immortal person

Rialio's body was buried in the chapel.The duke and his party walked quickly into the hall, and the attendants stepped forward to remove the black cloth. The dead man's face was pale, and a trace of black blood coagulated at the corner of his mouth. Lorenzo looked down and immediately recognized that the dead body definitely belonged to the young Roman bishop.As a pawn, he was sent to Florence without knowing anything, thinking that he would spend a pleasant vacation here; after the defeat, he still had no way of knowing what happened, only knowing that he had become a prisoner for no reason. Waiting for the rescue of "uncle" in fear.However, the flying insects caught in the spider web could not avoid the fate of being swallowed after all. Lorenzo withdrew his eyes, feeling that he had lost the strength to get angry—this was the end of the matter.The fall of this small stone will be the last cause of the avalanche.

Kneeling beside the corpse was a line of servants, who were the bishop's bodyguard, the personal maid, and the cook and servant of the back kitchen.They kept trembling in the corner, and no one even dared to summon the courage to look up."Maybe someone can tell me what happened," Lorenzo said.

Poliziano stepped forward.His shock and anger have also receded, and his fatigue and anxiety sink into the premature wrinkles at the corners of his eyes.The story he opened his mouth to tell did not surprise anyone.It is poisonous killing, one of the most common ways of death in this era. As usual, the maid brought food into Riario's room at noon. When delivering dinner, she found that the bishop had fallen on the floor of the bedroom. Flip over the sauce and pieces of meat.The corpse had already stiffened, and it was obvious that it had been some time since he died. The doctors who rushed over could only confirm that he really died from the poison/drug in the food.The guards quickly caught everyone who had been holding food, and, as expected, their interrogation yielded no useful results.

"The food for him has always been prepared separately, you know how picky he is," the cook sobbed, "Maybe someone got into the back kitchen...but I really don't know! Your Highness, please... ..."

"What kind of poison?" Lorenzo looked at the doctor.

The doctor knelt down. "I don't know its name." The little man also began to tremble, "I can't be sure of the specific type. Recently, too many alchemists are keen on refining new poisons/drugs..."

"I asked all the helpers in the kitchen, and they all said that they didn't see anyone acting suspicious." Poliziano said, "There is only one cook..." He pointed to the fat man who was shaking on the ground, "Admit that I left for a while on the way,"

There is nothing more to ask.

"Is there still Pazzi's remnants in the city?" Niccolo asked. "We have read all his letters, and we haven't spared a single person with whom he has personal contacts! Besides him, who else would... "

Too much.Lorenzo recalls Pazzi's curse in the dungeon.It didn't even have to be Pazzi's allies, the Medici never lacked enemies.It was even possible that this was a pre-determined action—they watched, and if Pazzi failed, they sent someone to kill Riario immediately and light the last fuse of the artillery fire.And—Lorenzo has no doubts that the closure of Florence was predictable, they must have agreed a time for this action in advance, and at the same time that Riario cut the meat, the Pope of Rome had already received his nephew. Dead news.These people hiding in the dark finally waved their claws, in order to ensure that the Medici will disintegrate in this storm.

And there are too many possible candidates.It was unlikely to be the other great families of Florence—the Pazzi were dead, and the Medici's authority was reborn in the city, and it would do them no good to bring in foreign troops at this time.Then it is very likely to come from another country. Florence has accumulated too much wealth and won too much prestige in the past few decades. People regard this place as the paradise and heart of civilization. How many people want to swallow this piece of fat into their own? stomach.Was it Venice, jealous of the Florentine fleet stealing their business, so secretly ruthless?Or Genoa, envious of their right to make money, trying to control the circulation of florins alone?Or, there has been no large-scale war on the peninsula for 20 years, which must have made the arms dealers gnash their teeth-this land has never been a harmonious land, and it has always been surrounded by wolves and tigers.

"Don't be obsessed with finding the murderer. At this point, the person behind him will soon show up. There is no need to hide." After a while, Lorenzo said, "Niccolò!"

The young man raised his head sharply. "I will immediately appoint you as the ambassador of Florence. Please go to Rome immediately." Lorenzo said, "but do not reveal your identity. After entering the city, first test whether the Holy See has heard the news. If not, go to Go to our branch manager and ask him who is the most frequent visitor to Castel Sant'Angelo recently; if the answer is yes, please protect the Florentines in Rome."

Realizing the meaning behind this sentence, Niccolo was startled: "...Yes!"

"Mirandola," Lorenzo turned around, and the named staff immediately looked at him, "Please go to Milan to meet the Duke and make sure our order has been completed as scheduled."

"Those weapons? Are you sure..."

"At any rate, we have little time," he said, instructing the clerk to begin drawing up the commission now. "If war is inevitable—we must begin preparations now."

"As for me, I must stay in Florence." He took off the ring on his hand and stamped the family seal at the end of the document, "I will use everything I can to prevent us from collapsing from the inside."

Everything was prepared very hastily, but at this time, there is no more care.On the third day after Easter, before dawn, the guards carried the body out of the chapel, put it in a black coffin, and loaded the coffin into a carriage.The dilapidated walls in the garden were simply repaired, and an open space was opened up for parking the carriage.Surrounded by the chorus and the piano team, they began to play a dirge.The bronze bell of the cathedral rang, and the music awakened the people. The residents of the city opened their doors and quickly understood what had happened.They followed the mourning song to the garden. This garden, which was once the pride of the city, sank in the snow-white fog and looked desolate and solemn because of its decay. on the bench next to it.

