Chapter 150: Ma Like's Plea for Help

The next day's funeral was hurried and bloody. When the morning star was faintly visible, Sultan Nur ad-Din's coffin had already left the south gate of Apoler Castle. The Fatimids and Emirs who once followed him sent out their soldiers one after another. These soldiers rode fast horses and galloped through every alley in Apoler. They scanned every door and window with eyes like hawks, ensuring they were all closed tightly.

Just the night before, the Grand Vizier and the great scholar had issued their respective decrees—today, the people in Apoler must stay at home. Whether they wanted to work, eat, or study, as long as their feet dared to cross the threshold, the Sultan's soldiers had the right to cut off their heads—someone did indeed do so. The previous lucky ones made them jealous to the point of red eyes. Whether for faith or something else, there were always people who took risks by chance.

They really shouldn't have forgotten those big figures they once feared. The latter might be negligent, but they would never repeat the same mistake. The rolling heads and splashing blood became the best warning. Whether male or female, old or young, at this moment, they only dared to curl up in the room. Even the boldest people only dared to lean tightly against the doors and windows, looking through the cracks at the solemn and long procession slowly leaving their sight.

Some people saw that what was held on the shoulders of the sixteen pallbearers again was no longer the original simple wooden coffin, but a stone coffin that was pure white all over, inlaid with gold, silver, gems, and pearls.

He was a little surprised, because this was not what Nur ad-Din advocated. Indeed, this stone coffin was something a Frankish noble offered to the Sultan to thank him for his willingness to release one of his relatives. At that time, people were amazed, but Nur ad-Din just touched it and said, this was not something that the people of Allah should possess.

When our bodies rot in mud and wood and return to the earth, our souls will ascend to heaven; and when we sink into this gorgeous stone coffin, our souls will only be imprisoned here, and together with the things inside, become fuel for the fire hell.

So at the beginning, people didn't think of this stone coffin. It was only because the riot happened the day before—Nur ad-Din's coffin was even damaged so severely that it couldn't be used anymore. People could only find a simpler wooden coffin and reload his holy remains. But to be on the safe side, they put the wooden coffin into the stone coffin.

This stone coffin was almost equal to ten camels, which was not something the original pallbearers could carry—the eldest prince and the second prince didn't even have to try, and announced their abandonment, not to mention that several of the original pallbearers were injured or even lost their lives in the previous conflict. Therefore, the new pallbearers were almost all served by soldiers who had received the Prophet's revelation. Even so, the terrifying weight pressed them until they could hardly breathe, and every step they took seemed to leave a deep dent on the stone floor of Apoler.

Fortunately, they arrived at the Umayyad Mosque smoothly. In the square of the mosque, the stone coffin was put down, the wooden coffin was taken out, it fell into the grave that had been excavated, and then people covered it with soil, leveled it, and then the stone coffin was carried to fall above the grave.

"Nur ad-Din probably wouldn't like this way of doing things," a Fatimid muttered.

The great scholar said with full displeasure, "Then he certainly wouldn't be happy to see his body stolen. Those ignorant people will buy them and collect them, and worship them on the altar, just like those stupid Christians." In their doctrine, it was not allowed to worship anyone or anything other than Allah, but even among the people of Apoler, they were still deeply influenced by past sects. These fallacies might need more time to be corrected, but it was impossible now.

The great scholar took a deep breath, and his heart could finally be put down. Unfortunately, it was immediately lifted up again. The Sultan had been buried, and the masks of the two princes could finally be torn off. The people who came to the funeral were clearly divided into two teams.

Fortunately, as a great scholar of high status, he could still firmly refuse the recruitment of these two princes, "I want to pray for the Sultan," he said. He would stay in the Umayyad Mosque until the clash of swords and the wailing and crying of people sounded outside the mosque, and until the fire was extinguished and the smoke dissipated, he would walk out of here again to bless the final winner.

And what the great scholar didn't know was that Sultan Nur ad-Din's holy remains had not yet fallen underground, and the Christians still lingering behind the second gate of Apoler Castle were welcoming a gift that no one expected.

Cesar didn't know if the Saracens had a tradition of mourning for relatives, but strangely, they also had a requirement to pray for the dead on the seventh and twenty-first days—because Sultan Nur ad-Din died in Amalric I, on the seventh day, they were still negotiating, even though scholars from Amalric I rushed to pray for the Sultan—today was the twentieth day, which meant the mourning period had not completely passed. What did the second prince, who had already grown a beard, send?

