[Infrastructure] After being mistaken for a god

Herod only heard a delicate "Lord Herod", and "Miss Ishtar" who came all the way from the countryside of Uruk had already stretched out her skirt and ran to him with her long legs.

Herod could only feel that the brightly colored decorations on her dress and the snow-white skin on her round shoulders were all dangling in front of her eyes.Herod only glanced at it, and turned his head away to look elsewhere—it seemed that one more glance would affect his always cold heart.

"Master Herod, long time no see!" the woman greeted sweetly.

"What, are you staying at the hotel too?" Yinan asked knowingly.

Herod's face darkened when he heard the words, he snorted, and said, "I saw your property purchase documents, so I came to say hello."

Earlier, when Yinan bought a house and land, he signed a contract with the seller and filed it with the government.After the clay tablet is fired, it will be sent to the royal ceremony officer for review, and then archived.

Herod had a photographic memory, so he naturally knew that the girl from Uruk who dared to wait for the king to appear along the road had already arrived in Babylon.

Of course he knew why this girl came to Babylon—the one who wanted to compete with this girl was the wife of his colleague Gugalana...the former wife.

Immediately he felt irritated, and he went out to walk around at will to relax, but he asked questions from hotel to hotel in the city inexplicably.When asked about this room, the shopkeeper nodded: indeed, there is a "distinguished Miss Avelu" from Uruk who stayed here, but she is not in the shop now.

The shopkeeper asked Herod if he had any message to leave, and Herod shook his head, turned around and left.Unexpectedly, it was such a coincidence that he ran into this woman face to face at the entrance of the hotel.

It would be fine if he didn't meet her face to face—once he saw Ishtar, Herod immediately understood why palla costumes suddenly became popular in Babylon.Pala costumes were originally Sumerian costumes, which were originally only popular in the Uruk area.

The popularity of Pala suits in the whole city can only be because the woman in front of me, with her own power, has aroused the whole city's obsession with Pala suits.

She is indeed beautiful, so beautiful that she is aggressive; but her actions are indeed stupid, a hundred times stupider than when she first saw her in Uruk - Herod thought so, and couldn't help saying to the woman in front of him: " Miss Ishta, since we met, please take a step and say a few words."

Yi Nan rolled his eyes: "Okay!"

She remembered Herod's "borrowed step" speech, that is, some "straightforward" and undisguised words, but it was inconvenient for others to hear.

Sure enough, Herod turned around and walked towards an atrium in the hotel where travelers could meet and rest. He walked straight diagonally, walked to the opposite corner, faced the wall, and waited with his hands behind his back.

Yinan gestured to Apu and the others, asking them to stay outside the courtyard, walk behind Herod alone, and asked softly, "Master Herod, what do you want to say to me?"

Little did he know, there was already a fire in Herod's heart.He turned around suddenly and blurted out: "You..."

You stupid woman, stupid woman, where did all your cleverness go last year?

Knowing that you have been calculated by others, are you still here happily helping the count to earn family property?

But the moment he turned his head, a pretty figure fell into his eyes. A pair of big bright eyes were looking at him, looking at him with exploration and curiosity... Herod's words were immediately blocked in his throat, and his eyes Eyes fixed, unable to move away.

In that pair of eyes, he seemed to sink in immediately.It's not that he doesn't want to struggle, but once he struggles, his heart hurts slightly.

This woman...is really terrible!

After a while, Herod turned his eyes away, and said hard-heartedly, "I think you already know about the dispute between Lingjie and you."

The other party nodded obediently: "Understood."

Herod's heart was filled with ignorance again: "Since you already know, once you arrive in Babylon, why don't you go to the royal court to complain first?"

"Since you know that someone is coveting your property, why do you rush to buy real estate as soon as you arrive here? Haven't you ever thought that these may fall into other people's pockets in the future?"

The woman opposite him suddenly opened her eyes wide in panic, and asked tremblingly, "Why?"

She was surprised, and then asked: "Master Herod, you have read my inheritance documents. When I inherited my parents' inheritance, I was the only unmarried daughter. How could this be wrong? My sister was married long ago. Others, how could the court officials of the royal family award the property to her?"

She suddenly stretched out her hand, grabbed the black robe on Herod's chest, and looked at him sincerely: "Aren't you the official of the royal family? Respected Lord Herod, it is King Hammurabi who rules the Kingdom of Babylon The cornerstone of the world, and you, you are also the one who is ordered to protect justice, aren't you?"

"Should I not trust you, in justice?" she asked hopefully.

Herod originally wanted to teach her countless things, but when he was blocked by the hopeful eyes in front of him, he couldn't speak immediately.

