[Ancient Rome] How to Divorce the Tyrant Nero

Rewind the time to two days before Claudius ordered to welcome back the direct line of Augustus.

Octavia's father did not ascend to the throne until he was in his 50s, and everyone in the Claudius family underestimated this man who suffered from polio when he was young.

Let me ask, how could a man who survived the reign of three emperors safely, was even appointed as a consul by the murderous Caligula, and finally won the throne, how could he be a fool in the eyes of ordinary people?

Octavia's grandfather, Marcus Barbatus, was one of the few people who could see the potential of Claudius. That's why he married his only daughter without hesitation amidst the doubts of the crowd. Cousin by marriage, and even paved the way for Claudius' political career.

There is no doubt that the return on investment for Marcus Barbatus has been enormous.

When Claudius was "forcibly promoted" by the emperor's guards, he did not have a group of qualified political advisers around him, so his father-in-law and cousin became the number one celebrity under the emperor, and even Barbatus The Si family and the Lepida family of in-laws also flourished, and even temporarily overwhelmed the Claudius family who specially produced the emperor.

When Octavia was summoned to the palace by Claudius, Marcus Barbatus was discussing with Claudius how to clean up the Asiatic faction in the country.

Seeing his beloved granddaughter come in, Marcus Barbatus threw the parchment to Claudius's secretary, put his hands through Octavia's armpits, raised her up and said, "Let me Take a good look at you, my dear little Minerva. Since you moved out of Messalina's villa, little Dominia has often complained to me about your mother, thinking that Messalina's care for you is far from enough .My dear little Minerva, the doors of the Barbatus house are always open to you, as long as you wish, and you can stay as long as you like."

Because Marcus Barbatus had no son, Claudius had promised to adopt Octavia to his cousin and father-in-law, so that Octavia could become the hearth girl of the Valerius family.

Only when Brittany Kus did not satisfy Claudius, Octavia was the anchor of Claudius' luck.For Claudius, as long as his descendants can sit on the throne, no one will care whether the blood of the next emperor's inheritance comes from the patrilineal or the matrilineal line.

"Marcus, we are no longer young, so don't treat Octavia like a child." Claudius asked his secretaries to step down, leaving only a few strong deaf-mute Slaves stood guard at the door like bronze statues.

Octavia, who was put down by her grandfather, received several notarizations from Claudius, which were about two villas, a public bath, two gardens, a library, three farms, five The beneficiary of the transfer of ownership of the shop and an outdoor theater is Claudia Octavia.

"This is my dowry?" Except for marriage, Octavia couldn't think of a second reason for Claudius to make such a big deal: "Who will offer wheat cakes with me under the altar?"

"The direct line of Augustus, your nephew, Nero of the Domitius family, he is the last successor of Ahenobarbus, a branch of the Domitius family." Claudius from Don't go around with Octavia: "This is just the dowry I prepared for you, and there is a more special one from your grandfather."

"How many Thracian gladiators are you going to give me?" Octavia solemnly rolled up the documents and turned her attention to Marcus Barbatus: "Perhaps I will marry some poison masters as well." .”

Marcus Barbatus was taken aback by Octavia's question, and then said in a complicated way: "I thought you would dislike this gift."

After all, he did prepare killers and poison masters for Octavia as dowry, because one of the purposes of Claudius marrying Octavia to Nero was to end Nero's life at any time.

Unlike Marcus Barbatus, who was full of entanglements, Claudius was very satisfied with Octavia's attitude, so he rubbed the top of his daughter's hair affectionately, and praised: "This is Claudius. What a girl from the Di family should look like."

Although in ancient Roman weddings, wives had to swear to show sufficient loyalty and obedience to their husbands, this was no longer the moral society when Augustus was in power, and compared with their unrelated partners, most ancient Roman women , especially noble women are more loyal to their families.

So it was with Julia, the daughter of Caesar, and with Via the Cabana, the sister of Augustus.

Therefore, from the perspective of Marcus Barbatus and Claudius, there is nothing logically wrong with Octavia's answer. Anyway, it is not uncommon for widows to remarry, especially for rich nobles. widow.

Maybe Octavia could inherit a fortune belonging to the Domitius family after Nero's death.

"If it wasn't for controlling Augustus' direct lineage, you wouldn't have called back the daughters of Agrippina the Great." Octavia, who suddenly became rich, quickly thought about her situation, and wanted to start from Claudius. I got more useful news from Us: "I remember that when little Agrippina was exiled, Nero was taken care of by the slaves of the Domitius family. I think they are also in my dowry."

"Of course." Since Claudius needs Octavia to do a very important thing, he will definitely arrange everything for her: "Thanks to your cousin Caligula, who is exiling Xiao A When Gripina, many slaves of the Domitius family were auctioned off, so Marcus had the opportunity to buy them."

"It's just that they still need to be domesticated." Marcus Barbatus added, "I've already arranged for the best slave workers to work hard, so..."

"If possible, I hope they can be under the supervision of you or grandmother." Octavia said unexpectedly: "The slaves of the Domitius family only need to tell me what kind of person Nero is, and what kind of person I need to use It is enough to use such means to gain Nero's favor. I don't want too much emotional dependence around Nero, which will prevent me from controlling him from the hands of Agrippina."

"It seems that you already have corresponding countermeasures." Claudius did not prevent Octavia from having her own ideas, because since this daughter became sensible, he has solved a lot of family problems.

Although Messalina and Brittany Kus had many complaints about Octavia, they listened to Octavia's opinions quite well, and even restrained themselves under Octavia's influence, and began to do some interesting things. Contributions to the rule of Claudius.

For Claudius, who has not yet secured the throne, this undoubtedly makes him rely more and more on Octavia: "Because of Caligula, Nero did not receive a good education, but there is no one around him. There is no shortage of slaves from Greece and Crete. Since you don’t need slaves from the Domitius family as dowry, I will ask Marcus to dispose of them as soon as possible after they complete their tasks.”

"Hmm!" Octavia responded casually, thinking of Nero's historical evaluation, and thoughtfully said, "Maybe I should invite him to an opera."

"Maybe you don't have to be in such a hurry." Marcus Barbatus hoped that Octavia, who was more active, would be more cautious, so he asked one more sentence: "Little Agrippina is not easy to get along with." Even a villain like Gnaeus Domitius calls her a monster."

"So, my fiancé is also a monster." Octavia lowered her eyes, as if pointing out: "It's just that there are normal people in our family?"

As soon as these words came out, both Claudius and Marcus Barbatus were amused to laugh out loud.

The author has something to say:

Be forewarned, the heroine is extremely unfair and selfish, those who step on the thunder can read the book and see you later.

The direct lineage in ancient Rome is different from that in ancient China. Whether it is a matrilineal line or a paternal lineage, as long as it can be traced back to that person, it is considered a direct lineage.

Lucky Anchor: A backup candidate.

Stove Keeper: A female householder in ancient Rome.