monarch

The sound of the front resounded on the streets of the capital. The Imperial Guards did not stop at the outskirts of London, and immediately launched an offensive against several important strongholds occupied by Princess Mary's side in the city. After just a few hours, including Some landmark buildings that are easy to attack and difficult to defend, including the Whitehall Palace, have changed hands, and the remaining strongholds are in danger of being destroyed at any time.

Princess Mary looked out of the window with a livid face. Looking out from the window of the King's suite in the Tower of London, thick smoke was rising from all angles of the city. On the other side of the Thames, groups of soldiers lined up neatly like moving ants , Judging from the colors of their clothing, these soldiers clearly belonged to the enemy's side.

The princess stood upright, put one hand on a small round table beside her, turned her head, and shouted towards the door, "Come on!"

The door was pushed open a crack, and one of Princess Mary's Spanish maids entered the room.

"What is His Majesty's order?" the woman in black court dress asked in Spanish.

"Has Bishop Gardiner not returned yet?" Since Princess Mary was evacuated from Whitehall Palace to the Tower of London, this is the third time she asked this question, and her tone gradually changed every time she asked this question. Get more and more impatient.

"Not yet, Your Majesty." The Spanish maid curtseyed again.

Princess Mary closed her eyes slightly and took a deep breath. Where did this old bastard go?

"Let me know as soon as he comes back." Princess Mary waved her hand to signal her to back off.

The maid left the room. Princess Mary went to the window and sat on a wicker chair. The smoke outside the window had already blackened the western sky. The aura of red roses that rolled up in the wind has disappeared along with the flagpole.

She stared straight out the window like a banker on the verge of bankruptcy looking at the deficit on the balance sheet, and the soft face that had become defeminized by years of political career emerged with fine details. beads of sweat.Obviously, either Bishop Gardiner didn't meet Robert Dudley, or the idiot couldn't convince the other party, and in either case, her short-lived regime will come to an end today.

"How sad," she heard herself say softly, "everything I've spent thirty years pursuing has turned out to be nothing more than a fleeting dream, and with just one breath of fate, this city that took so much painstaking care The built building fell apart in an instant, like a house made of cards, like a sand castle built by a child on the beach... I thought God was on my side, I thought he would help me achieve this glorious goal plans, but it turns out that he doesn't want me to carry them out... He'd rather side with the heretics and the morally depraved!"

A shell hit the outer wall of the castle, and the whole tower trembled slightly, like a gigantic beast sighing while half asleep.

The princess flicked her nails lightly, and leaned weakly on the back of the chair. She felt a nausea in her stomach, and her stomach kept dropping like a lead weight was placed inside.

She stretched out her hand to gently stroke her swollen belly, leaned on the back of the chair and closed her eyes to meditate.

After an unknown amount of time, there was a rush of footsteps outside the door, and Princess Mary immediately opened her eyes.

The door was pushed open abruptly, and it was the same Spanish maid just now. However, unlike before, her face turned pale, her whole body was trembling, and her eyes were wandering around the room, as if she didn't know where to look. which direction.

Seeing this face that portends disaster, Princess Mary felt her heart stop beating, and she jerked back her chair and stood up.

"What happened?" she asked aloud. "Is Bishop Gardner back?"

"Your Majesty..." the maid stammered, her legs gave way, and she knelt down in front of Princess Mary in despair.

Princess Mary was taken aback, and took a step back, "Say it quickly!"

"Bishop Gardner didn't come back, but the people you sent to protect him came back, and they brought back a letter from Bishop Gardner."

"What letter? Why didn't he come back? Was he detained? But he is a messenger!" cried the princess.

"According to the members of the guard who came back, he was appointed prime minister by...King Edward." The maid took out an envelope from her pocket, "This is a letter from him to you."

Princess Mary's body stood stiff and straight, and she stared at the opposite maid with an indescribably shocked expression, as if a boxer had just swallowed a heavy punch with her face.

"King Edward?" She said the two words syllable by syllable, as if she didn't understand the meaning.

The maid lowered her head even lower, from the side it looked like she was almost lying on the marble floor.

Suddenly, Princess Mary trembled without warning, and she let out a shrill and wild laugh.

