The next morning, even Pope Alexander VI couldn't help but look at his little daughter again and again, Luclayia's eyes sparkled in the morning light, her face was ruddy, even when she was using soup and bread, her arms were dancing with joy, and finally Alexander VI couldn't help but ask: "Lucrea, my child, have you met with anything good?" Your smile is sweeter than a soup with honey. When Lucrecia heard this, she just turned her head to look at her father, although she didn't say anything, but even the Pope must admit that no one could not indulge in such soft and sweet eyes, he glanced at Caesar, trying to find out the abnormality of his daughter from his son, but Caesar was with his head down, preoccupied with a piece of venison.

"The venison is really fresh." Alexander VI said that he was a little angry at Caesar's rudeness, but he did hurt his son before, so the pope quickly had the attendants cut off a large piece of venison: "It was Giulio who hunted it, didn't it?" ”

"Yes, Holy Father," he said, "it is Julio, who alone hunted the stag yesterday." ”

In fact, no one would believe that Alexander VI would put an unknown venison on his plate, but he only wanted to take this opportunity to pay tribute to Giulio: "You have a valiant and shrewd friend, Caesar, and perhaps we can give him some better position, or vineyards and granges, and you know what he likes." Or women can do it. ”

Caesar lowered his eyes and quickly glanced at Lucretia from under his thick dark eyelashes, Luclecia seemed to be busy tearing open a piece of bread, but just as Caesar had been busy cutting venison before, this action was entirely to hide her sudden disappearing smile—Caesar was not sure if there was Julio standing outside the hut that night, but he smelled the rich aroma of Lucrea, which was rose oil from Baghdad, expensive and scarce—and he suddenly lost his good appetite, Throw the dagger back into the plate. "He doesn't want much," he said, adding, "Actually, I think he's a bit boring, he's not ambitious, he's not keen on women or wine and food, I think ......."

Alexander VI chuckled softly, "What a mistake," he said, "my child, of course he will have what he wants, although he is not short of money, prudent and courteous, and more willing to enjoy the ordinary life, I have not seen such people, but fundamentally they are two kinds of people, one is that they know very well that they cannot get any worldly pleasures, like the Florentine Savonarola." Do you know why he was willing to do penance and swear chastity? His foolish followers certainly thought he was inspired by the Divine, but I must tell you that this pious monk was born into a depraved family, his mother was an ignorant woman, and his father was idle and idle, and he fell in love with a beautiful woman before he became a monk, but he was short, ugly, and poor, let alone love, and he could not even get anything but ridicule and ridicule, my child, and he was able to remain faithful only because he was disappointed in the greed and vanity of women, and therefore hated all love and beauty—but Giulio. The Medici obviously belong to another kind, in this world, there are always some people, like they were born with God's blessing, whether it is lust, or gold, or power, other people need to spend their lives to absorb the things that he can get, he only needs to raise his hand to get them, so he doesn't have a very strong desire for them, they may just taste it, maybe they don't even have the idea of looking at it, hehe," the pope laughed twice in a deep guttural voice: "But don't think that such people are nobler, no, they are more greedy, more utilitarian, What they ask for is only more precious than the above three, such as true affection and sincerity......"

"Dangchang!"

The crisp sound of metal striking porcelain made Alexander VI frown, and then he realized that it was his little daughter who had dropped the spoon into the basin, so he said tolerantly: "It's nothing, it's nothing, Lucrea, it's me who is not good, I didn't notice that you are still here, dear, are you full?" When you're full, go find Julia or Maria, Sansha and they play, and I'll talk to your brother for a while. ”

Lucrecia glanced at Caesar, lifted her skirt and hurried out of the room.

"True," Alexander VI continued, "look, you're almost done, for Giulio is a good man worthy of respect and respect, and you, your brother and your sister, have been surrounded by cunning and sycophantic clowns, whose ugly faces and souls, bah, are just, but really, we can't do without them, after all, we have to deal with the ignorant people, the cunning lords, the tyrannical kings and the grand dukes, Only they can come in handy. But is it our intention to be surrounded by such people? Caesar, I can understand your thoughts, and you really need such a strong, sincere and trustworthy friend, the trouble is that such a person is very difficult to buy, God bless us, although this also means that he is also difficult to be bought by others - but, Caesar, such a person, if you can be regarded by him as a true friend, he will do everything for you, will do whatever he can, even willing to bear the stigma for you, and give up his life. Alexander VI crossed his powerful fingers together: "So, for the good reward afterwards, you need to give a little, my child, a little, maybe more, but as long as you are clear-headed, I don't mind you being a true friend with him, and you can sacrifice for him, as long as you feel it is worth it." ”

Caesar didn't speak, and Alexander VI walked over and stroked his son's cheek with a calloused hand, "Caesar, my son, I know you may still be complaining about me, I didn't send the Assassins of the Borgias, I didn't send the Templars, I didn't mobilize the Church Army," he said in a low voice full of apology, "But believe me, I was under the watchful eye of Charles' army and spies, and if I tried to take back the hostages, his army would immediately capture and plunder Rome, and even depose me......"

