Chapter 510
Truman Trujillo was one of Xander’s men, following him in battles in the south and north. He was Xander’s right-hand man. Truman was forthright and, although he was Xander’s subordinate, he was like a brother to him.
Two bottles of wine and a few side dishes were already on the table. Xander’s face darkened, and he sat down in the opposite chair. He grabbed a wine pot, poured himself a glass of wine, and said sullenly, “What nonsense! We are doing very well. How can you say I’m angry?”
Truman raised his eyebrows, moved closer, and winked, “That’s right. You’re wise and mighty, so how could you be henpecked?”
Looking at his fearless appearance, Xander glared at him coldly. He suddenly regretted asking this guy out for a drink. He picked up his glass and drank it all in one gulp, stubbornly saying, “I think there are many things happening recently, and I asked you out to discuss military affairs.”
“It’s good to talk about military affairs…” Truman’s smile was very meaningful.
Xander kicked him. “Are you drinking or not?”
“Of course.” Truman hurriedly poured a glass of wine and drank it all in one gulp.
After a few glasses of wine, Xander frowned. The position where he and Truman sat was in the supreme room. Looking down from downstairs, they could have a panoramic view of the hall. Today, the Star Pavilion invited dancers to dance, and all the guests in the hall were watching with great interest. Truman stared excitedly, throwing silver on the stage vigorously. The dancers, seeing silver coins rain onto the stage, moved with even greater fervor. They shook their slender waists, and they flirted until their faces were red.
Xander only glanced at it indifferently before withdrawing his gaze. He picked up his wine glass and took a sip, but the mellowness of the wine couldn’t suppress the awkwardness in his heart.
“The captured slaves should also be properly settled. What kind of system is it to sell them to the Star Pavilion for people to enjoy?”
“Hey, Your Highness is being too serious!” Truman waved his hand dismissively, picked up a peanut, and threw it into his mouth. He said, “The women live by singing and dancing. Selling them to the Star Pavilion can at least provide them with pasta to eat, which is better than starving to death. Besides, this dance is so new. It’s the first time I’ve seen it in Pidence City!” As he spoke, he also raised his eyebrows at a woman downstairs, attracting her to look up, her eyes full of charm.
Xander frowned, and the coffee in his hand no longer tasted good. If Athena knew he came to this kind of place, he probably wouldn’t be able to return to the mansion in the future. He picked up his glass, finished the rest of his wine, and got up to tidy his clothes.
Xander said, “If you want to stay here and watch, please do so. I’m going back to the manor.”
“Hey! You’re leaving now?” Truman stood up quickly, “We haven’t talked about military affairs yet!”
“We’ll talk about it at the morning court tomorrow,” Xander said.
He walked downstairs without looking back, but as soon as he reached the bottom of the stairs, those women twirled their steps and came to him. Seven or eight women smiled at him flatteringly, swaying their waists. Some of the bolder ones even stepped forward to touch Xander’s chest. Ansel was so scared that he hurried forward to push the women away. “How dare you? Stop this impudence.”
The women were not afraid, but danced even faster. As slaves, they could not help themselves. If they could be favored by a rich young master, it would be a way out for them. Xander looked rich and noble, so he became their target.
When he saw that they were being outrageous, Ansel’s face turned cold, and he said, “Get out of here.”
Seeing that both of them had cold faces, the women hurriedly made way. However, just as Xander was walking out, a scream came from behind him. A thug was seen waving a whip and hitting the women.
The whip came whistling, and the women’s thin gauze clothes were torn apart. Dark red bloody welts snaked down their fair backs. They curled up on the ground in pain, not even daring to cry out loudly, only making small whimpers, looking extremely pitiful. The thug wanted to wave the whip again, muttering and cursing. “You worthless wenches. You don’t even dare to hand wine to the master. What use are you!”
It turned out that the girl had been pushed forward by her companion, wanting to offer Xander a glass of wine for a chance. But because of her timidity, she annoyed the manager of Star Pavilion, who sent thugs to teach her a lesson.
“Stop it!” Xander turned abruptly, his eyes falling on the bloodstains on the girl’s back, and his brows furrowed even tighter. The thug’s whip froze in mid-air, and when he saw Xander return, he quickly put on a flattering smile. “Your Grace, please forgive me. I am just acting according to the manager’s instructions.”
“The manager’s instructions?” Xander took two steps forward, looking down at him. “I want to ask, who gave you the courage to whip the people at will in Pidence City? Even if they are slaves, it is not your turn to impose private punishments!”
The thug was almost scared to pee when he heard his words. He only noticed that Xander was dressed in luxury, but he never imagined his status would be so noble. “Your Highness, please forgive me…” The thug was extremely frightened and begged for mercy repeatedly.
Ansel stepped forward, snatched the whip from the thug’s hand, and slammed it to the ground. “Hurry up and call your manager over here. How dare you carry out a private execution in front of Your Highness? Does the Star Pavilion not want to stay open?” Ansel said.
The young masters in the hall were so frightened by the scene that they fell silent. Truman also came out of the private room and stepped forward to say, “Your Highness, don’t bother with these servants. I’ll have someone call the manager over for questioning.”
Before Truman could send someone, the manager of Star Pavilion came running over in a panic. Seeing the thug kneeling on the ground and the injured girl, and looking at Xander’s icy face, his legs immediately went weak. “Your Highness, spare me! It’s because I didn’t discipline them strictly enough. I will take this lowly girl down to be healed, and I will never dare to do it again!”
Xander’s gaze swept over the girls. Each of them had a pale face, and their eyes were full of fear. A look of pity flashed in his eyes. “From this day on, you are no longer allowed to whip these women, nor are you allowed to force them to drink and dance. If I ever find out that you are mistreating them again, then the Star Pavilion will no longer need to be open.”
The supervisor kowtowed repeatedly, “Yes, I’ve remembered it. I will definitely treat them kindly in the future, and I will never dare to mistreat them again.” As he spoke, he asked people to quickly help the injured women down to heal their injuries.
Xander didn’t say anything more and turned to look at Ansel. “Let’s go back to the manor.”
Among the women, there was a woman in blue who quietly glanced at Xander. A look of gratitude appeared on her face. As slaves, they had never been seen as human beings. Only Xander reached out to help them.
I wonder, which Prince is he? the woman thought.
Feeling uneasy, she heard the manager of Star Pavilion scolding the thugs. “Can you guys use your brains in the future? Our Prince Regent is famous for spoiling his wife. You beat these women in front of him today. No wonder he’s angry.”
The thugs looked at each other, all with horrified expressions. The blue-clothed woman’s eyelashes fluttered slightly, and a bit of tenderness appeared in her eyes. “So, he is Xander."
Xander came out of Star Pavilion, and the servant handed him the pastries. “Your Highness, the cakes are ready."
“Okay." Xander touched it with his hand, and it was still warm. In a good mood, he rewarded the servant with a silver coin.
After returning to the mansion, he glanced at Athena’s courtyard, and the lights were still on. Xander, carrying the pastries, was about to walk inside, but Marquita came out and stopped him. “Your Highness, the Princess Consort has already fallen asleep.”
“Asleep?” Xander looked surprised. He was about to say that the lights were still on inside, but then they went out. He looked stunned, and Marquita unceremoniously closed the courtyard door and kicked him out.
Standing at the door for a while, Xander couldn’t figure out where things had gone wrong. A soft voice came from above. “Your Highness, do you find the foreign concubines attractive?”
Ansel looked closely and saw Jessa sitting on the roof, gazing down at them with a smile that carried more secrets than mirth.