Human dimension reduction

Thousands of troops rolled up their banners, struggled with the soaked mud pits in the wind and rain, and walked slowly and difficultly. The mountain roads without special processing are already difficult to walk, let alone slippery roads in rainy days, milky white rain and fog It covered almost everything within sight, and couldn't hear the officer's shouting and ordering, so he could only stare at the back of the person in front and follow numbly.

In such a storm that even people fear, a snow-white pigeon pierced through the wind and rain like lightning and fell in front of the team. The chariot pulled by two horses stopped, and soon someone grabbed the pigeon. I recognized the lines on the end of its wings, and handed it into the warm compartment.

There was only one kerosene lamp lit in the carriage, and the glass lampshade surrounded the orange flame. The little poor creature subconsciously approached the heat, stretched its wings and combed the messy and wet feathers with its red beak.

The man sitting by the kerosene lamp has long black curly hair, and a heavy black cloak is dragged all the way to the ground. His dark blue eyes are sleepily half-closed, and he looks as harmless as a dozing bird The big sheep raised an eyebrow when he saw this familiar pigeon, and the sleepy expression disappeared from his face like water.

A small circular tube half a knuckle long was tied to the right leg of the pigeon. The head of the Stuart family spun it twice gently and quickly with a specific technique, and pulled out a piece of paper folded in half inside. There is a brief blank, and then there is a distorted rage.

"Conceited rebel! Stupid lunatic! Foul-smelling bastard to hell! How dare he turn his back on me—"

The knights guarding the side of the carriage seemed to have vaguely heard an angry roar coming from inside the carriage, mixed with the title of an absolutely noble person, but the heavy rain covered most of the sound, making them unsure whether they heard it or not. Words full of curses.

But soon, there was movement in the carriage.

Their swearing-to-die master stuck out half of his body from inside, and issued an order to his knight commander with a gloomy face: "Bring my horse! Send 30 people to follow me back to London, and the others will march faster."

The knight commander wanted to dissuade this dangerous behavior. It is easy to break the neck when riding a horse in such a rainy weather, but the consul, who is known as the tyrant of northern Gaul, watched him coldly, and he had to swallow it. The following words: "Yes, Your Excellency the Duke."

William Stuart roughly pushed away the attendant who wanted to help him, and got on his horse. The heavy rain instantly drenched him from the inside to the outside. The consul turned the horse's head, and from those blue eyes There was a ruthless and terrifying expression in his face, and even the knight commander who followed him the longest was terrified by this expression.

"Your Excellency the Duke..."

The knight commander tried to say something to calm his boiling anger, but was cut off mercilessly.

"That self-righteous hyena broke his pact with me, and he better hope His Majesty doesn't die at his hands, or I'll hang him from the tower of the Palace of Westminster and let him dry there Sausage."

Before the words fell, one person and one horse flew away like an arrow from the string. The thirty knights behind him looked at each other for two seconds, and they all saw some kind of shock in each other's eyes. Who murdered His Majesty the King?

--------

two days ago

Crystal Room, Palace of Westminster

Spice ice cream composed of basil, rosemary, basil leaves, nutmeg, etc. is served on a huge silver plate, with a comfortable chill on the snow-white cream, and sprinkled with ground nuts The snow-capped ice cream is really cute.

The attendants standing next to the guests scooped up the ice cream with large shallow silver spoons and put them in silver cups, and served them to the gentlemen and ladies, and the king naturally had the right to taste the first spoon.

The younger brother, the Duke of York, who was sitting on the left hand side of the king, got the second scoop of ice cream. Young children like this cold dessert, not to mention the thick honey poured on it at any cost, which is enough to make any Satisfaction for a picky heart.

The Duke of Gloucester did not attend today's palace dinner, which is a meaningful signal. The nobles communicated privately with each other's eyes, while the ministers who had won the privilege of serving dishes for the king ordered their servants to serve them with high heads and chests. Selected curiosities.

A swan stuffed with duck eggs, quail, turkey, and peas, a ham as long as half a person, a round and oily roast suckling pig, and steamed fish decorated with diamonds...

All kinds of weird things were sent to the king, some of which the king just tasted and then ordered to distribute to the guests below, and some were placed in front of the king and his younger brother—of course, the smaller ones.

And the last Archbishop of Canterbury, he brought up a huge plate of roasted lamb dotted with various berries. The belly of the lamb was stuffed with various side dishes. The light powder, the hot oil and the smell of spices made the king couldn't help but look at it a few more times.

Seeing this, his expression froze slightly, but soon became normal.

Among the layers of berries, more than half of them are black-purple round fruits, exuding a sweet and greasy aroma cooked by high temperature and oil.

gooseberry.

The king cut off a piece of lamb with a silver knife and put it on the plate with a gentle expression. He used a spoon to scoop up a large spoonful of garnishes and berries, and finished eating quickly. He nodded to the Archbishop of Canterbury and got a grateful expression from the other party.

