monarch

The Firth of Forth is like a trumpet, deep into the hinterland of Scotland from the North Sea.Compared with the bustling south bank where the capital Edinburgh is located, the northern side of the Firth of Forth is much quieter. The beautiful small town is located between hills and forests, like a paradise, which also makes it the most popular place for Scottish dignitaries. A favorite hangout.

The strong sea breeze is carrying the storm of the North Sea, rolling in from the east.It was midnight in winter, the sea breeze was bitingly cold, and the icy rain shrouded the entire area like a curtain.In the small town of Falkland, the villagers had already shut the doors and windows tightly, with a fire in the house, lying in warm quilts, listening to the sound of the storm knocking on the windows outside.When the clatter of hooves reached their ears, the fortunate souls sympathized with the poor traveler.

Sir George Douglas wiped the rain off his face and felt the icy water pouring down his neck from the chink of his cloak.He could hardly tell where the road was as he galloped through the town, and several times nearly ran over the fence of the house.There was no light in the sky, and Jazz could only gallop forward in the direction he remembered. The cold rain hit his face like a knife, and he cursed secretly.The horse under his crotch was panting heavily, and the road was full of mud. The poor horse galloped for nearly ten miles, and now it really couldn't run anymore.

Sir Douglas patted the horse's neck, "Keep going, old man." He opened his eyes wide, trying to find a familiar landmark, but the rain enveloped him like a curtain.He clamped the horse under him with his legs and continued to run forward.

I don't know how long it took, but Sir Douglas felt his whole body stiff. The cold rain soaked through his clothes, and he couldn't stop shivering. The clothes on his lower body were covered with mud, and the cloak was blown away by a tree branch. mouth.When the familiar light appeared at the end of the oak forest ahead, he couldn't help but praise God in his heart.

Falkland Palace was originally just a hunting lodge of the Scottish king. After nearly 200 years of expansion by the Stuart dynasty, it has now become a French Renaissance-style palace.Sir Douglas rode across the small stone bridge across the Ayden River, which was almost covered by the swollen water.When he arrived at the gate of the palace, the guard at the gate held up a candle, trying to see who was coming, but the candle was extinguished within a moment.

"Open the door! I have an urgent need to see Your Majesty!" cried Sir Douglas, not even the wind could muffle his rich voice.The guard recognized the identity of the person who came, and quickly opened the cast iron gate to let the dusty Jazz in.

Sir rode his horse through the elegant English garden. It is now December, and there are only dead branches and willows left in the garden. The path is covered with dead branches and leaves that were blown off by the strong wind. The French tennis court built a few years ago has also become a mud-filled quagmire.The knight came to the gate of the palace building, jumped off his horse, threw the reins to the servant who ran out of the house, and strode in.

The palace was dark, and many lights were not lit. Although the exterior of the palace had been transformed into a popular Renaissance style, the interior was still a medieval stone castle.In the corridors are suits of armor, the earliest dating back to the king who won Scotland's independence, "Braveheart" Robert the Bruce.His portrait was hung next to the armor, and the shadow of the armor fell on the face of the portrait, making King Robert's face look a bit gloomy. , as if staring at the visitors unkindly, blaming them for breaking the silence of the palace.

Sir Douglas walked through the entrance to the tower, which led to the chambers of past kings, where King Robert III's son David was starved to death by his usurping uncle more than 100 years ago.However, Jazz just walked through this entrance and didn't go up. Instead, he walked into a new corridor. This corridor was just completed not long ago, leading directly to the newly built king's bedroom that conforms to the popular style.

The knight walked to the door of the king's bedroom and found a strong smell of medicine coming from inside. He walked up to the attendants at the door, "How is your majesty?" he asked.

"I'm afraid... just these few days..." The eyes of the teenage young attendant were a little red. Although a dozen doctors were still busy, everyone could see that they were completely like headless chickens. Generally running around, completely clueless about the king's condition. "The doctor said that His Majesty had cholera..."

"Cholera..." Sir Douglas smiled wryly. In fact, everyone knew that the king was obviously suffering from a heart disease.In the Battle of Sovimos two weeks ago, 1000 Scottish troops were defeated by [-] English soldiers, more than [-] were captured, and hundreds of people drowned in the Esk River. Even the king's guard of honor became The spoils of the English army.The king, who was watching the battle not far away, fled back to the Falkland Palace in a hurry. On the way back, he started to have a fever. When the royal driver finally arrived at the palace, the king was unable to get out of the carriage by himself.The Battle of Sovimoss not only crushed the kingdom of Scotland, but also completely destroyed her king.

Sir Douglas entered the room, which was dark except for candles burning near the bed.The sergeant drew back the curtains that hung in the house, and found that the king's bed was surrounded by doctors. "Your Majesty." Sir Douglas went to the bed and knelt on one knee.

The King of Scotland, James V of the Stuart dynasty, lay in bed watching doctors cut his veins and bleed the king.He looked up, and the sergeant noticed that the king's face was haggard and gray, and it was impossible to tell that he was only thirty years old. "Sir Douglas," said the king feebly, "what more bad news have you brought me?" He smiled, but his thin and disfigured face made the expression look strange.

"I bring you good news, Your Majesty." There was no sense of joy in Sir Douglas' tone.

