Alfonso, the Bishop of Palermo, who had secretly colluded with the Jews in an attempt to sell the triple crown, committed suicide in his cell at Fort Heaven.

When the news spread, the Romans were taken aback by the fact that they were on the verge of madness in the pursuit of wealth.

Alfonso's crime was clearly unforgivable, and everyone thought that he would end up on the gallows, or simply burned at the stake, a fate he was already doomed. ，

So no one was sorry or surprised by his death, and if it weren't for his noble status, perhaps he wouldn't even be qualified to be imprisoned in Angel Castle, but would have been thrown into some gloomy prison and then executed in a short time.

As for the whereabouts of the triple crown, not many people really care.

This is because everyone knows that the Farner family is involved.

Let the Jews disappear from now on, and it is better not to appear again, only then will everyone be happy.

It's just that Alfonso's suicide somewhat surprised the Romans.

It was actually a scandal that he chose to commit suicide as a high-ranking clergyman, not to mention that he used his rosary to hang himself on the window railing and died.

This is even more unforgivable blasphemy.

Although times are changing, and the Church no longer encourages the too cruel posthumous punishment of suicide, because of Alfonso's special status and the bad influence of his law, the Vatican still issued a special order, after announcing Alfonso's crimes, and even excommunicated him, and his body was pulled to a remote incineration plant that was originally used to burn the corpses of infected people, and with a fire, the former bishop of Palermo was reduced to ashes.

And this is not enough, in order to show the severity of the canon, but also to emphasize that it has completely severed itself from this apostate, Alfonso's ashes were put in a jar and placed on a boat, and then the boat went west along the Tiber River, and the ashes were scattered in the river along the way, and then the boat went down the mouth of the river into the Tyrenian Sea, and the jar containing the last bit of ashes sank to the bottom of the sea.

This result made many people silent, but it was only for a moment, and then everyone's mind was invested in something more interesting.

And the most striking thing in Rome now is the news that the church might come forward to act as guarantor of the newly formed exchange.

No one knows who or where the news came from, but the news has clearly excited everyone who is entitled to pay attention.

How much wealth does the Church have, and how many of the once glorious civilizations of history have been wiped out by fanatical believers who hold up crosses over the centuries, and then the countless treasures they have accumulated over the years have become the decorations of the Vatican churches and the majesty of Christ?

Just thinking about it, many people feel that their whole body is hot, their breath is short, their mouth is dry, and their eyes are red.

Of course, it is impossible to divide the Holy See, but if the credit of the richest man in Christendom could be guaranteed, what would that exchange look like?

People think of Pisa, and some of the witnesses who have seen the Pisan people sweep through the riches can deeply understand the frenzy that is already going crazy.

The words "the exchange", "the papal guarantee", "more opportunities to make a fortune than Pisa" were all over the streets of Rome, and the Romans seemed for a moment to have completely forgotten about the French, the Ottomans, or anything else that had nothing to do with making money, whether it was the aristocratic wealthy merchants who were entitled to the coming feast of wealth, or the burghers who became extremely excited even by the mere mention of the subject.

Alexander, on the other hand, was a little stunned when he heard of Alfonso's death, and he certainly did not have a good opinion of Alfonso, who had not forgotten that he had colluded with the Sicilian Council of Nobles to drive him out of Sicily, although it now seems that even if those people had not driven him, he probably would not have stayed there.

Sicily was too small for him to exert his strengths, and more importantly, Sicily was Ferdinand's territory, although Ferdinand, as the king, almost never came to Sicily, but the palace ministers he sent to Sicily were all his loyal subordinates.

At least Alexander had heard that Sicily, which now had a court minister again, had been subjected to a series of harsh reigns since the arrival of the lord, and that the council of nobles had been mercilessly dissolved by the riots.

Among them, Camusi, the chief member of the aristocratic council, was the most miserable, he was accused of trying to spy on power and incite the people in the Sicilian riots, although Camus argued for himself and justified what he had done for Sicily and for the king during the riots, but he was declared stripped of all power and expelled from the Sicilian court.

All this made Alexander glad that he had chosen Sicily as he could not stay for a long time.

As for Alfonso's death, Alexander was somewhat impressed, especially after hearing about the way the Holy See had disposed of his ashes.

The fact that Alfonso's ashes were sprinkled into the Tiber River and the Tyrenian Sea reminded Alexander of the habit of scattering the ashes of some noble people into rivers, lakes and seas in some places.

Now that he heard that Alfonso actually had such treatment, Alexander couldn't help but feel a little weird.

But now he didn't care about thinking about those inexplicable things, the pope was very anxious, whether it was to save his son as soon as possible, or Alexander's proposal was really too tempting, after a meeting of cardinals, the pope sent someone to tell Alexander to meet him before dinner the next day.

The young man who had apparently taken the place of Caderon at the Pope's side seemed a little lonely, even though he was now the messenger between the Pope and Alexander, carrying messages to both sides.

