[Infrastructure] After being mistaken for a god

Herod had a residence near the royal palace in Babylon.It was built by the royal family for the residence of Mushchinnu who served the royal family.

In recent years, due to their attachment to the royal family, the Mushchinnu have improved in status and financial resources.After many people got married and started families, they moved out of the “single dormitory” near the palace and lived in the more convenient and lively city of Babylon.

Herod's neighbors were empty houses.His own house was also like an empty house, empty and spotless.

But to Inan's surprise, as soon as she entered the room with Herod, she heard a voice on the window sill shouting, "Herod! Herod!"

She followed the sound, and there was a sound of flapping wings, and she saw a large budgerigar on the window sill, flapping its wings at Herod and Inan.

Obviously, the parrot's wing was seriously injured, it looked like it was cut off, and it gradually recovered under careful care, but it has since lost the ability to fly stably Jumping and jumping on the window sill.

Yi Nan moved closer to look at the parrot.

Casually, she brought her right hand close to the bird's long, hard beak.

Herod frowned and reminded: "Be careful it pecks you."

But I heard the woman giggling.The parrot lowered its head and tapped Yi Nan's finger gently and gently with its beak.Yinan took the opportunity to stretch out his other hand, and gently stroked the thin feathers on the back of the parrot's neck.

Gradually the parrot stopped pecking, but shrank its head, as if enjoying Yi Nan's caress.

Herod was very surprised: this parrot had half of its wings cut off by Hammurabi's young son, and it was picked up by Herod and carefully treated, and then it slowly came back to life.So this parrot is extremely wary of strangers—although it can't fly high, it is indeed enough to pounce on it and peck randomly.

So Herod would not bring anyone to his house in leisure time.

Of course, no one would come to the house of a royal official with a cold face and a stern face all day long.

Today's visitor really opened Herod's eyes.

He didn't know, but Yinan was thinking in his heart at the moment: So everyone likes animals.

Teenage Dan had a cat;

Dumuzi had a shepherd dog;

Gilgamesh had Hakesh the lion cub;

Herod... had a parrot.

"The humble house is poor, I have wronged Miss Ishtar." Herod apologized to Inan solemnly.

"Please follow me to see if the resting place suits you."

He actually led Yi Nan to his bedroom——

This is a minimalist bedroom.

There is only one bed in the room: a wool blanket is neatly spread on the bed, and the blanket has no wrinkles at all.

Beside the bed was a low table, on which stood a pottery oil lamp and a pottery cup for drinking.The oil lamps and pottery cups are of the original clay color.

This house looks like no one has ever lived in it.

Yi Nan looked around the room and asked curiously, "If I occupy the magpie's nest and your bedroom, where will you live?"

Herod casually pointed to a door opposite: "There—"

"It leads to the royal clay tablet warehouse, where all the clay tablets in the history of the Babylonian kingdom are stored. I often go there at night to read the clay tablets all night, more than I spend at home."

"So you don't need to say 'the dove occupies the magpie's nest'." Herod replied very calmly.

"Thank you! You gave me a place to stay." Inan smiled at Herod, "But I still can't live here for a long time, can I?"

A sudden impulse surged up in Herod's heart, and he almost blurted out: "You can."

If you want, you can-

Although you have lost a lot, I, Herod, am willing to spend the rest of my life to support you——

If you want, marry me such a... Mushchenu.

But Herod held back.He is not a person who can let his feelings dictate his words and actions - and it is probably the most indecent and shameless way to mention this kind of thing at this time.

"I know you don't like me asking, but I still really want to ask about the 'Seven Doors of Justice'."

——The Seven Doors of Justice?

Herod was stunned: since the last time he had seen this woman in the inn, he could not help but tremble at the thought of Miss Ishtar standing at the Seven Doors of Justice.

"Accordingly, shouldn't this be the only way for people like me, who have suffered injustice and injustice, to seek justice independently?"

Herod was speechless.

"Besides, what is the difference between the 'Seven Doors of Justice' for men and women? Why is this road more terrifying for women? Why does my sister say that I am 'disgraceful' if I go there? And me?"

Herod looked into the other person's eyes and knew that Miss Ishtar, who had come all the way, really didn't know about the "seven doors of justice".

So he nodded and gestured: "Okay then, let me... tell you."

After hearing Herod's words, Inan also widened his eyes in surprise: "So amazing?!"

She was well-informed in ancient times, and it was the first time she heard such an "amazing news".

