monarch

When Robert woke up the next morning, what he saw was not the big curtained bed and the ceiling with exquisite murals that he saw in Hampton Court Palace on weekdays, but the ancient black stone walls and narrow walls built in the Middle Ages. window.In the bursts of pine fragrance from the fireplace, he finally recalled that he was in the Tower of London. Although these medieval rooms have been remodeled many times, they are still not as comfortable as the Hamptons with huge floor-to-ceiling windows. The suites in the Palace are comparable.

Robert tried to use his arms to stand up, but the wound on his right arm was still tingling, so he could only make do with one arm to let himself half lean on the pillow.

He took a few deep breaths, and was satisfied to find that there was nothing major wrong with him except for the wound on his arm-this is a trick he learned on the battlefield, if there is a wound that he didn't notice, then take a big breath The induced pain will expose it.

He stretched out his left hand and rang the bell hanging above the bed.

The servant who had appeared last night pushed open the door. It seemed that he was already waiting in front of the door. "What's your order?" He bowed and asked courteously.

"Is Your Majesty up?" Robert asked.

"Your Majesty is going to have breakfast." The servant said, "He specifically told you not to disturb your rest."

Robert nodded, "Serve me to change my clothes, and then I'm going to have breakfast with His Majesty." The enviable privilege of having breakfast with the king is exclusive to Robert alone in this dynasty. People are jealous.

"Your Majesty asked me to tell you that you need to rest, so he ordered me to bring you breakfast."

Robert laughed twice, "I'm not a married woman, so there's no reason to have breakfast in bed." Having breakfast on a tray in bed is a privilege only for married wives.

"But Your Majesty said it was requested by the doctor..." The servant hesitated.

"Stop talking nonsense, His Majesty is not here now, you have to listen to me." Robert interrupted the servant's mumbling.

"Your Majesty is here now." A few chuckles came from outside the door, and Edward walked into the room, "Really, you are really a patient who gives the doctor a headache, can't you just listen to the doctor once?"

When Robert saw the king entering the room, he quickly lifted the quilt and was about to get out of bed. Edward quickly stepped forward and pushed him back on the bed, "Are you trying to open your wound?"

"It's just scratching the skin." Robert waved his hand, "That doctor made a fuss too much."

The king smiled and shook his head, "I expected that you would not obey the doctor's order, so I brought you breakfast myself." He clapped his hands lightly, one servant was holding a tray, the other The servant walked into the bedroom with a small table placed on the bed.

The king stepped forward and opened the silver cover on the tray. The aroma of muffins, bacon and fruit wafted out. He nodded with satisfaction, "The doctor said that you should control your diet, but I think the patient should take more nutrition. .”

"It seems that you don't always listen to the doctor." Robert half-jokingly said.

"Of course, I am the king, and everyone must listen to me." Edward went to the bed again, "Including you. So you stay in bed for me today, and if you are hungry, ask someone to bring food ;If you are bored, ask someone to send you something to amuse yourself. You are really lucky, and this life is better than the gods on Mount Olympus in the eyes of many people, so you Just cherish this rare time."

"Then I will follow your order." Robert looked at the rich breakfast in front of him and said, "Have you eaten already? If not, I would like to invite you together."

"I have already used it." Edward shook his head, "But I will stay here with you."

At this moment, there were several knocks on the door, and several servants carried a small desk and an armchair into the room, placed the table and chair beside Robert's bed, and placed stationery and A thick stack of documents looks like a hill made of paper.

"I'll move my office here." Edward pointed to the documents on the table, "If it doesn't disturb your rest."

Robert's eyes widened, he looked at Edward with surprised eyes, his lips moved slightly, as if he wanted to say something.However, after a long time, he finally spoke up and said softly, "Thank you...I am very happy."

The corners of Edward's mouth curved slightly, and there was a hint of pink at the tips of his ears, which made Robert feel an urge to touch him.

When the servants exited the room, Edward sat in the armchair, picked up a quill, pulled out the top copy of the pile of documents, and began to look through them.

Robert ate the breakfast on the plate, but his eyes kept looking at Edward's face. At this moment, Edward's smiling face had taken on a serious look. When he dealt with government affairs, he looked like a A king who is not angry and arrogant.

The king finished reading the first document within a few minutes. He wrote and drew a few lines on it, and put the document on a wooden tray next to it. The servants would take away the completed document and send it to the The secretary handles it uniformly.

The king began to look at the second document, as if casually, he suddenly broke the silence in the room: "Your father came last night."

