Chapter 22 Yulia's Conditions (Part 1)

"Try three times, turn around and run away the fourth time." - Turkic proverb

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The creditors stood in the courtyard with the contract in hand. There were ten or twenty of them, whispering. Then Calabis walked in and saw a platform erected in the center of the yard. Several slaves who were old and almost dementia were sitting on it, with the words "One hundred and twenty sesstus for sale" hanging around their necks. There was a similar wooden price tag, and there was an old slave, his chest roaring like a bellows and coughing. On his wooden price tag was engraved the words "Thirty Cesstus".

"The master is really selling slaves..." Habaruka said a few words blankly, and then two ropes were suddenly tied around his neck. He screamed in panic, saying that I can't breathe. He was so angry that he was about to be strangled and struggled with his hands.

At this time, three donkeys and a mare began to bray in panic.

The sign hanging on the rope, engraved with "Young and strong, able to keep accounts, five hundred sestes", was shaking violently.

Calabis clamped the murderer's wrist with a split second, only to receive the murderer's unhurried accusation, "Don't get close to my slave, and don't hold my wrist." Calabis took a look and said, She is a young girl, about twenty years old. She is wearing very simple and overly large clothes. Her upper body is covered with a somewhat worn woven sweater. She has a slim figure and some messy amber hair, which is parted and combed back casually. , her forehead looks very beautiful. Under the setting sun, the fine hair and fine hair on her neck appear a hazy light golden color, and her eyes are full of stubbornness. Calabis let go of her wrist. She glanced at Calabis's knight's cloak, turned her eyes sharply, and immediately discovered his pierced ears, and said, "No wonder, it turns out you were also a slave. , we share the same problem." Then he pushed Habaruka with the sign hanging on it with a stick, telling him to get on the stage quickly.

"Master Yulia, I have to tell you that Catiline died in Etrunia, and the debt of twenty talents cannot be repaid." Nahabaluka was stabbed with a stick, but he still did not forget to report. Work.

"This is why I sold you." Yulia spoke concisely.

Habaruka did not want to stay on the stage and wait for the sale, so he continued, "But this new knight named Calabis is willing to spend 20,000 dinars to help our manor and family survive the crisis. Difficulties. Also, this young master named Brutus is the stepson of the consul next year, and he has come to Sardinia to propose to you. Mistress, there is no need for you to sell us. "The creditor below is impatient. They all stretched out their hands and shouted, saying, "What can these slaves pay for? We have all brought financial slaves here. Let's calculate the value of your manor as soon as possible!"

After hearing the second half of the sentence, Yulia turned to look at Brutus, and then said in a sarcastic tone: "How did the Brutus family get in? Get out of here."

"Dear daughter of the Lepidus family, please..." Brutus was about to show off his eloquence.

"All the men in your family, go and marry the Republic! Stay away from me." Yulia directly pulled out the wooden stick and threatened in a low voice, scaring Brutus out of his mind. Karabis walked up to the group of creditors and said, "How much interest are you paying on your loans?"

"We strictly follow the 12% interest rate and will not violate the law." Several creditors said in unison, "Yulia mortgaged her mansion for twelve talents and borrowed an additional eight talents. A talent.”

"Okay, 20,000 dinars, temporarily entitled to interest, will be paid directly to you after a market day. Also, I will use four farms in Etrunia as a guarantee, and the repayment period will be extended to one year later. "After that, Calabis took out a stack of property deeds from the box and handed it into the hands of the creditors. Several people frowned and studied for a long time. Finally, they nodded in approval and said: "After one year, the principal must be repaid with interest. clear."

"Tell the two guests that the cook has escaped and there will be no dinner." After the creditor left, Yulia threw down the stick, told Habaruka these words, and prepared to go upstairs.

Calabis shouted to please wait, then took out King Numa's ring from the box, handed it into Yulia's hand, and said: "This is your family's token, now give it to you." Yulia Looking at the ring, her eyes froze, and then she slowly sat on the bottom step of the stairs, the evening breeze blowing her amber hair up, "My father is no longer here, how did he die."

"To be precise, he died a few years ago." Calabis replied. After the massacre in Rhodes, the corpses of Roman immigrants filled the streets and temples without anyone claiming them. Box's body Fortunately, he was found by Timothee and made into a skull specimen.

"Really?" Yulia's tone was as quiet as lake water. "My grandfather expelled him. Logically speaking, I should get this ring, not my brother. Besides, he must be dead." After that, she He put the ring on his finger, then stood up, leaned against the door, looked at Calabis and Brutus, and said, "Come in, even though there is only barley porridge."

To be honest, the house in this mansion is quite tasteful, with potted plants, sandy ground, and columns, and the colors are mainly red, yellow, and blue, which is very pastoral style, but Julia's cooking skills are not good. Her barley porridge is as dry as hard cakes, and the salad plate is mixed like a tragic battlefield. Brutus frowned and kept looking at Karapis, as if begging him to make another honey barbecue, but Karapis, who had served in the legion, didn't mind so much and ate the barley porridge with a clang.

"Now that I have a new debt, I plan to split this house, build a wall on the staircase, and rent it out to tenants in exchange for rent." At the dining table, Julia was talking about her repayment plan, and her words were unusually more.

"This is a pity. It will destroy the style of this beautiful manor. So, I solemnly tell you..." Brutus is ready to show his eloquence again.

But Julia once interrupted him rudely, "Why do you want to marry me?" Such words may be indifferent to Carapis, but it is incredible to Brutus. A daughter of a Roman noble would actually question why a man wants to marry her.

Carapis obviously saw that Brutus was speechless, so he ate the barley porridge more vigorously, hoping to cover up the unhappiness of this "son of the republic". But Julia spoke calmly, her speech was slow, but very organized, "Yes, your ancestors were heroes who created the republic, but my ancestors were descendants of the royal family, just like thyme flowers cannot be cooked with cabbage. In addition, if you are here to resolve the old feud twenty years ago, then please tell me, are you willing to kill Pompey for me? Are you willing to inherit the name of Emily and the family name of Lepidus?" (To be continued.)