monarch

As Mr. Cromwell had predicted, countless refugees poured into the City of London, bringing not only chaos, but also countless rats and fleas.In August, the plague finally broke out in London.The Black Death once wiped out one-third of the entire kingdom's population in the Middle Ages. Although 300 years have passed, there is still no effective treatment.To make matters worse, since the Renaissance era, the size of the city has expanded on a large scale, and countless people are crowded in crowded and dirty streets, which is undoubtedly a hotbed for the spread of diseases.

When King Henry VIII got the news, his first reaction was to immediately start the summer tour that had been delayed due to the various trivialities of dissolving the marriage with the former queen. The whole court had to leave the plague-ridden London for fresh air and pleasant scenery. summer in the countryside.

Queen Catherine sailed to London on a luxurious ship.The so-called "London City" is a remnant of the medieval era, and now it is only a small part of central London. leave London.

The queen sat on the throne at the bow, looking excitedly at the scenery on both sides of the river.It was not the first time she had sailed the Thames in a luxurious barge, but before that she had either been crowded behind her grandmother with a group of her own relatives, or stood in Anne's shadow as a lady-in-waiting to the Queen.Now she is the main character!Catherine couldn't believe her good luck. Just half a year ago, she was just a penniless little girl in the old duchess' house of Norfolk. Her daily life consisted of bickering with her roommate or with the handsome boys in Lambeth Palace. Eye to eye, and now she is the noblest woman in England.She turned her head slightly, and glanced at Miss Willa Oberon, who was beside her with a low eyebrow and pleasing eyes. Her former roommate, the girl who confronted her in Lambeth Palace, was now one of her maids-in-waiting.Catherine had chosen many of her old acquaintances for the court, and she was Queen of England now, and she should be lenient, she thought.

"My dear Vera, are you still used to the life in the palace? Do you like the clothes and jewelry I sent you?" Catherine smiled and showed a caring gesture to her defeated general. Learned from the previous queen, the queen should be lenient to those who are lower than her.

Miss Vera almost gritted her teeth, and forced out a stiff smile: "Everything is perfect, Your Majesty." This damned little thing!Miss Vera has never looked down on Catherine Howard, she is obviously much more beautiful than this brainless girl, and she can play the piano, French and Latin, unlike this embroidered pillow, she only knows how to eat, drink and have fun all day, or she is with the boss The good-looking man flirts with each other.She looked jealously at Catherine Howard's clothes, which were the most popular Parisian styles. Her clothes and jewelry were brand new every day, and Miss Vera's lungs would explode just thinking about it.And her kind face, who does she think she is?When Miss Vera saw the presents the Queen had brought her, the beautiful new gowns and expensive jewels, she could hardly resist the urge to tear or smash them all and throw them out of the window.But she was still reluctant in the end, the soft silk and the luxurious glitter on the jewelry attracted her eyes like a magnet, so she still couldn't resist the temptation to wear them on her body today. "Thank you for your gift, I like it very much." Now that the situation is like this, she can only lower her eyebrows and be pleasing to the eye.

"Your Majesty, your clothes and jewels are so beautiful!" Another old acquaintance nearby interrupted, and the group of little girls began to flatter the queen again.Catherine is very proud, it seems that it is not too difficult to be a queen, isn't it?It has only been half a month, and she is obviously already proficient in this way.

Lady Rocheford stood by, feeling quite helpless.These days she felt like she had become the abbot of a convent.These little girls have not received any court education at all, and even etiquette is a problem, but now they have the opportunity to see the king every day, which is simply a nightmare for her, the magistrate.However, she didn't dare to complain to her master, the Duke of Norfolk. Now the Duke is very proud, and he has stuffed a bunch of Howards into the palace. The Howard woman came in her place, and besides she was counting on the Duke to find her a satisfactory husband.It is said that a French nobleman is very interested in her, and she is still a marquis. Maybe by this time next year, she will have gone to Paris and become a French marquis.Lady Rocheford half closed her eyes, trying to keep her eyes out of sight.Let them go, anyway, the king likes her pretending to be a little girl, Mrs. Rocheford thought resignedly.

Queen Catherine looked at both sides of the river, and a lot of people gathered on the embankment by the river.They've come to see her, thought Catherine, with a surge of satisfaction. "Are we going to wave to them?" she asked innocently.

Mrs. Rocheford opened her eyes and looked at the scene on the shore. "It seems... is it?" She hesitated, those people didn't seem to cheer or wave to the fleet, but just watched the nobles' barges driving on the river numbly, they looked all shabby, Maybe they were refugees from the North?Something is wrong, she thought.

"Oh! It's wonderful." The queen exclaimed happily. "We should wave to them!" She'd seen Queen Anne do it before, and she'd always wanted to do it again.Her proposal was unanimously approved by the girls, "Shall we wave too, Your Majesty?" The girl who had flattered Catherine before looked at her expectantly.The queen enjoyed her words: "Yes, as my ladies-in-waiting, you too should wave to my loyal subjects." She made a dignified gesture that looked a little comical.

Mrs. Rocheford wanted to say something, but at last she hesitated.She looked at the crowd by the river with some anxiety. They were obviously not happy, and she just hoped that nothing would happen.

The queen stood up from her throne, walked to the bow, straightened her skirt, and straightened her back solemnly.The sun shone on the river, shining golden light, and Queen Catherine seemed to be bathed in a halo. At this moment, she really looked like a queen.She gave a courtly smile, which she had practiced for days, and greeted the river with a small wave.However, her maids were not so noble. They cheered and ran to the side of the boat, waving wildly to both sides of the river, cheering and playing.

