Not far from the ancient Baths of Caracalla, there is a market that has existed since Roman times.

As early as the Roman Empire was still very prosperous, there were some spontaneous small bazaars in this area south of the city of Rome, but at that time, the traders were more likely to gather in the form of peers to gather in different dozens or even hundreds of large and small markets.

Over time, the Roman Empire fell, and dynasties changed in the city, but surprisingly, the large market in the south of the city not only did not die, but gradually became a huge commercial area of increasing size.

Probably nowhere else in Europe will you find a business district of this size, crisscrossed by narrow streets, rows of large and small shops that dazzle people who walk in, and the colorful and varied signs alone can completely drown people in an endless sea of signs.

This is because although the vast majority of people still follow the rules and use the usual signs and disguises that have been agreed upon for many years, it is inevitable that there will be some people who try to stand out from the crowd in any era, and they are always thinking of ways to be different, either simply to attract the attention of others, or to seek more benefits.

The most famous of the Grand Bazaars is Gurmain Street, which has always been full of the barbaric style of the early Goths, with bare roofs and thick walls, and at the end of the street a large domed house is the center of Gurmain Street and the main attraction.

This is the largest auction market in the city of Rome, where you can find almost anything you want to buy, even some of the most valuable items from exotic countries.

An emaciated man sat behind a beaded curtain made of strings of glass beads, looking at the chaotic market outside, his gaze calm, and a smile on his lips, as if the chaotic-looking market outside looked like his child.

In fact, this man is the owner of this market, whether it is ordinary goods sold or those treasures that are put up for auction, he will get a large or small commission from the sale of each item, and it is this seemingly inconspicuous but trickling brook of wealth that makes this man one of the most obscure but richest people in the city of Rome.

A person who opens a market and then obediently eats interest is always inconspicuous, although sometimes someone thinks of him, but most of the time no one deliberately pays attention to such a person.

A servant came over and whispered something in the man's ear, and at the same time pointed slightly outside, and the man got up and looked out with an "oh".

A group of conspicuous-looking men appeared in the market, and in the midst of several servants, a young woman stood, her ordinary countenance indifferent, and though the servants who had made the way for her as she passed attracted the attention of the people around her, she was often quick to lose attention because of her ordinary countenance.

"Is that the young lady from the Rovere family?" The man asked the servant next to him.

"Yes, master, Barondi de la Rovere," the servant nodded, "she came early today. ”

Hearing the servant's words, the man smiled: "She came so early, which means that she is the least confident of the all." ”

"You mean the statue that will be auctioned today," asked the servant cautiously, "and this is the most interesting news in Rome today, and many people seem to want to see for themselves the statue and who will buy it." ”

"It's none of our business," the man sat back in his chair, "and we'll just make sure they don't have anything going to happen in our market." ”

"Of course, master, our men will warn the leaders of the thieves not to cause trouble at this time."

The man nodded with satisfaction, he was still relieved that the servants around him were doing things.

"But speaking of which, although the young lady of the Rovere family looks ordinary, it is said that she is the most favored daughter of the archbishop," the man waved slightly to the servant next to him, "to tell our people, be careful, this is Rome." ”

"Yes, sir." The servant bowed respectfully and walked out the door.

"When will the other two ladies arrive?" The man looked out the door with interest.

The servants beside Barondi quickly laid out the carpet and some application items for her on the floor, and then several people retreated to the nearby outside to keep an eye on the people passing by.

It was a large open space, and the stalls that had been full had long since been removed, and the place on the right side of this open space belonged to Barondi.

Barentia de la Rovere, not many people had heard of her before today, and even fewer knew her.

But after today, there will probably be more people in Rome who know this young lady, because she will compete with the famous Lucrezia in Rome for her fiancé today.

As for what exactly happened between Lucrezia and Alexander, or to what point it had happened, Barendi didn't really care much.

For her, the engagement to Alexander was more of a family necessity, but even then she tried to maintain her dignity as Alexander's fiancée.

As for the sudden appearance of the Cinza Kosenza, Barendi felt that she was a little inexplicable.

Speaking of which, the Rovere family is related to the Mordillo family, although this relative is really a bit distant, it is precisely because of her father Old Rovere that he will not hesitate to betrot her to Alexander in exchange for the support of the Count of Mordiglo.

Barendi knew how obsessed her father was with becoming a cardinal, because only by becoming a cardinal could he have a chance to challenge for the papal throne.

Barendi believed that her father would become pope, because in addition to the support from Genoa, she was also helping him.

