When accompanying Margaret to visit the Stonemasons Guild, Shad originally thought that he would have to dress up as a guard, but then he remembered that Margaret was visiting in secret, so he could just wear normal clothes.
At about 1:30 in the afternoon, Shad said goodbye to the ladies at the opera house, got on a carriage at the intersection to meet Her Royal Highness the Princess, and they all headed to the Stonemasons Guild, which was half a city away from the Wilde Opera House.
Today, Her Royal Highness changed out of her cumbersome dress and luxurious accessories, and put on a knee-length coat over her long dress. On her chest hung a brooch with the holy emblem of the God of Peace and Kindness, and on her ears were silver earrings. Her pale golden hair was simply tied up, and apart from a cat-shaped yellow gem hairpin, she only used a very simple headband for decoration.
Simple, but not too simple. She looked like a noble girl traveling alone.
After Shade got on the carriage, Margaret turned her face away as if she was shy, not letting Shade look at her. She pulled her personal maid, a sorceress with a very slight witch power, to block her.
The maid, who was equally beautiful but also dressed simply, smiled and said to Shade:
"Your Highness, oh, I mean Miss. Miss didn't put on much makeup today, so I didn't want you to see it."
"No makeup? I thought this was already made up."
Shade said, Margaret smiled, and then she looked at Shade:
"You always talk like that."
"What can talk..."
It's best not to ask this question now.
"She" kindly reminded him, so Xia De didn't ask any more questions. In fact, he really couldn't tell whether the girls were wearing makeup or not. It was not easy to tell.
"I know you have things to do tonight, so it won't take up too much time."
Margaret talked about her plans for the afternoon:
"I will be meeting with the president, Mr. Calvin Pigman, in his office. In addition to my people, one or two vice presidents or managers from the Masons Association should also be present. If everything goes well, the meeting will be over around four o'clock. Oh, if you feel bored, you don't have to follow me all the time, just walk around the association. I'll ask someone to call you if there's anything."
The president of the association has the same last name as the headmaster of St Byrons.
"Then I'll just wander around the association."
Xia De said, Margaret looked at him hesitantly:
"what are you up to?"
She knew Xia De very well, and Xia De was not the kind of person who liked to wander around.
"Maybe I can give you a surprise."
Xia De said, Her Royal Highness the Princess nodded hesitantly, and then asked Xia De:
"What do you think of my outfit today?"
Then immediately add:
"Don't just say she's beautiful. That's just trying to fool me."
Xia De thought about it:
"When you leave the Masons' Guild in a moment, will you wear this dress and let me kiss you?"
The maid blushed, and Margaret turned her head away again to prevent Shad from seeing her smile.
This time, Margaret brought a female secretary and two female bodyguards with her in addition to the maid. Of course, she was not the kind of person who was careless. In fact, the royal guards had already entered the Stonemason Association in advance in various identities. If something happened, she could summon a firepower team to break through in an instant.
After entering the old town in the east from the center of the Randall Valley, it seems as if time has gone backwards with the advancement of horse-drawn carriages. When you come to Stonemason Street, where the Stonemason Association is located, and see the statues along the street and the craftsmen busy in their shops, it seems as if you have gone back to the time before the emergence of steam industry.
There were people coming and going at the entrance of the association, and the appearance of Xia De and his group did not attract much attention.
Margaret lowered her head and held Shad's hand. Shad walked in front and led the group behind him. They soon came to the counter:
"I have an appointment with Mr. Pigman, the president."
Xia De said to the receptionist, and the middle-aged lady in uniform asked:
"Sir, may I ask what your last name is..."
Xia De turned his head slightly and glanced at Margaret:
"It's an appointment for this lady, her last name is... Hamilton."
The princess smiled slightly, and Shade felt it was strange to say his last name in this world. Hamilton was not a rare last name.
The receptionist quickly found out about the appointment and led the group to the third floor. Although there was a conflict between the royal family and the association, Margaret came with good intentions, which made the association's senior management pay great attention to this visit. The office area on the third floor looked no different from when Shade and Luvia broke in at midnight last time, but if you look closely, you can see that all the doors and gas lamps have been wiped, and the oil paintings on the wall have been replaced with new ones. This can be regarded as a way for the association to express goodwill.
Xia De was very curious about how Margaret communicated in the early stages.
The president of the association and a middle-aged gentleman who was a bit fat, wearing a red vest and a monocle, were waiting in the office. Margaret, who was wearing gloves, did not extend her hand, but Shade extended his hand to shake their hands and introduced them:
"Your Highness Margaret, I have been looking forward to this meeting for a long time."
