Chapter 801
Chapter 801
After finishing his milk bath, Shen Lang entered another large bathtub. It was filled with flower petals, and after bathing in it, a rich fragrance emanated from his body. Finally, after he was thoroughly cleansed, the female slaves used the softest towels to gently dry his entire body. That wasn't all. They then brought out exquisite tools to trim his fingernails and toenails, cleanly shaved the stubble on his face, and styled his hair into a very handsome coiffure. Lastly, they dressed him in a light, soft robe. Shen Lang had lived a rather luxurious life, but never to this extent. This wasn't merely enjoying wealth and splendor; it was unbridled extravagance.
Next, a dozen female slaves brought in food, filling an entire table with a variety of delicious dishes. After the main courses, a dozen kinds of fruit were served, followed by a dozen different fine wines. A meal that would have been too much for ten people was served to Shen Lang alone.
Taking up a knife and fork, Shen Lang sampled the food with a practiced air. It was indeed delicious. Whether it was deer ribs, ham, fish roe paste, or the finest sturgeon caviar, Shen Lang took a few extra bites of what he liked and merely touched what he didn't. After he had eaten his fill, a female slave helped him rinse his mouth, and then all the food on the table was taken away and discarded.
That's right. They were that wasteful. Was it because they were disgusted by the fact that Shen Lang had eaten from it? No. The master of the castle certainly wouldn't want to eat leftovers, and the slaves weren't worthy of such fine food, so it all had to be thrown away. A female slave brewed a pot of tea and poured a cup for Shen Lang, who was sitting at the table. This was the most Eastern thing he had encountered all day.
“Good night!”
The fair-skinned female slave said to Shen Lang before leading the other slaves out of the room. She spoke Latin, so he could understand her, but he couldn't understand the words of the other, darker-skinned female slaves.
***
Shen Lang was left alone in the lavish and splendid room. He was replaying all the events that had transpired. It all felt too fantastical. Someone had spent three thousand gold coins to buy him, yet demanded nothing in return, treating him with such extravagance. The treatment Shen Lang received today was at least comparable to that of a king. What would happen next? Would the master of this city now enter the room and expect him to attend to them in bed? Even if that was the purpose, wasn't the price they paid a bit too high? Was the master of this city looking for a male plaything, or were they planning to worship him like an ancestor? But who exactly was the master of this city? What kind of person were they?
***
This was a multi-room suite, complete with a separate study. Shen Lang discovered a map and, overcome with unexpected joy, rushed over to examine it. He saw that the name of this city was Azuregold. Of course, that was just a name he'd translated on the fly; the original was a very long name meaning "City of Azure Waves and Gold." Thus, this map must show the territory of the city-state of Azuregold. Indeed, there was a vast territory outside the city. Shen Lang roughly estimated the city-state's total area to be about one hundred and fifty thousand square kilometers, equivalent to a province in the State of Yue. This meant the master of the castle possessed an entire province. Of course, that wasn't the main point. The important thing was that this person controlled this city of trade and was immensely wealthy.
Shen Lang couldn't glean any more information from the map. There was nothing else drawn on it. There was also a bookshelf in the room, filled with many fine books written entirely in Latin. Shen Lang felt another surge of unexpected joy and quickly pulled out a book to read, only to be slightly disappointed. He found that the books only contained introductions to the glorious history of the Rousseau family.
This Azuregold City and the entire Azure Wave Province belonged to the Rousseau family, and the current title of this family was Duke. Shen Lang briefly read through the family's history and found that they had long pledged allegiance to the Seilun Kingdom. For a time, the family had also been an independent principality. Looking into the Seilun Dynasty, he saw that it had once been an immense empire, much like the Great Yan Dynasty, composed of dozens of nations. Unfortunately, the current Seilun Dynasty was fractured and did not wield the same formidable power as the Great Yan Empire.
Shen Lang quickly flipped through the book. The family's history spanned over four hundred years, and the books recording it amounted to dozens of volumes. He immediately found the last volume. It was very new, and even smelled of fresh ink as if it had just been bound. Inside that book, Shen Lang discovered a crucial piece of information. The current Rousseau family pledged allegiance to the Witch Empire. The Witch Empire? What a strange name. Could it have something to do with Qiu Yao'er? Such a melodramatic name certainly sounded like something Qiu Yao'er would come up with. Shen Lang tried to look for information about the Witch Empire, but the following pages had been burned. It wasn't an accident; the relevant section had been deliberately and cleanly removed by fire. What did this mean? Why burn it? Did they refuse to acknowledge this part of their history? Or had the family changed its allegiance?
