On the undulating waters of Valencia, a large ship with a flag of red bull and golden cross slowly sailed in the direction of the harbor.

The Caravel brig had several guns peeking out under the open portholes on both sides.

Even along the western shores of the Mediterranean, the fierce Ottoman pirates still posed a great threat to the passing ships, especially Barbarossa Hayreddin, the most ferocious in these years, which was a nightmare for ships at sea.

The Caravel brig had to be even more careful, as the passengers on board were some of the biggest men.

Alexander VI stood on the deck and looked at the familiar and unfamiliar coast in the distance, the castle on Prisoner's Island not far from the mainland still looked so majestic and precipitous, and as it got closer, the vaguely recognizable city of Valencia became clearer and clearer in front of him.

Compared with the coast of the Iberian Peninsula, which faces the Atlantic Ocean, with its rugged cliffs and rugged harbors, the coast on the Mediterranean Sea is smooth and gentle, and there are not many harbors to provide safe terrain for sailors, but the gentleness of the Mediterranean does not have to be that kind of shelter.

Alexander VI only remembered how many years had passed since he had been away, and the Borgia family had been prominent in Valencia for centuries as a noble family with a long history in Valencia.

However, it was Pope Gallias III who brought the Borgia to Rome, where they quickly became an enviable and powerful family, and Alexander VI was the key figure in bringing the family to the top.

Only now, the curtain has come down, the son Luigi, whom he had high hopes for, has died, Giovanni, whom he regarded as his temporal heir, has died, and the last hope, Caesar, who had the most complicated feelings for Alexander VI, has finally died.

As for Geoffrey, Alexander VI never considered him his son, not only because he was born and his appearance made Alexander VI suspicious, but also because his personality was completely different from his.

His sons were all killed, not even more than 25 years old, which made Alexander VI think that maybe all this was God's punishment for him, so on the ship, the pope rarely took out the Bible and read it carefully, hoping to get some revelation or forgiveness from it.

An exiled pope is sad, although there have been more than one such popes in history, but after all, it was centuries ago, since the actual capital of the Vatican, except for those who were proclaimed by the French and the so-called prisoners of Avignon, no pope has left the Vatican in such a mess.

Alexander VI knew that his glory in the Vatican was over, but he was not happy, and after years of struggle, he was finally defeated by the old Rovere's men, which was unacceptable to him, so before leaving Rome he told what he had seen all along, what he had heard, and what had come to mind, to the person who thought that perhaps he could bring him some surprise, and as for what happened next, it was not up to him.

The journey from Rome to Valencia went well, and the messengers who had already arrived in front of Valencia had apparently reached the news of the Pope's arrival, so the Pope's ship had not yet crossed the island of prisoners hanging in the lonely sea, and several boats had already arrived to meet him.

"Valencia." Alexander VI muttered to himself, he was in the prime of life when he left here, but now he was old, and he was so ambitious when he left, but now he was a pope who had been virtually deposed.

Looking at the banner of the Borgia family raised on the opposite ship, Alexander VI's gloomy face finally showed a smile at this time, when he was still called Rodrigo Borgia, as the archbishop of Valencia, relying on the power accumulated by the family over the years, Alexander VI was once the real king of the city, and even Ferdinand had to be respectful and polite to him at those times.

However, Alexander VI guessed that this was probably why Ferdinand showed such enthusiastic support when he heard that he was going to the Vatican to run for cardinal, after all, it was a great thing for Ferdinand to settle in Rome completely after the Pogil family.

Pelotto Caderon stood beside Emperor Alexander VI and looked at the look on the Pope's face that seemed to be reminiscing and emotional, but he was thinking about his own thoughts.

Since Giovanni's wife, Maria de Luna, left Rome with her son, Pelotto Caderon has been somewhat relieved.

Having an affair with a mistress is indeed a fascinating thing, but it is also dangerous if the mistress's husband is a great person, and Caderon knew that Giovanni was a terrible man, and if he knew that he had fornicated with his wife, he would not spare him, so when he found out that Giovanni seemed to be aware, Caderon assassinated his man on that early summer night.

Whether Maria de Luna really didn't know anything about it, or was aware of it but wasn't sure for it, or whether she knew it completely in her heart, Cadron still didn't know.

On several occasions he had hinted at Maria de Luna, but the woman cunningly avoided the topic, much to Caderon's displeasure.

He was an ambitious man, although he was only a servant, but perhaps because of the unusual care that the Borgia family had always taken care of him, which gave Caderón ambitions that did not match his identity, but after the assassination of Giovanni, he did not get much benefit from Maria de Luna, who had become a widow, on the contrary, he was worried about the fear that he might be used as a victim of this woman at any time.

