I didn't know you were such a vampire

Entering the Apennine Peninsula in August, it is like dry bread that has been baked in an iron pan without adding oil, as if the temperature is enough to squeeze out all the moisture, and even the wind does not want to stop here. Every Roman in summer After arriving, except for going to the public bathhouse near home, most of the time he was reluctant to go out, so that at this time of year, the chaos in the city of Rome improved a lot.

The people of Rome ridiculed that the people do not depend on the Holy See to live and work in peace, they can only rely on God.

Qiao Ya couldn't sleep peacefully until noon at such a temperature. She struggled to get up at the coolest time in the morning, washed her face, and sat by the window.It's just that her sitting posture doesn't quite meet the requirements for women in this era. She bent her legs and stepped on the edge of the chair. Flipping through the theology books my aunt and governess Adriana had left in her room the night before.

She was not interested in the lengthy teachings of Catholicism. In just a few minutes, she had already yawned several times. When she was about to close the book and go back to bed for a nap, she heard hurried footsteps outside the window.

She turned her head and saw a thin brown-haired man coming from the courtyard corridor, and almost at the same time she saw this man, the corners of her mouth twitched slightly, then she put her legs down from the chair, and adjusted her posture to a slightly Sitting in a more standard Roman aristocratic lady, she pulled a fake smile at the corner of her mouth and looked at the man who was getting closer.

"Today doesn't seem to be the weekend, Mr. Brandao." Qiao Ya raised her eyebrows at the visitor.

"It's really not the weekend." When Brandao walked to her window, his breath was a little messy because of the brisk walk just now, "This time I came to see you specially, Father Rodrigo wants to see you, your mother sent A letter came."

Priest, the ritual statement of Catholic priests, for thousands of years, only men can take on this job, and they are not allowed to marry and have children in their lives, which means that they will dedicate their lives to the great Lord.

Although the doctrine is so, since ancient times, every organization will have people who want to break the rules. There are also members of the Holy See who want to experience the sufferings of the world. There are countless popes who have mistresses and illegitimate children, let alone other priests who work in the Holy See. .

It's just that everyone knows that their role positioning must be out of this world, so mistresses become "friends", children become "nephews", and everyone just turns a blind eye. Everything as if nothing happened.

And Joya didn't know until the fourth year when she thought she had traveled to an ordinary family in ancient Europe that the tall and burly uncle priest would come to them in a carriage with fashionable toys and clothes every month. The door of the house, and hugging her to be intimate with her younger siblings is not because of the love the Holy See priests have for the residents of Rome, but because they are all this guy's illegitimate children.Her beautiful and elegant mother is the guy's favorite mistress.

And the father she thought she had been with her for four years, although not very loving, but got along fairly harmoniously, was actually the priest's designated marriage partner for her mother in order to deceive others.

And already the second.

After being shocked all afternoon, she silently digested the truth, and finally she only gave a thumbs up and said in her heart:

Oh, as expected of Italy.

Today, ten years later, she learned from this mother's letter that her biological mother was someone else.

Back then, this Ms. Vanoza Catane had just become the mistress of Cardinal Rodrigo Borgia. Her younger sister, Martina, was only sixteen years old, young and beautiful, with a rebellious personality. After getting married, he left his hometown of Mantua alone, and came to Rome to join his sister.

It's just that during the temporary stay, she and Rodrigo fell in love at first sight, hit it off, and had a good time. A year later, she gave birth to her daughter Qiaoya.Later, Ms. Martina felt that she should not be limited to the possibility of being "Rodrigo's mistress" when she was young, so she left her newly born daughter to her newly pregnant sister Vanoza to find her new wife. life.

As the baby girl in the story who was abandoned by her biological mother to her aunt not long after she was born, Qiao Ya made some progress this time. She was only shocked for a few minutes, and then gave a thumbs up in her heart:

Sure enough, it is indeed Italy.

"Suddenly telling you the truth, you may find it hard to accept. Qiao Ya, you know, I plan to keep it from you for the rest of my life. Whether your biological mother is me or Martina, there is no doubt that you are Rodrigo Daughter of Borgia, you will receive the best court education in the Orsini Palace, and you will be the wife of a duke or even a king in the future, and you will become one of the most famous girls in the Papal Kingdom."

"But you are still the smartest of the children, and one day you will discover the clues. What's more, your biological mother, Martina, was seriously ill. A few days ago, she sent me a letter, saying that she wanted to do it no matter what. I want to see you. This request may be embarrassing for you, but although Martina did not fully support her, she gave birth to you after a lot of hard work. If possible, I hope you can go to Florence. Look at the lingering sick Martina..."

