monarch

The weather on January [-] resembled an ordinary Scottish winter's day, which meant leaden overcast skies and a bit of cold mist.Apparently God, or at least the weather god, was not an ardent supporter of King Henry's annexation of Scotland.

At nine o'clock in the morning, the sea outside the city was still shrouded in thick fog, and everything a few hundred feet away from the coastline was shrouded in a cloud of fog.Fortunately, in the city, the dense fog had cleared. Although the lack of the blessing of Apollo, the sun god, was still regrettable, at least the crowd of onlookers who had gathered in the street could clearly see the king's carriage.Perhaps God himself does not support the annexation of Scotland, but it does not appear that he strongly disapproves, either.

King Henry VIII is as bad-tempered as ever in the morning.When the attendants put on the tights for the king, His Majesty, who was strangled and uncomfortable, moaned dissatisfied.His Majesty has chosen a blue velvet mantle today, the color of the Scottish flag of St Andrews.On his chest he wears the Most Honorable Order of the Thistle, an order named after Scotland's national flower, which the King had created only a few days earlier.His Majesty was without doubt the first recipient of the Order, followed by the Crown Prince, and no doubt the Earl of Hertford, and even Robert Dudley received one.The Duke of Norfolk and his son were naturally passed over, and no one even wonders about it these days.On the contrary, the Duchess of Richmond, the daughter who had fallen out with the Duke and the widow of the king's deceased illegitimate son, got one. This has become a huge news that has been hotly discussed in the court these days.

Dressing the king is a huge project, and the complexity of such a coronation dress is several times higher than usual.When His Majesty finally dressed neatly, the foreheads of the male servants were covered with fine beads of sweat.His majesty's steward graciously brought before his majesty a full-length Venetian mirror, no doubt such a gigantic mirror would cost an astonishing sum.The king looked at himself in the mirror and nodded with satisfaction.

A servant dragged a heavy cloak for His Majesty as the King's procession passed through the corridors of Holyroodhouse Palace.The corridors were full of respectful men and women, bowing or curtseying as low as they could, as was the game.Most of them are relatively low-level existences in the palace food chain, so they are not eligible to follow the king in the ceremonial procession.So they could only put on their best clothes and wear all their medals on their chests, hoping to get a little attention from His Majesty in the short time before his departure.

At the door of the hall, the attendant announced loudly that His Majesty walked into the door.He went to the throne on the dais, where the Stuarts had once sat, and above it hung the banner of Tudor roses on the ceiling.The king sat on the chair, and he reached out and touched the head of the crown prince standing beside him.

The Earl of Hertford stepped forward respectfully, "Your Majesty, everything is ready."

The king nodded slightly, and two attendants ran forward immediately, one helped His Majesty up, and the other held his heavy cloak.The king stretched out his hand to hold his son, and walked down the steps slowly, followed by the Earl of Hertford, and the ceremony team followed the king in order of status.

The temperature outside the palace was extremely low, and Edward shivered from the blowing cold wind.At the gate of the palace, the king's carriage has been waiting for a long time. The carriage was built for Queen Mary a few months ago, and the white horses that pull the carriage come from the king's stables in London. They pant in the cold wind and form a ball white mist.

His Majesty was assisted by servants into the first carriage, which was decorated with Tudor roses and Scottish thistles.Six white horses pulled the carriage and slowly drove out of the gatehouse of the Palace of Holyroodhouse, where the coat of arms of the king's brother-in-law James IV was quietly inlaid on the gatehouse.His carriage was followed by those of the rest of the royal family - Prince Edward, Princess Elizabeth, Lady Mary Tudor and the king's sixth wife, Catherine Parr.

