monarch
Chapter 120 Secret Report
"Your Excellency's wound has recovered very well." In Robert's suite at Hampton Court Palace, Dr. Paganini, the king's physician, carefully unwound the white bandage wrapped around Robert's shoulder, "Now I can finally congratulate you, Your wound has fully healed."
"Thank you, doctor." Robert moved his arms and smiled with satisfaction, looking like a boy who got his long-awaited toy.
Edward stepped forward, held Robert's arm, and glared at him, "Don't move yet."
He took a closer look at the healed wound. The pink scar was lying on the wheat-colored skin like an ugly bug, looking a bit hideous.
"Will the wound not open again? Just like the wound on my father's leg." He looked at Dr. Paganini with some concern.
"There is no need to worry at all, Your Majesty." Dr. Paganini looked confident, "The wound on His Majesty's leg has not healed for a long time because of an infection. The Earl is young and strong, and it is especially fortunate that the wound that stabbed him The murder weapon was not smeared with poison or anything from the patient, so although the scar looks scary, it is actually not serious, and the scar will gradually fade over time."
"It seems that those who want to harm me don't have much experience in this area." The king sneered, "I think they will learn from it next time."
Dr. Paganini lowered his head in embarrassment, not daring to answer.
"Okay, doctor." The king noticed the doctor's bewilderment, "Thank you for your exquisite art, you can ask the treasurer for five hundred gold coins as your transportation expenses on the way back, and just say it's my order."
"Thank you Your Majesty for your generosity." Sir Paganini bowed to the ground and stepped back out of the room.
"Five hundred gold coins, just for this little wound..." Robert shook his head in disapproval.
"If it can prevent you from being injured in the first place, then I am willing to pay 1 gold coins." The king shrugged nonchalantly, "Besides, he is a good doctor, and he has served us for decades since my father's time. Yes, it should be generous to him."
He walked to the huge floor-to-ceiling windows and looked at the garden below. The labyrinth made of various precious flowers and trees had begun to take shape. On the opposite side of the labyrinth, a huge marble fountain was already in operation, and clear spring water was coming from the center of the pool. It spit out from the mouth of the Seagod holding the trident.
"Time flies, spring is coming to an end." The king looked at the young men and women chasing and laughing in the garden, "Now that your wounds have healed, we might as well take some time to go out and relax before the summer parade."
"At your command." Robert stood up from the armchair he was sitting on just now. "Where do you want to go?"
"I don't know, maybe go hunting? Every month the steward of the Royal Grove sends to tell me that another big buck has been found in the woods, with thirteen or fourteen forked antlers or something. "
"I remember you didn't like hunting," said Robert.
"Yeah, my father was obsessed with hunting bucks to such an extent that I couldn't get it up... I was sweating all over the horse and running around, just to see the poor animal die convulsively on the ground .But you like hunting, don't you?"
"I don't like it so much now." Robert shook his head, "Although my greatest talent is using my sword, but seeing so much blood on the blade of my sword, I am also tired of killing, not to mention Call it senseless killing."
"Then how about we go to the country? There's a palace in Epsom, built in the time of the Plantagenets. It's a bit deserted, but it's said to be pretty. We can start in the morning and have lunch there, Come back tonight."
The king looked at Robert. "I think the fresh air will do you good."
"Your Majesty has absolutely no need to treat me as a patient again." Robert raised his previously injured arm, and the king stretched out a hand slightly, as if to stop him, but finally put his hand back in place.
Robert waved his arms, and then put his hands on the king's shoulders, "But I am very happy to travel with Your Majesty." He watched with satisfaction that the crimson like sunset glow first rose from the tip of the king's ears, and then spread to the entire ear , and finally smudged on that ivory-like face, like a drop of red ink falling into clear water.
"I am also very happy." The king coughed a few times and whispered.
There were a few knocks on the door, and Robert looked angrily in the direction of the disturbing sound.
"Come in." The king shook his hand reassuringly.
A servant enters the room, looking completely unaware of what he has just interrupted.
"Lord Burleigh," he said, bowing to the king.
"Damn Cecil again," Robert snorted, "asking to see you in the morning, and asking to see you in the evening, just like a fly, you can't get rid of it, and it flies around you every day."
"You compare him to a fly, and what am I?" The king laughed.
