monarch

When Dr. Paganini came panting from the other side of the castle, the king had been carefully carried back to the room by the servants led by Robert.

Dr. Paganini has served the royal family of England for nearly 20 years, but in these 20 years, he has never seen such a terrifying scene: the young and energetic king is like a wax figure Lying unconscious on the bed, Robert Dudley, half kneeling beside his bed, looked even paler than the unconscious king on the bed.

Dr. Paganini wiped the sweat from his forehead, bent down, and began to examine His Majesty's body carefully. During the whole process, Robert's eyes kept staring at the doctor's eyes and the corners of his mouth, trying to get out of his eyes. You can see his thoughts in a flicker or a wave of muscle.

After a long time like a century, Dr. Paganini raised his head and said in a strange tone, "Your Majesty is still alive."

Robert let out a soft cry out of surprise, and did not notice the strange tone of the doctor, "You mean His Majesty is not in danger? When will he wake up?" He asked like a cannonball.

"Unfortunately, I didn't say that." The doctor shook his head.

"What do you mean?" Robert had a bad premonition in his heart, his eyes were wide open, and cold sweat flowed down his gray cheeks all the way to the collar that wrapped his neck.

"Your Majesty will wake up soon, but unfortunately, it is not known whether he will fully recover." He glanced at Robert's eyes, which were gradually dyed red, and swallowed, "However, personally, I don't I don't recommend getting your hopes up too much..."

"'Don't expect too much'?" Robert looked as if he was going to jump up and slit the doctor's throat. The servants in the room all bowed their heads and cowered. "What are you talking about? Please speak clearly!"

"Your Majesty's symptom is strychnine poisoning. If you still remember, it was this poison that was involved in the great rebellion a few years ago. His Majesty the King, the Queen Catherine Parr and several others Everyone died from this kind of nerve poison." The doctor summoned up his courage and said, "Fortunately, His Majesty did not take such a large dose, so it was not immediately fatal."

"Poison, it's poison!" Robert collapsed on the ground sadly, trembling all over, as if he had a cold, "Is it that glass of wine?"

The servants had already brought over the glass bottle in which the chief minister poured wine for the king. Dr. Paganini put on a pair of white gloves and poured a small half of the wine in the glass bottle into a cup.

"We'll find out soon." The doctor said, picking up a glass of pansy juice just delivered by the kitchen, and he poured the small half glass of wine into the glass containing pansy juice.

Robert watched in horror as the liquid in the glass gradually turned a grassy pale green, the truth was unmistakable.

"My God." His voice was hoarse, as if the windpipe and throat were torn, and he felt his legs go numb, like five thunders, and Robert collapsed on the ground.

After about half a minute, he finally stood up from the ground, reached out and brushed away the sweat-soaked hair that was hanging on his forehead.

"How is the chief minister?" He looked at an attendant who was huddled in the corner with a fierce look, and the other side trembled violently from the fright in his eyes.

"Your Excellency the Minister is currently under house arrest in his room."

"I remember that he also drank alcohol." Robert's eyes were stained with hope, and he turned to the doctor again, "But nothing happened to him, could it be a mistake?"

Dr. Paganini frowned in surprise, "If Your Excellency allows, I would like to see the situation of Your Excellency the Minister."

Robert hesitated for a moment, "Okay, then please come back as soon as possible."

Dr. Paganini bowed and walked out of the room, and the servants also retreated after him. In a blink of an eye, only Robert and the unconscious king were left in the bedroom.

Robert carefully bent down and kissed the ivory-white forehead lightly. His lips were hot, but the forehead was like ice, without any warmth.

Countless thoughts flooded Robert's mind, and he felt his temples throbbing wildly. He opened his mouth to say something to the king who could no longer hear, but his tongue froze in his throat.

He knelt down on the ground again, and let out a heart-piercing cry from his chest. Despair enveloped his head like the night, but the light never appeared again.

Robert sat on the ground blankly, as if all the vitality had been sucked out of this body.

There were hurried footsteps outside the door, the door was pushed open, and the doctor hurried into the room.

"Your Excellency, Your Excellency the Minister was also poisoned, but his symptoms were much milder than His Majesty's, but it was just a slight discomfort." Dr. Paganini said, "Obviously, his body has developed resistance to this poison. Medicinal."

