monarch

It seems that from the distant times of ancient Egypt, Pharaoh's architects began to design complicated secret passages in the palaces of Thebes.For kings and nobles, the secret passages in the mansion are not only a lifeline in case of danger, but also an excellent tool for covering their whereabouts on weekdays.

The residence of the Duchess of Suffolk has hidden many secret passages since the foundation was laid in the Middle Ages. After centuries of expansion, these secret passages have formed a complex network, hidden in the walls or above the ceiling. , like a secret spider web, tightly wrapped the entire mansion.If a visitor happens to enter this vast network through a secret door hidden in a corner or behind a full-length mirror, he will probably get lost, or appear in the kitchen under the surprised eyes of the servants. Only under the guidance of the guide of the whole road can we reach some hidden corners that the owner does not want to be known to outsiders.

Two floors below the greenhouse mentioned above is a dark room with only a few ventilation holes near the ceiling, obviously located underground.However, although it is a basement, there is no damp and cold atmosphere in the room. The floor is covered with thick carpets, which have obviously been carefully cleaned.

There was a huge round table in the center of the supplies, and the surroundings were already full of people. They were all wearing the cloaks they got from the guide when they entered the secret passage, and the dim candlelight in the room made their figures look indistinct.

A lady in a skirt walked into the room with an oil lamp. She nodded to the people at the entrance and put the oil lamp on a small coffee table at the entrance.

"Everyone is here now," she looked at the man sitting opposite the farthest from the gate, "Time is limited, so many of us have been away from the party for too long, and some people will become suspicious."

The man nodded, "Then let's start." He looked at a thin figure on his left, "But before we start, I think someone needs to explain his stupid behavior."

The man seemed to tremble slightly, and then he straightened his back deliberately, "There is always someone to do something, you big men only know how to talk all day long, but you don't dare to resist that brat at all. Your plan After so long, has it played any role? The Administrative Modernization Act has passed, and now you big men in the palace can still please the tyrant, be his tool, secretary and eagle dog, and ask him to reward you with some cruelty. The soup is cold, but we local gentlemen can only sit back and watch our sacred rights passed down from generation to generation be unreasonably deprived!"

"I understand your feelings." The person presiding over the meeting nodded slightly, but if you looked closely, you could see the mocking sneer on his face, "But I must point out that trying to pass the king's knife in the House of Lords Solving all the problems in the same way, this is really only those stupid landlords who are used to domineering in the countryside can think of it, it is really stupid to the extreme."

"This is how they cooked Caesar back then, didn't it work?"

"You still know the allusions about Caesar, it's really not easy." The host cleared his throat, "Then have you learned about the fate of those conspirators who assassinated Caesar?"

He knocked on the table suddenly, and the thunderous sound rushed through the four walls, startling everyone.

"Anyone should develop the habit of taking one step and three steps before playing the game of politics, instead of rampaging like a bull!" The host stood up and yelled at the frightened skinny man. Get up, "You think you've killed the king and it's over? You can go back to your country home, pick up those old privileges, and keep on dominating the house behind closed doors?"

"If the king dies in the House of Lords that day, trust me, that's just the beginning... You can kill the king, but have you considered how those loyal to him will react? Those who have benefited from his reforms What do you do again? Are you expecting them to just sit there and wait for you to take those newfound powers out of their hands? And those pretenders, who do you want to work with, support Is anyone sitting on the throne? No, no, you haven't thought of anything, and your head, which is no bigger than an almond, can't help you think!"

The skinny man seemed to be irritated, and he was about to jump up to refute, but was held down by the people around him.

"What you said is very reasonable, Your Excellency." The man looked completely different from his companion. The former was as skinny as a charred tree, while this gentleman looked twice as wide as his companion. , his voice was much calmer in comparison, "I admit that this assassination is really ill-considered, but I think you have mentioned it just now, and you can understand our urgency." He paused slightly, looked at the The look of the host showed that the other party seemed much calmer than before, "In my opinion, time is already very tight. If we don't do anything, I'm afraid we won't have the chance to do anything. Therefore, for us, the A dramatic way to change the status quo and see where fate takes us is not so unacceptable. After all, compared with adults like you, we don't have much to lose.

"You want to get power from the king smoothly, so you look forward and backward, but our patience is limited. Frankly speaking, we don't mind this kingdom being destroyed in the fire, as long as we can find a little gold in the ashes at last, So this is a good deal for us.”