"That's the bee, or the annoying butterfly, in short, the kind of thing that can't be chased away."
"He comes only on business," said the king. "I must see him. Will you go with me?"
"Forget it," Robert rolled his eyes, "I'm afraid I won't be able to control my expression."
"You are getting more and more narrow now, did you learn it from me?" The king blinked, "Then just wait for me for a while, I will send him away and come back."
"Good luck then," said Robert.
The king shook his hand again, and went towards the door.
In the small study room next to the wall, Cecil was sitting on a golden satin armchair in a daze. When he saw the king coming in, he jumped up as if there was a snake under his buttocks, "Your Majesty."
"Sit back." The king waved his hand, "You don't have to act like an acrobat in front of me."
Cecil smiled sheepishly.
The king walked around the desk and sat face to face with Cecil. He looked at his secretary, "What do you want?"
"I have a document that needs His Majesty's approval." Cecil took out a red-covered document from the briefcase at his feet. "It is the specific arrangement for the summer parade." The document was held and handed to the king.
The king opened the document and began to browse. He read it very quickly. After about half a minute, he closed the document and put it back on the table.
"Aren't Princess Mary and Princess Elizabeth participating in this summer parade?" The king frowned slightly.
"Princess Mary would like to apologize to you. Her due date is at the end of August, so it would be inconvenient to participate in the summer parade."
The king raised his eyebrows. Princess Mary has been living in seclusion in her family's Heston Manor for a long time since Christmas. It is said that her morning sickness reaction is very severe, making the dozens of doctors who surround her all day like a formidable enemy.
"In that case, please ask her to have a good rest." The king was silent for a moment, and finally made a decision, "But let people keep an eye on her, to see who has visited her, who she has given a heart to, Let Walsingham pay attention." Generally speaking, Princess Mary will never let go of this opportunity to appear in front of everyone. After all, the essence of politics is a performance. Showing your face is more important than anything else.
"A princess who is pregnant with a child undoubtedly symbolizes the future of the kingdom in the eyes of everyone, and its publicity value is limitless. There is absolutely no reason for Princess Mary not to go. With her personality, she will persist even if she is unwell." Cecil Nodding in agreement with the king, "This matter is indeed somewhat unusual."
"And why is Elizabeth?" continued the king, "it seems to me that she has no reason why she should not be present."
"Her Royal Highness Princess Elizabeth also feels unwell, Your Majesty," Cecil replied.
"Unwell? Can't she choose an excuse with some sincerity?" the king muttered disapprovingly.
"The princess said that she is not feeling well recently, and she has always been intolerant to heat, so it is very regrettable that she cannot go with His Majesty." Cecil said, "What do you think about this?"
"What should I do? What can I do? I can't send the Guards to escort her with me." The king tapped the armrest of the chair impatiently, "Just like Princess Mary, there must be something strange about sending someone to keep an eye on her." He leaned on the back of the seat, "It's really sad. Relatives in the family are fighting each other for this chair. In fact, they will find that it is just an ordinary chair when they sit on it. It is not so much a reward as a reward." It's the shackles." He sighed.
Cecil lowered his head, not daring to answer.
"I approve your plan." The king opened the drawer of the desk, took out a quill pen, dipped it in some ink, signed his name on the document, closed the document, and closed it with his hands. Push back to Cecil's side. "Anything else?"
Cecil took the document and put it back in the briefcase.
"One more thing, Your Majesty." He sat up straight, with his hands on his chest awkwardly, "I want to ask Your Majesty for leave."
"You want to ask for leave?" The king was a little surprised, "How long do you need?"
"About a month or so." Cecil replied, "But it may be longer, so I may miss the beginning of the summer parade, please forgive me, Your Majesty."
"What, are you pregnant too? Maybe you are also involved in some kind of conspiracy." The king said in a half-joking tone, his eyes were full of inquiry.
Cecil sighed, "Unfortunately, Your Majesty, this is indeed related to a conspiracy." Cecil's face suddenly became extremely solemn, like a sudden cold snap in spring, causing the new shoots to sprout Full of frost.
"Oh?" The king sat up straight, and his eyes became sharper.
"Do you remember that conversation we had some years ago when you first met me in my cell in the Tower of London? You promised to support me in continuing my case against Lord Protector Edward Seymour Investigate."
