Royal Gold Medal County Magistrate

Having said that, Hope raised his glass and drank it down, his expression filled with sorrow and a hint of reminiscence.

Seeing that the mood was right, Lai Gou'er quietly pulled the gramophone to his side.

Then, he poured him another glass of wine and asked, "Who says it isn't? It's hard to live with dignity!"

Hope picked up his glass and drank half of it in one go, a hint of self-deprecation on his lips: "Do you know what I wanted to be when I was young?"

"What did you want to be?"

"I wanted to be a poet, a wandering, free poet. But later I realized that this world only allows people to write one kind of poetry... The ideals of young people... are as stupid as a pig."

"At least you have power and influence now, and your son can be a free poet. It's some consolation," Lai Gou'er said while pouring more wine.

"My son?" Hope smiled dismissively. "I can only be considered wealthy. I'm still far from having real power. If my son wants to be a poet, and he makes one wrong step in the future, this little bit of family fortune might not be enough for him to squander."

"So, he still has to follow in his father's footsteps and go with the flow... But at least he doesn't have to work as hard as I do."

Lai Gou'er nodded and sighed in agreement, then picked up the gramophone and slowly began to crank it.

But just as his hand touched it, a glint flashed in Hope's eyes.

"I saw it as soon as I came in. What's that thing you're holding? It looks so strange."

"This? When I'm stressed or in a bad mood, I like to crank this thing to relieve stress. It's a little stress-relieving toy."

"What's so stress-relieving about this thing? You really have some strange habits," Hope said with a smile, no longer suspicious.

After all, it was just a wooden box. Besides being a strange toy, he couldn't see any other explanation.

Perhaps it was a special product of the Great Jing.

It wasn't a big deal for someone to have a unique hobby.

Lai Gou'er didn't respond, changing the subject: "Your son can't escape your fate either. You must hate the Church very much now, right?"

Hope was cutting his steak. His hand paused, and he looked up at him: "We're eating. Can't we talk about something happy?"

Lai Gou'er's tone was slightly provocative: "What, are you afraid? You helped Father Solje in Holy City before. Now that we're alone in the same room, what's there to be afraid of saying?"

Hope gently put down his knife and fork, and said seriously: "I don't hate the Church. Why should I hate the Church? My family has been the most loyal followers for generations. I also received the Church's education. I was born and raised in Holy City. Do you think someone like me would hate the Church?"

"Then why did you scold the Church back then?" Lai Gou'er said calmly.

Hope grinned and smiled: "Because I love it! The Church is supported by people like me. What parent in the world wouldn't scold their own child? As for why I scolded it, it's because it's not doing well. It's that simple, to make it better."

"Then why don't you go directly to the Church and scold those people awake? Why complain in private, like a complaining woman?"

"A complaining woman? I'm like a complaining woman!" A small flame ignited in Hope's heart. "I fucking want to rush in and scold them too, but have you ever heard of a parent in the world scolding their son, and the son turning around and shouting to beat and kill the parents!"

Seeing that he was a little agitated, Lai Gou'er gently raised his right hand to comfort him: "Brother Hope, although this world is dark, it will be better in the future. If someone like Father Solje becomes the Pope, the Church might have a new look."

As soon as these words came out, Hope chuckled, his laughter filled with undisguised ridicule.

"Replace one person? I'm telling you, replacing ten, a hundred, won't do any good!"

"I have hundreds of slaves under my command. When I die, if I release them to freedom, what do you think they will do?"

"You must think that after they gain freedom, they will become businessmen, poets, farmers... I'm telling you that's impossible. Their only possibility is to find a new master!"

"After leaving their old master, they will instinctively look for a new master and rely on the master to live. Slaves always place their hopes on others, so that they can have peace of mind. As for businessmen like you and me, who manage countless resources, how to maximize profits is the most important thing."

"Since the slaves are so obedient and place their hopes on us, why should we bother to treat them well? This principle applies everywhere."

"Even if someone like Father Solje becomes the Pope, I believe there's a high chance he will still do the same things as the current Pope. What's on your mind is sometimes determined by where you're sitting."

"That's not necessarily true. There are always people with ideals who are willing to sacrifice themselves for others," Lai Gou'er shrugged, his expression calm: "But according to your statement, that means the Pope isn't necessarily a bastard, and the people below are helping him to become a bastard, is that what you mean?"

"No, the Pope is a bastard. But..."

Lai Gou'er's hand suddenly stopped, and he put the gramophone beside him.

It was okay to record here, and these things were enough to kill Hope a hundred times.

"Hey? Why aren't you cranking it?"

"I've cranked enough."

Hope smacked his lips and picked up his knife and fork again: "Forget it, forget it, don't mention this. That's how this life is going to be. I also depend on the Church for food."

Lai Gou'er thought for a while and said: "Brother Hope, I'll play you something good."

"Huh?"

"Don't talk, keep quiet."

Lai Gou'er picked up the gramophone again, fiddled with it, adjusted the position, and a mixed and blurred recording slowly came out of the gramophone.

"....... No, the Pope is a bastard."

!!!

Hope stared at the gramophone with a ghostly expression, waves of fear surged into his heart, and goosebumps rose all over his body.

What was that! Those were the words I just said!

Although the sound inside was blurred and mixed, it could still be heard that it was him speaking, especially the last powerful sentence.

The air in the room was silent.

Got it!

The next moment, Hope suddenly jumped up, lunging towards the gramophone without any regard for his image.

Damn it! I've been played today. No matter what this thing is, my life could be in their hands!

Although his movements were fast, Lai Gou'er was already prepared.

He hugged the gramophone with one hand, stepped back, and at the same time kicked Hope hard with his foot.

With a thud, Hope was kicked to the ground.

The two people who were just chatting and laughing the moment before had become enemies in the next moment.

Hope scrambled to his feet, panting heavily, staring at Lai Gou'er with bloodshot eyes and shouting loudly: "You fucking tricked me! Is this how you treat your friends?"

Lai Gou'er shrugged: "Brother Hope, I'm doing this all for your own good."

Hope was surprised and uncertain: "If you think you're getting too little share of our business, I can take less. We can't joke about this."

Lai Gou'er obviously had bad intentions. If this thing was sent to the Church, it would be a light punishment if his skin was peeled off three layers.

He still hadn't figured out why Lai Gou'er did this.

Besides an uneven distribution of spoils, there seemed to be no other possibility.

......