I put out his fire

Nero submitted a letter of recommendation, and the Senate quickly approved his recommendation.

After another month, when the current Chief Fire Officer resigns, Rhodes will take over this position.

Rhodes lay on the banyan tree with one leg bent, with his arms resting on the back of his head.The blue light shaded by the banyan tree shone on him, and his eyes were squinted by the sunlight, revealing a black and white eye slit.

"Tell me what I should do," he said to Nero at the window.

Nero was lying on his stomach in front of the window on the second floor, with a wax tablet full of words under his elbow.That's every single duty a fire chief should perform.

The white shutters were wide open, and Rhode's figure was like a piece of black velvet suspended in the air, behind which was the green shade and broken light like a jigsaw puzzle.

Nero grinned almost as soon as he saw Rhodes.This is his instinctive reaction, not controlled by his mind.

He straightened the wax board with a slight smile, and read slowly:

"The fire chief should organize the fire brigade to patrol daily to prevent the fire from engulfing the land and houses;

Help those trapped in the fire, and do everything possible to search and rescue the wounded in the sea of ​​fire;

Should skillfully use pumps and ladders, preserve the property and houses of Rome;

As the paving stone, the Chief Huo’s heart is the light of the sky, negligence and mistakes will not be forgiven by the Goddess of Justice..."

Rhodes smiled, "This is really a harsh and domineering duty."

Nero explained: "Don't worry. As long as the daily patrols can control the natural disasters well, the fire chief will not be held accountable for arson."

He put the wax board back, raised his eyebrows slightly, and said solemnly: "And... I will help you. Even if you are negligent, I will try my best to keep you."

Rhodes covered his eyes with the back of his hand and said lazily, "I hope."

He snatched the wax board from Nero, turned over and jumped off the tree, shook the wax board at him and said, "In order not to let you think of ways, I'm going back to my room to study these!"

Nero watched him walk into the downstairs bedroom, the smile in the corner of his eyes never diminished.

At this time, a house slave quickly walked into the bedroom, knelt at Nero's feet, and said respectfully: "Master, the queen asked me to bring you a message."

Nero's heart tightened.He turned sideways, half of his face fell into black shadow, and his tall and straight figure felt a sense of tension that was about to explode.

The house slave lowered his back and said: "She wants you to go to the palace to attend the banquet now. She specifically asked you to prepare a bouquet of roses and wear a signet ring. Maybe you will sign the engagement letter tonight."

Nero suddenly had a bad feeling.

"Who does she want me to be engaged to?" he asked. "Could it be that Octavia who smokes weed every day?"

The house slave was dazed, and nodded obsequiously.

Nero was stunned for a moment, his ice-white eyebrows looked dazed and sick; then, an expression similar to awakening suddenly appeared on his face, his skin turned gray as if soaked in poison|drug, and his sinister eyebrows There was a burst of angry blushing.

"Damn it... I should have thought she would do this!" Nero cursed in a low voice, with some viciousness on the corners of his lips.

He said sinisterly: "You go with me, remember not to inform Rhodes..."

The house slave knelt down timidly.

Nero gradually calmed down.He pondered for a while with a gloomy expression, and suddenly said grimly: "Get ready for the carriage now, and I'm going to prepare a bouquet of fresh roses..."

……

The slaves were busy around Agrippina.

They diluted the gall of bulls to remove the spots on her face, and ground the bulbs of daffodils to make a powder that softened her skin.

Facing the vanity mirror, Agrippina drew eyeliner with roasted date palm ash, brushed blush repeatedly on her cheeks, and tied a golden gauze cover tightly on her silver hair, with a jewel inlaid between the gauze.

She is in a good mood.

She has reached a tacit agreement with Claudius to let Nero marry Octavia.

For Claudius, Nero, who has the blood of Augustus and has the highest voice for succession, is the best candidate for son-in-law.He hopes that his daughter will be a queen in the future.This is a political marriage in which both parties can reap the benefits.

