Chapter 1271 My Life Is Like Walking on Thin Ice

"Huh? This four-wheeled carriage that is giving way has a rare emblem on it... Does it belong to any noble family?"

"Ah! Director Nuno, that shouldn't be the emblem of a noble. It belongs to a Venetian Chamber of Commerce... The general manager of this chamber of commerce is the big Jewish businessman who lends money at the port and sells luxury goods in the city! As for this chamber of commerce's carriage... on weekdays It’s really rare to see travel here!…”

The four-wheel carriage of the Portuguese royal family, pulled by two Andalusian horses, ran steadily on the gravel road on the outskirts of the city. Another equally gorgeous carriage retreated to the outer edge of the road, letting the royal family's vehicles go first.

At this moment, Nuno, the Portuguese royal supervisor and the king's confidant, was sitting in the royal carriage. He squinted his eyes and looked at the closed curtain of the other carriage, but he couldn't see clearly who was sitting inside. There were several people. He looked at the two Slavic servants driving the car for a while, noticed the leather armor under the other's robe and the short ax on his waist, and he suddenly became thoughtful.

"Hmm... the Venetian Chamber of Commerce carriage appeared in the civilian area on the outskirts of the city... and the house of Knight Bruno is also in this area... interesting!..."

In this era, horse-drawn carriages were still expensive and fragile means of travel, and could only be used around large cities with good infrastructure. Once you go thirty miles out of the city, there are no smooth roads to drive on, and it is easy to damage the axles and chassis. The chassis machinery of this kind of carriage is also relatively complicated, and the maintenance cost is very high, which is beyond the reach of ordinary small nobles... Therefore, this is a real status symbol, and it is a "supercar" exclusive to the royal family, great nobles and big businessmen. !

"Master Steward, Knight Bruno's mansion has arrived!... Look, it's a very nice courtyard, the best in this area!..."

The carriage continued to run, and after a while, it arrived outside a magnificent courtyard. This courtyard is located on the outskirts of the city. Although it is a civilian area, the transportation location is good and the area is quite large.

"Several newly built brick houses... stables for raising horses... stone mills pulled by donkeys and mules... and wooden houses for servants... Wow! A civilian knight who has only been promoted for two years can actually buy this kind of house in the suburbs of the royal capital. Industry. This is exactly the same as the wealth of some shabby barons... It seems that this guy has made a lot of money from the fleet in the southern continent..."

Seeing the situation in the courtyard and thinking of the Venice Chamber of Commerce carriage he encountered before, Director Nuno raised his brows and felt more certain. However, he didn't take it seriously, and it didn't show on his face at all. Until Bruno hurried out of the house, took his beautiful wife and mixed-race son, and respectfully saluted the royal visitor...

"Dear Lord Nuno! Bruno Kang, the royal knight, bows his head to you. May the Lord bless you, the pious one!..."

"God bless you! Knight Bruno Kang."

Director Nuno then smiled slightly and responded reservedly. He took another look at Bruno's wife, feeling a little surprised. It wasn't that he had any other thoughts, but that he was surprised by the woman's identity.

"Huh? She turned out to be a Moorish woman? Knight Bruno married a Moorish woman? Isn't he going to integrate into the kingdom's aristocratic circle? Hmm... interesting!..."

In the opinion of Director Nuno, for a civilian knight like Bruno who comes from a humble background, marrying a dilapidated old noble family and marrying the daughter of a baron or knight is the best way to change his class and integrate into the aristocratic circle of the kingdom! Marrying a Moorish woman of a foreign race like this, apart from being more beautiful, would not bring any political benefits at all. She would even be regarded as an alternative by the traditional nobles and would not want to associate with her.

The consequence of not being accepted by the aristocratic circle is that this newly promoted royal knight is likely to be unable to establish a noble family for inheritance, and will fall down the class in the next generation and continue to decline...

In fact, if it weren't for the navigation and development of the Southern Continent, which left an opportunity to exchange one's life for merit, and if it weren't for Sir Diogo Kang, who gave him a hand at the last moment of his life and promoted him to captain... there would be nothing like this It is impossible for a young man with such a background and bloodline to stand out and be promoted to a noble of the Kingdom of Portugal! …

"However, this is not a bad thing... The less connected he is, the more he has to risk his life... And a foreign Moorish wife also means that the possibility of him colluding with the Castilians is very small... Of course, Before you really give him this desperate opportunity, you have to take a look at his character and whether he knows how to be grateful. Otherwise, even if he survives desperately, he will not receive any treatment, let alone be promoted..."