This "Seven Doors of Justice", indeed, as the name suggests, has seven doors.To be precise, this is a road leading to the royal palace of Babylon, and there are people on duty at ordinary times. These people are commonly called "gatekeepers".

Outsiders who wanted to go to the palace along this road to see Hammurabi, king of Babylon, had to get the consent of the gatekeeper.

And the gatekeepers at each gate along the way will take this opportunity to collect bribes from those who come:

"At the first gate, the gatekeeper will take the tiara from your head;"

"At the second gate, the gatekeeper will take the earrings from your ears;"

"At the third gate, the gatekeeper will take the necklace from your neck;"

"At the fourth gate, the gatekeeper will take the pectoral from your breast;"

"At the fifth gate, the gatekeeper will take the girdle from your waist;"

"At the sixth gate, the gatekeeper will take your bracelet and anklet..."

When Herod was talking, Inan was listening to him while looking at the various jewelry he was wearing.

According to her observation, the Sumerians...the people who lived in the big city of Babylon all dressed themselves in this way.

This means... to walk through this "seven gates", you have to dedicate all the jewelry you wear on your body to these "gatekeepers"?

"At the seventh gate, the gatekeeper will...will take all your clothes..."

When he said this, Herod lowered his head, not daring to look into Inan's eyes at all.

Yi Nan's eyebrows twitched: So it's because of this.

No wonder Aligal thought this was a great shame, a shame to the whole family—people who walked out of the "seven doors" were almost equivalent to social death.

Because of this, even if someone has been wronged, if they don't have enough financial resources to bear the loss of so much property, they will naturally not seek justice through the "Seven Doors of Justice".

In addition to the loss of property, there is also the mental harm to consider—it is really not something that ordinary people can bear for an adult woman to expose herself in front of so many people.

People who really have wronged, even if they can come to King Hammurabi, they are naked and unobstructed—this kind of "justice" is still being talked about, and the humiliation alone is already unacceptable.

Yi Nan was still very curious: "What about men? Are men like this too?" After all, men don't wear so many jewelry when they go out, right?

Herod lowered his head and said, "Men are different. Men pass through... the gatekeeper's 'little gate' from the beginning to the end."

Yinan: ... Khan!

Emotional men will also be humiliated here, and it is a shame to your Majesty.

"You have to give them the same thing. If you don't have enough money to bribe the gatekeepers, they won't be able to approach the palace and see the king."

It turned out to be like this—Yi Nan thought, this was inconsistent with her cognition: she originally thought that people in this era, after being wronged, still have a channel to ask for justice.

In fact, this channel does not exist at all.

Inan frowned and asked Herod, "But why is this so?"

Herod was overwhelmed by her drive to "get to the bottom of it". Thinking about it carefully, it was true...

Such a "seven doors of justice" has existed for a long time, at least since Herod began to serve as royal courtier.But no one has ever thought about what it has to do with "justice".

"It is said that it is the instruction of the gods...the gods," Herod tried to recall the clay tablets he had seen, "the temple of Marduk once issued an oracle: mortals should have a way to obtain justice, but justice has a price, and they must Sacrifice to the temple for the gods who uphold justice."

Yi Nan thought: This may indeed be the reason for the formation of the "Seven Doors of Justice".

"But, has anyone really met King Hammurabi through this way?"

Herod thought for a while, finally spread his hands, and said, "Actually, I'm not even sure whether the king has ever seen anyone who came to the palace through the 'seven gates'. You know, these years, the king has not always In Wangcheng..."

The cost of this "appeal" is very high.Before the appellant can see the king, he first needs to pay a lot of financial resources, and then endure mental torture and humiliation-as long as the loss is less than these material and spiritual costs, normal people will avoid the "seven doors".

As for truly bearing the burden of humiliation and reaching the end of the "seven gates", these people may also have to face those partial and unfair royal officials who have caused them grievances because King Hammurabi is not in the palace.

The "oracle" sent down by Marduk, the god of Jupiter, has completely lost its meaning.

"It sounds like this 'Seven Doors of Justice' is really scary!" Inan said while holding his chin.

Herod looked at her and thought: . . . more than terrible.If Ishtar is really going to break through the "seven doors", then what should he do...

"By the way, what if it is a commoner who has no money... What if it is Waldu and Amtu who want to pass the 'seven gates'?"

Herod lost his voice and said, "My lady, you are so full of thoughts, what are you thinking?"

