I put out his fire

This absurd rebellion was suppressed by the Guards that night.They arrested all the soldiers who were still alive, and after identifying the masterminds of the rebellion, they killed them all.

When the guards broke into Julius's house, Julius had already swallowed a heavy gold nugget.

In the villa under heavy siege, Julius saw the guards with weapons approaching him, realized that the operation had failed, and showed a relieved expression on his face.

Guards bound him with iron chains.At the end of his life, he didn't resist, and the first thing he said was: "Where's Menxi?"

A guard said fiercely: "He was arrested by the emperor himself."

Julius's old, swollen eyeballs showed sorrow, "It's over...I don't want him to die miserably."

The guard fastened the iron lock and said fiercely: "You should first consider how you will die."

Julius sighed, tears streaming from his swollen eyelids from long-term drinking and pleasure.He knew that whether or not he made it tonight, he and Munch would die.The only thing I can do is to fight for a comfortable death for myself.

He burst into tears and began to struggle, "I want to meet Menxi again... We made an appointment to commit suicide by swallowing gold together, but he left..."

The Guards escorted him out, sent him to the prison car, and said fiercely: "You will meet at the adjacent cross."

……

Under the rescue of several doctors, Meng Xi was spared his life.

Having studied history and military tactics intensively, he planned a plan for Julius to hide soldiers in a wooden boat, with the purpose of taking the life of the emperor who was closest to the stage during the naval battle performance.

The two of them made an appointment to commit suicide by swallowing gold together on the night when the plan was implemented.However, Menxi changed his mind temporarily and sneaked out of the house in the dark.

He wanted to witness Nero's death with his own eyes.Unexpectedly, the emperor was not in the seat.The plan failed.

For treason, Munch and Julius were thrown into a dungeon, and three days later they would be crucified together.

……

Since the emperor's personal guards came back, the slaves in the palace no longer walked on eggshells every day.

Early in the morning, slaves opened the swinging shutters, cooks sandwiched yogurt into marbled bread, and chicken soup simmered.The female slave who lit the incense poured out the remaining ash from the night and put new frankincense on the windowsill.

"It's spring in Rome," she said, looking out the window.

The house slave appeared behind the dazed female slave and reprimanded: "The master will get up soon, go to the warehouse to get the olive oil for washing your face."

He thought for a while, and added, "Take some more saponin powder for laundry."

The female slave asked in surprise, "Do you still want to do laundry?"

The house slave glanced at the bedroom and saw the master's tightly closed bed curtains. He coughed dryly and said, "In the future, the bed sheets will probably be changed every day..."

Rhodes woke up in the closed bed curtain.Turning his face slightly, he saw a strand of curly silver hair.

Nero put his arms around his waist, his chest pressed against his back.The naked two lay sideways on a messy bed.

Yesterday, they went crazy all night after going through a little farewell.

The light and shadow formed by the blinds alternate with each other, and through a thin layer of bed curtains, the two naked bodies are mixed with the full bed of silk.

Rhodes raised his hand and pulled Nero's leg that was pressing on his hip.He rolled over in the tight and warm embrace, touching the forehead of Nero who was still sleeping.

Nero breathes evenly, and his high nose bridge is very masculine.There were many bright red scars on his shoulders and back, which were scratched by Rhodes last night when he was in extreme love.

Seeing those scars, Rhodes himself was very surprised, and touched the already red and swollen wounds.

The moment his fingertips touched the skin, Nero opened his light brown eyes and looked straight at him without hesitation.

Rhodes froze for a moment and said, "Are you awake?"

"I woke up when your hand touched my leg." Nero said hoarsely.

Rhodes gently pressed the swollen skin and asked, "Does it hurt?"

Nero nodded meaninglessly, "A little bit, but I like it."

He hugged Rhodes into his arms and said with a happy face, "The more you grab me, the more irrational you are and the more you love me. I love the way you lost control last night, which really irritated me..."

Rhode pinched his lips with two fingers, and then let go, "Get up. I heard your slave fetching hot water."

"No hurry." Nero looked at him with dark eyes, "It's still early, I want to do it again..."

Rhodes propped up his upper body with one arm, and grabbed his sneaking hand, "Get up quickly. Remember, a decent nobleman should not kiss his partner before sunset. Since you took the throne, you have been known for your diligence. If my return makes you obsessed with bed curtains, you will definitely fall into the trap again."

Nero smiled slyly, pulled his hand to his mouth, and kissed the back of his hand, "It's all up to you."

The slaves came with the emperor's new clothes on a tray, shook the golden bell on the head of the bed, called their master to get up, and left the bedroom tactfully.

Rhodes tied the bed curtain to the bedpost, glanced at the tray, frowned and said, "They only prepared your clothes."

Nero got out of bed, picked up the bag-shaped underwear and put it on, facing the floor-to-ceiling bronze mirror, he tied his belt indiscriminately.

Naked | Rhodes came behind him, and looked at his muscular legs in the bronze mirror, his lean but youthful waist, and his naturally sinister facial features.

They looked at each other tacitly in the bronze mirror.

Rhodes stepped forward, straightened the folds of Nero's underwear, paused, hugged him from behind, and pressed his face against his muscular shoulder blades.

Nero turned around, his face full of forbearance that was about to erupt in the next moment, pushing Rhodes on the bed.

"I understand Caligula's mood, why would he lock his lover on the bedside." Nero's eyes darkened, "I really want to do the same now."

