"Exorcism in the church? For what? Did an accident happen here? Wait a minute, I don't remember any news here during that time."
Mr. Antonio asked suspiciously, and the middle-aged stonemason nodded:
"During the earthquake last fall, the old stonemason Humphrey was hit on the head by a tilted statue and died on the spot. There was nothing strange about this incident. The police also came. There were many people at the scene at the time. It was indeed an accident. The incident was not published in the newspaper, only the obituary was published. After all, if the merchants from other places knew that the stone statue was stained with blood, all the stone statues would be sold at a lower price."
Mr. Antonio and Shade looked at each other, and both felt that this matter was worth investigating. Although Mr. Antonio was an ordinary person, he also understood that there must be a reason why the church sent people to exorcise demons.
"Besides that, there is one more thing."
The middle-aged stonemason continued:
"Uncle Hack is the living storyteller of the Stonemasons Guild. He knows most stories and history of the Guild. He once told me that if I saw something scary in the Guild one day, I should cover my face and squat with my back to the light. If you want to know the story, you can..."
He looked apologetic:
"You can't find him. No, he is not dead. He has been captured... about the assassination at the banquet."
"The Uncle Huck you mentioned is the one..."
Xia De made a pistol-shooting gesture, and the middle-aged stonemason nodded in a mysterious tone:
"We are not allowed to talk about this."
Shade took out his wallet, gave a silver coin to the stonemason in front of him, and then said to Mr. Antonio:
"I know Earl Granger. I'll go there this afternoon to see if I can meet Uncle Harker. Go to the association and look for any news about old Humphrey who was killed last year."
"No problem. I'm familiar with the local Sun Church and can go there to ask about exorcism."
Mr. Antonio said, and the two agreed to meet at the pub at the end of this stonemason street at five o'clock in the afternoon. The middle-aged stonemason Mr. Peter Tolfor had not left yet, and he hesitated and asked Xia De:
"Sir, can you see Uncle Huck?"
"I know a very good guy, but I can only give it a try."
So the middle-aged stonemason hesitated:
"If you have enough connections, can you... ...get a lighter sentence for Uncle Huck's crime? I mean, he didn't actually hurt anyone. It's certainly wrong to assassinate the prince... ...It's wrong to assassinate anyone, but he's also a poor man."
Although Shad said that he wanted to contact the arrested "Uncle Harker" through Earl Granger's channel, it was actually impossible for Shad to find the Earl because he was not familiar with the Earl. So after temporarily separating from Mr. Antonio, Shad went directly to find Margaret.
The princess, who was drinking afternoon tea, heard that Xia De wanted to meet the assassin, and agreed to help after just a thought:
"Change your clothes and blend in with my entourage. I happened to be planning to meet him these days. Since you want to go too, let's go now."
Although this important prisoner was under strict guard, Margaret could still see him whenever she wanted.
"Is it still for Miss Benannis's assessment mission?"
Xia De asked, and Her Royal Highness nodded in annoyance:
"The feud between the Stonemasons Guild and our family is more complicated than I thought. If I had been born a dozen years earlier, it would have been easy to resolve this matter at that time. But the hatred fermented over time is stronger than any hatred. Time has allowed the seeds of hatred to germinate and take root in the land under our feet, and this hatred has now been deeply engraved into the Randall River Valley. I have no intention of pointing out which side was at fault back then, but for me now, this is really a big trouble."
"You can't be born more than ten years earlier, otherwise..."
Xia De pointed at himself, and Her Royal Highness the Princess stood on tiptoe and kissed him:
"Otherwise, I am only younger than Miss Benannis... Don't tell her this, otherwise even if I pass the test, I am afraid I won't be able to become the witch's apprentice. However, I see that you have a good relationship with Miss Benannis."
This sentence should have no other meaning.
Uncle Hack is currently imprisoned in Marsh Prison in Randall City, but Her Royal Highness the Princess would not enter such a place, so the meeting was arranged at the Randall City Police Department.
The meeting place is the visiting room on the top floor of the police station. The police station sometimes faces such relatively dangerous meetings, so the visiting room itself has a retractable fence that can divide the room into two parts.
After Margaret sat down on the sofa, Shad, who was wearing a red royal servant's suit, a black tall hat, a long sword hanging at his waist and a long spear on his back, stood behind him.
