CHAPTER 164

After Orville said this, Xia Zuoyi was completely stunned on the spot, and he didn't even know how to react for a moment.

He suspected that he had heard wrongly and said in a daze: "What..."

Compared to Xia Zuoyi's confused look, Orville was like a trapped fish who finally found a way out.

He nodded as if he agreed with his words: "Since men can kiss each other, of course you and I can also kiss..."

"No, Orville, that's not the case..." Xia Zuoyi tried to explain.

But Orville seemed to have figured it out, and took a step forward and said: "Little Zuoyi, do you hate me?"

"That's not true..."

"So you're already with the Pope?"

Orville frowned: "If that's the case, I have a hard time accepting it...Little Zuoyi, you'd better not be with the Pope. In his eyes, isn't the most important thing the Holy See?"

Xia Zuoyi rubbed his eyebrows with a slight headache: "I'm not with the Pope yet."

"I don't hate you either, but that doesn't mean I can kiss you, Orville...have you been stimulated in some way..."

Why the nonsense?

Orville: "No, I'm not. I just wanted to understand something."

He wondered: "You don't want to kiss me, why? Because you don't like me, but like the Pope? That's why you were so intimate with the Pope last night..."

Xia Zuoyi didn't answer, but the tips of his ears gradually turned red.

Orville's light gray eyes flickered, then darkened, and he said: "Little Zuoyi, come and like me, I will be very kind to you."

"Although I can't marry you, I won't marry anyone else."

"I can promise you that you will be my de facto duchess."

Xia Zuoyi: “…………”

Not only did he have a headache, but he also wanted to sigh helplessly: "Why must I become the duchess instead of you becoming this lord's wife?"

Orville thought for a moment and nodded: "If that's what you want, that's fine. I don't have any objections."

"...No, Orville, I was just saying casually."

Xia Zuoyi sighed: "I will not be your duchess. No matter what reason gave you this idea, just give up."

Orville pondered, and then said: "Although you are rejecting me, I don't want to give up yet."

"Little Zuoyi, I would be a better candidate than the Pope, why don't you try to accept me..."

The conversation finally ended with Fernandi's knock on the door. Orville left a message hoping that he would consider it before leaving, seemingly not flinching at all from Xia Zuoyi's rejection.

Xia Zuoyi’s brain hurts.

Fernandi said: "My lord, Thomas, the president of the Ed Chamber of Commerce, personally came to visit the Sherry Hotel and hopes to meet you."

"Now, the president is waiting in the hall. Your meaning..."

"Invite him to come up." Xia Zuoyi pinched his eyebrows and said.

"Yes."

Fernandi turned around and went out. After Xia Zuoyi sorted out the chaotic thoughts he had, Thomas, the predident of the Ed Chamber of Commerce, was brought in.

"Please sit down." Xia Zuoyi said.

"I wonder what the president is here to see me for?"

The president is already in his forties. His hair is all neatly combed back, with a lot of white hair mixed in. There were obvious wrinkles on his face.

But he still seems to be in high spirits, and at least has the energy to manage a huge chamber of commerce.

Old Thomas said: "I came here to ask the lord if he has any intention to cooperate with the Ed Chamber of Commerce."

Xia Zuoyi: “Does the president want the three chambers of commerce to cooperate together?”

Thorn Chamber of Commerce, Ed Chamber of Commerce, and Nagabi Chamber of Commerce.

Old Thomas shook his head: "I just want to cooperate with the lord. As for whether the lord cooperates with chambers of commerce other than the Ed Chamber of Commerce, I don't care."

"For the lord, the Ed Chamber of Commerce can make great concessions."

Xia Zuoyi: "So, what does the president hope to do with the Thorn Chamber of Commerce?"

Old Thomas: "The new crops that Samuel Fern brought back from the New World."

"Lord, although you are strictly controlling the circulation of these new crops to the outside world, the news has still spread to the Saint Airo Empire..."

"And just this bit of news can make people see the huge benefits contained in it."

"No...perhaps to be precise, the emergence of these new crops will bring about a revolution in the field of food."

"This should have been reflected in the Desinian territory."

Old Thomas's eyes seemed to be shining with hot light, and he said: "I never thought that the yield of a crop could reach more than a hundred catties, or even a thousand catties."

“And there is not one, but three such crops!”

Xia Zuoyi: "If it's about new crops, the Ed Chamber of Commerce doesn't have to cooperate with the Thorn Chamber of Commerce."

"After all, I have never restricted the sale of brochures on seeds and planting methods of new crops to people outside the territory of Desinia..."

"As for temporarily controlling the speed of circulation, I have my own considerations."

"The lord is joking. The few seeds of new crops circulating on the market are simply the size of fish fry. If no one releases the big fish, how can the Ed Chamber of Commerce eat it?"

"And in addition to these three new crops, the Ed Chamber of Commerce also wants to cooperate with the lord to establish a hospital..."

Old Thomas sounded sincere.

But Xia Zuoyi sat back on the sofa and said calmly: "The president has a clear understanding of what happened in the Desinia territory."

"However, the president may be disappointed."

"The Thorn Chamber of Commerce will not consider cooperating with other chambers of commerce for the time being. President, please go back."