"..."

After reading this, Joya raised her eyes and glanced at Rodrigo who was sitting across from her.

"Why don't you continue reading?" Rodrigo asked, his tone relaxed, and he didn't seem to be angry because Vanosha told his daughter the secret that had been hidden for more than ten years.

"This is roughly the content of this letter." Seeing that Rodrigo caught her evasive gaze, Qiao Ya simply raised her head and looked opposite without pretending.

Rodrigo was sitting behind the desk, and behind him was a huge floor-to-ceiling window. After the Vatican’s too bright summer sunlight leaked into the room through the window, it looked a little cold. They covered the tall and burly Rodrigo. A layer of extremely coercive golden light was formed.

The layout of his study is peculiar. Generally speaking, everyone would hope to get the best light source in the room when working at his desk, but he prefers to sit against the light. All the light sources from this window were blocked in front of him, so that his face, eyes, and expressions almost all sank into the darkness, except for the outline of his body reflected by the sunlight.

Qiao Ya guessed that he didn't want people to see his emotional changes from the changes in his eyes, but he himself was able to see clearly the people standing opposite him in the dark.

But if it was his children standing in front of him, he would get up from his seat, kiss their faces one by one, and ask them softly what they have read and learned this week.

The Cardinal, who was known for his ruthless tactics in the outside world, treated his children extremely fondly.

Rodrigo took several children from Vanoza to the Orsini Palace in the Vatican a few years ago, just opposite his bedroom, where his cousin Adriana Orsini took care of and educate.Every weekend, his senior advisor, Brandao, will take the children to his bedroom and spend the weekend with him.

Before the current Pope Innocent VIII, no clergyman had ever publicly acknowledged his children, and it was probably Pope Innocent who gave Rodrigo the courage. Several illegitimate children of her husband, and several children born with Vanosha were taken to her side and raised carefully.

In the beginning, Joya would regularly visit Vanossa at her residence in the suburbs of Rome, but as Adriana’s courses became more and more heavy, the number of visits became less and less. , Vanoza will write a trustee to bring to the Vatican.

Counting the days, the last time I visited Vanosha seemed to be two months ago.

I didn't expect such a heavy news to come from this letter.

Rodrigo stood up from his chair, and as he got up, the sunlight from outside the window rushed in eagerly, causing Qiao Ya to close her eyes reflexively.

"I don't think you're shocked by your parentage."

No, actually I was shocked enough.

Qiao Ya slandered, thought for a while, and said: "Father said, people should not show their emotions."

Rodrigo smiled, walked around the desk, and walked to Joya's side. He was still wearing a red cloak symbolizing the status of the Holy See cardinal, with a smile on his face, looking at Joya's light brown eyes with a few Identity research: "Maybe, you already knew? Because you and Vanosha have never been considered close, maybe you have already guessed that she is not your biological mother."

Qiao Ya's mouth twitched slightly.

With her poor emotional experience, how dare she speculate on the intricate emotional story of this boss more than ten years ago.

It's just that she turned into a baby when she first came here, and Vanosha who was holding her was about the same age as her in her previous life, and she still couldn't treat him as her mother.

However, Rodrigo has spent decades in the Holy See where fish and dragons are mixed together. Even if he loves his children very much, when facing older children, he can't help but use his own complicated experiences and thoughts to figure out each other.In his understanding, Qiao Ya, who was less talkative and less expressive than the other brothers and sisters, was precocious and silent, showing neither emotions nor anger.

Qiao Ya silently accepted this setting, and then said: "Maybe, there is an irreplaceable affection between mother and daughter."

"Then would you choose to visit Martina who is seriously ill?" Rodrigo asked.

Can I choose not to go out in such hot weather?Qiao Ya thought very seriously.

"I think you should stay at home and read. Juan broke his leg while learning horsemanship last week. Adriana and Julia probably won't be able to take care of him, so I need your help." Rodrigo suddenly thought of something, He added, "I heard that the weather in Florence is not very good recently. It has been raining for nearly a month. It is very abnormal to rain in this season..."

Before he could finish speaking, Qiao Ya interrupted him.

"Father, I thought about it, I'd better go."

He looked down a little, and met Qiao Ya's eyes full of hope: "Father, please allow me to see my biological mother whom I have never met before."