monarch

The King was eerily silent as he returned from the Tower of London to Hampton Court Palace.

It took half an hour for the carriage pulled by six horses to drive out of the city. The carriage was covered with dust, and the body was scorching hot from the scorching sun hanging high in the sky.The crowds that gathered on both sides of the road in the morning to welcome the king into the city had already dispersed, and their enthusiasm was not enough to support them to receive another three hours of roasting in the sun.This is also in line with the king's wishes: His Majesty does not want too many people to see him leave the city of London after a short stay.

Hampton Court Palace is only a two-hour drive from the capital. In the misty night, standing on the artificially piled hill landscape of the new palace, you can enjoy the brilliant lights of the city of London cast on the blue sky. shadow.However, unlike Whitehall Palace, Hampton Court Palace is located outside the city after all, which clearly shows that His Majesty no longer trusts his capital. He regards the city as a hotbed of rebellion and a nest of poisonous snakes. Spend the night in the city.

The carriage was driving in the woods outside the city, and the wheels made a rumbling sound.Edward's mood gradually became more relaxed after driving out of the city. He and Robert beside him gently held each other's hands in silence. Every small bump from under the seat would cause their hands to be delicate The friction between the skins caused an inexplicable shudder in their hearts, as if someone was using the delicate tail feathers of a swan to pluck their young hearts.

"It's over." After a long time, Robert finally broke the silence that was beginning to be breathless.

Edward opened the window, the air here was no longer as scorching hot as in the city, and what the gentle breeze brought was no longer dust and stench, but the moisture from the stream in the mountain forest and the smell from the oak forest. That refreshing woody scent.

King leaned back, dropping himself just in time into Robert's arms.

"How can there be a day when it will end?" Edward smiled bitterly, "Conspiracy, blood and betrayal are like sunshine, wind or tide in my life, maybe I don't like them, but they constitute my life The basics... until the day I died."

"You are in a bad mood today." Robert hugged Edward even tighter, "Is it because of those congressmen, or because of your sister?"

"I've expected the performance of those congressmen." Edward sneered, and tapped the seat covered with silk and satin with the knuckle of his index finger, "They are like the foam floating with the waves on the sea. Wherever they rush, they will rush in the same direction, until one day a wave smashes them to pieces. If I get angry because of them, I'm afraid I won't be able to laugh for the rest of my life."

"That's because of Princess Mary."

"Sir Walsingham brought me some rumors." The king looked out the window, and the tall oak trees were receding rapidly one by one, "They say the Tudor family is a cursed family, The women who marry into this family bring forth broods of vipers. We have the blood of the Plantagenet family in our veins, and that family kills each other like the descendants of Augustus, so God Wrathful, their mighty dynasty is like a castle built by children on the sand, leaving no trace of it upon waking up the next day."

"We have inherited their kingdom, and we have inherited their sins. Like them, we are also an Atridai family. Blood relatives kill each other, and finally fend for ourselves. We are crazier than them, more than they Still want to fall, so look at the present." He stretched out his hand and drew a circle in the air, "This dynasty has come to an end, its heirs have destroyed each other... In the eyes of the people, this is a curse, this is a punishment , no one will support a doomed dynasty... I am the only fulcrum that holds it all together."

He raised his head and looked at Robert with an expression that only appeared on the face of a prophet like Cassandra: "After I die, there will be a flood."

Although the carriage was still as stuffy as a steamer, Robert still felt his whole body trembling uncontrollably. He looked at Edward, trying to say something to comfort him, but he couldn't think of a suitable sentence.

"Do you think it's all worth it?" said the king softly.

"What do you mean?" asked Robert.

"I mean the power that has turned almost everyone in our family, and everyone around us, into bloodthirsty monsters who would rip the throats of their own loved ones to get their hands on power."

