One might wonder how people can get and preserve ice in an age when civilians have only two meals a day and still have to be grateful to God for it. In fact, it can only be said that the powerless can never imagine the enjoyment and privileges of the higher-ups. As early as Claudi's time in Rome (yes, the early childhood of Spero), the Romans learned to transport snow and ice from Mount Etna in Sicily by horses and slaves. Seneca, the philosopher of the Togg school, once ridiculed the Romans' eagerness to put hot soup on the snow and ice, of course, under the circumstances, this old man who was full of sympathy and understanding even for slaves would not be liked by the people, he was exiled to Corsica by Emperor Claudius, and at the age of fifty-four was recalled to Rome by the emperor's fourth wife, the notorious Empress Agrippina the Younger, to serve as a mentor to the then twelve-year-old Emperor Nero, and then at the age of sixty-nine, Because of the rumors against Nero's tyranny, he was told by the emperor's centurion: The emperor wants you to die.

Giulio had read Seneca's writings under the direction of Bishop Picromini, and it must be said that he was a scholar worthy of respect and admiration, whose peace, tolerance, seriousness and prudence flowed like gold in the ranks of the Greek and Roman letters (Latin), and anyone who read his writings would find it useful, except that Giulio dared to swear to his mother's grave that the most impressive of these texts would not be his "Trojan Women", nor would it be the "Trojan Women" that he dictated in his last moments. The Epistle to the Roman People" would only be the way the Romans used to clean their buttocks, which he described in detail: "In Greco-Roman times, people used a sponge attached to a branch to clean their buttocks after defecation, and when they were done, the sponge was soaked in a bucket filled with salt water or vinegar water. ”

The little Medici kept recalling it only to realize that her mind had diverged to a point of incredulity—and at this time it was in a large silver cup with two ears that could be held in the hand, and four small curved feet that protruded, and the walls of the cup were not decorated, but inscribed with the motto: "Be humble and be your own servant; It is better than pretending to be noble and lacking food." It means that a person is willing to always turn away from the appearance of vanity and frivolity, to constantly introspect, to examine himself, to be "his own servant" so that he can complete his work and be fed, and is better than those who are all day long talking and lying and being rejected by the people, so that their hands are empty—just against the backdrop of a luxurious drink in the cup, this sentence is full of indescribable irony.

Bishop Picromini frowned at the weight of the cup, but he pursed his lips and said nothing, given that it was a flattery for him, and Giulio's obvious expectation.

Julio picked up the heavy silver spoon and took a big bite of it—and then ...... He froze.

Bishop Picromini put down his bread and looked at his ward suspiciously, not so much as if he was ecstatic at the taste of a sweet and delicious taste, and, only for a moment, little Medici's nose and eyes were subtly red, and her eyes were even more sparkling—the bishop knew very well that Giulio had not been a very crying child since infancy, and that there were fewer things that would make him cry, so few that he could barely remember, Could it be that the Patch family or Pope Siscott IV's assassins followed them, dropping poison in the snow and goat's milk?

Just as the Bishop was about to call for the herbs, Julio finally raised a hand with difficulty to stop him, and the comical storm was put to rest before it took shape.

"Because it's so unpalatable?" The bishop asked curiously, it stands to reason that the church in the small town of Spero should not neglect a picomini, especially since this food was specially ordered by him, and he pulled the cup, scooped a mouthful from it, and put it in his mouth, except that it was a little cold, and the food should be said to be nothing to be faulted with. There were not only ice, goat's milk, almonds, and honey named by the bishop, but also ginger, cinnamon, alfalfa, rosemary, and nutmeg—the monk who acted as a cook might have crushed all their spices and put them all away, and it was as thick as the soil under the snow, and it was guaranteed to taste fragrant.

Giulio watched as Bishop Picromini passed the cup to the others, and every friar present tasted it, and there was no shortage of those who nodded their heads in praise - but, Bishop! It's full of maggot-infested cheese, half-rotted dried meat, and fishy pickled fish, and they think that good food may not be suitable for a six-year-old child with a sensitive sense of taste......