"It's like this... so it's like this..." A hoarse voice came from her throat, "He didn't die, but hid in the castle in Wales, watching us perform this ugly scene...I, Henry VIII Daughter of the King of the World and Princess Catherine of Aragon, made for a clown!"

The maid shrank back in horror.

"Being used as a laughing stock by the whole of Europe, rolling down the steps of the royal palace...I! Be reduced to a laughing stock!" Princess Mary's voice became higher and higher, and the blood on her face became thicker, "No, never, I I would rather die!"

"Oh, Your Majesty!" The maid shouted in horror, "Please don't say that, please think about the child in your belly!"

Princess Mary tremblingly extended her hand to the maid, "Give me the letter."

The maid held the letter tremblingly, and Princess Mary grabbed the envelope. She didn't even have the time to go to the desk to get the letter cutter, but directly tore a hole in the envelope with her hands.

She took out the letter paper from the envelope, acting like a lion taking out the guts of a disemboweled prey. She felt a dull pain in her stomach, but anger completely covered up the pain in her nerves.

The princess unfolded the letter paper, her eyes seemed to burn two big holes in the paper at any moment.Her fingers pressed tightly against the edge of the letter paper, deforming the thin paper, and the joints of her fingers also lost their color due to excessive force.

When Princess Mary read the last line, she leaned back and sat down on the armchair behind her.

The maid let out a cry of surprise, and stepped forward on her knees, and found that Princess Mary's face was covered with bean-sized beads of sweat. The blood vessels on her neck and face were constantly expanding, and the capillaries outlined a spider web under the white and transparent skin. General texture.

"My stomach..." She panted heavily and slumped on the chair.

The maid's pupils were wide open due to fright, and after a few seconds of being stunned, she stood up with her hands on the ground, stood up, and yelled in the direction of the door: "Call the doctor, call the doctor... hurry up the doctors!" Call them all!"

……

The front of Hampton Palace became busy again, and the dignitaries in London rushed to the palace in the suburbs, paying homage to a monarch for the third time in just one month.

The news of King Edward VI's arrival at Hampton Court Court was like a thunderclap on a dry and silent summer day, shaking the hearts of those nobles who thought he was dead.The first reaction of most of them when they heard the news was shock, and when their brains were able to function normally, fear completely enveloped them like a black curtain.After all, in the turbulent July that has just passed, there are not many people who have not left stains and blood on the armor of soldiers or the robes of councilors and judges. Committing a crime that is enough to be regarded as treason, and whether they will put their necks on a severed log soaked in fresh blood one day in the near future can only be determined by His Majesty's signature.

The magnificent Alexandria Hall was packed with people, and the servants filled the huge porcelain jars along the walls with ice cubes, so that the unbearable heat in the room subsided a little.The crowd rushed towards the king seated on the throne like the waves of a high tide, and with ingratiating smiles, they tried to draw His Majesty's attention to their exaggerated joy and devotion.

The king sat on the throne, talking to the French ambassador, who stood to his left, while Robert Dudley stood impassively behind him.

On the right hand side of the king, stood the new prime minister, Bishop Gardner. If nothing else happened, he would be the last prime minister—His Majesty has decided not to set up the post of prime minister, but to directly preside over government affairs.The bishop stood there stiffly like a statue, facing the undisguised disdainful gazes of many people, the bishop seemed unaffected in the slightest—compared with these windweeds who would show their loyalty just by smelling a little smell, he His moral level does not seem so despicable.

The President of France used a warm tone and wished the king an early recovery, which aroused the unanimous echo of the diplomatic missions standing behind him.The ambassadors of Venice and Milan, which were hostile to Spain, were all flushed, the representatives of the German Protestant princes were smiling, and the poor Spanish ambassador could only curl up awkwardly in a corner, lest he attract the attention of the king.After hearing the news that Princess Mary was gone, the ambassador almost lost all hope. However, for the benefit of Spain, he could only bear the humiliation and came to Hampton Court Palace. congratulate.

For discerning diplomats, the situation is already clear.The process of Spain and Britain, as in-laws, who had been getting closer over the years came to an abrupt end.The beautiful Britannia meets the handsome Lusitania at the ball. However, at the end of a dance, it is found that the gentleman has a dagger hidden in his sleeve, and the point of the knife almost penetrates the partner's stomach.