"Drug resistance?" Robert looked at the doctor in astonishment.

"Yes, Your Excellency." The doctor nodded, "You should know the story of King Mithridates VI of Pontus. In order to prevent being poisoned by the enemy, the king drank various traces of poisons every day. The doses he took were slightly more than the previous day. Over time, he developed resistance to all kinds of poisons, poisons that can kill a person on the spot, but they can only make his stomach feel a little uncomfortable."

"Obviously, your father used the same method as the Pondu royal family. I think he should have started taking this poison a few months ago, so today's poison did not have a great impact on him."

"Then he did it," said Robert in a low voice, speaking more to himself than to the doctor.He put his hands on the ground and stood up. The power that propped him up just now was despair, but now the power that keeps those two legs from bending is anger, and the second power is far stronger than the first. many.

"The Chief Minister wishes to speak to His Majesty when He wakes up," Dr. Paganini added.

"Did you tell him about His Majesty?" Robert asked.

"No, but Your Excellency the Minister seems to have known that His Majesty will wake up. In fact, what he said about His Majesty's situation is very accurate. I think he knows this poison very well."

As if to corroborate what the doctor said, the unconscious king coughed softly on the bed, and slowly opened his eyes.

Robert let out a cry of surprise, ran a few steps, and rushed to the bed. He couldn't wait to hold the king's still weak hand, "Your Majesty... Your Majesty..." He stammered.

There was a trace of bewilderment in the king's eyes. He slowly turned his head and glanced at Robert, then at Dr. Paganini standing on the other side of the bed.

"What's wrong with me?" He said in a hoarse voice.

"It's poison, Your Majesty, you are poisoned." Dr. Paganini brought over a cup, "Please drink this potion, it will make you feel better."

Robert supported the king's back and helped him sit up. He took the medicine from the doctor, and the king drank half a cup from his hand.

The potion was really effective, and it didn't take long for His Majesty's purple lips to be stained with blood again, and his cheeks were also ruddy.

Robert looked relieved, but the gloom on Dr. Paganini's face still persisted.

"How does Your Majesty feel?" asked the doctor, leaning close to the king.

"I feel dizzy, and my ears are buzzing." The king coughed. "It was terrible just now, as if someone was pinching my neck, but it seems to be better now, and my breathing is much easier."

"So...is it wine?" the king asked softly, turning to Robert.

Robert bit his broken lip, nodded heavily, "I've put him under house arrest."

"Didn't he say he wanted to see me?" The king reached out and wiped the cold sweat from his forehead.

"How do you know?" This time it was the surprised Doctor Paganini who spoke.

Robert gave the doctor a cold look, and he stretched out his arm to help the king pull up the silk quilt soaked in cold sweat, "Your Majesty needs to rest." He said to the doctor in a warning tone.

"Let him come, now." The king gasped violently, and he felt the suffocation coming back.

Robert shook his head disapprovingly, "Your Majesty, I think..."

"Please do as I say." There was a sudden flash of light in the king's eyes, and he grabbed Robert's hand vigorously, and the other's wrist was a little red from being grabbed, "We are running out of time, It's very important, trust me."

After saying these words, the king let go of Robert's hand as if he had exhausted all his strength.

Robert felt his nose sore, and big tears flowed from his eyes. He wiped the tears vigorously, walked to the door of the room, opened the door, and said something to the attendants waiting outside.

He walked back to the king again, "He'll be right here."

Edward nodded, with a pale smile on his face, "Thank you." He looked at Dr. Paganini again, "Dear doctor, I want to ask you a question, please answer it seriously, it is very important, I There are some important decisions to be made..."

He paused for a moment, panting violently, and Robert quickly put his arms around the king and patted him on the back.

"Am I going to die?" He looked straight at the doctor, "Please don't lie to me."

Dr. Paganini glanced at the livid Robert.

"Please tell the truth," the king repeated.

"The dose of poison in the poisoned wine that His Majesty drank is much lighter than that of His Majesty and Queen, so His Majesty is still alive... However, this kind of poison is highly poisonous after all, and I can only guarantee that I will try my best." Do your best to treat His Majesty..." the doctor mustered up his courage and said falteringly.

"Ah... so the dose of poison he gave was reduced..." the king said to himself, "well, I see what you mean... how much time do you think I have?"

