monarch

The First Minister returned to the capital on the evening of the next day, July [-]th, and news of the defeat ahead spread through the streets of London almost at the same time.

In the previous week, the city of London had maintained an unexpected calm.However, this tranquility is only the result of the chief minister's strong suppression. Its nature is just like the tide that retreats to the depths of the harbor before the tsunami. The longer it is suppressed, the more power it accumulates.Those opponents were temporarily deterred by his resolute actions, and hid back in their caves to hibernate, but now the biggest reliance he used to control the situation - the army, has collapsed on the battlefield in East Anglia, so for the caves As far as the snakes, mice, insects and ants in the movie are concerned, it is time for them to come out.

Anyone who leaves his home at eleven o'clock in the evening to wander the streets will find countless queer ghosts roaming the streets and alleys of the city.They lifted up the paving stones of the roads, and with them built barricades at every intersection, while digging deep trenches around the barricades to block the road.They basically held weapons in their hands, which were provided by the merchants of the foundry industry guild, and many construction workers who came to build the barricades were also employed by the construction industry guild.The merchants in the city of London have always been supporters of King Edward's mercantilism and reforms. Now that the chief minister is in trouble, they are naturally impatient to express their anger.

In the streets along the Thames, crowds of citizens gathered.Those of noble birth wore black cloaks, while commoners wore gray cloaks.The chief minister's brutal actions against the parliament when he seized power also angered the nobles, making them even join hands with businessmen and commoners whom they had always looked down upon, in order to drive away this "parody imitator of King Edward".

It was completely dark, and those timid citizens hid in their houses without any sleepiness.There was a strange noise in the street outside, and the whole city was like a giant animal, and that sound was its heavy panting.It was evident that something decisive was happening in the street outside, and the rumble was like a rolling wave, or a storm gathering from the horizon.However, looking out of the window, the outside was pitch black, just like the abyss of Tartarus described in ancient Greek mythology, and those mysterious voices seemed to emerge from the ground, making the audience think of the earthquake before the earthquake. The ominous sound coming from the ground.

When the sun rose the next day, the citizens hiding in their houses were all surprised to see what their city looked like.The great city is now like a porcupine cornered, lawyers with muskets and swords, apprentices and masons stand on the barricades, watching the streets around with wary eyes, and the nearest barricades are far away. Whitehall Palace is only two blocks away.

By 09:30 in the morning, at least 2 people had poured into the street, and the stained glass of the Whitehall Palace trembled slightly because of their shouts.

The Chief Minister had just returned to the capital the night before, and when he set off he was surrounded by a large army, but when he returned he was followed by only a few of his own entourage.After sleeping for only four hours, he was awakened by the terrified servants, so it is natural to imagine how furious he was when he learned of the riots in the city.

Under the order of the chief minister who was bent on suppressing, the palace guard sent fifty cavalry to the city for reconnaissance. After an hour, only half of them returned to the Whitehall Palace, while the bodies of the remaining soldiers were left behind. In the street, blood poured from a shattered skull, looking like a crushed ripe grape.Judging from the reports brought back by the returning soldiers, the entire city of London has now become a boiling boiler.Nowadays, there are only a handful of forces in the city that are still loyal to the chief minister, and Princess Mary's army is only one to two days away from the capital. Neither possible nor necessary.

The Chief Minister saw all this from the window with a livid face, and he ordered his family members to pack up and assemble in the Privy Council hall in half an hour.And he himself opened the heavy filing cabinet in the office, packed some of the documents inside, and threw the rest of the documents into the fireplace.

When he finished all this, the mob had arrived near the Whitehall Palace. Bullets hit the marble walls of the palace like hailstones. The Chinese blue-and-white vase smashed into pieces, which drew a sigh from the steward next door.

"You don't need to make such a fuss, my dear sir." The Chief Minister said coldly. "In less than an hour, every vase in this palace will be smashed, and this is just the beginning."

The steward of the court trembled all over, bent down to pick up the scattered pieces of porcelain, with an expression on his face as if what he was holding in his hands was not the broken pieces of porcelain, but the body of his own son.

The Chief Minister ignored this insignificant character, waved to the servants, signaled them to move away the packed documents, and then he walked out of the study.

The noise outside became louder, and wisps of green smoke drifted upwards from the street not far away. Obviously, the rioters had started to set fires everywhere.

When the First Minister came to the Privy Council Hall, his family was already waiting there.They sat together, like passengers sitting on the deck in a shipwreck watching the ship sink into the water a little bit.

Like presiding over a meeting of the Privy Council, the Chief Minister went straight to the main seat and sat down.

"The current situation has unfortunately deteriorated." He glanced at the expressions of everyone in the room, put his right hand on the conference table, and tapped the table carpet embroidered with gold thread with his fingers, "Our army has suffered heavy losses. , the capital will change hands in a day or two."

