Even though he had some expectations in his heart, Nub still could not believe the scene before his eyes.
The deep and shallow marks, etched on a fair background, made the light red and crimson colors stand out and very obvious.
Nub’s head buzzed, his knees lost strength and he knelt on the ground with a clang.
He had indeed seen the Pharaoh’s departing sedan chair outside the temple last night and had guessed that the Divine Envoy was taken away by him, but the development was more complex than he had originally thought, and the result was presented visually devastating.
Nub inevitably recalled that when he was still a child, the co-ruler of Egypt was like that, often bursting into the palace like an angry lion, pressing his mother into the bed curtains, then leaving afterward.
The royal family of this land were all marked by the same thread of brutality.
Nub’s forehead also pressed against the carpet; the blue lotus embroidery on the silk carpet entered his vision as he maintained his crouched posture and closed his eyes.
“Please punish me for my dereliction of duty, Divine Envoy.”
He had discovered but could not prevent it; he had seen but was powerless to undo it.
Nub’s mind inevitably replay the scene buried deep within his memory: his mother, who had once been cheerful and optimistic, and taught him Nubian songs, was withered and gaunt at her final moments, like a bundle of wet firewood about to be washed away by the Nile, a heavy smell of decay overflowing from her body.
After a long time, which seemed only a few breaths for Nub.
He heard a light laugh from ahead.
“Do you think I would blame you for such a thing?”
Nub raised his head.
Xin Hexue, who was lying on the pillow, looked at him, his lazy posture like a cat sunbathing. “Bring me a cup of water.”
Xin Hexue propped his chin, watching the guard who was about to be crushed by guilt finally straighten up to fetch drinking water for him.
Due to the Divine Envoy’s suggestion, Upper Egypt now not only drank hot water during herbal treatments but had also begun to practice boiling raw water and letting it cool before drinking.
Even though water sources in this ancient era were far from the pollution levels of later times, drinking boiled water could always avoid some pathogens. In an age of underdeveloped medical technology, contracting unknown pathogens could be fatal.
With warm water down his throat, he felt better.
His voice was still hoarse from crying out so much last night.
Honestly, Xin Hexue had become accustomed to such things, accepting them well. He didn’t even have to wake up to find himself bullied onto the floor, there were no messy vines, no threat of a man with two genitals, no tongue piercings or beads…
Based on previous experiences, he would give a traditional human male like Rahotep a good score.
Nub carefully placed his hands on Xin Hexue’s lower back and massaged to relax the muscles.
If the pressure was slightly too strong, the Divine Envoy would let out a small groan from his chest.
Every time Nub heard it, his palms felt as if they were on fire. “Is this… alright?”
He tried to control his strength.
Xin Hexue was drowsy. “Mmm.”
Nub then fell silent.
Everything under his hands seemed to have suffered malicious abuse, or perhaps the Divine Envoy’s skin was too thin and delicate. The bright red marks could restore the original state of the sexual act, making one inevitably imagine how the other party had gripped the narrow waist and ruthlessly invaded.
Just as Nub thought the Divine Envoy had fallen asleep, Xin Hexue asked softly, “Nub?”
Nub: “I am here.”
Xin Hexue crossed his arms and turned his face sideways. “Do you want to join the palace patrol team?”
Nub was startled.
His current position was only one of the soldiers responsible for the safety of the Divine Envoy’s palace, meaning his rank was not high and he could only move in this small area or follow the Divine Envoy on outings.
The soldiers of the palace patrol team had higher ranks and could move throughout the entire Theban palace, but could still focus on guarding the Divine Envoy’s palace.
Nub did have such a goal; he had asked soldiers who had served in the palace for a long time, but he had never mentioned it to the Divine Envoy.
Perhaps because it involved other purposes…
Nub returned here to try to uncover the truth of his mother’s death. Even though the old capital had been moved, perhaps he could still find a trace of secrets.
Nub: “I…”
Before he could speak, Xin Hexue seemed to have fallen asleep.
…..
The Pharaoh had a furious outburst during the court assembly.
The ministers who witnessed it unanimously remained silent after the assembly ended, including the guards outside, not leaking a word.
No one knew what Anaket, who had suddenly rushed into the administrative palace, had said that was enough to anger the god-like figure. They only learned that after the court assembly, Anaket, who had already been demoted to an obelisk construction official, was stripped of his original position and placed under house arrest in his palace for reflection.
When Xin Hexue woke up, the palace servants told him that the White King had come after the court assembly ended but did not enter the hall. Hearing from the servants that he was sleeping, he left.
After getting up and having dinner, he waited a while longer, and only after confirming that Rahotep would not come again today did Xin Hexue wash up and go back to sleep.
For a period after that, Xin Hexue did not see Rahotep again, and only the rising and falling love value occasionally let him know of this Pharaoh’s restless thoughts.
