In a small but comfortable house, a woman stood a little bewildered, her hands clasped together tightly on the hem of her skirt, and she looked at the big man who was silent and contemplative opposite.

The children leaned close to their mother, looking with the same horror at the man across from him and at the servants standing beside him.

Because she had never dealt with these big people, the woman was very nervous and helpless, and at this time she only hoped that her husband would come back soon.

It seemed that he also felt that the atmosphere was a little dull, and the archbishop, who had been sitting there without saying a word, snorted slightly in his nose, and a servant beside him quickly lowered his head to know what the master commanded, but was blocked by the archbishop's impatient wave of his hand.

"Your husband is a great man, I mean he did something really unexpected," said the archbishop patiently to the woman, feeling that his patience was running out, "well, tell me, where is your husband now?" ”

"I'm sorry Bishop, I don't know where he is now, he put our family here when we arrived here from Parma, and then I don't know where he went."

The woman replied in trepidation, she felt that it was a mistake for her to leave her homeland in Parma, since she came to Valencia, she felt that her life was completely different from before, whether it was the people or things she came into contact with, she felt very at a loss, and today an archbishop actually came to her door to ask her husband's whereabouts, which made the woman even more frightened.

"You don't have to be nervous, I have no ill will towards you," looking at the look of this group of mothers and sons, the archbishop wanted to let the other party see what he thought, but unfortunately the more polite he was, the more nervous the woman became, and finally he had to say majestically, "Your husband has caused me a lot of trouble, if you can't hand him over, I think your trouble is not small." ”

"I don't know anything, my lord," the woman knelt down in fright, and her children knelt beside their mother, which made the archbishop raise his hands and make a helpless gesture, but the woman continued in horror, "He's just a businessman, he just wants to make money for his family, please forgive him, my lord, he still has a family to support." ”

"God," the archbishop reluctantly waved his hand to the man next to him and asked them to pull the woman up, and then tried to explain to her as quietly as he could, "Listen to me that it's not a bad thing to find your husband, to be precise, he's working for me, but he's only half done, and I want to know how his other half is doing." ”

The woman looked at the archbishop in a bit of a daze, and although she still didn't understand what was happening, she at least knew that things didn't seem so terrible.

"But I really don't know where he is, my lord," replied the woman aggrievedly, "he left us a sum of money, and said that he would leave if he had business to do, and he said that we would not return to our hometown in Palma in the future, and he said this." ”

"Of course you don't have to go back to the countryside like Parma," the archbishop muttered quietly, and then remembered his own business for a while, "well, if you see your husband tell him, let him come to me at once without further delay," he said as he stood up and seemed to be leaving, but he remembered something, and told him that he would agree to whatever he wanted, that is, stop playing hide and seek with me. ”

The woman nodded stupidly, she didn't understand what the archbishop was saying, but she had seen enough strange things in this time, so she took the archbishop's words to heart despite her nervousness.

In the hut on the shores of Lake Walterfila, with a whisper of satisfaction, a smooth arm stretched out from the hanging drapery, which was retracted after groping for the cup beside the bed.

After a while, the curtain was lifted, and Maria de Luna stood on the floor on the soft carpet in a soft robe, the flush on her face not completely subsided, and her chest was still gently rising and falling without calming her breathing.

Tiego leaned back on the edge of the bed and smiled contentedly at the Duchess's appearance, and then he fell back on the pillow and closed his eyes lazily.

"Shouldn't you be in Valencia at this time?" Maria de Luna asked, puzzled, "But you offered to stay here with me for a week?" ”

"Madame, the Duke of Rome Thesia once taught me a good way to taste wine," said Thieg, opening his eyes and looking at Maria de Luna, "he said that a bottle of good wine that has been aged for a long time cannot be drunk immediately after it is opened, because then it is only the taste of the wine itself, and perhaps it is not very rich, and the wine should be set aside for a while, so that its aroma can be fully awakened before tasting it slowly. ”

Maria de Luna frowned and didn't understand what he was talking about, but she didn't continue.

She still didn't know what kind of person the Duke of Rome Thesia was, but she knew that everything this man did had a purpose, so it was not surprising that Tiego was influenced by that duke.

However, Tiego did not want her to continue to speculate, he opened his mouth to explain: "I have to find something for the archbishop to do, otherwise he will be cranky, you must know that Valencia is the papal refuge, but this does not mean that you can do whatever you want here, we should all understand one thing, times have changed, times have changed, times have changed." ”

Maria de Luna looked at Tiego thoughtfully, and she could understand that this was a warning to her.

