monarch

A gray homing pigeon spreads its wings like a graceful elf, gliding gently across the clear summer sky in southern England.

The pigeon had been released from a window in the City of London at midnight the day before, and it was heading south with the wind blowing towards the Continent.At daybreak the pigeons flew over a meadow in north Kent, where the armies of Princess Mary and Elizabeth had fought a bloody but lackluster battle the day before, a futile mutual attrition for both sides, However, for all kinds of scavengers, this is a feast, and the corpses all over the mountains and plains have attracted countless crows to feast on them, so this pigeon can only fly towards the west to avoid the conflict with these greedy animals. The evil birds collided head-on.

After flying for another four hours, the familiar outline of the building appeared in front of the pigeon's eyes. It retracted half of its wings, slowed down its speed, and fell towards a window on the tower.

Little Sir Thomas Wyatt held out his hand from the window, and the pigeon fell softly into his palm, rubbing its downy head against his fingers.

Sir Wyatt took a few grains of bird food, put them on the tips of his fingers, and while he watched the pigeon peck at them, with his other hand he untied the little scroll of paper that was bound to its left leg.

He untied the string that bound the scroll, unfolded it gently, and quickly glanced at the few short lines on the scroll.As his eyes moved down, his face became paler and paler, and the fingers holding the note began to tremble uncontrollably.

Sir Wyatt let go of the pigeon in his hand, wiped his hands with his cuffs, held the scroll tightly in his palm, and walked quickly down the spiral staircase.

The Sir came to the door of Princess Elizabeth's apartment, where a group of guards were guarding, but those guards were all his own, so they just obediently got out of the way, allowing Sir Wyatt to enter Princess Elizabeth's apartment without being notified.

Princess Elizabeth is sitting in front of the desk, on which a large map of the entire southern England region is spread out, while the princess is holding a magnifying glass in her hand, using a charcoal pencil to circle the crossings of the Thames River on the map, as if she is planning a battle plan.

Hearing someone coming in, Princess Elizabeth raised her head and looked at the face of Sir Wyatt who appeared at the door. She noticed his pale face covered with sweat and his body trembling like a scarecrow in the wind.

"It's you, sir." Princess Elizabeth put the magnifying glass on the table, "What's wrong? Your face is as white as paper. Is there any news from the battlefield ahead?"

"No, my lord," said Sir Thomas Wyatt, his voice full of uneasiness, "yet the news is more terrible than a rout on the battlefield, a rout in politics... a rout in military Cut off the branches from the tree, and a political rout will dig out the roots of the tree."

He said about to hand the thin roll of paper to Princess Elizabeth as if it was going to explode.

Princess Elizabeth instinctively felt a little uneasy about the words on this piece of paper.

She took the scroll and unfolded it slowly, her nervous eyes were similar to the eyes of King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon when he saw the bloody hand writing "The end of Babylon has come" on the wall of the palace same.

Sir Thomas Wyatt looked down, and he saw the scroll fall from between the Princess' fingers, onto the rug, and roll several times over the scarlet down, until it remained still.

"I have to admit, this is really unexpected." After about half a minute of silence, Princess Elizabeth spoke first, her tone was as calm as talking about the weather of the day, "At least I didn't expect that this play would end in That’s how it ended.”

"Do you think," Sir Wyatt lowered his voice deliberately, "whether this matter has been set up by His Majesty from the beginning to the end, and His Excellency the Chief Minister is his accomplice. Everyone thought that the king had passed away, but secretly let the forces of all parties kill each other. When all the opponents were dying, His Majesty would come out to clean up the mess..."

Princess Elizabeth chuckled, "Your imagination is a little too rich, dear Thomas."

"Do you think the First Minister is trustworthy? Do you think my brother would be willing to conspire with this pompous idiot with first-rate ambitions and third-rate means? No, that's impossible, my dear sir." , You overcomplicated things. The chief minister planned a conspiracy, and this idiot screwed things up, but everyone didn't find this out until now, and this is the whole truth of the matter."

"Why did you put him in command of our army, if you do not think him worthy of trust?" said Sir Thomas. "Eight thousand lost four thousand without achieving anything worthwhile."

"My sister also lost the same number of people. Both sides are bleeding, and that's enough." Elizabeth shrugged, "The key to this civil war is politics rather than military affairs, so I handed over the command of the army to you." Give it to him and let him concentrate on the military so he won't have time to meddle in politics."