But before the king raised his wine glass to speak to the guests, another attendant walked in holding a silver plate. He was tall and strong, with muscular arms, and was half a head taller than the others. He was not so much an attendant. Rather a well-trained knight.

"I remember the Archbishop of Canterbury is the last one?" The little king put down his glass and asked Aiden who was standing beside him.

"Yes, Your Majesty, I did arrange for the archbishop to be the last..." Aiden was obviously also puzzled by the last attendant.

"Humble on behalf of my benevolent and noble master, Xiang respects the great king, His Majesty Edward V, and worships rare treasures!"

The visitor stood not far from the king, bent down and said loudly.

The guests all turned their heads to look at him with surprise in their eyes. Whose servant is this? Why didn't his master come to the scene?

But some people with excellent memories have already recalled the identity of this person, and their expressions have become weird.

"Who is your master?" asked the little king.

"My master is Lord Protector of the late King Edward IV, defender of the throne, heroic defender of London, Your Excellency the Duke of Gloucester!"

The whole audience fell into a short and strange silence, and finally the king sitting at the top broke the deadlock and raised his hand to signal the attendant to come forward.

As he approached, the pressure brought by his size made Aiden involuntarily block himself from the king, watching his every move with vigilance.

And the attendant didn't care about Aiden's defense at all. He carried—or carried it with two strong arms—the silver plate nearly one meter wide, walked a distance in front of the king, and placed it in front of the king. On the high square table, and then lifted the silver-plated copper cover on it.

There was a sudden commotion at the dining table, and the delicate ladies screamed, and some of them even fainted on the spot, and were supported by the men around them to step back from the table, and the faces of the men were not looking good.

On the huge silver plate stood a deer with supple and beautiful fur, its limbs curled up under its snow-white belly, flower-like spots were scattered like stars on its brownish-yellow back, its long eyelashes drooped, and it was immature. The beautiful antlers like a tree branch have not yet grown on the young forehead, a bloody and terrifying wound opened half of its throat, cutting off the life of this beautiful creature, the dark red blood is still steaming out from the wound, Soaked the snow-white fluff of the fawn's belly.

The strong smell of blood filled the entire Crystal Hall, and even a person with a strong nerve couldn't help showing a strange expression.

The attendant held his head high and introduced loudly: "This is the deer that my master personally hunted for His Majesty the King. He ordered me to dedicate it to His Majesty the Great King before the blood of the deer dries up. Please drink the first cup to symbolize courage." and wise deer blood."

As he spoke, he took an empty crystal cup from an attendant's tray, roughly grabbed the fawn's neck, moved the cup to the horrible and hideous wound, and drank half of the cup of scarlet blood. Pass it to the little king respectfully.

The expressions of the king and the Duke of York turned cold. It has been said since ancient times that deer blood symbolizes courage. It is no problem to offer the first cup of deer blood to the king, but most deer hunters will hunt adult stags. I think it is the best, especially now that the king is still young, and the malice contained in the fawn is too vicious.

But can he resist Gloucester's provocation?

No.

Because he is the king, he should accept the offering from his courtiers. Even if Gloucester is full of malice, he should accept it frankly, otherwise he is showing weakness in front of his courtiers?

He can retaliate afterwards, but he cannot retreat at this time.

Seeing Brother Wang reaching out to pick up the bloody crystal cup, Richard subconsciously wanted to push his hand away, but was fixed in place by Edward's gaze.

"I am very grateful to the Duke of Gloucester for his dedication. I will never forget his love for me."

Holding the crystal cup, the little king said word by word, with a peaceful and calm expression, like an angel holding a golden cup containing the blood of a saint, his pale green eyes full of tolerance, this scene made the ladies clutch their chests.

"Our Majesty the King is so holy and beautiful..." Someone murmured, "He is like a holy son holding the Holy Grail..."

The king brought the cup that exuded a strong bloody smell to his mouth, resisted the momentum, and poured the blood-red liquid into his throat without changing his expression.

"Please convey my respect to the Duke of Gloucester. If possible, I would prefer that he come to me in person instead of hiding behind others. This is against his heroic soul and spirit—"

The little king's clear and clear voice suddenly fell slowly. He suddenly supported the long table beside him covered with snow-white linen tablecloth, froze in place, and then fell headlong under the terrified gaze of everyone.

Richard was the one who reacted the fastest. He hugged the little king tightly in his arms, refusing anyone to approach him. The crown on the king's head rolled down on the wool carpet. In his eyes, he saw Lorenzo, who was hiding somewhere, rushing towards him in panic, and tried his best to issue an order clearly: "Tell Lorenzo to close the palace, and send a message to Stuart... Gloucester and Canterbury... ...murder of the king...Richard's succession..."

