"Smack!"

Although he had expected it, Joshua was dizzy and unable to control himself when he was slapped in the face by Cardinal Grande Lovere, and the heavy force knocked him to the ground.

Cardinal Grande Lovere can also be said to be an outlier among cardinals, although he cannot compare with Alexander VI, who was once the supreme master of the Templar Order, but he is also as strong as a knight who has been on a horse for half a life, and his palms are large and wide, even if he wears silk gloves, it is difficult to hide the tenacity of black iron branches underneath, and in a single moment, Joshua cannot stand up for half a day.

He paced irritably around the room, cursing Pius III, cursing the Medici, cursing his son Joshua, and of himself, and, of course, most of all, Alexander VI, who had caused the current situation—even if he had no children now, he could have made more sons if he could, so why cling to such a rebellious idiot.

"......" Joshua opened his mouth, and the wound was touched, and the pain was so painful that he couldn't make a sound for a while, but he still took a deep breath and continued: "Please...... Calm down, father. ”

The rare salutation made the big Lovere pause in his footsteps, and he snorted softly, "I want to calm down," and he walked back in front of Joshua, "Tell me, does Pius III want reform?" ”

"Yes."

"So you became his pawn, the whetstone—and his most beloved disciple didn't even say a word, do you know where you put us? Hellfire! Joshua, Hell of Fire, living Hell! They will swallow us! Big Lovere waved his fist: "If that's what you want," he contorted his face and said, "I can kill you right now!" Joshua! It's better than letting you, and even taking me to do the sacrifice of Picromini! He growled, the anger in his eyes suggesting that he could have turned this intimidation into a fact, and that he was almost going to do it.

Joshua closed his eyes and repeated the words in action, and after a while, when Cardinal Grande Lovere finally calmed down—perhaps having decided what means to use to undo the effects of Joshua's reckless actions, just as he decided to remove the stain from his life more than a decade ago in order to run for the Pope—he could of course abandon Joshua now, and although he could no longer have children related by blood, he could still be used as an honor, The cardinals, who were wealthy and powerful, lived peacefully for the next few decades.

"Father," Joshua said slowly but clearly, "I know you're angry that I said something like that—but I'm not without thought. ”

Cardinal Grand Lovere smiled sarcastically.

"If you can think that I am acting for my teacher, Shelter III, then why do you think that others will not think like this?" Joshua whispered, "They should know that it is not me who really wants reform, but His Excellency the Pope." ”

"But so what, just because they don't dare to disobey the Holy Father doesn't mean they can't deal with you."

"Giulio has said a lot of things, some of them, quite plausible, my father, for example, he said that everything in the world is conserved, and that there is something to be gained, and there is to be something to be gained......"

"I'm glad you are so kind, Joshua," said Cardinal Lovere Harshly, "you can go and love him, but I don't want to hear that name now, because it represents my failure." ”

"Failure? No, father, you have not failed," Joshua laughed, "the seed you planted has sprouted in my heart—just as you expected, but it is for this reason that I can see clearly...... You are right, my teacher, he has only one disciple, and that is Julio, and as for Caesar and I...... One was a poison ivy that had to be removed, and the other was a silk that would never be strong in his sight—for if I became strong, it would mean that I was robbing Julio of his resources, which he could never bear. ”

"So you gave me such an answer."

"If there is no teacher, father, can you push me to that supreme throne if you have the status and power you have now? Perhaps, but the variables may be too big to be out of your control – the French, the Spaniards, the Italians, and the Venetians, all of whom are spying on the Pope's position, and you have been away from Rome for too long, and the Borgias have been trying to suppress the power of the Loveres...... How much support can your nephew, the lord of Seniganya, flee without even having the courage to resist in the face of Caesar? Although you have a great deal of power now, this power was given to you by my teacher, and you have not had time to use it to strengthen your position...... You're not strong enough, and so am I. ”

Cardinal Grande Lovere frowned, "What do you want to say?" ”

Joshua closed his eyes, and in that convent, what came to mind when the abbot's grandmother mentioned the name of the Duke of Urbino? He was thinking of his teacher, Pius III, with whom Pius III had arguably a rare one-on-one conversation before he set off with Giulio.