"You still give too much, it seems to me," muttered Sir Wyatt. "If I were I, I'd get rid of him with a job that won't taint him with any real power."

"You're wrong, Thomas, monkeys always need more space than dogs, and scheming ambitious people always need a bigger stage than loyal and peaceful honest people. If they are not given what they want, monkeys will It will be restless, and the careerist will use his excess energy to plot against me."

"But he's a poor commander," retorted Sir Wyatt.

"But after all Mary's army is temporarily held back, isn't it? And that's why I want to congratulate him tonight at his dinner."

"Never mind Mary." Sir Wyatt shook his head impatiently. "She is politically indistinguishable from a dead man, and her army will melt like ice on a spring river in three days. , The key now lies in King Edward, we have absolutely no chance of resisting the attack of the Praetorian Guards with these stragglers."

"Of course I know that," said Princess Elizabeth impatiently.

"Then what are you going to do?"

Princess Elizabeth beckoned, signaling him to come forward, she leaned close to the Sir's ear, and whispered a few words.

"This...is probably inappropriate." Sir Thomas Wyatt looked at Princess Elizabeth in amazement, his body trembling a few times due to timidity, "This is not something a nobleman should do."

"That's why this class is on the brink of extinction," said Princess Elizabeth icily, looking intently at Sir Wyatt, "and if you don't think it suits who you are, come up with an idea that won't get your hands dirty. "

Sir Wyatt bowed his head and was silent.

"No? Well, please do as I say... You are a good hunter, you don't need me to teach you how to set a trap, I believe you will do as I say, after all, than You'd rather lose your head than get your hands dirty, would you?"

"Everything will be done according to your wishes." Sir Wyatt finally compromised, he lowered his head and said softly.

Princess Elizabeth nodded, returning her attention to the map.

A few hours later, when the enamel clock on the mantelpiece struck eight, Sir Wyatt was again at the Princess's side.

Princess Elizabeth is finishing her final makeup, a maid is holding a large mirror in her hand, and another maid is dipping her eyebrows with dye extracted from flowers.

The princess wore a long blue dress, and the strings of diamonds and pearls on her body shone in the soft light of the chandelier, like clusters of grapes on old vines in a Bordeaux vineyard.In Sir Wyatt's eyes, she looked more like a noble princess than ever before, after all, it is these diamonds and pearls that make a woman into a princess, and this woman in front of him is like a Christmas tree The same, the whole body is covered with jewels.

Princess Elizabeth saw Sir Wyatt in the mirror. She turned her head, and the two teardrop-shaped diamond pendants on her ears danced gently along with her movements. The diamonds made the ears more attractive, and the ears themselves Adds to the brilliance of the diamond.

She stood up, held out her hand to Sir Wyatt, and let him kiss her hand.

Sir Wyatt looked at the front of the princess. He noticed the diamond necklace on Princess Elizabeth's chest. The diamonds as large as hazelnuts shone seductively, like a flame on her chest. It was burning, and it was like a snake with every scale glowing, swimming around her body.

"Pretty, isn't it?" Princess Elizabeth noticed Sir Wyatt's surprised eyes, and a satisfied smile appeared on the corner of her mouth.

"It's gorgeous, Your Highness." Sir Wyatt searched and finally found the adjective that satisfied him. "Only you are worthy of such a thing."

"Yeah, you're right. It's really gorgeous. It's worth 20 pounds. I wear two warships around my neck."

"I would like to congratulate the jeweler you ordered this necklace from, he is truly an artist."

"Ah, you're mistaken." There was a sarcastic smile on Princess Elizabeth's lips, "Where can I afford something like this...it's a gift."

"Who can afford such a present?" asked Sir Wyatt in surprise.

"Only one sovereign can, my dear ser."

"Indeed, Your Highness. So is this a gift from King Edward?"

"Ah, no." Princess Elizabeth shook her head.

"That must be your father, His Majesty King Henry VIII?"

Princess Elizabeth, however, was still shaking her head.

"Then it must be a mysterious king who admires you." Sir Wyatt sighed artificially. "He wants to blind you with this magnificent gift and win your heart... so Your gift is one that a loyal servant like myself could never hope to give you, though how I wish I could give you one."