His voice disappeared suddenly, and a line of dark red blood slid down from his lips.

"The king has been murdered! Someone has poisoned him!"

I don't know who screamed.

After that, London fell into chaos. Gloucester heard that the king was poisoned and unconscious after drinking the blood of the fawn he offered. He proved his innocence, but was stopped outside the palace by the Earl of Essex.

So he simply sat at the gate of the palace and ordered the steward of the palace to send the deer out. He drank two cups of deer's blood in front of everyone, and stood still.

The suspicion of the Duke of Gloucester was cleared for the time being, so no one could prevent a Duke Protector who "has a serious concern for His Majesty the King and nephew who is dying of illness" from entering the palace to take over the overall situation.

And the first thing he did when he entered the palace was to find out the truth about the poisoning of the king. The dishes for the dinner were kept intact in the crystal hall. Tableware, flowers, spices and various decorations, finally found some clues on a certain plate of the king.

"It's belladonna... It's been diluted several times, and it would have occurred when the king was sleeping, but deer blood hastened the effect of the poison..."

The physicians reached a consensus.

The duke, who was sitting on the king's seat with a long sword in his hands, raised his eyelids, looking like an eagle at the attendant serving the food: "What kind of food is on that plate?"

The attendant swallowed, and reported weakly: "Your Excellency, yes, it is the roast lamb presented by the Archbishop of Canterbury..."

The nobles standing side by side opened their mouths wide, and the archbishop in red cassock blushed: "It's not me! This is definitely framed! How could I do such a crazy thing! Roast lamb It didn't pass through my hands from the beginning to the end, someone must have secretly poisoned it! I have no reason to murder His Majesty the King!"

He argued hoarsely, his fat face beaded with sweat from fear, and he looked around in panic, trying to find someone to speak for himself, but everyone caught by his gaze took a step back, and everyone I don't want to be tainted with this terrible crime.

"You murdered my nephew, my Majesty the King..." The Duke of Gloucester seemed not to hear his excuse, and paused every word, "You did such a crazy thing, and you are a secular monarch. Even the most tolerant person will not be able to forgive your sins."

"According to the law, the murderer of the king should be rejected by the world and God, and punished with the cruelest punishment—"

"No! I didn't murder the king!" The Archbishop of Canterbury was still trying to argue hoarsely, but the Duke didn't want to listen any more. Seeing that he was about to tell the terrible punishment, and the Duke's knights were already standing aside, The Archbishop snapped at a rope he had long abandoned.

"No no no, wait a minute—I accuse Edward V!" screamed the Archbishop of Canterbury. "I challenge his claim to the throne! His throne is not protected by secular laws and churches, so he cannot Recognized by the law as a legitimate king! I did not murder the king!"

The huge crystal hall fell into dead silence again. Everyone was stunned by the words of the Archbishop of Canterbury. The expressions on their faces became extremely funny, as if they saw a circus lion rushing in with a tap dance.

"Oh my God..." Someone moaned vaguely.

The Duke of Gloucester stared at the archbishop for a few seconds, then straightened his back: "What evidence do you have?"

The Archbishop of Canterbury said hoarsely with a trembling voice: "I certify that...Edward IV had a marriage relationship with another woman before marrying the Queen Mother Elizabeth Neville, so his marriage to the Queen Mother should be annulled, And the king...Edward and Richard, Duke of York are illegitimate children and are not eligible to inherit the throne."

After a short silence, Gloucester seemed to be thinking deeply: "If this is the case... can I understand that Edward illegally stole the throne that does not belong to him, but this throne should belong to—"

"Of course it belongs to you! Your Highness!" the Archbishop of Canterbury threw himself out and shouted loudly.

The Duke of Gloucester stroked the hilt of his sword, looked at the archbishop for a while, and slowly wandered his gaze among the nobles, like a lion examining his subjects: "You can't judge the facts so hastily, please ask the High Court to hold a meeting, I remember The judges seem to be there?"

The judges who controlled the court were of course the top nobles in London, who were qualified to attend the king's dinner, so they were all rounded up by the Duke at a glance.

"The venue is simple, but it will not detract from your majesty. Please convene a trial meeting to determine whether the archbishop's accusation is valid. This will determine whether it will be an archbishop or a king who will die tonight."

The Duke of Gloucester said in that extremely menacing voice.

It was very irregular, but all swallowed their words as Gloucester slowly turned the open-edged sword in his hand.

Since there is no objection... and the most important party is unconscious and unable to use the king's powers to terminate the trial...

An absurd and bizarre trial quickly unfolded in the Crystal Hall. Two hours later, the trial results came out. The archbishop's accusation did not have sufficient basis, but the legitimacy of the king's succession was indeed shaken, and his throne should be reconsidered, Gross The Duke of Special has the right to replace the king in power, and during this period, the king retains all titles and treatment, and is sent to the Tower of London to recuperate.