immortal person

On Easter Day in the 65th year of the Holy Calendar, on this foggy early spring morning, with the last cannon fire, mercenaries broke through the San Niccolo Gate and appeared continuously at the end of the purple horizon.It all ends quickly.After breaking through the city gate, the guards quickly dispersed into small groups and went to the City Hall, Medici Palace and Pazzi Palace respectively.The battle with the Medici guards had consumed most of Pazzi's forces, and they could not last even more than two hours under the Swiss blows.The soldiers blocked these three places and no one was allowed to enter or leave. The mob gathered in front of the palace gate at night had already quietly fled back home when the first cannon shot was fired, watching the direction of the chaos through the cracks in the windows. , like a reptile hiding under a stone.In the middle of the morning prayers of the priests, before the hymn was finished, Salviati and Orsini were dragged out of their respective monasteries. "I'm a cardinal!" Orsini frantically kicked the visitor, "My sister is married to the Medici! Let me go, pig!"

After a lot of foul language and incoherent threats, Orsini threatened that if he did not let him go in time, he would personally lead the Pope's guards to chop off Lorenzo's head; Immediately changed his tone, began to plead tremblingly, and vowed to tell the whole story. "Who made you unwilling to help me?" He cried and said how his business had suffered a huge failure last year. The Orsini family, the ancient famous family and the descendant of the empire, turned out to be only a rotten shell; The wealth obtained by losing his sister is not even enough to allow him to live in extravagance for another five years. "He's the richest man in Tuscany, everyone knows that! Why doesn't he help me?"

He told how Pazzi came to Rome to ask for his cooperation, "an offer that was hard to refuse," he said tearfully, with contrition on his face, "I thought, maybe this is the direction of the Lord...Ah! Go away! Don't Get close to me!"

Without much punishment, he has given up all he has saved.The scheming cardinal left all his letters with Pazzi and the list of gifts sent by Pazzi as a sign of sincerity, and Medici's spies in Rome will soon go to check them one by one.He confessed the names of several accomplices, but kept secret about one person——

"The Holy See has nothing to do with this." Relying on his last rationality, he denied it with difficulty, "You are so bold! How dare you question Peter's successor, God's spokesperson on earth! How dare you—"

However, everyone knows the truth. "He will speak," said Lorenzo calmly, "and he will soon know that he is no longer under anyone's protection."

Niccolò hurried to the Palazzo Medici as soon as he heard the cannon; like Giovanni and Lorenzo, he hid himself in a corner and passed the night in terror.He immediately set out to rescue Poliziano, leaving a few whip marks on the scholar's back, but luckily he survived.He was helped back to the Medici Palace, staggered up and hugged Lorenzo, before he could speak, he passed out in the Duke's arms almost immediately.Everyone was exhausted after a night of nightmares.

But only two hours later, he struggled to wake up, and began to ask in detail what happened to Lorenzo and Giovanni after their escape.Giovanni told the truth about his actions on Holy Thursday night: After asking Pitti to go out of the city to inform Niccolo, he sneaked into the cathedral by night and found the forgotten road with the blueprints left by Brunelleschi. The secret passage for nearly half a century; he should have immediately turned back to the Medici Palace to inform the guards of the news, but the Pazzi family's axemen followed and sneaked into the church; although they did not know the existence of the tunnel, and The abandoned house that the tunnel leads to is close to the Pazzi Palace, and there are guards patrolling the exit day and night. If he leaves the long-abandoned old house, he will definitely attract their attention; it was not until shortly before the assassination began that these people rushed to surround him Church gate.So he had to hide in the tunnel for a whole day and night, and didn't realize that the accident had really happened until he heard a sudden commotion outside the door.

"I'm sorry," Giovanni whispered, "if I could find a way to tell you in advance..."

Lorenzo shook his head and put his hand lightly on the back of his.

"Who would have thought that they could really do such a thing? For the first time in 1000 years, someone assassinated a duke in a church!" Poliziano held Giovanni's hand, and his pale face suddenly burst into tears. There was a trace of flushing, "Fortunately... thank the Lord! But now is not the time to rest - never let those people go!"