"You guessed right this time, you are indeed an admirer, and you are indeed a king." Princess Elizabeth straightened her hair a few times in the mirror, "However, it is not so mysterious. In fact, you are still I've seen him before."

"That's impossible. Who are you talking about?"

"It's the King of Naples, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince of Spain, and my brother-in-law Philip."

"He gave you such a gift?" Sir Wyatt looked in disbelief.

"Yes, look, how interesting this matter is." The princess gently stroked the diamond on her chest, "My sister is his legal wife, but when he left, he only left her the etiquette of the story. Sexual farewell words. I am only his sister-in-law, and yet he left me a hundred thousand pounds worth of diamonds... Do you think this kind of thing is normal?"

"What he really wants to marry is you, Your Highness, everyone knows that."

Princess Elizabeth shrugged her shoulders indifferently, "So Mary hates me, ah, she should also hate me: my mother made her lose her father, and in her opinion, I will make her lose her husband. Daughters Always repeating their mother's fate, she is now, and maybe I will be like this one day."

"Please don't say these unlucky words." Sir Wyatt reminded, after all, Queen Anne Boleyn's life was glorious, but it was not really a happy one.

Princess Elizabeth raised her eyebrows noncommittally.

"Have all our guests arrived?" she changed the subject.

"There you are, Your Highness, His Excellency the First Minister, his son Lord Guilford Dudley, and you and me, and there are only four of us dining. Dinner is in the blue dining room, where they are already waiting. "

"Great, great." Princess Elizabeth nodded, "Now please take my arm, let's go to the restaurant."

Sir Wyatt took the Princess's arm courteously, and together they descended the stairs into the dining-room.

In the middle of the dining room is an oval walnut dining table, and in front of the four gold-inlaid armchairs are Chinese ceramic tableware, Venetian crystal cups, and Florentine silver ivory-handled knives and forks.

Around the dining table, there is a huge palm tree at each corner of the wall with blue wallpaper. A green dome was erected under it.There are several pots of flowering shrubs on the fireplace, and the pots of ice cubes in the room make the air in the restaurant fresh and cool, mixed with a hint of bitter fragrance, making everyone feel comfortable after the sweltering heat. People who walked into the room couldn't help but want to take a big breath of the refreshing air.

The First Minister and Lord Guilford were already waiting in the dining-room, having cast off their blood-and-dust-stained robes, and having bathed in their rooms, put on new clothes, perfumed by servants.

Seeing Princess Elizabeth coming in, the two quickly bowed to the princess.

"Your Highness." The chief minister's tone was mixed with the victor's arrogance and a hint of flattery, "Congratulations on your great victory."

"It is you who command the army. This is your victory." Princess Elizabeth walked to the main seat and sat down.

"If it's a victory," she added.

"We stopped the Princess Mary's attack and strategically bought us time to recruit, which is a victory in my opinion."

"Blocked for now," added Sir Wyatt dryly, as he sat down to the princess's left.

"Sit next to me, Guildford." Princess Elizabeth waved to the silent young man standing behind her father.

Lord Guilford nodded silently, walked to Princess Elizabeth and sat down. Ever since he left London and left his wife behind, he has been in this state of silence, unable to speak a few words every day.

"Please sit down too." Princess Elizabeth pointed to the chair opposite and said to the chief minister.

There are only four people dining at the same table in the restaurant, but there are eight servants serving, each guest is served by two servants, one of whom is responsible for serving the food, and the other is responsible for serving the wine.The servants moved about the room like shadows of the masters, without making a sound, so that the masters at the table hardly noticed their presence.

Princess Elizabeth picked up the glass of champagne that was placed in her hand, and the white foam gathered on the golden liquid, like a snow cap on the top of a mountain.

"I wish you good health and congratulations on your victory, sir." She toasted the chief minister opposite.

The chief minister raised the wine glass to his eyes, and looked at it carefully under the halo of the candlestick on the table. The golden liquid in the glass shone charmingly under the candlelight, making people think for a moment that the glass was not filled with wine. , but molten gold.

"Do you think there is anything wrong with this wine?" Princess Elizabeth looked at the Chief Minister with her unique bright eyes that could see through each other's thoughts, as if to say, "I know what you are worried about."

