Chapter 288

Aesop took the initiative to explain to his relatives: "they don't know if I have an heir. Besides, I can't prove my identity and my origin is very suspicious. The homestead and the Grange are real property, and they belong to them. They are smart or stupid. Only the gods can understand. "

The driver Amun shrugged his shoulders and said, "I don't know. I'm a driver!"

"You have enough money to buy the house and the Grange, and if you do, I think they will be happy to recognize your relative."

Aesop asked, "medanzo, we live in the world. Have you ever considered a question - who am I? You're madanzo, but why are you If I do that, I lose the meaning of looking for my hometown. Actually, I don't mind giving them a lot of money, but what is it for? Let's start by proving my identity. I'm Aesop. I'll act as Aesop. "

"How do you feel when you meet a relative like this? Are you a little disappointed?" he asked

"In fact, I'm not surprised, let alone disappointed. They are all ordinary people. The so-called "small" does not mean that they have low status, but have universal human weakness. They may appear Philistine, selfish, suspicious, and seem ridiculous. But their ideas and practices are very common in the world, and they are very normal people. Even those playwrights in Yalun City often describe gods as such.

Since so many people are like this, whose relatives may be such small people, why can't my relatives of Aesop? Their reaction is understandable. In fact, I have no resentment at all. On the contrary, I am even grateful and grateful to the gods. When I return to my hometown, I can still see the relatives of the Ackerman family. The old house where I grew up and my father's estate are still there. "

"Aesop, you may be the closest to the gods in this city-state," Amun sighed

……

Aesop, the old Ackerman's son, is back, sixty years after his disappearance! This incident caused a stir in the city of miduli, and became a source of conversation in people's leisure time. Some people say that Aesop made a fortune outside, but he still wanted to take back his ancestral estate and house. Some people said that the stranger was not Aesop, but had heard about the old ackermans' family and pretended to be Aesop, who had come back rich, in an attempt to bluff.

Aesop lived in the inn, with a groom and a guard. Anyone who was old enough to see him said that he really looked like a member of the Ackerman family. Maybe he was Aesop Ackerman. Some people began to argue that since Aesop had made a fortune, why should he take back the assets of the cousins who had been in business for 60 years?

Reid Ackerman was very promising, so he could keep his property. After so many years of war, the house and the Grange would probably have been gone. If Aesop came back, who could he ask for? Those sages who like to preach in the temple square also talked about this matter. According to their point of view, if Aesop is Aesop, then the homestead and the Grange are him. Aesop's generosity or parsimony can't change this fact.

Even if Aesop was willing to give the house and the Grange to his cousin, he had to prove that it was him before he could speak of generosity and giving.

Aesop's identity will be decided by the Council of citizens of the city-state, which is a request submitted by Aesop himself, and the adjudicator is 50 permanent representatives of the Council. This is different from being submitted to the court for trial by a judge, because the court can only accept Aesop's property dispute complaint, or the fraud accusation made by red Ackerman against Aesop, but the premise of all this is to determine Aesop's identity.

Reid Ackerman did not file a complaint with the city court. He only claimed that he could not determine the identity of the old man.

On the day of the citizens' meeting, many interested citizens of the city-state went to see the bustle, and the city council hall was full of people. The Council of citizens appointed a representative to preside over the ruling. It was Thales, the famous sage in the city of miduli. After accepting this Commission, Thales first invited ten city-state elders over 80 years old, all of whom had met Aesop Ackerman.

Longevity has always been regarded as the blessing of the gods. After the war, those who have lived in the same city-state and enjoy such a long life are respected elders as long as they are not criminals. There are not many such people, and it is even more difficult for them to be sober and able to recall the events of 60 years ago. It was not easy to invite ten of them.

It is also unrealistic for these elders to recall clearly a young man whom they knew 60 years ago but did not pay special attention to. After seeing Aesop, some of the elders told Thales that his facial features were really like Aesop Ackerman in his memory, but after too long, his impression had been blurred. What's more, Aesop is now an old man and can't be confirmed!

Thales did not expect the elders to confirm that they could recall Aesop and prove that the ruling was meaningful rather than farce. You can't just come to the city-state and claim that you are who you were decades ago. The Council of citizens of the city will decide for him.