"My sister wants my life, and they both do." Edward's voice was unusually calm. "They didn't pour the poison into my cup with their own hands, but they both knew the plan and were happy to see it happen. For To them, I am just an obstacle, an obstacle that must be removed between the throne and them... All these are precise logical calculations, like the solution to a geometry problem, cold and graceful, There is no consideration of any feelings, not even hatred..."

"Mary had reason to hate me, didn't she? My mother took her mother's honor, and she did it on purpose; I took her inheritance, and that was out of my control. Anyway. , she has the right to hate me, and she should hate me... However, she did all this not out of hatred, but out of calculation, because I need to be removed, so she wants to get rid of me... just Like a Jewish banker looking at a bad loan!"

He hammered the cushion hard with his fist.

"And what about Elizabeth? She didn't have any reason to hate me, but she still did the same thing... Being a king is like this, all your relatives look forward to your death, so that each of them can go forward in the succession sequence Jump forward one."

"Actually, affection is always a luxury in a family, Your Majesty." Robert gently squeezed Edward's hand, "Look at my family, everyone in our family is just my father's pawn, He dragged us one by one to the altar of power to let blood... This is the normal state of noble families, Your Majesty, parents marry for profit, and children are just tools for family inheritance and cards for marriage."

"And commoner families are worse than this. The drunks who are still drinking in the middle of the night in the pubs in London, when they go home, they always have a bruised wife or a few children huddled in the corner of the room. to abuse; those street flower girls and tabloid boys, if they don't come home with a sufficient amount of coppers every day, then what's waiting in their squalid shabby house called home is from their own Parents' old punches and slaps. There are very few happy families in this world, and families that calculate and torture each other are like crucian carp in a river."

"The point is not what they do, but us, we are the masters of our own destiny." He leaned close to Edward's ear and said softly.

Edward narrowed his eyes slightly, shrinking into Robert's arms.

"I have had the Spanish ambassador informed that Marie will be sent back to Spain."

"You have no other choice, do you? The Spanish princess cannot die on the guillotine in England."

"Yeah, we're not ready for a showdown with Spain." The king shrugged. "A showdown with Spain means we have to be friends with the French, and whoever reaches out first will be slaughtered." One knife. We went to the French after we fell out with Spain, and the French came to win us over to deal with the Spaniards. These are two completely different things. I have to maintain diplomatic flexibility, so I will have some disputes with the Spaniards , but cannot completely fall out.”

"So Mary must be sent back to Spain. This hot potato is the trouble of the Spaniards, not mine." The king paused for a moment, "Besides, she is already a dead person in politics, there is no need to end her physical life. "

"And what about Princess Elizabeth? Are you going to forgive her too?"

"I have spared Mary, and I have spared your father. There is no reason to keep her," said the king. "She will be imprisoned in Hatfield Palace, and I will let her choose a marriage for herself. Marrying abroad, she can play tricks in the court of that country. I wonder which country is so lucky?"

"I don't know if your sisters or my father would have shown you the same kindness if they had won," said Robert. He must be regretting that he did not add a greater dose of poison to your glass."

Robert paused for a moment, "No king has ever forgiven someone who tried to take his own life, Your Majesty. If you forgive my father because of me, then I am very grateful, but I must tell you that it was a mistake .. kindness to the rebels only breeds more treachery, and they multiply faster than you can imagine. You can't put your sisters to death, which would get you a bad name for blood, but at least you The man behind all these plots can be punished."

Edward opened his eyes wide and looked at Robert, "This way the notoriety falls on your head."

"No matter what I do, new ambitious ones will emerge. They are like weeds in the garden. Even if they are burned once and plowed again, they will still grow thickly the next spring. ...enough people have died, and the executioners have cut off more heads than I had expected, and if that doesn't make them behave, I'm afraid they will only be when the ax actually hits their necks able to understand."

"Your father is dead, his part as a politician has died, and what remains in this world is just a decayed old man lingering on his last breath. For him, this kind of life every day is torture. The most appropriate punishment."

