monarch

King Henry woke up in a bad mood in the morning, his wound began to ache again, and he tried to put on a pleasant face, while he cursed Cromwell a thousand times in his heart.The attendant dressed him, and he looked at Culpepper's respectful expression, and he felt a lot better in his heart.When he turned his head, the queen was already fully dressed, and she was standing aside waiting nervously.This modesty disliked her more than usual, thought the king, and he said to the queen, trying not to be impatient, "Good-bye, my dear."

"Goodbye, Your Majesty." Anne curtseyed and watched the king leave.Does he look happy?Maybe what she did wasn't too bad, she thought expectantly.

The king stepped out of the room, and the queen's maids had assembled under the leadership of Mrs. Rocheford. When the king appeared, they all bowed to the king.The king has never waited to see Mrs. Rocheford. Although the ugly behavior of his former brother-in-law's wife four years ago satisfied his wishes, this behavior also made him very disgusted.Report on his husband, if his wife dares to betray him, then he will definitely let her know what it feels like to regret it.However, this does not prevent him from being kind to Mrs. Rocheford. After all, she belongs to the Duke of Norfolk. If the king treats her coldly, it will trigger many specious comments, and this is not what Henry wants to see. arrived.

"Mrs. Rocheford, welcome back to the court." The king smiled.

"Thank you, Your Majesty, it is an honor for me and my family to serve you and the Queen." Mrs. Rocheford replied, a flash of smugness flashed across her face, although it was very brief, it still did not escape King's eye.

The king nodded noncommittally and ignored Mrs. Rocheford.He continued to move forward through the queue of maids, but suddenly he was attracted by a beautiful face.It was a young girl's face, full of youth and vitality, like a rose in full bloom.how old is she 16 or 17?The king was a little curious.

Catherine Howard noticed the King watching her, and she was a little nervous.Should she say something?But she really couldn't think of where to start.But the king first broke the silence: "Good morning, my dear lady, I don't seem to have seen you at court before?" The king smiled coquettishly, and King Henry suddenly felt his heart skip a beat.

"Catherine Howard, Your Majesty, I am willing to serve you." There was a hint of girlishness in her voice, which made the king involuntarily stunned.

"The niece of the Duke of Norfolk?" The king remembered that the old fox had a good relative. "Nice to see you at court, miss, are you still used to it?"

"Thank you Your Majesty, I am honored to be here, everything here is very new, I have never seen it before..." Suddenly she blushed, and quickly covered her mouth, "Sorry Your Majesty, I made a slip of the tongue, I I don’t always know what I’m talking about, I…” She realized that she had said too much again, she shut her mouth in embarrassment, looked at the king with an awkward smile, curtseyed, and ran Back to his room.

King Henry didn't say anything, just walked out of the room in silence, but when he went out, the king suddenly burst into a deafening laugh, which was so loud that it almost startled Mr. Culpepper next to him.

The king seemed to feel that his whole mood had improved a lot.

……

Normally, Mr. Cromwell would get up at three o'clock to continue his work, pray at six o'clock in the morning, and when the king came to his study at nine o'clock in the morning, Mr. Cromwell would be waiting at the door.So it was no surprise to the guards and servants at the gates of the king's calligraphy when Mr Cromwell arrived at the king's calligraphy gate at 08:30 in the morning, as he sat down in an armchair in the antechamber with his favorite spiced wine and bread was ready for him.Mr. Cromwell hadn't had breakfast before his arrival, because usually the king who came to the study would invite him to dine with him, and no one could refuse the honor of dining with the king.This unique favor in the court also made Cromwell the envy of countless nobles and courtiers.However, in the process of waiting for the king, he didn't mind eating something to pad his stomach first. After all, in the occasion of dining with the king, eating was far from the most important thing.

The servant serving Mr. Cromwell still looked at him with reverence, no difference from before, but Mr. Cromwell clearly knew that everything was different.However, more than half a month ago, he was still the most favored subject of the king, but now the king's eyes are full of disgust and displeasure. He thinks that he has devoted himself to England, and he may have gained some benefits from it, but he is still a king. The most loyal servant, but now he is so rejected, he can't help feeling a little disheartened.

Mr. Cromwell sat quietly in thought, looking at the opposite glass window, which was covered with frost, so that he could not see the scene of the garden outside the window.This scene seems familiar?He finally remembered, it seemed that it was the winter when he just got the king's favor a few years ago?He was waiting in this very room, and in the middle, the king was receiving the then Prime Minister Cardinal Wolsey...

……

XNUM X Year X NUM X Month.

There was a loud bang, and Mr. Cromwell was startled. It sounded like the sound of something heavy falling to the ground. He couldn't help but look at the closed door inside, and the king's angry roar came from the room.

Cromwell had the urge to leave, but the king knew he was waiting outside, and leaving like this would only cover up.He sat on pins and needles to control the urge to rush out, and inside, the king's voice became louder and louder:

"That's not what you said at the time! You told me that the Pope's envoy is already under your control!"

"Your Majesty, please..." Wolsey's voice sounded like the last desperate moan of a boat about to be torn apart in a storm.

"I must get rid of Catherine, I must, do you understand? The Pope can't stop me, and neither can the damned Spaniards! If the emperor wants to do justice for his aunt, he can come and try!"

"You want to be pope? Don't you, Wolsey? You don't want to offend Rome, you don't want to offend the envoy, isn't that why?" The king's voice sounded so gloomy that Cromwell outside the door couldn't help but shudder. There was a chill.