The king looked a little surprised, as if he didn't expect Cecil to talk about it, "It's true."
"I always thought that the former Duke Protector might have participated in the crime of murdering the late king, but he had no reason to murder the late queen Catherine Parr, and neither did his younger brother." Cecil went on to say, "Thanks to His Majesty's consent, I There have been some undercover investigations going on for years."
"I know," the king interrupted. "Your secret funds are all allocated from my private treasury."
"Thank you Your Majesty for your generosity." Cecil bent down, "Unfortunately, until recently, there has been no progress."
"But since two weeks ago, things have started to get interesting."
The king frowned slightly, beckoning him to continue.
On the evening of May [-]nd, a doctor ordered himself a glass of wine in a tavern on Barham Street on his way back from a visit in Chelsea. It was not long before a few people not far from him had a The altercation quickly escalated into a brawl in which, according to witnesses, the doctor was involved shortly after, and when he was next noticed he was lying dead on the ground with a knife stuck in his chest. Knife."
"Who is this doctor?" The king also looked a lot more serious.
"Dr. Simon Flint, he once attended the trial of the former Lord Protector as a witness. I don't know if you remember it. It was his inadvertent words that caused the Lord Protector's attention to the poison strychnine. interest."
"However, this looks like an ordinary drunken brawl." The king lowered his head and thought, "Has the murderer been caught?"
"Unfortunately, when the police arrived, they had disappeared. According to the surrounding residents, they had never seen those people, and such drunken brawls are very common in pubs, and sometimes even some People with identities were also involved, so this unfortunate incident didn't attract much attention."
"Then how did you notice it?"
"With His Majesty's permission, I have been continuously monitoring the people involved in the trial of the former Lord Protector. The Italian doctor passed away two years ago. His previous unfortunate experience caused irreversible damage to his body. But everyone else is alive and well, at least until two weeks ago."
"It turns out that the special funds you applied for were all spent on this," the king yawned slightly, "It's not that it was completely wasted, but I don't think this proves anything, after all, as you said, wine Post-fights are not uncommon."
"That's true, Your Majesty." Cecil admitted, "However, three days ago, things changed dramatically."
"Three nights ago, a fire broke out in a three-story house on St. Vincent Street, which is a middle-class neighborhood, and it is reasonable to say that it is not easy to catch fire, but for some reason, the house suddenly burned down. Get up. When the fire brigade arrived, the house had been reduced to flying ashes, and even the neighboring houses had suffered disaster."
"The owner of the house, John Pierce Barton, 55 years old, lives here with his wife, a daughter and a young son who moved in five years ago. John Barton is an old gambler who frequents the casino Happy, and then came home drunk, his wife has lung disease, according to the neighbors, she looks sick every day, they have an older daughter who is married, and now the youngest daughter and youngest son are at home. This family They were all killed in the fire, which was said to have been set by the thugs of the nearby casino, because John Barton had a large debt and tried to cheat in the casino, but none of this has been verified."
"The name sounds familiar." The king fiddled with the end of a quill with his fingers.
"Yes, Your Majesty, if you still remember, the maid who surrendered to you on the night of the Queen's death was named Evelyn Barton."
"Ah, that's what it is," said the king in a single word.
"The family that unfortunately lost their lives is the family of the maid. They moved here shortly after the Lord Protector was brought to justice. Before that, they had been living in the slums of the Eastern District." Cecil paused slightly. For a moment, "I think you must be as curious as I am, how did they get the money to move here? And what source of income did that Mr. John Barton rely on to support his family and his family in the past few years?" What about the little hobbies that cost a lot?"
The king looked into Cecil's eyes, "What's your guess?"
"I think someone is systematically removing key witnesses from that trial."
"Do you remember what I said when I first met you? The former Lord Protector may have committed the crime of regicide, but he had no reason to kill the queen first. There may be someone else behind the scenes. I think this Several murders are also inseparable from him."
The king's face became gloomy, "This means that in the incident five years ago, the Lord Protector or the first queen were just pawns." He stood up, walked to the French windows, and turned his back to Se Seale, "And what does it say about him, five years later, suddenly deciding to shut up forever those who might reveal his secret?"