Edward's ship followed the two ships of the king and the queen. He was chatting with Robert when suddenly there was a burst of laughter from the ship in front of him. Edward was a little surprised: "What happened to the queen's ship?"

Robert was also a little surprised, "I went out to have a look." He stood up and walked out of the cabin.After a while he came back.With a strange expression on his face.

"What happened?" Edward's curiosity was aroused.

"The ladies of the queen's ship greet the shore," said Robert.

"Greetings to the shore? Why didn't anyone inform us?" If they were welcomed by the public, members of the royal family would come out and wave to the public as usual, but no one came to inform them.Edward walked to the window suspiciously and looked towards the river bank. The crowd remained motionless, did not respond, and showed no sign of welcome.

"They're angry." Robert walked up to the prince and sighed. "The plague broke out in London, but the king fled with his court immediately. Many people were starving and their clothes were in tatters, but the queen wore new dresses and jewels every day." He glanced at the queen's barge ahead, " And now the queen is going to show off in front of them, just like a group of little girls going to a circus."

"My God, she'd better go back to the cabin," murmured the prince.He had always thought that Catherine Howard was a little clever, but now she seemed to be the number one idiot.She didn't realize that there was such a tense situation outside, but she ran out and waved as if nothing happened.

"How long do you think she can sit on this seat?" Robert leaned close to the prince's ear and said softly with a smile, "Now she is indeed favored by the king, but history has proved that this is probably the most unreliable thing in the world Plus she has no brains."

"You dare to say anything." The prince turned his head and gave Robert Dudley a look, and Robert smiled even more happily.

……

The queen finally realized that something was wrong, her smile froze on her face, and her ladies stopped cheering, and looked at each other in blank dismay.Queen Catherine looked at her magistrate suspiciously: "What happened, Mrs. Rocheford? Why didn't they respond to my greeting?"

Mrs. Rocheford was speechless.Is she that naive... Those people don't answer, it means they hate you!Mrs. Rocheford felt that she could understand the psychology of these people. They were starving and suffering from the plague, but now they saw the queen passing in front of her in gorgeous clothes. Her waving seemed to be a kind of showing off. . "I don't know too much, Your Majesty. But you'd better go back and sit in the cabin." She would not say what she thought in front of the queen.

The queen blinked in confusion, and she glanced at the crowd on the shore again, as if she didn't understand why they could dislike her.In the end, she chose to follow Mrs. Rocheford's advice and walked back to the cabin. Mrs. Rocheford let out a long breath, thank God she finally calmed down.

When the royal fleet arrived in the City of London, the Mayor of London ordered the firing of a 21-gun salute to pay tribute to the king and his new queen.The queen looked very excited, and the previous bad mood was swept away.She looked out the window at the white smoke from the guns, "My God, is this for me?"

"And His Majesty the King." Mrs. Rocheford seemed to have resigned herself to her fate.

The king's ship docked first, and he limped off the boat with Mr. Culpepper's support. The old wound on his leg was festering again due to the recent hot weather.The mayor of London and city councilors saluted His Majesty respectfully, not daring to look at the king's gloomy face for fear of being offended by His Majesty.

Queen Catherine couldn't wait to get off the ship almost as soon as it landed.She walked towards the king excitedly: "Your Majesty, this welcome ceremony is really grand!" She raised her head happily and looked at the king innocently.The king looked at the happy little girl in front of him, and his gloomy complexion eased a lot. "I hope you like it, my dear." He turned his head and nodded approvingly to the Mayor of London, and then glanced at the crowd around him. They were the same as the people he saw on the river before, just watching all this numbly .The king was a little irritable, do they have any dissatisfaction?He gave the Duke of Norfolk a cold look, and found that the other party was having a good time with a group of people who ran to flatter him.How did he do it, Cromwell would never make it so bad.The king began to feel a little suspicious of the new first minister in his court. Norfolk has been busy filling every position with a Howard these days, and he doesn't want to see what happened to London. In the king's eyes Mixed with a trace of dissatisfaction.

Miss Catherine did not notice the king's emotions, she was immersed in the excitement of standing in the center of the stage.The Mayor of London and the councilors surrounded her graciously, and said all kinds of compliments to her, and she was really a little carried away. "Your Majesty, please accept the key of the City of London, as a token of the love of the citizens of London." The mayor waved his hand, and two guards held out a tray with a golden key on it.This key is only a symbolic function, after all, the city of London does not have a gate.

"Thank you, my lords." The queen smiled happily, and turned her head to signal Mrs. Rocheford to put the key away.She smiled and turned to the crowd again, as if intending to signal to them, but she reacted in an instant, her arms were stiff in the air, she looked at the crowd who were still indifferent, and then looked at the king and Mrs. Rocheford, a little at a loss.

The king snorted coldly, came over and took his little wife's hand, "Let's go." He said as gently as possible.He took Catherine's hand, helped her board the carriage that had already been prepared, and kissed her hand gently.The groom had brought a white horse for the King, and Mr. Culpepper helped the King mount it.The king looked around gloomyly, and the look in his eyes could not help but make the mayor and councilors shiver. "Let's go." He said as he let go of the rein, and never looked at the crowd around him again.Behind him, the entire court, either in a carriage or on horseback, followed the king as they fled plague-ravaged London.