monarch

King Henry leaned on the sofa, watching the doctor treat the wound on his leg with a gloomy expression.During a knight's tournament five years ago, sawdust from the opponent's spear pierced the king's thigh. His majesty woke up after being in a coma for four hours, but the wound on his leg never healed.

The doctor picked up the scalpel tremblingly: "Your Majesty, I'm going to start." The king didn't answer, but just snorted.The doctor took a deep breath and looked at the wound on the king's leg. The tissue around the wound had rotted again. He picked up the knife in his hand and cut it, and a stream of pus flowed out.The king let out a muffled growl, and stared at the doctor so fiercely that the doctor could only pretend not to see it.He took a silk veil and wiped away the pus and blood that had flowed out, and then he began to slowly cut away the carrion next to the wound with a knife.

The king clutched at the armrest in agony, and his whole body was shaking, and he experienced such pain at least once a month, and in the summer this period was shortened to a week.He looked at the doctor who was carefully cutting off the rotting flesh, and suddenly had the urge to ask the guards to drag him out and behead him.Beads of sweat appeared on his forehead, his eyes were bloodshot, and he could even hear his teeth chattering.

The doctor finally removed the rotting tissue near the wound, and he applied a powder made of various herbs to the king's wound, which caused the king to grunt in pain and look like he was about to kill.He bandaged the king's wound and heaved a sigh of relief.

"Your Majesty, everything is settled."

The king waved his hand feebly, "Then get out." The doctor slipped out of the room like a snake as quickly as he was pardoned.Henry VIII reached out to pour himself a glass of wine, but the pain in his leg prevented him from doing this simple gesture.Seeing this, the attendant at the side stepped forward quickly, poured a glass of wine for the king, and handed the silver cup to the king's mouth.

The king drank a glass of wine in one gulp, licked his lips, and felt his strength recover a little.He waved his hand and signaled the attendants to leave and not to disturb him any more.He leaned back on the sofa, closed his eyes, and the attendants hurriedly tiptoed out of the king's study, afraid to make a sound.

……

After an unknown amount of time, the king finally woke up. He looked at the hourglass on the table. It was already three o'clock in the afternoon and he had slept for two hours.The king felt quite satisfied. He hadn't slept so well for a long time. It seemed that these quack doctors were of some use.He rang the bell, and the attendant walked in, "Your Majesty, what are your orders?"

"Bring in today's papers," said the king.

"Yes, Your Majesty." The attendant seemed to think of something, "The Archbishop of Canterbury has been waiting outside the door for almost half an hour. Do you want him to come in?"

archbishop?What is he here for?The king was a little curious. Since the king married Catherine Howard and began to show favor to the Holy See, the archbishop rarely set foot in the court. The king was very satisfied with his knowledge and interest. After all, he was the head of the Church of England. Master, the archbishop is just a butler. If the butler came to interrupt the master's affairs, then he would consider changing the butler, wouldn't he?

"Please come in, the archbishop." The king was a little curious about what was going on, and let the old fox, who was always wise and safe, stand up by himself.

The Archbishop of Canterbury entered the room, his head bowed all the way, looking extremely humble.Although he waited outside for almost half an hour, he looked as if he had just arrived, leaving no trace of impatience or anxiety.

"Your Majesty." The archbishop's bow seemed to be almost ninety degrees, which was considered a difficult movement for an old man.However, the king didn't take it seriously, "Keep you waiting so long, Your Excellency." Even though he said that, his tone didn't mean apologetic at all, and he almost said "this is just a polite remark".

"It is my honor to wait for Your Majesty." The archbishop even bent his waist even lower, and for a moment the king even felt that he was going to touch his feet. "I wonder if Your Majesty feels better today?"

The king nodded, "Yes, today's treatment is quite effective." He pointed to a chair opposite, "Please sit down, Your Excellency."

The archbishop bowed again, then went to the chair and sat down.

"You haven't been to the court for a long time." The king poured himself another glass of wine.

"Naturally, a priest should stay away from vanity in order to find spiritual peace." The archbishop said righteously.

The king shrugged his shoulders noncommittally. He took a sip from the exquisite silver cup studded with precious stones. "Then why did you come to see me at the expense of your inner peace today?" He put down his glass and looked playfully at the archbishop opposite.

The archbishop looked a little embarrassed, what happened to him?The king was a little curious. "Your Majesty, this matter... I shouldn't have interfered..." He looked very hesitant, as if he was facing some difficult decision.

"But you have intervened anyway," said the king lazily, too lazy to play with words.

