monarch

King Edward's banner had just been hoisted from the towers of the castle when Doctor Paganini's carriage drove into the gates of the Tower of London.

In the afterglow of the setting sun, the soldiers of Princess Mary, under the surveillance of the Praetorian Guards, lined up and threw their weapons on the wall under the White Tower. Those still shining spears brought from Spain, Swords and muskets were piled up in a mess.The courtyard was filled with the pungent smell of gunpowder smoke, and it could be seen that the fort had put up a fierce resistance before surrendering.However, the defenders of the castle are obviously not so self-righteous as to think that they can withstand the attack of the Praetorian Guards. Their resistance is just a gesture. After all, there is still a big difference between giving up the castle immediately and being forced to surrender after fierce resistance.

Doctor Paganini's carriage stopped at the entrance of the White Tower, and the coachman jumped down from the front seat and stretched out his hand to open the door.

The doctor jumped out of the carriage, raised his head, took off his hat, and saw standing in front of him an officer who had just emerged from the shadow of the gate, as if he had emerged from the ground.

The officer made a "please" gesture, turned around and walked into the tower without waiting for Dr. Paganini's response, and Dr. Paganini could only obediently let him lead into the palace of William the Conqueror. The grand fortress built.

The twilight in the west is gradually fading, and the mysterious brilliance of the moon is also appearing on the sky. The combination of the two makes the sky present an elegant blue color.

The smell of gunpowder smoke in the tower was much weaker than that outside. Obviously, when the outer wall was breached, the castle gave up resistance without any hesitation, and those labyrinth-like corridors did not fulfill their promise. Mann anticipation of resistance.

A group of heavily armed soldiers stood at the door of Princess Mary's bedroom. The halberds in their hands were shining coldly. No one was allowed to enter or leave the door without permission.

The officer showed the pass to the guards, and Dr. Paganini's medicine chest was closely inspected. Finally, the guards raised their halberds and the gate was opened.

The bedroom smelled of narcotics and herbs, and the maids of honor bustled about while the doctors gathered around Princess Mary's bed.

Dr. Paganini glanced at the gloomy scene in the room, and he walked quickly to the bed.

"How is it?" He asked a colleague he was quite familiar with.

The doctor being questioned had a troubled expression on his face. He took a step back and lowered his head, as if he didn't dare to look directly into his friend's eyes.

"What does that mean?" asked the bewildered Dr. Paganini.

"You'd better see for yourself," muttered the doctor who was questioned, taking another step back.

Dr. Paganini found that when the doctors saw him coming, they all backed away, and a clearing soon formed around him, like the moat around the Tower of London.

He walked to the bed suspiciously, lowered his head, and looked at Princess Mary who was unconscious on the bed.

Princess Mary's belly is still swollen, and it seems that the child has not yet been born.Dr. Paganini reached out and touched the sweaty forehead, and he found that the princess was having a fever.

He bent down and began to examine Princess Mary.

From the perspective of the doctors standing behind Dr. Paganini, Dr. Paganini seemed quite relaxed at first, but after a while, his back suddenly tightened and his movements became much more rigid.

After 5 minutes, Dr. Paganini finally straightened up, and he turned his head to look at his colleagues. The shock in those eyes that seemed to be popping out of their sockets was beyond words.

"This is impossible... I can't believe it." He murmured, "How could such a thing..."

"We couldn't believe it at first," said Dr. Paganini's friend. "But I'm afraid that's the case. The human body is so elusive that anything can happen."

"So it's been so long, has no one discovered it?" Dr. Paganini's voice was full of disbelief, "Did the doctors who examined her not discover it?"

"Who would have thought of such a thing? This kind of thing is simply unheard of." The doctor shook his head, "Have you encountered such a case before?"

"No." Dr. Paganini shook his head, "But I have indeed heard of this kind of thing...but I never thought that one day I would see it with my own eyes."

He closed the medicine box with a "snap", "I'm going to tell His Majesty the news. I don't know if it's good news or bad news for him." The doctor said, and raised his hand in the direction of Princess Mary. Lifting your chin, "You must try to be as gentle as possible when you tell Her Highness the news...she won't be able to bear such a blow."

The doctors looked at each other wistfully, unable to imagine a way of telling the story that would make it less impactful.

Dr. Paganini ignored his colleagues. He picked up the medicine box and walked out of the room. Soon there was the sound of a carriage galloping downstairs, and the sound of the wheels vibrating between the medieval stone walls.

At eight o'clock in the evening, Dr. Paganini's carriage fell like a thunderbolt into the courtyard of Hampton Court Palace.

Candles have been lit in the resplendent Alexander Hall, and the huge Venetian crystal chandeliers cast bright light, reflecting between the crystal glass covering the walls, and flowing along the gold threads on the silk veneer walls. To the ground, let those patterns look like the golden river flowing in Potosina in the legend.

When the name of Dr. Paganini was announced to the audience with a loud voice by the head officer, everyone turned their eyes to the direction of the entrance as if they were electrocuted.This sea of ​​turquoises, diamonds and rubies split itself in half, giving Dr. Paganini a path to the throne, which is usually the privilege of kings.