"My father?" Robert was a little surprised. He put down the knife and fork in his hand and frowned. "I don't have any impression."

"You were already asleep at that time." The king didn't look up, and then flipped through the documents on the table, "Besides, he didn't come to you, he came to see me."

"Is it because of what happened yesterday?" Robert was a little nervous, "You don't think... this assassination has something to do with him?"

The king put down the quill and turned his head, with a half-smile expression on his face, "What do you think?"

"I..." Robert hesitated, "I don't know...but I always feel that this is not his style..." His voice became smaller and smaller, and in the end it was as if he was whispering.

"You don't have to be so emboldened." The king shook his head, "Your father is a smart man, and really smart people plan before acting. In other words, if it was his work, then the assassination is only the first One step, regardless of whether the assassination is successful or not, he will have a plan for the next step. After all, there is no turning back in things like a coup d'etat. But after yesterday's assassination, everything is over, like a drama just staged If the play ends suddenly at the climax, then the play must have been created by a bad screenwriter. Similarly, the people who planned the assassination must be a group of childish idiots, such as those who have been domineering in their hometown manor all their lives Land nobles."

Robert took a deep breath, "Then what is he here for?" His voice was still trembling, but after all, he was not as nervous as before.

"Well..." the king stood up, walked to the bed, and looked at the smooth river below, "It's nothing more than testing the truth." He turned to look at Robert, and the sun shone from behind him like a cocoon. He wrapped himself up so that Robert couldn't see the expression on his face, "He may not have planned this conspiracy, but he didn't stop it either."

Robert felt his blood froze, "You mean...he knew about this conspiracy." His voice was hoarse, and he looked at the king in horror.

"I've always said that your father is a smart man." Edward took a step forward, but his face was still hidden in the light and shadow. Why doesn't he turn a blind eye?"

"But I don't understand, what good does it do him?" Robert's eyes took on a look of pleading.

"You understand, we all understand," continued the king, "if I had died yesterday in the council hall, what would have happened next? Chaos, utter chaos. In the midst of this chaos, what is the order of succession? No, only the person with the most cards can sit on the throne, and your father married Jane Gray, waiting for this kind of moment."

Robert slumped down on the bed.

"The aristocracy has long been dissatisfied with my reforms. He can reach a compromise with the aristocrats as long as he announces the abolition of the "Administrative Modernization Act" they dislike. After all, he is not only a member of the aristocracy, but also their status. Mary or Elizabeth can't match this. At that time, he will rely on the nobles, and he will hold great power in his hands. His position will be rock-solid, and he can retreat. Mary or Elizabeth reached a compromise, and in the new dynasty, he would fight against the new monarch, and the initiative rested in his hands."

Robert's eyes were full of despair, and he stared straight at the king, who also stood there motionless.

After an unknown amount of time, Robert finally forced himself to speak, "What are you going to do?"

The king shrugged his shoulders, "Continue to win, and your father will always be on the winning side. The stronger my position is, the more sincere his loyalty will be."

Robert lowered his eyes, and the long eyelashes drooped from the eyelids like blinds, blocking the sad gaze: Although Robert had expected this day to come, when the sword of Damocles finally fell, he Still caught off guard.

After being silent for more than ten seconds, Robert finally spoke, and his hoarse voice revealed boundless fatigue: "In view of the current situation...and my identity, I don't think I am suitable to lead the Imperial Guard anymore. He raised his head and mustered up the courage to look into the king's eyes. "Please accept my resignation."

The king looked at Robert's gaze, which was sad and disappointed, but more determined.He shook his head slightly, walked to the edge of the bed and sat down.

"If one day, you can find a candidate for me who is not only loyal and reliable, but also capable, then I will accept your resignation. Before that, you don't want to go anywhere."

"It's hard to find such a person." Robert smiled wryly twice.

"You are such a person." Edward stretched out his hand and took the other's left hand. "I dare to entrust my life to you, and everything yesterday also proves that I made a wise choice."

Robert took the opponent's hand in his backhand, and he grasped that hand tightly, like a drowning man grasping a rope thrown at him.He lowered his head to hide his red eyes.

'You should feel at ease now. "The king approached Robert with a smile and said softly.

"Maybe one day, I really need to make that choice." Robert suddenly stretched out his arms and held Edward in his arms, "I have hesitated in the past, but from now on, I will never hesitate... I Dad was always on the winning side, and I will always be on your side."

"Then it's easy," the king joked, "as long as you help me keep winning, he'll be with us forever, and you don't have to make any choices." Suddenly he seemed to think of something, and quickly Grabbing Robert's injured arm, he put it back on the bed, "Pay attention to your wounds...you are such a restless patient."