Supervisor Nuno's mind was spinning, and in just a moment, he weighed all the pros and cons. He still showed no expression on his face, just nodded lightly, and said to Bruno who knelt down on one knee to salute.

"Knight Bruno, His Majesty has summoned you. Come with me and take the royal carriage."

"ah!…"

Hearing this, Bruno trembled, obviously a little surprised. He raised his head uneasily, looked at Director Nuno who had no expression, then looked at the royal carriage parked outside the courtyard, and asked cautiously.

"Dear Director Nuno...I wonder why your Majesty suddenly summoned me?..."

"Your Majesty is waiting. Let's talk about it after we get in the car."

"Yes! Yes! It's just that the royal carriage is noble. Otherwise, I ride behind it?..."

Director Nuno ignored him and got on the carriage. Bruno stayed for a few breaths. His wife looked at him uneasily and reached out to hold his hand. Bruno shook his head, gently pulled out his hand, and asked his wife to go back. Then, he gritted his teeth, suppressed the panic in his heart, and got into the royal carriage that he had never entered.

"Da da!…"

The four-wheeled carriage turned around and headed steadily towards the Sintra Palace. Nuno, the old god in charge, was there with his eyes lowered, as if he was asleep. But Bruno was like an ant on a hot pot, only daring to sit on half of his butt. He glanced at Director Nuno from time to time, wanting to say something, but the other person kept his eyes closed and didn't look at him. After a while, he summoned up the courage and whispered respectfully.

"God bless you! Dear...respected Director Nuno, I don't know...your majesty suddenly summoned me...do you have any important instructions?..."

"Oh... His Majesty's order is of course important. As for what it is... it has to do with the Columbus fleet at the previous port. You will naturally know it after meeting His Majesty..."

Director Nuno looked calm, said a few words briefly, and closed his eyes again. Seeing this attitude of the royal supervisor, Bruno's fear not only did not lessen, but intensified. What kind of big event can happen to him, an ordinary royal knight, and he has to use the royal carriage to pick it up directly? Could it be that the goods he carried earlier...

"Da da!…"

The carriage continued to move forward, and the carriage was silent as if sleeping. Seeing it, the Sintra Palace appeared in the sky, and the shadows of evening gradually enveloped the east... Bruno's uneasiness finally broke through everything. He gritted his teeth, knelt down in the narrow carriage, and bowed humbly to Supervisor Nuno on the other side.

"Dear Director Nuno! The King is summoning you soon... Please give me some advice!..."

"Oh? Can you give me some advice?..."

Seeing Bruno kneeling down, Director Nuno finally had a smile on his face. He knocked on the window twice, and the speed of the carriage suddenly slowed down, and the not-so-distant Sintra Palace suddenly seemed far away.

"Bruno...do you know...what did you commit?..."

"Ah! Did I commit a crime?...Respect Director Nuno, I have always been loyal to the royal family and worked diligently..."

"Forget it, since you don't want to say it, I won't force it... let's go! His Majesty is waiting..."

Director Nuno's expression turned cold and he closed his eyes again. Bruno felt as if he had fallen into an ice cave and quickly hugged Director Nuno's leg. He stammered as he explained, trying to remember his mistake.

"Nu... Director Nuno... I... committed something... I committed something!... I... the ship of Columbus in the port... I took my brothers, together with the other two ships, to plunder the property on the ship?... I took it away The small bag of gold in the captain's box...I will hand it over to the kingdom right now..."

"Hmm...what else?"

"More...more?...I...I didn't..."

"When I came here today... I saw the carriage of the Venetian Chamber of Commerce... leaving your house... Bruno, you actually colluded with the Venetians and betrayed the interests of the kingdom?!..."

Director Nuno stared deeply into Bruno's eyes and spoke quietly, his voice suddenly stern. Bruno suddenly trembled, his whole body shaking with fear, and a layer of cold sweat broke out on his back!