"Maybe he is planning some kind of action. In order to ensure nothing goes wrong, all hidden dangers must be resolved before then." Cecil said softly, "Who was the biggest beneficiary of the incident five years ago?"
"It is I," said the king dryly. "Are you accusing me?"
Cecil's face suddenly turned pale, "I never meant that, Your Majesty!"
"You should control your tongue, before he brings you greater trouble," said the king proudly. "What are you going to do now? All the witnesses are buried, and there may be an eternal court to make them Open your mouth to testify, but I need some human evidence."
"John Barton had three daughters and a son. The eldest daughter was the unfortunate servant girl. The third daughter and the youngest son perished in the fire, but one daughter survived and was married."
"Married?" asked the king.
"Yes, Your Majesty, married to France." Cecil said, "That's why I want to ask you for leave. I want to investigate this case myself."
The king looked at Cecil, as if he was trying to get into the inner world of the advisor through his eyes, and see what he was thinking, "Are you sure this is not from your loyalty to the old master? You are too It's not out of the question that you want to clear him up so much that you lose your objectivity."
"I don't have any doubts about the former Duke Protector's suspicion of regicide." Cecil said firmly, "The former Duke Protector has been nailed to the pillar of shame forever by virtue of this, even if he did not plan to poison the first queen. .”
He looked serene and determined, without any sign of guilt.
"Very well, then, I grant you permission to go to France." The king went back to the table and sat down again. "I will arrange for you a helper, and Ponsonby will be with you."
"Ponsonby?" Cecil took a step back. "With all due respect, Your Majesty, he is a warrior with no brains. What I plan is a secret and careful investigation..."
"He is much smarter than you think." The king interrupted him. "Besides, if it is true as you said, I think his force will be useful during your trip. After all, if There really is a mastermind behind the scenes, how could he let a shallow strait stop his extermination plan?"
Cecil shivered slightly.
"Then, I wish you a good journey." The king rang the bell, and called the servants to come in and take Cecil out.
Cecil bowed deeply pale, looking as if someone had punched him in the stomach, and when he exited the room, his steps were very flimsy, like a stumbling drunk.
The king leaned back in his chair and looked at the muse dancing on the ceiling, but what came to his mind was the horrible expressions on the faces of the first queen and her maid before they died.
"Damn memories," he muttered under his breath.
"Thank you, doctor." Robert moved his arms and smiled with satisfaction, looking like a boy who got his long-awaited toy.
Edward stepped forward, held Robert's arm, and glared at him, "Don't move yet."
He took a closer look at the healed wound. The pink scar was lying on the wheat-colored skin like an ugly bug, looking a bit hideous.
"Will the wound not open again? Just like the wound on my father's leg." He looked at Dr. Paganini with some concern.
"There is no need to worry at all, Your Majesty." Dr. Paganini looked confident, "The wound on His Majesty's leg has not healed for a long time because of an infection. The Earl is young and strong, and it is especially fortunate that the wound that stabbed him The murder weapon was not smeared with poison or anything from the patient, so although the scar looks scary, it is actually not serious, and the scar will gradually fade over time."
"It seems that those who want to harm me don't have much experience in this area." The king sneered, "I think they will learn from it next time."
Dr. Paganini lowered his head in embarrassment, not daring to answer.
"Okay, doctor." The king noticed the doctor's bewilderment, "Thank you for your exquisite art, you can ask the treasurer for five hundred gold coins as your transportation expenses on the way back, and just say it's my order."
"Thank you Your Majesty for your generosity." Sir Paganini bowed to the ground and stepped back out of the room.
"Five hundred gold coins, just for this little wound..." Robert shook his head in disapproval.
"If it can prevent you from being injured in the first place, then I am willing to pay 1 gold coins." The king shrugged nonchalantly, "Besides, he is a good doctor, and he has served us for decades since my father's time. Yes, it should be generous to him."
He walked to the huge floor-to-ceiling windows and looked at the garden below. The labyrinth made of various precious flowers and trees had begun to take shape. On the opposite side of the labyrinth, a huge marble fountain was already in operation, and clear spring water was coming from the center of the pool. It spit out from the mouth of the Seagod holding the trident.
"Time flies, spring is coming to an end." The king looked at the young men and women chasing and laughing in the garden, "Now that your wounds have healed, we might as well take some time to go out and relax before the summer parade."