Next, Thales asked isso in front of the crowd: "the old man back from abroad, you insist that you are Aesop Ackerman. Do you have any documents to prove your identity?"Aesop replied, "I have documents that can prove my identity in eju and Salem, but it can only prove my identity there. It is meaningless for this ruling. Such an instrument can only be signed by the Council of citizens of the city of mituli, which means that I can have it after the verdict is over. And the documents of that year are no longer there. Even if they are still in my hands, it is difficult to prove that I am the person in the documents. "

Next, the city-state citizens' conference held an important ceremony, which requested the gods to give an oracle at the proposal of most citizen representatives. If the Oracle confirmed Aesop's identity, there would be no need to make a ruling. In the assembly hall, there was a statue of the city's Guardian God. Under the chairmanship of two city-state priests, Thales prayed to the gods and prayed for the coming of the oracle on behalf of the people of the city.

The situation of Olympus God system is very interesting. Its form of God domain is similar to that of the United Kingdom of hitton. Zeus is not the main god of every city-state. Almost every city-state believes in its own guardian God. For example, the guardian God of the city of Yalun is jarena; the patron god of kibata is Ares, the God of war and blacksmith; and the patron god of miduli is Hermes, the messenger of gods and the God of Commerce.

If you don't stand in the crowd of Damon, you don't have to stand in front of me, either

Aesop didn't worry about this, but just watched silently. Ordinary priests would not lie on such occasions. If they really believed in gods, how much would it cost them to betray gods in public? But Amun was very interested in this. Would Hermes send down the oracle to confirm Aesop's identity?

As expected, there was an Oracle coming. It was really Hermes on the altar who gave the instruction. Amun felt very clearly that the priest didn't play any tricks, while Thales, who presided over the ceremony, truthfully announced the content of the Oracle --

"people of mituli, the old man in front of you came back from a foreign land and did not receive the light of the gods. The gods would not prove him He needs to prove himself

Amun was stunned. Hermes should be able to confirm Aesop's identity. For example, Amun can also confirm Aesop's identity by using the art of retrospection - Aesop is now Aesop Ackerman. But Hermes refused to provide a conclusion. Instead, he asked Aesop to testify himself and gave the ruling power to the city-state Council.

But Hermes did not lie, the gods told the truth, and he did not deny Aesop's identity. Thales did not seem surprised by the result. After reading the Oracle, he said to the Israelite, "the gods have given you instructions, so you can identify yourself."

Aesop replied, "I can prove myself. I stand here as proof. But what kind of evidence should I provide before the Council of citizens will make a decision?"

Thales thought for a moment and said, "this is a problem. In fact, you are you. There is no need to prove it. But according to the law of the city-state, it is necessary to provide the basis for judgment. There should be three kinds of basis: the mark of your former identity, the memory of your past experience, and the trace of your native land that you have reserved. "

Aesop nodded his head and said, "it should be so. I'll come one by one. First of all, please look at this mark carefully." He stretched out an arm and rolled up his sleeve. On the inside of his upper arm, near the elbow socket, there was a faint mark of light brown, which looked like a scar left a long time ago.

Aesop explained, "I was very naughty when I was a child. I heard that gold would not burn or go bad in a fire, so I put my father's ring in my hand and baked it on the fire. As a result, I accidentally fell on my arm and burned myself. The ring was engraved with the emblem of the Ackerman family. At that time, I was only eight years old, and the wound just looked like half a badge. The scar grew bigger as I grew up, but I could still see the outline of the emblem

Thales called red Ackerman to his body, took off his ring and examined the family emblem. The mark on Aesop's arm was indeed the vague outline of half of the emblem, which was obviously not left recently. Thales asked the other representatives of the Council to examine it in turn. Although the scar was blurred, it was still recognizable.

In the crowd, medanzo grinned and said in his heart that Aesop, the old man, was a ghost. He still had such a hand. He did not take his sleeve away until such an occasion.

After examining the scar, Aesop put down his sleeve and said, "how can there be no memory of past experiences? How else can I get back here? Mr. Thales, I need you to ask red Ackerman a word. Although our old house has been renovated, the steps in front of the gate have not been moved for 70 years. Is that right? "

Thales turned to ask red, who nodded in the affirmative. Aesop added: "there are five stone steps in front of the gate of the house. They are built by pressing one stone slab on the other. Take apart the four stone slabs above, and turn over the largest and heaviest one at the bottom. I still remember the patterns carved on the back, which can be painted in public."

"How do you know?" asked Thales

Aesop replied, "I built the steps when I was six years old, and I saw them with my own eyes."

Thales ordered people to bring Aesop a pen and paper. Aesop drew a scepter on the parchment with two boa constrictors on the top. This is the common appearance of Hermes's scepter. It was carved under the stone slab of the steps to guard the house. Many of the buildings in miduli had this custom when they were built, leaving the symbol of the city's patron saint in an invisible place. It is said that if the secret is disclosed and the devil learns about it, he will lose the protection of the patron saint.The house was newly built after Aesop's father and Reid's father separated. The symbol of the patron saint was left on the back of the stone slab on the first step of the front steps. This was not even clear to red Ackerman, but Aesop said it in public.

