Three young men stepped on the heels of the procession into the cathedral church, and the interior decoration was almost negligible compared to the beautiful exterior of the beautiful tricolor marble, mosaics, and carved windows, and the vermilion octagonal dome, which had been criticized by many conservatives as bright as the sunset. The Bible of the Fool", that is, the rose window that speaks the basic spirit of Christ in symbolic and metaphorical language, and the sunlight casts a faint shadow from the brilliant glass onto the ground and the crowd. Pen "Fun" Pavilion www.biquge.info

The second light source was much fainter—the honey-yellow beeswax candles burned on the iron frames on either side of the small altar, and the wicks were cut so short that they illuminated only a small part of the white linen altar cloth and the cross behind it.

The proximity to the altar, that is, the privilege of receiving Holy Communion at the hands of the presiding priest is almost exclusively the bankers living in the center of the city, the directors of the seven guilds, the members, the lawyers, or the officials of the Consulate and their families.

Noble and wealthy ladies wore cloaks of pomegranate, scopole and vase brocade or shawl long tunics derived from the vestment; Clinging to the graceful body are velvet open-breasted maxi dresses with jacquard fabric sleeves, or long square-necked skirts in Damascus wool with openwork velvet sleeves, or bright satin and linen; The sleeves were joined to the shoulders of the long skirt with gold and silver strings and pearl buttons, and the deliberately reserved gaps revealed a fluffy snow-white silk or linen lining; Their necklines were more expansive than those of the commoners, so much so that, in addition to the embellished bodices adorned with delicate lace, "glittering skin down to the bare half of the breasts" (as one Reformer condemned the wide open neckline). Of course, in order not to be kicked out of the church by the angry friars, they had to ask their fathers, brothers and husbands for large quantities of precious stones, pearls, delicate lace from Venice, and gold veils as thin as cicada's wings to cover their chests and necks—you see, they did not intend to violate the law on the restriction of luxury (Note 2).

Of course, their fathers, brothers, husbands, and sons were no less than suitable, with six-strand silk brocade in crimson, navy, burgundy, gold, and black, and rows of jeweled buttons around the edges and tears of the embossed brocade coats, and small rings of gold and silver on the velvet cloaks, and robes and capes with filigree and capes adorned with the family crest of jewels, and carved swords that were more decorated than practical.

Lorenzo. Morality. The Medici stood in front of everyone, and as the head of the Florentine "brotherhood", the Medici parents had the right to be the first to receive Holy Communion.

His dress was as drab and solemn as ever, black velvet tights, trousers, a coat of the same color embroidered but without precious stones, a gold necklace with a cross more of a necessity than an ornament; But that extravagant cloak should make up for it. Originally belonging to the previous Medici parents, it was made from carefully selected garbo wool, which was dyed a thick and uniform crimson by three of the most expensive oriental dyes before being spun into wool threads, which were then woven into chunks of cloth mixed with countless unrecognizable gold threads, and finally hand-embellished garments, mink lining, and gray squirrel skin trimming, which was more thick and strong than one might think. As a child, Giuliano also used it to stand upright out of thin air and use it as a tent for the main commander in a war game.

When the current Medici parents saw their brother appear outside the church gate, they immediately cast a warning and urging glance. But the church was empty, dark and cold, and after only a brief pause, Giuliano's leg spasmed reflexively, and he shook his head with a pitiful rogue smile at his brother. He was not the head of the Medici family, and it didn't matter when he received Holy Communion, he preferred to bask in the sun by the church door. Patch and his friends seemed to think the same way, and the three young men huddled together by the church door.

Lorenzo pursed his lips in displeasure and helplessness, and as the priest and the people greeted each other, he turned to meet Cardinal Rafaello, nephew of the Count of Girolamo of Peruga. Advance. After a moment of conversation, apparently explaining to Giuliano, a young man of great height, who was known to have always had a great deal of curiosity about the second son of the Medici, returned to his original posture, lowered his eyes, and joined in the silent prayer of repentance.

Reading the Bible (God's Hadith), people answer "Amen"; Reading the Bible, reading the Bible, people answer, "We praise you." ”； Sermon; read the creed; Prayer; Dedication ...... The already dull sacrificial rites were made even longer by the excessive use of obscure ecclesiastical Latin, and a considerable number of the populace soon began to snooze, talk about business, and gossip, though their disrespectful behavior was always punctuated by the gut of hunger...... It was not until near noon that the deacons began to deliver bread and wine that would soon become the Eucharist. After repeating a series of uninteresting but necessary steps, such as offering incense, consecration, kneeling, reading the scriptures, chanting, etc., the people who had been fasting according to the canon since last night could not help but watch eagerly as the priest held aloft the gray dough in the silver reliquary.

Giuliano curled his tongue uncontrollably and grimaced with contempt. Each time the Eucharist tasted like brown rice cakes soaked in vinegar, the young man wondered more than once whether the night of fasting before Holy Communion was so that people could swallow this unpalatable thing.

***

Two deacons walked up to the celebrant, holding the Holy Lord filled with the Holy Blood and the Eucharistic Plate, which contained the Holy Communion.

Giuliano raised his hands, crossed his fingers, clenched his chin into a fist, closed his eyes, and began to murmur prayer.

He felt that beside him, it should be Bernardo. The men of Bandini were wriggling restlessly, as if someone had poured a whole nest of fleas on him, and if it weren't for the church, Giuliano might have chosen to throw him out.

***

Lorenzo bowed his head and chanted the scriptures in his mouth, and he was bending his knees towards the kneeling stool to receive the Eucharist—but before that, a blind, slender flash of light glittered the edge of his vision.

The vigilant claws suddenly grasped Lorenzo's heart, and instinct drove him to turn sharply without warning in a half-rickety posture - the knife that tried to pierce his neck and the hand that grabbed him by the shoulder were all gone, and the eldest son of the Medici had no time to think, and he fell backwards, rolled on the spot, knocking over the sacrificial table on the right, and at the same time shouted angrily: "Murder! ”

***

Giuliano opened his eyes angrily and horrified at the cries of his brother, and the last sight that came into the light brown iris was Bernardo? The butcher's knife held aloft in Bandini's hand.

He didn't even have a chance to raise his arms in farrow, or let out one last roar and curse.

Bandini's strength was great, and the butcher's means of livelihood slashed straight into the forehead of the Medici's second son, Junxiu, like a real weapon; At the same time, young Patch, who was on the other side of the victim, clenched his small left-handed sword drawn from his sleeve and grabbed Giuliano's back with ferocity like a hyena raiding zebra, and without pause he stabbed and stabbed - at Bernardo. Bandini confirmed Giuliano's death, and then carefully woke up his friend, who was completely unable to control himself due to nervousness or agitation, before the sword in his left hand was stabbed enough to create a large sieve for macaroni.

Patch stood up dizzily, the reddish hot liquid soaked through the pale velvet, and in addition to the blood shed by Giuliano, the poor victim, there was also his own—the murderer who had inadvertently created a slender wound in his own thigh, still driven by intense emotions and rich fantasies, and not feeling much pain for the time being, his face muscles twisted, his teeth clucking, and he looked from side to side as quickly as a vulture that had tasted blood, Look for your second target today in the midst of a chaotic crowd.