The Sensory Animals of Ston Hill

Grace once heard her mother often hum a ditty, brought from her hometown, about how a king fell in love with a commoner girl.It is said that the king was the king of England, and he himself composed this piece for his wife Anne.

Now Grace knew who the king was, an Englishman, Henry VIII, whose second wife Anne had beheaded.Later the king married several times and beheaded more than one queen.

For King Louis, this was not a good example of what he wanted.But for the reformist minister who was against the church, this story has an inspiring educational value, because Henry VIII wanted to divorce his previous wife, but the Pope did not allow it, which directly led to the reform of England.

They called this story "The Triumph of Kingship" and shouted excitedly: "It is no longer the time for the king to kneel down and beg the pope for forgiveness! What the British did 300 years ago, we can do now!" "

The court tailor's ruler and the wigmaker's feather surrounded Grace.The allies wanted to make the queen-to-be more pleasing to the people, and arranged a lot of parades before the wedding. Grace had to put on those clothes, put on those jewelry, and dress herself up as a queen who could win people's love.

He knew very well that he had also become a ruler, more dexterous and cunning than the small wooden ruler in the tailor's hand.He only needs to drive down the street in a golden carriage and wave to the townspeople to measure the situation in today's world: the reformers are more popular than the church.

People cheered him, and began calling him the "Queen of the Commoners" or "Queen of Progress" even before the wedding.Of course, some people called Grace a "disgraceful illegitimate daughter", or slandered him as a "heretic from Ireland" based on his blood, or simply called him "the king's bitch".

He has so many titles all at once, which sometimes makes him feel strange even when he looks in the mirror.But of course he knew that he was still "Grace" and would always be just clothes.

He didn't think of himself as a woman when he put on a skirt, any more than he thought of himself as a man when he started wearing trousers.Now that he was wearing luxurious clothes that only a queen could wear, he naturally wouldn't consider himself a queen.He was only dragged down by an unprecedented burden, his neck was strangled by a huge jewel, and he could no longer make a sound.

He finally understood the meaning of faction: that all people have only one voice.The sound is much louder and more audible than when a single person utters it, but also deprives each tongue and mouth of its own meaning.

No one ever asked Grace if she was looking forward to the wedding, because his answer didn't matter.

The wedding of the new queen is scheduled for two months.The allies felt happy for him and always reminded him: "Please be sure to fight for the position of Queen Regent."

This seemed to Grace an interesting remark, because the king did not propose, but directly issued the notice in the form of humiliation in front of many people.Now it seems that the ministers have taken this step for the king.

The original queen was sent to the monastery. She was close to the church, and the king let her go to the place closest to God.The reformers had hoped to send her closer to God, but the king said he hoped his wedding with Grace would be beautiful and not stain it with blood.

When he said this, he looked at Grace with special eagerness, but Grace didn't dare to look back at the king's eyes.

The king also asked Grace if there was any dissatisfaction with the details of the wedding, although she raised it.

Grace's only thought was that many people would starve and freeze to death in the coming winter, and they were still thinking about how many desserts to have at the dinner after the wedding, and how many decorations to put on the queen's wig; into his ear, and made him sick.

But of course he didn't dare to say that to the king, it would appear that he had no expectations for the wedding - even though that was what he really thought.

"I am very satisfied." Grace replied.

The king did not leave the meeting early.He stayed until the end of the meeting, and did not get up so long that Grace did not dare to get up, and sat in the chair next to the king, waiting for all the ministers to leave one by one.

The room fell silent, the king apparently waiting for Grace to speak.Grace thought the king was in a good mood at the moment, so she finally mustered up the courage to turn her head to look at the king, and asked, "Why didn't Count De La Salle and Count Laval come to the meeting?"

It seemed that this was not a question the king wanted to hear. Those amber eyes, which had turned amber due to the sufficient light, showed some disappointment, "It's not that I don't let these two come to the palace, it's the other ministers who don't."

"...Why?" Grace couldn't help asking.

"Perhaps it's because these two are too rigid and take English law too seriously and ignore the actual situation in our country—"

"The actual situation in our country? Do you mean the interests of the nobles? Your Majesty, have you seen those petitions, the people's request for land tax relief—" He couldn't continue, because the king was already shaking his head slightly .

"Ignore those letters, Grace, your allies have overruled these requests."