This kind of thing can't be joked about. If it is verified, then according to the custom, the house will have to be rebuilt to live, because the hidden position of the patron saint has been exposed. Thales quickly asked a priest to take a group of strong warriors to the house, took down the steps and opened the stone slab to examine.

After a while, the inspector returned, and the priest reported the results to the representative of the Council of citizens. There was no passive trace on the steps in front of the house door, while Aesop provided accurate information. All of a sudden the voices in the hall became so noisy that people were whispering, and no one doubted Aesop's identity.

Thales waved for silence and Aesop to continue speaking. As Aesop was about to speak, red Ackerman went up to Thales and saluted Thales: "gentlemen, distinguished representatives of the Council of citizens, don't ask any more. This old man is my cousin Aesop Ackerman. I'm sure it is!"

Red Ackerman was a nobleman and one of the representatives of the city-state's Council of citizens. When he heard the people's comments, he had a clear result. Whether he recognizes Aesop as a cousin or not, he has already identified Aesop's identity in the hearts of the public. If he takes a stand after the verdict, he and his three sons will be despised and ridiculed. Although Reid was a Philistine, but also understood the reason, at this time he took the initiative to stand out.

Thales grinned, looked at Reid and said, "now the topic of discussion in the citizens' meeting is to confirm whether the old man in front of me is Aesop Ackerman 60 years ago. On this occasion, whether you accept it or not does not represent the final result. Mr. Aesop and Mr. Reid, shall we continue to ask, or shall we put it to the vote now? "

Aesop said with a smile, "please vote now. If the representatives of the city-state Council think it necessary for me to continue to prove it, I will continue to do so."

At the beginning of the voting, the 50 representatives who participated in the voting unanimously agreed that Aesop did not need to make any more proof to confirm that he was Aesop Ackerman. There were cheers and applause in the hall, and red Ackerman called his three sons to salute his uncle Aesop. Black, the eldest son, blushed with shame; hunt, the second, was embarrassed; and will, the third, was very happy.

Aesop opened his arms and gave his cousin a warm hug. He hugged his three nephews in turn. Then he reached out and took out three flame elves. He handed them to each of the three nephews and said, "Dear nephews, I'm going back to my hometown alone. This is my gift for you. Since I have confirmed my uncle, please accept it. This is a blessing from afar. "

Many people in the hall were shocked and looked at the flame spirit in the hands of the three brothers with all kinds of eyes. They never thought that Aesop was so generous and sent such valuable gifts to his three nephews in public. In fact, Aesop planned to give them to his relatives when they met for the first time. Otherwise, medanzo would not take it out. It was a gift that had been prepared for a long time.

Red Ackerman was sweating on his forehead, and his three sons knelt down to thank him. He took Aesop's arm and his excited lips were shaking: "my cousin, you are so generous! How can you give a child such a valuable thing? Please forgive me... "

Aesop interrupted him and said with a smile, "I never blame you. I heard that you are going to buy a merchant ship to do business. It is useless for me to keep this money. If I were your cousin, it would be natural for me to support them In fact, I am very grateful to you. After so many years, when I come back to my hometown, I can still see the old house and the farmlands when I was a teenager. It is you and your family who have kept them. It is too precious for me

The scene was very emotional. Thales cleared his throat and said, "the first topic to be voted on in today's meeting is over. I would like to congratulate the ackermans on their recognition. Next, the second issue will be voted on, which is proposed by hunt Ackerman of the Ackerman family. The second proposal will not take effect until the first issue is decided. "

Aesop turned quietly and asked, "Oh, dear sir, is there a second topic today?"

Thales replied helplessly, "yes, this second issue is also related to you. The city-state Council of citizens unanimously ruled that you are Aesop Ackerman, the son of Sains Ackerman. The homestead and estate left by Mr. Sains Ackerman should belong to you, which has been determined at the same time of the ruling. Your nephew Hunter Ackerman has raised another issue in advance, asking for another ruling based on this ruling... "

Before Thales had finished speaking, Hunter atman rose with a red face, opened his arms, and said in a loud voice, "fellow representatives of the Council of citizens, please forgive my impoliteness, I withdraw my proposal!"

Red Ackerman also said, "God, please forgive this stupid child! I also asked him to withdraw his offer. "

"Mr. Hunter Ackerman, do you really want to give up your request?" Thales asked

Hunter nodded, "yes, I give up!"

Thales simply waved: "so this is the end of this meeting."**(to be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to start（ qidian.com ）Your support is my biggest motivation to vote for recommendation and monthly tickets. )

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