"As your father's accomplice, the Duchess of Suffolk will have her title and property confiscated, and she will be placed under house arrest, but I will prepare a dowry for each of her unmarried daughters, after all, they are also heirs to the throne. Your brother Guilford and his wife are innocent of this conspiracy, and they will be expelled from court, and returned to the estate where they were married... In a few years, when the storm is over, I will issue an amnesty, Lift the restrictions on them, and your mother can live with them if she wants... I think she will not want to live under the same roof as your father anymore."

"I'm afraid that's true." Robert smiled wryly. "Our family is now torn apart, and all that remains of the magnificent mansion in the past is just ruins."

"Bishop Gardiner is about to retire. In the new cabinet, I hope you will accept the post of Secretary of War."

"You have forgotten that I am the son of a rebel." Robert said, "This is not appropriate, Your Majesty."

"You are the hero who smashed the rebellion. You are more qualified to take up such a position than those cynics who hide in their caves and wait for the storm to pass."

Robert gave a vague "hmm" and didn't make a clear statement.

The carriage drove into the gate of the courtyard of Hampton Court Palace, and the wheels drove from the gravel road to the flat square paved with hard and white stone slabs in front of the palace.

When the car door opened, the king saw that Cecil's face was already waiting for him there, but the face that was always confident and flamboyant on weekdays showed a trace of confusion and consternation. The king was quite surprised when the muscles under Cecil's eyes gave a small but distinct twitch while driving.

"What's the matter with you, is there any bad news?"

Cecil glanced at the king, then at Robert behind His Majesty, "Yes and no, Your Majesty." He muttered.

"What's going on here?" The king frowned. "Are you playing dumb with me? Is there bad news from the battlefield?"

"Not so, Your Majesty." Cecil stammered, "For the country, this may be good news; for you, it is unknown whether this news is a blessing or a curse; but for some people, This is sad news, Your Majesty."

"What are these words? What is it, sir?" The king lost his patience. "I order you to speak quickly!"

"Princess Elizabeth has sent a messenger, Your Majesty, a messenger of peace."

"So she's willing to surrender?"

"To a certain extent, yes...the messenger is in the palace. I think it would be better for him to introduce the situation to you in person."

"Surely he won't ask me to guess riddles like a sphinx." The king sneered, "Let him come to my study."

Cecil turned and walked away as if pardoned.

"What a strange way he looks today," muttered Edward as the King and Robert ascended the great marble main staircase.

"After this rebellion, nothing should surprise me," said Robert.

The two entered His Majesty's study, the King went behind the desk and sat in his usual armchair, and Robert sat on the satin sofa at one side of the room.

At the end of five minutes Cecil entered the room, followed by Sir Thomas Wyatt, who had just rode up from Kent, and by two servants who put the box in their hands. On a small coffee table by the fireplace.

Sir Wyatt puffed out his chest and pretended to be frank, as if at a reception, but to others, this demeanor looked more arrogant than his usual demeanor. On such an occasion, it can even be regarded as a blatant provocation.

The king's face also became gloomy, and he cast his lion-like eyes on Sir Wyatt until the other party was forced to bow his head. This is undoubtedly a contest of wills, and the winner will be in the following conversation Take the initiative.

"I think you are the messenger sent by my sister to surrender?" Seeing Sir Wyatt bow his head and admit defeat, the king waited for a while before opening his mouth.

"That's not true, Your Majesty." Although Sir Wyatt lowered his head, the words that came out of his mouth still made the king's eyelids twitch, "Princess Elizabeth has always been your staunch ally, and now she has sent me to report to you, Under the joint attack of our armies, the rebels have collapsed. This is your victory and hers, how can you say surrender?"

"You said Elizabeth is my ally?" The expression on the king's face was extraordinary.

"Isn't it, Your Majesty? Her Royal Highness Princess Elizabeth has never established herself as a king. Her Royal Highness Princess Elizabeth's army is against your enemies. Her Royal Highness Princess Elizabeth is incompatible with your enemies and strikes hard at the rebels. Except for staunch allies , is there a better adjective to describe Princess Elizabeth's role in this turmoil?"