"Ah! Ah this?... Lord Nuno... I... I did not betray the interests of the kingdom... I swear to the Lord! I just... sold... sold some... private goods from the Southern Continent... I just wanted to earn some gold coins... Lord ! I know I was wrong! I am really wrong! I will hand over all the private trade money to you!..."

Bruno was so frightened that he hugged Supervisor Nuno's leg and looked miserable as he cried. Nuno frowned and knocked on the lathe again, and the carriage stopped completely.

"Tell me! How much have you done in private trade over the years, and how much have you earned?"

"Lord Nuno...I...I have only returned from the Southern Continent three or four times in the past few years...each time I only brought one cabin's worth of goods...no precious ivory, gemstones, gold...mainly inconspicuous spices, pepper, black pepper , and some beeswax and fragrant wood... sell it to the Venice Chamber of Commerce, and they charge a 20% increase, and the money earned is shared among the brothers on the ship... It's not just our ship, almost all the captains do this! "

In the carriage, Director Nuno squinted his eyes as he listened to Bruno stuttering as he explained all the private trades over the years. As he listened, his brows raised again. The value of the goods brought back from the maritime trade in the Southern Continent was so high that even if it was just a small amount of private trade, the wealth flowing out of it would be hundreds or thousands of gold ducats... Even a royal supervisor like him, who was not short of money, was a little worried. Heartbeat.

It's just that the implication of carrying goods and then selling them secretly is too wide, and it has long been an unspoken rule among the kingdom's maritime nobles. His Majesty Joao must be well aware of this and can only acquiesce as long as he does not go too far. At the moment, he is just trying to intimidate the ignorant Bruno, but he will never really open up this layer of window paper and offend all the maritime nobles in the kingdom at once.

"O Lord! In just a few years, you have been greedy so much? Bruno, do you know this number, how many times can you be hanged during the royal trial?!..."

"Ah! Lord Nuno, I was wrong! I never dare to do it again! My loyalty to His Majesty and to the kingdom is truly more real than gold!..."

"Um…"

After grasping Bruno's hand, Director Nuno looked at him carefully for a while, and saw that the other person was full of runny nose and tears. He was really scared... Then he spoke leisurely and turned the conversation to the main topic.

"Bruno, you traveled around the southern continent, experienced the devil's curse, and brought back boatloads of wealth to the kingdom... Your loyalty to His Majesty and your loyalty to the Kingdom are also seen by His Majesty... If you don't have any wealth, as long as you It’s not too much, but you can’t make a big mistake!”

"What is a big mistake? Collaborating with the Castilians and Venetians and leaking the secrets of the kingdom is a big mistake that deserves the death penalty!... Especially next, the king will summon you and give you a crucial task: according to the navigation records on Columbus's ship, explore a new route to the west and find the native kingdom on that big island that is connected to the East..."

"This is a matter of vital importance to the kingdom, and it is also a kingdom secret that must not be leaked!... Since I recommended you to His Majesty, I value your ability and loyalty! I regard you as a talent worth cultivating... Hmm? No need to salute, no need to kowtow... What? Give me half of the private trade? What nonsense are you talking about! How can I take... 70%? Hmm..."

"Haha! Bruno, you are good! Know how to be grateful, There will be the blessing of God! ... As long as you can come back alive from the Atlantic Ocean and bring back information about the new route... His Majesty's reward and the kingdom's reward will not be less! ... Even if it is the title of baron, I will fight for you to get a chance to go further... Of course, the premise is that you must find that big island and complete His Majesty's navigation mission! ..."

"Go! Meet His Majesty! Be honest and respectful. Answer His Majesty's questions truthfully, don't hide anything, you can't hide it... His Majesty is an extremely rational monarch. As long as you are useful to him, he will use you, and he won't care about your background! ... Bruno, you must remember that your greatest use is your experience and skills in navigation, so you must hold on to it! ..."

The four-wheeled carriage slowly drove into the Sintra Palace. The king's guards led Bruno to the hall under the night, which looked like a dangerous nest. After an hour of audience, Bruno lowered his head and retreated in sweat. At this moment, he already had a logbook and interrogation records of more than a dozen crew members in his hands.

And a life-or-death mission had weighed heavily on his shoulders. At this moment, he was worried, looking at the dark night sky, like standing on thin ice, staring into the abyss of the seabed.