I was a priest in the city-state era

In the ancient Eastern world, if a person has only daughters but no sons, his estate will only be inherited by his brothers or nephews, and it will not be the turn of his daughters and sons-in-law to inherit the estate.

But in the Western world of this era, daughters and sons-in-law not only have the right of inheritance, but also have a higher inheritance right than brothers and nephews.

So the son-in-law's formal name for his father-in-law and mother-in-law should be father and mother.

And calling the father-in-law and mother-in-law father and mother can also bring them closer.

Hearing Zeuxiphe asking him to call her mother, Roy came to Zeuxiphe and sat down and said.

"Mother-in-law, can I really treat you as my mother?"

"Silly child, I now rely on you as my son, so of course you can treat me as your mother. As long as you don't feel shy, you can act like a spoiled child to me like Procne and Philomela."

Zeuxiphe said with a loving smile.

"I know that you came to Athens far away from your hometown alone, and you will miss your father and mother in your hometown, and you will feel uneasy all the time. From now on, you will be the son of Pandion and me, and we will take care of you as a real son."

"Mother--"

Feeling the maternal love that Zeuxippe exuded for him, Roy couldn't help but throw himself into Zeuxippe's arms and rest his head on her knees.

Zeuxippe stroked Roy's head with both hands and said.

"My son, you will no longer be alone in the future. As a member of our family, Procne is your wife, Pandion and I are your father and mother, and Erechtheus and Philomela are your brothers and sisters."

After Roy hugged Zeuxippe's slender and graceful waist with both hands, as the longing for his mother in his heart gradually faded, the feeling of embarrassment became stronger and stronger.

Because Roy found that even if Zeuxippe really had maternal love for him, Roy could not really regard her as a mother-in-law who should be respected, but only as a beautiful and graceful queen.

Smelling the fragrance of Zeuxiphe, before any inappropriate thoughts came to his mind, Roy hurriedly sat up and said.

"I'm so sorry, I just couldn't help but act like a spoiled child to my mother-in-law."

While speaking, Roy looked at Zeuxiphe's knees with a nostalgic look.

Zeuxiphe's knees really smelled like his mother.

"It's normal for a child to act like a spoiled child to his mother!"

Zeuxiphe obviously didn't notice Roy's abnormality, and smiled gently.

"You can continue to act like a spoiled child to me at any time."

Roy nodded and said.

"Mother-in-law! Let's get down to business! You want me to negotiate with the Mycenae envoys on your behalf?"

Zeuxiphe sighed and said.

"Although I am now managing Athens on behalf of my husband Pandion, I am a woman after all, and it is not convenient for me to contact strange men. It's okay that I don't have a son to rely on, but now I have you as my son. Are you willing to negotiate with the Mycenae envoy on my behalf?"

"Of course I am willing to share my mother-in-law's worries. This is what I should do as a son-in-law."

"Then I will let the servants notify the Mycenae envoy to come in."

A moment later.

A Mycenaean man in his thirties walked into the hall.

The Mycenaean envoy wore a white cotton robe and a golden bronze belt around his waist. Obviously, his status was very noble.

Even if he was not a Mycenean prince, he must be a Mycenaean noble.

The Mycenaean envoy walked to the center of the hall and bowed politely to Roy and Zeuxippe.

"Dear leader! Beautiful lady! Thank you for your willingness to negotiate with me."

Leader? Lady?

The Mycenaean envoy actually thought that he and Zeuxippe were a couple.

Zeuxippe's beautiful face and graceful figure looked like a young woman in her twenties. It was normal for the Mycenaean envoy to think that Zeuxippe was his wife.

Seeing that Zeuxippe did not take the initiative to explain the relationship between the two, Roy could only take the initiative to speak.

"Mycenaeans, you misunderstood! I am not the leader of the Athenian tribe, but the son-in-law of the leader Pandion. The person next to me is not my wife, but my mother-in-law, Lady Zeuxippe, the wife of the leader Pandion."

The Mycenaean envoy stared with his eyes wide open for a moment, then hurriedly explained.

"I'm really sorry! I saw you sitting in the leader's position, and I mistakenly thought you were the young leader of the Athenian tribe."

"Since the misunderstanding has been resolved, then tell me your purpose. Are you here to declare war on us on behalf of King Acrisius of Mycenae?"

The envoy shook his head and said.

"The great Mycenean King Acrisius has no intention of going to war with the Athenians. I am here on behalf of the Mycenean King to redeem Princess Danae and Prince Perseus' six sisters."

Hearing the words of the messenger, Roy couldn't help but widen his eyes.

Although in ancient legends, if a prince becomes a captive, his family can buy him back with ransom, but there is no story that a princess can also be bought back with ransom.

So in the Trojan War, the daughter of Chryses, the priest of Apollo, became a slave of Agamemnon. Chryses wanted to redeem his daughter but was rejected by Agamemnon.

Chryses, who had no other choice, could only ask for help from Apollo, the god he served, and use Apollo's power to get his daughter back.

It was precisely because the princesses who became spoils of war were usually not redeemed by their families that Roy gave Danae to Pandion and Perseus' two sisters to Aries and the captain of the guard Pallas.

In this era, princesses who were captured would not be redeemed by their families, probably because their families understood that the princesses would inevitably suffer humiliation from the enemy and lose their reputation.

Even if they were redeemed, it would only bring shame to the family.

Now Mycenae King Acrisius did not care about the reputation of his daughter and granddaughter, and wanted to redeem Danae and Perseus' six sisters. Roy could only frown and say.

"Messenger, you are too late. Queen Danae has been given to the leader Pandion by me, and Danae's three daughters already have husbands. Women belong to their husbands after they get married. Even if Mycenae King Acrisius is their father and grandfather, he cannot take them away from their husbands. So now, I can only let you redeem the three princesses who are not married yet."

Hearing Roy's words, the messenger frowned and said.

"If you are willing to let us redeem the three princesses, how much ransom do we need to pay in exchange for their freedom?"

"One hundred thousand catties of grain for each princess! As long as you bring 300,000 catties of grain, the three princesses can return to their grandfather Acrisius and brother Perseus."

"One hundred thousand catties of grain--"

Hearing the high-handed request from the Lion of Loy, the messenger said with an angry expression.

"Don't say that we Mycenaeans can't come up with 300,000 catties of grain. Even if we can come up with 300,000 catties of grain, we won't use so much grain to exchange for the three princesses who have become captives."

In this era, the greatest value of a princess is to be used for marriage.

But the princess who has become a captive will inevitably suffer a loss of reputation and lose the greatest value for marriage.

Three hundred thousand catties of grain is enough for a thousand people to eat for a year. It is obviously a loss-making transaction to exchange for three princesses who have lost their reputation.