Human dimension reduction

The chaos that swept across half of London ended on the afternoon of the fourth day, when the head of the Stuart family led an army to blockade the city of London, blocking both exhausted parties in the city.

The Lancastrian army, which was fighting in full swing, realized that their rear had been copied. They were shocked and turned pale. Touch it—they thought it was a trick set by Gloucester to lure the Lancastrian army into London, and after they were deep in it, they blocked their retreat and tried to catch them all.

The cause is wrong, the process is wrong, but the result is wrongly right.

Lancaster's army broke up and fled for their lives, and Gloucester did not feel any better. Of course he knew who was behind this sinister plot, but he was suffering so much that he couldn't even tell, and he couldn't even take revenge— —The tower of London, a military fortress, is not something he can break through with only a few scattered knights in his hands, especially the lunatic from Northern Gaul has already arrived in London, God knows what the two of them are going to do again.

The Duke of Gloucester refused the request of the attendants to retreat temporarily, and was forcibly sent to the carriage by his loyal subordinates. A group of dozens of people fled in embarrassment while the blockade of Stuart was not yet tight. out of London.

Stuart sent someone to report the fact that Gloucester had escaped to the king. Upon hearing this, the little king showed a subtle and strange look on his face.

No wonder the world is still doing well...

According to Qiao Zhou's speculation, Gloucester may not be the protagonist of this script, but he must also play an important role. At least he is the next king of this country. If he dies, it will definitely cause changes in the world. Maybe this game can end easily?

The little king who stayed in the Tower of London waited with great anticipation for the big scene of the collapse of the world. Who knew that he would not be able to wait, but he waited for the news that Gloucester had escaped.

The smile on the king's face disappeared.

"Run?" he repeated sarcastically.

"Yes, the knights of the Duke of Gloucester forcibly sent him to the carriage. Before our defense line was completed, they rushed out together with the rout of Lancaster. Your lord consul ordered me to report to you Sorry, this is the Stuart family's dereliction of duty."

The visitor finished talking about the cause and effect without being humble, and lowered his head to wait for the king's response.

"No, please convey my thanks to the Duke of Stuart for what he has done well."

The little king nodded to him gently, watching him express his gratitude and step back, his eyes turned cold instantly.

Richard had been sitting not far away when they were talking, and when he saw people leaving, he stood up and pulled the cloak that had been dragged to the ground for Brother Wang: "Grostrunner is really fast, and luck is also good, I heard Stuart's army outside London is surrounded by water, and they can find a gap to escape."

The little king sneered: "Do you really think he is lucky?"

Richard was stunned: "Isn't it?"

Edward's face became a little helpless. He looked at his younger brother who looked similar to himself, and there was a hint of "how did he grow so big when he was so naive" in his expression: "Stuart uses him as a trick for me, as long as Gloucester is still alive, so I have to rely on Stuart's strength, and there is such a foreign enemy who intends to overthrow me, no matter what Stuart wants to do at that time, there will be more ways to go, Ge It is a big trouble for us that Rost is alive, but it is a great thing for Stuart."

With that said, he slowly stood up, leaning on the table to support his frail body: "All he needs to do is to turn a blind eye and let these bereaved dogs out."

Richard subconsciously reached out to help him, but was pushed away stubbornly by the king. He straightened his back and looked at the window. The riots on the other side of the Thames had subsided, and the people of London returned to their homes in anxiety, watching the traffic. The Stuart army shuttling to maintain order was full of curiosity and kindness in their eyes.

Seeing this scene, the little king's eyes sank, and he turned his head: "Where is Lorenzo?"

Richard thought for a while: "It seems that I brought the guards back to the Palace of Westminster just now... What does Brother Wang want him for?"

The little king hesitated for a while, hesitating for a while between chasing after the victory and cutting the weeds and guarding against Stuart, and finally chose to be vigilant against the poisonous snake in Northern Gaul: "...it's nothing, I just want him to clean up Gloucester. In the hands of the Palace of Westminster, now that he has passed..."

"Good day, Your Majesty." The gentle and gentle voice interrupted the little king's words. Edward frowned heavily, and turned his head quickly, and saw William Stuart changed into a light riding outfit, with a dark green ribbon slanted Wearing it on the chest, smiling at them.

"Good day, Your Royal Highness the Duke of York." He greeted Richard politely, and received a nod from Richard with a straight face.

The little king stared at him for a moment, without asking why no one reported him, and asked gently: "Has the chaos in London been resolved? Your envoy just reported to me the chaos outside the city."

"That's what knights should do. In my opinion, my greatest task is to serve my majesty the king." As Stuart said, he raised his hand behind him, and several attendants filed in silently. , lined up behind him, holding various clothes and accessories in their hands.

