Decius waited until his wife fell asleep before he got up from bed and got dressed again. He gazed at his lover on the bed again as if he had made a strong determination. After that, he walked out of the room quietly.
With tiptoes through the dark front hall, he tried not to awaken the sleeping slave, waiting until he walked past the house’s domus before he let out a sigh of relief. Glancing left and right, he made sure he wasn’t being watched, then moved all the way to the south. However, he did not go too far since most who lived in this area were Roman upper-class nobles.
Being the most expensive area in Rome, money simply wasn’t enough to buy a house here. The buyer had to have a certain status in society before a purchase could be made. Decius’s family had moved here too after gaining more power. Their domus, however, was smaller than most around them.
In contrast, the place where Decius was going now was more luxurious. It indicated that the owner of this domus was quite famous in the Senate. Hence, Decius had to tidy his clothes before visiting the owner.
Before he knocked on the door, a familiar voice came from behind him.
“From a friend’s standpoint, I don’t recommend you doing this.”
Decius was taken aback, especially when he realized whose voice it was. It almost scared him to death.
“You! When did you come here?”
“I have been here for a while now,” Zhang Heng answered. “I have to say. It has a very decent environment. And I like the small fountain outside your house. It’s cute.”
“Why didn’t I see you just now?” Although Decius tried to appear as calm as possible, his heart thumped wildly in his chest.
“Because I don’t want to scare you. However, in the end, I almost scared you to death, I think,” Zhang Heng admitted regretfully. “It’s late. Why are you here instead of sleeping at home?”
“Uh, I’m a little… I can’t sleep. You know… lots of things happened today. That guy named Amidio still got killed right before we entered the house. I…”
“Have you never seen prisoners getting executed in the arena?” Zhang Heng asked curiously.
“I’ve seen it before, but that’s a completely different thing,” Decius said. “Besides, we might also be in danger following Amidio’s death.”
“Hmm. You carried much thought with you when you came out for a walk, and you even accidentally wandered to the aedile, Andrea’s residence,” Zhang Heng said. “It sounds reasonable to me.”
Decius was left silent after he heard what Zhang Heng said. He then raised his head and asked Zhang Heng, “Why are you here again?”
“I’m here to prevent you from doing stupid things. And I want to solve the bronze statue problem with you.”
“And how do you plan to do that?” asked Decius in surprise. “Do you know who the mastermind is?”
Zhang Heng did not answer Decius’s question. Instead, he stretched out a hand. “Give it back to me first.”
“What is it?” Decius’s heart clenched, but he still did not spill the secret.
“The necklace you stole from Amidio’s room.”
“I stole nothing… Wait…” Decius appeared to realize something all of a sudden. With widened eyes, he gasped, “You placed the necklace there on purpose?!”
“Yes. Do you now understand why I stopped you from meeting Andrea? If you had used this necklace to negotiate with her, I’m worried you’d really follow in Amidio’s footsteps, “Zhang Heng blinked and said. “The necklace is not a piece of evidence left by Amidio but, uhh… a gift from someone else. I am the one who threw it into the cracks of the bed frame.”
Since Zhang Heng lacked few good options at that time, he could only throw his game item there if he didn’t throw the necklace that Lucilla gave him.
“You set a trap for me?” Decius seemed to be in disbelief. “But when did you suspect me?”
“I didn’t set a trap for you. There are three possibilities here. The first possibility is that you did not perform Watson’s duty well enough, overlooking the necklace. If that were the case, nothing would happen after that. Second, you found the necklace, and you notified me about it. I really hoped you would have gone for that because I would’ve praised you for it. Third, our current situation: you took the necklace behind my back, and I need to stop you in time from doing anything stupid.”
Zhang Heng continued, “As for when I started to suspect you, I trusted you fully at the beginning. Your family became nobles with the support of the former Emperor, Aurelius. They have always been hardcore supporters of the royal family, so logically, you should have sided with us in this bronze statue affair. When I got to know you better, however, I discovered that your family background was rather interesting.
“Your mother was a slave, and… I must first apologize, for what comes next might come off a little harsh. Your birth was actually an accident. Your father had sex with your mother after he got drunk. After she gave birth to you, she was kicked out of the house by your father’s wife. I can imagine that you didn’t have a happy childhood. In fact, up until now, your position in this family is more to that of a leech. Fortunately, you have a wife who loves you dearly, and she is very considerate as well. Unfortunately, your brother is a b*stard. He harasses your wife when you are not there. So, do you really have a sense of belonging in this family?”
“Did you investigate me before you came to see me?”
Decius looked serious.
“No, I came to look for you right after I left the palace,” Zhang Heng said.
“But we didn’t spend much time together. When did you…”
Decius was startled as a sudden realization came to him. “At the southeast city, you said you were going to find a friend to help us to solve the ore problem. At that time, we were apart for a while…”
“Yes. You are really smarter than you seem on the outside. I know a guy. The force behind him is said to be everywhere, specializing in collecting all kinds of information. They don’t just nest in the southeast city. So I asked for your background information from him,” Zhang Heng said,
“And this solves my biggest doubt. Suppose the bronze statue doesn’t get handed over on time, your family will undoubtedly suffer losses, especially new aristocrats like your father, who relied on Aurelius to join the Senate. Once he loses the Emperor’s favor, your family will start to deteriorate. But I guess this is not bad news for you since you and your family’s interests do not align.”
Zhang Heng paused. “Of course, I’m not saying that you stand in a different position with your family when it comes to the copper mine incident. Strictly speaking, I started suspecting when you brought us to meet your friend, Klaus.”
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