So the departure of Maria de Luna was a great relief for him.

Now that he had returned to Valencia with Alexander VI, the thought of seeing the woman again made Caderon wonder what to do.

But maybe this is also an opportunity, Caderon thought to himself, he felt that it might not be a good thing to be able to renew his relationship with Maria de Luna, although this place is not comparable to Rome, but the Borgia family is deeply rooted here after all, and if he can get that woman to support him to enter the court of Aragon, it may not be a good opportunity to get ahead.

Thinking so in his heart, Caderon, who was standing a little behind, smiled like the Pope who looked at the ship on the other side and smiled.

The people on the opposite boat could already be clearly seen, saluting respectfully to the Pope from a distance, and some of them simply knelt on the board.

Alexander VI crossed them from afar, knowing that these people were still very welcome, after all, the influence of the Borgia family in Valencia had not faded for many years, and now that he thought about it, it was a good thing that Maria de Luna, as the heir to the Dukedom of Gandino, was now helping his grandson rule the land, which obviously deepened the influence of the Borgia family in the region.

As for how Zaragoza would react, Alexander VI did not have the time to think about it at this time.

Or rather, but vaguely hoped that Ferdinand would not ignore his return too much.

Even now, Alexander VI has not extinguished the flame of his ambitions, so although returning to Valencia may not have been the best option, he made the decision anyway.

He wants to take advantage of the Borgia family's influence over the years in Valencia to find another opportunity to make a comeback, something he can't do in Italy.

"We went home Pelotto, remember what Valencia was like?" Escorted by two ships, Alexander VI's ship slowly entered the harbor, and looking at the welcoming crowd that had been waiting on the dock for a long time, the Pope looked back at the entourage next to him.

"I'm sorry Your Majesty, maybe I was too young at that time to really remember some things." Cadron replied as he cautiously looked at the docks, looking among the large number of nobles who had come to greet him, and soon saw the figure of Maria de Luna, which made him shudder slightly.

"Oh, of course, how can you remember clearly," the Pope shook his head, he looked at Caderon with a slightly strange look in his eyes, which made the entourage feel a chill in his heart, he didn't know how the Pope could suddenly look at him with such a look, and just when Caderon was full of thoughts, Alexander VI turned his head and waved slightly to the shore, and at the same time he whispered to the entourage behind him, "Cheer up Pelotto, everyone is watching now." ”

The Pope's ship slowly approached, and a group of clergy dressed in robes were the first to board, who respectfully saluted Alexander VI, who was already waiting, and kissed the back of his hand, while a cardinal in red robe knelt down and kissed the tip of his shoe.

"My dear Alain Jova, you are much older than I thought." The Pope kindly patted the cardinal on the shoulder as his gaze swept over everyone in front of him.

The clergy bowed their heads, they were all quite young, so almost every one of them had dealt with Rodrigo Borgia, who was still the Archbishop of Valencia at the time, and it was in this way that each of them knew better what this man was up to, so that even though he had now been exiled from the Vatican, they were still terrified in their hearts when confronted with him.

Alexander VI smiled again, this time his mood was somewhat better, although he had been away for many years, his influence in Valencia was still so profound, which made Alexander VI more confident in whether he could make a comeback.

Maria de Luna had been standing on the docks, knowing that she didn't need to be there to welcome the Pope off the ship, so she had the opportunity to take a closer look at her father-in-law from a distance.

Then she saw Cadron, who was looking at her.

When the Pope disembarked from the ship, the people bowed and saluted, and Maria de Luna went with her son in the morning, and saw Alexander VI gently caressing the head of her son, Juan Borgia, who was now 12 years old.

"I've always thought I'm strong, but in fact my grandson can now put on armor," Alexander VI smiled sarcastically at the different expressions on the faces of the people around him, knowing that many of the people who welcomed him didn't really want to see him, such as the cardinal next to him, who had cursed him more than once behind his back, but now, these people had to be respectful to him, Even though he openly admitted the fact that he had offspring in front of so many people, these people still had to stand aside and listen awkwardly, "I have dinner with my grandson and daughter-in-law tonight, so the welcome dinner can be arranged tomorrow." ”

The protagonists showed a look of surprise, they didn't expect that even if they were expelled by the overlord, the pope was still so maverick and even unscrupulous, and they couldn't stop it in front of so many people, so in order to get rid of the embarrassment as soon as possible, the bishops hurriedly bowed to Alexander VI, and at the same time secretly prayed in their hearts that this embarrassing scene would pass quickly.