Old Thomas looked a little ugly when he heard this: "Don't you, Lord, ask what conditions the Ed Chamber of Commerce will pay for cooperation?"

"I said before that the Ed Chamber of Commerce can make great concessions to the lord."

"No matter how much the Ed Chamber of Commerce gives out, I have no plans to cooperate for the time being...at least not now."

Xia Zuoyi thought: "Maybe I will change my mind later, provided that the Ed Chamber of Commerce is willing to wait for a while, and I hope the president can understand..."

"Does the lord have any concerns?"

Xia Zuoyi nodded.

Old Thomas' expression softened somewhat. He thought for a while and said, "The Ed Chamber of Commerce's intention to cooperate with the lord will not change."

"As for how long we'll wait, I hope the lord can give a definite answer as soon as possible."

Later, Old Thomas said goodbye and left.

…………

In order to avoid seeing Orville and hearing some of his troublesome words, Xia Zuoyi had lunch and dinner in the room. Fortunately, Orville didn't come looking for him again.

His Excellency the Pope did not come back even that day because he was busy in the Holy Church.

Xia Zuoyi thought that he would sleep in the Holy Church's residence tonight. After Eggy made a lot of noise in the room, he came out by grabbing the dog's ears and planned to imprison the naughty husky in person with Egg Yolk, Brown Sugar, and Ice Cream. In the "little dark room", three large fluffy animals watch together to prevent trouble in the middle of the night.

However, he suddenly stopped when he led Eggy to the corner of the corridor.

——On the other half of the corridor where the kerosene lamp was burning were standing two figures, one was the Pope and the other was the Archduke Orville.

The flame inside the kerosene lamp flickered, making the figures appear bright and dark.

Xia Zuoyi couldn't help but widen his eyes slightly, then bent down and squatted down, covering Eggy's mouth at the same time.

Eggy tilted his head inexplicably.

It was an accident that the two met.

After Segalot returned to the Sherry Hotel, he naturally went to see Xia Zuoyi, and Orville had the same purpose.

After meeting in the corridor, the two of them stopped in unison.

Segalot: "The Grand Duke is here so late. What's the matter?"

Orville: “It has nothing to do with Your Excellency, I’m looking for little Zuoyi.”

He paused and said, "His Excellency the Pope, can you answer me a question?"

"The Grand Duke might as well speak directly." Segalot nodded.

Orville: "The Holy See creates dogma, has strict regulations on people, and spreads blessings to people on behalf of the God of Creation... Anyone who violates dogma and common sense will be punished. Are there no exceptions?"

Segalot: "The dogma is strict, but the God of Creation is tolerant to the world."

"The regulations of the Holy See are also formulated and modified by each successive pope. They may not have been wrong before, but now... they may not be correct."

"There are exceptions to everything."

"And most of these exceptions are for nobles... I thought the Grand Duke should have understood the reason for this."

Orville: "So, the Pope is also an exception. As for the rules of the Holy See, Your Excellency does not have to abide by them."

"Am i right?"

Segalot's golden eyes flashed and he said, "What does the Grand Duke want to say?"

Orville: "Your Excellency, regarding men..."

"Ao——"

The words he just spoke were suddenly interrupted by a howl.

At the same time, Eggy suddenly jumped out from the corner of the corridor and appeared in front of Orville and Segalot.

"Eggy, why are you so disobedient? Didn't I tell you not to run around? Come back quickly..."

Xia Zuoyi appeared immediately with a puzzled expression: "Your Excellency, Orville, why are you standing here?"

Eggy twisted his head and stared at Xia Zuoyi with aggrieved eyes. Then he looked at his butt and spun around twice.

Segalot: "We met here by chance and chatted with each other for a while."

"Is Eggy disobedient again?"

Segalot rubbed the husky's head, and then Eggy ducked away unhappily. He whimpered and faced the wall of the corridor without even wagging his tail.

"What's going on?" Segalot laughed.

Xia Zuoyi: "Ahem... he made trouble in the room before, and I gave him a lesson."

In fact, he was afraid that Orville would "make shocking remarks" in front of His Excellency the Pope again, so he pinched Eggy's butt in desperation.

"What were you talking about just now?"

Segalot: "Nothing, it's just that the Grand Duke came to ask some questions."

Orville looked calm and did not insist on the previous question. Instead, he took a step forward and walked up to Xia Zuoyi and said: “Little Zuoyi, I came here to see you and say good night. Now, it’s time for me to go back. "

After he finished speaking, he leaned down and kissed Xia Zuoyi's forehead gently before he could react. Then he said in a gentle voice: "Good night, I wish you a good dream tonight."

Segalot's expression suddenly changed.

After Orville left, Xia Zuoyi recovered from the shock, pursed his lips and glanced at the Pope carefully: "I, I didn't expect…"

The author has something to say:

Eggy: Oh, why did daddy pinch zaizai? Aggrieved.jpg.

Xia Xia: Daddy didn’t mean it, hug.jpg.

Grand Duke: Well, good night.

Xia Xia: The cat was frightened and had a double chin.jpg.

Pope: ^_^

(T/N: Zaizai means cub. Its cuter using zaizai so i didn't change it)