immortal person

At noon on Easter in the 65th year of the Holy Calendar, the bells echoed over Florence, leading crowds to the Medici Palace.The sharp wind swept across the stretching red roofs of Florence, hovering in front of the high windows of the palace, the chief citizen of the Republic, the flag bearer of the ruling group, the third generation of Medici Duke Lorenzo de' Medici stepped forward and reappeared On the second-floor terrace of the palace, which is where he always used to address the public.

What has just passed is the most frightening night that the people in the city have ever experienced in their lives: a bloody riot broke out in the cathedral, and the long-hidden army appeared in the city like a ghost, announcing that the Duke is dead, and a new order will be born in the chaos ; the temple-like palace of the Medici was left open for looting, and François Pazzi and his soldiers stood at the door, calling on people like victors to come in and take whatever they wanted… … At this moment, many of the people under the terrace had witnessed the body of "Lorenzo" thrown in front of the palace door like a rag doll, and some had the courage to rob the palace because of this. property.Now that the Duke appeared in front of the crowd, they immediately realized that the city had been turned upside down again overnight, but they didn't understand what happened.People raised their faces anxiously, squinting their eyes like looking at the sun.Standing high up against the wind, the Duke looked the same as before, calm and majestic, shadows trailing behind him like royal robes in the bright daylight.

Even if he falls for some reason, he will be the morning star over the abyss.

Many almost thought they were witnessing a miracle of resurrection from the dead.Someone murmured, repeating the words of the monks, "He came out of the shadow of death, and God explained the pain of death and raised him up, because he could not be held by death"...*

Many years later, all subsequent historians will mark this day with pen and ink.The Duke of Medici stood on the terrace and told the people below what happened in the past.He condemned Pazzi for treason, and severely condemned his actions of recruiting mercenaries to assassinate his colleagues and destroy the precious peace in the city for his own self-interest; The Pazzis in the ruling group, so people know that these are the names that will be added on the pillar of shame; he mourned the death of Giuliano, and listed hundreds of guards of the Medici family who were martyred, These loyal and fearless brethren are remembered with affection.Finally, he announced that the blood debt will be paid with blood, and he will cleanse the sins in the city, because such sins will not be tolerated before God, and a new order will come, and he will give everyone a clean, clean, and fearless God's judgment. Florence.

People raised their faces and looked at him.Lorenzo stood there straight, with a pair of weather-beaten eyes engraved on his young face, full of anger and sorrow, and more deep things lurking.When he rebuked, people seemed to see the shadow of the Son of Man thousands of years ago. When people thought he was dead, he appeared from the palm mountain, surrounded by lightning, and when he announced his return, it was the prelude to revenge and liquidation. hour.

People were timid and restless at first, maintaining a suffocating silence.But when his speech was over, someone in the crowd waved his arms first: "God bless the Duke, God bless the Medici!" - Such a voice immediately attracted a lot of echoes.The crowd roared, with the fervor of calling out the saint's name on a festival day: "Kill the rebel, vengeance, vengeance!"

Lorenzo bowed deeply to them.He stood there, watched silently for a while, and felt an uncontrollable sadness.For people's short-sightedness and forgetfulness, but also for how easily people are incited.It seems that no matter who raises their arms, it will attract their blind obedience.

Under the stage, the soldiers led the people to leave, and Lorenzo turned and walked into the palace.Poliziano and Giovanni were waiting for him in the room.The scholar stood up and went to him first: "It worked well, even beyond my expectations. At least for the moment, it is wise to pretend to forget about those mobs."

He went on: "But there's one more person you left out—did you mean it?"

"Riario?" Lorenzo was noncommittal.

"We have him under house arrest," said one of the attendants. "Do you want to see him?"

Lorenzo shook his head. "Look at him." He just said, "He's an important bargaining chip for us."

Riario, the illegitimate son of Sixtus IV, as an outsider at the center of the incident, spent the night peacefully, only awakened for a moment when the people rushed into the palace in the middle of the night, and soon fell into a dream middle.Early this morning, when the Medici soldiers rushed into his room, he was still lying on the bed safely, with his arms around a blond girl who came in at no one knows when.People tied up the young cardinal, who had no idea what was going on.

He was as innocent as a flying insect strayed into a spider's web.The Holy See never seemed to think that he would be in danger - the plan should have been foolproof.Who would have thought that anyone would have the audacity to attempt to assassinate a duke in a cathedral?And if the Medici brothers can be successfully removed, there must be someone in the Pope's family who needs to stand at the center of the storm and take their share of the pie in time.Succeeding is Harmodius' master, but the arrogant people may never have thought that failure means nothing.In order to prevent the simple and almost stupid bishop from leaking the news, they did not say a word to Rialio, who still thinks that he is on vacation to this day.

"Within three days, we will start negotiations with the Vatican. With him here, the Holy See will come to you." After a moment of silence, Lorenzo said, "As for the others... in the next few days, Seal the city gates and prohibit everyone from entering or leaving-don't let the Holy See hear the wind."

Giovanni was taken aback.This, he soon realized, meant—Riario would be their only chance of survival.

Under the thin sunlight, Lorenzo's eyes were as blue as transparent.Their eyes met in the air, and Lorenzo turned his head quickly.

"Go and rest," he said.Giovanni heard that he was trying to make his voice softer: "You have done enough for me."

