monarch

"Do you think... he knows something? Has he started to doubt me?" Elizabeth nervously covered her stomach with her hands, "Could it be that those sensational and vicious rumors have already spread to my father-in-law? Who is it?" Gossiping? I'm going to skin him!"

"If that's the case, I think the King knows neither more nor less than other people," replied Robert, rising.

"What are you doing?" Elizabeth looked at Robert who was walking towards the door and shouted, "Where are you going? Come back!"

"To see His Majesty King Joao III, otherwise?" Robert spread his hands, "Your father-in-law, His Majesty the King of Portugal summoned us to meet him. Are you going to refuse his invitation? That will only make you feel guilty." That's all."

"Yes... yes." Elizabeth gritted her teeth, "You're right, he didn't have any real evidence, at most he just tested me a few words, it's not difficult to deal with."

She said, also walking towards the door, but Robert stretched out an arm, blocking her way.

"Before you leave, I want to ask you a question." Although Robert's voice was deep, every syllable revealed an undeniable taste, "How many of the things mentioned in those rumors are the truth?"

Elizabeth trembled violently as if struck by lightning.

"You're insulting me by asking me this question." She was like a cat with a blown fur, although her voice was stern, but Robert could see her sternness at a glance, and Robert was convinced that those rumors were not groundless nonsense.

"Whether it's a question or an insult, you have to answer it." Robert didn't seem to give in at all.

"What if I refuse?" Elizabeth was on the verge of a seizure.

"Then I will not write to your Majesty, nor will I give anyone the dreadful misunderstanding that you have the support of Britain. If you are going to be friends with us, then you must be frank with us. If I'll swim in the river, and I won't go into it without knowing how deep it is; and I won't drag Edward into this quagmire if I didn't know how intractable your trouble is. "

"Are you threatening me?" Elizabeth's eyes were full of tears, her lips trembled slightly, and she looked like she was about to cry.

"As you say," replied Robert lazily. "The decision is entirely in your hands."

As if someone had unplugged the bathtub, the tears in Elizabeth's eyes disappeared, and the sneer hung on the corner of her mouth again, "Well, if you must know... In short, those people said It's all true."

"I don't want to judge you morally, but intellectually, it's kind of crazy, isn't it?"

"Is there anything else I can do?" Elizabeth put her hand to her forehead dripping with cold sweat, "I tried everything, but my poor husband... Hey! He can't do it at all, let alone now He's dying."

"If I don't produce an heir, then when my husband and father-in-law die and the throne falls to Philip of Spain, I'll get nothing. They'll give me a castle and a pension, and I'll But 25 years old, living a widow's life, wearing black clothes all his life, doing nothing in an empty castle... I can't accept it, do you understand? Marriage is my trump card, I have played it out, this card must be You have to give me something in exchange!"

"Philip of Spain may still be willing to marry you," said Robert. "He was interested in you when he was still in Britain, and now you are both about to be widowed."

"But he might marry someone else. The French have always wanted to give him a princess." Elizabeth shook her head violently. So perfect."

"Who is that Italian guard you're looking for?" Robert considered his own words, "Is it a nobleman, or an ordinary commoner?"

"It's a nobleman, and it's a good surname." Elizabeth calmed her breath, "His ancestors had intermarried with famous families such as Sforza, Medici, Pazzi, and Gonzaga, but in his generation It has fallen, and he is the seventh son, the seventh son, as long as you give him some sweets, he is willing to do anything, not to mention that I give him much more than a little sweet... I gave him Myself."

"He is handsome and healthy, so the child in my belly will not have the blood of my husband's family that has become poisonous due to inbreeding in his veins. He will live to be 80 years old and rule this country for 80 years. Year!"

"Do you think that guard is reliable?" Robert touched his nose, "If the King of Portugal sends someone to interrogate him, I'm afraid he will tell the whole story before long. What if he came to blackmail you? What happened to Catherine Howard back then? You've experienced it yourself, and you know what's going to happen to you if he talks."

