monarch

In the end, Princess Mary's pregnancy did not change Philip of Spain's scheduled plans. He still left London two days later for Dover, where a Spanish warship was moored in the port, waiting to take him to Antwerp.Princess Mary herself also braved the heavy snow and returned to Hesden Manor on the same day. Obviously, she felt more at ease there than the luxurious Hampton Court Palace.

The New Year of 1554 arrived amidst the snow. However, contrary to the cold weather, the political tension became very hot due to a series of recent events.As time went on, the situation became more and more tense-the controversial "Administrative Modernization Act" will be voted on immediately after the parliament resumes in March.

This bill, which aims to greatly weaken the influence of the aristocracy and the parliament, once it is finally passed, is bound to have a fundamental impact on the political structure of the country. It will transform the kingdom from a loose feudal country to a Milestones on the road to a centralized state.

For the nobles, this bill is undoubtedly forcing them to commit political suicide in the most gorgeous way. The privileges they rely on to compete with the emerging merchants and citizens will be weakened, and their political status will also be greatly improved. shrink.Therefore, although the fear of the king lingers in the hearts of most nobles, most of them still muster up the courage to try to make a last-ditch vote by voting against the parliament.

Entering February, many congressmen from other places have come to London early.In the city of London, various forces held a large number of political banquets. These so-called banquets are not so much gatherings and entertainment as they are connected with each other. MP.According to estimates, the difference in the number of votes in the final vote is likely to be only in the single digits, and in this case, any vote is crucial.

February [-]th is Valentine's Day, and this day is also the day when the Earl of Nottingham holds a banquet at his luxurious mansion in central London. As the top ten landowners in the country, the Earl of Nottingham is naturally very resistant to the bill proposed by the king. Enthusiastic about wooing MPs into the ranks of the opposition, invitations for this banquet were sent to almost every MP.Among the guests present today, in addition to most of the members of the opposition, there are also quite a few representatives of the centrists, and the latter is the target that the host of the banquet really wants to win over.

The banquet started at eight o'clock in the evening and did not come to an end until midnight.With the bells of Westminster Abbey not far away, the exiting guests also filed out of the hall.The ancient Roman writer Pliny once compared the crowd pouring out of the Colosseum to some kind of violent vomiting, and if he was lucky enough to be standing in the earl's front yard at this time, he would probably feel the same.

Among the many fat-headed guests, a fat man in black looked inconspicuous.He seemed a little drunk, and staggered out of the gate, looking like a fat duck walking on the beach in the spring sun.He pushed aside the servant who was about to help him, walked straight to the middle of the porch, and shouted in a high-pitched voice that could be heard in the hall, "Bring Bishop Tarbert's carriage!"

Even if the Duke does not announce this prestigious title, everyone can see that he is a priest.These servants of God always have a body shape that is not commensurate with their predecessors. They look like a group of strong hippopotamuses. What is not commensurate with their body shape is that their voices are generally shrill like little girls.Usually at such banquets they always wear black robes, as if they are guilty of committing the sin of gluttony among the seven deadly sins, trying to block God's sight with this black robe.

Bishop Tarbert was born in an aristocratic family. Like the other second sons who could not inherit the title, he chose religion as his profession. He had the support of his family and was good at clinging, so he was quickly fattened by a monastery abbot. Difference.During his tenure, the monastery had been known for the fat perch in its ponds, and it was even rumored that the Lord Abbot ate more perch than the entire population of the parish.

The perch's nightmare ended with Abbot Tarbert's promotion, with the help of some powerful friends, to a purple-robed bishop and a church member in the House of Lords.It didn't take long for the new Bishop of Tarbert to discover that Parliament was a much more fertile fishpond, and in exchange for his votes he had acquired riches over the past few years from this fishpond, enough to Made his dozen bastards rich gentlemen.

A two-seater four-wheeled carriage was quickly pulled by two white horses, and it drove straight to the bishop. The huge bishop's crown pattern almost occupied the entire door. Obviously, if there is really a doomsday judgment, then the bishop will have nothing to do except gluttony. In addition, the sin of arrogance may need to be explained in front of the savior.

The bishop whispered a few words to the coachman who graciously opened the door for him, and then stepped on the velvet-covered steps and jumped into the carriage, and the door was closed behind him.The coachman flicked his whip, and the two horses galloped forward, and rushed out of the gate of the mansion in an instant.

The bishop's body sank into the soft seat cushion, and his fat body shook with the bumps of the carriage, making him let out a comfortable sigh.He groped around himself, and finally pulled out a small golden silk bag, which one of the Earl of Nottingham's servants slipped in his coat pocket just before the show ended.