When she heard the rumors about Alexander and Lucrezia, instead of being hysterical and angry like the other women, Barondi asked people to find out what was going on.

Because of the short time they have been together, Barendi certainly doesn't think that she knows Alexander, but she still thinks that Alexander should not be the kind of person who is casually confused by women.

Or, in Barondi's mind, Alexander and she are actually the same kind of people.

But because of this, Barendi felt it all the more necessary to find out what was going on, and she was a little worried about what Alexander might have to do with the Borgias.

In fact, no one thinks so, whether it is her brother Constantine or her uncle Rovere, who has now succeeded the old Archbishop of Rovere, in short, the relationship between Alexander and Lucrezia not only shocked all Rovere, but also seemed to many to be beyond the simple things of love and love.

No one did not think that there was any great conspiracy or bargain involved, and others wondered what was so special about the little lord from Naples that would make Lucrezia look down on him, especially at a critical time when rumors were being spread about Lucrezia's possible marriage contract to a duke.

Everything seemed so strange that Barentia went from obscurity to household name overnight, and the Romans knew that this young lady of the Rovere family had been robbed of her man by the "princess of Rome", which made many people in the Rovere family angry except for Barendi herself.

Maybe that woman was trying to make everyone think so, and Barentia sometimes felt that this was Lucrezia's real purpose, and she wouldn't believe that Lucrezia would fall in love with Alexander, but looking back at the rumors about Lucrezia, she was a little skeptical that the woman had such a conspiratorial brain.

As for Lucrezia's beauty, Barondi never thought it was of much use.

However, her self-confidence only lasted until the appearance of Jisha.

Jossa entered Rome on May 5th, and instead of going to the Marino Palace, Alexander's home in Rome, she visited the house of Rovelle directly in the name of Count Modiglo.

Barendi's beauty surprised her a little, or seeing the strange look flashing in her brother's eyes when she looked at her, Barundi couldn't help but look at the countess of Cosenza with a scrutinizing gaze.

In fact, just as Josa had heard of her a long time ago, Barundi had heard a lot about Josa before.

For example, how she took the title from her half-brother and how she used her status as a countess of Cosenza to help Alexander bring a large amount of food into Naples when Naples was threatened by famine.

All of this led Barenti to believe that Zhosa should be the same person as her, or very smart, even wiser than most men at this time, but not a great beauty.

But the result of the meeting was a big blow to Barendi, which can only be seen from the accident that Konstantin almost lost his temper when he first saw Josa, and Miss Cosenza surprised the brothers and sisters of the Rovelle family.

To Barondi's surprise, though not obvious, she quickly sensed that there seemed to be some unspeakable hostility towards her, and she could even be sure that the hostility was not a misunderstanding, but was so obvious from the beginning that it was almost undisguised.

Barondi was strange, she didn't know why the countess was in such a mood, and what worried her even more was that her brother Konstantin seemed to be interested in the countess.

Barenti did not think that a countess from Naples could be of little help to her brother, who needed to find a stronger ally for the House of Rovire, and that an alliance with the House of Mordiglo would be sufficient if she married Alexander.

Barendi thought and did so, and she privately dissuaded Konstantin not to ignore the interests of the family because he was obsessed with beauty, but her dissuasion obviously had no effect.

Constantine fell in love, and as a landowner, he warmly invited Josa to visit the city of Rome, and then invited her to a dinner party hosted by a nobleman the day after Jossa arrived in Rome.

It was at this dinner that Tsusha and Barendi met Lucrezia, who had also come to the feast.

As it happens, this was Lucrezia's first appearance in front of people after returning to Rome.

Barendi still remembered the strange atmosphere that suddenly became quiet around Lucrezia when she appeared, so that she didn't even need to listen to others to know that the young and beautiful woman standing under the porch, who attracted the attention of countless eyes, and seemed to have a hint of innocence, was Lucrezia Borgia.

Pretty, innocent, angelic face and always curious eyes, so clean that Barenti almost forgot that it was a "Borgia".

Barendi still remembers that her first reaction at that time was to turn her head to look at Jisha next to her.

With the same beauty and a completely different modesty, at this moment Barenti felt that Tsusha was in no way inferior to Lucrezia.

She then soon realizes that Josha looks a little strange, and unlike the indifference shown to her, when she sees Lucrezia, Josha's eyes are only amused and curious.

Barendi believed that she could not be mistaken, and it was clear that Jisha did not seem to have any hostility towards the Borgia girl, which made Barendi feel both surprised and faintly uneasy.

