So Giulio went to Raymond with such a good mood. Morality. General Cardona's welcome banquet.

Leo X was a man of considerable taste, but he also had a penchant for luxury, with plenty of delicious food, barrels of wine, brilliant lamps, and servants to and fro were of course essential for a grand banquet, clowns, jugglers, and prostitutes were indispensable decorations for the banquet, and hundreds of dignitaries were invited to the "Silver Palace", which once belonged to Borgia and then to the long-coveted Cardinal Grande Lovere, and after his death the Lovere family was mercilessly attacked by Julius II. It was then consecrated to a black-clad religious judge of the time, who soon fell into the booze, and after he was sentenced to death by his former colleagues, his family hastily sold it to Joe. Medici.

Joe. The Medici, after becoming Leo X, immediately renovated the silver palace and renamed it "Mars Palace", no, there is no other meaning, it is purely in honor of his uncle, Giuliano who died young, and in the painting "Venus and Mars" by Botticelli, the Medici family's royal painter, the sleeping Mars is modeled on Giuliano.

However, Borgia was not so much a renovation as a reconstruction, and the Borgia style was not at all to Leo X's liking, and he did not like the family very much, they left many deep scars on the Medici family, so he simply erased many of the Borgia things as much as possible, and now what appeared before the eyes of the people was a magnificent white marble building, U-shaped, with an opening outward, surrounding a vast square, like a welcoming host with arms outstretched towards the guests.

It's the beginning of September, and the weather is getting cooler, and the palace is located on the side of the mountains and lakes, so it should be cooler – but as soon as you get closer, you can still feel the heat coming in, because from the moment you can see the palace, there are countless torches burning on both sides of the flat road, turning the dead night into a warm day.

In addition to torches, there were candles in the huge square, and they were like stars, illuminating people's faces, making their jewels shine and evaporate the scent of roses and lavender.

Servants dressed in white and prostitutes dressed in fine veils roamed the crowd, carrying silver platters filled with sweet snacks and iced drinks, which were still at their disposal, and when they entered the hall, they could not help but rejoice at the brass lamps as dense as tree branches, the fine white porcelain that could be found everywhere like pebbles, the colorful silk carpets that bloomed like flowers, and the fountain of wine that gushed in the middle of the hall.

The tables and chairs of the banquet were arranged as they had been for centuries before, and the host and the guests sat at the long table above the steps, with chairs with high backs to sit on, and the other, less important and distinguished guests, sat at the table below the steps, sitting only on a bench, surrounded by servants, prostitutes, and musicians, and farther away were painters and bards, who were responsible for recording the grand scene in the form of paintings and poems.

Thankfully, because of someone's habit of cleanliness, there were no rats and dogs roaming around under people's feet, and the guests had become accustomed to the elegant use of knives and forks to cut and transport pieces of meat, to drink soup with spoons, and to use a cup alone, and although many die-hard clergy thought it more doctrinal to eat with their fingers, there were apparently no unpleasant fools here, and even if anyone used his fingers more often, he could not help but want to try the fine silver knives and forks, and the smooth white porcelain spoons and wine glasses, which everyone had, Let people marvel at the luxury of the Medici family.

The tableware on the long table was even more gorgeous, the bone china inlaid with gold thread, and the golden knives and forks on the side, the swan-necked glasses inscribed with the coat of arms and the name of Leo X, and the graceful lines of flowers—above them, were the real flowers, heavy little white roses crowded together, hanging their heads towards the milky linen and crimson velvet.

A feast was held to welcome the Spanish Cardona, to make the host and guests happy, and to indulge in this place to counteract the panic and anxiety of the war, and soon there were drunken people, but the people at the long table remained awake, Leo X preferred cake and roast to wine, and Raymond. Morality. Cardona was hardly in the mood, and as for Giulio, he never overeaten.

A prostitute, dressed like the queen of Sheba, swayed forward, and on her outstretched arms was a two-foot square silver platter, piled high with dried apricots pickled in honey, which was Leo X's latest favorite, and when he saw it, he immediately motioned for the prostitute to put it on the table, and then reached out to grab it.

But while his hand was still in the air, he was caught by another man, and the prostitute was astonished, for she could not think of anyone who would dare to do this to the Holy Father, but she was soon relieved, it was Cardinal Giulio who sat next to the Pope, who was both the Pope's brother and the Pope's right-hand man, or rather, the Pope's spokesman, and they said that he was the uncrowned king of Rome - Giulio did not look at the prostitute a second time, but grabbed Leo X's hand and stuffed it back into the Pope's robe, "I said it, For your good health. Julio glanced reproachfully at Leo X's round belly: "Your waist must be within three feet." ”

Leo X immediately frowned, he was fed up with Giulio's constraints, but he also knew that Giulio was for his good, not to mention the rest, with Giulio's supervision and adjustment, he was no longer as insomnia, convulsions, dry mouth, and much better memory than in the past, but he couldn't drink as much as he wanted, gluttony, especially desserts, which made him painfully even pray at Mass much more sincere and sincere - God, this brother of his is sometimes really like a devil, to the fullest, And the servants around him, the priest and the grandmother, all thought that Julio was right, after all, he studied under Pius III, and everyone knew that Pius III had the same superb medical skills as a wizard.

Giulio sighed, beckoned gently, took a very small porcelain plate from the servant (originally used to place spices), scooped two or three dried apricots with a clean silver spoon and placed them in the porcelain plate, and then under the grief-stricken gaze of Leo X, the porcelain plate was placed in front of the Pope, and the rest of the dried apricots were given to the prostitute along with the silver plate.