She brought the glass of wine to her lips, slightly leaned back her swan-like graceful neck, and drank all the wine in the glass.Point the bottom of the empty cup towards the Chief Minister.

"There is no problem." The Chief Minister said, "Thank you for your hospitality, Your Highness, and I wish you good health."

He drank half of the wine in the glass.

A dish of oysters was brought up, and the petite and lovely shells exuded the fragrance of the ocean, and the fat and tender oyster meat was still twisting in its protective shell.

"Tell us something about the battlefield, sir." Princess Elizabeth said in a curious tone.

The Chief Minister picked up an oyster, swallowed the flesh like a ray, and began to describe the scene on the battlefield: infantry marching in line; cavalry with bright decorations from the flank; cannons; countless people fought each other in the pungent smell of gunpowder, sweat mixed with blood, dripping on the dusty dry land.

"We lost more than 4000 people, and Princess Mary also lost the same number... In my opinion, the next development of the situation depends on which of us can replenish our strength faster." When the second When the dishes were served, the Chief Minister finally finished his speech, "At this point, I think we have an advantage."

Princess Elizabeth cut a piece of creamy cheese-like mutton from the suckling lamb ribs on the plate, "How can you see it?" She asked in a naive tone that seemed to have no understanding of war.

She put the mutton on the fork into her mouth.

"The Spaniards have given Princess Mary all the support they can. Emperor Charles V is now under pressure on all fronts. They will not put more chips on the table. And because of the presence of Spanish soldiers, Many see Princess Mary as the voice of the invaders, which automatically makes you a defender of the country."

The Chief Minister felt his mouth was parched from the speech just now, and he drank another glass of iced champagne, "The people will support you, at least the Protestants will support you, and those who do not want to see what we call Spain The Catholics of the vassals will fall reluctantly into your arms, if you proclaim a policy of toleration for all religions, as the late King Edward did."

Princess Elizabeth smiled noncommittally. She turned her head and looked at Lord Guildford beside her. This young man had not said a word since the banquet began, and just drank the champagne and Anjou wine in the glass in front of him glass after glass.

"Are you feeling ill?" asked the princess kindly.

"I feel a little hot, Your Highness." Lord Guilford replied honestly. "This dining room is really stuffy. I was wondering if you would allow me to go outside for a breath..."

His words were interrupted by a sudden cough, a piercing cough, as if his lungs were about to pop out of his windpipe.When the cough finally ended, his face was flushed, he leaned weakly on the back of the chair, covered his mouth with a napkin, and there was a sound in his throat like the cold winter wind blowing in through a leaky window.

"What's the matter with you?" Princess Elizabeth drank another glass of champagne.

"Please forgive me, Your Highness." Lord Guilford tried his best to force a smile, and he turned to his father, who had a puzzled look on his face, "I'm just a little out of breath, I think a breath of fresh air will make me feel better." OK."

Princess Elizabeth nodded, and said to the two servants standing behind Lord Guildford: "You heard it all, my lord is out of breath."

Two servants came forward, one took Lord Guildford's arm, while the other took something out of his bosom, and he seemed to take Lord Guilford's other arm, but No sooner had he approached Lord Guildford than the young man let out a groan of pain.

A dagger was stuck in Lord Guilford's waist, and the servant pulled out the dagger without hesitation for a moment, and then stabbed Lord Guilford's body again.

Lord Guilford seemed to want to say something, but he could only let out a moan of despair, and the blood kept gushing out from the wound, dyeing the silk cushion under him completely blood red.

"What is this going to do?" The chief minister stood up in surprise, and was about to rush to his son, but his legs became weak uncontrollably, and he fell to his knees on the carpet.

The chief minister stretched out his hand to his throat in horror, and he felt as if someone had strangled his neck.

"You also feel out of breath, don't you?" Princess Elizabeth put down her wine glass, lifted her skirt, and stood up, "Now you feel that your eyes are dark, as if there are countless sparks jumping in front of your eyes, every part of your body The joints are aching, I suppose so?"

"You are an expert in using this poison, and you must know more about its medicinal properties than I do." Princess Elizabeth walked around the large stain on the carpet left by Lord Guildford's blood, walked up to the chief minister, and looked down. Looking at him, "I heard that you have developed resistance, so I smeared twice the amount on your cup, and at the same time added a little belladonna to your usual strychnine, which can paralyze you tongue so that you cannot taste the bitterness in the wine."

