Anchester was equipped with a residence for visiting dignitaries from higher authorities.
Normally, Lily Evans and her group would have stayed at the Magistrate’s Mansion. If that was unavailable, they could have used the residence prepared for dignitaries.
But Lily reconsidered: Justin Zhao was clearly hostile, and Nina Zhao harbored a grudge for her brother. Staying in Anchester seemed unwise, so she had everyone return to the boat instead.
After all that fuss, dusk was already falling.
Lily asked Lin Siyu, "When will His Majesty return?"
Lin Siyu replied, "The message has arrived. His Majesty has already joined the army and set up camp ten miles outside Anchester. Once military affairs are settled, he will come to Anchester tomorrow to meet with the Queen."
Lily rubbed her temples and said, "Tomorrow, tell His Majesty everything about Justin Zhao. This territory belongs to him, and the officials should be under his jurisdiction. Anchester is too far from the capital, and Justin Zhao acts as if he’s a king himself. Someone should remind him he’s just a minister, not a local tyrant. As for me, I’m good at managing affairs, but not at dealing with officials. I’ll leave all of this to His Majesty."
Lin Siyu nodded vigorously. With someone like Justin Zhao, in Alexander Hayes’s hands—tsk!
By nightfall, everyone was exhausted and quickly fell into a deep sleep.
But in the middle of the night, everyone was awakened by a strange stench. The smell was so foul it made people want to vomit!
Lily also woke up, pinching her nose and calling for the maid: "What happened? Why does it smell so bad?"
"Reporting to the Queen, this stench drifted from the river. It's pitch dark outside, and this servant doesn’t know what happened." the maid answered.
Lily threw on her robe and stepped outside. Lin Siyu hurried over, saying, "Your Majesty, I checked just now. The smell is sewage."
"Sewage?" Martin Wu pinched her nose and ran over. "The river looked clean during the day—where did the sewage come from? Someone must have dumped it on purpose!"
Lily’s expression darkened. After a moment’s thought, she understood: someone was deliberately making trouble. Knowing they were staying on the boat at the dock, they took advantage of the night to dump sewage in the river to disgust them.
"Have the crew move the boat away from the dock to cleaner, open water," Lily ordered.
The crew got busy, quickly steering the fleet away from the dock. After a long while, they finally left the range of the stench.
Martin Wu slammed her palm on the table, furious. "Who did this? Truly wicked!"
Lily looked at Martin Wu. "Who could have done this? We just arrived—who in Anchester has a grudge against us?"
Martin Wu froze for a moment. "Could it be...?"
Magistrate's Mansion.
In the pitch-black night, Nina Zhao leaned against Justin Zhao’s arms, the two flirting, when someone knocked at the door.
"Sir, Madam Nina, it’s done! Hundreds of buckets of sewage were dumped into the river—no one saw us."
Nina Zhao giggled, hugging Justin Zhao’s arm. "Serves them right! Let’s see how Queen Lily likes her welcome to Anchester."
Justin Zhao stroked Nina Zhao’s hair, his face full of pride and malice. "Those outsiders dare to meddle in Anchester? This is just the beginning."