"Good news?" the king giggled like a crow on the top of a castle, "what more good news will there be?" After spending time under the siege, and when he finally came to power, he set off a series of reforms, cracking down on those nobles who regard the law as nothing, reforming finances, building a navy, and building new buildings that show majesty. However, two weeks ago, England It took me only an hour to prove to him that all he had done was in vain, that all his pursuits in life were just a dream, and that Scotland with a population of 100 million could not resist the will of England with a population of 600 million.Rather than saying that the king is ill, it is better to say that he has lost the motivation to live. "Tell me, sir, what can't I bear now?"

"Your Majesty, the queen gave birth today, and the baby is very healthy." Sir hesitated, but finally decided to tell the truth, "It's a princess."

"My daughter?" There was a glint of joy in the king's eyes, but it was replaced by despair in an instant, "A girl!" He sighed and looked at the ceiling, where the guardian of Scotland, St. Andrews, was painted. The crown is being presented to Robert II, the founder of the Stuart dynasty, and the king is surrounded by a rejoicing angels.Is this God's will?He laughed out loud, almost on the verge of tears.

"Your Majesty, please calm down!" The panicked doctors hurriedly fetched sedatives, and the small golden bottle containing opium was pushed under the king's nose, but the king knocked it over with his hand. "The devil's with it!" he blushed. "It comes with a little girl, and it goes with a little girl!" Robert the Bruce's daughter, Princess Margaery, the extinct Bruce dynasty handed over the throne to the Stuart family, and now, the same fate will befall the Stuart dynasty.

"Your Majesty, don't worry, things haven't reached that point yet..." Sir Douglas tried to comfort the king who was exhausted, but found that he really didn't know how to speak.

"I'm dying, ser." The king seemed to have been drained of strength, he no longer struggled, but leaned weakly on the backrest, "I became king when I was one and a half years old, and now my daughter is going to die. I broke my record." He looked at Sir Douglas with a wry smile, "My uncle, my terrible uncle, my daughter cannot escape from his palm." Sir Douglas really couldn't refute, the king's uncle, England's Henry VIII has always been eyeing Scotland, and he will never give up this great opportunity.

"And France..." The king coughed violently, and the knight hurried forward to help the king sit upright, "My wife, ah, my good and ambitious wife! There is no doubt that she will become my daughter's regent, and at that time Who will she turn to for help? Of course her mother's family in France." The king took a few breaths, "England, France, two beasts, the fate of my poor daughters, Mary of Burgundy and Anna of Brittany. It's going to fall on her head!" In this era, the rich heiress is coveted by everyone like a child holding gold in the downtown.Mary of Burgundy was forced to marry Maximilian of the Habsburg family after her father's death in order to prevent the country from falling into French hands, and her land became part of the Habsburg Empire.Anne of Brittany's original marriage contract was violently torn up by the French king. She was forced to marry two French kings in succession to give birth to an heir who could inherit the two thrones at the same time, and finally died of frequent miscarriages and childbirth.The fate of the newborn little princess is doomed, even though she is still a baby and ignorant of the world.

The doctors brought another bottle of sedative, and this time they managed to get the bottle under the king's nose.The king finally calmed down, "Sir, go back, go to the queen, tell her I am happy, thank her." The king stretched out his hand and groped around his neck, "This cross is a relic of my mother. Her mother, who is now the mother of the King of England, got it from Elizabeth of York. Bring it to my daughter, and I will bless her as a father, although I think we should have no chance to meet." He fiercely Coughing, Sir Douglas noticed a trace of blood at the corner of the king's mouth.

Sir Douglas knelt on one knee, took the exquisite cross from the king, and put it in his heart, "Your Majesty, I will fulfill my mission." After thinking for a while, he added, "All nobles in Scotland Sworn to be loyal to you and your heir forever, Her Royal Highness will become a great queen, and let Scotland be completely free and independent!"

"Okay, okay, George..." the king smiled weakly, "You are my friend, I know, but there is no need for you to comfort me. You see as clearly as I do, those nobles have long been I'm dissatisfied, they dream of going back to the old days of lawlessness... My daughter can't suppress them, my wife can't do it, she can only deal with them, give them back their privileges, hope Get their support to keep my daughter on the throne." The king held out his hand to Sir Douglas, and Sir Douglas took the king's hand with both of his own, and he found that the king's hand was as cold as a piece of ice. "It's over, it's over, all we've done, all our reforms, are in vain..." The king looked at his friend, "They won't let you go, my friend." Sir Douglas was deeply moved Trusted by the king, he is a capable person in a series of reforms of the king. "Come on, get out of here, before I die, go to France, go to Germany, go to Spain, Italy or wherever, just don't stay here, they'll put your head in the gate of Edinburgh Castle."

"Go ahead and take my present to my daughter and leave tomorrow."

"Farewell, my friend." The king forced a sad smile.

Sir Douglas was already in tears. He stood up and bowed deeply to the king, "God bless you, Your Majesty." He didn't speak anymore, turned around quietly, and walked out of the king's bedroom.

Sir Douglas walked towards the gate of the palace along the original road. The corridor was gloomy, and Sir Douglas felt even colder than when he came. The fire that was about to go out before was now only left with ashes.When he reached the gate of the palace, the servants had brought him a horse and a new cloak.

"The weather is so bad, why don't you leave tomorrow morning?" The servant asked, pointing to the outside where the storm was still raging.

Sir Douglas shook his head, "No, I still have the task assigned by the king to complete." He put on a new cloak, took the reins from the servant, stepped on the horse, and rode into the rain.When he walked to the front yard of the palace and was about to walk out of the gate, he turned his head and glanced at the palace in the wind and rain. The whole palace was dark and gloomy, just like its owner.

He left the palace on horseback and never returned.