"If you're so impatient," replied the host, "then I really don't see any basis for our cooperation. You don't know the king. His Majesty is young, but he is a monster more terrible than his father." ...King Henry VIII was obsessed with honor, vanity and prestige, while our Majesty only cares about power, he plays his cards carefully, and does not, like his father, do things like marriage or international affairs. Things like prestige are a waste of political capital in your hands. You can't be too cautious to be an enemy of His Majesty."

"You sound like you admire him very much." The skinny man said again, "In that case, why don't you continue to work for him, and cooperate with us, who you think are vulgar and boring, to deal with him What? After all, your current status is a gift from the king. You said that he is a power-hungry monster, but aren’t you also this kind of person? When you have power, don’t we have to worry, you will The next tyrant like King Edward VI?"

"You don't have to worry at all," the host smiled softly, "I'm different from the king, he is a man of heaven, and the king's power is granted by God; and even if I am in power, I'm just a crooked tyrant who lacks legitimacy and supporters , so if I want to maintain my position, I need to share power with my friends." He scanned the room. In terms of balance: the balance between the king and the nobles; the balance between the local and the court; the balance between the nobles and the common people. Now that the balance has been lost, what we need to do is to restore this ancient balance."

"You sound good, but the question is when do you plan to put it into practice?" The fat man interrupted the host, "The king's bureaucrats have already begun to take over the administrative organs of my county, and it won't take long for the entire county to have power It's completely in their hands, and if you're counting on us to support your plans, then we need to see results as quickly as possible."

"I think the upcoming summer parade has given us an excellent opportunity to act." The host took out a document from his cloak, "I don't need to emphasize that the contents of the document are strictly prohibited to be leaked. Please return it to me after reading it in order. Our time is limited, so please speed up. Fortunately, this is a very simple plan, and I believe everyone will be able to read it in a short time."

As he said that, he handed the document to the first person sitting at hand, like the hour hand on a clock, the document turned all the way along the round table, and soon returned to the host.

"With all due respect, Your Excellency." The skinny man said again, "In my opinion, there is no difference between your plan and our previous actions."

"Indeed." The host nodded, "It will be a blow like lightning, and no one can react in time; and such a blow must be simple. It's because they're overly complicated, and sometimes the simple is the best."

"But we failed that time, why do you think you will have better luck than us?"

"That's because I don't put my hopes on luck, and I've already figured out the next step, not like a five-year-old kid who sets fire to a haystack and doesn't know how much trouble he has made."

The skinny man snorted coldly and stopped talking.

"Do you have any questions?" The host nodded slightly and looked around the room again.

"I think there is only one last question left." A somewhat old voice came from the opposite side, "Who will be after Caesar? After King Edward, the next king, or to be precise, the next queen will be who?"

Everyone looked at each other, and after about half a minute, most of them all focused on the host, the old man who was talking, and the middle-aged man who was silent from beginning to end.

The host paused for a moment, cleared his throat slightly, "It's too early to talk about this now." His tone sounded very uncomfortable, "In any case, at least in terms of opposing King Edward, our interests are the same of."

Everyone nodded. Obviously, this alliance of different dreams would fall apart immediately after the king was removed, but at least at this point in time, they were still on the same side.

"I think we can reach a consensus?" the host whispered.

No one spoke, but the silence itself was an approval.

"Thank you all." The host bowed to the audience. "In order not to arouse suspicion, our hostess will arrange for everyone to return to the party through different exits. I wish you all a pleasant night."

The lady who had just closed the door stood up and picked up the oil lamp she had just placed at the door. The wick soaked in some muddy lamp oil gave off a dim light like soybeans.

"Everyone, please follow me." She lifted the hem of her skirt with one hand, and gracefully bent her knees.

Two floors above their heads, Lord Holyhead and Sir Wentley met again in the dining room, fine beads of sweat gleaming in the lamplight on their clean brows.This was partly due to the stuffy air and partly due to inner tension.

"Did you see those people just mentioned?" He picked up a glass of iced champagne, and drank the liquid in the glass with a tilt of his neck. "Damn it, it's hot as hell in this room."

Sir Wintley picked up a glass of wine and sipped it.He shook his head and remained silent, as if he was thinking about something.

Baron Holyhead picked up another glass of wine, and before the glass was brought to his lips, he suddenly let out a soft cry, "Isn't that Bishop Gardner?"

Sir Wentley also seemed taken aback. He raised his head, stared blankly at his companion for a few seconds, and then turned to look in the direction Baron Holyhead was looking at.