Ordinarily, it should indeed be as she said, Miss Ishta's property was obtained legitimately, and there should be no disputes.When she came to Babylon, she was supposed to do whatever she wanted, and whatever she did was right.

However, according to his understanding of Gujialana's couple, once this game is settled, it means that the couple has already cleared all the barriers and is ready for all responses—even for the money, the couple It is possible not to recognize the marriage of more than ten years, and not to recognize the child they had together...

Herod gently pulled his black robe out of the opponent's hand, and said flatly, "You should have some refreshments!"

"This complaint is out of my control."

Gu Jialan probably knew that Herod was an unselfish person, and many things that could be accommodated by others could not be accommodated by him.So the Gujarana couple deliberately took the path of someone else, who had a higher status than Herod, and if Herod couldn't intervene, he couldn't.

For some reason, at this moment, Herod narrowed his eyes, and he didn't even dare to look into the eyes of the woman in front of him.

In the back of his mind, he was ashamed of his powerlessness—

He is willing to believe in the existence of "justice", but where does it exist?

Is it the will of God?Marduk, the god of Jupiter, opened his eyes occasionally, and punished evil and promoted good when he thought of it-so what should he do when the god closes his eyes?

Or is it the king's responsibility?King Hammurabi of Babylon has repeatedly emphasized in recent years that his kingdom needs justice and fairness in order to make his kingdom as solid as a rock—but the king’s energy is limited, and he assigns all affairs to officials for management. Different behaviors will inevitably produce differences.

"Anyway, you want some snacks."

What Herod can do is actually only this: remind the silly Baitian in front of her, let her use her brain, at least stop helping others earn money, and think about herself.

Miss Ishta in front of him let go of his black robe, folded the ten fingertips of both hands together, and twisted each other, as if she finally started to think about this matter.

Suddenly she asked Herod, "What happens if my sister succeeds in her complaint?"

Herod said with a sneer, "She will take all the property that is in your name, everything, Valdu and Amtu on your estate, your workshop... those Babylonian properties you just bought... Miss, You will be penniless."

Yi Nan shook his head: "You misunderstood me."

"I want to ask, if my sister's complaint is successful, but by improper means, such as forging evidence, bribing the royal court officials, etc., is there any way I can appeal?"

When Herod heard her ask this, his face immediately changed, and the muscles on his face even twitched slightly, remembering something very unpleasant.But he still held back and replied: "There is a way, you can appeal directly to the king."

Yi Nan raised his eyebrows: "Oh?"

From this point of view, the current Babylonian judiciary system is divided into levels, the royal court officials represented by Herod, and the Babylonian king Hammurabi.As the highest level of the judiciary, the king can overturn the judgment of the ritual officer and preside over justice.

"So I have some hope?" she asked Herod.

"No, no, no," who knows that just now, Herod's expression was distorted, as if he absolutely didn't want to see such a scene, "If you appeal to the king, you will suffer great humiliation— —You are a woman again..."

Yinan: ...?What does the complaint have to do with her being a woman?

Herod found it hard to say: "Appeal to the king...you must pass through the 'seven gates of justice'..."

"'Seven Doors of Justice'?" Yinan was curious.

Herod would not say a word more.He lowered his head, passed by Yi Nan, and said before leaving, "I know you have no choice but to come to Babylon. But... you still shouldn't come."

He walked like the wind when he left, and he didn't even heed the innkeeper's greeting to him.

Yi Nan watched his back calmly from behind him.

Herod probably thought she was "either naive or stupid," but he didn't know that she wanted to see how the loopholes in the judicial system in this society affected justice.

In fact, she is waiting for Miss Aligal to win the case—to a certain extent, because the real "Miss Ishtar" is dead, and this family property should have been returned to Aligal, the only one of Ishtar. blood relatives.

Inan, on the other hand, is concerned about the "seven doors of justice" - according to Herod, this should be the last hope of the wronged, but why it will bring great joy to a woman who yearns for justice humiliation?

But Herod came to her, which she did not expect.

She didn't want Herod to intervene in it, after all, it would disrupt all her plans.

What she wants is precisely a fact that is extremely unfair, so that she can find out the chronic diseases of this society, and then eliminate them across the board.

It's best for you to think of me as a foolish woman who deserves to be blamed herself——Yi Nanxin said: at least at this stage, don't think about standing out for me.

After Herod reminded Yi Nan, Yi Nan still continued her previous style, going her own way.

Her shop opened grandly first: on the opening day, Abu invited all the big and famous merchants in the city of Babylon to come to support her.

In the workshop, artisans from Uruk demonstrated for the first time how glass is blown.