"Soon you will be heading back to the Palace of Westminster. The carriages are waiting outside and the townspeople are eager to see their King and pay him homage."

Regardless of how much moisture there is in these words, Edward doubts that Stuart came here to exhaust himself in a disguised form.

Needless to say, how elaborate and gorgeous the nobles' costumes are, the king's clothes are even worse, just a shirt with dozens of buttons inlaid with gemstones, not to mention the layers of short coats, Long coats, ribbons, scarves, garters, trousers... Despite being served by a manservant, the king was so tired that his knees were a little weak after standing for half an hour.

Seeing this, Stuart took a step forward, grabbed the king's waist to help him stand still, raised his hand to take the king's cloak from the hand of the servant, and bent down to help the little king tie it on. The servants immediately knelt down and shook the king for the king Open the cloak and smooth out the top folds.

The pure scarlet cloak wrapped the pale young king. Stuart narrowed his eyes, picked up the fragments of jewelry on the tray, fastened the gemstone brooch to the scarlet gold-rimmed ribbon on the king's chest, and straightened the diamond tassel on the edge of the ribbon , took two steps back and admired his achievements.

The young king has long light golden hair and light green eyes. A scarlet floor-length cloak covers most of his body. Under the black coat, the sleeves of a snow-white shirt look like fluffy petals, and the cashmere coat with a large lapel is decorated with She was dotted with diamonds, and she wore a black soft hat slanted on her pale golden hair, with a fluffy snow-white feather stuck on the brim of the hat.

The king held a two-foot-long scepter in his hand, and his face was expressionless due to the fatigue of standing for a long time.

...it does look very similar to the kings that hang in the galleries of the Palace of Westminster.

Only a crimson curtain hung with the royal coat of arms, flower baskets dotted with huge flowers of various colors, and a solemn and dull color background.

Richard also changed into cumbersome clothes and was standing at the door waiting for his brother. Edward waved to him and put his hand on the Duke of York's shoulder. The two chatted in a low voice while passing Stu Art walked out.

According to the status, this sort is very correct, but Stuart was still stunned for a moment.

Contrary to the cold and cunning image in front of him, the little king who lowered his head and talked to his brother was as soft as a ball of cotton candy, with a real and clean smile on his mouth, no different from any 13-year-old boy , On the contrary, because of the too pale appearance, it looks more fragile and innocent.

——Weaknesses, handles, loopholes...

The northern Gaul consul watched their backs silently, rubbed his fingers twice, as if reminiscing about the silky texture of cashmere, and after a long while, he showed a faint smile with no emotion: "Let all the knights replace themselves with the king's guards. uniform."

The attendant behind him bowed silently and quietly retreated.

Stuart's power has reached its peak in just one day. He is not an arrogant idiot. It is best to keep a low profile after taking advantage of the benefits. To an overly sensitive little king who is very dissatisfied with him...

He has always been willing to give in on these details, but his behavior seems to others to be hypocritical and disgusting, just like a beast that has eaten and drunk after biting the flesh and devouring the bone marrow sees a small animal. Of course it will not hunt down, and may even allow ignorant little animals to touch its fur, but the premise of all this is that it has got enough blood to eat.

The king's carriage is extravagant and luxurious, with gold-topped satin and bright flowers piled up, real jewels inlaid on the car body, covering the hideous lines of the brass steam pipes, the royal carriages all have driving systems that can be powered by energy, but out of In obstinate compliance with "tradition", they still chose to use horses to pull carts, and only used the steam system as a decoration to show off their financial resources.

Well-dressed gentlemen and ladies lined the road, bowing to the king's carriage, cheering and smiling reservedly, and the whole scene was like a staged drama, tinged with eccentric antics and mutual mutual embarrassment .

When the carriage drove into the Palace of Westminster under heavy guards, Stuart turned over and got off the horse first, and strode over to take the little king half-supported and half-embraced from the carriage. After his feet touched the solid ground, Xiaoguo Wang Chao thanked him politely in a low voice, glanced at the guards at the side, paused for a while, and quickly averted his eyes as if nothing had happened.

From his memory, of course he recognized the subordinates of these people in guard uniforms, but he didn't say anything.

Judging the situation, seeking advantages and avoiding disadvantages are all instincts of political animals.

The little king took two steps forward, and saw a man he hadn't seen for a long time.

The steward of the king, Aiden, was looking at him eagerly, his eyes full of excitement. Obviously, the steward of the king, who had been arrested and imprisoned for the past few days, was not doing well. When he saw the king, he straightened his back vigorously: "My lord... I am glad to see that you are safe and sound."

The little king raised his head slightly and smiled sincerely: "Me too, Aiden, nice to meet you."