Robert finally smiled again, "It's hard for you, a doctor, to calm the patient down." He stretched out his healthy arm and hugged Edward again, "So are you going to let this assassination be uncovered?"

"This is the case at the moment." The king nodded, "All the clues have been broken, and there is probably nothing to be found in Walsingham." A strand of tassel, playing with it lightly, "Do you still remember the famous salon of the Duchess of Suffolk? I really want to know what her guests are talking about in private. This is like the salon in the maze. A thread, follow this thread, maybe you can find the way out."

Robert looked at the king in surprise, "Are you doubting her..."

"She doesn't have the courage." The king snorted disdainfully, "If her father is a lion, then this lady is just a scavenger like a hyena or a vulture. I just want to take advantage of it, and if I go to the poker table with this mentality, I will lose everything."

"As I said just now, this conspiracy is probably planned by a group of brainless nobles. However, there must always be an occasion for these people to gather... such as this lady's famous salon."

"Are you going to summon the Duchess of Suffolk?" asked Robert.

"It's not necessary," said the king, "that would be nothing more than an alarm... The Administrative Modernization Act has been passed, and within a year these nobles will become insignificant. Time is on our side. If they do it again I'm afraid it's just recently, I think as long as I keep an eye on this lady and the people who often go to her place, I will definitely gain something."

"So you sent Sir Walsingham to watch them?"

"I don't need to order, Walsingham will do it. This is the meaning of his existence. If I need to order everything, then I might as well be the chief intelligence officer myself." The king stretched out his finger, from Robert broke off a small piece of muffin from his plate and put it in his mouth, "He is very talented in this area, I am afraid it has something to do with his nature, he is born with that kind of voyeuristic desire, I think this job can Let him be greatly satisfied." There was a mocking smile on the corner of his mouth.

"I don't like him very much." Robert frowned slightly. "He always reminds me of a poisonous snake that spits out a letter, wriggling its cool body and crawling in the dark corridor."

"Most people who do that job are unpopular." The king raised his eyebrows, "But this is also good, everyone is his enemy by nature, he can only rely on me, if I abandon him now, Before dinnertime he'll be torn to pieces smaller than a fingernail."

"As long as you know it in your heart." Robert decided not to discuss this issue.

"Of course I know." The king stood up, walked back to the desk, put the document in his hand on the tray, and picked up the third document to read.

"Cecile has sent arrangements for a summer cruise," said the king.

According to His Majesty's plan, this summer, the royal family will hold a grand summer parade. The king will set off from London to visit major cities across the country, meet local representatives, and hold a grand reception. He will not return to London until early winter.This is undoubtedly a grand display of royal power, and its purpose is naturally to gain the support of the people, and at the same time deter those restless young people-at a time when the country is undercurrents surging due to the "Administrative Modernization Act", Article [-] Reasons are especially necessary.

"When is the departure?" Robert asked. "I will have the Praetorian Guards ready."

"June [-]th." The king flipped through the documents in his hand, "starting from London, passing Reading and Bath, finally arriving at Bristol, from there entering Wales, and then passing Liverpool and Leeds to York, from there All the way north to Edinburgh, from where we returned by boat."

"Going to Scotland again." Robert didn't seem enthusiastic about it. "I don't have any good memories of this place."

"Yeah, the treason case a few years ago...Since then, my father seems to have changed." The king sighed softly.For King Henry VIII, the physical blow of the treason case was far worse than the psychological blow. A person who always regarded himself as a god was slapped severely by the pawn he wanted to play with in the palm of his hand. , its impact can be imagined.

"Where's the Duke of Norfolk? I hear he's dying too." Robert asked.After the failed rebellion, this outdated official was taken to France by his son, and now it seems that he has no chance to return to his homeland for the rest of his life. "

"It is said that he won't survive the next winter...but his son, the Earl of Surrey, is quite happy in the French court." The king said absently while drawing a line on the document in his hand with a quill. , "It seems he's betting his bets on Mary of Scots, dreaming of one day returning home."

"This parade will not be the same as last time." Robert guessed the reason for the king's distress without much effort, "Now that we know that Xiaoxiao is spying secretly, we will make all-out preparations and never let them There is an opportunity to take advantage of."

The king turned the document to the last page, signed his name on it, and put it back on the tray as well.

"I hope so." He said in a low voice, "However, things in this world can never be as you wish."

He picked up a new document and began to critique it.