Dr. Paganini strode through the long hall, all watching, everyone seemed to be trying to deduce from the slight movement of the muscles of his face what he was about to say to the king.

The doctor walked up to His Majesty and bowed solemnly.

"You're back." The king frowned slightly, "Where's the child? Have you brought the child back?"

"No children, Your Majesty." Dr. Paganini's voice trembled.

The hall, which was as noisy as a beehive just now, suddenly became silent. The king looked at the doctor in astonishment, and his body couldn't help but lean forward, "Are you saying that the delivery is not going well? How is Princess Mary?"

"No, Your Majesty." The expression on Dr. Paganini's face was a little awkward, "There is no child, and no childbirth, Your Majesty."

"What's the matter? You're confusing me."

"I mean, Her Royal Highness Princess Mary...is not pregnant." Dr. Paganini said this in a voice like a judge reading a death sentence.

Like a large piece of quicklime being thrown into the water, the crowd suddenly boiled.The exclamation of the ladies and the inhalation of the gentlemen were like the sound of the rolling waves in the rushing sea.

The king stood up, he stared at Doctor Paganini, coughed lightly to hide his rapidly pale face, "What's going on? All the doctors said she was pregnant, and everyone in her stomach You can see it lightly and clearly!"

"It's called a false pregnancy in medicine, Your Majesty." Dr. Paganini's hands twisted together with tension, "very rare, yes, very rare...but it's not unheard of, I I saw a similar case in one of the books in the library of Ferrara. This symptom is usually caused by wanting to conceive too much. Princess Mary was not pregnant from the beginning, and all that appeared to her was her body. A reaction because of her psychology."

"But her belly is very obvious...you can see it too." The king murmured, "It looks no different from a normal pregnant woman."

"I guess...it's a tumor, Your Majesty." Dr. Paganini bowed deeply again, "Her Majesty the Princess probably has cancer, and her pregnancy reaction is also related to cancer. Her abdomen is swollen. If If I'm not wrong, it's because of a tumor."

"So, there were no children in the first place." The king turned to look at Robert, who put a hand on his shoulder reassuringly.

"Yes, Your Majesty, there were no children from the beginning." Dr. Paganini made the final sentence.

Not far away came the sound of a heavy object falling to the ground, and the Spanish ambassador passed out on the ground.

"This is really unheard of." The French ambassador looked at the Spanish ambassador who was unconscious on the ground. He just had a kind of sympathy for his old opponent.He crossed himself on his chest and shook his head.

The Venetian ambassador standing next to him didn't look so sentimental. He grinned his mouth to his ears, "It's like farting!" he said loudly, drawing wild laughter from all around.

"Thank you, doctor." The king nodded expressionlessly, and gave Robert a look. The two walked through the fence made of people one after the other, and left the hall under the eyes of everyone.

……

Princess Mary opened her eyes. Her eyes were filled with fatigue and confusion, and her pupils were slightly dilated, as if she was recalling where she was.

"Ma'am." Princess Mary's maids were huddling against the wall, and when they saw her wake up, they hurriedly surrounded her.

Princess Mary noticed their pale faces and red and swollen eyes, and the ominous premonition lingered in her heart like the heat above the hot spring pool in winter, and they gathered more and more.

"Where is my child?" Her voice was hoarse, as if she had swallowed a basket of broken glass, "Where is my child?"

The maids looked at each other, and they turned their heads involuntarily, not daring to look directly at Princess Mary's scary eyes.

Princess Mary grabbed the arm of the closest maid. Her fingers were stronger than the claws of a vulture, so that several bruises immediately appeared on the maid's delicate skin. "Why don't you answer me? My child is here Where, is he okay? Is he healthy? Tell me quickly!"

The eye circles of the maid whose arm was grabbed by the princess suddenly turned red, and big teardrops flowed out of her eyes, it was unknown whether it was from pain or fear.

"Come on! Come on!" Seeing that the maid didn't answer, Princess Mary turned her face towards the door and shouted in a terrified tone.

The doctors ran into the bedroom from the small living room next door. They stood in a row in front of Princess Mary, looking like a group of schoolchildren waiting for their teacher to criticize.

The muscles on Princess Mary's face convulsed violently. She took a big breath of the heavy and dull summer air, and her lungs made a sound like a bellows in a blacksmith's shop. "Where is my child? Where are you taking him?" Go? Give him back to me!"

"Madam, please calm down...the matter is a bit complicated." The doctor in charge has a beautiful long white beard, and at this time he is nervously pulling the well-maintained beard, "I'm sorry So, in fact, you... are not pregnant..."

Princess Mary trembled suddenly, her pupils were dilated, she stared straight at the doctor in front of her, trying to understand the meaning of the words just now, but her brain was like a broken clock, The gears whirled wildly in the clock.

She tightly grasped the silk sheet under her body with both hands, and let herself sit up. The pointed nails cut several large holes in the thin silk sheet.

"What do you mean?" Her voice trembled slightly with fear.

