RNP Chapter 13: Bread and Salt
Chapter 13: Bread and Salt
Upon thinking of this, Zhao Xiaotian's breathing quickened, and he felt as if he had been awakened from a dream by someone's words.
For a moment, Zhao Xiaotian thought of his grandfather, who was over seventy years old, who had lost both legs in an accident, causing him to become depressed and spend his days drinking, and his third uncle, who was like an elder brother to him.
Thinking of this, Zhao Xiaotian, eager to verify his idea, hurriedly tried to log off, but was prompted:
[Please find a bed before saving your game.]
Helpless, Zhao Xiaotian could only suppress his indescribable emotions and follow the crowd into Illyrio's mansion.
Unlike the preoccupied Zhao Xiaotian, the other players, with virtually no artistic talent, offered their comments on the governor's mansion.
"Hey, these Westerners really don't know anything about medieval times. How can they put that statue there? It's obviously bad feng shui!"
"A perfectly good courtyard, and that brat insisted on paving it with bluestone bricks. Tsk, I have no words to say about it!"
As the saying goes, even the most famous works will have flaws when scrutinized by netizens offline.
A few players who see it as nothing more than a game have already started nitpicking.
"Sigh, Wu Zi, to be honest, I'm not really interested in game quests, fighting, leveling up, and stuff like that anymore."
If I could live in this grand mansion, surrounded by beautiful women, with a few close friends, drinking tea, watching dances, fishing and shrimping, ah, I would have no regrets in this life!
Song Jiang, the top-ranked angler in the real-world fishing world, and his taciturn roommate, stroked his chin with an air of sage-like composure.
"Look at you, so young, can't you be a little more ambitious, have some lofty aspirations! Look at me, my goal is extremely firm, and that is to ride a dragon!" Zhang Quan, the friend who was standing next to me, was very disdainful.
"Come on, if I gave you a courtyard house to live in, you'd probably be willing to kill your father!" Song Jiang rolled his eyes at his friend.
Viserys and his sister were personally led to the room by Illyrio, a privilege not afforded to players.
Led by a mute servant, a dozen or so players were led, chattering away, into the room to bathe.
"This is just a bathhouse! I never thought we could enjoy such high-class treatment in the Middle Ages!" The players' eyes lit up as they saw the giant pool steaming with heat.
Who wouldn't love a hot bath?
Without the mute servant even needing to gesture, the players had already stripped naked and rushed into the pool in a swarm.
The mute slave frowned as he listened to a series of hissing sounds and the dirty clothes scattered on the ground. He shook his head and left.
"Your Majesty, this will be your room from now on. Princess Daenerys's room is next door."
Inside the room Illyrio pointed to, Viserys's gaze remained fixed on the bed. Good heavens, His Majesty had truly had enough of sleeping on straw.
"Hot water is prepared in the room. Your Majesty, please take a bath first. A banquet will be held for Your Majesty later."
Viserys had no complaints about Illyrio's arrangements, even though he knew that the governor in front of him was all talk and no action, and that he was really just doing business.
But whether it was for exploitation or otherwise, the superficial aspects were so well done that Viserys couldn't find any fault with them.
Illyrio left quickly, leaving only Viserys and her brother in the room. Daenerys wouldn't return to the room left for her; the life of living under someone else's roof made the princess both afraid of her brother and only able to feel at ease when she was constantly by his side.
There was nothing she could do; Viserys was her only family in the world.
The room, including the bathroom, was very large, with a spacious pool filled with boiling hot water.
However, the future Mother of Dragons will not be able to sense it. True dragons are not afraid of fire, so how could they be afraid of mere hot water?
"hiss!"
Viserys, his face tense, tentatively stepped into the pool.
The cautious manner made Daenerys, who was only peeking out of the water, chuckle.
He rolled his eyes at the other person, then soaked in the pool, slowly closing his eyes and feeling the long-lost comfort.
After all, the last time I soaked in a hot spring was a lifetime ago.
After an unknown amount of time, the bathroom door was opened from the outside. The woman, holding clothes, stared in surprise at the girl who should have been in another room.
However, as one of Illyrio's many bed slaves, she was well-trained and did not ask any questions. She simply put down the clothes and left in a hurry.
When Viserys came out dressed, the other party had already returned, bringing Daenerys's clothes.
Led by the waiters, Viserys and his sister walked toward the banquet hall. Daenerys, dressed in a gorgeous dress and looking somewhat uncomfortable, followed behind her brother with small, hesitant steps and her head down.
Illyrio had been waiting in the banquet hall for a while, and upon seeing Viserys, the host warmly invited His Majesty to take a seat.
Soon, the players were led to the banquet hall and had the honor of sitting at a long table with His Majesty and the Governor of Pentos.
"What are they doing?" Player Mantou Xianren asked, nudging Xian Dan, who was sitting next to him, as the maids filed in, each carrying a tray.
"You're asking me? Who am I supposed to ask? Look at what's on their plates... probably free bread?" Xian Dan scratched his head, equally confused.
"The way you're talking makes it sound like you have to pay to eat the bread on the table." The Steamed Bun Immortal no longer needed to ask any more questions.
Because the maid had already placed the plate in front of him, the Steamed Bun Immortal was now able to see clearly that, in addition to bread, there was also a pinch of salt on the plate.
Although puzzled, with the plate practically shoved in his face, the Steamed Bun Immortal tentatively tore off a small piece of bread, dipped it in salt, and then ate it.
"What kind of divine way of eating is this?"
"It must be a form of etiquette."
The other players were also puzzled, but fortunately, the Minister of Works, who is not sticky, spoke up to clear things up for everyone:
"It should be a Slavic custom; the host offering bread and salt signifies that the place has no ill intentions towards you."
Upon hearing this, the players suddenly realized what was going on, and they all dipped the bread in the salt from the plate and ate it.
The plate was presented to Viserys and his sister, who, without hesitation, ate the bread and salt under Illyrio's watchful gaze.
To be honest, for many years, the brother and sister mostly ate bread and salt that their hosts served to guests.
The steaming white bread on the long table might be seen by the host as nothing more than a decorative element at the banquet.
The steaming hot food that the maids brought over again was what actually went into our stomachs.
The maids placed a bowl of mutton soup in front of each guest, while pigeon meat pies and lemon cakes seemed to be served as the main courses. Roast suckling pig, ham steak, roast snails, and other mouthwatering delicacies filled the long table.
Meanwhile, blood sausage, baked apple, and almond milk stewed trout also left most players shaking their heads in disapproval.
These unusual foods were not as appealing to the players as the mead and wine that were later presented to them.
While the players were picking and choosing, Viserys couldn't return to reality. He was already quite satisfied with the food in front of him, having almost thrown up from eating black bread.