Chapter 1337: The Eavesdropper

"A psychologist?"

Mr. Enrikes looked at Xia De with some surprise. Xia De nodded; he had heard Doctor Shi Nai De introduce his work content:

"Because marital discord can cause some psychological problems. Of course, they are just minor problems, not real diseases, such as depression, loss of appetite, fear of sleeping in the same bed at night, or liking to smoke in the alley next to the house after work instead of going home immediately. If you have these symptoms, a psychologist can regulate your problems."

After Xia De finished speaking, he added:

"Don't take the psychologist's medicine; those are all placebos. Just talk to them."

There were no effective drugs to treat psychological problems in this era.

Mr. Enrikes nodded, clearly moved by Xia De's suggestion:

"Yes, perhaps talking to a professional would be better... I have a friend."

Speaking of this, he looked at Xia De cautiously, but found that Xia De had no expression, so he relaxed:

"He learned about some of his wife's past... not a very glorious past, so he has been depressed. I think we can go see a doctor together."

Xia De smiled:

"Does your friend still love his wife?"

"Of course."

Mr. Enrikes said without hesitation.

"Then does his wife still love your friend?"

"Yes, on the night of the wedding banquet, she even knelt and begged him to forgive her for her past infidelity."

After Mr. Enrikes finished speaking, he immediately added:

"This is also what I heard. That is a very close friend who tells me everything."

"I won't easily forgive someone else on behalf of others, but since they both love each other and only had a rift because of one thing, it means this marriage is still salvageable."

Saying this was not because Xia De thought it was wrong to break up a marriage, but because he saw that Mr. Enrikes had no intention of leaving the marriage at all, but was just troubled by that incident:

"Now, there are only two paths in front of you—cough, I mean your friend. One is to solve this matter, and the other is to let the emotions ferment until the marriage breaks. Neither you nor I are the parties involved, so we cannot make decisions for others, but he must have his own ideas. He knows exactly what he wants."

"But what if he doesn't know himself? Oh, Mr. Watson, people can never see themselves clearly."

Mr. Enrikes continued to ask for advice.

Xia De took a small copper coin from his pocket, which was a copper penny, worth about 1.4 pence:

"Then flip a coin."

"Let luck decide?"

"Of course not."

Xia De stuffed the small coin into Mr. Enrikes's hand:

"When you flip this coin, the moment it reaches its highest point and begins to fall, you actually already have the answer you want in your heart."

He encouraged:

"Try it. I mean, try it for your friend."

So Mr. Enrikes put down his wine glass again and flicked the small coin with his thumb. The two looked up together as the coin flew into the air and was finally pressed onto the back of Mr. Enrikes's hand.

"Do you have an answer?"

Xia De asked.

Mr. Enrikes looked blankly at the covered coin and suddenly laughed out loud:

"I have an answer, I have an answer. Yes, he still loves her, and she loves him deeply; he knows she loves him deeply, and she also knows how to love him. Although he is still troubled by that incident, but..."

He sighed softly, but there was no longer the melancholy and sadness in his tone.

Mr. Enrikes and Xia De looked out the window again. The glass clearly reflected the two gentlemen in formal wear and white shirts, and also reflected the lively banquet behind them, while the figures of the ladies talking in the dim garden were somewhat blurry.

"Thank you, Mr. Watson. I already know what to do."

"Why thank me? I didn't make any decisions for your friend; I just gave some impractical advice. After all, I have never been married myself."

Xia De picked up his wine glass, Mr. Enrikes clinked it with him, and handed his business card to Xia De:

"You are welcome to visit me. The manor outside the city is just for weddings; I also have a house in the city... bought by Maggie's father."

Mr. Enrikes and his wife both came from Baron families, but the former's family was relatively declining, while the latter was prominent locally.

"I will visit when I have time. Looking forward to seeing you next time."

Xia De said politely, watching Mr. Enrikes walk toward the door, looking like he wanted to talk to his wife again.

【Do you think they can make up as before?】

"She" suddenly asked.

"What a strange question."

Xia De smiled and watched Mr. Enrikes's back:

"What does this have to do with me? Meddling in other people's family affairs is the stupidest thing to do. So, I didn't give him any judgment."

Count Granger was the general manager of the shipyard about to be completed, and he must have attended this banquet. Seeing that Margaret was still busy, Xia De thought about talking to the Count, perhaps he could get clues about items like gemstones.

But he walked around the banquet hall and didn't see the Count. So he found Margaret's maid to help inquire, only to learn that Count Granger was meeting with the Prince.

