immortal person

More than 20 days later, on the second Sunday in June, they finally returned to the ever-changing real world.It was already noon when they arrived in Florence, and as usual, Poliziano stood at the palace gate waiting for the Duke to return, and hurried towards them as soon as he saw the carriage.Lorenzo shook Giovanni's hand firmly, then let go.They parted in front of the Medici Palace. Lorenzo walked towards his staff, and Poliziano whispered in his ear: "They have prepared a mountain of trouble for you."

Lorenzo nodded, indicating that he understood.

From the moment he walked into the city hall, the affairs accumulated over the past month fell like snowflakes.This month was originally a transitional moment he deliberately left. When he decided to let go of the power in his hands, at least someone capable of learning to take over them wisely-but the reality was obviously very different from his best imagination.When the attendant pushed open the heavy oak door of the Old Palace, judges, guild merchants, and senators flocked to him, each holding a stack of volumes in their hands. "You are finally back," they shouted, almost dragging him into the chamber, "We can't trust other people's judgments—if you never take a vacation!"

Fools, cowards, and lazy people make up the vegetarians of this city.Lorenzo glanced at Poliziano, who came with him, and the black-haired staff shrugged, showing a look of "knowing this".It wasn't until sunset, when the sky was already dark, that these affairs were distributed to the able ones through his hands, and the moths thanked him one after another, praising him for being as wise as before, and then walked shoulder to shoulder to the tavern .The time for Lorenzo's respite is far away - and the guild meeting ensues.At this time, it was already past the usual time for the meeting. The reason was that Lorenzo had been busy with chores, but the meeting had to wait for him as the "Chief Citizen" and "Standard Bearer" to preside over the meeting before it could be held.Lorenzo apologized to many members who had been waiting in the palace for a long time, but some elderly nobles still looked worried.And the only thing that revealed it was the unsurprising candidate.

"Why bother to apologize? Of course, the meeting cannot be held until His Royal Highness is free," Francesco Pazzi smiled, but there will be no one present who is too stupid to hear the sarcasm in his words, "After all, we Time is not that precious."

Poliziano's complexion suddenly sank.In the past 20 years, has the authority of the Medici encountered such a challenge?Lorenzo patted the back of his hand lightly and shook his head silently.

"They won't and don't want to appreciate your kindness," Poliziano whispered with a breath. "I bet it's not the worst."

The short regular meeting ended with the announcement that a new lottery will be held tomorrow.Lorenzo rejected the banquet invitations of his colleagues one by one, and was finally able to withdraw and return to the palace.Outside of public affairs, decisions in the family's banking and factories still await his orders.He had dinner with the family managers, and hurried back to his study before enjoying the new repertoire of the palace chorus.Opening the slender window, the cool evening breeze poured in. Lorenzo stood for a while in the breath of the first-blooming orange blossoms before realizing that he could not see Giovanni's attic from here.

He turned and sat back in the chair.Among the statuettes lined up on the table is a bronze statue of Hermes.Just touch it, and someone will come out from under the rich Persian embroidered carpet behind him and tell him everything he wants.He looked at it and didn't move. After a while, Poliziano knocked on the door twice symbolically, and then strode into the room.

"We just got word that Pazzi has decided who will sit in the two 'popular seats' you added. Their people will replace the names in the electoral bag by tomorrow morning at the latest," Poliziano said. "Do you have anything to say?"

"Is it true?" Lorenzo asked quietly.

"No. But it's very likely to happen, and it may even have happened." Poliziano stared at him. "You really don't plan to do something? If I put in front of you the person they decide now, you Don't you even take a look?"

"Not really."

"Who are Pazzi? Are they worthy of your trust?" Poliziano paced back and forth anxiously, "You know very well..."

Lorenzo's hands are still on his lap.He called out the scholar's name: "Angelo."

Poliziano froze.He stood where he was, staring almost rudely at Lorenzo, who looked back at him quietly.

"At least once, I hope that Florence has a truly fair election, enough to match her reputation as a 'republic'." Lorenzo said softly, "I can't interfere with other people's behavior, but at least I can guarantee that my family will not Intervene."

"This matter is no longer fair, Your Highness. In this city, hunters are either one or the other, like a piece of gold dropped on the road. If you don't reach out, your enemies will rush to snatch it away. In our era, how can Is there anything truly fair? Athens has long since collapsed."

"Maybe what awaits us is the situation in Venice." After a pause, Poliziano continued, "It looks like a democracy, but everyone knows that only people on the 'Golden Book' can be elected—there is only The names of nobles."

"At least, it's a success story," Lorenzo said. "It's been honorable for hundreds of years."

They stared at each other silently for a while, and neither of them won the war of eyes.Poliziano stood up.

"Things that I can think of, you will never never think about them. But there is one last sentence that I have to say." He bowed slightly, "This is the last sentence, I have to say." He lowered his voice Said loudly, "Your grandfather is admired by the world because of his respect for classics, and you are too. But do you know what is the difference between you? His Royal Highness Cosimo only regards this as a means and a ladder to enhance his reputation, because this Makes him look like a learned man. And you...you really take it as a religion."

Lorenzo was silent.

"I won't persuade you anymore. If it is possible, who wouldn't want to see such a future? This is the dream of every disciple of Plato." His friends and courtiers shook their heads, "Although your actions this time are in my opinion It is still too rash to come, but I will do my best. I swear to serve you, no matter what the outcome is, I will bear it with you."

"Thank you, Angelo," whispered Lorenzo.

"The duty lies, Your Highness."

He took a deep look at Lorenzo, turned and left.The moon was up, and behind the back of his chair, milky light poured down through the round hole above the window, casting his shadow on the table.Lorenzo looked at the silver bell on the table.Just by ringing it, he could summon his spies—learn the names of his enemies' preselections—and stop François Pazzi before he could occupy those two precious seats—

Am I making a big mistake?he asked himself.

In the end, he just withdrew his hand.

The next day, under the watchful eyes of all the members of the ruling body and the invited witnesses, the justice read the name of the last elected candidate from the ballot bag.The first elector has been announced, Gerardo Lloredan, a distant relative of Pazzi's wife's family, and, as Lorenzo requested, a commoner - a fishmonger.When the court official found him at the fish market and announced his obligations, he was still holding a freshly disemboweled red fish in his hand.He approached the council hall cheerfully, repeating his name.Before that, no one had heard of this name, and Lorenzo heard someone whispering: "Does he really know how to read?"

"The second who will join us," said the judge in his aged voice, "is Corona Foley."

Geraldo, a newcomer fisherman, found that the hall suddenly fell silent.At this moment, everyone looked at the Duke in unison, while His Royal Highness Medici looked calm and even smiled slightly.François Pazzi—his distant relative applauded first, and he immediately followed.This made Lorenzo set his sights on him again.After a while, the Duke also clapped his hands lightly.

"Congratulations to our newest member," he said with a smile.

If Geraldo had been smarter, he would have seen from the faces of the Medici relatives beside him how angry, shocked, and caught off guard by this incident.If he knew more about the history of the city-state he was going to be in charge of, or in other words, better things-he would understand that Mr. Foley, whom he had never met, was a descendant of the Albizzi family many years ago .This is a big and famous family in the past, as rich as the Medici family. Forli's maternal grandfather was once called "Tuscany's two lions" with His Royal Highness Cosimo Medici.

Until Cosimo de' Medici signed an exile order against Albizi for "treason" 20 years ago, expelling the entire family from the city, only the female relatives were left behind.This also made Corona Foley, who was just born at that time, a veritable "civilian" who was eligible to be elected.