"I know." But there was still anger, especially after knowing that Juan had become the commander of the Holy Alliance, Caesar reached out and held the Pope's finger tightly, and the fisherman's ring, a symbol of supreme power and glory, was deeply engraved into his palm.

"Of course, I can ask for the help of others, especially Cardinal Picomini, who took in the sons of my enemies, there are many who think that the covenant between us has been scrapped, but I don't, do you know why?" Alexander VI said, "For I do not want you to owe me a favor, and if I go to him, it will be a deal between us, and the account will be settled between us, but if it is Lucrea, then she will only rely on your friendship, Caesar, and I will make you indebted to Julio." At this, Alexander VI even laughed a little mischievously, and he looked at his son's bewildered face, and patiently explained: "For the poor, of course, it is more willing to owe debts to others, but Caesar, for the rich, both physically and mentally, he prefers to let others owe his debts, just like Lorenzo once was. The Medici—he thought it his duty to those whom he had recently given bread and wine, yes, he loved them more than the kings and archdukes—it was almost arrogant, but they were. He placed his hands on Caesar's shoulders: "Nothing can make you closer than the debt of life and death, Caesar, he will not refuse your approach, go hunting with him, pray with him, give him important things to do, let him walk side by side with you, hold his arm as if he were holding your brother - he will be a cardinal, you will be the most reliable vote in the papal election, he will be your eyes and ears, your sword and shield, and the Medici family, although they were almost expelled from Florence, Such a huge family, even if it has fallen to the ground suddenly, but Caesar, you never know how long and deep their roots are, go dig, my child, to find, we need Medici money. Speaking of this, Alexander VI couldn't help but sigh, Lorenzo. The Medici could not be said to be a good parent, but he finally did everything he could before the sacrament of death, but his son was much worse, and he also thought about whether to support Giulio. The Medici became the head of the Medici family, but he had to consider Picomini's ideas, and second, he thought that the relationship between Caesar and Giulio was not close enough, but since they were both bishops and were in Rome, there would be many opportunities to build affection.

"It doesn't matter if you think of Giulio as a true brother," added Alexander VI, "See, I have some good friends. ”

"Those are just cows, horses and hounds." Caesar couldn't help but sarcastically.

Alexander VI laughed, "Don't say that," he denied, "they were my friends and brothers before they got in my way." But there are times," Alexander VI said sadly, "I had to give up some, my children, for the sake of our great cause." ”

Caesar moved his lips, and for a moment, he even wanted to ask Alexander VI if he was the one who was abandoned. If Cardinal Picromini insisted on not allowing Luclecia to see Julio, or if Julio had been hurt by their cold reception and refused Lucrecia's request, would his father really have managed to save him at the risk of being detected by Charles VIII? No, he still has Juan, and Avery and Caesar is just the most astute of his children, but not the one he loves the most.

He got up to take his leave, Alexander VI did not hold back, he sat down in his chair, and just as Caesar was about to walk out of the room, he suddenly asked, "How was last night?" ”

Caesar turned around, cold sweat was on his spine, it was not a big deal to go on a blind date with his brother and sister, he said, for Alexander VI, but he had a tryst with Mary because he saw that Mary had been dissatisfied with her husband Juan for a long time, they had no children yet, and if he could get Maria's love, or let her conceive a child of her own, then there was no need to provoke too much, Mary would do it to her husband - and in this world, the husband would kill his wife, and the wife would kill her husband, It really doesn't get any simpler than that.

But if Alexander VI had known about it, he would have stopped the conspiracy, and he would have been furious, because in the Borgia family, the murder of blood relatives is an unforgivable sin, and Juan did not betray the family, did not betray his father, he did not even directly harm Caesar, he only stood in Caesar's way.

"I think Lucrecia is still a virgin," said Alexander VI with a smile, "but you must have had a good night, haven't you?" You left the banquet before the dinner was over, and never returned, did Duarte have ordered the servants to renovate the cabin? I also put a big piece of fox fur in it, but next time you might use the room here, it's still a little cold by the lake. ”

Satisfied, he leaned back in his chair: "You have to hurry, Lucretia may just be a little shy between her and Giovanni. After Sforza's marriage was declared null and void, I would find another marriage for her, and this time she could not refuse the intercourse ceremony. ”