The Archbishop of Canterbury blushed, "Yes, Your Majesty. As a religious person, I should stay away from such things, but as His Majesty's servant, I cannot turn a blind eye to this kind of deception." He looked up, as if finally Made up his mind, "My loyalty to His Majesty will always come first."

The king smiled: "Deceive me? Is there any secret that I don't know?" He picked up the wine glass in his hand again and started playing with it.

"Crime, Your Majesty."

"Sin?" This is the most indispensable thing in this court.

"Yes, Your Majesty," said the archbishop, "I am sorry to tell you this, but I think you must know the truth." He took out a stack of papers and respectfully handed them to the king.

The king took the stack of papers suspiciously, what the hell is this old thing doing?He looked at the first piece of paper, but after only a few lines, he looked at the paper in his hand in disbelief as if he had been cursed.

The archbishop lowered his head as if he was about to bury himself.After almost 5 minutes, the king still didn't say a word. The archbishop finally lost his composure. He raised his head slightly and glanced at the king quietly, but was startled by what he saw.

The king's face was flushed, and he stared straight at the paper in his hand. He squeezed the document in his hand so hard that several sheets of paper were torn from the middle.The king was shaking all over, and he looked as if he was going to have a stroke.

"Your Majesty?" the archbishop asked fearfully. He was really frightened by the king's appearance. If anything happened to the king, he would not be able to bear the responsibility.

The king glanced at him, and reached out tremblingly to grab the wine glass on the table. He brought the glass to his mouth, but no liquid came out. He had already drank the wine in the glass before.He stared at the empty wine glass for a few seconds, then suddenly threw the glass out. The exquisite wine glass hit the wall, and the gems inlaid on it were shaken and fell off.The king suddenly groaned in pain. The archbishop raised his head and found that the wound on the king's leg had opened again, and the gauze that had just been put on had been stained red with blood.He was startled and rang the bell, "Doctor, call the doctor!" he yelled.

The servants rushed into the room, startled by the sight inside.They stepped forward to support the king, but the king suddenly pushed away the servant who was supporting him, and they stumbled and almost fell to the ground.His Majesty grabbed the archbishop's wrist with such strength that the archbishop's face turned pale from the severe pain.

"Go and investigate, call Suffolk and Hertford...give me...go and investigate..." After the king finished speaking, he finally let go of the hand holding the archbishop's wrist, and he slumped weakly on the sofa.The belated doctor finally squeezed his way through the crowd and began to perform emergency treatment on the king's open wound.

……

Queen Catherine was sitting in an armchair with a book in her hand, but it was obvious to anyone that she was not reading.The queen looked restless, her face was pale, she had obviously lost weight recently, and the blue blood vessels on her arms were clearly visible in the sun.

Mrs. Rocheford came over, and she still looked the same as usual, except for the two bluish-black spots in front of her eyes.She used various methods, but the dark circles under her eyes could not be removed. "Your Majesty, the Duke of Norfolk has spoken back."

When Catherine came back to her senses, she grabbed Mrs. Rocheford's sleeve, "How is it?" Her voice trembled.In the end, the queen prepared a sufficient amount of gold coins according to the requirements in the blackmail letter, but she also told her uncle about it, and now there is no point in keeping a secret.

"The Duke sent someone to monitor the people who came to fetch things." Madam Rochford's voice could not hide the exhaustion, "It's a child about ten years old." There are many such street children on the street. They can do anything for you for a penny.

"And the boy?" asked the Queen. "Have you caught him?"

"The duke... is afraid of scaring the snake." Madam Rocheford turned her head, not daring to meet the queen's gaze. "He just asked someone to follow the child, intending to follow the clue..."

"Then what's the result?" Catherine's voice was a little hoarse. She looked at Mrs. Rocheford's dodging eyes and felt that she already knew the answer.

"They lost it," sighed Mrs. Rocheford.

The page of the book held by the Queen's fingers was torn in two, and she collapsed powerlessly. Mrs. Rocheford quickly bent down to support her. "Your Majesty, the worst is not over yet." She tried her best to comfort the queen, "Those people just want money."

"If they are not satisfied, what should I do next time?" The queen's hand tightly gripped the armrest, her nails were broken due to too much force, and a few traces of blood ooze from her fingers, but she didn't seem to notice, "And Direm, my God, I can't stand him hanging around in front of me... My private secretary is holding me, thinking about how to blackmail me every day... I'm going crazy..." She Throwing the hardcover "Canterbury Tales" out, the spine of the book rubbed against the ground, making an unpleasant sound.