The maids around Margaret actually knew Shade, and seeing him like this, they all tried their best to hold back their laughter. Margaret was also very interested in Shade's disguise, and fortunately she still remembered her purpose.
Soon, the gunman who attacked at the banquet last Wednesday was brought in. The last time Shade saw him, he thought he was a haggard guy, and now he felt that he looked ten years older.
"Uncle Huck" was shackled on his hands and feet, and was sandwiched between two armed police officers. After sitting on a separate iron chair, his hands and feet were locked to the ground and the chair. Although he was haggard, he did not seem to have any external injuries. The interrogation of the police and the gray gloves of the Randall Valley police was actually more civilized than Shade thought.
After doing all this, the police bowed to Her Royal Highness the Princess and left the room, and most of the people behind Margaret also left. In the end, only Shad and a personal maid who was responsible for recording documents were left.
Margaret put down the teacup in her hand and started the following conversation directly:
"You probably know me, Marguerite of Anjou. Don't worry, I'm not trying to persuade you to reveal anyone else in your confession."
Margaret handed the key chain on the table to Shad, who walked over and opened the gate separating the rooms, then opened the lock on Uncle Huck's right hand and the shackles on both hands, and placed a cup of tea next to him.
Uncle Hack was in his forties, but he looked almost as old as Father Augustus. He took up the cup and drank without hesitation. Shade said:
"Don't worry, there's no shortage of tea here."
"I'm here just to ask you a few questions."
Margaret continued:
"If I want to buy off your hatred with a sum of gold, how much gold would it cost?"
“Your money is useless unless it can turn back time.”
Uncle Hack's voice was very hoarse and his facial expression was extremely tired, but his eyes were still bright.
"If I want to buy off the hatred of the entire association with one sum of money, how much gold do I need to spend?"
Margaret asked again, although Miss Benaness did not allow her to pay for it herself, she wanted to make sure how deep the hatred was.
"Money, ha, although I don't want to admit it, 60,000 kronor should be no problem."
That is about 800,000 gold pounds, which is several times the original project payment of 100,000 pounds.
Margaret nodded. The number was not more than she expected. Uncle Huck was willing to answer her question not only because of the cup of tea that Shade brought, but also because the stonemasons in the association really needed the money. Some people care about dignity, but some people still need to live. His own family has collapsed, but there are still people who are struggling to support it.
Margaret then asked a lot of questions about the local Masons Association, and Uncle Huck answered most of them. His attitude towards Margaret was quite good.
And finally, Her Royal Highness expressed her thoughts:
"I am just a princess. I cannot represent the entire royal family. But during this visit to Randall Valley, I saw the pain that past grudges have caused to people today. I want to resolve the hatred between the Stonemasons Guild and my family. There is no need to continue the hatred into the next decade."
She clasped her hands in white lace gloves:
"Huck, I know your hatred, and I understand your thoughts. But no matter who it is, it will not be good to delay the resolution of this matter. I have no intention of telling you that the past cannot be changed and the future must be created by yourself. But if you are willing to help me, I promise to do my best to help you get a reduction in sentence after resolving this matter. You only need to stay in prison for two years at most and you can be released."
This was the most Margaret could agree to.
"Your Highness, I understand what you want to say. But you have to understand that whether this matter can be resolved does not depend on us, but on you, or in other words, on His Majesty the King."
The old man looked at the princess in front of him and said his last words very solemnly:
"What we lack is not only the delayed project payment, but also an apology. Maybe I am the first person who dares to do this, but I can guarantee that I will definitely not be the last."
This is the key to the whole incident. Margaret can find a way to get money from other channels as compensation, but the royal apology is definitely not so easy to achieve. For some people, face is far more important than gold coins. Miss Benedict's condition is "satisfaction of both parties", which is a double-meaning task.
"I can think of a way to apologize. What I lack now is someone who knows the inside story and can act as a spy for me. Although you are a criminal now, you are also a hero in the eyes of the craftsmen of the Stonemason Association. If you are willing to help me, you are also helping yourselves. I can allow your friends to visit you in a few days, and you can then express some of the things I want to convey."
Margaret's words were vague, but it was obvious that after more than a week of preparation, she had a general plan.