They looked at each other.

The looted palace was in a mess.Shards of vases and glass strewn the corridors, portraits and tapestries were roughly torn, and the footprints of intruders were all over the place.In the gardens, the former Paradise is scorched, and mercenaries stand at the gates, their bills still waiting to be paid.Lorenzo looked around his palace, like a Jew who returned thousands of years ago standing in the ruins of Jerusalem.Temples can be rebuilt, treasures taken from them can be recovered, but those lost cannot be restored.Sin does not fade away when the sun shines, and there are countless crimes to be accounted for—the Lord said, "Forgive their iniquity, and remember their sins no more"*; but He also said, "I will lift the line , I will forgive no more.", *to "a tooth for a tooth, an eye for an eye"...

"I will never forgive," he said softly.

The master of Rome is hidden behind the scenes of conspiracy. As the master of the entire spiritual world, allies dare not easily identify it, and enemies dare not easily offend it.As for his accomplice, all the evidence is beyond doubt.They soon caught François Pazzi, along with his five-year-old son.They escaped from the city gate in the early morning, but were stopped on the road by the advancing army.Medici's attendants found his daughter and wife in the secret rooms of the Palazzo Pazzi, but he did not take them with him.

They were immediately thrown into the dungeon.Unlike other accomplices, Pazzi gritted his teeth and refused to admit a single word, but laughed and abused unscrupulously.Lorenzo ordered the execution and asked the jailer to ask the place where he planned to escape, and he needed the evidence he gave to testify against the Pope. "Venice? The Vatican? Where else does he think he can protect him?" Poliziano said. "Now the Holy See must want to send assassins against him."

At noon, Lorenzo and Niccolo saw Pazzi in the dungeon.He was bound by hemp rope and fell to the ground, curled up in a corner like a dying old fox, blood stains covered half of his face.Hearing the sound of footsteps, he slowly raised his face and asked hoarsely, "Is my Pietro still alive?"

"It has nothing to do with you," Lorenzo replied.

Pazzi acted as if he had expected this outcome.Coronafelli, the young man whom he had single-handedly brought into the guild, had the blood of Albizzi on him, and it was for this reason that he became Pazzi's indispensable support.It was Lorenzo's grandfather who drove the family out of Florence many years ago.After two generations of dilution, the hatred has not diminished at all. The Medici spies have been carefully watching Pazzi's actions, but they have neglected the "commoner" who does not have much wealth.While Patsy seemed to be busy with government affairs and his wool business, it was Foley who traveled between rebels and mercenaries under the guise of buying citrus.With the lessons learned by Albizi, this time, the Medici family will never show mercy to the traitor's heir.

"What will you do with me?" Patsy asked.

"It will take a certain amount of time to seize your property, and the income will be used to compensate for the damage caused by your people this night, and to pay the bills for maintaining the safety of the city." After a pause, Lorenzo continued: "However, you can choose life or death of your child."

"Would you do it to a little boy? What about your proud honor?"

"You and I both know how fragile a child's life is." Lorenzo's expression remained unchanged. "A small cold, a nut, can lead to a regrettable death."

Patsy choked visibly.His face twitched: "I can't say a word."

"Do you think you won? Did you win?" Patsy looked at him sarcastically, "You rented this mercenary army with the money and prestige saved by your grandfather. You did it yourself What? What did you contribute to your family? You squandered your inheritance, raising a bunch of bullshit 'philosophers' who know nothing but empty talk, read those inexplicable books, bewitched by heretics, and do retro days Dream. Do you know? It was your good steward who opened the door for us last night. He called you 'Beelzebub' and begged me crying to kill the devil that raged in this palace. He was in the Medici I have been working in the palace for 20 years, and it is sad to find that the grandson of Lord Cosimo is full of ungodly nonsense, and the one who lives in the body of the Duke is a villain, a whore, a chicken/adulter—”

"—shut up," said Lorenzo coldly.