"At your command." Robert stood up from the armchair he was sitting on just now. "Where do you want to go?"
"I don't know, maybe go hunting? Every month the steward of the Royal Grove sends to tell me that another big buck has been found in the woods, with thirteen or fourteen forked antlers or something. "
"I remember you didn't like hunting," said Robert.
"Yeah, my father was obsessed with hunting bucks to such an extent that I couldn't get it up... I was sweating all over the horse and running around, just to see the poor animal die convulsively on the ground .But you like hunting, don't you?"
"I don't like it so much now." Robert shook his head, "Although my greatest talent is using my sword, but seeing so much blood on the blade of my sword, I am also tired of killing, not to mention Call it senseless killing."
"Then how about we go to the country? There's a palace in Epsom, built in the time of the Plantagenets. It's a bit deserted, but it's said to be pretty. We can start in the morning and have lunch there, Come back tonight."
The king looked at Robert. "I think the fresh air will do you good."
"Your Majesty has absolutely no need to treat me as a patient again." Robert raised his previously injured arm, and the king stretched out a hand slightly, as if to stop him, but finally put his hand back in place.
Robert waved his arms, and then put his hands on the king's shoulders, "But I am very happy to travel with Your Majesty." He watched with satisfaction that the crimson like sunset glow first rose from the tip of the king's ears, and then spread to the entire ear , and finally smudged on that ivory-like face, like a drop of red ink falling into clear water.
"I am also very happy." The king coughed a few times and whispered.
There were a few knocks on the door, and Robert looked angrily in the direction of the disturbing sound.
"Come in." The king shook his hand reassuringly.
A servant enters the room, looking completely unaware of what he has just interrupted.
"Lord Burleigh," he said, bowing to the king.
"Damn Cecil again," Robert snorted, "asking to see you in the morning, and asking to see you in the evening, just like a fly, you can't get rid of it, and it flies around you every day."
"You compare him to a fly, and what am I?" The king laughed.
"That's the bee, or the annoying butterfly, in short, the kind of thing that can't be chased away."
"He comes only on business," said the king. "I must see him. Will you go with me?"
"Forget it," Robert rolled his eyes, "I'm afraid I won't be able to control my expression."
"You are getting more and more narrow now, did you learn it from me?" The king blinked, "Then just wait for me for a while, I will send him away and come back."
"Good luck then," said Robert.
The king shook his hand again, and went towards the door.
In the small study room next to the wall, Cecil was sitting on a golden satin armchair in a daze. When he saw the king coming in, he jumped up as if there was a snake under his buttocks, "Your Majesty."
"Sit back." The king waved his hand, "You don't have to act like an acrobat in front of me."
Cecil smiled sheepishly.
The king walked around the desk and sat face to face with Cecil. He looked at his secretary, "What do you want?"
"I have a document that needs His Majesty's approval." Cecil took out a red-covered document from the briefcase at his feet. "It is the specific arrangement for the summer parade." The document was held and handed to the king.
The king opened the document and began to browse. He read it very quickly. After about half a minute, he closed the document and put it back on the table.
"Aren't Princess Mary and Princess Elizabeth participating in this summer parade?" The king frowned slightly.
"Princess Mary would like to apologize to you. Her due date is at the end of August, so it would be inconvenient to participate in the summer parade."
The king raised his eyebrows. Princess Mary has been living in seclusion in her family's Heston Manor for a long time since Christmas. It is said that her morning sickness reaction is very severe, making the dozens of doctors who surround her all day like a formidable enemy.
"In that case, please ask her to have a good rest." The king was silent for a moment, and finally made a decision, "But let people keep an eye on her, to see who has visited her, who she has given a heart to, Let Walsingham pay attention." Generally speaking, Princess Mary will never let go of this opportunity to appear in front of everyone. After all, the essence of politics is a performance. Showing your face is more important than anything else.
"A princess who is pregnant with a child undoubtedly symbolizes the future of the kingdom in the eyes of everyone, and its publicity value is limitless. There is absolutely no reason for Princess Mary not to go. With her personality, she will persist even if she is unwell." Cecil Nodding in agreement with the king, "This matter is indeed somewhat unusual."