Robert trembled all over, and it took all his courage to keep himself from passing out.

"If your majesty can survive this week, you will be able to save yourself from danger... It depends on your majesty's body's ability to detoxify." The doctor did not answer the king's question directly.

"It seems that there is not a week." The king smiled sadly.

"That's not what he meant." Robert gritted his teeth. "He meant you'd be fine in a week, didn't he, doctor?" He slashed his knife-like gaze across the doctor's neck.

"I hope so, Your Majesty." Dr. Paganini lowered his head and said softly.

"I believe the doctor will do his best." Edward gently tugged on Robert's cuff, "Don't scare him anymore."

There were several knocks on the door, and the door was opened. Sir Walsingham walked into the room. He glanced at the king lying on the bed, "Your Excellency, the Chief Minister, has arrived."

The king looked at the alarmed Sir Walsingham, who was now dreading the dreadful prospect of losing his only support.In the past few years of serving the king, he has offended too many people and learned too many secrets. Any faction that gains power will be happy to see him torn to pieces.In this room, besides Robert, he was probably the person who hoped that the king was safe and well.

"Bring him in." The king nodded.

The chief minister walked into the room with square steps, and the two guards behind him followed him like shadows.He walked up to the king's bed and bowed respectfully to the king as if nothing had happened, as if he were in a cabinet meeting.

"Close all the doors and windows, and then you go out." The king ordered, and he glanced at Robert, "You stay."

The windows were closed and bolted, and when the door finally closed, the King and the Dudleys were alone in the room.

There was a tense silence in the room, the chief minister stood upright in the center of the room like a statue, while Robert sat beside the king's bed, his eyes focused on his father's face, full of Breathing hatred, anger and madness, like a crater bubbling with magma, anger would spurt out from his pupils in the next second.

After several minutes, the king finally broke the silence.

"Why don't you talk, sir?" Edward said with a frightening sneer on his face, "you've reduced the dose of poison on purpose, I guess just to have a chance to talk to me before I die, don't you?" ?”

"Your intuition is as accurate as ever." The chief minister spoke in a natural and calm tone, "I do have something to say to the dying king."

He said the word "dying" deliberately emphatically.

Robert roared angrily, and seemed about to jump at the chief minister.

The king held out a hand and took him.

There was a smile on the face of the Chief Minister, which was full of the mockery of the winner to the loser.

"Did you take all this trouble just to have a word with me?" sighed the king. "You must have tasted that sweet poison you gave me many times? Very gutsy."

"That taste is really unpleasant, even if it's only a small amount." The chief minister nodded.

"How did you do it?"

The chief minister took off the diamond ring on his finger. He slightly twisted the diamond on it, and the diamond bounced off immediately. The base below was empty, obviously where the poison had been placed before.

"An exquisite little device, Your Majesty." The Chief Minister looked like a magician, showing the rabbit conjured from the hat to the audience.

"It's not your style." The king shook his head. "You were the one who played chess, but now you jump onto the board...I think the only explanation is that you have no choice, don't you? I mentioned the Spanish fleet, it seems that it has something to do with Mary and her Spanish friends." The king's eyes suddenly became sharper, "The Spanish fleet should have set sail after my death, not before, right? ?”

The chief minister laughed loudly, "You are such a wonderful opponent, without you, this political arena is really boring to me." He took a step towards the king, "Indeed, this is not my original plan , is your sister, she ignored our agreement. The original plan was that after your death, the Spanish army would land in the south to stabilize the situation, and a new king would be negotiated by all parties.”

"We originally arranged for you to die in the middle of this month." The chief minister said bluntly, "Unfortunately, your sister tore up our agreement. She wants to take the lead before everything is settled. Presumably she hopes that before the news of your death spreads, she has already controlled the entire south, so that she can be in an advantageous position in the future competition... Our alliance is just a temporary compromise of different dreams, wait until you drive Beng is about to fall apart. I have spent a lot of time on this matter, you know, I am not the kind of person who likes to make wedding clothes for others."

"So you can only improvise, and you have to catch up with the lagging time." The king said, "I'm curious, what is the ending you arranged for me?"

"You know, for the rest of our journey, we'll be going through mountains, and mountain disasters aren't very uncommon in that area, are they? It's God's will," he glanced at the king, "someone would even think it was God's punishment, they would say, is what happens to a heretic."