The Chief Minister looked at Princess Elizabeth in disbelief, "Why are you doing this?"

"Of course it's because you haven't done what you're supposed to do." Princess Elizabeth's voice was extremely calm, "If you had been half as careful as I was when you poisoned my brother, Edward wouldn't be alive now. In this world."

The chief minister looked at Princess Elizabeth in horror, the luster on his pale face quickly dissipated, leaving behind a dead gray skin, and a hoarse cry that seemed to be both an exclamation and a moan came out of his throat.

"The king is still alive?" He fell backwards involuntarily, "It's impossible! He was poisoned, I saw it with my own eyes!"

"So either your apothecary gave you an expired potion, or you got the dose wrong, anyway, Edward is alive, his army has marched into London, and Mary's power is gone, you see, This is what happens when you fail to do your duty. Unlike you, however, my apothecary has given me poison freshly extracted from St. Ynes walnuts, and I would never do Wrong dose of medicine, so you're screwed, and Edward's all right, that's the lesson, my dear sir."

"So you see, the whole situation has now been completely changed by this fatal mistake of yours. Our alliance has meant nothing to me, on the contrary, it has become a terrible burden, I have no need of you, sir, and you will drag me down, and I am sure you would do the same if I were you."

"This is impossible, how could he still be alive..." the chief minister shrank into a ball and shouted hoarsely.

Princess Elizabeth ignored the chief minister's yelling. She gestured towards Lord Guildford who was lying on the ground. The servant who had stabbed him twice with a dagger just stepped forward, knelt down on one knee, and lifted Guildford up. Lord De's head, and put the back of the Lord's head on his knees.

He laid the edge of the dagger he was holding on Lord Guilford's neck.

The chief minister looked at the despairing expression on his son's face in horror, Lord Guildford's lips moved slightly, and then the color of life evaporated from his pupils—the dagger slit his throat.

The Chief Minister saw that the blood was twitching with the muscles, and it was spurting out like a fountain from the terrible wound on Lord Guilford's neck, splashing even the silk curtains hanging in front of the window. Bright red blood spots.

"How dare you do that? Why are you doing it?" he yelled hysterically.

"I am giving him a happy, this is an act of kindness... After all, he has not committed any wrongdoing, his only crime is to be your son, sir." Princess Elizabeth's calm tone and uttered words In stark contrast, "You carry sin on your body, just like a carrier of an infectious disease, infecting everyone around you with sin like plague or typhoid. It is precisely because they are with you that they are Stained with a dreadful misfortune, each of them died because of you. You are the guilty one, sir, and I have arranged for you the best way to take your end."

"It is said in the Bible that 'the sword bearer shall die by the sword', and a master poisoner like you should drink the sweet poison you give others, shouldn't you? Like the Borgias , the Pope and his son Caesar Borgia used the notorious poison Cantrella to wipe out their enemies, but just as they were about to unify Italy, the Pope died under his own poison, and his son Although he survived by luck, he became a bereaved dog who lost his power. He might as well have died with his own father! This is what happened decades ago. This is what you deserve, sir. ending!"

"You just asked me why I did this? Have you forgotten that one of the victims of your crime is my father? Although you did not poison my father yourself, you are the black hand behind everything .I, as the daughter of His Majesty King Henry VIII, avenge my father, isn't this a matter of course?"

The chief minister let out a stern laugh, and tears flowed uncontrollably from his eyes.

"Ha! You said you avenged your father, come on, Your Highness, you are a hypocritical bitch. You don't care whether your father lives or dies. You are like a female praying mantis. In order to gain power, even your own husband will kill you. Swallow it raw without hesitation, and never spit out a bone. If killing him would give you power, you would pour poison into his cup without hesitation, like little Agger Lipina poisoned her husband, Emperor Claudius!"

The Chief Minister's rage rose above the pain of fear and poison, and his voice grew louder.

"Don't you have the courage to admit that you have done such a shameless thing? You are flattering your brother, and you are looking to throw me out, hoping that King Edward will forgive your crime, just like Carthage It is the same as exiling their most excellent commander Hannibal in order to let the Romans spare them! But this treacherous city-state cannot escape the doom of destruction after all, and you are the same! Such a poor trick cannot deceive me, nor can it deceive the king. . . . I'll be waiting for you in hell . . . and I'm sure I won't have to wait long!"