After pacifying the people, the Municipal Palace still has a lot of business waiting to be dealt with.Pazzi's followers are all big nobles who are deeply rooted in the city, and the soldiers quickly controlled them. For a hundred years, the family trees of the big nobles in the city have already been intertwined with each other. How to make these relatives pretend to be deaf and dumb will be a challenge. The next big problem to face.Although all those who attended the speech just now should have keenly sensed the current direction of the wind: Pazzi's defeat is a foregone conclusion, and as the winner, Lorenzo's authority has once again been raised to an unprecedented height, and now Disobedience to him will only offend the public.Lorenzo also understood this.He sat down against the wall and looked at his hands. The "Duke of the Medici" had acquired a whole new kind of power, alien even to Lorenzo himself.From then on, at least in this city, nothing could shake him.

Anyway, he looked at his sleeve, which still had Patsy's blood on it - I'm a dictator now.

"May I entrust you with the affairs of the Consulate?" He looked at Poliziano. "Take Niccolò and Mirandola. You know what to do."

Poliziano nodded. "Though it's not the right time...I want to take a break," he said wearily, "I want to...see him."

Poliziano looked at him.The duke's face was almost bloodless, and it finally reminded people that he was just a mortal who hadn't closed his eyes for two days.He nodded slowly.Lorenzo turned and walked downstairs without looking up.At first, his figure was almost stooped, but with every step he took, his back slowly straightened up, just like a duke should have.

He stood by the window and watched Lorenzo walk through the scorched garden and into the family chapel.All family members who were martyred the night before are temporarily detained here.In front of all the corpses lay a young man in his early 20s quietly. Lorenzo watched him as if he was watching a part of his own body.

He sat beside Giuliano and did not leave again.The doors of the chapel remained closed until midnight, when the herald reported that the Duke's mother, the Duchess Clarice Tornaboni, had rushed from Carreggi to Florence with the young Highness.She had heard the news of the death of her youngest son, and no one could stop the mad mother—she rushed to the chapel and pushed open the door.

Giovanni had no way of knowing what happened after that.People say she threw herself on Giuliano's body recklessly and passed out convulsively the moment the black cloth was removed.The Duchess, who had been recuperating at Careggie for many years, had been in poor health, and this accident and great grief almost immediately destroyed her.She was carried away from the chapel on a stretcher, and countless doctors were secretly invited into the palace.Everyone is sighing.The god of death had arrived, and the sickle touched her neck.

Giovanni was awakened by the footsteps of the physicians outside the door.He pushed open the door to find Lorenzo, the duke standing outside his mother's door, listening to one doctor after another declaring that there was nothing they could do.Giovanni forced him to sit down and, taking his head in his arms, Lorenzo tried to remain calm at first, but finally began to tremble slightly.

After two hours of emergency rescue, the Duchess finally woke up from a coma.The doctor opened the door and came out, sighing and shaking his head.Madam has no cure, and the current sobriety is just a flashback. "She told us all to leave," he said, "and she asked you to come in, Your Highness."

Everyone present knew that this was the last time.

Lorenzo stood up. "Don't go far," he said to Giovanni, almost imploringly.

The door closed behind him without closing.Giovanni sat outside the door in a state of confusion, and the Duchess' weak voice could be heard from inside the door, but he couldn't hear what he was saying.So did Lorenzo.He carefully lowered his head and leaned against her cheek. After a long time, he finally heard the same repeated sentence clearly - "Don't touch your uncle."

He couldn't describe how he felt at that moment.

"...Even if he killed Giuliano?" he said softly.

Count Tornaboni, the lady's eldest brother, was the one who had abstained from the crucial voting rights at the Consul meeting on the eve of the assassination, allowing the lights-out service to proceed as usual.

"Did he kill it?" His mother asked back.

Lorenzo stopped talking.He slowly retracted his forward leaning body and sat up straight.

After a long time, he nodded. "I promise you," he said. "Besides that, is there anything else you want to say to me?" He held her hand, "...Even one sentence?"

Hearing this, the Duchess moved her neck with difficulty and turned her head to him.

A candle was lit by the bedside, and the candle flame flickered on the woman's dying face.She looked like a statue of the Madonna of Seven Sorrows, suffering from the pain of a sword piercing her heart all the time because of the loss of her son.For the first time in years, she watched her eldest son carefully.A line of tears streamed from her wide blue eyes, washing away his reflection.

"I've never raised any expectations of you, because you've always done a good job." Finally, she slowly stretched out her hand and put it on the back of Lorenzo's hand, "but now, I beg you...I beg you..."

She looked at him, her eyes suddenly sparkled, and she grabbed Lorenzo's wrist: "Vengeance!——I want you to avenge him! Avenge my child!"

"—He is so kind, he has never done evil, he is the best child in the world...why let him die?!" It is hard to imagine that a dying woman can burst out with such power.She grabbed Lorenzo and said incoherently, "You promised that at least he would stay with me... He should have been, always been with me...!"

How could he have forgotten that the Holy Mother favored the blessed child forever over others.

Lorenzo stared at her for a long time, then suddenly closed his eyes.He said hoarsely, "I assure you."

"Swear to me!"

"I swear."

After getting his promise, she slowly let go of her hand, and her fingers slid from his wrist: "I..."

"...I want you to remember."

Her voice gradually dropped.

Tears welled up in Lorenzo's eyes, and he turned away.

"I will," he whispered, "I will, Mother."

The candle suddenly went out.After an unknown amount of time, Lorenzo took her cold hand and placed it on his cheek.After 20 years, he was finally able to rest his head in his mother's palm again.

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*A mix of two lines from the Psalms and the Acts of the Apostles

**Hamodius: A tyrant of ancient Greece

***Our Lady has many children besides Jesus