Caderon silently followed the Pope, he secretly glanced at Maria de Luna from time to time, hoping to find some clues from her demeanor, but he was disappointed, Maria de Luna except for the previous look at him for a while, he never looked at him again, which made Caderon feel a little relieved but unspeakably awkward, but in this public he did not dare to make a slight mistake, he could only think in his heart to find an opportunity to meet Maria de Luna alone.

Valencia is located on the southeastern plain of Liberia, which is the largest grain producer of the Kingdom of Aragon, and the fertile land brings great benefits to the granary of Aragon, and further south is the domain of the Duke of Gandino.

The Duke of Gandino had a villa in the city of Valencia, which was located in the center of the city, not far from the famous silk trading market.

Like Seville's famous exchanges, the silk market has a remarkable place in Valencia's history. Precious silks, brought from the Far East to every corner of the Iberian Peninsula, were brought to the riches of many merchants, but also brought bad luck to many.

The rampant Ottoman pirates have greatly affected the commercial dealings with the East, and many people have spent huge sums of money to transport silk from the East to be looted by the pirates, which has made the unlucky merchants not only suffer heavy losses, but even some are bankrupt.

Silk became more scarce in Iberia and throughout Europe, however, and many noble courts flaunted their status and wealth by boasting large quantities of silk, while more people took risks to see this risky but lucrative business, and there was a remarkable figure who was a model for Valencian merchants.

"I didn't expect to see more silk here than I saw in the Potico Palace," Alexander VI sighed as he walked through the villa, looking at the gorgeous clothes made of silk fabrics, the expensive window decorations, and even the window drapery, "It seems that my worries about you were a little unnecessary, and you have a good life here." ”

"But it wasn't good at first," said Maria de Luna, walking slowly beside the Pope, "and we never came back, the fields in the realm were deserted, the manor was unrepaired, the servants were lazy, and the peasants were much more cunning, and I really didn't know what to do with it at the time." ”

"But now it seems that you are doing a good job," Alexander VI paused, turned halfway around, and patted Maria De Luna's arm with both hands, "You have also educated my grandson very well, and I can see that he will be very promising in the future, and I am sure Giovanni will be pleased." ”

"I beg your pardon for the offense, but you ...... come back this time," María de Luna paused, and looked at the Pope with an inquiring gaze.

"You don't have to worry about my child," said Alexander VI disapprovingly, "I am in a very bad situation now, but don't forget that I am still the 245th pope in the history of the church, and I think this may be an auspicious number for me, so trust me that everything will be fine soon." ”

Maria de Luna wanted to speak and stopped, the person who had come to report in advance had already reported to her about Caesar's death, for this somewhat unexpected news, Maria de Luna was only shocked but not a little sad, the conflict between Caesar and Giovanni has been a long time, which makes them not like brothers and enemies at all in many cases, so she doesn't care much about Caesar's death.

But now the appearance of the pope made her feel abnormal, Maria de Luna knew very well what Alexander VI expected of his sons, and now that Caesar was dead, the pope did not seem to be very hopeless.

"Isn't it strange why I don't seem particularly sad?" As if seeing through Maria de Luna's thoughts, Alexander VI asked, and then, without waiting for his daughter-in-law to answer himself, he continued, "Caesar did a lot of stupid things, but these were actually because of me, and it was I who kept him with ambitions that he could not realize, so I lived and he died, and this is God's punishment for me." ”

Looking at the Pope, who seemed to have suddenly grown old, Maria de Luna could only walk silently with him in the corridor, until she suddenly heard Alexander VI ask: "Do you know where Gombray is now?" ”

Maria de Luna's heart jumped for a moment, and she hurriedly turned her face away and pretended to take a glass from the table beside her and pour wine for the Pope, so that Alexander VI would not see her somewhat alarmed look.

"I'm sorry Your Majesty, I don't know," said Maria de Luna, and then feigned surprise, "Is he in Aragon now?" ”

"I don't know, but he said he was coming here before," the Pope's eyes flashed gloomily, in fact, he chose to return to Valencia because of Alexander, "send someone to inquire, and let me know as soon as possible if there is any news." ”

"Yes, Your Majesty."

Maria de Luna bowed her head slightly, and just then out of the corner of her eye, she swept over a figure not far away, and her heart skipped another beat, and she knew it was Cadron.

Just as Maria de Luna was about to say something again, a servant suddenly hurried up to the Duchess and reported to the Duchess: "Madame, the merchant has come again, the same man named Tiego, who has asked you to summon him, saying that he has something important. ”

Hearing the servant's words, Maria de Luna's heart instantly tightened.