The anxiety of the pope, Alexander was able to guess some.

Caesar's safety may not be worried, but considering that he may have received news from the French, it is likely that Alexander VI was secretly anxious about the time crunch at this time.

No one would have guessed that Alexander VI would be so quick to hook up with the French, and Alexander would never have thought of this if he had not known in advance.

Whether provoked by Gonzalo's unreasonable public humiliation or motivated by pure selfish desires, Alexander VI must have decided to collude with the French.

Because of this, he now urgently needs Caesar back to command the army for him.

Some of the previous mercenaries still returned to Rome, and the Pope did not reprimand them, or in the current situation where even the commander of the army was still hostage, except for the small Papal Guard established by Caesar, the mercenaries were the only force that the Papal States could count on.

At this time, Alexander VI could only acquiesce in not prosecuting the mercenaries.

More and more people came to visit Alexander, and they did not care much whether the pope would be angry or not, because they were not visiting on their own, but as representatives of their respective families.

Although the Pope is powerful, after all, Rome is not his Rome alone.

Barondi's arrival caused a small commotion, and some of the nobles who were still sitting in the foyer couldn't help but look at her back with playful eyes.

Barondi is not tall, her breasts are not big, and although her skin is smooth and white that is unique to a girl, her appearance is too ordinary.

How ordinary is it, Alexander sometimes thinks that if a play is to be rehearsed by the ladies of Rome, then Lucrezia and Jossa must be the most dazzling heroines, and Barondi, at most, is an extras in the background, maybe the kind standing in the corner of the last row.

His fiancée is not beautiful, which makes Alexander deeply understand that the saying "no one's life is perfect" is still very reasonable.

Barondi stood in the open space in the middle of a circle of chairs and looked at Alexander, her face was expressionless but not cold, but her ordinary appearance made her seem a little difficult to get along with.

In fact, apart from her own siblings, Barondi has very few friends, who think she is cold and she thinks they are mediocre.

"My father has invited you to have supper with him to-day," Barondy said lightly, and seeing that Alexander had not spoken, she continued, "by the way, there is something to tell you. ”

Alexander nodded silently, and just this morning Alexander VI summoned the cardinals for a meeting in the unfinished chapel of his Sistine Chapel, and although no one knew what was being discussed, there was already a vague sense of strangeness.

Sure enough, by noon, the news came out, and the Pope asked the secretaries whether to accept Alexander's request for a patronage to establish an exchange in Rome.

When the news spread, Alfonso's ashes were being loaded onto the ship, so that the news of a bishop's suicide was like the ashes he had sprinkled in the Tiber River, and it was almost as undisturbed as it was to be annihilated in the greater wave.

Now hearing Barondi's invitation, Alexander could guess that old Rovere was going to talk to him before he met the Pope the next afternoon.

"I'll go." Alexander responded, and then seemed unsure of what to say next.

There was silence in the room, and Barendi calmly looked at Alexander, then bowed silently, ready to leave.

"Well, what are you going to say," Alexander said, a little annoyed, "the look in your eyes will make anyone who sees it think that I am abusing you." ”

"You don't have to care what other people think, after all, our marriage contract is only for the needs of both families."

Barondi's chin lifted slightly, making her look prouder than ever.

"I want it to be, too, but if you're always like this, it makes one wonder if something unpleasant is going on between us." Alexander wanted to explain patiently, but he didn't know if it was a delusion, but he felt that Barendi seemed to be angry with him.

"So, may I ask if anything pleasant happened between us?" Barendi asked coldly, "Or when your affair was spread all over Rome, did you think about my feelings?" ”

Alexander looked at Barendi with a little surprise, he had never expected this fiancée, who had always been a quiet man, to have such a sharp side.

"Wait a minute, you're not jealous, are you," Alexander looked at Barenti with some amusement, "jealous of me and Lucrechia?" ”

"My lord, you may have misunderstood, I would be jealous if I loved you, but I am just defending my rights and interests as a fiancée now." Barendi stared at Alexander with an indignant look, "I know I'm not pretty, and I know that this engagement is just a deal between my father and your uncle, so you can ignore me as a person, but please respect me as your fiancée." ”

After saying that, Barondi tugged at the hem of her skirt vigorously, turned around and straightened her waist and walked out the door.

Alexander looked at Barondi's back a little stunned, and then slowly turned his head to look at Zhisa who walked in through another door.

"You see?" Alexander pointed to the doorway, where there was no one anymore, "What do you think is wrong with her?" ”

Josha held her chin in her right hand and thought for a moment, then glanced at Alexander.

Looking at the strange look in his eyes, Alexander was about to say something, but in the end he didn't speak.

When Barendi returned to the villa in the middle of the mountain, old Rovere was staring at the two cooks roasting a beef leg.

The beef leg has been marinated overnight with a variety of spices, so it only needs to be turned over a large fire instead of a low heat, and the color of the original dark red and tender flesh quickly darkens, and at the same time, bursts of tantalizing aroma waft through the courtyard, making people salivate.