Slave girls, young, beautiful, and distinctive slave girls, white, brown, and black, and the number was also astonishing, a full one hundred.

A group of eunuchs drove them like dogs managing a flock of sheep, brought them to the courtyard, and then asked Cesar and other Christian knights to choose to their heart's content.

"This is truly a gorgeous gift," Cesar said with a bitter smile.

"Not only gorgeous but also very valuable," Geoffrey said with a playful smile.

Wasn't it? There were one hundred young ladies here, each wrapped in silk robes, and more dazzling than their appearance was the light of gold and gems. Each of them wore collars, chest chains, bracelets, anklets, and heavy belts.

This was truly a big deal. The jewelry on these slave girls would not be less than a thousand gold coins, and their own value was also one-half or one-third of this money. Among them, a few who were particularly beautiful or charming were obviously prepared specifically for Cesar and old knights like Geoffrey. As soon as they saw Cesar walk out, they immediately greeted him, knelt in front of them, unveiled their veils, raised their faces, opened their arms, and made a posture of being at his disposal. Geoffrey couldn't help but lower his head and pinch the bridge of his nose, and the other knights didn't show any joy, but rather some embarrassment.

The knights transferred from other places were fine, but the Knights of the Holy Sepulchre who were serving the King in the castle at that time had seen Cesar's sister, Natia, with their own eyes. The posture she made at that time was exactly the same as it was now. Of course, this was a lesson that every slave girl in the Sultan's harem had to learn, but since they already knew that Cesar's sister had been sold here and almost became the Sultan's concubine—when they saw this scene, they couldn't produce any romantic thoughts at all.

And those who knew that Natia had once been one of the harem slave girls didn't know whether they were threatening, warning, or mocking. Of course, it was possible that it was all three.

The Saracen court at this time could not yet be compared with the later Ottoman Empire. Princes might fight each other, but they might also live in peace—although this peace was open to question, which led to the descendants of a hero possibly all being idiots. At least the master of these slave girls, the second prince, was definitely not a smart guy.

And until today, he was still alive, which proved that the eldest prince also had a high probability of being a mediocre and incompetent person. Otherwise, the second prince would not exist now. They knew the Sultan had a youngest son, but unless he was Baldwin IV or a person with great grace like Cesar, otherwise, what could a young child do?

Cesar turned and looked at the young knights behind him, "We need to discuss," he said to the eunuch who sent the slave girls, "you take them to rest elsewhere and come back tomorrow to wait for arrangements."

Geoffrey stepped forward and quietly stuffed a gold ring inlaid with sapphires into the eunuch's hand, "Please tell your master. This gift truly flattered us, making it difficult for us to make a decision in a short time, or," he leaned close to the eunuch and lowered his voice: "If he has any requests, he should also tell us. If the master is generous, the guest will naturally not be stingy. Honestly, only after getting a clear word can we determine what to do next?"

The eunuch took the ring, and his expression eased a lot. "I will report truthfully to my master."

When he went back and told the second prince word for word, the second prince couldn't help but let out a contemptuous sneer, "They intend to wait for a price," he said angrily. "But they will soon find that in Apoler Castle, there will be no second person as generous as me," he bit his fingernails, his face showing annoyance.

He did have a sum of money in his hand, quite considerable. But this money had to be used to buy those Emirs, Fatimids, and his father's personal guards. The slave girls sent out were also his father's generosity, misappropriating those palace maids and slaves in the harem, and the jewelry they wore also came from his mother's treasury.

But now the attitude of those Christians was very clear. Either they were waiting for the second person to bid, or they were forcing him to raise the price. He coveted these Christian knights, but he was truly unwilling to hurt his muscles and bones for these infidels. "I heard before that there was collusion between Isaacites and bandits in Damascus."

This sentence came out of nowhere, but the eunuch immediately understood his meaning. Yes, there were many Isaacites in Apoler, and they were like fattened cattle and sheep that could be slaughtered at any time. It was just that Nur ad-Din hadn't had time to enjoy them before he went to see Allah, leaving them to his wife and sons. Now was the time to use them, "Then take my people to warn them," the second prince leaned back and said lazily. The eunuch took the order and left.