Rhodes was lying on his back, his loose black hair embedded in the purple silk, and his skin flushed.As soon as he heard Caligula, his thoughts became clearer, and he placed his hands on his depressed shoulders, "Nero, my..."

"I understand what you want to say." Nero moved his resisting hands, "About your mother, your uncle, your family... I will take you to a temple in the afternoon and tell you everything you should know .”

He took down the bed curtain that had just been fastened, and said to Rhodes, "We will only do it once."

……

In more than two months, the flood at the foot of the manor has been almost dredged.Public slaves cleared the flooded streets, sweeping away the clotted mud.The wooden plank bridge originally erected on the flood was also removed.

Nero took Rhodes directly to the temple halfway up the mountain.

Rhodes was wearing the high-end leather armor of a guard officer, with the fang-shaped golden sword pinned to his waist.

In the crypt full of torches, Rhodes read the letter left by his mother and the deep pit that had been filled with cement.

He closed the parchment, leaned his back against the dusty underground wall, expressionless, and did not speak for a long time.

Nero, who had been waiting beside him, looked at his face carefully.Because of the grievances of the previous generation, he was forced to feel guilty.

"Rod..." Nero said cautiously.

Rhodes hid in the blind corner of the light, in the dark, and did not speak.

Nero leaned over full of worry, like a child who has done something wrong, grabbed his hem, and called him softly: "Rod, I know that my uncle almost killed your whole family, but I didn't expect to even kill you." Your mother also..."

Rhodes suddenly stretched out his index finger and stuck it on his speaking lips.

"We have said this before." Rhodes said, "We are all prisoners of blood."

Following those light brown eyes, he recalled Nero who committed suicide in desperation in his previous life, and himself who was poisoned to death.

"What we owe to our blood has already been repaid." He said, who has experienced the tragedy of his previous life, "There is no need to take advantage of the happiness of this life."

Nero's nose was hot, and he hugged him suddenly...

Surrounded by priests and a group of virgins, the two returned from the crypt to the temple hall.

When passing a long mosaic mural, Rhodes stopped.

The mural is the scene of Pandora opening the magic box.Half-naked Pandora is holding a huge magic box in one hand, and holding the key in the other hand, facing the keyhole of the magic box.

Surprisingly, the magic box is made of real gold and stands out throughout, independent of the mosaic fresco.

Rhodes walked over, knocked on the magic box to listen to the sound, and said in thought, "This magic box is empty inside."

His fingers ran back and forth across the keyhole.The keyhole is as wide as half the palm of your hand. "The lockholes are all real. This box can be opened."

"Just a key is missing," said Nero.

From the huge keyhole, the eyes slowly moved to Pandora's white and tender hands, and then to her perfectly painted face.The coldness of cement came from Rhodes' fingertips.

This coldness was so divinely inspired that it hit his heart like the arrow feathers of a god.Rhodes' eyes widened slightly, "Who remembers the riddle left by Caligula?"

The priest quickly answered: "When I was still in the Vesta Temple, I kept the epitaphs of all the people who performed sacrifices in the Vesta Temple, all on a parchment, including the emperor's After the virgin Julia was dismissed, this book was sent to me again."

He went into the reference room of the temple, and came out shortly after with an old yellow notebook, rummaged through it for a long time, and read:

"I will hide all my life in a place, a mysterious place..."

"It is in the myth of nothingness, but also in real life;

It is in pure faith, and in the sin of fools;

It is in the tender hands of a beautiful woman, but also in the hard cement;

In short, it is in your field of vision, but out of your eyes. 』

"No one knows what this place is, I only tell my beloved. 』

After reading, Rhodes and Nero were silent.Rhode tapped the magic box with his raised knuckles, and said, "The so-called riddle is here. But Thales, who knew the answer, is dead."

Nero pondered: "Only Thales knows the answer..."

He subconsciously looked at the golden sword tied around Rhodes' waist.This is the sword Thales once wore, the sword he stabbed Caligula to death, and the last words he ordered before he died.

The blade of the sword is like a row of strangely shaped fangs, flashing a ghastly cold light, but also like...

He raised his head and saw the keyhole on the golden magic box.

Also like a giant key.

Nero only felt a faint sound of thunder and lightning in his ears, and blurted out: "The golden sword is the key."

Under the curious eyes of a group of people, the blade of the sword smoothly entered the keyhole, and with a slight turn, the mechanism hidden in the cement clicked, and the magic box completely separated from the mural and slowly opened.

Inside the magic box is a glass bottle with a narrow neck.

Rhodes took out the bottle and turned it around in front of his eyes.

The glass bottle was sealed with wax, and the body of the bottle was dusty and looked very old. There was a small amount of liquid in the bottle.

"What is this?" He and Nero asked in unison.After asking, both of them froze for a moment, and looked at each other silently.

The priest who is familiar with the funeral replied: "This is a tear bottle, which is a funerary object. It is used to hold the tears of the deceased's relatives or lovers. Usually, they are cremated together with the deceased. Return to the dead and start a new life together in another world."

Rhodes turned the tear bottle, and the crystal liquid in the bottle swayed, "Thales asked me to destroy the golden sword before he died. It seems that he wanted to seal the tear bottle forever in the cement wall."

Nero stared at the swaying liquid, "Whose tears are in here, and why would he do this."

Rhodes put down the tear bottle, and said calmly: "There are always a few secrets in life that can never be solved."