"Why hasn't Nero come yet?" Agrippina asked excitedly and reproachfully, "Being late won't make a good impression on others."

The slave replied from the side: "My lord has sent a message, saying that we will take a detour to prepare roses for the princess."

Agrippina froze for a moment, her purplish red lips parted slightly.

She was a little suspicious, and then she smiled again, and whispered, "This really doesn't look like his style... He has never been so obedient to me before."

In the dining room next door, slaves are serving plates of mushrooms to the table.

Chefs pick a variety of mushrooms, including bulbous umbrellas.They turned mushrooms into dishes, poured minced pork into mushroom umbrellas, fried crepes with oyster mushrooms, almonds and eggs, and boiled mushrooms and cheese into a thick soup.

In order to prevent the emperor from eating poisonous mushrooms by mistake, some slaves specially tried these dishes.

Claudius dragged his daughter into the dining room.

Octavia has been smoking marijuana for a long time and has lost her mind.For this blind date dinner, she didn't bother to put on makeup, her hair was a mess, and her crumpled dress was stained with marijuana.

"Be careful! Octavia..." Claudius held her waist and reminded helplessly, "You are about to face a young man who is willing to marry you..."

Octavia asked in a daze: "The young man who wants to marry me...will he give me roses?"

"Of course!" Claudius coaxed, "So you have to behave well."

The slaves looked sideways at him, laughing at their little master secretly as if watching a play.

Octavia slumped on the sofa and squirmed a few times.She had just finished smoking marijuana, her complexion was sallow, and her eyes were thick with dark circles.Her eyes were empty, and she felt that the ceiling was slowly falling, and the surrounding walls were swaying like water waves.There were auditory hallucinations in her ears and a weird smile on her face.

After finishing her dressing, Agrippina walked gracefully to the dining room.

She caught sight of Octavia who was in a daze at a glance, and was startled, suppressing her disgusted expression.

Claudius filled the milk, lifted the back of the daughter's head, and fed her carefully.

Octavia, ungrateful, opened his hand.She laughed wildly, her plump lips trembling.Pointing to her father's nose with her stubby finger, she mocked, "Quentin... you're Quentin the fat pig..."

Claudius hurriedly grabbed her scratching hand and kept explaining.

Agrippina felt a chill.

"Are you sure you want me to marry her?" Nero's voice suddenly rang in her ears.

"Oh..." Agrippina was taken aback, and when she turned around, she saw Nero with a pale face.

Nero's complexion was very poor, he always had a gloomy and morbid temperament, and there were some mud spots and blood stains on the hem of his robe.His curly hair was also a little messy, and his ocher red robe was a little wrinkled, and he looked unprepared.

He was followed by a house slave, holding a gorgeous box in his arms.

Agrippina was pleasantly surprised when she saw her son, and then her tough demeanor instantly replaced him.

She took a deep sniff twice, and said doubtfully, "You have a fishy smell..."

Nero ignored her question.He pointed at Octavia, who was baring her teeth and claws, and said menacingly, "You didn't even ask me what I thought, and you are going to force me to marry a crazy woman who is addicted to drugs!"

"This is just a temporary use." Agrippina understated, "When you become the emperor in the future, you can divorce her and marry someone you like."

"I will not marry," said Nero, "and never will."

"You're messing around! Nero!" Agrippina was astonished. "You need a wife who can bear children for you and weave and spin cloth!"

She approached him and whispered: "You need Octavia. As long as you marry her, Claudius will accept you as his adopted son and heir, and you must be the next emperor! This is the safest way, you must Be obedient..."

Nero snorted and looked at his mother with contempt.

"You've become an incest joke," he sneered, "and now you're dragging me down again."

Agrippina was astonished.Her eyes widened and she said angrily, "I am your mother! Nero! You can't say that about me!"

Nero looked indifferent.He stood upright, his features deep and motionless.