Seeing that the semi-solid glass was burned bright red by the fire in the kiln, slowly rotating and expanding, and turning into a round and transparent glass ball, the merchants applauded together.

Glass has been popular in Babylon for some time, but this is the first time people here have seen the "magic" scene of blowing glass, and they can't help but be impressed by the skilled craftsmen.

On the other side of the shop, glass cups carefully repaired by tinkerers are displayed.

The handle of a transparent beer glass was missing a piece, and the tinkerer melted a small piece of gold and embedded it in the gap in the handle. It was as if a piece of gold handle had been inlaid on the beer glass.The cup that was originally incomplete now seems to have been repaired seamlessly, and its value has doubled.

People in Babylon never thought that glassware could be repaired.

In the past, they only thought that this glass vessel was as fragile as pottery.

However, under the repair of skilled craftsmen, a small number of incomplete glassware can not only restore the original function, but also enhance the beauty than before, becoming a unique work of art.

The orders from the tinkerer immediately piled up like a hill.Many of the glassware that were slightly damaged, but people were reluctant to throw away, were sent to shops to be seen by tinkerers.

People are expecting him to nod—as long as he nods, it means that as long as he subsidizes a part of the material money, the vessel can be brought back to life, and its value will skyrocket.Even if you don't use it yourself, you can make a lot of money if you sell it to nobles or collectors.

From the day it opened, the only glass shop in Babylon was full of people.

The middleman Abu no longer runs around, but helps out in the shop around the clock. He is good at arithmetic and is good at bookkeeping, so he is responsible for recording orders and coordinating goods in the shop.

The orders from the shop were continuously sent to the workshop in Uruk, and the orders completed in Uruk were also shipped to Babylon every ten days, checked by Abu, and sent to Babylon's customers.

The business of the workshop must be described as "making money every day".

But all the profits were handed over to Abu and the two craftsmen by Yinan—the reason was that they were all Averu, and the money they earned would naturally be kept by them.As for the profits due to Uruk, Abu also keeps them together and sends them back to Uruk every six months.

Abu and the craftsmen looked at each other, and they all smelled something extraordinary from the young lady's words.

Valdu and Amtus, on the other hand, had no possibility of owning property.Yinan can only let them enjoy reasonable working hours, good food and living environment as much as possible.

Bo'an and the others knew that they could enjoy good treatment only with Miss Ishtar.Once the royal ceremonial officer's judgment on this "seizure" lawsuit is unfavorable to Miss Ishta, they will lose everything in front of them.

But the slaves did not have the right to control their own destiny. They could only sacrifice to the gods secretly and pray for justice before the gods.

Yi Nan even once asked Abu if he wanted to marry her maid, Apu.

Commoner Avilu can marry the slave girl Amtu, and the slave girl's children enjoy the status of Aweilu just like other people's children.

From Yinan's point of view, Abu was obviously willing, and it happened that when she said this, Apu heard her - the little girl said "Ah this", and ran away covering her face.

Yinan and Abu smiled wryly at each other. It was too early for Apu to know about "marriage", and the little girl still couldn't accept it.

This matter can only be temporarily abandoned.Yinan waited for the verdict of the royal court official on the "seizure of property" case.

One day, Yi Nan was talking with the tinkerer in the shop, when Bo An suddenly came over and said to Yi Nan, "Miss, look at the man across the road..."

Yinan's shop always keeps its door open.On the door was neatly hung an inexhaustible translucent glass bead curtain, which slightly concealed the situation in the shop.

Yi Nan walked to the door of the shop, opened the bead curtain a little bit, and saw a person across the road, a woman, a woman who was wearing a veil and did not want to show her true face.

She also wears the palla dress that has recently become popular in the city of Babylon, but her palla dress seems to have been worn when she was young, and then pressed the bottom of the suitcase.Now there are obvious strangle marks on her armpits and waist.

Even if it doesn't fit, this woman still wears the latest clothes - and nails all kinds of fancy decorations, sparkling glass beads on the clothes herself... She doesn't want to be left behind.

Yinan understood Bo An's meaning. The woman opposite should be Miss Ishtar's own sister, Miss Aligal.

Aligal should have seen her too, and the two women looked at each other for a while through the bead curtain.

But at this moment, several Babylonian merchants in luxurious clothes came along the street talking and laughing, came to the shop, and opened the beaded curtain to enter the shop.

Yi Nan hurriedly stepped aside, and when he looked out again, he saw Aligar turned around and left without looking back.

Bo An behind Yi Nan let out a long sigh.

Yi Nan guessed: Bo An should have foreseen that there is no possibility of reconciliation between Aligar and her.For the glorious status of this shop in Babylon and the wealth it brought to the shop owner, it was impossible for Aligar to stop.

