immortal person

"He must know something," Poliziano said.

"I have no doubt of that," replied Lorenzo.

They quickly left the dungeon and walked back to the palace along the stone steps.This is the season of lime blossoms, filling the garden with its soft scent.When the two walked into the garden, Lorenzo took a long breath, but the strong smell of blood still seemed to be lingering.His face was as pale as a coat of paint, and Lorenzo shook his head when Poliziano asked him if he was unwell.

"He never said the name we wanted to hear." He lowered his voice. "I know it's wrong—but I... I feel guilty."

Poliziano looked at him.

"I feel guilty, Poliziano," said Lorenzo. "I mean, in case, if he is innocent..."

"He is not, Your Highness."

Poliziano calmly denied him."The evidence is overwhelming. We found letters from François Pazzi in his room," he said.

Lorenzo was silent for a while: "Maybe we shouldn't be so strict. The Holy Mother, just like you and me, he is also a living person..."

He had seen many crueler scenes than this since he was a child, but these intentionally cultivated experiences did not change his physical discomfort.While in prison, Lorenzo already felt dizzy and nauseated, and his eyes only stayed on the prisoner's face for a moment.The former white and fat Fool was thin and thin, and he still wore the same blue velvet dress, and the once high-hanging fabric was now covered with black spots, and Lorenzo did not think whether it was blood or something else.Domenico curled up on the grass in the corner, like a pile of charred skeletons.

"If Master Cosimo were here, he would say that you are still too soft-hearted."

"……I know."

Lorenzo was also constantly thinking of his grandfather, Cosimo de' Medici, founder of the glorious Medici family.His father was cowardly by nature and was ridiculed by the citizens as "the cowardly" Luigi, and the family business declined by nearly [-]% in his hands.The strong grandfather wisely gave up hope for the eldest son in time, and turned all his eyes to the eldest grandson.When Lorenzo thought of him, he thought not only of his grandfather, but of his teacher and trainer.Years ago, the stern old man had planned his whole life in advance with prudent eyes, and every step must be carried out exactly.

He couldn't help thinking that the current self probably wasn't worthy of his grandfather's expectations.

"Throughout the years," Lorenzo said, "I've occasionally thought, maybe it's more like my father."

"I think you mean the virtue of compassion in Master Luigi."

"That's all he has left."

"Virtue is always worthy of praise."

Lorenzo smiled.

Lime fruit trees and olive trees were newly planted in the four corners of the garden, and the thick green leaves were heavy and full of branches.He walked slowly through the shade of the green trees and said to Poliziano: "I have troubled you enough today. Go back first and say hello to Olivia for me."

Olivia was the name of Poliziano's wife in labor.She has been suffering from minor illnesses recently, and Poliziano often loses his mind these days.The steady think tank, accustomed to his master's thoughtfulness, nodded.

"If you need me, just send to the house," he said.

"It won't happen in a few days." Lorenzo smiled at him. "You are a scholar, and one of the best among us. If you always follow me to do these things, I will feel sorry."

The two looked at each other, and they both knew that he was referring to the torture that had been imposed on the jester in the past few days.Poliziano froze for a moment, as if he wanted to say something else.He was keenly aware of the rare uncontrollable factors in the duke. The two knew it well, but Lorenzo didn't seem to want to solve it.

The Duke waved his hand, signaling Poliziano not to speak, and turned to the sculpture by the bushes: "Be with her."

Poliziano nodded hesitantly, saluted him, and then walked towards the arcade.Before stepping up the stone steps, he looked back at Lorenzo. The young man in white shirt was standing by the fountain, his face was raised slightly, and the sun was shining all over his face.

Giovanni sat behind the pulpit in the family chapel, and as the charcoal pencil slid quickly in his hand, Botticelli's "Madonna and Child" above the altar had begun to take shape on paper.This is a painting ordered by the Medici family from the artist 20 years ago. The two little angels surrounding the Virgin's lap in the painting are based on the childhood brothers Lorenzo and Giuliano.Giovanni watched the painting repeatedly, imitating on the paper the unique friendly expressions of the characters in the master's brush.He thinks that the Duke today is far from the childish and lovely image of the past, except for those impressive blue eyes, which are still as bright as the paint in the painting.

He was fascinated by the painting, and when he heard footsteps and realized someone was coming, the visitor had already walked to the door.All the direct members of the Medici family from the past three generations are buried in the chapel, and outsiders are not easily allowed to enter. He only bought the chance to enter this place for a few days to copy from the priest in charge at the price of five ducats.The priest was not there at this time, and if others found out that he was here, both the priest and him would have to be punished.

The visitor stopped at the door, and it seemed that he happened to meet the priest. The two talked for a while, but their voices were indistinct because of the distance.Giovanni didn't care about other things, and immediately gathered all the paper, pens and paints into his arms, ready to sneak out from behind the music scene.But before he could take action, the next moment, the conversation outside the door was over, and the footsteps sounded again, and the man was walking towards his hiding place.

