Chapter 171: The Third Informant
And in a mansion not far from Haridi’s, there was a scene of gloom and despair.
This mansion belonged to Jacques, the son-in-law of Lego from Bethlehem, who this time could be considered to have suffered an undeserved calamity. Although he would often be affectionately patted on the shoulder by his father-in-law Lego and called son-in-law, or son, and would also be called brother and friend by other Isaacites merchants— at those times they treated him very kindly, and he felt satisfied with the double respect he received.
Look, he was not an Isaacite, yet he could enjoy the conveniences of Isaacites, and would not suffer discrimination for being an Isaacite; he was still a Christian and could sit beside Bishop Andrew during his trials, high and mighty.
He had never imagined that he himself would become one of those on trial, and now he could not help regretting his previous rash actions—he should not have followed those Isaacites to Holy Cross Castle.
At that time, what he had in mind was how to use his Christian identity to plead for his father-in-law, but when he actually saw their young and handsome lord, he had no chance to speak, or rather, the lord did not even notice his existence.
It was only after the lord had passed judgment that an attendant approached the lord and whispered something in his ear; only then did he glance at him and order that he not be allowed to appear on Ayyarasa Road again—this statement was equivalent to cutting off more than half of his future; he was a merchant and might still need to use this road to climb to higher positions in the future, such as becoming a tax collector for some lord.
But now, he could not even enter Ayyarasa Road, and when the lord returned to Bethlehem… he truly did not know what he would do if the lord was unwilling to see him in Bethlehem.
Of course they could still go elsewhere, but both Antioch and Tripoli were vassals of Ayyarasa Road; as someone hated by a minister closest to the King of Ayyarasa Road, what could he do? Unless he could use money to bribe, not to mention whether the lord would accept his bribe, neither he nor his father-in-law had any money left.
His father-in-law had originally donated a large sum in the ransom to Saladin. And this money followed them to Damascus but failed to achieve any expected goal; it sank into that great river of the Saracens without so much as a splash.
For this, Lego’s reputation had suffered great damage, although he had been pleading—this was a strategy decided upon by everyone together—but with public anger aroused, he still had to divert some money to appease others’ fury; perhaps for this reason, he urgently wanted to recoup some of what was lost, which was why he proposed again to aid the poor on behalf of the lord.
The problem was, this action had failed again, and more people turned their sharp spearheads against him; usually Lego could rely on his silver tongue to avoid disaster, but who could have expected that now, after receiving thirty lashes, he was gasping for breath, unconscious and dying?
Jacques knew that today was the last day of New Year; the Isaacites’ New Year lasted two days, during which according to doctrine they could not do anything except pray and rest.
So these creditors also had to hold their peace for now, but when the sun rose tomorrow morning, they would surely swarm like an army of ants. Yes, they no longer had much money left, but they still had goods and connections; in the judgment that lord had made for them, Lego had bought that Saracen’s soap at three times the price.
This deal sounded like Lego had taken a loss, but in fact Lego had made an unknown fortune from it, and this was based on him having sold only one-tenth of those soaps. Sure enough, no sooner had this merchant left than they heard of the terrible unrest in Acre.
And by the time they reached Damascus, they learned even more.
Even though the heads of the Eldest Prince and Second Prince had been hung on the city walls to the left and right of Sultan’s Gate, the situation after the First Lady and the nine-year-old little prince Salih jointly ruled was still unstable, and the production and transportation of Acre soap had been greatly hindered.
When he was driven out by Saladin, Lego was still full of confidence, precisely because he had a large batch of Acre soap in hand; the price of this soap had already risen to an astonishing level due to scarcity, and as long as they sold it, no matter what, they would have a chance to make a comeback.
But would these creditors allow it?
Worst of all, Lego originally had an extremely close relationship with the sage of Bethlehem. They had known each other since early times and studied under the same teacher, only the other’s talent was much greater than Lego’s; he eventually became the sage’s student and ultimately became a sage himself.
But he could not forget their friendship as classmates, not to mention that Lego’s annual donations were quite substantial; but now, not to mention the sage, even the sage’s students had been whipped, their lives hanging in the balance.
No doubt those people would soon push the synagogue to elect a new sage to guide the life and actions of the Isaacites in Bethlehem.
Thinking of this, he burned with anxiety and had no appetite all day. Fortunately, the Isaacites’ New Year was not his New Year; as night just began to fall, he went to find Haridi.
Haridi was Lego’s friend and had once owed Lego a favor; he had lived in Bethlehem for a time, and Lego had even wanted to buy him a house and workshop so he could stay here with his wife and children. Although refused, he had to admit that he had received benefits from Lego, right?
Haridi was greatly favored by that lord. Although Jacques could not see what exactly made him so valued by the lord, since that was the case, asking Haridi to put in a good word for his father-in-law should not be a problem.
With such expectations, he hurriedly went to Haridi’s workshop, only to be stopped by two apprentices.
Those two children also had the innate sharpness of Isaacites. The moment they saw Jacques, they knew he had come to plead for his father-in-law Lego. But they had also heard that their lord was actually a very mild-mannered man; for something to make him so furious as to mete out such severe punishment to everyone, it was probably no small matter.