"Only Aviru and Mushchinu are eligible to pass through the 'seven doors', while Vardu and Amtu have no such qualifications at all."

Yi Nan nodded suddenly, "I understand!"

She understood: this so-called "gate of justice" was specially set up for free people, and slaves had no right to complain through this channel.

Among the free people, there are those who have money and those who have no money, those who can bear the humiliation and those who cannot bear the humiliation, those who are lucky and those who are unlucky - in the end, very few people can see King Hammurabi few.

Hammurabi himself, of course, could not understand how much power the royal officials held in the judicial system under his rule, and how much opportunity they had to use their power for personal gain.

Thinking of this, she finally had a relatively clear understanding of "judicial justice" in this era.

It's time for her to act next.

So she looked at Herod: "Master Herod, can you take me to see this 'seven gates'?"

Seeing that Herod's face began to contort, Inan quickly shook his hands and explained: "I didn't want to try to go through the 'Seven Doors', I just wanted to see it with my own eyes."

The budgerigar behind her jumped happily on the window sill twice: "Look, look!"

There are two commanding heights in the city of Babylon:

One is a temple dedicated to Marduk, the god of Jupiter; the other is the palace of Hammurabi.

Two tall buildings stand at the two ends of the city respectively.

Herod's "bachelor's quarters" were not far from Hammurabi's palace.He took Yi Nan out, and the two of them walked side by side for a short distance before arriving in front of the "Seven Doors".

This is actually an ordinary, spacious avenue leading to the palace, and cars can walk on the road.

There are low walls on both sides of the passage.Every few hundred steps, a pair of huge gate posts protruded from the low wall, and tall gate beams extended from the posts.The door beams are pasted with iron-red clay bricks, interspersed with patterns spelled out by royal blue and azure gemstones.

There are a total of seven combinations of such gateposts and gate beams - "seven gates".

The whole road is solemn and solemn, with twists and turns upward.Several palace guards - "gatekeepers" - stood in line next to each gate.

Yinan looked up at the high palace of Hammurabi - he saw that the palace was almost as high as the temple, maybe a little lower, but Hammurabi's ambition was obvious at a glance, this man must want to To rely on the "God-given" kingship to rule this large piece of land under his feet.

This "seven gates" road is just a metaphor for this "unattainable" authority.

A "gatekeeper" in the distance saw Herod and greeted him with a smile: "Lord Herod!"

"Tsk tsk tsk, it's really novel that Lord Herod has a woman by his side."

"But even if it's you...you know the rules...this road is not a place for women!" The gatekeeper glanced at the shoulders and waist that were exposed in Inanpara's suit. , laughing wickedly.

Herod's face was livid - but the gatekeeper should have been used to seeing him like this for a long time.

"Is anyone here today?" Herod asked coldly.

"Don't tell me, there really are!" One of the gatekeepers patted his bulging pockets: It should be that he has received a lot of benefits from the original people.

"Oh?" Herod raised an eyebrow.

"Now go to the back of the palace and wait, maybe you can still feast your eyes." The gatekeepers said with a playful smile.

"Yeah, we...we guys never had the chance..." They were the guards guarding the first gate, so they only had the power to snatch the headgear from their victims.Of course, judging from their joyful expressions, what they got was obviously enough to satisfy them.

Herod immediately turned around, suppressed his anger and said to Inan: "Go!"

Yi Nan followed silently.

She had thought Herod was just taking her away.Unexpectedly, Herod turned around and took her uphill from another path to the back of the palace.

"There, behind the bushes—"

Herod's eyes and ears were sharp, and he heard the movement immediately.

Yi Nan listened carefully, and sure enough, there was a sobbing sound coming from behind a row of cut-shaped hedges.

—is a woman.

Yi Nan had already imagined what happened.She clenched her fists, her face was very ugly.

She had heard the name of Hammurabi before and seen the stable society of Babylon. She never thought that it would be so difficult to obtain justice in this society.

What's more, it seems that it is even more difficult for women to obtain justice.

As for Valdu and Amtu, who have no social status, the word "justice" is simply an extravagant hope.

At this time, Herod's body moved, and Yi Nan immediately turned around, and said in a very bad voice, "What are you doing?"

But Herod took off the black robe completely, exposing his fair-skinned upper body and the half-length robe on his lower body.

He has a very good figure, with tight muscles and strong arms - this good figure is usually hidden in the black robe of the ritual officer, but it was the first time Yi Nan saw it today.