Because the office door was closed, the two middle-aged men saluted:
"It is an honor to meet you here on this ordinary afternoon, Your Highness Margaret."
"Then your highness, I'm outside. Please call me if you need anything."
Xia De said softly, then pretended to go to the window to check, and then left the room.
He pressed his black hat and returned to the first floor from the third floor in a low-key manner, then left the association from the first floor lobby. But he did not go far, turned left, and walked into the second shop. This shop does not sell art statues, but specializes in decorative stone sculptures. In today's era, the emergence of steam factories allows a large number of goods to be mass-produced through simple assembly line processes, so the handicrafts of old craftsmen have received more attention than before.
The shop was very large. After Xia De entered, he declined the conversation from the young apprentice who came over, and walked straight to the counter. He tapped four times with his ring-wearing finger, and then stared at the old man behind the counter.
The latter squinted his eyes and looked at him:
"What does the guest need?"
"Six paperweights for the desk, made of the best stone. Come back in six days to pick them up."
The old man concentrated and asked again:
"Six days is too urgent, how about sixteen days?"
Xia De continued to recite:
"Sixteen days is too long. I can raise the price."
"How much?"
"Sixteen crowns, and a new silk hat."
The old stonemason nodded, his expression unchanged:
"Well, please follow me to the backyard to look at the material."
As he spoke, he walked out of the counter and took Xia De through the yard where firewood and sundries were piled, then went up the iron stairs on the outside of the building and went up to the third floor of the building from the outer wall. After opening the door, the two came to the corridor and entered a study that was obviously renovated for high-end business cooperation.
"Who are you? I'm sorry, I shouldn't ask your identity, but it doesn't seem to be the handover time yet."
As soon as he entered the door, the old man asked in a panic. Xia De made a gesture to keep quiet and checked the cabinet and behind the curtains. Then he pulled the curtains tight and said:
"You don't need to worry about who I am. Just know that I am one of your own. Your daughter is living well in Tobesk now. You don't need to worry."
He leaned against the wall with the window, his back against the curtains and the wall. After hearing what Shade said, the old man stopped asking questions:
"Do you have any other tasks to arrange this time?"
"It's not a mission. You've done an excellent job in Randall Valley over the years. Now that you're approaching retirement, the Sixth Division won't make things difficult for you. After the matter with the Stonemasons Guild is over, you can leave the organization with the severance pay, and then you'll be free."
Xia De didn't lie, that's what was written on the document.
"That's good. When I was young, I was assigned to go undercover in Willendel and experienced many things, both big and small. When I was middle-aged, I was accidentally involved in the construction of the royal mausoleum and experienced that disaster, so I was assigned to come here again. I joined the work to be loyal to the country, and stone carving was just a little hobby in the past. I didn't expect that when I was old, I spent more than ten years honing my skills and became a famous local craftsman."
The old man sat down dejectedly on the chair, while Xia De remained standing:
"You should have been monitoring Princess Margaret's contacts with the Stonemasons Guild, right?"
"Yes, it is clearly written in the report. It is certain that Princess Margaret wants to facilitate peace talks between the royal family and the association. But there is a lot of resistance, especially from Prince William. He does not want the princess to accomplish this, not for any other reason, but just to avoid appearing incompetent when he came to Randall Valley with her."
Shade showed a mocking expression:
"That incompetent fellow, I heard, attends banquets every night in the Randall Valley and doesn't return to the manor until late at night?"
The old stonemason also looked down on the prince:
"He was really lucky that Old Huck didn't kill him at the banquet more than half a month ago."
"So, Prince William wants to stop Princess Margaret from doing this?"
"Yes."
The old stonemason nodded cautiously:
"There is some information that I haven't had time to pass on. At the banquet last week, the prince met Stone Oxenfurt. Oh, this is a wealthy local businessman. Through him, Prince William got to know Vice President Giles of the Stonemasons Guild."
Xia De raised his eyebrows. He was talking about the fat middle-aged man wearing a monocle.
"Giles is the kind of greedy and incompetent person who will do anything for money. In theory, he is the best person for Princess Margaret to contact the Stonemasons Guild."
That's why he's here today.
"Stone Oxenfurt has a very bad reputation locally... a very bad one. Since this matter involves him, I am almost certain that Vice President Giles has obtained a promise from Prince William in advance that he will definitely prevent Margaret of Anjou from having any contact with the Stonemasons Association."