The bishop's small mung bean-like eyes showed a greedy light. He opened the bag and took it to the bedside. The contents inside reflected soft silvery spots under the moonlight.

There were more than a dozen pearls the size of pigeon eggs lying in the bag. Bishop Tarbert stretched out two fingers, pinched one of them, took it out of the bag, and gently rubbed it with his fingertips.To the touch, the smooth surface reminded him of the smooth skin of his favorite mistress.

The bishop has always been a man of action. He reached out and knocked on the window. The coachman immediately turned his head. The bishop stretched out his arm and pointed in a certain direction. The coachman immediately understood and changed direction at the next intersection.

After about 10 minutes, the carriage stopped in front of an unremarkable small building.The bishop reached into the bag and took out four pearls, thought for a while, and put two of them back.He held the two remaining pearls in his hand, played with them, and put them into his pocket.Then he took out a thick red woolen scarf from the corner of the carriage, and covered the lower half of his face tightly.

After finishing all this, he opened the door, stepped out of the carriage, walked to the door and knocked lightly three times.

There were footsteps and heavy breathing from behind the door, accompanied by coughing from time to time, like a broken bellows roaring.The wooden door was opened, and a little old man with wrinkled face came out, his thinning hair was breathing weakly in the winter breeze.

This person was the concierge of this small building. Seeing the strangely dressed bishop, he didn't say a word, but just made a gesture of invitation. Obviously, he was already very familiar with this guest.The porter took a dim oil lamp from a small chest by the door, and put it in the bishop's hand.

The Bishop entered the door, which closed behind him.He walked up the creaking narrow stairs to the second floor and stopped in front of a suite on the second floor.He bent down and put a key he had just taken out of his pocket into the lock.

As soon as the door was opened, the bishop jumped into the living room like a hopping rabbit, as if he was 30 years younger.A dozen candles were burning in the living room, illuminating the rather large room.The furnishings in the room are not commensurate with its size, and it looks a bit simple.There are several oil paintings hanging on the wall covered with pink wallpaper. It is obvious that the creator tried to cover up his poor technique with bright paint. Even in this not bright light, the lameness of these paintings can be seen.One of them is of a dense forest, another of the Scottish Lake District, a third of the White Cliffs of Dover, and a fourth of the green hills of Wales.The paintings were stained with some suspicious stains, perhaps wine stains, or marks left by a few squashed flies. It was obvious that the owner of the house had not completely ignored these paintings, but at least was indifferent.

The bishop walked to the door leading to the bedroom, straightened his collar, and knocked lightly on the door.

"Open the door, my little Anna, your Thomas is coming to see you!" he cried cheerfully in a goose-bumping voice.

There was a rush of footsteps coming from the door, "Wait a minute, I'll come out!" A woman shouted through the door.

The bishop sat on the sofa, and not long after, a lady ran out of the bedroom. She was only wearing a silk nightgown embroidered with various flowers and plants, and she seemed to have just gotten out of bed.

"Your Excellency is so late!" The woman, who looked to be between 25 and 30 years old, put on a look of joy when she saw the bishop, "I thought you would spend the night somewhere else tonight! "

The hint of jealousy revealed in the woman's tone obviously made the Bishop very useful.He stretched out his hand and touched the fluffy and soft golden hair of the other party, "I went to the Earl of Nottingham's banquet, and I didn't leave until midnight... I'm sorry to keep you waiting." He grabbed a few strands of golden hair and placed them on his The tip of her nose sniffed the fresh fragrance above, and took out the two pearls from her pocket, "This is your compensation, my dear little cat."

Immediately, the woman's eyes shone brighter than the light of the pearls. She stretched out her hand, took the two pearls carefully, and held them in her hands.Like a little girl, she ran straight back to her bedroom, sat in front of the dressing table, put the two pearls under her ears and gestured, as if imagining how they would fall below.

"They must be beautiful as earrings, and they suit your skin tone." The bishop also followed, walked into the room, and began to untie his clothes.

The woman put the pearls into a small box on the dressing-table, got up, turned to the Bishop, and unfastened the straps of her nightgown.She slightly twisted her shoulders, and the robe, like a fallen leaf in autumn, left the branch and fell to the ground.

"What role do you want me to play tonight, are we going to be Antony and Cleopatra, or Helen and Paris?" She touched the bishop's hairy and fat chest provocatively, "as long as you say Come out, and I will satisfy you."

The bishop's face turned red, "What I want you to become tonight is not a character in history or legend, but in real life."

"Say it, as long as you say your name, I will satisfy you." The woman pressed closer, and the bishop could almost feel the hot breath from the other party rushing towards his cheek, "Just a name."