The grand Sacred Bull celebration signalled the end of the Akhet season. By November, the high floodwaters would recede, revealing the black silt land, and people would welcome the busy Peret season, the second season of the year, the sowing season.
All life and production work returned to normal.
After officially becoming the High Priest, his life wasn’t as leisurely as when he first arrived. Xin Hexue had to offer food to the gods in the temple in the morning, open the sealed holy of holies, and recite morning scriptures or poems. The evening ceremony was no different from the morning; the god statues were returned to the holy of holies and locked away, waiting for the next day’s repetition. Of course, with many people in the temple, other high-ranking clergy could share his workload.
So Xin Hexue did not focus his work on this.
He walked on the streets, his white robe covering his figure, but even so, the iconic attire made it hard for people not to recognize him.
People on the road automatically split into two sides, making way to avoid crowding and offending the Divine Envoy.
Even though the Divine Envoy’s attendants assured everyone that he did not mind, they still looked on with eager eyes but did not dare to crowd forward, as if seeing some fragile and precious porcelain.
There were low murmurs among the crowd.
“It’s Lord Iah…”
As they discussed, a child dressed in coarse cloth squeezed out from the crowd and ran up to Xin Hexue. His parents couldn’t stop him in time, calling from behind the throng, “Bani!”
The accompanying guards stopped the child named Bani, and his parents stood there looking nervous.
Xin Hexue shook his head, motioned for the guards to step back, and asked patiently, “What is it, Bani?”
Bani, who had run over impulsively, could only clearly see white hair and white skin when the Divine Envoy leaned over to look at him at eye level.
Bani stared blankly for a moment, then remembered to raise his hand. “This, Lord Iah, delicious.”
Xin Hexue then saw the bean cake in his hand.
He wasn’t very used to the wheat bread, and even though he had ordered the improved millstone technology to be passed down and it became much finer than before, he still found it greasy if he ate it every day. So in his free time, he had the palace chefs make barley pancakes with honey and butter, and some other foods as he directed.
If successful and the process was simple, it would be promoted to the people.
Bean cakes were one of the foods he had innovated.
People here cultivated not only wheat and barley but also many legumes. Using the improved millstone technology, ground legumes mixed with water and some spices could be made into soft, glutinous bean cakes.
For the common people, this was a cheap, abundant, and high-quality source of protein.
Xin Hexue only broke off a small piece, lowered his eyes, and tasted it with serious demeanor.
“Very good. Did your family make it?”
He could tell Bani’s family was not well off; the slightly yellowed rough linen clothes were only a bit better than those of slaves and laborers, so they were likely from the farmer or artisan class.
Bani nodded. “Father grew the beans, and mother learned how to make it at the school.”
The school was the newly built school in the eastern half of the city.
In traditional ancient Egyptian primary schools, scribe teachers taught writing, reading, arithmetic, even swimming, hymns, and dance. But this school, established at the order of the Divine Envoy, was different.
Xin Hexue positioned it as a vocational school where people could learn newly promoted practical skills, like how to cook bean cakes.
Lately, the school had added some basic medical training content for the city’s healers to learn.
Xin Hexue was not a professional doctor, but he was an experienced patient. As the saying goes, prolonged illness makes a doctor; he had experienced medical practices from the interstellar era and Central Plains Dynasty, and through osmosis, he had learned a bit, which was already enough to be useful in the 15th century BC.
Even just spreading concepts about bacteria and infection, introducing basic disinfection measures, could reduce infection risks. Central Plains Dynasty prescriptions were also applicable to local herbal pharmacology, along with more modern patient record management, basic medical instruments like thermometers and stethoscopes, could improve diagnostic accuracy.
Thinking of this, Xin Hexue patted Bani’s head. “Alright, Bani, your parents are worried. Go to them.”
He planned to check on the school’s situation, but there was also a very important matter.
He had previously exchanged high-yield corn seeds described as “drought-resistant, lodging-resistant, and disease-resistant” from the system mall and had people try planting them in dry, high altitude fields.
Bani looked at him reluctantly. “Lord Iah, I want to become a healer in the future, study at the school, and treat you… so Lord Iah’s complexion won’t be so pale.”
Xin Hexue realized that Bani seemed to mistake his fair skin for a sign of illness.
He chuckled in amusement.
Finally, Bani returned to his parents, who bowed gratefully to the Divine Envoy.
…..
This food called “bean cake” found its way onto the Red King’s dining table.
After a long journey by the spy, the bean cake was no longer soft and glutinous, and looked shriveled. Placed alongside the fresh, tender fish and meat and crimson deer blood on the table, it was conspicuous.
“So this is how they describe this Divine Envoy?”
The Red King listened to the spy’s words, his sharp wolf-like eyes narrowing.
“The pearl of the golden sands…”
What a coincidence, he loved pearls the most.