Barendi watched Old Rovere spill a glass of wine evenly on the corbel, and as the aroma of wine and meat wafted out, Old Rovere had a satisfied smile on his face.

"What are you doing here?" Barendi asked a little strangely, "I remember you don't like beef." ”

"I don't like it very much, I prefer mutton," said old Rovelle and smiled at his daughter, "but I have heard that your fiancé likes it very much, and that he learned this method of adding flavor to beef with wine." ”

Listening to her father's words, Barendi hesitated a little and walked over to pick up the cup on the table, and gently poured the wine over the fragrant ox leg that had been roasted.

Looking at the cut beef leg in front of him, old Rovere sniffed it a little and waved his hand for the cook to take it down, and then he looked at Barondi, who was sitting opposite him, looking at him.

"Tell me what's going on," old Rovere looked at Barendi, and when he saw his daughter hear this, he immediately sat up straight, and the cardinal waved his hand to stop her, "Don't tell me it's okay, you know that you are my daughter, and I know you better than anyone else, so be honest with me." ”

Listening to her father's words, Barendi took a breath, and then looked at old Rovere seriously: "Father, don't you think we have made too many concessions, maybe Count Mordillo was very important to you at the beginning, but now that you have become a cardinal, and you have made his nephew the Count of Montina, we already have nothing to owe to their family, so why do you have to accommodate them, even if the free trade alliance in Gombray does help us a lot, but don't they also need our Rovere family." In that case, you don't think we should think more about the honor of our family, because now our family has become the laughing stock of the Romans because of what Gombray has done. ”

Old Rovelle stroked his gray beard and listened quietly to his daughter's words, until Barendi seemed to calm down a little because of venting, and then he said slowly: "It seems that you have been saying these things for a long time, jealousy, this is the reason why you finally said this." ”

"No, father, how can you think that," said Barondi, with some annoyance, "I don't say this for such superficial reasons, I just want to know what you are going to do, and if one day I am going to marry Cambrai, then I also want to know if it is really good for the Rovelle family." ”

Old Rovere looked at his daughter, and after a little thought, beckoned her to accompany him to the garden on the back roof.

"Listen up, Barentia," said old Rovere to his daughter as he walked, "you know that Borgia has just convened a council of cardinals, and he proposed that Alexander, with the Holy See as guarantor, open an exchange in Rome, and we all know that he did this in order to free his son as soon as possible, but we must also understand that the Pope did it for the greater purpose of seeing great wealth. ”

Seeing Barondi nodding slightly, old Rowwere smiled with relief, he knew that Barendi was probably a little emotional because of the various changes since this time, but once she needed to calm down, she would immediately become smart and calm, which Konstantin could not compare.

"Why aren't you a boy Barondi, otherwise I will let you inherit the family business without hesitation," old Rovere shook his head a little helplessly, "Now all you can do is help Konstantin, you know he is a good knight, but maybe he can do something on the battlefield, but in the court he needs a helper." ”

"I'll help him." Barendi nodded earnestly.

"No, you misunderstood, I'm talking about a helper called Gombray."

Barondi looked at her father in amazement, thinking at first that she had misheard, until she saw old Rovere nodding affirmatively to her, and she asked in disbelief: "Father, how can you think that Gombray can be the one who helps Constantine, you know that he is not even willing to be a member of our family." ”

Listening to his daughter's complaints, old Rovere pursed his lips disapprovingly: "I didn't expect him to become a member of Rovere's family from the beginning, you must know that your marriage contract with him was first because of the agreement with Mordillo, and now it is because of his own reasons, do you know what Borgia made to establish this exchange?" ”

In Barendi's confusion, old Rovere looked at the glowing red sunset in the distance.

"He said he wanted to raise money to resist the Ottoman invasion, and this exchange was opened for that reason."

"He can really make up a reason," said Barondi, with some indignation, "I think that even if it were for this, the real boss would have ended up in his own pocket." ”

The daughter's words made old Rovere smile slightly, unlike Barondi, who was still somewhat angry about this kind of thing, old Rovere could only secretly admire Alexander VI for finding such a good excuse.

"Your fiancé is smarter, smarter than we thought before," said old Rovere, looking at a carriage slowly coming up along the mountain road, "I want him to help Constantine, not now but in the future, and believe me, Barondi, your fiancé will probably be more special in the future than anyone you have ever met." ”

Barondi looked at her father in bewilderment, she never expected that his father would have such high expectations for Alexander, but just as she was about to speak, a servant came over and reported: "Your Excellency, Count Montina and Miss Count Cosenza have arrived. ”

"Let's go and greet the guests," said old Rowwere, to his daughter, and then he suddenly looked at Barondi, "Listen to me, Barondi, though you don't care about that, I think it would be better if you dressed up a little." ”

Listening to her father's words, Barondi's face couldn't help but darken slightly.