"He is no longer serving in the palace. I hid him." The smile on Princess Elizabeth's face was very mysterious. "It's in a place where no one else can find it."

"I suggest you give him a sum of money to leave the country and go back to Italy," said Robert.

"I've done better than this." Elizabeth pointed to the ground with a finger. "He'll never have a chance to say anything to anyone."

Robert looked at Elizabeth's eyes, as if looking at a bat that was sucking blood.

"Don't look at me with that look." Elizabeth waved her hand, "You have to admit, I took the most perfect way...I'm not an idiot like Catherine Howard."

"Obviously you are not," replied Robert dryly. "I have nothing more to ask."

Princess Elizabeth straightened her skirt and walked out of the room haughtily, followed by Robert.

King João III's chambers are on the same floor on the other side of the palace, so getting to the king means walking through the entire palace in full view.As Elizabeth and Robert walked through the corridors of the palace, they attracted all eyes and left a long stream of whispers behind them.

King João III was staying with his son when the two entered the king's chambers.

The king of Portugal is lying on his sickbed, his back resting on a few cushions piled together, his thick gray hair hanging down to his shoulders, watching with loving eyes the 20-year-old crown prince sitting on the carpet and playing with building blocks.

The 55-year-old King Joao III has sat on the throne of Portugal for 36 years. Under his rule, although Portugal has gradually lost its monopoly on trade with India and the East, the country has become a global power by colonizing Brazil. The empire, but because of its own lack of stature, is now strong on the outside but strong on the inside, just like his decaying body, time is running out.

When Elizabeth and Robert walked into the room, the king's eyes only stayed on his daughter-in-law for a moment, and then immediately shifted to Robert like an iron nail attracted by a magnet, and the pair of black eyeballs kept facing Robert's direction seems to be contrasting the image of this famous favorite with that portrayed in the gossip news.

"My dear father." The charmingly smiling Princess Elizabeth walked to the bedside of King Joao III, curtseyed, took the king's thin and yellow hand, and held it with a rose petal like dew. There was a light kiss on the lips.

"Welcome, my dear daughter." The king smiled feebly, and gently shook Princess Elizabeth's hand, "You look great."

"You too, Father." Princess Elizabeth seemed very relieved, "I am glad to see you recovered."

"Recovered?" Joao III blinked slightly, "My doctors said so, but I know that this is just a temporary ebb."

He looked again at Robert who was standing behind Elizabeth.

"You are His Excellency the Marquess of Pembroke, the famous Robert Dudley?" Joao III's voice was full of uncontrollable curiosity, "Seeing is believing."

Robert saluted the King of Portugal respectfully, "I am honored to meet His Majesty."

"You are a handsome young man," continued the King, "as I have been told, and I can see why King Edward thinks so much of you..."

Robert's face was slightly red, and he lowered his head without answering.

"I heard the news that you were caught in a storm." The king raised his eyelids slightly, "It's a pity, but sea voyages are like this, and there are always unpredictable things... This is naturally unfortunate for you Yes, I suppose you should be impatient to get back to Britain, but not to some..."

The king's voice became softer and softer. He looked at Princess Elizabeth from the corner of his eye, but the expression on her face did not change at all.

"Let me introduce you to my son, Elizabeth's husband." The king pointed to the older child on the ground beside him who was drooling on the carpet, and he slightly emphasized the word "husband".

Crown Prince Joao Manuel raised his head and looked at his father with a smirk. His eyes were watery. Robert inexplicably thought of a puppy with its mouth open and its tongue sticking out.The features of mental retardation on his body are very obvious, the wrinkled facial features, the lifeless eyes and the hoarse inhalation sound from his throat, all make people see abnormalities in him at a glance.

The crown prince seemed to be very novel about seeing Robert for the first time. He smiled at Robert, and the saliva gathered at the corner of his mouth, and then dripped down in balls, landing on the collar of his clothes.

King Joao III's gaze was locked on Princess Elizabeth, not missing the flash of disgust that flitted across his daughter-in-law's face when he introduced the Dauphin.

