Chapter 1326: Cooperation and Speculation

As the two Elves performed together, the flowers and grasses in the Flower Courtyard also began to sway slightly in time with their melody.

Seeing this scene, Xia Duo didn't know whether to marvel at the Elves' ability to enjoy themselves or to feel pained for the afternoon he was about to lose!

But fortunately, the two Elves' concert could not last; at first, Aoruipusi could keep up with Tuofu's rhythm, but later, perhaps because he was not very familiar with the piece, he could no longer keep up with Tuofu's rhythm.

And upon discovering this situation, Tuofu also lost interest in continuing to sing.

But Xia Duo could tell from Tuofu's expression that she was still not quite satisfied; Xia Duo did not want an informal meeting to turn into her private concert, so he quickly changed the subject:

"Ms. Tuofu, I heard Patriarch Aoruipusi mention that you came to Savile Territory to investigate the truth behind Ruien's death? If there is anything you need help with, please feel free to speak."

In fact, by this point in the conversation, Xia Duo had already obtained most of the information he wanted to know; as for the rest, it would be difficult to find out by continuing in this manner.

It would be better to end the meeting early and go back to discuss it with Niya.

Sure enough, when Xia Duo mentioned the purpose of Tuofu's trip, the expression on Tuofu's face quickly turned cold, "Humans really are impatient! How boring!"

Although she said that, Xia Duo did not hear any sense of anger in her tone; it was more annoyance caused by the interruption of her interest.

Of course, complaining that humans are impatient was also her true intention.

"I have already investigated; Ruien did indeed die at the hands of the Drow, which has nothing to do with Savile Territory. But I have another matter—"

Speaking of this, Tuofu shifted her gaze to Aoruipusi, who was standing to the side, "I didn't expect the Silver Leaf Family to be so bold as to collude with humans to smuggle spices!"

As soon as these words were spoken, Aoruipusi's slender ears trembled violently, and his body began to shiver, but his meager Courage still supported him in standing there, and he subconsciously cast a look of help toward Xia Duo.

Xia Duo sighed inwardly: someone hasn't even said anything yet, and you've already lost your nerve; if you really encountered someone coming to investigate the smuggling, wouldn't you be scared into collapsing on the ground?

In fact, Aoruipusi was too close to the situation to see it clearly; after the treason was pointed out, he was immediately terrified, but Xia Duo saw that Tuofu actually had no intention of holding him accountable.

Instead, there was a sense of watching a joke!

Watching whose joke? It was unlikely to be the humans', but it couldn't be the Silver Leaf Family's joke, could it?

If Tuofu were an ordinary Elf, perhaps that might be possible, but for a Tuofu who came from a prestigious family and was herself highly likely to become a High Mage, watching the Silver Leaf Family's joke was somewhat too low-brow.

Then it must be watching the Cormanthor joke.

It was already an open secret that everyone saw through but did not speak of that the Upper Families and the Crown King were not necessarily of one mind; smuggling harmed the interests of many related families, but more importantly than the interests, it damaged the majesty of the Crown King.

For a moment, Xia Duo imagined a lot, such as the Moon Crown Family being very dissatisfied with the Cormanthor Crown King's thousand-year rule and wanting to stir up trouble.

And now, perhaps they had seen an opportunity.

This speculation made Xia Duo feel very stimulated, and he also decided to add fuel to the fire; he walked between Tuofu and Aoruipusi, blocked Tuofu's playful and scrutinizing gaze for Aoruipusi, and faced her himself:

"Could it be that the Moon Crown Family is also interested in the spice business?"

Xia Duo did not say smuggling, as if they were discussing a normal business, "With the Moon Crown Family's status in Cormanthor, do they even care about this little bit of profit?"

Hearing this, Tuofu was clearly stunned for a moment, but she quickly reacted and smiled, "Upper Families have times when they are short of money too!"

"So, we have a chance to cooperate, then?"

"Of course, besides this time, there will be many opportunities for cooperation in the future!"

At the same time, Aoruipusi, who had just been frightened into losing his composure, had now recovered; hearing that Xia Duo had reached an agreement with Tuofu so simply, his jaw almost dropped.

"Two, two—"

"Patriarch Aoruipusi, set your mind at ease; Ms. Tuofu has no intention of holding you accountable," Xia Duo comforted him.

"I, I—"

For a time, Aoruipusi still couldn't quite react; he could never understand why an Upper Family would support smuggling for money.

However, the current situation seemed to be the most ideal state he had once envisioned.

In the past, hadn't he been obsessed with finding an Upper Family to endorse the smuggling? Now he had one, but it had come too easily, which was why he was so anxious about gains and losses.

Xia Duo would not be overly worried; even if the smuggling were discovered, at worst they would just stop doing it, and at most pay some money, which was nothing, though he could understand Aoruipusi.

After setting the preliminary intention for cooperation, Tuofu did not stay any longer; she left behind a sentence saying she would send family members to supervise and assist in this matter, and then she left directly.

Xia Duo guessed that she might have other things to do and that coming here was just on her way.

But Xia Duo still had doubts in his heart about the excuse she initially gave for investigating the truth of Ruien's death, only she covered it up very well, and he could not obtain more information.

It was just as well that this was not a big deal; Ruien's family had already died at the hands of the Drow, and the Moon Dew Rose Family, which had old ties to his family, had not issued any investigation commission.

This matter might really just have been an excuse Tuofu thought of on the spur of the moment.

After returning to the Tower of Time, Xia Duo did not go anywhere else, but went straight to Niya's Study.

Niya had been paying attention to Xia Duo's itinerary; even to avoid causing misunderstandings with the Cormanthor investigators, she had not used Scrying spells directly on the other party, but she had been remotely monitoring Xia Duo's movements.

As soon as Xia Duo arrived at the Tower of Time, Niya already knew, and now seeing Xia Duo come to the Study, she couldn't wait to ask the question she cared about most:

"Are you alright?"

"I am fine, don't worry; the conversation went very smoothly, and no conflict occurred."

Hearing that no conflict occurred, Niya immediately felt relieved, and then she asked:

"Then what is the other party's true purpose? Could it really be to investigate the so-called truth behind the death of an ordinary Elf?"

Regarding this question, Xia Duo pondered for a moment and then stated his own speculation, "It might be aimed at the spice smuggling business in cooperation with Lord Collins, or it might have other purposes, such as testing my attitude toward Netheril, winning me over to lean toward Cormanthor, or simply having me defect to Cormanthor."

Judging from the potential information hidden in Tuofu's words, the other party did indeed have the intention of winning him over, but Xia Duo knew very well that there was no room for his development in Cormanthor, and he would only be treated as a tool in the past.

Therefore, he acted as if he didn't understand Tuofu's probing; in any case, what he showed was that he could only speak Standard Elvish, and potential information had nothing to do with Standard Elvish.