Suddenly, a weird smile pulled the corner of his mouth like a thread.

"It's okay..." His smile made people shudder, "You will stop thinking about it in a while..."

Agrippina's expression gradually became rigid.

At the beginning of the dinner, the slaves arranged the napkins, wiped the hands of the masters and poured wine, and helped Octavia, who was too lazy to move after taking drugs, remove the fruit cores and lobster skins.There were only four people at the banquet tonight, so it was extremely deserted.

The effectiveness of marijuana has faded.Octavia can distinguish between people and things, but she is very emotional, laughing and sad for a while.

Claudius handed the torn pheasant to her daughter's mouth, and she bit her finger.The crazy appearance of the daughter is very similar to the dead Messalina.

He felt pain, and the sad resemblance between his wife and daughter made him complain about the sorrow of fate.

"My Octavia... I can't take care of you for the rest of my life..." He cried, and glanced at Nero meaningfully, "But with your appearance, which kind nobleman would be willing to marry you? ?”

"Oh father...don't say that..." Octavia chewed on the lobster meat, the stamina of the marijuana made her head tremble, "I will meet a handsome man willing to be my husband, I have land and a villa As a dowry! Money will make him bow down to me for the rest of his life..."

She let out a rough, foul-smelling burp, very vulgar.

Nero only felt disgusted, and put down the spoon in his hand with a dark face.

"Oh! My stupid daughter!" Claudius felt even more sad.

Octavia couldn't help being wronged, "Do you think I don't want to have a husband who truly loves me...Father..."

With shrimp in her mouth, she gave up on herself, and her words were also vicious:

"It's all because of my hunchback and mouse-like face...Who would want to see my beautiful heart through this skin? I hate my ugliness! Curse my face and figure until death! This skin is ruined My whole life! Those whores are just prettier than me, even if they come from lowly merchants, there are still men who pursue them, but what about the noble me? I am more worthy of pursuit than all of them..."

She has inherited her mother's jealousy and hideous appearance.

Nero ate peacefully, deaf to her cries.

Claudius hugged her shoulder distressedly.He glanced at Nero, coughed a few times and said:

"I think your mother has already told you... Nero. Parents who are mature and experienced will choose the most suitable partner for their children... Especially you, a politician, have no right to fall in love."

He hunched his back, and his tone contained some threats: "You should be an obedient and good boy, shouldn't you?"

Nero lowered his head, eating without saying a word, his expression was very vague under the scattered bangs.

"Of course he will be obedient." Agrippina secretly delighted.

She turned her head and reminded Nero, "Take out the roses you prepared, Nero."

Claudius showed joy, "Octavia accepts your rose, which means it's time for you to sign the engagement letter."

Nero stopped the knife suddenly, pinching the side of the blade with his stiff fingertips, as if he would not bleed a drop even if he cut it.

He squeezed out a sneer, full of chills, "As long as she dares to take it."

The house slave came forward holding the box.Nero opened the box calmly, took out the bouquet inside and held it in his arms.

The whole room was scared out of their wits.

Instead of roses, the bouquet contained red snakes bundled together.The snake's tail was tied tightly, and countless tiny snake heads poked out their necks, spitting out wriggling snake letters at the stunned father and daughter.

He handed the bunch of snakes to Octavia's face, and asked coldly, "Do you want it?"

Octavia howled like a wild boar, and she knocked over the food on the table.

Claudius holds his daughter.Octavia hid in his arms and wept, wiping the sticky snot all over his neck.

His eyes were red and he said, "What are you doing?!"

"Show your daughter a bouquet of dancing roses." Nero smiled flatly, looking very sick.

Agrippina turned green.She stood up stiffly, snatched the bundle of snakes and put them back in the box.

"You scared her! Nero." The veins on her forehead twitched, "I didn't expect you to disregard the throne!"