Edward stared straight at Sir Wyatt, as if he wanted to lift the other's hood, and see what kind of weird brain a person who can say such bastard words that reverses black and white has grown.

He laughed uncontrollably, almost out of breath.

"I never heard a more brazen sophistry," said the king. "Do you think anyone would believe it? If I appointed an imbecile to preside, he would see that it is pure nonsense, if only A few simple testimonies can refute everything..."

Suddenly, it seemed that some terrible thought entered the king's mind, and his pupils suddenly became dilated.As if thunder exploded under his feet, his body bounced off the chair, and he looked at the two black boxes on the opposite coffee table with a look of surprise and fear.

"Unless..." he muttered in a dark voice, "what's in that box?"

Sir Wyatt had a victorious smile on his face. He walked quickly to the coffee table and opened the box.

The two gray-black human heads were placed side by side in the box. It was the scorching heat. Although the box was filled with ice cubes and spices, the stench still filled His Majesty's study in an instant.

Edward stared dumbfounded at the rotting heads of the Chief Minister and Lord Guilford. The muscles on the two heads had shrunk a lot, and a distorted smile hung on the two lifeless faces. , forming a stark contrast between the two.

Edward turned his head uneasily for the first time and looked at Robert behind him, just in time to see him slumped powerlessly in the armchair behind him. The color on his face was as ugly as the two heads in front of him.

"Her Royal Highness Princess Elizabeth has removed the rebellious leader for you, Your Majesty." Sir Wyatt said with a smile.

"No court? No prosecutors and judges? No trial?" The king's eyes flashed fiercely, and the servants and guards in the house lowered their heads, obviously aware of the approaching of a terrible storm.

"A matter of urgency, Your Majesty," said Sir Wyatt.

"What an urgent matter!" The king sneered and waved at the guards, "Catch him and throw him into the tower."

The smile on Sir Wyatt's face suddenly froze, like a flower bud frozen on a branch in the cold spring, "You can't do this! I am a messenger, I have my rights, I protest!"

"That's what you said, sir, it's urgent." Edward's voice was full of sarcasm.

The guards hurriedly dragged the shouting Sir Wyatt out of the room, ignoring his loud protests.

The door was closed again, and everyone in the room except Robert and the king took the opportunity to slip out, and the room fell into deathly silence again.

The king walked up to Robert's side, took the other's hand, and placed it on his chest, as if he wanted to use his own temperature to warm the hand that was as cold as marble.

"Are you okay?" he asked cautiously.

Robert nodded slightly, "I'm fine, Your Majesty."

Edward noticed that his voice was shaking.

The king strode to the coffee table and closed the lid of the box, as if it contained the head of the Medusa basilisk.

"Don't look any further," he said softly.

Robert put his hands on the arms of the armchair as he rose to his feet.

"If Your Majesty doesn't mind, I'd like to excuse you for a moment." Robert's face became paler, as if all the blood in his veins had been frozen into ice crystals, "I'm going to see my mother and my brother's wife."

He stretched out his hand and pointed to the exquisite box inlaid with precious stones. The Egyptians used such an exquisite container to hold Pompey's head, and presented it to Caesar as a gift with great fanfare.

"Of course, you should go." The king squeezed out a smile, picked up the box, walked up to Robert, and stuffed it into the opponent's arms.

He opened his arms, hugged Robert, and kissed him lightly on the face, "I'm willing to do anything, as long as it makes you feel better."

Robert nodded slightly, and put his face against the king's.

He picked up the box and walked out of the study.

When Robert's figure completely disappeared, the king sighed softly, as if he had been nailed to the ground, he stood where he was, without moving for a long time.

After a few minutes, he suddenly kicked over the coffee table where the box was placed just now, and the small vase on it fell to pieces on the ground.