Herod stuffed the black robe into Inan's hand, and glared at her, which meant: Do you want me to go?

Yi Nan finally understood, nodded at him, held the robe, and went behind the hedge.

She half-closed her eyes and said, "I don't look, I don't look... I can't see you!"

The crying in her ears gradually died down, and the black robe in her hand was pulled away immediately, followed by the rustling of clothes.Finally a woman sobbed and said, "Thank you."

Yi Nan still kept her eyes closed, indicating that she didn't see anything.

Then she heard a howl: the woman beside her seemed to be crying out all the grievances and pains she had suffered today.

Then there was wind around her, and someone rushed past her.

Yi Nan let out a sigh of relief: at least this woman will not encounter another "community death" on the way home.

She turned from behind the hedge and came back to Herod.She was too embarrassed to stare at Herod, and could only look at the back of the woman leaving, and sighed.

She asked Herod, "Is it worth paying such a price?"

Herod said nothing, but shook his head.

But Yinan continued to ask: "But if we assume that she can really get fair treatment and a just ruling by doing so?"

Herod turned her to face him.

"In that case, I think many people will try it, because 'justice' is so important, it's a necessity in this society, isn't it?" she asked Herod.

Herod shook his head vigorously and said, "Don't even think about taking the 'seven gates' route. I won't allow it."

Do you want to watch the woman in front of you suffer the same humiliation?Herod couldn't do it.

However, the injustice she suffered was completely planned and caused by his colleagues in the royal family with the same status as him.

"I beg you, please don't try to go this route."

"You lost all your possessions, but it was never your fault, it was my fault!"

He knew that there was a marriage between Gujarana and Aligal-he condoned the falsification, and he sat by and watched it happen.

He is the accomplice to all this.

Herod suddenly became excited, and stretched out his arms to take Inan into his arms.But he forgot that he had given the robe he was wearing to someone else directly, and he had lost the barrier that could cover and block his skin.

He could clearly feel the cool skin on her shoulders and arms, so real and so clear.

He couldn't imagine that the woman in front of him was so beautiful...but she was under the eyes of those wretched men in front of the public.

It wasn't until this moment that Herod realized what a selfish and cowardly man he was.Until this moment, he felt extremely ashamed and angry because of the woman in front of him - this was his incompetence, his weakness, his blasphemy against the gods...

"Please...don't do this!"

Herod murmured, "I'll figure it out!"

Once he understood all this, he already knew that he could no longer continue in such a numb manner.

He is a Mushchinnu with low status, but at least he is a courteous officer trusted and valued by the king.He should think of a way to at least expose all of these things that are not visible, and those small groups that have colluded with interests and are rotten to the root, all exposed to the broad daylight.

"Please trust me!" Herod repeatedly asked Yinan.

Inan struggled, and broke free from Herod's arms, turning his head to look at the majestic "seven-folded gate" in the distance.Herod suddenly felt his whole heart tremble—he had never felt so humble.

This is because... he actually fell in love with this woman a long time ago?

Yi Nan turned his head, his eyes bright.She stared at Herod and asked with a smile, "Oh? Have you figured it out yet?"

Herod nodded: "Tomorrow is a good opportunity to meet the king. The king will receive foreign envoys at noon, and the evening will be for banquets and business exchanges. In the afternoon, there will be a period of time spent dealing with domestic government affairs."

"I will try my best to find any clay tablet in the warehouse that mentions your sister's marriage during this night, and present it to the king as evidence."

"I will state to the king the bad influence that such an act will have on the entire kingdom."

"I will ask Wang Xiao for my benefits, and ask him to severely punish those who take bribes and those who forge evidence... Please give you justice!"

Yi Nan looked at him with a smile: "Then after me, if the same thing happens again, will you find a way to appeal to the king?"

Herod nodded vigorously: "I will."

He answered solemnly.

Although he is just a Mushchinnu, just an ordinary royal courtesy officer.

But now he is very clear: Where did the previous self go wrong, and what should the future self do?

If he can't consciously maintain justice and let the "seven gates" continue to be "justice"—then the one who will be harmed in the future must be himself, the person he likes...

Hearing Herod's solemn oath, Yinan smiled at him, then turned his head and looked at the "seven gates" leading up the hillside to the Huanghuang Palace.

She didn't think like Herod: she didn't think about giving such a thing a chance to repeat itself again and again.

Since the existing rules are not "just" enough, it is better to destroy them completely.