Her heart sank slightly, but when she thought about it carefully, in the face of interests, human nature is like this. If you want to count on the family relationship between sisters you haven't seen in ten years, then you really overestimate the "family relationship" itself.

Just as she was thinking about it, she suddenly heard the glass craftsman cough loudly behind her, apologizing to the people around her: "Sorry, didn't I disturb everyone?"

"It's okay, it's okay!" The businessmen who came to see the excitement waved their hands one after another, but at the same time they all took a step back, as if they wanted to keep a "safe" distance.

Yi Nan hurried over to see what happened in the glass workshop, and saw that the glass craftsman had an embarrassed expression: he had just taken out the viscous glass melt from the kiln with his front foot, but when he tilted his back foot, a drop of molten glass spilled out of the crucible , just fell into a bucket of cold water at the craftsman's feet.

The bucket of cold water has just been drawn from the well, and the temperature is very low.When the hot glass fell into the water, there was a "chuck" immediately, and a burst of white steam rose from the surface of the water, which startled the craftsmen and businessmen.

Yi Nan was very concerned about what would happen to the glass that dropped into the cold water.She asked Apu to get a small net bag, stretched it on a small stick, fished it in the bucket for a long time, and finally fished it out.

This is a completely transparent drop-shaped glass, because the glass fell into the water at a very low temperature when it was completely in a liquid state, and there is a "tail" behind this "drop".

The glass was still too hot, Yinan poured it out and threw it into a pottery dish to let it cool down slowly.

On the side of the glass craftsman, he continued to demonstrate his "stunt" of blowing glass to businessmen and customers.The little "accident" just now has been forgotten by everyone.

It wasn't until all the orders were recorded and all the merchants and customers left that Yinan asked Apu to find a bigger and deeper water bucket, and then he had another bucket full of cold well water.

"Come on, just like you did just now, pour a drop of melted glass into this water." Yinan asked the glass craftsman.

The glass craftsman was taken aback, and quickly explained: He really made a mistake just now, and it wasn't intentional.If the lady wants to make a drop-shaped glass, they have their own way to make a drop-shaped glass.

Yi Nan shook her head, expressing that she just wanted the effect of "by mistake".

The glass craftsman had no choice but to try again—this time he only filled a small amount of molten glass in the crucible, and then poured all the molten glass into cold water.

It was still a "chi" sound.But this time the bucket was very deep, and the glass melt poured in formed a long and thin tail—if the "accident" earlier looked like a tadpole, this time it was a bit like a tadpole. Little snake with a big head.

Yi Nan was very satisfied with this, she took out the newly made "glass" with a smile on her face and let it cool.

At the same time, she urged someone to replace two buckets of cold water so that the glass craftsman could "continue his performance."

Now no one understood, the glass craftsman scratched his head for a long time, staring at Yi Nan's "little snake" cooling in the pottery plate, thinking that the shape of this thing is so ugly, why does the lady seem to be haunted by a demon? Yes, again and again, asking him to make this kind of thing.

Yi Nan knew that he didn't understand, so he smiled and said, "I'm sorry, it's just a little bit of my personal interest—it's really not very pretty."

Yi Nan said while pointing to the transparent glass "Little Snake" that had gradually cooled after being taken out of the cold water.

"But it's very special." Yi Nan stretched out her hand to try it out, and felt that the temperature was already bearable, so she took out the drop-shaped end of the glass, squeezed it vigorously with her right thumb and index finger——

no change.

Both the craftsman and Apu were baffled: glass is like this, how can the lady crush it with just her fingers?

Yi Nan sighed in her heart, thinking that she had hidden her power for too long, so that all the close people around her were deceived.

Just now she used [-]% of her strength to pinch this piece of glass - even if it was changed to bronze or iron, she could still squeeze out fingerprints in her hands.

But the glass remained unchanged.

Yi Nan smiled and thought: Then I have to use another method to show you!

So she kept saying: "Don't get too close to me, and don't blink!"

The craftsman and Apu hurriedly took half a step back, watching Yi Nan stretch out his hand and pinch the tail of the glass snake gently: with a soft "clang", the whole glass suddenly shattered into powdery pieces. The pottery dish used to hold this thing now holds a piece of white powder.

"what--"

"oops--"

"Like a magic trick!"

The onlookers finally realized the strangeness of this thing.

"Miss, what on earth is this!" asked Apu, who was outspoken.

"Why is this happening?" The glass craftsman opened his eyes wide, still trying to understand the reason behind it.

Yinan thought: The first question is easy to answer, but the second question is a bit difficult to explain clearly.

So she selectively only answered Apu's question: "It's called 'Rupert's Tears'."