just said, "What do you mean by such a lot of flying and flying things? Are you making fun of me?" "No." He paused, turned around and said, "Fitz Fengzhi's dog has a seizure .Just waste of fat. As far as I understand, this is a message for a major action. You are the only person I know who can stand being called Fitz, so I guess the message is for To you. As for what it means, how do I know? I am a jester, not a dream interpreter. Good-bye." He turned away again, but this time instead of continuing up the path, he left The path leads into a nearby bush.I hurried after him, but by the time I got to the point where he had left the trail he was gone.I stood still and looked out into the open, light-filled woods, thinking I might catch a glimpse of some shrub still shaking as he passed, or catch a glimpse of his variegated coat.But there is no trace. And his inexplicable message doesn't make sense either.As I walked back to the castle, I tried to think about this strange encounter, but at last I brushed it aside, thinking that it was an accident, though strange. Chade didn't come to see me that night, but the next night.Filled with eager curiosity, I sprinted up the stairs, but stopped at the top, knowing my question would have to be asked later.Because Chade was sitting at the stone table, squatting sneakily on his shoulder, with a new scroll half-opened in front of him, a glass of wine pressing one end of the scroll, his crooked fingers slowly moving down, as if reading with some sort of list.I glanced at it as I walked past, and there were village names and dates listed on it, and under each village name was a statistic—how many warriors, how many merchants, how many sheep, or how many barrels of ale, or how many catties of millet, and so on.I sat on the other side of the table and waited.I've learned not to interrupt what Chade is doing. "Son," he said softly, eyes still on the scroll, "what would you do if a rogue sneaked up on you from behind and knocked you on the head? But he only sneaked up on you when your back was turned to him. You How will you deal with it?" I thought about it for a while. "I'll turn around and pretend I'm looking at something else, but I'll have a long, thick stick in my hand, and when he hits me, I'll just turn around and hit him hard on the head." "Hmmm , yes. Well, we've tried that. But no matter how nonchalant we are, the Outislanders always seem to know we're setting a trap, and never attack our decoy targets. Well, actually, we do. Passed a batch or two of ordinary bandits, but the Red Ship robbers never fall for it, and they're the ones we want to hurt." "Why?" "Because they hurt us the most. Well, boy, we We are used to being robbed, we might even say we are used to it. We grow an acre of land, weave an extra bolt of cloth, raise an extra cow, our farmers and urbanites always try to be a little more prepared, and if有人的谷仓被烧掉，或者有哪间仓库在打劫的混乱中失火，大家都会去帮忙重新把它盖起来。