Margaret often complained that her brother didn't do much, but to say Prince William didn't do anything at all would certainly be wrong. Seeing that spring was approaching and the construction period was coming to an end, Prince William, in addition to being busy with his own business with Schluch Lake, gradually began to pay attention to the shipyard.

Of course, this might also be because Schluch Lake's scam was already in the final stages.

The two were talking in the reception room on the second floor. To prevent the Count from being called away elsewhere after leaving, Xia De came to the second floor to wait. After entering the corridor, he thought that since he was already here, if he didn't listen to what they said, he would be sorry for the effort of climbing the stairs.

So, taking advantage of no one noticing, he used the cover of illusion to turn into a swarm of red butterflies from the corridor window, flew outside, flew left along the outer wall, and soon arrived at the window of the reception room.

Luck was very good; the curtains of the window were not drawn. Count Granger was sitting on the sofa, while Prince William, dressed in a red formal coat, stood in front of the window. He was looking into the room with his back to the window, holding a wine glass in his hand.

So Xia De revealed his figure, squatted directly on the windowsill, and listened to the conversation inside through the glass.

When he saw Prince William at Mr. Enrikes's wedding banquet last time, he was followed by a low-level sorcerer, but this time that sorcerer was at the door, so Xia De didn't have to worry about anyone in the room discovering that there was someone squatting outside the window.

"... Then let us wish the shipyard a smooth opening and prepare for the negotiations with the Dralarion people next year."

Prince William raised his glass to clink with Count Granger from a distance, his mood seemed very good. Count Granger also respectfully raised his glass, took a small sip, and his eyes were quite sharp:

"Your Highness, may I ask if the final project payment can be allocated before the end of this month as planned?"

The glass goblet was gently put down:

"Since the start of the project, every planned payment has been delayed by a day or two compared to the previous one. Now the final project payment involves the wages of local workers and the balance of more than half of the project material merchants. This money must arrive before the opening."

Because Xia De could only see the back of the Prince's head, he couldn't see his expression:

"Project payment..."

Prince William's tone was somewhat frivolous, while the Count's expression was exceptionally serious.

"Count Granger, you should know that this money is managed by the Kingdom's Ministry of Finance. We all know what kind of person the Minister of Finance, Count Grandet, is. That money will definitely arrive, don't be so anxious."

"Many people are counting on this money to make a living until spring... Last time I talked to Princess Margaret about this, she said she would find a way."

The Count mentioned Margaret, and Prince William seemed somewhat unhappy:

"Don't discuss everything with Margaret. She is a Princess, I am the Prince. Besides, what is the use of Margaret's promise? Isn't she busy meeting with the bumpkins from the Stonemason Society recently? How could she have time to manage this matter?"

Count Granger hesitated to speak:

"But... if this money doesn't arrive as soon as possible, I'm worried that someone will make trouble at the shipyard opening ceremony. You also know that because of the money from the Stonemason Society more than ten years ago, the locals are... not very trusting."

"Make trouble at the opening ceremony? That won't do!"

Prince William's voice suddenly rose:

"What did Margaret tell you? No, no, I mean, although Margaret is a girl, she still has some ability. What did she say?"

He paced back and forth in front of the window, and the Count did not show surprise at the Prince's rapid change in attitude:

"Princess Margaret said she would write to His Majesty to inform him of this matter. At the same time, she also told me that during the audit at the end of last year, a not-so-small... loophole was found in the Kingdom's Ministry of Finance."

"I heard that too."

The Prince nodded, and Count Granger looked at him:

"Princess Margaret said that the money was likely misappropriated by someone to participate in the gambling game of the Great City Players last autumn. But who would have thought that the winner this time was the lover of that Northern Grand Duchess? So since the beginning of 1854, every payment from the Ministry of Finance has to be delayed to cope with the audit. This is a procedural matter and is difficult to shake. However, she said that if it really doesn't work, the local nobles and His Highness himself can pool some money to settle the most critical payments first, which actually isn't much..."

The Count's speaking speed slowed down, probably seeing the wrong expression on Prince William's face, but he still braced himself to continue:

"A few days ago, I already discussed it with the local nobles. Everyone agreed with this suggestion in principle, just waiting for Princess Margaret to receive His Majesty's reply to confirm Willandale's attitude."

【Recommendation: Recently, I have been using the source-switching app to read books and catch up on updates. The source-switching is easy to use, and the reading tone is good.. huanyuanapp is available for both Android and Apple.】 ===== CHAPTER 1338 =====