Known as the "Royal Mile", it runs from Edinburgh Castle on one end to the Palace of Holyroodhouse on the other.On the main road paved with granite, the unswept snow was piled up on the side of the road, and it was stained with a fine layer of dust, which was the trace left by the fuel used for heating the whole city in winter.There were quite a crowd of onlookers on the road, many cheering the king's carriage, in fact they would cheer anyone if there was excitement to watch.The king also waved and smiled at them with satisfaction, and it could be seen that his mood had obviously improved.Some did not cheer, but watched the King's caravan in silence, with no expression on their faces, but that was all they dared to do.Maybe some of them were not satisfied with that, but the English soldiers standing every few steps dispelled any thoughts they might have.

The front of St. Giles Church was heavily guarded, and heavily armed soldiers stood in a dense row, separating the crowd from the entrance of the church.The king's carriage stopped at the gate of the church. With the help of his attendants, His Majesty stepped out of the carriage and was warmly welcomed by the archbishop waiting at the gate.

"Your Majesty is welcome, Your Majesty!" Archbishop David Beaton bowed deeply to the king, and his courteous look even looked a little flattering.The king glanced at him in surprise. The cardinal had always been loyal to the little queen who had gone to France before, and he had even spoken frankly to the envoys sent by the king many times. Now, for some reason, he changed his temper.But in any case, the king was very much in favor of it. "Your Excellency." He nodded, and then walked towards the gate. The choir in the church sang "Thanksgiving Praise" in unison.

Standing beside his father, Robert Dudley watched as the ceremony began as planned.He frowned slightly, for some reason, he always felt that something was wrong.Although he couldn't say exactly what it was, he did feel that something was wrong.

"What's wrong with Earl Lennox?" Earl John Dudley's words interrupted his son's thoughts.Robert followed what his father said, and found that the Scottish speaker's face was pale, and the fine reflections on his forehead showed that he was obviously sweating a lot.He looked nervous, but why?

The king walked in front of them, followed by the crown prince in full costume.When Edward passed by, he winked at Robert, but to his surprise, the other party didn't respond, in fact, he didn't look at Edward at all.The crown prince was a little surprised. He followed Robert's eyes and immediately noticed Earl Lennox who was behaving abnormally.

Earl Lennox was indeed very nervous, which is understandable. If the people in this church knew that there was a huge bomb under their feet, then eight out of ten people would panic.However, people like the Duke of Norfolk may not be present, but as the Speaker of Scotland, he absolutely cannot be absent from such an occasion. In fact, the climax of the whole ceremony is that he, as the representative of the Scottish Parliament, will present the thistle crown To King Henry VIII.Not all were martyrs like the Archbishop, and Lord Lennox had planned to slip out after his part had been played, and for this he had placed his men at a small door in the church.To his shock, however, when he entered the church today, his men had disappeared - all the guards had been changed by English soldiers.It was like a heavy hammer, and the earl was struck with stares.He took part in the conspiracy to preserve his own splendor, not to be a statue on a monument or a portrait of a saint in a cathedral.He looked around the church in despair, trying to figure out a way to escape.

Many people noticed the Earl's abnormality, "He looks a bit weird." Bishop Gardner said to the people around him, his eagle eyes stared suspiciously at Earl Lennox.After a while, he looked around to make sure that no one had noticed him, then stood up and walked from the side aisle to the front seat where the Earl of Hertford had just sat.

His Majesty the King sat on the throne of Scotland, and under the throne was the famous "Stone of Destiny". Legend has it that the prophet Jacob dreamed of God appearing when he rested his head on this stone.The stone was first in Jerusalem, then Egypt, then Ireland, where it was the coronation seat of Irish monarchs for hundreds of years, before the Celts in Scotland snatched it up to fill the same role, and now it's England's turn people.

"Gentlemen, we gather today to witness the coronation of Scotland's new rightful monarch, King Henry I of Scotland." The Archbishop began the ceremony, looking no different than usual.

"Have you noticed?" Bishop Gardiner was talking to his nemesis, the Earl of Hertford, in the shadow of the side corridor of the hall.If this situation happened in the Whitehall Palace, it would definitely arouse everyone's attention.

"I think many people have noticed." The count said, "The question is what happened." He looked at Earl Lennox, who looked a little calmer than before, but his pale face was still very obvious, free His eyes revealed his restlessness.