"This is your handwriting." The king also laughed, "No one can have anything to do with you, like my father's death."

Robert looked at the king with incredible eyes.

The chief minister called out softly, and he looked at the king with more interest, "You even guessed this?"

"It's not me." The king shook his head, "It's the one you used to make the knife."

"Duke Protector?" The chief minister looked quite surprised, "It seems that he is smarter than I thought... but not smart enough to clear his name." He curled his lips slightly, showing a Disdainful expression.

"So you admit it?" said the King. "You made the Lord Protector's doctor tell him about the effects of strychnine, didn't you? You inspired him to commit a crime."

"You can't say that, Your Majesty." The chief minister whistled softly, "What did I do? It was nothing more than sowing some seeds in the ground. As for whether the seeds will germinate, will they grow into towering giants?" tree, it depends on the condition of the land. If it wasn't for a person with evil thoughts in his heart, how could he commit the crime of regicide just because of a doctor's nonsense?" He shook his head lightly , "In the final analysis, the poison was prepared by the protector, the person who poisoned was threatened by the protector, and the final regency fell into his hands. What does this matter have to do with me?"

"It's really clever." The king said in a statement tone, "after that, you took advantage of the conflict between the first queen and her new husband, and you poisoned the first queen and her new husband with the same poison, so everyone, including her, I thought that it was her husband who wanted to kill her, so before she died, she took revenge on the enemy she thought... Is there any better witness than an accomplice in a crime?"

"You waited patiently for several years, and then erased the chess pieces you used one by one, first the doctor, then the family of the queen and then the maid, one by one, and soon there will be no more chess pieces in this world. Your accuser."

"So you sent that secretary of yours to France?" The chief minister shrugged indifferently, "I hope he can bring something back... Unfortunately, it's too late, there's no need for that."

"Yes, you have already rebelled." The king leaned weakly on Robert, "You have committed regicide once, and I am afraid you don't care about committing a second time."

The First Minister shrugged again.

"Well, thank you for your openness. I have nothing more to ask you, and now it is your turn," said the king. "What do you want from me by risking yourself so much?"

The chief minister bowed again, "Your Majesty has guessed correctly again." He turned to Robert, "Excuse me, my dear son, please pull the bell rope at your hand and call a servant to come in."

Robert glanced at Edward, and Edward nodded slightly.

Robert tugged on the bell rope violently, as if venting his anger.

A servant entered the room.

"Please go to my study and open the second drawer from top to bottom on the left side of my desk. There is a sealed envelope in it. Please help me get it here."

"Do as he says," added the king.

The servant hurried out of the room, and a few minutes later he returned to the room, holding in his hand a large envelope sealed with wax.

He put the envelope on the king's nightstand.

"Please take a look, Your Majesty." The Lord Protector slightly nodded, "I want you to sign this document."

Robert tore the seal of the envelope, took out a few sheets of paper inside, and unfolded it in front of the king.

"The Will of His Majesty King Edward VI." The king read the title of the document softly.

Robert felt his heart beating wildly in his chest, and big, big tears welled up in his eyes.

The king felt dizzy again. "I can't see clearly," he said weakly. "Please tell me the content of this will you have drawn up for me."

"It is my honour, Your Majesty," said the First Secretary. "The document is long, but its subject is simple—that you are about to disinherit the Princesses Mary and Elizabeth, and in view of this, Great Britain and Ireland The throne is rightfully vested in Miss Jane Gray, my daughter-in-law."

The king coughed violently, and Robert quickly wiped away the tears running down his face, and poured a glass of water for the king.

Edward drank a few sips of water, and his cough gradually stopped.

"Deprive my two elder sisters of their inheritance rights? For what reason?" He raised his head again and looked at the chief minister who had walked to the bed at some point.

"It's very simple... The marriage between Princess Mary's mother and His Majesty the late king has long been declared invalid, and she has also been demoted as an illegitimate daughter. Now she is the eldest princess, but because of a decree made by His Majesty the late King, she will She became an illegitimate daughter again, and it is only something that the current king can do with a word."