The second prince closed his eyes slightly and tapped the armrest of the seat. He never felt that his favorite seat was so narrow and so cold and hard.

He wanted to change his chair. The Sultan's throne was very good.

————————

Cesar and Geoffrey sent away the eunuch and returned to the palace where they were temporarily staying. They looked at each other and found that both of them were pale.

They had been in Apoler Castle for nearly a week. And during this long period, even though people in the court and harem were busy with Sultan Nur ad-Din's funeral, as one of the most important terms of the oral alliance, the release of Count Joscelin III of Edessa should have been put on the agenda no matter what, but from beginning to end, no one had come to discuss this matter with Cesar.

In fact, on the fourth day, Cesar vaguely felt something was wrong. Geoffrey also began to be anxious on the fifth day. Even if Joscelin III was imprisoned in a remote fortress some distance from Apoler, he should have arrived—even if it was not the day of formal handover, they should have let this father and son meet and talk about the past. It could even be said that even if they didn't allow the Christian delegation to leave Apoler before Sultan Nur ad-Din was buried, they should have let Joscelin III and his wife and Cesar live in the same place. This was the attitude that should be had toward hostages who were about to be released.

But even though the First Lady, Second Lady, and Third Lady and the three princes they raised each sent generous rewards and gifts, the First Lady even wrote a sincere letter on behalf of the third prince to thank him for everything he did for Sultan Nur ad-Din. This letter also did not mention a word about Joscelin III. They seemed to have tacitly put the matter of Joscelin III in a place that Christians could not reach.

Before, Cesar had requested to see the Grand Vizier or the great scholar many times, but all were politely declined.

Cesar had sworn to take care of Joscelin III and his wife on behalf of the original owner of his body, but looking at the Saracens' attitude, he only felt a chill of ominousness. He suspected that this couple had met with misfortune. What made him feel puzzled was the performance of the people in Apoler Castle—they didn't seem to think that the death of this couple would lead to any unbearable consequences. Everyone was dealing with this matter in a calm and perfunctory manner. Did they think that Cesar did not have sincere feelings for Joscelin III and his wife?

Indeed, they had been separated for more than ten years, but as long as Cesar continued to possess the life, surname, and title granted by Joscelin III, he had the right and obligation to avenge him. This would be an iron rule that no one could doubt or shake.

If he didn't do so, it would instead arouse people's suspicion. They would despise him, hate him, and expel him. He might even be unable to stay in Amalric I or any Christian land because of this. There was nothing more shameful than this. A son was unwilling to avenge his father, and his father died under the conspiracy of infidels.

Today's move by the second prince was proof of Cesar's guess—if he intended to employ or use these Christian knights, then wasn't the best way to win Cesar's favor to send Joscelin III and his wife to him? But he didn't. He would rather use one hundred slave girls wearing expensive jewelry to please the Christians—clearly, he could no longer produce that most important bargaining chip.

At this time, the knights had not yet dispersed. A young knight of the Knights of the Holy Sepulchre stepped forward and held Cesar's hand, worried that he would be hit hard by the suddenly confirmed bad news. Some knights had not thought of this, but under the analysis of their companions, they understood this terrible inside story. They were horrified, then indignant, and one after another swore in a low voice to wash away this shame for Cesar.

Cesar did feel a sorrow that could not be suppressed overflowing from his chest, but he could still think. Compared to avenging Joscelin III and his wife, the more important thing at this time was to withdraw from Apoler safely. Now they could still stay here safely. Besides the fact that the Lady and the princes could not publicly return evil for good for the time being, there was another important reason—in the upcoming civil war, they still intended to use the Christians to fight for them.

But as the moment of unveiling approached, the time left for them was getting less and less, possibly just in a flash.

Cesar made a decision immediately: "From today on," he said in a hoarse and firm voice, "everyone must be armored at all times, keep weapons at hand, and our horses..."

Geoffrey nodded immediately. As an experienced knight, he certainly couldn't keep the knights' horses out of their sight. They were kept on one side of the courtyard. The feces and noise caused complaints from the eunuchs and slave girls, but Geoffrey wouldn't care about these lowly servants.

It was just that even Cesar didn't expect how timely his order was. That night, someone knocked on their door urgently.

When two knights brought that person to Cesar, Cesar couldn't help but be stunned for a moment.

"Lord Ma Like, why did you come here?"

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 151 =====