monarch

Five minutes after Robert rushed out of the hall, Cecil carefully slipped back into the hall again.

The king sat motionless on the throne, his head was thrown back, leaning against the back of the chair, his eyes were tightly closed, his face was bloodless, and he looked no different from a corpse.

Cecil couldn't help feeling a presumptuous impulse to sniff the king's breath. He quickly walked through the hall and walked to the throne, and found that the king was shivering like he was in the cold winter.

Cecil couldn't help but paused. He didn't dare to disturb His Majesty, so he could only stand in front of the throne, lowered his eyes, tried his best to make his breathing inaudible, and quietly waited for the king's voice.

A long minute passed, and the king remained motionless.

Cecil finally couldn't bear it anymore, he raised his head slightly, and called softly, "Your Majesty?"

The king opened his eyes, and Cecil noticed that the beautiful blue eyes were bloodshot, and there was some redness around them, and the tears in the corners of the eyes had not completely dried up.

The king supported the armrests of the throne with both hands, and lifted his body to stand up. The movement seemed to be more laborious than Atlas's lifting the earth with his hands.

He came towards Cecil like a ghost, his boots stomping silently on the soft Persian rug.

King Edward walked up to Cecil, raised his arm, and pointed to the gate.

"Is he gone?" the king asked softly, in the low voice of a hunter who fears to startle his prey.

After asking this sentence, the king's arm dropped, and tears welled up in his eyes again. He quietly waited for Cecil's answer, just like a condemned prisoner waiting for the sharp ax to hit his neck cut off.

Cecil bowed deeply to make sure the king could not see his clouded brow.

"If you mean the Lord Earl of Leicester, I think he should have gone back to his room." The king's adviser replied cautiously.

He hesitated for a moment, then added reluctantly: "I heard him call the servant to pack up and move the luggage to the carriage."

The king sniffled, a mocking smile appeared on the corner of his mouth, and his bloodless lips trembled uncontrollably: "Great, he doesn't even want to stay for a minute...he has thought about everything , everything is planned, you just need to let me know! What a decisive hero..."

He wiped the tears from his face vigorously, and his fair skin was a little red from being rubbed.

"If I had followed my father's advice and became a priest, then I would be able to think of a few words to comfort His Majesty now." Cecil sighed heavily.

The king gave a dry sneer.

"Those priests will tell me that these sufferings I have suffered are a manifestation of my duty as a king. And God will welcome me in the eternal kingdom of heaven, and he will reward me for fulfilling my duty." The king raised his head and glanced at the ceiling with a contemptuous look, which seemed to penetrate the thick marble, all the way to heaven, "but what's the use of that? No one loves me in this world, but in the kingdom of heaven It must be the same here... there is no sweetness in this world, only bitterness... I don't need those things! Mr. Cecil, there is no God, no heaven, just this boring life, like a mire, with its mouth wide open waiting to swallow me !"

Startled by the king's unorthodox outburst, Cecil pinched his arm hard.

"Maybe Your Majesty is not willing to listen." He gently wiped the sweat from his forehead, "However, even a king can't get everything he wants... The Earl of Leicester made the right choice, and I admire him for that , because I clearly know that if I were put in his position, I would not be able to do what he did, and my selfishness would not allow me to make such a sacrifice."

The Queen stepped back abruptly, dropping back onto the throne just as his legs failed to support his own weight.

"Your Majesty is thinking of you wholeheartedly, Your Majesty." There was a hint of sadness in Cecil's voice, "If he stays here, then you are a fool who doesn't know right from wrong; and you let him go , you will be considered a just and unselfish saint. Politics is a show, and this court is a grand stage, where appearances are more important than substance. You may not care what everyone thinks for a while, or you may You can never care what some people think, but you can't never care what everyone thinks... IMHO, you can't do it even if you have ten times more power."

The king's head fell back feebly, he closed his eyes, covered his face with his hands, and sobbed softly.

Cecil bowed to the king again, "Can I make a suggestion to you?"

The king made a soft nasal sound, motioning for the other party to continue.

"Lord Robert must leave. I'm afraid you can't recover from this, but you can let him leave in another capacity."

The king looked up.

"The post of our country's ambassador to Spain has been vacant for three months... Would you like to consider sending Lord Robert to Madrid?"

"Ambassador?" the king repeated the word in surprise.

"The British ambassador to Spain must be a better place to go than the Knights of the Hospitaller or the New World." The smile climbed up the corner of Cecil's mouth again, "At least you don't need to worry about his safety, and after a few years In the future, when things are calm, you can invite him back more conveniently."