"Now I know I'm afraid? You've done more stupid things than these?" Pazzi sneered, "Imagine your 'democratic' election—do you know how many people laughed behind their backs? You deserve to mention it? 50 Over the years, which member of your family has practiced this term? Even stupid enough to abandon the authority accumulated by the ancestors; but even when you are dying, you still barely survived by relying on the shadow of your ancestors-too sad, Loren Zod's Medici!"

"And you, noble and holy Medici, are the ones who caused the current situation! Only now have you learned to use my son to intimidate me? Are you finally willing to use these conspiracies that you despise?" He raised the corner of his mouth , laughed out loud, "Why didn't you do this earlier——"

"You're the one who caused your failure, and yet blame others for being vicious. Medici, sad Medici! Look at you as a wretch, a failure—you gave yourself How many enemies were made? Who put Foley in the ruling body? It was you! You're always so stupid I can't believe it - after letting him in, you let him live - you should have, like Like me, just find a night, an alley, and let someone strangle him from behind!

"Madman!" Niccolo cursed loudly, "Your Highness, stop making him talk nonsense!"

"Nonsense? Am I wrong?" Patsy smiled, "What chance do you have of stopping me? Your spies are so smart and mine are so stupid, they told me the other day you caught that The little soldier with the portrait—how frightened I am!” he laughed, and spat blood as he spoke, “I stood ready all night lest you should kill me first, and you didn’t—why did you Don’t do it? Because you are glorious, great, and disdain to do so?—Because you dare not! Coward! You should repent for your brother, you killed him! The real devil is the one who let go of the devil!”

He took a breath and watched Lorenzo's face gradually pale with satisfaction.The jailer stepped forward and lashed Patsy's wrinkled face with a whip. His eye sockets were immediately torn apart, and his face was covered with scarlet blood.Pazzi, however, acted as if he didn't care, and let out a "hoho" laugh in his throat: "Repent, coward..."

Lorenzo turned and left.Niccolo supported him, reminding him in a low voice to be careful of the wound.They took two steps, only to hear Pazzi whispering behind him: "Just wait and see... The one who was in the open is dead, those who are well hidden..."

Lorenzo turned his head sharply.In the corner of the dungeon, Patsy raised his head and smiled at him.

Niccolo blurted out: "Stop him!"—and before the jailer could rush over, Pazzi slammed into the stone wall beside him.There was a dull crash, the sound of skull colliding with stones, his body slid down from the wall, curled into a soft ball, and did not move.

Lorenzo turned pale.

After a while, he slowly supported the damp stone wall beside him, and then suddenly withdrew his hand as if he had touched something disgusting.Niccolo supported him quickly, "This old lunatic...!" He was obviously also shocked, and his tone was a little weaker, "Don't worry. We have searched his home, and the evidence is very conclusive. Among them There is a letter to Sixtus IV, if you want to..."

Lorenzo shook his head.He stood where he was, and after a while, let out a breath slowly: "...Let's go first."

Facing Niccolo's worried eyes, he walked up slowly.Outside the dungeon, the sun fell back to the top of his hair again. Lorenzo spread his fingers, clenched them again, let go, and once again squeezed his trembling fingers into fists with all his strength.

He was dazed—he should have been angry, like everyone else, and regretted not being able to deal with his worst enemy with his own hands.At the same time, he was actually a little lucky, because he didn't know what he would do to Pazzi if he survived.

He tried not to think about Patsy's last words.His accusations and ridicules, and those enemies still hiding in the shadows—like being in a dark forest, struggling to kill the beast in front of him, but feeling that there are countless pairs of hidden eyes behind him.He was really, really tired.

Now was not the time to think about it, he persuaded himself,—but it was far from the time to rest.

When the morning mist cleared, Lorenzo raised the hem of his robe and went up the stairs.Under the terrace of the Medici Palace, thousands of Florentine citizens were waiting there to witness the resurrection of the monarch and the dawn of a new era.

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Happy Lantern Festival!

*Hebrews 8:12

**Modified from Amos 8:2

***Exodus 21:24