"Have you seen Princess Mary?" The bishop hesitated for a moment, but still spoke.

"Princess Mary? I have seen her from a distance at several ceremonies." The woman opened her mouth in astonishment, but then she laughed. The bishop got his status today by clinging to Princess Mary. Although he is not very loyal to Princess Mary, he still has this idea now. "So you asked me to play Princess Mary? And who are you, Philip of Spain?"

"I am myself." The bishop scanned the woman from head to toe with greedy eyes. "I, Thomas Tarbert, begin now."

"Well, then, I am Princess Mary, and my husband has gone, leaving me pregnant alone." She made a sad expression, "Now a handsome priest has come to visit me, and I want to Tell him my misfortune, I will pray to him and repent."

"Yes, yes, you should pray and repent..." The bishop grabbed the woman's arm and pulled her to the bed.

The intense prayer lasted about 5 minutes before it ended. The panting bishop collapsed into a ball like a dead fish, gasping for breath, as if a drowning man had just been rescued ashore.

"The prayer time is a bit short." A mocking voice suddenly came from the door.

The woman screamed, and the bishop struggled to turn over. Seeing the figure in a black robe standing at the door, he quickly reached out and snatched the quilt from his companion, wrapping himself tightly like a mummy.

"Who are you?" His voice sounded sharper.

"Calm down, calm down, Your Excellency." The man in black walked into the room unhurriedly, "My God, look at your face, it's flushed. You'd better relax, or you'll have a stroke. "

"Who are you? I'm going to call someone!" The facial features on the bishop's face were distorted, and it looked like a wax mask that was melting.

"If I were you, my efforts would not be in vain." The man in black yawned, turned the armchair in front of the dressing table to face the bishop, and sat on it.

"Come, come!" the bishop screamed to himself.

One minute passed, and two minutes passed. It stands to reason that at this time the bishop's cry could have woken up all the residents in the building from their dreams, but there was no sound, not even the coachman downstairs. Come up and see what the owner is doing.

The embarrassing red on the bishop's face was quickly replaced by a frightened gray-white, "Who... are you?"

"It's not important, the important thing is, do you want your secret to be known?" The man said slowly, "I'm not talking about bribery or moral corruption. To be honest, no one cares about such things." Interested in things... but your evil thoughts about Princess Mary... are quite different." He appreciated the terrified look on the bishop's face with satisfaction, "What will Princess Mary think, and what will your majesty think? What do you say?"

"Let's stop going around in circles, what do you want me to do?" The bishop looked completely broken, as if he had aged 20 years in an instant, and even the thinning hair on the top of his head looked much less.

"It's simple, you just need to cast a yes vote when it comes time to vote on the Administrative Modernization Act."

"You are Sir Walsingham's? His Majesty's spy?" asked the bishop.

"Is yes or no important to you?" The man tapped lightly on the top of the dressing table, "I need an answer right now."

"Well, well, tell whoever sent you, they won! I will vote as they wish." The bishop surrendered with a sigh.

"You made a wise choice." The man picked up the bishop's clothes and threw them on him. "Now you should go back. After all, you have to get up early tomorrow morning to pray for God to forgive your sins, right?"

The bishop put those clothes on himself in three steps, five times and two times, and he didn't even have time to care about the front and back.He wrapped his head with the red scarf, looked like a huge apple, and ran out of the room as if fleeing.

When the sound of the carriage leaving downstairs was heard, the man in black also stood up, holding a golden silk bag in his hand, which was exactly the one the bishop took out in the carriage.

"It seems that our generous bishop has a bad memory. He didn't give you two pearls, but this whole bag."

He threw the bag to the woman who was still lying on the bed, and she caught it, opened the bag, and looked inside with satisfaction, "Then thank the bishop for his generosity." She laughed loudly.

The man in black also laughed, "You did a really good job this time. I have to say, you are one of the best actors I have ever seen." He said and walked out the door.

The woman walked to the dressing table again, opened the small box before, and poured all the pearls in the bag into it.Those pearls collided with each other, and it sounded like the cheerful bounce of raindrops falling on the stone pavement.

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I saw that many of you were discussing the partition plan of Spain in the previous chapter. In history, the territory ruled by the Habsburg family was different and the language was different. Therefore, many partition plans have been proposed, and the children of Philip and Mary will inherit England. And the Netherlands is one of the plans, but they have no children in history, so this plan ended without a problem. Later, Philip planned to leave the Netherlands to his sister and brother-in-law, but in the end it was also because of Ned. A series of events such as the Lan Revolution aborted.