"Joshua." Pius III said: "I know that you have always been full of jealousy and resentment towards Giulio - because you feel that I have been unfair to you, but you should remember that from the very beginning, I said that you were able to stay with me because Giulio wanted it to be so, and it had nothing to do with you, let alone your father.

You should be grateful to him, even if he didn't save your life—three times, but you obviously don't think so—I know, you think, that Giulio is just a child, how can he be gracious to another child? So you are only willing to be grateful to me. ”

"Teacher ......"

"No excuse," said Pius III, "I don't care, neither does Giulio, but your father said that he hoped I could do justice to you once, well, I do, so, I give you this chance, Joshua." ”

He and Giulio became judges of the Inquisition, and he knew, and would let his teachers know, that he could do better than Giulio—even if it was the target of public criticism.

"His Holiness the Potenty's reform needs to be done, and if he needs me to do things, he must give me power." Joshua looked at Cardinal Lovere, who was full of lust for power: "And those people, of course, will hate me and hate me, but the original Alexander VI, wasn't he hated by the people, but at the same time, they also feared him and respected him, I don't care about my reputation, father, I just need to grasp everyone's weaknesses and vital points, so that they have to bow down to us."

And this is Julio. The Medici couldn't do it. He was so hypocritical, so many years, that he was deceived by his own disguise...... This is my chance that the Holy Father will see me, and it doesn't matter if he continues to turn a blind eye – people will force him to look at me and choose me. “

Cardinal Grande Lovere's eyes gradually became suspicious: "You don't love your teacher, do you?" ”

"Love." Joshua calmly said, "But can it go on like this?" Father, you accuse me of not even daring to go up and fight for what I want - I have done as you say...... I'm not going to watch him give Giulio everything I want. ”

"I hope so." Cardinal Velvere whispered, "Well, I'll give you another chance, Joshua, and I'll go back and tell those people that you're ...... Got some irritation – after all, you're still a young man and you've had too little to do. ”

"That's it, father." Joshua said, "Try to paralyze them and appease them—and so will I." ”

————————

When Joshua went out the door, the sun was shining brightly, and he pulled down his wide-brimmed hat in annoyance, hiding his face in the shadows—before he boarded the carriage he caught a glimpse of a young monk being pestered by a filthy old woman.

Martin. When Lud heard the rattling of the carriage, he looked back and saw a cardinal stepping up the steps of the carriage, and he turned back again.

The old woman in front of him was like the most orthodox witch in the fairy tales of later generations, dressed in rags and black, dirty, with unkempt hair, full of little things jumping around, and while she was talking about the good people, she took out a indulgence voucher and showed it to little Martin, because she didn't know how to read, but she knew whether it was used to atone for murder - her son was sentenced to death by hanging because he had accidentally killed someone in a brawl, but because the man was a relative of the priest of the main church, the priest refused to forgive his sins, His old mother had to come to Rome herself to buy a coup so that her son would not go to hell.

But little Martin only saw a voucher forgiving the sin of adultery—the price of the two was completely different, the coupons for murder were three times the price of the coupons for adultery, and he asked the old mother, and sure enough, the priest who sold the coupons received the price for murder, but gave the coupons for adultery, but he couldn't say a word when he looked at the expectant, wrinkled face.

"It's for the forgiveness of murder...... Vouchers. "But to get your son to heaven faster, it's better to make a pilgrimage—you are in Rome, and wouldn't you like to touch the Holy Cross?" ”

"But I don't have any money, not even money to buy bread." The old woman said, "I'm going to beg for it." ”

"I have a brother monk," said Martin Jr., "and there is a Holy Cross in his church—I will take you there, as long as you are willing to pray for those benefactors." ”

The old woman was immediately happy, and she carefully rolled up the hard-won indulgence and put it in the small leather bag that hung around her neck.

"What church is that brother of?"

"Sistine Chapel ......"

"Don't make fun of me, although I am an old woman, I also know that it is the private prayer hall of the Holy Father......

"You're right, then it's probably the Sistines Chapel......"

"There is this church?"

"Isn't it?"

……