Needles could be heard in the house, and although the news was nothing new, the faces of the Duchess of Suffolk and her daughters still turned pale because of the chief minister's words, and her husband, the Marquis of Dorset, nervously said: The white vine wood cane in his hand unconsciously slapped his boots.

"Fortunately for us, however, Mary Tudor's army also suffered heavy losses, with thousands killed, most of them hardened professional soldiers, which is all she has achieved in a short period of time. It cannot be added. For her, what she has achieved so far is just a Pyrrhic victory." The mask-like face of the chief minister was still expressionless, and no one could guess what he was thinking , "She won the first round of this game, but the price is that she is exhausted, and she can only use the remaining soldiers in her hand to meet the next enemy."

"The next enemy?" Jane Gray raised her head. Since she entered the door, this was the first time she met the eyes of the chief minister. "Are you talking about Elizabeth?"

"Yes." The chief minister nodded and replied concisely.

"But Elizabeth didn't reply to Jane's letter to her?" It was the Duchess of Suffolk who spoke. "How do you know that she would be willing to stand with us instead of submitting to her sister?"

"It's very simple," replied the First Minister. "When I proposed to her a few days ago to join forces, I regarded her as an equal partner; however, the situation has now changed. If we want to cooperate with If she joins forces, then it means we will submit to her... I believe she will be interested in this."

"What do you mean?" cried the Duchess of Suffolk. "Do you mean that Jane cannot be queen?"

"We must consider reality, my dear lady."

The Duchess looked as if she had been punched in the chest, and her dream of becoming a queen mother seemed to disappear in an instant.She slumped limply in an armchair, her lips as red as pomegranates now drained of color.

"What should we do?" She cried like an ordinary middle-aged woman, "Everything is over..."

"You have finally understood the situation." The chief minister's wife spoke slowly. She had been watching the last scene of this farce with a kind of attitude just now, "It is true that everything is over, you said That's right...you should have considered this when you got involved in this muddy water."

"Madam, please don't say such meaningless things at this time." The chief minister interrupted his wife impatiently.

"I've said the same thing before, but no one is willing to listen to me." She clenched her hands into fists, and the nails on her fingers dug deep into her palms, "In order to satisfy your ambition, you Put us all as chips on the gambling table, and now you have lost everything, but you are still unwilling to admit the fact."

"I have explained it to you, Elizabeth..."

"She will not accept your surrender. The world has already seen clearly how much your loyalty and guarantee are worth. You betrayed a king and sacrificed a little girl on the altar of ambition, and now you plan to find another one." The new master...even if Elizabeth is a fool, she now understands what a viper you are, sir!"

"You have amply stated your opinion, ma'am," replied the First Minister haughtily, "but let me remind you of the old adage--'A husband sings, a wife follows.'"

The chief minister's wife looked at her husband with disgust that she didn't even bother to conceal, she turned her head aloofly, and ignored her husband.

"Let's get back to the point." The chief minister cleared his throat, "Now the cornerstone of royal power has been dug out from the entire social structure, and this city has chosen not to obey the orders of the court... the mob outside In another hour they'll be storming in, and they'll be hanging everyone they meet on the iron bars at the door... We've got only one road left to choose now."

"Escape!" the Duchess of Suffolk folded her arms on her chest, "being treated as a laughing stock, rolling down the stairs of Whitehall Palace!" Her voice became louder and louder, "I have been paying attention Raising my own daughter, I hope that one day she can sit on the throne... But now, when my wish is about to come true, the power that is at my fingertips explodes in front of my eyes, blowing us to pieces together!"

She slumped in her chair and sobbed.

"Things haven't reached that point yet." The chief minister replied, "We still have a few cards in hand. When I negotiate with Elizabeth, we can get some more favorable conditions for us... For example, we can ask Elizabeth Make Jane her heir."

The chief minister's wife sneered, "You are still dreaming now... Fate has abandoned you, and Princess Mary is going to be queen. Even if you join hands with Elizabeth, you can't stop the tide of fate."

The First Minister ignored his wife. "Time is very tight, so I intend to leave immediately. Guildford will join me. We will ride fast to Princess Elizabeth. As for the ladies, I will send you there." Westminster Abbey."

"Westminster Abbey?" This time it was Lord Guilford who was standing beside his wife.

"Yes, as a sacred place, the church has the obligation to shelter the fugitives, and no one shall violate it... When King Henry VI of the Lancastrian dynasty was restored, Elizabeth Woodville, wife of Edward IV, brought with him Did her children hide in the basement of Westminster Abbey? They weathered the storm there."

"But that was 100 years ago!" exclaimed Lord Guildford, "no one is bound by these pedantic dogmas... Not long after what you have said, the return to power Edward IV took Henry VI's queen and daughter-in-law out of the abbey where they were hiding!"