Richard also followed up at this time, and nodded to the loyal king's steward, Aiden bent down: "Your Highness Richard."

Several people walked into the magnificent Palace of Westminster, and the maids they met along the way bowed their heads and backs deeply towards them with their skirts lifted. When they walked into the gallery, the little king looked at Aiden and his brother. At a glance, the two resigned quite tactfully, leaving space to the two current top leaders in the country.

One side of the semi-open gallery is adjacent to the garden. The lush vegetation casts shadows of different shades on the smooth marble floor of the gallery. The base of the Roman column is wrapped with curls and luxuriant roses. In front is the "Hall of Glory". "The semi-circular painting hall, the walls are hung with portraits of kings and queens, as well as some precious works of art looted from other countries.

The little king walked on this long corridor full of historical and gloomy atmosphere, half of his face was covered by the shadow cast by the dome, his pale golden hair seemed to be shimmering, and the scarlet cloak was dragged on the ground, making a slight rustle. rustle.

"Is Your Excellency the Duke interested in painting?" the little king asked suddenly.

Stuart followed him at a walking pace, and while paying attention to his physical condition, he replied, "Painting? No, I haven't shown any talent in painting."

"You are so modest," said the little king softly.

The consul of northern Gaul had a notorious reputation as a ruler, but at the same time he was undeniably talented. He studied with some of the best artists of the time, and studied philosophy, literature, astronomy and religion. He has profound attainments in academics, and some of the paintings he created when he was 20 years old are even collected in the Palace of Westminster.

However, as he soaked in power for a long time, most people gradually forgot the young duke who was able to conquer the public with his talent alone in the early years, and replaced him with the title of tyrant of North Gaul.

"I remember that there are your early works in the painting hall. The colors are very bold and bright, and the brushwork is sharp, which is better than most landscape paintings."

"Your Majesty praises me, I was still young at the time, so I couldn't help being arrogant, and I didn't like to listen to the teachers' opinions and follow the rules to create..." Stuart replied casually.

"What about now?" The king stopped and turned to look at his mentor. "Will you follow the rules now? You are my mentor, but you don't seem to be teaching me anything."

Stuart raised his eyebrows lightly: "Well...Your Majesty, what you said is wronging me. In my opinion, you are already an excellent and perfect king. What else do you need me to teach you? If If you want to learn painting, I can find a better teacher for you."

He deliberately misinterpreted the king's meaning and avoided the king's questioning.

"If you insist on me giving you advice, the only thing I can remind you is...you need more allies and fewer enemies."

This sentence sounds like nonsense, but it is a rare sincere warning from Stuart.

There was silence between the two of them again. The king originally planned to test when he would return to Northern Gaul, but now he realized that the other party seemed to have other ideas.

"Your Majesty," Aiden appeared from the shadows in the distance, and bowed respectfully, "Princess Mary...please see you."

The little king and Stuart were startled at the same time.

Duchess Mary? !

Edward raised his head to look at Stuart subconsciously, and the black-haired Duke also looked over belatedly, a trace of confusion appeared in the eyes of both of them.

The Duke of Gloucester fled... without his only daughter?

But this is also possible, maybe the attendants who took the Duke to escape forgot to bring the only blood of the Duke with them in a panic, or maybe they thought that the princess was the king's cousin after all and would not be implicated. Where Tuart was, everyone focused on the Duke of Gloucester, and no one noticed that there was a Duchess in the Duke's mansion.

"Where's her mother?" asked the little king, frowning.

The Duchess of Gloucester is the granddaughter of the Princess of Gaul. After she got married, she received a gift from her grandmother and also had her own land in the empire. However, she is a very keen woman, and all her keen sense of smell is used for her perception of her own wealth. superior.

"...The Duchess escaped from London last night, taking most of her jewelry dowry and house title deed." Speaking of this, Aiden also had an indescribable tangle on his face.

Apparently, the duchess once again demonstrated her keen talent, leaving her husband and daughter behind in the dark, and fled back to her own fief, no, it might have gone to Gaul to seek the blessing of her natal family.

The king and the duke looked at each other again, and both saw the speechlessness in each other's eyes.

No wonder Mary had to muster up the courage to go to the Palace of Westminster to see the king. Her father was taken away by the knights, and her mother was also missing. An unmarried princess was indeed in an embarrassing situation at this time.

And her only choice was to find a male relative to be her guardian, and the king's cousin was undoubtedly the best choice-if her father hadn't just imprisoned him in the Tower of London.

But this also shows Mary's cleverness. Because the Duke of Gloucester and the king are so opposed, it is more appropriate for her to ask for the king's asylum. She is a girl, and the hatred between them will not involve her, at least the king I can't do anything to her anymore, and in the current empire, who else can bypass the king and vent their dissatisfaction to her?