The troops sent from Zaragoza to quell the rebellion fought a modest battle with the Valencian self-defense forces under the command of Ofleiuil, not far outside the city.

In that battle, the self-defense forces were temporarily defeated, but the losses were not large, and then they immediately retreated to the city to defend them tightly, and never took the initiative to provoke the Wang army again.

The Valencians were still very satisfied with this result, they did not expect to defeat Zaragoza's army in one fell swoop, because that would have angered Ferdinand even more, and they were now only waiting for the Pope to send someone to mediate, and more importantly, to take advantage of this stalemate to contact the nobles everywhere in exchange for their sympathy or neutrality.

Unsurprisingly, the Duchy of Gandino was the first to declare its support for Valencia's current position, which somewhat affected many nobles in Valencia, many of whom had already put on a posture of watching each other coldly, at least not wanting to offend either side until the dust settled.

And then what happened was a little strange, the royal army, which was supposed to continue the attack, suddenly stopped moving, they settled in a town not far from the city, and then began to live their lives.

From time to time, soldiers from the royal army came to the city to buy some needed things, and some Valencian merchants came to the town to do business, and later someone simply built a market in the open space outside the city, and for a time the market economy of Valencia prospered.

It was at this time that Thiegor suddenly invited Maria de Luna to a tryst on the shores of Lake Volterfila, and, at Thiegau's request, the Duchess did not tell anyone where she was going, so that the Archbishop was somewhat blinded.

"Madame, we may soon be able to go to Zaragoza," said Tiego with a smile, "how long it has been since you appeared at the court of Zaragoza, and perhaps some people have forgotten about you, but believe me, when we go back you will be one of the most noble women in Zaragoza." ”

With that, he stretched out his hand and made an inviting gesture.

Maria de Luna watched Tiego be silent for a moment, knowing that this was not a simple gesture to have another pleasure with her, but to make her make a decision.

"I want you to assure my son that the title of Duke of Gandino cannot fall on anyone else's head, not even another Borgia." Mélia de Luna made her offer.

"Of course, I think the Duke and the Queen will support you in this idea." Tiego nodded, "After all, he's also your family. ”

Maria de Luna sighed secretly, she knew that her ambitions would not be realized, but it was good to be able to keep the Gandino territory, which really frightened her by Geoffrey's arrogant claim that he had the Gandino's inheritance.

Caesar's children were still in France, and as far as she knew, because of Caesar's hostility to Alexander, his children were unlikely to be favored, although they might not have been wronged.

As for Lucrezia's children, now María de Luna could only look at them with envy.

Perhaps, the Borgia family will produce a future Roman king, which is what many people are secretly speculating about now.

So the only thing that worried Maria de Luna was that Gandino would fall into the hands of outsiders in the future.

She feared that if she accidentally became pregnant, Thiegor might be able to fight the idea of Gandino's territory for the sake of his own child.

This is something she can't accept, since it is impossible to plot Valencia, then she must keep Gandino's territory for Giovanni's son no matter what.

Also: "When are you going to go back to Valencia?" As she sat down on the edge of the bed, Maria de Luna asked, "Aren't you worried that that Ofreil will take your power while you're away?" ”

"Don't worry, ma'am, that man won't be in Valencia for long, and I can see that he is more interested in making achievements on the battlefield, believe me, I still have this vision."

Maria de Luna nodded slightly, and as a yellowed leaf fell from the branch outside the window, and the robe on Maria de Luna's body slowly faded, she thought that it might be better to just let it be.

It's been an eventful late autumn, and from Lisbon to Barriaridode, from Madrid to Zaragoza, the entire Iberian Peninsula is full of unpredictable changes.

Manuel expressed his disinterest in the war between Castile and Aragon, and on the other hand, he exchanged letters with Barriaridud frequently.

In Madrid, Pope Alexander VI held high the umbrella that would grant direct protection to Valencia's devout faithful.

Zaragoza, for its part, showed an indifference that seemed completely unrelated to the ongoing war, after Ferdinand had rushed to the front.

But none of this mattered, and it was the performance of the Archbishop of Zaragoza during the siege of Garel that really shook the whole of Iberia.

Ferdinand's chamberlain entered the city with the king's banner when he arrived in Zaragoza, and his presence instantly became the focus of everyone's attention, so much so that by the time he arrived at the cathedral, he was followed by a long tail.

The Archbishop of Zaragoza had long heard of this man's arrival, so he was not hindered when his attendants asked to be seen with the Archbishop.

"Did the king tell you to come to me like this?" Looking out the window, looking at the noble retinue gathered in twos and threes on the street, the archbishop asked in a deep voice, and after receiving a silent response from his attendants, the archbishop let out a sneer.