Bishop Gardiner's face, with its huge hooked nose and gray hair, was indeed at the entrance of the restaurant, and with his usual air of mocking haughtiness and self-satisfaction, he passed through the crowd with With an attitude of grace, he kept nodding to the people he knew around him, looking like a woodpecker punching holes in an oak tree.

"Let's go to the other rooms." Sir Wentley put the cup back on the chair, and they walked towards the entrance of the dining room again.

"Where are you going?" asked Lord Holyhead.

"Let's take a walk along the original road, from the living room to the greenhouse and back. I think we should meet many old acquaintances along the way."

"It's better to go to the greenhouse, this room is so hot as an oven, it's almost roasting people alive." Baron Holyhead breathed heavily like a person with lung disease, "Compared to the greenhouse, it's still cool Some."

Sure enough, as Sir Wentley said, they encountered several characters that they couldn't find just now. They seemed to be rabbits conjured out of hats by a magician, and they appeared out of nowhere.

They came to the entrance of the greenhouse again, and there were more people there than before.The two were wrapped in the crowd and rushed into the greenhouse along the flow of people. Before their eyes were the colorful decorations on the hats of men and women. The air was filthy with the smell of sweat and incense powder, making people sick to their stomachs.

The Chief Minister was standing under the statue, looking thoughtfully at the graceful curve of the Harvest Goddess. Surrounding him were those servile courtesans who looked into the Chief Minister's eyes one by one, as if he was more beautiful than the Harvest Goddess. Goddesses should be more graceful.

Baron Holyhead pulled his companions out of the crowd and came to a small fountain, surrounded by several thin yew and cypress trees.

"Where did he come from again?" whispered Baron Holyhead.

"I don't think we have anything to see tonight," said Sir Wintley. "Whatever they came here for, it must be done, and it is time for us to take our mistress's farewell." He smiled slightly, "She must have returned to her post now."

They returned to the first living room, and they did see the figure of the Duchess.She stood in the center of the room, her tall black long hair drooped all the way to her back, forming a beautiful cloud around her neck, and there was also a beautiful white rose on top of her head.The fair skin exposed from the lace of the dress caught the eyes of the men surrounding her.

Baron Holyhead and Sir Wentley walked up to the Duchess and bowed slightly.

"You have had an incomparable evening, madam, and we congratulate you," said Lord Holyhead.

The Duchess seemed quite satisfied with his compliment, and gave the Baron a faint smile, "I'm glad you enjoyed the party." She nodded, and the diamond hanging on her earlobe with a gold thread was on the The air kept shaking, like a crystal drop dancing in the wind.

"If you don't mind, we will take our leave." The baron bowed again.

"Leaving so early?" The Duchess sounded regretful, but both parties in the conversation knew that she didn't care. "You are really cruel, dear George."

"Please believe me, there is nothing that pains me more than leaving your side." Baron Holyhead took a jade hand extended by the Duchess in a gesture of admiration, bent down and kissed it gently, "Unfortunately, however, I have already made a commitment to tonight's arrangements."

"Which woman is so lucky?" The Duchess blinked. "Since you have such a holy reason, I will not keep you." She said to Sir Wentley. "As for you, sir, I know you I have never liked this kind of crowded occasion, so I won't force you to stay to embarrass you."

"Thank you for your thoughtfulness, ma'am." Sir Wentley bowed deeply to the Duchess. The Duchess nodded, turned around, and began to talk to another gentleman who had been waiting for a long time.

The two stepped out of the room and stepped up the stairs again. They took their fur cloaks from the servant at the door and put them on. They stepped out of the door and let the slightly cool and fresh air of the night pour into their lungs.

"Where are we going now?" Baron Holyhead looked briskly at his companions as they waited for the groom to drive his carriage over.

"Go where you want, I believe one of your girlfriends has been waiting for a long time," replied Sir Wintley.

"Indeed," Baron Holyhead laughed. His carriage stopped just in front of him, and he opened the door. "The report..."

"Leave it to me. I'll start writing when I get back at night, just like usual." Sir Wentley snorted, and walked towards his own carriage that stopped behind.

Baron Holyhead whistled in satisfaction, and got into his carriage, "What a good friend."

He closed the door, knocked on the window, and the carriage immediately sped up. He reached out and groped around the seat of the carriage, and found a silver flagon from the gap between the seat back and the cushion with satisfaction.

"And you, you are also my good friend." He said as he unscrewed the lid and swallowed the liquid inside.