The Dauphin hopped up to Robert's side, rummaged happily in his pockets, and pulled out a few things: two double-headed eagle silver coins, a pin, and three glass balls soaked in syrup.

"He likes you." King Joao III looked at his son with a complicated expression, "This is a gift from him. He is the heir to a country, but what he regards as treasures are those that only children can appreciate." A cheap little object of interest... He was a generous boy who always gave what was best in his eyes to anyone he met for the first time. He was a fool, but he was not dangerous at all, he had a pure soul, and he was better than us Many of them are far more innocent..."

The king choked up, and he gently wiped the tears from the corners of his eyes.

The Crown Prince walked up to the Princess Elizabeth, who had to look up at his wife because of his stunted stature.

He took out another glass ball from his pocket, tilted his head to look at it, wiped the solidified syrup on it with his cuff, and held it in front of the princess as if offering a treasure.

Princess Elizabeth took the glass ball with her fingertips, as if she was forced to pick up the corpse of a cockroach with her hands. The muscles on her face squeezed out a weird smile. Because of the excessive force, the muscles around her mouth were already Started to twitch slightly.

The crown prince seemed very pleased with his wife receiving the gift, clapping his hands while bouncing around in place, muttering "Liz, Liz (Elizabeth's nickname)!"

King Joao III's expression became more and more gloomy. He reached out and grabbed the silver bell on the bedside, and shook it vigorously.

"Take Your Highness back to rest." He ordered to the attendant who came in.

When the very reluctant crown prince was coaxed and hugged out of the room by two court servants, the king once again put on that polite mask, which he had worn for 55 years and almost Merged with his face.

"Talk about the child in your womb." The king said to Elizabeth, "I am very happy to know that Joao can give himself an heir... You know, I have already given up hope for this." He looked meaningfully with Elizabeth.

"Yes, this is a miracle bestowed by God." Elizabeth didn't look embarrassed or unnatural at all, "God bless the De Avis dynasty, God bless Portugal, the child in my belly is the child of a miracle!"

"Son of Miracles?" the king murmured the word softly, as if he wanted to chew it into pieces and swallow it. "Perhaps, at least for some people."

"I have sent many doctors to teach the prince the corresponding skills, but he seems to be very slow in this aspect, and he still doesn't know the point, and his health is not very good, so I didn't force him to do anything after that. The king pinched the edge of the quilt with his hands, his fingers kept shaking, "I am very happy, you are a good teacher."

Elizabeth lowered her head shyly, "This is what I should do, after all, I am his wife."

"Yes, you are indeed his wife." Joao III said meaningfully.

"Your Majesty the King of Britain, you must be very happy to hear that he has a little nephew?" Joao III turned to Robert again, "If he really doesn't plan to have an heir, then this child will not only inherit Portugal, but also Will be King of Britain...a child in the womb with two crowns on his head, my daughter-in-law was right, a 'child of miracles'."

"The issue of succession to the British throne is entirely decided by His Majesty Edward VI." Robert reminded, "In Britain, His Majesty's words are the law, and His Majesty's imperial order is more sacred than any succession sequence."

"I really hope it's the same in Portugal." John III's tone sounded quite yearning.

The king waved his hand lightly, "I'm a little tired, please go down. Liz, please take good care of your health and give birth to a healthy child; Your Excellency the Marquis, I wish you all the best during your stay in Portugal. Let's go, Leave me alone for a while."

He closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose with two fingers.

Robert and Elizabeth each saluted the king before exiting the room.

The king sat motionless on the bed until there was another knock at the door.

"How is it?" When the door was pushed open, the king asked softly to the person who came in, his voice sounded exhausted.

"The doctor conducted a test for His Highness." The man lowered his head, not daring to look directly at the king on the bed, "Your Highness... can't do anything."

A desolate sigh came from the bed, "Go ahead, no one can know about this, understand?"

The man bowed out, leaving João III alone in his room.