"And why is Elizabeth?" continued the king, "it seems to me that she has no reason why she should not be present."
"Her Royal Highness Princess Elizabeth also feels unwell, Your Majesty," Cecil replied.
"Unwell? Can't she choose an excuse with some sincerity?" the king muttered disapprovingly.
"The princess said that she is not feeling well recently, and she has always been intolerant to heat, so it is very regrettable that she cannot go with His Majesty." Cecil said, "What do you think about this?"
"What should I do? What can I do? I can't send the Guards to escort her with me." The king tapped the armrest of the chair impatiently, "Just like Princess Mary, there must be something strange about sending someone to keep an eye on her." He leaned on the back of the seat, "It's really sad. Relatives in the family are fighting each other for this chair. In fact, they will find that it is just an ordinary chair when they sit on it. It is not so much a reward as a reward." It's the shackles." He sighed.
Cecil lowered his head, not daring to answer.
"I approve your plan." The king opened the drawer of the desk, took out a quill pen, dipped it in some ink, signed his name on the document, closed the document, and closed it with his hands. Push back to Cecil's side. "Anything else?"
Cecil took the document and put it back in the briefcase.
"One more thing, Your Majesty." He sat up straight, with his hands on his chest awkwardly, "I want to ask Your Majesty for leave."
"You want to ask for leave?" The king was a little surprised, "How long do you need?"
"About a month or so." Cecil replied, "But it may be longer, so I may miss the beginning of the summer parade, please forgive me, Your Majesty."
"What, are you pregnant too? Maybe you are also involved in some kind of conspiracy." The king said in a half-joking tone, his eyes were full of inquiry.
Cecil sighed, "Unfortunately, Your Majesty, this is indeed related to a conspiracy." Cecil's face suddenly became extremely solemn, like a sudden cold snap in spring, causing the new shoots to sprout Full of frost.
"Oh?" The king sat up straight, and his eyes became sharper.
"Do you remember that conversation we had some years ago when you first met me in my cell in the Tower of London? You promised to support me in continuing my case against Lord Protector Edward Seymour Investigate."
The king looked a little surprised, as if he didn't expect Cecil to talk about it, "It's true."
"I always thought that the former Duke Protector might have participated in the crime of murdering the late king, but he had no reason to murder the late queen Catherine Parr, and neither did his younger brother." Cecil went on to say, "Thanks to His Majesty's consent, I There have been some undercover investigations going on for years."
"I know," the king interrupted. "Your secret funds are all allocated from my private treasury."
"Thank you Your Majesty for your generosity." Cecil bent down, "Unfortunately, until recently, there has been no progress."
"But since two weeks ago, things have started to get interesting."
The king frowned slightly, beckoning him to continue.
On the evening of May [-]nd, a doctor ordered himself a glass of wine in a tavern on Barham Street on his way back from a visit in Chelsea. It was not long before a few people not far from him had a The altercation quickly escalated into a brawl in which, according to witnesses, the doctor was involved shortly after, and when he was next noticed he was lying dead on the ground with a knife stuck in his chest. Knife."
"Who is this doctor?" The king also looked a lot more serious.
"Dr. Simon Flint, he once attended the trial of the former Lord Protector as a witness. I don't know if you remember it. It was his inadvertent words that caused the Lord Protector's attention to the poison strychnine. interest."
"However, this looks like an ordinary drunken brawl." The king lowered his head and thought, "Has the murderer been caught?"
"Unfortunately, when the police arrived, they had disappeared. According to the surrounding residents, they had never seen those people, and such drunken brawls are very common in pubs, and sometimes even some People with identities were also involved, so this unfortunate incident didn't attract much attention."
"Then how did you notice it?"
"With His Majesty's permission, I have been continuously monitoring the people involved in the trial of the former Lord Protector. The Italian doctor passed away two years ago. His previous unfortunate experience caused irreversible damage to his body. But everyone else is alive and well, at least until two weeks ago."
"It turns out that the special funds you applied for were all spent on this," the king yawned slightly, "It's not that it was completely wasted, but I don't think this proves anything, after all, as you said, wine Post-fights are not uncommon."
"That's true, Your Majesty." Cecil admitted, "However, three days ago, things changed dramatically."