"As for Princess Elizabeth... Although she is the daughter of your mother, the legal queen of England, she was not a queen when your mother, Queen Anne, conceived Princess Elizabeth, so legally speaking, she They are also illegitimate daughters. As we all know, illegitimate children have no inheritance rights."

"Yes, yes," cried the King, in an exaggerated tone, "you've even thought of a reason for me."

"As His Majesty's loyal servant, this is my duty."

"What a loyal servant." The king laughed angrily. "Now I have only one question, why should I sign this document instead of being dragged out by the Praetorian Guards and hanged on the tower of the castle?" ?”

"Your Majesty, please don't get too excited. This will speed up your blood flow and make the poisoning happen faster." The chief minister said calmly, "You asked me why you did this... The reason is not sitting Are you around?"

"I think you are crazy." Robert looked up, and this was the first time he spoke since the first minister entered the room.

The chief minister ignored his son, "This is the end of the matter, let's be honest... I am not ignorant of the bond between you and my son."

The king stared at him coldly without saying a word.

"Frankly speaking, I am very surprised by this." The Chief Minister went on, "This kind of Greek relationship is usually just a short-term interest, which will soon dissipate naturally... and obviously Your Majesty The relationship with my son does not fall into that category."

"What on earth are you going to say?" the king interrupted the chief minister impatiently.

"I suppose you don't want Robert dead." The Chief Minister looked mockingly at the king. "That's your Achilles' heel, isn't it? You don't want him on the guillotine, an executioner." It must be a bad sight to take an ax and cut off his beautiful neck... Can you imagine that?"

The king's eyes widened. "Shut your mouth." He trembled all over.

"It seems that you imagined it." The chief minister said to himself, "Do you think that if Princess Mary becomes queen, she will forgive her enemies, that is, my family? Anyway, if I were her, I would Cut the weeds and exterminate the roots.”

"As for Princess Elizabeth, if Robert had married her, the situation would have been different... Unfortunately, the marriage fell through, so if she becomes queen, my son may not expect her kindness."

"Only me, his father, can keep him alive, and only I can give him the glory and wealth of his life... If you want him to live, then help me win this battle." The chief minister said persuasively Said, "You have no choice but to support me... Sign it, Your Majesty, I just want your signature... You can't live, but you are always willing to do something for him? Just sign your name That's fine, that's my only request."

The king looked up at the ceiling, he laughed self-deprecatingly, and sighed softly.

"Destiny..." the king whispered. He stretched out his arm and pointed tremblingly at the opposite desk, "Bring a pen."

The chief minister proudly walked to the desk, picked up a quill, dipped some ink into the ink bottle, and walked to the king.

"The pen you want, Your Majesty." He handed the quill to the king.

With a sudden growl, Robert snatched the quill, snapped it into pieces, and threw it on the ground.

He drew from his girdle a sharp dagger with a sapphire in its hilt, which the King had given Robert three years ago on his birthday.

"Please don't sign." He put the blade on his neck, "If you sign, I will slit my throat."

As he spoke, he pressed the handle of the knife, and a few strands of blood oozed from his neck.

"Please don't be so childish again," said the First Minister impatiently. "Time is precious."

The king stretched out his hand and tugged at the hem of Robert's clothes.

"Do you believe me?" He opened his eyes wide and looked at Robert, those blue eyes were full of moisture.

Robert looked straight at the king, "I will always believe in you." There was a cry in his voice.

"Put the knife down, will you?" said the king softly, "everything will be all right."

"No...no, I can't..." Robert murmured.

The king raised his arm and touched Robert's teary face, "This is the last time, please do as I say, okay?" He took Robert's arm and moved the blade away from Robert's neck.

Robert whimpered and fell to his knees, and the king gently stroked his head.

"Bring another pen," he said with blank eyes.

The Chief Minister went back to the desk and took another quill. When he handed the pen to the king, he looked at Robert warily, as if he was afraid that the other party would come to snatch the pen again.

However, this kind of worry was unnecessary, Robert looked as if he had lost his soul, and knelt on the ground blankly.

The king took the quill, unfolded the document, and wrote his name in cursive at the bottom of the last page.

"Take it." He tossed the document back to the Chief Minister.

The chief minister took the document, browsed it with satisfaction, and carefully placed it in his arms.

"Then, Your Majesty, goodbye." He bowed deeply to the king, and walked out of the room backwards.