Since that was the case, why should he waste their master’s trust with the lord and make him get whipped or even hanged upside down to death? They did not let Jacques see Haridi at all, only saying that today was the last day of New Year, and Haridi had to pray for his teacher, wife, and children, and did not intend to see anyone.
What about tomorrow?
Tomorrow he also had to pray.
What about the day after?
The day after he also had to pray.
At this point, Jacques knew that pushing further would only bring humiliation upon himself; he left Haridi’s workshop in anger, and if they could survive this ordeal, he would surely tell Lego about this and demand that he drive Haridi out of Bethlehem.
So what if he was favored by the lord? Isaacites had their own law.
On his way home, he saw the Synagogue of Isaac towering on one side of the square, which was equivalent to the Isaacites’ church, built of grayish-white marble, appearing even more majestic and solemn in the night.
In a prosperous small city like Bethlehem, there would be several sages, and the one who could ultimately preside over meetings in the synagogue was the most respected and the one who held the greatest power. Now, Lego’s old friend was dead, and the Isaacites were mourning him on one hand while searching for a new sage leader on the other.
But the problem was that they each supported different candidates and were arguing fiercely for the time being; Jacques did not know which sage would ultimately be victorious.
If he knew, he could go all in: take out all the soap from the warehouse and give it to that sage. But he could not even catch a trace of a clue—he was not an Isaacite after all, and none of the Isaacites’ meetings would allow him to attend.
He returned home bewildered and at a loss; his wife, seeing him, though full of worry, immediately stood up to serve him.
“Is there anything else? I’m hungry.” As he spoke, he walked into the dining room, and then he saw something even more upsetting: his wife’s aunt.
His father-in-law Lego’s sister, “Why is she here?”
“Today… is the day for family reunion.” His wife said cautiously.
“If father could stand up, he would slap you and throw you and this woman out together.” Indeed, if Lego were conscious, he would surely scold his daughter and drive his own sister out of this house.
In any case, Witt’s mother had converted to marry a Christian knight, making her a traitor and heretic among the Isaacites. After that, even though Lego and his daughter still cared for this relative, they could only secretly give her some money in private.
After her husband and son died one after another, although Lego pitied her, he still decided to send her away rather than let her stay in Bethlehem.
If discovered that they were still associating with this woman expelled from the community, they themselves would be implicated. “Send her away immediately.” Jacques had completely lost his appetite; he grabbed a wine cup, poured himself a large glass of wine, but the usually fragrant and delicious wine now tasted like bitter poison, making him nauseous.
He knew this was a psychological issue; pressing his stomach, he went upstairs. Before going up, he turned for a glance and saw his wife, with a look of shame, leading her aunt out the back door; he felt slightly relieved.
He had decided: today he could not find anyone, but tomorrow he would definitely find a captain to send this woman far away; it was just a pity she was old and could not be sold for a price, nor would anyone want her—otherwise, he could sell her directly and save some money.
Witt’s mother, carrying the unfinished food, shuffled from a narrow alley onto the main street; she felt no anger in her heart, only relief.
Yes, although she often received aid from her brother and his children, and after losing her husband and son they were still willing to find a way out for her, for this woman, they had not given her the greatest help—allowing her husband to gain a foothold in Holy Cross Castle instead of being sent to the dangerous battlefield—which was enough for her to curse them for a thousand years.
And when her son was driven out of Holy Cross Castle and became a priest in a monastery, she had joyfully run around telling everyone that her son had received God’s blessing. He should return to the Isaacites community and become a sage’s student, but after inquiring about the price and her son’s demonstrated abilities, Lego unhesitatingly refused her.
The price was too high, the return too low.
When her son died, Lego, as his uncle, never once mentioned revenge.
Of course, to find the culprits, several lords in Holy Cross Castle were hard to escape blame; the one who directly ordered Witt’s death was the current Patriarch Heraclius. It was not just like throwing an egg against a rock; the disparity in status between her and them was almost like heaven and earth, but she was unwilling to give up. “Even a giant elephant can have its brain bitten through by a mouse.” Muttering this, she came to Bethlehem and stayed here at all costs.
She knew that neither Lego nor Jacques had ever given up on sending her away, but she was like a rusty and extremely stubborn nail stuck in their eyes that could not be pulled out.
However, she was also a bit worried; she had of course gone to see Lego before. If Lego and Jacques ultimately could not gain a foothold in Bethlehem and had to leave, what would she do? After all, food and lodging at an inn cost money; she was considering whether to go find the one who had given her a promise, but unexpectedly, that evening, that person’s servant came.
Hearing the servant’s purpose, Witt’s mother pursed her lips.
She had indeed been a beauty once, otherwise she could not have led a Christian knight to fall for her, but now she was old, and the deaths of her husband and son had left some indelible traces of grief; her hair was gray and white, fluffy and dry, her eyebrows patchy from alopecia, and her vicious eyes deeply sunken like two dry wells.
Her nose was large, with a beak-like hook at the tip, a physical feature common to most Isaacites. When young, this feature gave her a unique charm; now it only made people feel disgust and fear.
Her lips were thin; people said those with thin lips were usually heartless and ungrateful, but on the surface, she could be said to have been deeply devoted to her husband and son—though how much was pretense or necessity, the servant did not believe.