"Three nights ago, a fire broke out in a three-story house on St. Vincent Street, which is a middle-class neighborhood, and it is reasonable to say that it is not easy to catch fire, but for some reason, the house suddenly burned down. Get up. When the fire brigade arrived, the house had been reduced to flying ashes, and even the neighboring houses had suffered disaster."
"The owner of the house, John Pierce Barton, 55 years old, lives here with his wife, a daughter and a young son who moved in five years ago. John Barton is an old gambler who frequents the casino Happy, and then came home drunk, his wife has lung disease, according to the neighbors, she looks sick every day, they have an older daughter who is married, and now the youngest daughter and youngest son are at home. This family They were all killed in the fire, which was said to have been set by the thugs of the nearby casino, because John Barton had a large debt and tried to cheat in the casino, but none of this has been verified."
"The name sounds familiar." The king fiddled with the end of a quill with his fingers.
"Yes, Your Majesty, if you still remember, the maid who surrendered to you on the night of the Queen's death was named Evelyn Barton."
"Ah, that's what it is," said the king in a single word.
"The family that unfortunately lost their lives is the family of the maid. They moved here shortly after the Lord Protector was brought to justice. Before that, they had been living in the slums of the Eastern District." Cecil paused slightly. For a moment, "I think you must be as curious as I am, how did they get the money to move here? And what source of income did that Mr. John Barton rely on to support his family and his family in the past few years?" What about the little hobbies that cost a lot?"
The king looked into Cecil's eyes, "What's your guess?"
"I think someone is systematically removing key witnesses from that trial."
"Do you remember what I said when I first met you? The former Lord Protector may have committed the crime of regicide, but he had no reason to kill the queen first. There may be someone else behind the scenes. I think this Several murders are also inseparable from him."
The king's face became gloomy, "This means that in the incident five years ago, the Lord Protector or the first queen were just pawns." He stood up, walked to the French windows, and turned his back to Se Seale, "And what does it say about him, five years later, suddenly deciding to shut up forever those who might reveal his secret?"
"Maybe he is planning some kind of action. In order to ensure nothing goes wrong, all hidden dangers must be resolved before then." Cecil said softly, "Who was the biggest beneficiary of the incident five years ago?"
"It is I," said the king dryly. "Are you accusing me?"
Cecil's face suddenly turned pale, "I never meant that, Your Majesty!"
"You should control your tongue, before he brings you greater trouble," said the king proudly. "What are you going to do now? All the witnesses are buried, and there may be an eternal court to make them Open your mouth to testify, but I need some human evidence."
"John Barton had three daughters and a son. The eldest daughter was the unfortunate servant girl. The third daughter and the youngest son perished in the fire, but one daughter survived and was married."
"Married?" asked the king.
"Yes, Your Majesty, married to France." Cecil said, "That's why I want to ask you for leave. I want to investigate this case myself."
The king looked at Cecil, as if he was trying to get into the inner world of the advisor through his eyes, and see what he was thinking, "Are you sure this is not from your loyalty to the old master? You are too It's not out of the question that you want to clear him up so much that you lose your objectivity."
"I don't have any doubts about the former Duke Protector's suspicion of regicide." Cecil said firmly, "The former Duke Protector has been nailed to the pillar of shame forever by virtue of this, even if he did not plan to poison the first queen. .”
He looked serene and determined, without any sign of guilt.
"Very well, then, I grant you permission to go to France." The king went back to the table and sat down again. "I will arrange for you a helper, and Ponsonby will be with you."
"Ponsonby?" Cecil took a step back. "With all due respect, Your Majesty, he is a warrior with no brains. What I plan is a secret and careful investigation..."
"He is much smarter than you think." The king interrupted him. "Besides, if it is true as you said, I think his force will be useful during your trip. After all, if There really is a mastermind behind the scenes, how could he let a shallow strait stop his extermination plan?"
Cecil shivered slightly.
"Then, I wish you a good journey." The king rang the bell, and called the servants to come in and take Cecil out.
Cecil bowed deeply pale, looking as if someone had punched him in the stomach, and when he exited the room, his steps were very flimsy, like a stumbling drunk.
The king leaned back in his chair and looked at the muse dancing on the ceiling, but what came to his mind was the horrible expressions on the faces of the first queen and her maid before they died.
"Damn memories," he muttered under his breath.
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