"Do you think everything will be calm?" The king smiled wryly. "Do you think a few years will be enough to dilute everything?"

"Why not, Your Majesty? Our present age is a decadent age, and your capital is like a contemporary Babylon, where everything is forgotten in a blink of an eye. Everyone in this palace is Thrill-seeking, everyone desperate for a change, and no one having time to think about what happened yesterday, let alone years ago. Your father was about to marry your aunt's Sarah against his orders. Didn't the Duke of Falk be expelled from the court and return him a few years later, as if nothing had happened?"

"Besides, this position is not a good place to go now. After all, if it is profitable, it will not be vacant for so long. Our relationship with Spain is now extremely delicate. One step forward is war, but both sides But none of them have the courage to take a step forward: our navy is still difficult to compete with Spain, and the Spaniards are busy fighting fires throughout Europe, and they are unwilling to add a new enemy to themselves at this time... At this time, you need a There are loyal people in Madrid and there are not many of them."

"You're right." The king seemed to have calmed down a lot, but the gloomy look still hadn't faded from his face, "If he must leave, I'd rather he stay safely in the court of the emperor in Madrid Be an ambassador, not hide from the Turks in the fortress of Valletta on the island of Malta."

"Perhaps some blind-eyed Spaniards will provoke him, and there will be a duel, but I don't worry about that," murmured the king, "as long as they learn his sword skills, they will learn to manage Keep your mouth shut. As an ambassador and a diplomat, the Spaniard also has an obligation to protect his safety."

"That's right, Your Majesty." Cecil took a step forward, "And let's say, three or four years later, you write a letter to Madrid calling him back to England. The term of an ambassador is usually only a few years. In [-], Lord Robert's term of office expired, and he resigned and returned to China, no one can find anything wrong with it."

"I once heard people say that you are the most intelligent person in the country." The king slightly raised his lips, "I didn't believe it before, but now I don't have the slightest doubt about it... This is a good idea, in fact it is you Best idea ever given to me."

Cecil bowed slightly again to thank the king.

"Then there is only one problem left," continued the King, "how to get him to agree to this appointment? He has never shown any interest in diplomacy?"

"I am willing to solve this problem for His Majesty." Cecil seemed confident.

"You must have a plan."

"It's very simple, Your Majesty." Cecil seemed a little proud, "Like Cicero, use my tongue. If Your Majesty trusts me, I am willing to persuade His Excellency the Earl of Leicester to accept this appointment for you."

The king propped his chin on his hands, his eyes fixed on Cecil.

"I heard that you are getting married." The king suddenly changed the subject.

Cecil was a little unexpected, he couldn't figure out the king's intention, so he had to answer truthfully: "Yes, Your Majesty."

"Your fiancée is the daughter of the Marquess of Salisbury."

"It is the daughter of one of His Majesty's most loyal servants."

"Excellent." The king nodded, "After you persuade the Earl of Leicester, please go to the Ministry of Finance and choose one of the confiscated manors that you like. This is a gift from me. wedding present."

"Your Majesty's Ron is far beyond my extravagant expectations." Cecil coughed heavily to conceal the uncontrollable ecstasy on his face.

There was a clear expression on the king's face, but he didn't point it out.

"Then, you can go now, I am waiting for your good news." The king raised his chin towards the gate.

Cecil walked backwards out of the hall, and only three minutes later he was at the door of Robert's suite.The door of the room was wide open, and the servants were busily carrying boxes from the room downstairs for loading.

Cecil reached out and grabbed a servant, "Where is the Earl of Leicester?"

"The Earl is in the house, Your Excellency, but he will leave soon."

"Go and tell him, then, that William Cecil, Baron Burleigh, wants to see him, and tell him I'm coming from the King."

The servant immediately turned and walked into the room, and after a while, he came out through the door again.

"My lord, please go in." The servant stretched out his arm to lead Cecil the way.

Robert's room is located next door to His Majesty's large suite, separated by only a wall and connected by a small secret door. The two sides are respectively surrounded by a Sevres tapestry depicting the goddess Diana's spring hunt in the king's suite and Hidden by a statue of Hercules in Robert's room.

The chambers of his favorites were not so grand and high ceilings as those of the king, but were no less decorated with beautiful frescoes.In fact, these patterns were designed by the king and the artist together.In the most prominent place in the center, the artist depicts Achilles playing the harp in the tent and Patroclus drinking wine, the relationship between them was praised by Plato as a model of love.Everyone at court knew that His Majesty often compared himself to Alexander the Great, who, when he marched into Asia, visited the monuments of Achilles and Patroclus with his lover Hephaestion.Obviously, the choice of the story of the zenith painting was not accidental. As the king's power grew, he became less and less concerned about others knowing the half-open secret between him and Robert.