"Mary can't think of this way. Is it Uncle Wang's order, or the Duchess arranged for her? It shouldn't be Uncle Wang..." The little king murmured a few words, and raised his finger at Aiden irritably. "Let Richard deal with her, allow her to live at Westminster, but keep out of my presence, and tell her to write to her mother that Westminster is no refuge .”

The king curled his fingers, and his voice was a little cold: "If she has any wrong thoughts in her mind, I will send her to the monastery."

He doesn't have the time to deal with a little girl who is full of queen dreams. He hopes that this threat can make her realize the reality.

Stuart listened to the king's arrangement and did not express any opinion on it, anyway, this matter really had nothing to do with him.

But after he bid farewell to the king, the oncoming girl blocked his way.

The young girl with long dark golden hair is tall and plump, wearing a blue-green skirt with complex lace and diamonds lining the whole skirt, and she is half covered by a soft gauze hat. The face of the princess is also glamorous and radiant.

However, under the costumes and jewelry, it can be seen that this delicate and noble princess was terribly frightened by the departure of her parents, her eyes were slightly blue-gray, and her complexion was not very good. It can be seen that she has been very unhappy these two days.

"His Excellency the Duke of Stuart!"

Mary mustered up her courage and stopped this man with a cold expression and a gentle and handsome face.

Mary was raised naively and savagely by her mother, but that doesn't mean she was a fool. She didn't know what deal the king and Stuart had made in private, nor who had the upper hand, but relying on her inheritance from her mother Her intuition told her that at some point, instead of asking the king's cousin to help her with something, it would be better to ask the Duke of Stuart.

——This northern Gaul consul, the head of the Stuart family, the... uncrowned king of the empire.

"My dear Miss York, is there anything I can do to help you?"

William Stuart bowed his head gently, with an elegant posture and a handsome smile.

Mary's cheeks blushed when she saw this smile, and she almost forgot what she was going to say. After a while, she regained her senses and curtseyed in embarrassment: "Your Excellency, I have a presumptuous request..."

She hesitated and took a few deep breaths, lowered her voice, and the green eyes similar to those of the king shone brightly: "May I ask the Stuart family, do you intend to marry the royal family?"

The polite smile on Stuart's face turned into a bit of astonishment. Mary, who was being scrutinized by him, raised her chin like an arrogant and scorching flame, bravely facing the sharp attack of the Northern Gaul Consul. eyes.

"According to the Act of Crown Power, I am the third heir to the throne, but because I am a woman, my inheritance cannot be well guaranteed, and my father has left London, and his succession to the throne is not stable, so the order from him , my inheritance rights will also be shaken..."

Mary has probably never said such terrible words in her entire life, but an unknown force supported her body, making her logic clearer than ever before: "Some time ago, the Supreme Court was still questioning the legality of Edward's inheritance, but as long as my If there is no problem with the father, then my right of succession is absolutely unquestionable, and my eldest son will be the least disputed heir to the throne—”

Mary tried hard to explain these complicated things, but who was Stuart, his reaction was much faster than Mary's, and he had already understood all the meanings she wanted to express when she was still struggling to organize the words .

Indeed, when the succession rights of the king and the first heir to the throne, the Duke of York, are questioned, the most qualified to succeed to the throne is the Duke of Gloucester, and Mary, his only daughter, will also have the position closest to the throne, but Mary is a woman, and now that the King's Power Act has not yet been perfected, women's inheritance rights have also been criticized by many people, but one thing is certain-Mary's eldest son definitely has the inheritance right second only to the Duke of Gloucester .

The premise is that the Duke of Gloucester was not charged with "murdering the king" and his right to succession to the throne was abolished.

And because of the chaos in London, or Stuart's intentional or unintentional delay, the reason for the Duke of Gloucester's escape from London was still "wrapped by the Lancastrian rebellion", and the fact that he tried to rebel has not yet been confirmed. announced.

Mary stared at Stuart, and the man with curly black hair looked down at her with unclear meaning in his eyes: "You mean..."

Mary tried her best to suppress the tremor in her voice: "After my father dies, my child will be the first heir to the throne. As the queen, I also need my husband to become the king of this country and assist me in governing the country together."

Compared to seeking the blessing of her cousin, it was of course better to return to her father's wing. Mary knew very well the difference between the two, and if she wanted her father back, she had to let the man who controlled most of London let go.

This is an ambitious man, the things in his eyes are exactly the same as those of his father and his cousin, the only thing he lacks is a legitimate excuse or reason.

It happened that the only thing Mary could give was what he needed.

— the first right of succession to the throne.