Mrs. Rocheford was about to say something when suddenly a maid broke into the living room door. "Your Majesty..." She was a little out of breath because of running, "The archbishop led a large group of guards... they have reached the entrance of the corridor... It is said that they are here to find you..." She sat on the ground and began to cry , "What to do, Your Majesty?"

The queen looked as if a corpse had crawled out of the grave, and she stood up suddenly, as if a spring had been attached to her hips. "Lock... lock the door!" She pointed to the oak door of the living room. "Quick!" the queen roared hysterically.

"Your Majesty, we can't..." Mrs. Rocheford wanted to dissuade her. Did she really think that a door could block the king's will?Not to mention that there is no silver 300 taels here.

"I said... close the door!" The queen threw herself at Mrs. Rocheford, and the huge impact caused the middle-aged lady to fall to the ground.As if the queen had never heard of it, she ran to the door in three steps at a time, closed the door and locked it.Then she didn't know where the strength came from, she dragged a cabinet from the side, and pushed the door from the inside. "Okay, they can't come in... they can't come in..." The queen was trembling all over and looked completely hysterical.

The queen hid behind the sofa, the footsteps outside were getting closer and closer, and the shaking of the queen's whole body became more and more serious. "They can't get in... they can't get in..." she repeated meaninglessly, her eyes fixed on the floor.

"You must rise, Your Majesty!" Lady Rocheford tried to pull the queen up, but she struggled violently and let out a terrified scream.

Someone is knocking on the door. "In the name of the king, I order you to open this door!" Mrs. Rocheford glanced at the queen and decided to open the door by herself, but she was thrown down by the queen just after walking a few steps. "Don't open it, no one is allowed to open it!" Catherine's face was blue, and she stared at the maids in the room like a ghost, and they all backed away in fright.

"Boom!" There was a loud bang outside the door, shaking the whole room. "They are smashing the door, Your Majesty!" Mrs. Rocheford looked at the Queen desperately, "We must open the door!" As if to prove her words, there was another loud noise outside the door, and the cabinet against the door was smashed. After bumping away for a distance, it seemed to be crumbling.

The queen didn't answer, but just stared straight at the door that was about to be knocked open.

There was another loud bang, the cabinet was knocked over, a cloud of dust was thrown up, the door opened, and the archbishop entered the room, followed by a dozen guards, all of whom had drawn their swords.

The archbishop looked at the queen who had collapsed into a puddle of mud, and he showed a disdainful smile, "Your Majesty." He saluted, but there was no respect, "I came here by the order of the king."

"From now on, you will be under house arrest in your bedroom for investigation, and your maids will be arrested." With a wave of the archbishop's hand, the guards rushed towards the frightened maids like tigers, and there was a burst of excitement in the room. Chickens fly dogs jump.

"You can leave Mrs. Rocheford to serve you." The archbishop looked at Mrs. Rocheford and nodded to her.

Mrs. Rocheford is at ease. It seems that the Duke of Norfolk has kept his promise. He will keep her. She has already planned to go to the Continent as soon as this matter is over, and never come back again.

There was a commotion outside the door, and the guards escorted the disheveled Francis Direham into the room. "Your Excellency, we have found this man in the bed of Lady Vera Oberon, lady-in-waiting to the Queen," said the guard.

The archbishop glanced at Mr. Dillham, his disgusted eyes seemed to be some dirty thing stuck to the sole of his shoe. "Mr. Francis Direham," he said coldly, "you are charged with treason and adultery, and I arrest you in the name of the king." He waved his hand, "take him to the Tower of London."

Mr. Dillham struggled violently, "No, I didn't!" He looked at Catherine viciously, "It's her, she lied to the king! We are married, and she hid it from the king..." Several guards Gagged his mouth and dragged him out the door.

"If you have nothing else to do, I will take my leave first." The archbishop turned to Catherine and said.

The queen's mind seemed to have finally recovered, "I want to see the king." She murmured.

"Your Majesty won't be visiting right now." The Archbishop turned around coldly and was about to leave.

The queen burst out of strength again from nowhere, she jumped up suddenly, pushed down the archbishop, and was about to run out the door, but several soldiers quickly stopped her. "I want to see the king!" she cried, struggling frantically.

The archbishop stood up in embarrassment, "Hurry up and send the queen back!" He yelled at the guards, who pushed Catherine, who was still screaming and scratching hysterically, back into the room, and locked the door from the outside.

There was a desperate cry from inside the house.