In the Continental Game between France and Spain, England is now the biggest card, and the first mouse of Emperor Charles V delivered this card to the French.In the foreseeable future, neither Britain nor Spain will be allies. On the contrary, as long as King Edward VI is in power, he and the kingdom that tried to murder him are sworn enemies. The anti-Spanish alliance formed by the alliance is only a matter of time.

"Please tell His Majesty King Henry II that I accept his invitation and look forward to meeting him in Calais this autumn." In the eyes of everyone, the king said to the French ambassador with a smile, "For specific matters, please contact Sei Searle, with our ambassador in Paris and the French foreign minister."

"We will try our best to satisfy the two Majesties." The French ambassador bowed excitedly.

"Britain and France are two sisters separated by a shallow strait." The king went on. "In the past few hundred years, the two sisters had some unfortunate quarrels, but now we put aside the disputes and move on again." It's time to put in the hands of friendship for once."

"His Majesty the King of our country fully agrees with your point of view. Britain and France should be friends, especially when they are facing a wolf that is eyeing a tiger." The French ambassador said with a smile, and glanced at the Spanish ambassador intentionally or unintentionally from the corner of his eye.

Suddenly, as if a stone had been thrown into the water, there was a wave at the entrance on the other side of the hall, and the huddled dignitaries backed away in horror, making way for the man who had just entered the room, as if he were Like a leper with a bell.

Cardinal Eugenard Pearl, the special envoy of the Pope, walked through the grand hall with steady steps, his pure white hair protruding from the cardinal's hat on his head, swaying slightly with every step .

"Your Majesty." When the cardinal walked up to the king, he bowed slightly and crossed himself on his chest.

The conversation in the room stopped, like the calm before the storm, everyone was watching the king's expression, guessing how this Jupiter was going to use the thunder in his hand.

The king looked at the cardinal with stern eyes. A trace of guilt flashed in the cardinal's eyes, but he immediately mustered up his courage again, responding calmly to the king's gaze with superhuman willpower.

"Where do you come from, Your Excellency?" After about half a minute, the king finally spoke.

"I come from the Tower of London." The cardinal's resonant voice echoed in the hall built of fragrant wood and crystal glass, "the commander there asked me to convey his greetings to you and tell you that he is willing to surrender."

"Is it my sister who wants to surrender to me?"

"No, Your Majesty. Princess Mary is giving birth, and she is unable to make any decisions for the time being."

The blood color returned to the face of the Spanish ambassador in an instant, and the expression of ecstasy suddenly appeared on the face that had been clouded just now, before the muscles had time to change their tension, making the ambassador's face look like a poor-quality mask.Light blazed from his gray eyes, and he looked at the Cardinal the way shipwrecked sailors see patches of white sails appearing on the horizon.

The crowd boiled again, like tens of millions of wasps began to flap their wings at the same time.

"Is there anything else you want to do here?" the king asked after the crowd had quieted down.

"I beg you to be merciful to Princess Mary and her child," said the cardinal. "The child is innocent, and please do not deprive him of his legal rights."

"Is this the pope's opinion?" asked the king coldly.

"This is my personal request." The cardinal's voice was hoarse, "but I believe His Majesty the Pope will have the same request."

"Do you think I'd embarrass a pregnant woman and a newborn baby?"

The cardinal lowered his head and did not answer.

"I guarantee the safety of this child, but who is the heir to the throne of this country in the future is up to me." The king hammered the armrest of the throne, "You have no right to comment on this, neither the pope nor Spain, let alone Not to mention the speculators who think they can profit from it." He scanned the room with a stern look, only stopping until everyone bowed their heads.

"Mr. Baron." The king looked at Dr. Paganini, who was standing not far away and was on call at any time. He had been made a baron by the king a few days ago because of his meritorious service in treating His Majesty. Brick mansion and [-] pounds of gold, "Please go to the Tower of London, and you will bring the baby here as soon as it is born."

Doctor Paganini set off at once for the Tower of London, while the King went on to chat with the French Ambassador as if Cardinal Pearl were nothing before him.