Three Philosophical Questions for Travelers

Chapter 70: The Bereaved

Chapter 70: The Bereaved

"Yeah." He said to Old Ramon, "I've already finished preparing for the speech, what else do you need?"

"I...not." Old Ramon seemed hesitant to speak.Seeing him like this, Hai Wen couldn't help but say, "Speak up if you have something to say, I hate hemming and hawing."

Old Ramon nodded and said, "My lord, you give pensions to the families of the martyrs, and you also arrange follow-up living conditions for the families... You want to..." His throat squirmed, and the expression on the old man's face was as uncomfortable as constipation. After struggling for a few seconds, he said loudly: "My lord is wrong! I won't ask any more." After saying this, he turned around and was about to run. Haiwen grabbed his shoulder and asked, "What exactly do you want to ask? Here If there is no one else, you can ask, I will not be angry if you ask anything.”

Old Ramon's face changed color, and he murmured to himself: "My mouth is really cheap." Haiwen stared at him and said nothing. Under the gaze of this kind of gaze, Old Ramon finally couldn't hold on anymore. , he raised his eyebrows and asked in a low voice, "Are you planning to recruit soldiers, my lord?"

Hearing this, Haiwen stared subconsciously.Then I saw the old Ramon kneel down with a plop, and then swung his big ear scraper towards his face, bowing left and right. "Atonement, my lord! Atonement!"

Haiwen quickly stopped him, then pulled him up, and said, "This is not a crime, and I won't blame you. Don't be afraid."

Perhaps the old man was really timid, his legs were still trembling after he stood up.Haiwen suddenly thought: Maybe it's not because he's timid, but because I'm too scary.

Yes, I'm too scary.He touched his bald head and thought to himself, not only do I look scary, but the things I do are also scary.

"Old Ramon, I just don't want to chill the hearts of the people below. You think too much." He tried his best to show a gentle smile, but he knew that his own smile was scary, "So just do your job well, don't worry about it." have a bee in one's bonnet."

"Yes, my lord."

After talking with old Ramon, Haven went for a walk outside again.It was late and the pedestrians were in a hurry, but the business of the tavern was just right at this time. Haiwen's eyes were attracted by the lights and laughter, and he looked towards the tavern; through the dim light and misty cooking smoke, he saw many serfs dressed in people are drinking.Most of these people became landlords together with him, and many of them made a fortune. They had never been entertained in taverns in their entire lives, and now they had money and wanted to enjoy themselves.

Haiwen walked towards the tavern, and within a few steps, someone shouted: "The mayor is here!" As soon as this person shouted, people inside and outside rushed over.The nearest old man with vitiligo held his arm and spoke incoherently with excitement; a fat woman next to him was screaming excitedly, introducing her unmarried daughter to Haiwen; two naughty young men surrounded him dancing; and a pockmarked alcoholic held up a bottle and offered to buy him a drink.Haiwen was in the middle of the crowd, overwhelmed for a while, and was dizzy by the smell of sweat and alcohol.

Haiwen is not used to being a celebrity in a small town, he forgot to bring a few more guards, and he couldn't cope with this scene for a while.At this time, he heard someone yelling: "Scatter, scatter! Go to the side!" Then he saw Jon bring two soldiers over, one left and one right to protect Haven.Haiwen and the soldiers shouted: "Don't be rough!"

"Yes, my lords—about you two! Don't be rough!" Jon ordered.

Immediately the police drove the people away. Hai Wen finally breathed a sigh of relief and said, "Everyone, I can understand your enthusiasm! But I only have one hand and one mouth, and I can't take care of everyone. Now I Go in and have a drink, if there is something important among you, you can talk to me."

Everyone praised Haiwen one after another, and then surrounded Hai Wen into the tavern.Haven sat at the middle table and ordered a glass of ale and a bit of sour fish pie.Then an old serf with a bald head and a hunchback asked him, "My lord, when will the land be distributed?" Hai Wen said, "The memorial service will be held tomorrow, and the land will be distributed the day after tomorrow."

A young man with a pointed head and a high voice shouted: "Tomorrow the land will be divided, and the memorial service will be held the day after tomorrow!"

Haiwen said: "The dead are the greatest! These martyrs sacrificed their lives for our land, and we should respect them; their families even lost a close relative. I want to reassure them and let them know that their brothers or sons He did not die in vain." Hearing this, many people applauded, and then Haiwen said: "Okay, if you have any questions, come and ask."

Then a few farmers came and asked him about farming, and Haiwen told him by the way; later someone asked him whether he believed in religion, whether he was married, whether he had any daughters or sons who were about to marry... In short, it's all trivial things.Haiwen is fine at the moment, and he wants to show that he is close to the people, so he answered patiently.After staying for more than half an hour, he finished his drink, went out to pay the bill and went home.

When the tavern owner saw him coming to pay the bill, he immediately waved his hands and said, "How can I take your money? I bought this wine."

But Haiwen insisted on giving the money, and said: "No money for eating and drinking, that is the work of nobles, landlords and even bullies. I am the mayor now, and I take off the clothes of the mayor, and I am just as ordinary as you People. So I have to pay for my meals!" He took out a few copper coins and counted them face to face, no more than no less.The boss saw him like this, so he took the money wisely, and then Haiwen left the tavern again in a crowd.

When he was going out, he suddenly saw a person sitting in the corner outside the door. He saw that the person's back was familiar, so he took another look.Afterwards, the man also looked at him, and the two looked at each other, only then did Hewen realize that the man was Vanderbilt's father, the man who was now managing accounts for him, Kurit Garcia.

The old man was still carrying the abacus on his back, his face was flushed at the moment, his eyes were blurred, obviously he had drunk a lot.He didn't have any accompanying drinkers in his place, so he seemed to be drinking by himself.Haiwen drove away the crowd, came to sit beside him alone, and said, "It's getting late, just drink."

After hearing this, the old man sighed and said, "My lord, I have no other hobbies, just let me have another drink." After saying this, he rubbed his eyes, and only then did Haiwen notice that the old man's eye circles were red .

He must have thought of his son again, right?Thinking of this, Haiwen couldn't help but felt a burst of sadness and guilt.

"Then let me have a drink with you."

"You..." He hesitated to speak, "Thank you very much."

The two drank a glass, and the wine in Yema Town was sour and sweet like a drink, and Haiwen was bored in one sip; the old man drank it clean after taking two sips.Unexpectedly, as soon as he finished drinking, the old man turned his head and vomited. Haiwen hurried to the tavern to get some water.After a while after vomiting, old Garcia started to cry. His crying was really ugly, his nose and tears were all mixed together, and his old face was stained. "My lord, this is... this is a crime..." He sobbed and said, "I only have one son, and I just lost it, and the mother-in-law in the family didn't give me peace of mind... You said I was already sixty, What can I do next? I think I can just drink every day, and I won’t worry if I die from drinking one day.”

Fan Deli's matter was not unrelated to Haven, he felt guilty, so he comforted the old man with nice words, and he stayed with the old man for a long time, and only ordered someone to carry him away when old Garcia fell into a coma of drunkenness.Haiwen sent him all the way back to Garcia's house.I saw that the house was already crumbling, dirty and old; there was a lot of moss growing in the cracks of the bricks, cobwebs hanging in the corners, and a thick layer of blue sludge on the doorknob, as if no one lived in it for a long time same.

As soon as the door was opened, a thin old woman came out. The woman had small piercing yellow eyes, a large tumor on her neck, and her hair was dirty and matted.Haiwen sent old Garcia into the house, but the woman scolded: "This damn ghost still knows how to come back? Why didn't he die outside!"

Haiwen thought to himself, why does this woman speak like this?He was about to teach him a lesson, but he saw the old Garcia, who was drunk and passed out, suddenly violently screamed, "Who the hell are you letting die? I'll let you die first, let you die! "He said and jumped on it.

Chapter 71: Conviction

Chapter 71: Conviction

No one expected that a skinny old man would suddenly burst out with such terrifying power.Haven and the guards were slow to react at that moment, and they watched old Garcia pounce on the woman like a very hungry wolf, grabbing the woman by the neck; the woman made a terrified choking sound, flailing her arms and struggling.At this time, two guards went up to pull him, but old Garcia had an evil spirit, and he couldn't pull him no matter how hard he pulled, the woman's face became clearer and clearer, at this time Haiwen also rushed up, shouting loudly : "Stop, let her go! I said let her go!"

At this moment, Garcia Sr. screamed and said, "Okay, I'll let her go!" As he said this, he pushed the woman forward violently, and the woman took three steps back, and then fell to the ground.It was also a coincidence that the back of his head hit the wall; at this moment, Hai Wen heard a crisp "crack", which came from the woman's cervical spine, and it was extremely horrifying.Immediately, the woman fell to the ground like mud, and a policeman stretched out his hand to check his breath, and exclaimed, "Dead!"

Damn, what is this called!Haven frowned.It was at this moment that old Garcia suddenly uttered a miserable cry, saying, "My son is gone, my wife let me kill her, and I won't live anymore!" As he spoke, he slammed his head against the wall up.Hai Wen and the two policemen hurried up to stop him, Hai Wen said: "Both of you control him, tie him up first."

After they made such a fuss, many onlookers came outside again. Hai Wen went out to disperse the crowd, and then blew his whistle to call other policemen around to help.Afterwards, a few more men came, including Fassnut; they tied up old Garcia in a hurry, and then Fassnut asked Haven, saying, "My lord, what should we do next?"

Haiwen's mood was very complicated, and he couldn't tell whether it was sadness or anger. "Kurit." Haven said to the old man, "You..." As soon as he said you, the old man tilted his head and started snoring.Hai Wen sighed helplessly, and said: "Shut him up in the Yizheng Hall first, and leave someone to watch. I'll interrogate him tomorrow when he sobers up."

"Yes, my lord."

After all, the police took old Garcia and left, and the rest carried the woman's body.There was a sound of surprise outside, and many people blocked the door to watch the excitement, and Fasnat went out to drive the crowd away.

Haiwen stood there for a while, then left.

He thought about it on the way home.Old Garcia is a very important person under him, and he needs this person to settle accounts and calculate various data for him.Even Haven planned to ask old Garcia to train some accountants for him to do the accounts for him.This is so important to him.

Although it is not impossible to find a new accountant, this old man knows everything and is very capable, Haiwen likes him very much.

On the other hand, the root cause of old Garcia's confusion is that he lost his son.The matter of Fan Deli has always been a knot in Hai Wen's heart. He feels that he is ashamed of the old Garcia.

And old Garcia may have killed his wife for many reasons, for example, because he drank too much wine, for example, he was too sad and hopeless and lost his mind, or because the shrew insulted him in front of outsiders, making his face I can't stand it anymore...

Old Garcia was miserable enough, should he continue to torture him?

At this moment, he couldn't help but think: I'll just give him a symbolic sentence, don't let him go to jail at such an advanced age, put him on probation, and then let him continue to work for me.

But the law is not merciful, this is a felony of homicide, and it is counted as intentional homicide, which is punishable by death.

I cannot bend the law for personal gain, otherwise the law will lose its due credibility.I'm still a judge here, and what I do is according to the law.At least everything has to make sense.

So after returning, Hai Wen started to read the code.The legal code is very thick, and it cannot be read in a short time.This time, he was busy until night again. On the way, Isrit brought him something to eat. Hyacinth came to his room a few times, and seemed to want to talk to him, but Haiwen really didn't have time to accompany her.Later, Hyacinth lay on his bed bored and read a book, and after a while, his eyelids twitched, and he fell asleep.

At about ten o'clock in the evening, Haiwen finally found relevant regulations and cases.The general content is that a husband killing his wife is not considered murder. When the wife "lost morality", this situation can be characterized as "honor punishment".Honor executioners suffer no punishment.

This law could indeed save old Garcia's life, but Haven didn't want to use it.

He really doesn't want to encourage people to obey such laws.This is a great exploitation of women and it is an unfair law.How many women would die in vain if they were told publicly that this was an "honour execution".

This is a patriarchal society where women have no place.After marrying, it is the man's property, and the man can do whatever he wants.

So he turned the page and looked for a method that was more in line with the justice in his heart.

In the end he decided that Garcia Sr. would be wounded and killed while drunk—wounding to death, not homicide.Because he pushed the woman in the end, at least at the last moment, he did not show a clear desire to kill.In this case, old Garcia should be able to save his life, and then expect a fixed-term imprisonment of more than ten years.

Moreover, when people in this world enforce the law, they pay great attention to human relations and justice.That is to say, the law and conventional morality will act on a trial at the same time.The old Garcia's wife publicly insulted her husband in front of the guests, which was at fault first.So Haven could use this to give Garcia a light sentence.

It is estimated that there will be a fixed-term imprisonment of six or seven years in the end.If Garcia behaves well, his sentence can be reduced to about four years.

This is already the limit of what Haiwen can do, as well as his moral bottom line.

It was already eleven o'clock at night after this work was over.He will get up tomorrow to hold a memorial service for the martyrs, so he has to go to bed early to maintain his energy.However, when he turned his head, he saw Esrit and Hyacinth lying on his bed, soundly asleep.

Hyacinth seemed to have fallen asleep on the spot after being tired from reading just now, but he didn't even notice when Isrit came.Maybe I read too seriously, he thought.

At this moment, two girls were occupying his bed, one on the left and the other on the right, breathing evenly and rhythmically.Haiwen's bed is not small, but it would be uncomfortable if three people are squeezed into it.Besides, he was afraid of waking them up when he went to bed.

So he took the bedding and pillows from the cupboard, spread them out on the floor, turned off the light and undressed and went to bed.The girls' breathing sounded like a lullaby, and although the ground was cold and hard, he fell asleep quickly.

Chapter 72: Dumb Hair

Chapter 72: Dumb Hair

Haiwen woke up in the morning as usual, and when he opened his eyes, he saw Esritre kneeling at his feet, looking at him with a guilty expression.Afterwards he heard a soft snoring sound, he sat up, and saw that Hyacinth was lying on the bed stretched out, the quilt kicked aside, her sleeping position was very ugly.

"Sorry, my lord, I... went to bed too early yesterday." Islet said first, her voice was very soft, "I wanted to rest for a while and then make room for you, but I... ..."

Haiwen moved his shoulders and felt a pain in his back, "It's okay, I can sleep well on the ground." He said with a smile, "Sleeping on a hard bed is good for the back of those who exercise, and it doesn't matter if you come here once in a while."

Isrit showed a very helpless wry smile, then she glanced at Hyacinth and said, "Hyacinth has slept for more than ten hours, shall we call her?"

Haiwen glanced at the little girl who was as stable as a dead dog, and said, "Let's forget it, she...maybe she's still growing, so it's better to sleep a little longer."

After hearing this, Isrit looked at Hyacinth thoughtfully, and said to Haiwen, "My lord, let's go out and talk."

"it is good."

So the two took their coats and shoes and tiptoed out of the room.After going out, the two went to the sink for washing, brushed their teeth together as usual, and continued talking about the topic just now.

Israet brought Haiwen the dental kit, and filled the cup with water for him. "My lord, have you promised Hyacinth that she will marry her?" She handed the cup to Haiwen.

"Yeah, she told you?" Haven glanced at her, and found that there were several flamboyant hairs on Isrit's head.I really want to get it off for her, Haiwen thought to himself.

Israet fetched water and tooth powder for herself, "Yes, my lord, it's better to say that Hyacinth listened to me, and that's why she took the initiative to confess to you." She rinsed her mouth, then bent down deeply, Spit the water down the sink.

Haiwen said: "I think so, but this matter..." He couldn't help laughing when he said this, "It's very similar to the two of us back then. Didn't Gerliete encourage you to take the initiative at the beginning?" His gaze remained the same. Staying on Isrit's stupid hair - I really want to smooth it out!It’s okay if you don’t cut it!

"That's..." Yisrit blushed, she turned sideways, and silently began to apply tooth powder.Hai Wen also started to put on tooth powder, and said while doing it: "Actually, most of those two girls will marry me. As you said, this may be the best solution for this situation. But to be honest, I really hope that they will marry me." Can...have a normal, ordinary love. I hope they fall in love like ordinary girls in my world and enjoy the happiness of youth."

"I don't really understand what's going on with you." Estherite said while brushing her teeth, with some slurred words, "I think that Hyacinth, although she has hands and feet, is very beautiful and kind-hearted. You also seem to like her very much..." At this point, Estherite's tone became a little strange, "I'm not jealous, just a little bit jealous..." She said something contradictory, and then annoyed After a big squirt of water into the sink, she wiped her mouth and continued, "I mean... well, I'm just kind of jealous. I don't hate hyacinths though, she's like my sister, and I'd share anything with her." Things—it doesn’t matter if it’s her words.” After she said this, she pressed her hair with her hand, but the dull hair still stood up, and it seemed to be more curled up.

"I don't want to wrong you, Isrit." Haven said, staring at her dumbfounded hair.

Estelle nodded slightly. At this moment, a maid passed by, and she greeted her with a smile.Afterwards, she continued to tell Haiwen: "I will adjust my mentality. This is a normal thing in this world. Just like women should try to have as many children as possible, men should marry as many wives as possible to continue their blood. To grow the family. It is an extremely honorable thing for you and me."

Haiwen nodded silently when he heard this, but he still couldn't agree with this moral concept in his heart. "I will shoulder the responsibilities of a husband." That's all he could say.

Estherite dipped in some water and went to straighten her extremely tough hair. She brushed her hair and said, "But there is one more thing I want to tell you, my lord." Her tone was very serious.

"Talk." Haiwen finished brushing his teeth and began to clean the toothbrush.

Estelle found that she couldn't get rid of that bunch of dull hair no matter what, so she puffed up her cheeks in annoyance. "My lord, do you have a knife on you?" She said suddenly.

"What do you want to do?" Haiwen reached out and touched the stupid hair on the top of her head, and the hair bounced like it was alive.

Estherite rolled her eyes, then pushed his hand away, "Don't touch it!" She was angry, like a cat whose tail was scratched.

Haven is about to touch.While twirling Isrit's stupid hair, he asked, "What did you want to say just now?"

Estelle stared at him, and said very quickly: "Violet may have other places to go."

"Huh?" He still didn't stop.

Isrit's expression was tense, and she said through gritted teeth: "Because Violet seems to have family members. She has parents, an older sister who is married, and an older brother who has married. My lord, you said Yes, you will not force them."

"I said that." Haiwen's hand paused, "So, maybe Violet can find her hometown and reunite with her family? By the way, Hyacinth and Violet... what did they do before they became slaves? What about the family situation? Damn it, I never asked them." After saying this, he played with Estelle's stupid hair again.

Estelle looked at him with disgust, but there was an inexplicable pleasure in Haven's heart. "Violet was about ten years old when she was abducted, and she still remembers some things about her hometown. But Hyacinth was taken away to be a singing and dancing prostitute at the age of seven, and she has long forgotten about her hometown. If you really want to help them find their roots, you can In the future, I will take Violet to the South."

"I'm very happy." Haven said, "If Violet misses her hometown, I'd be happy to send her back. Compared to being young by my side, it's clear that going back to her hometown and marrying her true love will make her happier."

"Your Excellency, do you... really think so?" Estelle asked in surprise, "I thought you would do everything possible to keep her, after all, she...is such a good girl."

"She is very nice, I am willing to be an ordinary friend with her, but the matter of marriage... Islet, I already have you. If Hyacinth's situation is not too special, I might not touch any extra woman .”

Isrit lowered her head and whispered, "You will make me a petty and selfish woman."

"Love is inherently selfish." He said with a smile.

Estherite nodded thoughtfully, and then said suddenly: "So can you stop touching my hair?"

Haiwen froze for a moment, and said, "I want to play for a while."

Hearing this, Isrit finally blew up.She snatched a knife from a passing servant, cut off the lock of hair, and handed it to Hai Wen, "If you like it, my lord, I will give it to you." She said with a blank expression.

"I'm sorry, I was wrong." Hai Wen gave the same expression, and then stuffed the lock of hair into his pocket under the watchful eyes of Estherite.After the two looked at each other with straight faces for three seconds, they both laughed.

Author's message:

Ps: Couples in love will always do some stupid things that others can't understand and be happy for a long time.

The so-called falling in love with IQ is nothing more than this.

Chapter 73: At the Funeral

Chapter 73: At the Funeral

Today is the memorial service.

According to the custom of Mustang Town, the memorial service is held at twelve noon.Because the sun is the brightest at this time, demons dare not come out to harass the dead, and people believe that heaven is closest to the earth at twelve noon.

So they held a collective memorial service at this time.When we got up early in the morning, everyone set up the venue according to the established procedures.The venue was chosen in an open space at the exit of the southern town of Yema Town.