What surprised Barendi even more was that when everyone was talking about watching the drama with the intention of watching the excitement and not worrying about it, Jisha actually took the initiative to walk over to Lucrezia.

"I've been wondering what kind of woman could fascinate Alexander so much, and now that I know, it seems that he still has a good eye."

Lucrezia's eyes showed surprise, although she was not very smart, she was sure that she did not know the beautiful girl in front of her, but her words made Lucrezia nervous.

If it weren't for the fact that the beautiful girl in front of her was so beautiful and very different from the legendary Barentia della Roverre, Lucrezia would have almost thought that Alexander's fiancée had come to her for a theory.

"May I ask you ......," Lucrezia told herself to be calm and not to appear panicked at this time.

"I'm Kosenza," Asha smiled and stretched out her hands to Lucrezia, an action that made Lucrezia feel an inexplicable feeling in her heart, "Alexander is my half-brother. ”

Lucrezia's hand with Josa couldn't help but tremble slightly, and she looked at Josa in surprise, not knowing what to say for a moment.

And Jisha turned to the other side to look at Barendi, who was looking at the two of them with a strange expression.

"And this one is my brother's fiancée, Barentia of Genoa."

Lucrezia's already flushed face flushed as if it were dripping with blood, and she looked at him with incredible eyes, as if she didn't know what she was going to do.

Barondi also looked at Jisha in amazement, before she had only thought that this Miss Cosenza's inexplicable hostility towards her was a little strange, but now she had begun to wonder what this girl was up to.

The eerie atmosphere made everyone around them feel a little awkward, but it only stimulated their curiosity to find out more about this strange scene.

The generational conflict between Rovere and the Borgia family is well known in Rome, and it is clear that the grudge between the two uncles' generations will not easily dissipate as they temporarily become an alliance against a common enemy.

And now the daughters of these two families are actually entangled with the same man by coincidence, how can they not be so busy with the drama, how can they not make those nobles who originally wanted to watch a good drama not excited.

They want to see two women fighting, and if they can see them fighting over men, it will probably make them talk about it for a year.

It was at this time that Michelangelo appeared.

Although it has only been a little more than a year, Michelangelo has gone from being a nobody when he first came to Rome to a famous sculptor in Rome, although he was responsible for the construction of St. Peter's Basilica for posterity, which has only just begun, it is the Advent statue of the Virgin of Mercy completed at the beginning of the year that has already made him famous.

Unlike many masters who are skilled but often unsophisticated, Michelangelo was not the kind of person who completely locked himself in his room and indulged in art.

While trying to make his talent known to more people, he also wanted to get protectors and patrons who could provide him with favorable conditions.

Originally, Caesar was a good choice, and Caesar was indeed willing to become his patron, but because of the change in the situation, Caesar's energy was completely invested in the hegemony of the king he cared about, and it was difficult to take care of things such as sponsoring Michelangelo for a while.

And after spending the small amount of money that Caesar had given him, Michelangelo's otherwise comfortable life became turbulent for a while.

Michelangelo had to find new supporters for himself, and it was at this time that he created the immortal masterpiece The Coming of the Virgin of Mercy.

The advent of Our Lady of Mercy brought Michelangelo great fame, but it also brought troubles.

There were more and more visitors to his residence, and he couldn't stand the sudden increase in expenses compared to before.

Michelangelo had to try to maneuver among the aristocratic tycoons, hoping to find a suitable new patron among them.

It was for this reason that when he heard that a grand dinner was going to be held at the house of a nobleman, Michelangelo managed to get the invitation of his host and appeared in the banquet hall with one of his latest masterpieces.

It's just that Michelangelo never imagined that his latest work in the form of Alexander would attract competition from three aristocratic ladies, and even seem to have caused a small riot.

The first to recognize the original appearance of the statue was unexpectedly Lucrezia, almost at first glance to recognize the carving as Alexandria's Lucrezia first quietly chatted with Michelangelo, after hearing that 'Millet' is now somewhat unable to make ends meet, Lucrezia immediately offered to buy the statue he brought, and at the same time provide him with a fairly generous annuity.

Millet, who was a little desperate, felt at once that God was shining on him, and he could not think of any other way to express his heartfelt gratitude for Miss Borgia's kindness and generosity.

But it was precisely because of his agitated appearance that he caught the attention of Barentia and Josha, and it seemed that it was entirely instinctive, and the other two were suspicious of Lucrezia's unusually enthusiastic demeanor towards the work of art.