Wolsey seemed to be explaining something, but his voice was too low, too high in fact the King's, and he kept yelling, barely giving the poor cardinal a chance to defend himself:

"You deceived me, Your Excellency! You made me play like a fool to Rome and the Emperor. You are either an idiot or a traitor."

"If the Pope is unwilling to give me what I want, then I will do it myself! I will never allow them to dictate my affairs."

……

When at last the cardinal emerged from the king's chambers, his face was tired, and even his gray hair was grayer than before.When he saw Cromwell, it seemed for a moment that he intended to force himself to hide his weakness from his enemies, but the final effect was very poor.By the time he walked all the way back to his bedroom, rumors in the court would have been flying everywhere, Cromwell thought.

"Hello, Mr. Cromwell." When he walked past him, the cardinal raised his head and looked at Cromwell with stern eyes, as if he was a little annoyed because his embarrassment was witnessed by the enemy.

"Hello, Your Excellency." Cromwell bowed respectfully. There was no need to do meaningless things. After all, everyone could see that the cardinal's days were not long.He stared at the back of the cardinal. The old man hunched over and disappeared at the end of the corridor, looking very lonely.

……

"The king is here!" the guard's loud voice interrupted Mr. Cromwell's meditations.King Henry VIII entered the room, and he seemed in good spirits.Mr. Cromwell couldn't believe it. Has His Majesty changed his mind about the Queen?The flame of hope in his heart was ignited at once, but it was extinguished in an instant - when the king saw him, His Majesty's face collapsed visibly to the naked eye, replaced by that unfathomable expression .

Mr. Cromwell was a little apprehensive, but he had to ask the dangerous question: "Good morning, Your Majesty. I hope you had a pleasant evening last night?"

The king looked at Mr. Cromwell coldly, and waited until the other party broke out in cold sweat. Henry VIII finally spoke: "Unfortunately, sir. I didn't like the queen before, but after a night, I only feel more Hate her."

Mr. Cromwell fell into the ice cave: "This is really... regrettable, Your Majesty. May I take the liberty to ask, where did the Queen offend Your Majesty?"

"I said she looked like my horse and she had a stench that suffocated me."

Mr. Cromwell is a bit slanderous, don't you smell the rotten smell of open wounds on your body?But he didn't dare to say this even if he had a hundred courage, so he could only keep silent, listening to the king scolding the queen and himself.He remembered how he had imagined what Bishop Wolsey must have looked like in the room.Every time he imagined these in his mind, it brought him a sense of satisfaction, and now when the protagonist of all this was replaced by himself, he suddenly began to sympathize with Bishop Wolsey.

After a few minutes of berating Mr. Cromwell the King stopped and began to sit down to his table to eat his breakfast.Cromwell let out a long breath, everything was finally over, and he might find a chance to say a few words to defend himself when he had breakfast with the king later, the king must be in a better mood after having breakfast.

Mr. Cromwell straightened up, waiting for His Majesty to invite him to dine, but the King just put his head down and concentrated on the bacon on his plate.When he finally raised his head, Mr. Cromwell was already standing awkwardly.

The king saw that Mr. Cromwell was still here, showing a surprised expression, "Sir, why are you still here? You can leave now."

"Retire, Your Majesty?" Mr. Cromwell could not believe his ears.

"Yes, I don't need your service now, you can go back." The king said casually.He rang the bell and called in a squire. "Have the Dukes of Suffolk and Norfolk come?"

"Yes, Your Majesty."

"Bring them in," said the king, looking at Mr. Cromwell. "Go away, sir. As you can see, I have other guests."

Mr. Cromwell bowed mechanically, and when he came out of the room the Dukes of Norfolk and Suffolk were waiting at the door, and they exchanged polite salutes, but Cromwell could clearly see the mockery in each other's eyes.When he left, the only thing he could be thankful for was that he didn't have so many gray hairs, which made his failure look not as decadent as Wolsey's.

……

When the Duke of Norfolk returned to his drawing-room, he was satisfied to find Lady Rochford and Catherine Howard waiting for him there.

Mrs. Rocheford stood up, made a standard curtsy, and smiled obsequiously: "Nice to meet you, Your Excellency." The Duke of Norfolk nodded casually, and focused on Catherine. .Mrs. Rocheford gritted her teeth and said calmly: "I am very pleased to inform Your Excellency that we have made great progress."

"Ah, ah, yes, I've heard about it." The Duke waved his hand, motioning Mrs. Rocheford to shut up, "I'm very glad that you have attracted the King's attention in such a short time." He He smiled approvingly at Catherine.

"Thank you, Your Excellency." Catherine looked a little shy, her face flushed slightly.

"As a reward to you, I have ordered clothes and jewels worth a thousand pounds, which you may find in your room."

Catherine showed joy all of a sudden, and she couldn't wait to ask: "Can I go and see?"

"Okay, you can leave now, Mrs. Rocheford will give you the next step."

Catherine made a hasty curtsey and rushed out the door like a gust of wind.The Duke of Norfolk shrugged and smiled mockingly, and sat down in an armchair in the room.

Mrs. Rocheford still maintained a flattering smile: "I think everything went well with you today?"

"Ah, yes, if I am right, the days of our friend Mr. Cromwell's reign are counting down, and His Excellency the Duke of Suffolk agrees with me."

"So I guess we can move on to the next step?"

"Yes, now that Catherine has made the king notice her, she will try to attract His Majesty's attention for a while, which means that she must become the queen's favorite female officer and be by the queen's side all the time, so that she can There are plenty of opportunities to meet the king."

"As you bid, sir," said Lady Rochford respectfully.

"Then I wish you all the best, madam," said the Duke. "When all is said and done, you will be rewarded as you deserve. I would even say that you will be amazed at what you get."