"Mary Tudor, unlike King Edward IV, was a pious person," said the First Minister, "and besides, the church gates, if not Mary Tudor's Spanish soldiers, at least kept out the mob outside. We don't have time to take them out of town, and we can't keep them here, sending them to church is the best option."

He turned to the Marquess of Dorset, who was standing blankly beside his wife, "Sir, will you go with us, or stay with the ladies?"

The Marquis of Dorset shuddered, his face flushed red, and he stammered: "I think I'd better stay and take care of the ladies, they should always have someone by their side just in case... besides, Come on, I don't know the art of war either, and I can't help you by staying with you..."

The Chief Minister smiled lightly, "Then it's settled... Guilford and I will go to Princess Elizabeth, and you will take the ladies to Westminster Abbey." He looked out the window, "I think we'd better Let's go right away."

When Jane Gray heard this, her face turned pale, and she could not tell whether it was from anger or fear.She stood up and grabbed her husband's arm violently.

"I want to be with Guildford." She stared at the Chief Minister and said firmly.

The First Minister was a little surprised by Jane Gray's sudden toughness, "It's impossible, my dear lady." He had changed his address to Jane Gray, "I need someone I can trust with me, Guildford is The only choice."

He forced a smile on his face, but Jane Gray looked at him indifferently, letting the smile die halfway, like a bud frozen by a sudden cold snap.

"It's your freedom if you want to go to hell." Jane Gray opened her arms and stood in front of her husband, "but I don't allow you to take my husband to hell with you."

"Where did you say that?" There was a trace of coldness in the eyes of the chief minister. He also stood up, took a step in Jane Gray's direction, and looked down at the other party, "I am doing this for We all seek a way out and I need Guildford's help at a time like this."

The chief minister turned to the Duchess of Suffolk, who still had tears on her face, "Please persuade your daughter, madam."

The Duchess of Suffolk took a few deep breaths, put on a stern posture, and looked at her daughter: "Please calm down and let your husband go about his business."

"Shut up, mother!" Jane Gray slapped the table suddenly, causing the Duchess of Suffolk to almost bite her tongue. "You have no right to say these things to me! If it wasn't for your ambition and Vanity mixed into this muddy water, we would not have ended up like this! You have ruined my life, and now you have to help others to make me lose my husband and make me a widow! Then you will Are you happy? Your marriage with your father is not happy, so you can't see your children happy!" She pointed to her sisters, "We are not your daughters, we are just pawns you use to gain power That's all, what kind of mother are you? What right do you have to speak to me like this?"

The blood on the Duchess of Suffolk's face became thinner and thinner, "I'm doing it for your own good..." she said in a low voice, sounding like a guilty child justifying herself in front of a tutor, "I Wouldn't it be a good thing for you to want you to be queen?"

"Queen?" Jane Gray suddenly sneered loudly, the shrill voice was reminiscent of the cry of night owls at midnight, and the mother who tried to justify shivered again involuntarily, "I don't want to be a queen, and I don't want to be a queen." People ask me if I want to be a queen! It is you who want to be the queen mother, and it is you who want to seize power! At this point, please stop talking about those hypocritical stereotypes."

The face of the Duchess of Suffolk turned from pale to ashen, and she could no longer say any words of excuse.

Lord Guildford sighed, opened his arms from behind, and hugged his wife's waist.Compared with a week ago, Jane Gray has lost a lot of weight, and her already petite figure now looks even weaker.He could feel his wife trembling all over, maybe out of anger, maybe out of fear, maybe both.

"I need to go with my father." He turned his wife in his arms and kissed Jane Gray's cheek lightly, "We have no other choice... I can't help you by staying here, Nor can I hide in the crypt of the cathedral and wait for it to end. Mary will not let our family go, and she will not let you go, so if death is inevitable, let me die to protect you."

Jane Gray uttered an inhuman sigh, and covered her face with her hands, and sobbed.

The chief minister shook his head slightly, with a mocking smile on his face, "If we want to leave, we need to leave now, the mob outside won't have the patience to wait forever."

As he spoke, he walked to the door, opened the door, and looked at Lord Guildford.

Lord Guilford put his limp wife in an armchair, "Dear Jane, you have made me so happy in this short marriage, I have nothing more to ask for... If God is grateful Allow us to meet again, then I swear that I will never leave you again; if fate wants us to say goodbye, then let's separate here temporarily, I have hope in my heart, we will meet in heaven one day .”

The luster in Jane Gray's eyes was becoming increasingly dimmer. She looked at her husband desperately, and there was only a little life in those eyes, and that life was quickly fading away.

Lord Guilford kissed his wife's chapped lips one last time, and walked towards the door.

As he reached the door, he turned his head and cast a last glance at Jane Gray. "Farewell, dear, farewell!"

After he finished speaking, he walked out of the room without looking back.

Jane Gray uttered a sigh that would move even the hardest of hearts, and she slumped feebly from her chair, and lay limp on the rug, motionless again.