With a little attention, they discovered Lucrezia's 'tricks'.

"I don't think it's appropriate to leave my fiancé's statue in the hands of a young lady who might be someone else's wife."

Barendi easily found a reason for herself, and what Lucrezia didn't expect was that Josa, who had just shown her some kindness, was not weak.

"I believe it should be a great gift, and I think he will be very happy if I can give it to Alexander when he returns to Rome."

Lucrezia was angry, but could not find a reason to refute it, in fact, after returning to Rome, Alexander VI wanted to send her back to the convent to break her entanglement with Alexander, and the Pope believed that his daughter was obviously just impulsive, as long as he sent her somewhere to sober up for a while, he would naturally forget about the damned Cambrai.

After all, it was now a critical moment in her marriage to Billy Shelly's Alfonso, and there was no room for a mistake.

However, Lucrezia's pleading still moved the pope, and because Alexander was fighting in Romagna at this time, Alexander VI finally decided to let his daughter stay in Rome after receiving Lucrezia's promise not to write to Alexander or contact him.

But who would have thought that after seeing the statue of Alexander, Lucrezia, who had already decided to follow his father's orders, gradually forgot about Alexandria, and the passion that had been suppressed in his heart burst out at once.

Looking at the familiar silhouette of the statue, the texture of the stone lips that once kissed her soft flaps, and the familiar bridge of her nose and chin, Lucrezia had completely forgotten her promise to her father.

When she saw that Barentia and Josa were about to take the statue from her, Lucrezia immediately showed that a Borgia should be aggressive and possessive.

A heated quarrel broke out among the three young women, who were seen lobbying Michelangelo for more money to support him in the future.

Then soon the three of them discovered that they had an advantage between them that made others helpless, rich and powerful.

Michelangelo's initial flattery to his later dilemma left him in a difficult situation, and he did not know who to promise and who to reject.

Although it seemed that the Countess of Cosenza was the one who refused and did not fear retribution, Michelangelo became a little embarrassed when he learned that this young lady was Alexander's sister.

'Millet' thinks he knows how to repay his kindness, and he has always been grateful to Alexander, although he would eventually come to Rome without Alexander, but the gold coins that Alexander gave him at the beginning helped Michelangelo who was in trouble at that time.

What to do, just when 'Millet' was in a dilemma, a monk who seemed a little out of place with everyone around him appeared in front of him.

The man first showed respect, and then to the other two young ladies, and then he said, "As the personal priest of Count Giulian de Gombray of Alexandria and his most reliable friend, I think the fairest way is to auction it, and the one who pays the higher one loses the one who loses the lower one." ”

At the mention of this suggestion, everyone seemed to be in an inexplicable excitement.

Auctions, just thinking about this word, always make people think of spending money and arrogance, which makes many nobles look at the monk who made this suggestion in addition to excitement.

And many people have smiling eyes, as if obviously saying, "This guy will incite, I like it." ”

As agreed, or rather fearing that someone would go to Millet alone to negotiate a deal, the sculpture was sent to Alexander's residence, the Marino Palace, to be tended by Alexander's faithful servant, Ulliu, and then, as was proposed, for the sake of fairness, it was decided to hold a public auction the next day in the great market on Gurman Street.

"How did this happen?"

Barendi, who was sitting on the blanket, woke up from her contemplation, she was a little confused about why she got up early today, and then she was a little too anxious to come to the big market in advance, and now seeing that the open space was empty and only the people on her side, Barendi felt that it seemed that the auction had fallen before it started.

Slightly annoyed, Barendi picked up the green fruit wine prepared for her by the servant next to her, and just as she put the glass to her lips to take a sip, Barendi heard a faint commotion from a distance.

"Mademoiselle, it's Miss Count Cosenza here." The maid whispered.

Barendi nodded with a calm face, she didn't know why Jisha was so indifferent to her, but she didn't care, after all, the more important thing with the Modilo family was interests.

Josha walked quickly, and next to her, Mahimo followed in a whisper as she whispered something, and when she saw Barondi from afar, there was a rare smile on her face.

"Dear sister-in-law," said Tsusha with a smile, her sudden affectionate appearance made Barendi a little baffled, "I'm not here to fight you for that statue, I'm here to tell you good news." ”

"What's the good news?" Barendi asked curiously.

"My brother Alexander," said 'my brother' in a tone that no one else could learn, her eyes lit up, "he just won a great victory!" ”

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