"...Why?" Grace asked again. He seemed to be cheated, but he couldn't figure out what kind of scam it was, so he kept asking stupidly: "Isn't this part of the reform? Aren't they advanced? They promised to give up their privileges... have they changed their minds?" Grace looked into the king's calm dark eyes and whispered in disappointment: "You changed your mind..."

"Grace, there's venison on the table tonight, and you'll like it."

Grace looked puzzled.

"Remember when we met at Kent Hills? Everyone was eating venison that day, and I saw you then, and you looked lovely eating. The venison was just as good tonight as it was that day! "

He was pulled up from his seat in a daze, and the king took his hand, so intimately, as if nothing terrible had happened.

Suddenly the faces of Captain John Lane and Sergeant Charles Lane flashed through his mind.

"You're so tired from the national convention and I want you to relax. Grace, the play I wrote for you is done and the actors are rehearsing now. Would you like us to have dinner in the little theater? Yes. Eating venison and drinking your favorite wine while watching the actors practice their lines... That's a play written for you, I wrote it for you—"

Grace stared blankly at his delighted face.

"——It's a gift I prepared for you!"

Grace trembled violently all over, and the king let go of his hand in shock, as if he had been burned by his hand.

Grace was busy wiping the cold sweat from her palms on her skirt, and kept apologizing.

The king took his handkerchief from his pocket, took his hand, and gently dried his palm.Grace's fingers trembled in the sight of the king, and the trembling became more and more violent.

The king gently let go of his hand, and replaced it with a handkerchief tightly held in his palm, "Otherwise, let's watch a comedy... After all, that play is still being rehearsed, maybe, it's a bit boring."

The king can do as he pleases, and he decides impromptu to enjoy a play, and the actors and scenery are ready within an hour.The venison is still roasted, served on a polished silver plate, and the aroma drills into the nose.Grace forced herself to look like she was enjoying every bite, and he knew he had upset the king again.He couldn't stop thinking of the look Alan Stone looked up at the king when he was kneeling on the ground under the pressure of four spears, and the undisguised and intense hatred on his face when he held the execution hammer.

This should be a pleasant enjoyment, eating meat and drinking wine, the musicians on the stage play instruments for them, and the actors sing for them.

The king leaned over and explained in a low voice in his ear: "This is also the story of the wedding, itself in Italian, and I'll change it into our language - soon there will be a doctor and housekeeper, and their performance is very Funny, I guess you'll be amused. Mr. Faranelli will be on stage too, I know you like his voice."

Grace sat very upright, afraid of appearing uninterested in the drama, so she stared intently at the stage, but this made her a little distracted from eating.When the king invited him to taste the venison, he hurriedly lowered his head to eat the meat, and missed two lines as a result.

Grace vaguely understands that this is about a pair of loving servants preparing for their wedding, but they immediately mention an earl who wants to exercise the lord's right of first night.Grace has never heard of the right of the first night, but she can probably guess what the word means.But he couldn't guess why the king chose this play for him.

The King laughed suddenly, and Grace nearly choked on herself.He was extremely nervous, and he swallowed the meat that was blocked in his throat with all his strength, tears welled up in the corners of his eyes.He really couldn't tell whether the king's laughter was because of something funny on stage or something else.

He felt like he was going to throw up, he shouldn't have eaten so much meat.

The king raised his hand, and the performance and music on the stage stopped abruptly.

The king bowed his head in silence for a while, then took out a handkerchief and handed it to Grace, "If you are not feeling well, go and rest."

Grace took his handkerchief and pressed it on his forehead, but in fact his back was sweating a lot, and it was already cold, making him feel very cold.He felt like he was acting like both a fool and a wimp.If Alan Stone was standing here, he would definitely not be as unpromising as him.

"Grace," said the king, looking up, and now his eyes had darkened again, as if they were rusty, "this is just a comedy, and it's meant to be funny, and there's no other meaning to it. "

That night, Grace fell ill again.

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Note:

1. The era when the king knelt down to the church refers to the "Humiliation of Canossa" event.Pope Gregory VII was fighting for power with Emperor Shenluo Henry IV, and the emperor was forced to kneel down to the Pope to repent with his wife and children.

2. The play that the king asked Grace to watch was "The Marriage of Figaro". He chose this play because it was about weddings, it was a funny comedy, and the protagonists were two clever and bold servants.