Augustus Road

"Ever since the Roman city-state was lifted out of poverty, there has been an endless stream of murderers and prostitutes, as well as prostitutes and prostitutes." - "Satire"

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Cato the Younger's words aroused panic and screams from many senators. At this time, the knights and wealthy citizens who had been instructed in advance gathered outside the temple. Although they were not qualified to attend the meeting, they had been paying attention to the situation outside. development, when they heard Pompey's "huge gains", they also collectively shouted angrily - because they did not obtain the benefits they deserved in this long and protracted war (the previous Luculas expelled Tax collector, and Pompey only brought a small number of knights and domestic slaves who were loyal to him, and they scraped the land in Asia Minor and the Euxine Sea without allowing others to get involved), so under the secret instruction of Crassus, he came here specifically To cause trouble and put pressure on the Senate.

Immediately, even Neruda, who had the power of rotation (the two Roman consuls took turns handling specific government affairs one by one every month), had to ignore Cicero's objections and passed the dispatch with the insistence of most people. A group of inspectors, mainly knights, went to Ponticabion to investigate the source and direction of Pompey's property. However, this resolution also required the inspector Crassus and the constable Caesar (Caesar was in Calabis and others. With further funding, the appointment has now been approved by the Chief Supervisor).

But after searching for a long time in the Senate, these two people could not be found.

Finally, it was Crassus's domestic slave who came in with a message: "I heard that Pompey is about to land and return to Italy with ten legions and 60,000 soldiers. Lord Crassus has already gone to other places in a sedan chair a few days ago. He took refuge in the villa. He said that the city of Rome was about to encounter an enemy more terrifying than Catiline. He also said that he would sell off and take back all the assets in the city as soon as possible, collect all debts as soon as possible, and be ready to recruit private soldiers at any time to deal with it. Changes are likely to occur in the future. "This is really sad news. Who in the Senate does not take a stake in Crassus's industry? How many people are not in debt to Crassus?

Then everyone went to the tax collector, but there was no information. Finally, in a corner, someone said: "His Excellency Caesar thought he owed too much debt and was being pursued by debt collectors. He has not processed any official documents in the past few days, nor has he responded. The official residence on Jukora Street has completely disappeared.”

At this time, the Senate suddenly fell silent.

But in Rome, the common people were immersed in joy. The shadow and panic of Catiline's conspiracy had basically dissipated. All kinds of political rumors, family affairs, and boudoir secrets were spread by word of mouth in squares, courtyards, and taverns. Now is the annual grand "Grape Festival", which is a good time for drinking and carnival. Women from nobles or commoners in the city are wearing all kinds of weird costumes, some are embroidered with gold, some are decorated with feathers, Carrying various sachets and handbags, the makeup on their faces looked like ulcers growing outside, so many people couldn't tell the difference between them and those from Miletus or Rhodes. The men brought their domestic slaves, wine, and dozens of sestes, and swarmed to the Temple of Love, where the customary "Great Temple Fair" was being held - the whole city of Rome would gather on these days. The Temple of Love offered tributes and incense, begging for the blessing of the God of Love, so that they could continue to be beautiful, and master various and humorous skills. Venus only protected two types of women in Rome, women and women, and the sacrifice was completed Afterwards, these people have to take off their clothes and put on their upper body according to customs and pass by the streets and the crowd of onlookers.

For men in Rome, the best time to watch the temple fair is at noon, when the sun is at its best. Most of the ugly and fat women sneak away after performing sacrifices in the early morning. Only those who are slim, young and beautiful, Only in broad daylight like noon will she show her enchanting side in front of everyone in order to win the favor and favor of the rich man or noble. The whole scene is like a military parade, with contracts and silver coins exchanged everywhere. , because these wealthy madams are caught in the crowd, waiting for opportunities to observe and win over potential buyers.

When the top men that Princia had cultivated appeared in the crowd pretentiously in colorful makeup, the scene of the entire temple fair and "military parade" was reached. Those men were old or young, rich or poor. , they all chanted slogans, and many guys started to masturbate with their hands on those who passed by in the street. In the crowd, Princia, who was sitting in a gorgeous sedan chair, had a smile on her face that looked like success. She had been so prosperous when she was young. She once accepted three knights and two senators at the same time. She arranged her days every month. , to provide services for them, but even so, his energy remained undiminished, and he served the benefactor to the point of fascination, earning no more than 10,000 drachmas of meat gold in a month. Soon, she also started to run the business of the madam. She no longer contented herself with being at the lower end of the food chain. Instead, she flirted with politicians and frequently appeared at various banquets to introduce the top names under her name. Let them, and also instruct them to inquire about political secrets, and obtain information at a greater price.

For example, she tricked Syracuse Cornelius Lentulus, the adoptive father of Marco Antony, and sold information to Calabis; but then she gave Calabis's secrets to Cicero and Little Cato, even though these two joined forces, they could not bring down this stranger. So much so that she actually still had a little admiration for Calabis in her heart.

At this time, there was a burst of angry curses in the crowd. It turned out that in the queue of the top stars of Princia, there was an old and ugly woman with dry skin and a penis hanging on her chest like an empty sack. She also followed these graceful top stars openly and waved to the crowd. The men suddenly felt that the wine had soured. They shouted loudly and even rushed up to beat and expel this poor old woman in front of Venus, the goddess of love.

Princia's face also began to look unhappy. She called Domún, who was standing aside, and said, "Aren't you responsible for this old Gaia? She is now ugly, old and sick. She should have been sent to the countryside or to a grocery store in an apartment to live in old age."

"But I didn't ask her to appear at the Grape Festival. She was short of money for treatment and her mind was not clear. That's probably it." Domún naturally knew Gaia. She was so beautiful and her cheeks were as rosy as the wine from her hometown of Taranto. But she was repeatedly deceived and beaten, and she became what she is now. She is not suitable to be a prostitute. She can't tell the difference between the flesh and the real feelings. Domún sympathized with her and secretly gave her some money, but Gaia was still crazy. She was worried about how to cover up for this crazy old woman. Everyone knew Princia's methods.

The crowd calmed down only when a limping boy pushed through the crowd and stuffed a purse of money into Gaia's hand, causing Gaia to smile with great pride. Domuzin looked at the boy in amazement, "Isn't this the adopted son of Carapis?" (To be continued.)