Chapter 593
Asistes looked at his aunt, who was a dozen years younger than him, apologetically. Even though he had a problem with Laodisian, he still felt that Doreen was a good wife. "Why would I be mad at you, Uncle? It's just that it's getting late. We should go home now. We'll come back another day."
Then, he turned to Antonios and said meaningfully, "Uncle, please think about what I just said."
Antonios snorted, but Doreen gave him a light punch. He swallowed the rest of his words.
After sending Asistes and his family off, Doreen said to Antonios, "What happened? Why did you lose your temper? "
"This is business. Don't ask too much," Antonius said angrily.
"Fine, I won't ask! Don't talk to me anymore! "Doreen pouted angrily.
"Alright, alright, I was wrong …" Antonios, the military minister of the kingdom, who was in his fifties, hurriedly hugged Doreen in his arms and apologized profusely. "Asistes disagreed with my decision to appoint him as the governor of Naxos, so … we quarreled."
"Why? Isn't it good to be the governor of Naxos? "Doreen was puzzled.
"Who knows what he's thinking. Asio's grown up now, and he doesn't want to listen to his uncle! "Antonios said, still a little angry.
"No matter what, he's your only nephew," Doreen said. Doreen reached out and stroked Antonius's bearded face. She kissed him gently, her eyes full of charm. "Antedoris is running and jumping tonight. Yuna will be able to put him to sleep easily. I'll wait for you in the room after I take a shower …"
"Alright, alright …" Antonios's anger grew even stronger after being seduced by his wife.
Doreen married him at the age of 17. She was more than 20 years younger than him. Not only was she beautiful, but she was also virtuous. She even gave birth to a son for him. Antonios, who always felt guilty about his age, doted on her very much. Because of this, he took good care of his father, Laodisian, and his family.
Looking at his wife's graceful figure walking toward the main building, he couldn't wait any longer.
"Antonius! Antonius! Something big had happened! Something big had happened! At this moment, Laodisian's anxious shout came from the corridor.
Laodisian had always been able to come and go as he pleased as if he was in his own house. Antonio's mood was interrupted, but he couldn't get angry at Doreen's father. With a straight face, he said to Laodisian, "What happened this time?"
Laodisian was so anxious that he did not notice Antonios' reaction. He shouted, "Paphogris is locked up in Naxos! But Strompoli never released him! "
"What trouble did Paphogris cause this time?!" Antonio frowned and asked impatiently. Among Doreen's family, he had the least favorable impression of Paphogris. After all, back in Turií, Paphogris had actually harassed Alexis' daughter, Gytia, and caused a huge uproar. In order to stop Alexis from pursuing this scandal, Antonius had spent all his years of friendship on begging for her forgiveness. At the same time, he had Capus and other comrades to help him plead for leniency. In the end, Papphogris was sentenced to four months in prison and a fine, which was a relatively light sentence.
This time, what did this bastard do?! How could he make Strompoli not let go of him?! Antonios felt uneasy.
"What happened to Paphogris?" Doreen's voice came from behind Antonios.
Seeing his daughter appear, Laodisian immediately changed the topic. "Doreen, your brother was wrongly accused and locked up in prison. His life is in danger! … "
Laodisian told his daughter what had happened. Of course, in his narration, it was the slave who killed the slave and the freedman's daughter, not Paphogris.
"A slave dared to kill the female slaves of his family?! Do you really think everyone is stupid?! " Antonios shouted at Laodisian. "You should have listened to me. Let him be locked up for two or three years and learn his lesson. Then he wouldn't have fallen to this state today!"
Laodisian had never seen Antonios so angry before. He subconsciously avoided eye contact and said to Doreen, "I'm not in Naxos, so I don't know the specifics of the situation. This was all written to me by Antrus. But even if Paphogris was the one who killed the slaves, the slave has voluntarily confessed to the crime. Besides, the victims were just female slaves. There's no need for Strompoli to be so serious! Is he really going to be sentenced to death for betraying Paphogris just because of this?! "
At this point, Laodisian saw that Antonios' expression was still cold and hard, so he softened his tone and said, "I know that Paphogris is a disappointment, but he is my only son, and he is not married, let alone having children. If he is really sentenced to death, our family's bloodline will be severed! Doreen, do you really want to see me go to Hades to see your grandfather after I die?! … "
Doreen was shocked that her brother had killed so many people so cruelly, but she could not bear to hear her father's pleading. She did not know what to do, so she could only look at Antonios for help.
Antonios saw the look in his beloved wife's eyes, and his heart softened. He kicked a broken pottery pot on the ground into the pool in the middle of the courtyard. He then put his hands on his waist and said to Laodisian, "I don't know the details of the law. How do you want to save that bastard? Tell me."
Seeing that Antonios' tone had softened, Laodisian hurriedly said, "There is no provision in the law of Diónia that 'citizens who kill their own slaves will be sentenced to death'. Moreover, the freedman has already withdrawn his report, and the slave has voluntarily confessed to the crime. Logically speaking, the case can already be closed. However, the Naxos inspection office has delayed the case to the court, and the detention of Paphogris has long exceeded the time limit. These are all violations of the law! Antonios, you just need to talk to the highest judge, Tritodemos, and ask him to intercede on Strompoli's behalf so that the case can be handed over to the court as soon as possible. It's not right for a local governor to interfere in court affairs! "
Why did Laodisian not talk to Tritodemos directly? Although he had made a lot of friends in Turií over the years with his wealth, there were still some social circles that did not care about him.
The senators of Amendolara had always been known for being conservative and arrogant. They often took pride in being the 'earliest senators of the Confederation', and they could not stand the slick style of Laodisian who came later.
Most of the senators of Lucania had always been concerned with the affairs of Lucania. They were close to the former mercenary senators, but they did not like to interact with the senators of other regions, especially the senators of Sicily. Because the two territories were located in the north and south of the kingdom, there was no conflict of interest at all. Hemont was an exception, but this senator, who was famous for marrying off his daughter, fell out with Laodisian because Paphogris had once pursued his youngest daughter.
There was also the Turií senators. These senators who were born in the heart of the kingdom were also known for their loftiness. Moreover, because of the Polyxis case, more than half of the senators of Turií were sent to prison, which made the remaining senators more cautious. Not only did they not have much contact with the senators of Sicily, but they also did not have much contact with the senators of other regions in private.
The former Mercenary Elder was once the savior of Amendolara and had spent the longest time with Amendolara. Amendolara also had a close relationship with Amendolara because of the large-scale marriage back then. That was why Laodisian hoped that Antonios would step in and persuade Tritodemos to speak to Strompoli. Since both of them were from Amendolara, Strompoli should give him face … This was Laodisian's beautiful idea.
"Tritodemos …" Antonios muttered the name thoughtfully. Indeed, compared to the more conservative and stubborn Strompoli, Tritodemos was easier to talk to. Back then, it was he and Protesilaus who first took the initiative to get close to the mercenaries.
Speaking of which, Tritodemos had been sitting in the position of the highest judge for more than ten years. This was not because of his service in the trial of Polyxis, but because of a law proposed by King Dyvers and passed by the Senate nine years ago, stipulating that the public offices of the Kingdom, such as judges and tax collectors, which require a high degree of professional knowledge, must be filled by citizens who have been specially trained and gradually promoted through a long period of practice, and no other public officials may take up the post in the interim.
This determined that Tritodemos would stay in this position until he retired. According to the law of Diónia, citizens after the age of 65 were not allowed to take up any specific public office of the kingdom due to old age. Of course, the senators were still senators. When this bill was first proposed by the Devers, it was passed without much objection, because in this era, there were not many people who could live to the age of 60.
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