"What happened to you, medically known as a false pregnancy, is usually due to the patient trying so hard to conceive that the body reacts wrongly, including morning sickness, belly bulge, breast milk, etc. "The doctor said, "Because this kind of thing is really rare, no one has discovered it before... But we can now say with certainty that you are not pregnant, madam."

Princess Mary stared blankly at the doctor, and after a few seconds, she suddenly burst into a shrill, owl-like laugh, which made the doctor jump back a step in fright.

"Such a bad lie!" she cried, accusing me. "You expect me to believe such nonsense. . . Where is my child, and where have you taken him?"

"Madam, please believe..."

"I don't believe in anything! Give me my baby back!" She shook her head nervously. "Edward told you to do this, right? He told you to take my son?"

"Reason, madam, reason, I beseech you..."

"Don't talk about reason with me!" Princess Mary lifted the quilt and jumped off the bed. Her legs were convulsed and she staggered towards the gate. "Is my child still alive? I want to To the king, I will let him tell me! Richard III would not have taken a newborn baby from its mother!"

The old doctor winked at the colleague closest to the door, and that person quickly slipped out of the door to notify the guards, and locked the door behind him.

Princess Mary rushed to the door of the bedroom. She grabbed the doorknob tightly and twisted it hard. At the same time, she pressed her shoulder against the door, but the door still did not open.

She took half a step back, slammed forward, and knocked open the already dilapidated door lock.

She rushed into the next living room immediately.

At the gate of the living room, a tall military officer like Hercules stood in front of the door. He bent slightly towards Princess Mary, and stared at her like a falcon staring at a rabbit running on the ground. : "Madam, no one is allowed to enter or leave this door without the king's order."

Princess Mary squinted her eyes and trembled all over, as if she wanted to strangle him to death with her hands: "You are the one who took my child away? Is my child still alive? You killed him?" She put her hand on her face There were streaks of blood on his face, "Quickly answer my question!"

"I don't know what you are talking about, and I don't know what kind of child it is." The officer frowned slightly, and said coldly, "But you look very bad, please go back and rest."

"What if I don't go back? What if I'm going out?"

"Then I can only regretfully stop you."

"Do you dare to be rough on me? You vile reptile, how dare you touch the daughter of King Henry VIII, Queen of Naples, with your dirty hands?"

"It's up to you, ma'am, I will if necessary." The officer's voice sounded even colder.

"Sensational! This is really sensational." Princess Mary spat on the ground, bypassed the officer, and tried to rush out the door, but the officer grabbed her arm and pushed her back.

Princess Mary almost fell to the ground on her back, but fortunately her maids supported her.

"He dared to offend me! This damned bastard... He stole my child and now he is stopping me...Damn bastard..." Princess Mary yelled incoherently, white foam from the corner of her mouth Flowing down her chin, every muscle in her body was twitching, her eyes were wide open, the bloodshot eyes were as dense as the spider webs in the corners of a deserted house, and the outlines of blue blood vessels clearly emerged on her temples On the ground, the nails of both hands were deeply inserted into the palms of the hands, until the long nails were stained crimson by his own blood.

With a loud cry, she rushed towards the opposite officer like a cannonball, and slammed her head against the opponent's stomach.

The officer snorted, took half a step back clutching his stomach, bent down in pain, and just opened the door. When he straightened up, Princess Mary had already rushed out of the room.Although she was barefoot, she ran as fast as a cheetah, so that the guards at the door had no time to react.

Princess Mary ran down the corridor, leaving a trail of bloody footprints on the stone floor behind her.

She ran all the way up the stairs to the exit of the tower, rushed into the courtyard, and ran straight towards the tower hill.The guards followed her, but they did not dare to use deadly force, so they could only run after her.

The grass on the tower hill where the guillotine was usually built was nourished by the blood spurted from the necks of countless dignitaries, and it grew much denser than the surrounding areas.The moonlight cast long, pale rays from between the stacks of the outer walls, dancing on the green grass swaying with the warm summer wind.

Princess Mary's legs softened and she knelt on the ground. She inserted her nails into the soil and pulled out the grass on the surface together with the roots. The sawtooth on the surface of the grass made fine wounds on her fingers. , The blood drops one by one in the soil.She dug the soil vigorously with her hands, and quickly dug a hole the size of a fist. The well-maintained nails had already been broken, but she didn't seem to notice it, but shoveled the soil harder and harder.

The doctor, maids and guards also rushed up at this time. They surrounded the princess and looked at the princess who was kneeling on the ground and digging the ground with her hands in fear.

"Come and help me dig." She shouted to the surrounding crowd, "My child is here, I'm going to find him, come and help me dig together!"

With pale faces, you looked at me, I looked at you, and then they all looked at this confused woman in unison. Everyone's hairs stood on end because of this terrifying scene.

"She's crazy," whispered the doctor with the long white beard.

On the tower above them, two ravens who were nesting here were attracted by the movement below, and looked out of curiosity, but soon they lost interest and retreated back to their nests, and then Nurturing those young birds waiting to be fed was not affected by the episode just now.