Shen Lang continued to flip through the earlier parts of the book but found nothing else of note. The Rousseau family and Azuregold City were almost inextricably linked with the Seilun Dynasty. To speak of the Rousseau family's history was essentially to speak of the rise and fall of the Seilun Dynasty. The First Seilun Empire, the Second Seilun Empire, the Third Seilun Empire—from these names, it was clear that the Seilun Kingdom had fallen and been rebuilt several times. Similar to how the Roman Empire existed as the Eastern Roman Empire and the Holy Roman Empire.
The current Third Seilun Empire was barely holding on, having suffered a major blow from the Witch Empire. Shen Lang wanted to know the extent of the Witch Empire's territory and searched everywhere, but its borders were constantly changing, which was very confusing. However, it was clear that the Witch Empire's territory was vast. It seemed to be at least several million square kilometers, but he couldn't be certain. After reading the books in depth, Shen Lang realized that the Rousseau family harbored great animosity toward the Witch Empire. Although they currently claimed allegiance to the Witch Empire, the very name of the empire was anything but normal. Shen Lang tried to read more about this Witch Empire, but all the relevant material had been burned. It was clear that the Rousseau family had intentionally tried to erase all records concerning the Witch Empire.
Next, Shen Lang began to look into the successive masters of the Rousseau family. The master of Azuregold City of the latest generation, the sovereign of the Azure Wave Principality, was indeed a woman. Her name was Diphas Rousseau. Her titles were exceedingly long, including things like "Born with Gold in Her Mouth," "Ruler of the Tides," "Princess of Azure Wave," and so on. In any case, according to this book, Grand Duchess Diphas was an extraordinary person. Unparalleled beauty, formidable martial prowess, holy and noble, blah blah blah—Shen Lang skimmed past these descriptions. Westerners seemed to enjoy boasting more than Easterners. The Eastern dynasties praised their rulers with subtlety. However, comparing the two, he could find more valuable information from this side.
Grand Duchess Diphas had been married, but her husband later died, leaving her a widow. She was thirty-one years old this year. Shen Lang managed to find a portrait of the Grand Duchess, depicted in armor, but he didn't pay it much mind. The portrait was too impressionistic; he couldn't make out her features at all. Nevertheless, Shen Lang had managed to gather some information about her.
Grand Duchess Diphas possessed a territory of one hundred and fifty thousand square kilometers and had pledged allegiance to the Seilun Dynasty. She later came to pledge allegiance to the Witch Empire, but inwardly harbored hostility toward it. Moreover, she was the wealthiest and most powerful widow in this region. This was because Azuregold City was one of the major centers of trade in the Western world.
The three thousand gold coins the family had spent to buy Shen Lang was an astronomical sum to others, but to the Grand Duchess, it was a paltry amount. Her wealth was enough to make Shen Lang drool. So, why did she want to buy a handsome man from the Eastern world? For her own pleasure? Was Shen Lang the only one she had bought?
Based solely on the available information, it seemed she had bought a handsome male plaything to serve her. However, these books described the Grand Duchess's private life as exceedingly virtuous. Other than her one husband, she had never remarried. Of course, since these books were produced by the family itself, they were bound to be extremely flattering. They could portray even a promiscuous woman as a virtuous fairy. So, could a situation like this be about to unfold? Shen Lang, bathed clean and wrapped in a bedsheet, being sent to some resplendent palace for the Grand Duchess's enjoyment. Or perhaps the door would suddenly burst open, and the Grand Duchess would rush in to ravish him?
***
But for several days, nothing happened. Shen Lang continued to live a life comparable to a king's, enjoying every luxury, yet his captor demanded nothing of him. The only thing he lacked was freedom. The moment he tried to step out the door, he was immediately stopped by two guards. Shen Lang never once saw Grand Duchess Diphas, and no one spoke to him. The only words he ever heard were from the head female slave, wishing him "Good night."
Shen Lang was like a canary in a gilded cage. Even the middle-aged eunuch he first met never came to see him. During that time, Shen Lang read *The History of the Rousseau Family* over and over. Three days passed, then five, and soon, half a month had gone by.
He remained in the magnificent suite, unable to take a single step outside, like a canary raised in a cage. He requested more books to read, but received no response. However, Shen Lang sensed that Grand Duchess Diphas was not in the castle, perhaps not even in Azuregold City. He was a very perceptive person and could tell the difference between a castle with its master present and one without.
But right now, Shen Lang's greatest interest was not Grand Duchess Diphas, but the Witch Empire. He desperately wanted to know if this Witch Empire had any connection to Qiu Yao'er. Furthermore, standing on the balcony, Shen Lang noticed a tense atmosphere pervading the city. Every day, slave ships arrived at the coast, and group after group of able-bodied black slaves were brought into the city, seemingly to be trained as soldiers. Shen Lang had already seen countless fully armed slave troops. An army of tens of thousands of slaves was still growing endlessly.
So, what did Grand Duchess Diphas want? Was she planning to rebel against the rule of the Witch Empire?