但是红船劫匪并不是以抢夺为主、然后在抢夺的过程中造成破坏，他们是专门来破坏的，不管真正抢走什么东西几乎好像都只是顺手而已。”切德顿了顿，盯着一面墙，仿佛要看穿墙壁似的。 “这没有道理，”他困惑地说，比较像是自言自语而非对我说话。“至少我看不出有什么道理。这像是杀死一头每年都生下健康强壮小牛犊的母牛一样。红船劫匪把还长在田里的谷子和稻草都烧光，把带不走的牲口杀死。3个星期之前在托恩斯比，他们放火烧了磨坊，把放在磨坊里一袋袋的谷子和面粉都割破。这么做对他们有什么好处？他们为什么冒着生命危险专门来造成破坏？他们并没有试图侵占领上，也从来没对我们表示过任何不满或冤仇。小偷可以防，但是他们专门杀戮破坏，行事毫无章法规则可言。托恩斯比不会再重建了，那里的生还者既没有那个心力也没有那个资源，他们离开那里，有些人去投奔其他城镇的亲戚，有些人流落到我们的各个城市里行乞。这个模式我们已经太常看到了。” 他叹了口气，摇摇头理清思绪，当他抬起头来，注意力就完全集中在我身上了。切德有这种本事，可以把一个问题完完全全放到—边去，让人简直以为他已经把它给忘了。此刻他宣布的口吻仿佛这是他唯一关心的事：“惟真要去洁宜湾跟克尔伐爵士讲理，你要跟他一起去。”“博瑞屈跟我说了，但是他想不通原因，我也是。为什么？” 切德露出不解的神情。“你几个月以前不是抱怨说你在公鹿堡待烦了，想去看看六大公国的其他地方吗？”“当然，但我不太相信这是惟真带我去的原因。” 切德哼了一声。“惟真根本不会注意他身边的随从有谁。他没耐心关注细节，所以他不像骏骑那么会处理人的问题，不过惟真是个好军人，长远看来，这或许是我们最需要的。是的，你说得对，惟真完全不知道为什么要带你去……目前还不知道。黠谋会告诉他说你受训担任间谍，暂时就只会告诉他这么多，这点黠谋和我一起讨论过了。你准备好要开始回报他为你做的一切了吗？你准备好要开始为家族效力了？” 他的语气是如此平静、看着我的眼神是如此坦然，我问接下来的问题时要保持平静几乎也变得容易。“我会需要杀人吗？”“也许。”他在椅子上动了动。“这一点要你来决定。不决定然后去做……跟只是接到命令说'就是这个人，必须动手'是不一样的。不决定困难得多，我一点也不确定你准备好了。”“这种事会有准备好的一天吗？”我试着微笑，但我咧嘴而笑的动作像是肌肉痉挛。我试着抹去那笑容，但是没办法。一股奇异的震颤传遍我全身。 “大概不会。”切德沉默下来，然后决定我已经接受了任务。“这次有位老贵妇也会一起去，她要到洁宜湾去探亲，你就当她的随从。这工作没什么难的。百里香夫人年纪很大了，身体不好，她出门都是坐，你就骑马走在轿子旁边，确保她不会被颠得太厉害，如果她要喝水你就拿水给她，负责这一类的小事。”“听起来跟照顾惟真的猎狼犬没多大差别。” 切德顿了顿，然后微笑。“好极了，这项工作也交给你。这一路上，你要让每一个人都少不了你，这样你就有理由出现在所有地方、听见所有的事，没人会质疑你在那里干什么。”“我真正的任务是？”“多听多打探。黠谋和我都觉得那些红船劫匪对我们的战略和长处未免太了解了。克尔伐近来很不舍得出钱好好派兵驻守守望岛的？望台，他两次置之不理，修克斯大公国的沿海村落也两次都因为他的疏忽付出代价。他是纯粹怠忽职守，还是已经做出叛国的行为？克尔伐是不是跟敌人合作，从中牟利？我们要你到处探听一下，看你能查出什么。如果你查到的一切都显示他是无辜的，或者如果你只有强烈的怀疑而没有证据，就把消息带回来给我们。但是如果你查出他叛国，而且非常确定，那么我们愈早除掉他愈好。”“意思是？”我不太确定这是我自己的声音，听起来那么随意、那么从容。 “我准备了一种粉末，不管是加在菜里、酒里都无色无味。至于要怎么用它，我们信任你能随机应变、小心谨慎。”他掀开桌上一个陶盘的盖子，盘子里有一个用上好纸张做成的纸包，那纸比费德伦给我看过的任何纸张更薄更细致。怪的是，我第一个念头是我的文书师傅一定会非常爱用这种纸。纸包里装着再细不过的白色粉末，吸附在纸张上，轻得足以飘浮在空中。切德用一块布掩住口鼻，小心倒了一点在折起来的油纸上，然后把油纸包递给我，我摊开手掌接下死亡。 “它会怎么样发挥作用？”“不会发挥得太快。他不会当场死在餐桌上，如果你问的是这个意思的话。不过如果他多喝几杯，就会觉得不舒服。据我对克尔伐的了解，我猜想他会抱着咕嘟翻腾的肚子上床，然后一睡不醒。” 我把粉末收进口袋。“惟真知道吗？” 切德思考着。“惟真是人如其名，要是他跟—个即将被自己毒死的人同桌吃饭，他是不可能隐藏得住的。不，在这次的任务中，偷偷进行会比说出事实对我们更有利。”他直视我的眼睛。“你的工作是独自进行，除了你自己之外，没有人能给你建议。”“我懂了。”我在高高的木头圆凳上动了动。“切德？”“什么事？”“你的第一次也是这样吗？” 他低头看着双手，伸出手指抚摸左手背上那些可怕的红色疤痕。沉默延长下去，但我继续等待。 “当时我比你现在大一岁。”最后他说。“而且我只负责去做，不包括决定该不该做。这样说够了吗？”不知道为什么，我突然尴尬起来。“我想是够了。”我含糊不清地说。 “很好。我知道你没有恶意，但是男人不会谈他跟女人在枕边共度的时光，我们刺客也不会谈……公事。”“连老师对学生都不会说吗？” 切德转过头，看向天花板黑暗的角落。“不会。”过了一会儿，他又说：“两个星期之后，你或许就会明白为什么了。” 关于这件事，我们就只讲过这么多。 据我的估算，那年我13岁。 -------------------------------------------------- ------ Notes: