"Heh heh!"
"Heh heh heh!"
Magnus Valorion was holding a letter sent by Galen Veritas and John Falstaff from Lionheart City, the capital of Fierce Lion Province, and was constantly chuckling foolishly.
"What could possibly make you so happy, my lord?"
Alice Parker, who had been assigned to serve Magnus Valorion, looked at him with immense curiosity in her heart.
The reason Magnus Valorion was so happy was because he had received some very good news - his enemy, Lucius Blackthorn, that old scoundrel, along with a group of officials who had pledged allegiance to Alp Arslan, had all died suddenly in the Venus Garden of Lionheart City.
The reason for the sudden death of Lucius Blackthorn and those corrupt officials could be none other than Sinbad sending them rice laced with Paraquat.
Previously, Lucius Blackthorn had also eaten the fine rice purchased from John Falstaff by the Blackthorn family and found it delicious. Believing that he deserved to eat such high-quality rice, Lucius Blackthorn wrote a letter to Edmund Blackthorn, the head of the Blackthorn family in Green River Town, asking for more of this fine rice.
Edmund Blackthorn, reluctant to eat the fine rice himself, ordered his men to send all the rice tainted with Paraquat by Magnus Valorion to their family's pride, Lucius Blackthorn.
Upon receiving the fine rice sent by Edmund Blackthorn, Lucius Blackthorn immediately hosted a lavish banquet at the most luxurious restaurant in Lionheart City, the Venus Garden, inviting Alp Arslan's corrupt officials to revel all night long.
Outside the city, people were starving and dying, but inside the restaurant, there was a feast with wine and music, showcasing the saying, "Rich doors reek of wine and meat, while the poor die frozen on the road."
One must admit, city folks know how to enjoy themselves. If Magnus Valorion had been there, he might have lamented that he was a country bumpkin.
At the banquet invented by Lucius Blackthorn, various rice dishes were presented, and even Magnus Valorion, who prided himself on his modern knowledge, had never seen such delicacies.
Compared to these corrupt officials, Magnus Valorion felt like a country bumpkin.
Lucius Blackthorn and his fellow corrupt officials enjoyed various dishes that even the Emperor of the Great Latium Imperium might not have seen.
Dishes like "Lobster Risotto" and "Abalone Seafood Risotto" were considered minor. The most extravagant dish was the "Pearl Stuffed Abalone."
This dish required fresh abalone, cleaned and sliced on one side, keeping its basic shape intact but hollowed out to form a natural "container."
Then it was stuffed with pigeon meat, chicken meat, honey, and fine rice, marinated with rosemary, thyme, and other ingredients, and steamed and roasted.
More importantly, Fierce Lion Province is inland, far from the sea; countless horses must have been exhausted to transport the ingredients.
Additionally, Lucius Blackthorn and his cohort arranged for young, naked beauties in the Venus Garden to act as rice plates. This allowed the depraved old officials to satisfy both their appetites and their carnal desires.
Unfortunately, these luxuries were the last enjoyments for these corrupt officials.
On the seventh day of the "Hundred Rice Banquet," as Lucius Blackthorn was about to bite into a delicacy placed on a beauty's chest, he suddenly vomited black blood.
The officials in the Venus Garden were shocked and chaotic.
Soon, they also began vomiting black blood, weakening and collapsing to the ground.
Paraquat is a deadly poison with no antidote even in modern high-tech societies.
These corrupt officials, in cahoots with Lucius Blackthorn, had been playing cards and indulging in "Russian roulette" with the beauties during the seven days.
By the time they started vomiting black blood, the poison had already attacked their hearts.
In his last moments, Lucius Blackthorn stared at the beauty's chest, cursing, "This breast milk is poisoned!" before unwillingly meeting his maker.
Reading this, Magnus Valorion chuckled again, thinking, "Lucius Blackthorn, not all breast milk in this world is safe!"
Knowing Lucius Blackthorn had been poisoned to death, Magnus Valorion felt clear-headed and invigorated.
However, Magnus Valorion also knew that the upper echelons of Fierce Lion Province's officialdom were likely to experience a major upheaval.
Alp Arslan would not let go of the sudden deaths of so many subordinates in Fierce Lion Province.
As Magnus Valorion predicted, the Emperor of the Great Latium Imperium, usually indulgent and lascivious, was furious about the sudden deaths of over a dozen officials in Fierce Lion Province.
Furthermore, the poisoning of Lucius Blackthorn and his group became a focal point for Royal Preceptor Edmund Aldrich and his faction to impeach Alp Arslan's followers.
The Royal Preceptor is a senior advisor to the royal family, responsible for providing important political, military, and economic advice, supervising the Chancellor and other senior officials, and educating and guiding royal family members. Their status is slightly higher than the Chancellor, but their actual power is slightly lower.
For years, the court was divided into factions led by Edmund Aldrich and Alp Arslan, who constantly vied for power and impeached each other.
Edmund Aldrich reported the drought and widespread famine in Fierce Lion Province to the Emperor, demanding a thorough investigation of Alp Arslan's faction.
To exonerate himself, Alp Arslan and his followers shifted all the blame onto the now-dead Lucius Blackthorn and his group, claiming ignorance of the drought and famine in Fierce Lion Province.
To win favor, Alp Arslan's officials pretended to be sympathetic to the people's plight and requested the Emperor to exempt the 21 towns under Fierce Lion Province from taxes for a year.
This tax relief was naturally supported by Edmund Aldrich and his faction.
Alp Arslan successfully shifted all the blame onto the dead Lucius Blackthorn and his group.
The tax exemption decree was personally drafted by Chancellor Alp Arslan, and the 21 tax exemption decrees with the royal seal were sent to the 21 towns.
However, although Lucius Blackthorn and his group had concealed the drought and famine, they were still officials of the Great Latium Imperium.
Despite Edmund Aldrich's faction taking the opportunity to install many honest officials in Fierce Lion Province, the Emperor eventually dispatched a Royal Overseer to investigate the cause of Lucius Blackthorn's death.
Meanwhile, in Green River Town, Magnus Valorion received a nauseating document, an appointment letter from Lionheart City.
This appointment letter had been written by Lucius Blackthorn before he met his maker.
In Lionheart City, a merchant named Henry Vander had donated 100,000 taels of silver to Lucius Blackthorn, seeking an official position.
In Fierce Lion Province, Lucius Blackthorn had the authority to appoint officials below the county level.
Henry Vander had given the silver, but it hadn't won Lucius Blackthorn's favor. Lucius Blackthorn considered the amount too small to deserve a good position.
So Lucius Blackthorn thought of pinning the blame for the capture of Green River Town by the Altai Tribe on Magnus Valorion and dismissing him.
This way, Lucius Blackthorn could deal with Magnus Valorion and solve Henry Vander's official position issue.
Lucius Blackthorn believed that no matter how capable Magnus Valorion was, he couldn't achieve much in Green River Town within six months.
By the time the appointment letter arrived, Magnus Valorion would have no choice but to step down. There was no other way.
However, Magnus Valorion was now seen as a god by the people of Green River Town and would not give up easily.
"Are you sure I've been demoted to a clerk?" Magnus Valorion asked mockingly after reading the appointment letter brought by the corpulent Henry Vander.
Henry Vander puffed out his belly proudly and said, "Indeed, I am the newly appointed Mayor of Green River Town."