"I smell a conspiracy," said Bishop Gardiner, who was always good at catching wind and reporting to the king all kinds of news against His Majesty's policies or plots of rebellion.

"I agree with you this time," said the Earl of Hertford. "I never in my life thought I would say that." He looked at the bishop. "I think we are in the same boat now, whether he is Whatever the plan, he's dealing with all of us."

"I'll wait behind the altar. I'll stop the earl after he finishes offering the crown." The bishop said, "Go and check the situation in and around the church. If something happens, ask His Majesty to evacuate immediately."

The Earl of Hertford nodded, "I will send you a team of guards."

"It couldn't be better." The bishop nodded slightly and disappeared into the shadow of the pillar.

The Earl of Hertford stood where he was, and he glanced around the church. There were hundreds of nobles from England, and all the members of the Tudor family... He tried his best to suppress the fear in his heart, and walked back to his original position. Looking across the hall, Robert Dudley was also looking at him from the opposite side. "Did he find out too?" the count whispered to himself, he looked at Robert and winked his eyes in the direction of the gate.

……

Brother Guy Sturgeon said his last prayers as he reverently kissed a crucifix in front of him.The cellar was pitch black, and the oil lamp beside the monk gave off a dim light.He looked at the hourglass by his hand, and the sand on it was almost running out.He stretched out his hand and picked up a fuse on the ground. This wire was divided into more than two dozen in front, and each end was a cylinder made of oak. It is gunpowder made in France.The monk stared at the fuse in his hand tightly, his eyes were burning with fanatical flames.Finally, he thought, God will use his hand to destroy this contemporary King Herod.He started to laugh, raised his head and stared straight at the dark wall opposite, as if a bloody hand would appear out of nowhere and write on the wet wall: "The end of Babylon has come."

……

"This may be a big conspiracy." The Earl of Hertford said to Robert Dudley, "We have to check the church again, and we must know what happened."

"Can't you just arrest the earl?" Robert was a little anxious. He glanced at the crown prince sitting in the first row, feeling a little irritated, "Let him confess what happened."

"Not yet, there must be no mistakes in the ceremony." The Earl of Hertford stared coldly at the speaker in the distance. He had already left his chair and was about to present the crown.

"That may be too late." Robert felt a little chilly all over, "Did you notice that many diehard Scottish nobles didn't show up today?"

The Earl of Hertford was taken aback, he looked around, "That's true." His face was a little pale, "Many people didn't come...why is that?" His voice became lower and lower.

"There is also the Duke of Norfolk and his son." Robert seemed to think of something again, "Do you think Norfolk will miss such an occasion because of illness?"

"As long as he has one breath, he won't." The Earl of Hertford knew his old opponent very well.

"I think there's imminent danger here," Robert said. "His Majesty and the royal family must leave."

The earl looked hesitant, and decades at court told him that the decision would cost his life and fortune.

"Your Excellency!" Robert grabbed his arm, and he leaned into the count's ear, "Easter in Florence, do you remember? In 1478, the Pazzi family massacred the Medici family at the Easter ceremony... …This is a coup d'état and we're running out of time. No doubt they have other preparations besides the church, I think they're going to rebel!"

The Earl of Hertford took a deep breath. At this moment, he felt that he was no different from the ordinary noble who used his sister's crony to climb into the court.He was a gambler back then, and after earning his status today, he is still a gambler at heart. "Go and inform your father, and the prince and princess, and take them out first. I'll inform the garrison, and then go to Bishop Gardiner, and we'll arrest Earl Lennox immediately." He glanced at Robert, "Da Deli, you and I, our family, and even these two kingdoms, we are all on the table."

Robert took one look at him, turned and disappeared into the side porch.The Earl of Hertford took a deep breath, with a sharp look in his eyes.

"No matter what tricks you play, I will be happy to accompany you."

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It is written in the Bible that at the banquet of the last king of Babylon, a bloody hand appeared out of nowhere and wrote "The end of Babylon has come" on the wall.