All pagan statues have been removed from the garden, the lilies and roses that once flourished are long gone, more than a hundred coffins are displayed on the bare soil, and the flames of candles are shining brightly in the white mist.Suddenly, the unseasonable cold wind blew away the mist, and the Duke climbed up the hill and appeared in front of everyone.The black-clothed maesters stood behind him, silently thinking about distant stories.Thousands of years ago, facing all the citizens of Athens, Pericles delivered a speech at the tomb of the fallen soldiers.Lorenzo had to do what he had to do, he looked around the assembled crowd, reminiscing, mourning, then motivating.

He stood next to the two coffins in the front.People soon learned that the duke's mother and younger brother were sleeping inside.People in the family usually customize their own tombs after the age of 50, and they can only sleep in two coffins that are no different from others.Who could have imagined that life would be lost so suddenly at such a young age?Lorenzo read out Giuliano's previous achievements one by one, praising his selflessness and kindness.He and Giuliano are like the twins in ancient Greek mythology, supporting each other and trekking on the same long road, sharing the same virtue and courage.The Duke said in a sad tone that he had lost his Pollux now.

Giovanni stands in the crowd, holding Giulio by the hand.The little child didn't understand what was going on now, so he quietly pulled the corner of Ragiovanni's clothes, made him kneel down, and whispered in his ear, "Is uncle in that box?"

Giovanni just hugged him tightly.

Across the white mist and the crowd, he saw a particularly conspicuous woman not far away.There are not many people who were infected by the situation and shed tears, but she began to cry from the moment she entered the garden, and it was already so intense that people felt that she was going to faint in the next moment.Other than that, she was the only one who kept looking in their direction, at Julio, to be precise.

Giovanni soon noticed that she had beautiful long flaxen hair.

Little Giulio didn't notice it. He huddled in Giovanni's arms and stared intently at the ruby ​​ring on Lorenzo's hand, which was the only shiny thing.

After his speech, Lorenzo walked down the hill in silence.Instead, the dean of the priest drew the holy sign on his chest and recited a prayer for all the dead: "They have completed their journey in the world and were taken up by the Lord. We firmly believe that everyone who believes in the Lord, accepts the Lord, and Those who walk in the true way of the Lord will have their souls redeemed by the Lord and enjoy rest..."

There was a patter of cold rain, and the raindrops like icicles fell on people's shoulders, and no one dodged.After the blessing, soldiers in black carried the coffins of Giuliano and Madame Clarice back to the chapel, where they will be buried in the crypt of the Medici family.The riders mounted their horses and carried the rest of the coffins out of the garden, Lorenzo and the maesters following them on foot.People followed the Duke silently, like a huge tail feather, slowly sweeping the long streets of Florence.The bell was still ringing, like a revelation, more and more people saw this scene and joined their ranks.They walked to the city cemetery in the north of the city. The coffin was put into the prepared grave. After sealing the soil, the priest asked people to observe a moment of silence.

"For the fallen warriors," he said, "for His Highness the Duke of Medici, and for Florence!"

Lorenzo stood on a high place with the priest.The moment before he closed his eyes, he looked around and saw a black crowd standing in every corner of the cemetery, standing silently like a statue.They came for all the dead, and especially for him.He heard faint cries, and knew he was halfway there: to gain mercy.

With these mercies, he can temporarily condense people together with hatred and sorrow. Even if wars are fought in the future, he can rely on this nihilistic but effective power obtained at this time to obtain a moment of peace and delay the outbreak of resentment.

Finally, he closed his eyes and thought indifferently, I can use your death too.

The long silence made the cemetery extraordinarily quiet.In the air of early spring, he smelled damp and cold, mixed with the smell of earth, moss and burning ash.He felt the sound of rain and cold wind, like an infinite soul wandering around.As if the final judgment had come before the death of the body, he seemed to see the transparent faces of the fallen soldiers, like in the frescoes, they surrounded him, stretched out their hook-like hands, and cut open the dirty residue of this heart .

But at this moment—before the bell rang to represent the end of the silence, he felt someone move.The lesson of that night made him open his eyes immediately, and subconsciously held down the sword, but only saw a fleeing figure from the back.At the same moment, something fell at his feet—it wasn't a weapon.

He saw a silver chain with precious stones hanging from it.

Lorenzo stared at it blankly, his hand frozen on the hilt.Like a cup of hot wine splashed on the snow, he slowly let go.

The rain wet his skirts and dripped on his boots.He forced himself to close his eyes again.Giovanni made a gesture to the priest, and the silver bell in the priest's hand remained silent—then, one after another, stepped forward and laid down at Lorenzo's feet the treasure they had robbed.Ebony boxes inlaid with portraits, antique rings, and small ivory sculptures were brought to the cemetery hidden in their sleeves, and returned to their owners at this moment.Others may have sold the stolen goods, or maybe they just forgot to bring them. They emptied their pockets and put all the coins beside him.After a long time, when the bell finally rang, Lorenzo slowly opened his eyes and saw the belongings piled up in front of him.

Luckily it's raining now, he thought.

"...Thank you," he said hoarsely, "thank you."

In the daylight, he seemed to see the white dove symbolizing the Holy Spirit fly out of the crowd and land on his shoulder again.

The author has something to say:

*Milan was one of the most important arms production places in Italy during the Renaissance.Both Genoa and Florence were producers of the florin, the main currency in circulation.

**Castor (casto) and Pollux (pollux), the protectors of the voyagers in mythology, later became the twins.

I regret, I just found out today that the chapter I changed to 3&4 in the first volume has missed a large part of the original content when I revised it a long time ago, and now I have filled it up, and I can see the correct version after clearing the cache orz