"Your Majesty would like you to promise to guarantee the safety of the two princes and princesses," replied the chamberlain respectfully, and although he saw the gloomy look on the archbishop's face, he continued, "and your Majesty, please do not forget the shameful scandals that the Pope has caused in Valencia, and he hopes that you will not make a decision that will bring shame on the Church of Aragon." ”

The archbishop looked at his attendant for a moment, and then thought that perhaps Ferdinand should be made more aware of his current situation.

"I know this may be difficult to accept, but I think the king should understand what he is facing now, and hand this over to His Majesty," said the archbishop, taking a document from the closet and handing it to his attendants, and then taking it back a little as he was about to take it, "telling him that the safety of the kingdom of Aragon was more important than a prince, even more than a king, so that his defeat was not a betrayal by one person, but a decision by the whole of Aragon. ”

The attendant looked at the archbishop in a daze, he really didn't understand the reason why the archbishop dared to say this, but looking at the document with the "Po River Treaty" written in his hand, he still bowed and saluted, and then asked tentatively: "Then my lord, can I attack and visit His Royal Highness the Prince?" ”

"Of course, and I want you to report what you have seen to the king," said the archbishop as he motioned for the attendants to leave, and then looked at the people who were walking away from the window, and the archbishop took out another letter from the closet.

Opening the letter, the archbishop's gaze began to wander over the heart-pounding numbers.

Needless to be reminded by Ferdinand, the Archbishop of Zaragoza was well aware of Alexander VI's greed and depravity.

But he was equally impressed by the Pope's promise.

A staggering amount of money may not have been enough to impress him, but a self-appointed bishopric recognized by the Vatican could no longer afford to remain with the Archbishop of Zaragoza.

This was a bargaining chip thrown to him by Alexander VI, and at the same time an olive branch handed out by the Pope.

The establishment of the self-appointed diocese of Iberia, or rather the "fiefdom" of Alexander VI after retaining the papal title, was an agreement negotiated between Alexander VI and the Vatican.

In exchange, the Holy See will regain ownership of the Triple Crown in the future.

This is too important for the Vatican, because the triple crown not only signifies the legitimate legitimacy of the Holy See, but also the return of the papacy in an era when papal power is gradually weakening, and heralds the possibility of the Holy See becoming the spiritual pillar of Europe again.

And such a holy relic of great significance is in the hands of Alexander VI, which also makes the Vatican have to be more cautious in its attitude towards him.

No one could ignore Alexander's presence, and the enormous influence of the powerful Roman Tertesian army and the trade alliances that had come to light with the Treaty of Po was enough to make those who tried to wrest the triple crown from Alexander VI understand what kind of opponent they were up against.

"Triple Crown......

In Madrid, Alexander VI was whispering the name of the holy relic, which shook the whole of Christendom.

When he learned that Alexander had in his hands this holy relic that was no less significant to the Holy See than Jesus Christ, and even more practical in a sense, he couldn't help but feel that perhaps he was completely wrong when he said that he had achieved Alexander.

"A real Borgia."

Alexander VI muttered to himself, then let out a laugh of unknown significance.

When Uliuu walked into the house panting, Alexander had already seen him through the window on the second floor.

In front of his master, the royal officer showed his grievances very appropriately, and he reported to the lord that he had been kicked out of the court by the queen, and the reason was only because he had done his duty with the duchess.

"Sir, let me stay by your side, I've been running around for you all these years, but look at my sir, now I'm even going to be punished for serving the hostess, so next time I'm going to have my head cut off for a lady who gets your favor, sir, you have to say a fair word for me."

The Moorish man stood there with an aggrieved face pouring bitter water, which made Alexander feel that he really couldn't help but feel sorry for him.

It's just that in this matter, Alexander felt somewhat powerless.

None of those women were easy to deal with, and it seemed that Lucrezia was more well-behaved.

"Ulliu, you have to believe that sometimes your mission is very difficult, just like now," Alexander decided to persuade him to get rid of the Moors as soon as possible, he stretched out his hand and took Ulliu's shoulder and walked slowly, while assigning him a task that was most suitable for him at the moment, "I want you to go and see Ferdinand, everything should be settled." ”

A hint of excitement flashed across Uliu's face for a moment, and then he asked in a slightly nervous tone, "Sir, did you say it's time?" ”

"Yes, it's time," Alexander looked at the water flowing from the Ebro River, and looked downstream in the direction of the current, not far from the opposite bank, Ferdinand waited for his final judgment like a trapped beast in a trap, "Ferdinand has no way out, it's time to put an end to this." ”