Sir Wyatt's face was ashen standing beside Princess Elizabeth. He kicked the chief minister's chest. The other party groaned and collapsed on the ground on his back. Has been closely staring at Princess Elizabeth.

Princess Elizabeth sneered, and said word by word, "What you said is not fair, sir."

"You said that I want to get rid of my crimes. May I ask what crimes I committed?" The princess put on a deliberately innocent tone, "Did I ever claim to be the queen? Did I ever raise the flag to rebel?" Did I collude with foreign governments and even bring invading troops to my own land? No, sir, you have done these things, my sister has done them, but I have not done any of them .”

"So what crime do I need forgiveness from His Majesty the King? I raised an army, but this army was only used on the battlefield against the Spanish invaders, and never fought against an army loyal to Edward. Yes, I accepted You, but this is only a delay, I will send your traitor's head to my brother, and I will be the hero of smashing the rebellion. No, sir, you are wrong, I have no guilt to demand Clean up, there are neither witnesses nor evidence for the things you have accused me of, they are just your one-sided words, and I am afraid you will never have the opportunity to speak to the court again."

"It's really despicable..." The chief minister gasped, "What a cruel and ruthless woman... What a clever trap... You shameless villain, damned traitor, God, what a shameless experience I have gone through Betrayal!"

Princess Elizabeth laughed, "I heard you right, sir, are you saying these things to God? You'll make him laugh too. You accuse others of treachery, and yet you have been in the world since Judas." Worst traitor ever. You made a fortune under my father, and contrived to poison his life; my brother made you chief minister, and you yourself poured poison into his cup; Ambition pushed its own daughter-in-law, poor Jane, onto that spike-ridden throne, and as soon as she saw the momentum was wrong, left her like a bag of rubbish to your enemies, and fled for her life... like you A person who treats betrayal as a child's play, but dares to accuse me of betraying you? You are really shameless!"

Princess Elizabeth's words, like a red-hot iron, burned the chief minister's little soul to blood and blood. He opened his mouth wide, moaning in pain, and his bloodshot eyes were as big as bull's eyes.

"The king will not spare you...he will not let you be safe because of your strong words..." He muttered in a slurred voice.

"Yeah, he knows what I did. Anyone with normal intelligence can see what I did, but they have no proof." Princess Elizabeth's calm tone sounded almost cruel at this time, "He can weaken My wings; he can arrange a marriage for me, send me abroad; he can even put me under house arrest...but he can't deprive me of my title without evidence, let alone execute a princess without evidence, even in Now that the royal power has expanded to such a degree, this is also impossible... Maybe I will meet you in hell one day, but it will never be a certain time in the near future. In other words, you still have to be there Waiting for me for a long time."

Blood froth flowed out uncontrollably from the corner of the chief minister's mouth, every muscle in his body was convulsing violently, and the terrifying gaze gradually cooled down.

He stretched out a stiff blue hand towards Princess Elizabeth, pointing his index finger menacingly at Princess Elizabeth's eyes.

"I...I curse you...I curse you all..." His voice was hoarse like two sandpapers rubbing against each other, but even that sound was soon out of his reach, Instead, there was a horrible "clack" sound in his throat, as if a hand had crushed his throat hard.

The chief minister's body became stiff, his big eyes were still fixed on Princess Elizabeth, and the corners of his mouth showed a strange smile because of the contraction of his dying muscles.

The First Minister, John Dudley, Duke of Northumberland, is dead.

Sir Wyatt drew back in terror, till he reached the door of the room.

"Why, you are not afraid of the Chief Minister when you are alive, but you are afraid of him after death?" Princess Elizabeth looked at Sir Wyatt mockingly, "You are a soldier, sir, have you never seen a dead man?"

Sir Wyatt swallowed a mouthful of saliva, and forced an ugly smile, "That's not true, Your Highness."

"That's good, now you can let those of yours do the work." She pointed to the two corpses on the ground, "After you're done, take the things to the study, I want to have a look."

She lifted the hem of her skirt, walked around the little stains on the floor, and walked out of the room.

Princess Elizabeth returned to her study. She picked up the "Ten Days Talk" that she had not finished reading on the table the day before, and then read the place she had seen before.