In the very center of the room stood a large four-poster bed, hung with hangings of gold thread and silk.Cecil entered Robert's bedroom for the first time, and his curiosity drove him to look around the room. He noticed that the windows of the room were hung with the same curtains as the bed, and the canopy of the big bed was embroidered with gold thread. The king's coat of arms, this obvious transgression, happened openly next to the king's room. Needless to say, this was arranged by His Majesty. Obviously, although the king was not in this room, his handwriting was everywhere in this room.

Robert was sitting in an ebony and gilt chair in one corner of the room, buttoning his traveling cloak with his hands.

"Are you from the king?" Robert tried his best to appear calm, but his voice could not deceive anyone. "How is your Majesty? Did he ask you to bring me something?"

Cecil sighed softly, "With all due respect, my lord, you were really careless just now."

"I'm afraid that if I delay too long, I'll lose all my hard-earned courage," replied Robert. "You should understand why I must."

"I understand, my lord, that you have done a noble thing."

"So if you're here to persuade me to change my mind, please don't hold your tongue." Robert stood up. "My mother and sisters are waiting for me. We have a long way to go, if If we are going back to my family's manor tonight."

"You guessed right, His Majesty indeed sent me here, but I didn't intend to persuade you to stay."

"Then what are you here for?" Robert asked suspiciously.

"I have a suggestion to His Majesty." Cecil lowered his voice, "I suggest that he appoint you as ambassador to the Spanish court."

"Ambassador?" Like the king, Robert repeated the word in astonishment.

"You should not go to the Knights of the Hospital. They are sponsored by the Spaniards. Emperor Charles V is their protector, and Malta they hold on to is also an outpost for the Spanish to resist the expansion of Turkey. If you want to join the Knights of the Hospital, The objective is to serve the King of Spain, and the Spaniards are His Majesty's enemies."

Robert's lips moved slightly, "That makes sense."

"You shouldn't go to the New World either. What are you going there for? You are not an explorer, you don't know how to sail, you don't know how to predict changes in wind direction and ocean currents, and you don't know how to use the constellations in the sky to judge your position... ...leave that job to gentlemen like Christopher Columbus or John Cabot, and you are His Majesty's servants, should you not serve where His Majesty needs you most?"

"So, Your Majesty needs me to go to Spain?" Robert was a little confused, as if he was talking to Cecil, and he seemed to be talking to himself.

"The Ministry of Foreign Affairs will send a note to the Portuguese ambassador tomorrow. The Portuguese ambassador asked His Majesty to marry Princess Elizabeth before, but His Majesty did not reply at that time. If all goes well, the marriage contract can be signed next week. In order to avoid long nights and dreams, His Majesty , plans to send Princess Elizabeth and Princess Mary away together after the marriage contract is signed, and the navy has already started preparing a fleet for this purpose. This fleet will go to Lisbon for a visit, where Princess Elizabeth will disembark, and then the fleet will go to Canada Des, return Princess Mary to the Spaniards there... If you have no objection, you will also go to Spain with her, and the credentials will be prepared for you."

"Things are moving so fast?"

"Yeah, the Portuguese want to marry their crown prince as soon as possible. No one can predict how long that freak will live... They are eager to leave a descendant for him, otherwise the Avis dynasty will be extinct."

Cecil took a step forward, "Accept this appointment, my lord... I know your feelings for His Majesty, what I want to tell you is that from what I saw in the hall just now, His Majesty's feelings for you Emotions are equally strong. You should leave, but you should also come back in a few years, instead of throwing your life in the moat of some stone castle in the Mediterranean, and if you do, you are the worst man in the world Cruel people!"

Robert put his fingers to his lips, pale and trembling nervously.

"Do you think I should come back?" He had a sad smile on his face, "I thought the officials wanted me to leave as far away as possible. After all, if there is any scandal in the future, it will be you who will be called to deal with the aftermath. these people."

"On the contrary, Your Excellency." Cecil raised his eyebrows. "Compared with a statue, we hope that our master is a person of flesh and blood."

Robert stared blankly at each other, and after half a minute, he patted Cecil on the shoulder lightly, "Thank you."

"So I understand that you accepted the appointment, right?"

Robert nodded, "I will go wherever Your Majesty wishes me to go."

"Your Majesty will be very pleased." Cecil nodded towards Robert.

As he exited the room, he thought about how to improve the garden of the manor that the king was going to give him.