Nero wiped off the slime on his hands, and said calmly: "I said I would not get married, not with anyone for any time..."

Claudius wrinkled his facial features in anger, and his hunchback trembled, making him look like an irritated mouse.

"If you don't marry my daughter, then don't try to be written into my will and become your successor!" He yelled.

Agrippina held her breath and gave Claudius a vicious look.

Nero turned and walked out of the restaurant, only throwing out a fluffy sentence: "It's up to you."

……

It was already midnight when we got back home.

Deeply exhausted, Nero walked to the patio and washed his face with cold water first.He lifted his face feebly, and saw the night sky through the shade of the banyan tree, where the scattered stars shone dimly.

Nero's tired vision blurred a few times.He dragged his heavy steps to the bathtub, took a bath, and changed into clean pajamas.

When he returned to the bedroom, he wiped his wet hair carelessly a few times, and when he looked up, he froze.

Rhodes stood by the fireplace, his long black hair hanging down smoothly, and the warm red flame illuminated half of his body.He is waiting for him.

Nero originally had a bad complexion, which contained negative and bad things; when he saw Rhodes, a faint smile appeared at the corner of his mouth, like a young grass living in the cracks.

"You're here... Rhodes." Nero evaded, "I..."

"I already know." Rhodes interrupted him simply, "I asked everything from the house slave..."

Nero froze.

Rhode's extremely clean eyebrows and eyes were a little complicated, "I heard that you used snakes to scare the father and daughter..."

"Oh... I just scared her away with a few little snakes that had their teeth pulled out, and didn't hurt them." Nero was a little uneasy, and the water from his forehead dripped down his eyelids and slipped across his light-colored eyes. freckle.

He rubbed his nose unnaturally, and glanced at Rhodes quietly, "Please don't hate me because of this..."

Rhode looked at his rather timid look, and his expression became more and more complicated, "The emperor refused to accept you as an adopted son, and even felt resentful because you didn't marry his daughter. You seem to be running counter to your ascension to the throne."

Nero settled down, "I will do a good job as an administrator and use my real political achievements to gain the support of the people. Due to the pressure of word of mouth and blood, Claudius can only choose me as his successor..."

"That requires a lot of energy and time, and it will also face greater doubts." Rhodes said heavily, "The mediocre and politically ignorant people are actually the most picky people."

Nero showed a fragile face, and said softly: "Once the people win the hearts of the people, ascending to the emperor will become inevitable..."

"But it is undeniable that you did give up a shortcut." Rhodes said deeply.

"Oh don't say it... Rhodes, please..." Nero was a little sad, his legs and feet backed up a few steps like limp, bitterness swept his chest like corrosive acid water, "I know what I'm going to face ..."

Rhode approached him step by step, and put his arms around his thin shoulders in a comforting manner.

Nero froze slightly.His low gaze moved, and he saw Rhodes' red lips, high nose bridge, and deep black eyes little by little, where his silver hair was reflected.Rhodes' face was very calm, and his eyes were quite gentle.

Nero suddenly felt sour.At this moment, his life is full of calculations and conspiracies, and he sees a balance between lofty ideals and dirty and unsatisfactory reality.

He humbly begged: "Can you hug me..."

Rhodes hugged him tightly without waiting for him to finish speaking.

Nero put his chin into Rod's shoulder, tightening his grip around his waist, feeling the shape of his chest and ribs.He took a deep breath, absorbing the refreshing smell of Rhodes' hair like a drug addict, as if he would die without this smell.He put his face close to Rhode's ear, and dawdled back and forth in a daze.

"Do you like this hug..." Rhodes approached his ear and said in a comforting tone.

Nero trembled slightly and nodded confusedly.

Rhodes smiled, moved his hand up his back, and ran his fingers through his wet hair.He quietly let him linger, the strength of Nero's embrace almost knocking him off his feet.

It turned out that his naturally lonely heart would beat faster.

The author has something to say: Wow, get married soon!