The prostitute could not help but smile, for since it had been given to her from the cardinal, it meant that not only the dried apricots, but also the silver platter was part of the reward, and the dried apricots with honey were expensive, but how could they compare to a silver plate with pearls and rubies in fine reliefs, and she grasped the silver plate tightly and shared the dried apricots on the plate with the other two prostitutes.

Leo X could only watch with his eyes as he ground the dried apricots between his teeth—a new skill that Giulio had honed since his return to Rome, so that the happy times could last longer.

Giulio looked at the food in front of the Pope again, then turned his head and raised his glass, but he hardly drank alcohol, only a slight gesture - his eyes went back and forth among the guests, the emissaries of the countries of the Holy Alliance and the Free Cities must have been the guests of honor at the banquet, and there were some essentially neutral regions - for example, Genoa and the Low Countries, whose envoys were also here, and there were those who were not part of the Pope but were subject to Giulio. The Medici defended the Tuscan fronts of the cities of Emissary, Florence, Siena, Nova Cadiz, Lucca, Pisa, Piombino...... There were also some priests promoted by Giulio, almost all of whom had been educated or instructed in schools in Rome or Florence, and who were the backbone of the church that Giulio expected, and some of the Medici allies, almost all of whom were heads of guilds or heads of families, and they all bowed their heads of respect.

And at that moment there was a sudden screeching noise in the corner of the hall, and Giulio looked sideways, and saw that there were some people gathered there, and when the people got out of the way in horror, and a prostitute with a mouth full of blood staggered out, his face changed suddenly—Giulio recognized her as the prostitute who had been given a silver platter with honey-stained dried apricots, and behind her were two or three companions who had fallen to the ground, unknown of life or death.

She also saw Julio, and her eyes met, and the prostitute moved her lips as if she was about to say something, and Julio didn't listen and knew that she must be shouting "Help!" ”

But he didn't have time to look at a stranger, he turned around like a whirlwind and looked at Leo X, whose fingers were still in his mouth and not taken out - he had been sucking the honey on his fingers, and when Giulio looked at him, he also realized what was happening, and he immediately plunged his fingers deeper into his throat, trying to make himself vomit, but his stomach was already cramping violently, and his fingers had lost their strength, and his eyes were pitch black, and he couldn't see anything, All he could feel was Julio's powerful arms holding him tightly, and then he was shouting, "There are assassins!" This was followed by a short command that kept on and on.

There are many people here who are members of the Monks of Mercy, and they not only study like priests, but also train like soldiers, so that they do not panic when they encounter things like ordinary people, and they also know how to obey orders and obey commands—at this time, they are like sharp cones that reveal their own sharpness from the chaotic crowd, and if someone looks down from above, they can see that with these members of the Monks of Mercy as the center, people quickly calm down and begin to identify the people around them— For the Assassins, this was the worst-case scenario, as chaos was conducive to their escape.

Sure enough, two unfamiliar faces were soon pushed out, and they tried to resist stubbornly at first, and escaped with their poisonous crossbow arrows and quick skills, but they were left in the courtyard by gillnets and short muskets, and the assassins were quickly dragged down for interrogation, and the frightened people had time to pay attention to the Father's situation.

Fortunately, although Leo X also ate poisonous dried apricots, because of Julio's relationship, he only had two, and chewing slowly slowed down the speed of the poisonous dried apricots into the stomach, and after immediately pouring fresh milk and inducing vomiting with medicinal herbs, his condition had been stabilized, but his body was not strong, so the Holy Father was transferred to his room, and after he had barely recovered some sanity, he pointed to Julio, and handed over all the affairs of the church to him, and fell unconscious again.

Some old-fashioned clergy have also questioned Cardinal Giulio. Whether the Medici had too much power was now to be thankful for, for Rome was restored to its original state after only a few days of slight convulsions.

The people of Rome certainly did not hate Leo X, who gave them a lot of work and the opportunity to make a fortune, restored the trade in holy relics and indulgences, and renovated St. Peter's Basilica, where countless artists, prostitutes and craftsmen gathered, making Rome once again the center of attention. They lit candles in St. Peter's Square and in front of the cathedral and prayed for His Excellency the optimistic and moderate Pope, not so flustered, and of course, guessing whether the successor Pope would still be a Medici in almost every room or in the hearts of people if Leo X's misfortune had indeed happened.

Julio. The Medici's previous plans were all in vain, Leo X had already expelled most of the poisons, but those that had worked had already caused great damage to his stomach, in this era when surgery and targeted drugs were impossible, such injuries could only be healed by time, and, even if someone could replace Giulio in the role of papal deputy, Giulio would not leave Rome at this time, leave Leo X's side, he did not even return to the Picromini Palace, but lived in the Vatican Palace, His room was next to Leo X's bedroom.

The results of the interrogation have already come out, and they are pagans on the surface, but in fact French, but there may be the handiwork of the Holy Roman Empire in the back.

Maximilian I may not have known that in that thrilling battle for the throne, Giulio . What role did the Medici play, but Queen Juana I of Spain was undoubtedly his supporter, and it was clear that the cardinal from the Medici family was also a supporter of the queen, and the rapid expansion of the Friars of Mercy did cause unease and resentment among some of the electors, who wanted to eliminate Giulio. It is not surprising that the Medici relied on the most.

Needless to say, the motives of the French were imminent in the Holy Alliance of the Pope and Louis XII's largest and decisive war.

- Ming Japanese chapter added an extra.

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