Giovanni quickly hid behind the sermon and held his breath.

But the visitor stopped halfway.Giovanni heard the slight scrape of wire, and then smelled the smell of burning candles.He thought the man had taken a white candle and placed it in the candelabra in front of the Madonna.Immediately afterwards, the footsteps sounded and stopped again, Giovanni looked up silently, and was suddenly stunned.

—It is Lorenzo.

The chapel in the afternoon was empty and silent, and the sunlight fell quietly on the white marble tiles through the blue, red, blue and yellow glass on the rose window.In front of a wall coffin on the right, Lorenzo stood upright, with his right hand on the lid of the sarcophagus, and his head slightly lowered.

Perhaps out of habit, Giovanni subconsciously read the language conveyed by this gesture: Lorenzo's back was tensed, and his hands fell unnaturally on his sides, showing obvious restraint and defensiveness.When appearing in front of everyone, the Duke always maintains a relaxed and easy-going expression, which is the source of light and heat; now he stands silently and alone in front of the ancestor's tomb, as if mourning and reminiscing, as if wearing a A mask of alienation suddenly made him feel strange.

Giovanni remembers the construction of the chapel, and the second wall coffin on the right is the tomb of His Highness Cosimo de' Medici.He was the last head of the Medici family. Twenty years ago, he was conferred the title of duke by the French king, firmly grasping the power of Florence, and was awarded the title of "Father of the Nation" by the city hall.People are keen to talk about the commonalities between Lorenzo and him, such as the love of classical art and the unusual closeness to artists.That magnate was also the most important patron of the arts of his day, and he is said to have initiated the revival of classical sculpture.His tomb was modeled after Rome, with a massive and quaint marble sarcophagus.Bertoldo had shown him the blueprints for the vine carvings on the coffin lid, a masterpiece of his youth that had taken him a whole year.

And Lorenzo didn't think he was admiring the sarcophagus as a work of art.

Giovanni watched him carefully, and for a moment his mind was filled with many conjectures.Just when he thought that Lorenzo would continue to mourn in silence, the Duke suddenly spoke.

"You won that bet."

Giovanni opened his eyes wide.

After a while, he realized that Lorenzo was talking to the sarcophagus.The Duke's tone was unwavering, and he narrated calmly: "Five years...only five years have passed. I really never thought of it."

The scene of the young duke standing in the middle of the empty chapel, muttering to a sarcophagus is almost comical.Giovanni became inexplicably nervous. He had a premonition that what Lorenzo was going to say next might be something he shouldn't know—a secret from "inside the door".

He assessed the situation cautiously, it was too quiet to leave without disturbing Lorenzo.His loyalty as a protégé roasted him, perhaps it was a complete mistake to come here today.Giovanni repented in his heart, thinking about how to ask Lorenzo for forgiveness later.

Just then he heard Lorenzo go on:

"Two weeks ago, we found a spy." He began to pace back and forth in front of the sarcophagus. "The man has been in the palace for three years. He is a jester. I cannot prove whether he has been He was hired by others, or he received bribes from others after he was recruited by me. We don’t know how much he has mastered about us, and how much of it he has sold to others.”

There was a brief silence."It was my fault and I won't deny it," Lorenzo said.

He was calmly reviewing the incident, dissecting the situation, and facing up to his responsibilities.And behind the pulpit, Giovanni was almost in shock—there was only one jester in the Medici palace.

So - so - that's why Domenico hasn't been around lately!

But the last time the Fool appeared at dinner, he was there.Which sentence exposed Domenico?

"You're right. I'm always wrong about people."

"I'll change it," Lorenzo said softly.

He stopped in front of the sarcophagus again.Giovanni heard his voice again: "Please don't laugh at my superstition, but in recent years, I have always felt that something will happen, a big event beyond my control. Now that a spy has been caught, I don't care about it." Not feeling at ease."

"I feel lost," Lorenzo said.

Behind the pulpit, Giovanni felt the cold sweat running down his spine.

"I know you will say, 'Confusion is an excuse for cowards'." Lorenzo laughed softly, "It's just that there are some things I dare not tell you—"

Suddenly, a gust of wind blew through the window opening above the church.Giovanni was immersed in uneasiness and surprise, only felt a chill on his back, and then a white shadow flashed in front of his eyes - the sudden wind swept away a piece of drawing paper in his arms, so fast that he had no time reaction.The page slid close to the ground for a moment, well out of the shadow of the pulpit, before the wind died down.

— Lorenzo's words came to an abrupt end.

Giovanni knelt stiffly behind the pulpit, motionless, his fingers clenched into a fist, and the charcoal penetrating into his palm.The moment the paper was blown off, his mind went blank, he didn't even have time to think about the consequences of being discovered, he just repeated the name of the Holy Mother in his heart: If it is possible... Please, please...

Until a shadow fell before his eyes.Lorenzo stood in front of him, the dagger in his hand was out of its sheath.