When it was the turn of Father Valencia, who was also only eight years old, he blinked slyly, carefully tasting only a little, and then his face twitched slightly, and he looked at poor little Medici, and gave him a smile of kindness again, only more genuinely than the previous one.

The latter has no love.

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Even the resilient soul from hundreds of years later was so discouraged by this cup of spices that Bishop Picromini had him taken to his next room, where he was given only a slice of soft white bread and a beer, and was exempted from prayer and evening prayer at the ninth hour (note 1), but not from bedtime and night prayer. Between vespers and bedtime, Giulio saw the shadow of a fire flickering in his window, and out of adult curiosity, he stepped on a Roman-style chest, pushed open the small window, and looked down. He first smelled a strong smell of oil and pine resin, and then saw a dark shadow reflected in the building by torches and candles, which would have nightmares if the person who saw it was indeed a six-year-old child. But Giulio's eyes were wide open, and he looked at the people walking or staying on the edge of the street with torches in hand, candlesticks, and flowers, and petals for groups of people with dustpans, baskets, and skirts, and the rich and sweet smell that even Giulio could clearly smell from the windows of the three-story building, and in the light gray streets, some people sketched the outlines with chalk, and some people did not, they sprinkled petals of the same color in one place, and then knelt on the ground and gathered them into the desired shape with their hands.

This work is said to last for three whole days, until the liturgical procession of the Eucharist begins, in which the clergy and the accompanying persons who preside over the ceremony will walk on the petals and flowers, untainted by the slightest earthly filth, like angels walking on the clouds, and the carpet-laying men toiled as hard and hard as bees, with a flush of excitement on their faces, and a happy sparkle in their eyes, and the intricacies, splendid and realistic pictures born under their hands, which are undoubtedly quite attractive. It wasn't until he heard the door gently push open that Giulio slipped off the box like a snake and onto his bed.

This little trick was of no use to Bishop Picromini, who had played a stern role in the university, and he walked to the bed with a lighter step than Giulio, and touched the child's feet, the soles of which were noticeably colder than the ankles, indicating that he had stood not so long ago in a place where his feet were prone to coldness—the bishop looked around, and his gaze soon rested on the Roman box under the window, In order to avoid wear and tear and to be fastened to the horseback and under the carriage, this rectangular box of the Roman style was made of a large number of iron parts, which of course also served a decorative role, especially on the lid, where the metal part with the inlaid tabs even exceeded the mottled wood part.

To Giulio's surprise, however, the bishop did not rebuke him as harshly as he had done in the past. What he did not expect was that Bishop Picromini had been so strict before, only because a wise child was more susceptible to the coveting and temptation of the devil, as he had seen in his father's court, in the university of Rome, in his uncle's church, that the dull man might still have a chance to save himself, but a wise man would be quicker and more secretive than others when he slipped into the abyss, alas, he had seen no less than a dozen young men with a bright future go astray, Not only did they destroy themselves, but they also harmed their relatives, friends, and families.

But if he was born spiritual, then the bishop had no more to worry about him being bewildered by the glory and glory of the world, just as in his youth, when Francis was not only an unruly lilass, but like him, the head of the children of merchants and officials, who had nothing to do but drink wine, jousting, hunting, or indulging in the arms of prostitutes; After suffering from a serious illness that nearly killed him, he joined Assisi's army to resist Perugia's invasion and spent another twelve months as a prisoner of war in Perugia until he was ransomed by his father. Even so, he did not wake up in time and repent, but five years later, on his way to another battlefield, he heard the loud cry of God.

And just as the Holy Spirit was watching over them, Bishop Picromini was guided into spiritual joy in the birthplace of St. Francis, in the place of salvation and in the place of perceiving death and eternity. Advance. Giuliano. Morality. Even though the Medici were young, they were destined to go further than he did on the way to Jesus.

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In the early morning of the next day, the people of Spero were busy, although it was only about four o'clock in the morning, according to the time of hundreds of years, the monks, priests, priests and bishops had made morning prayers, and the following prayers and hymns were sung, and Giulio saw several men dressed in monk's clothes, but with worldly hairstyles and beards, and their bare feet were unusually white and fat, and it seemed that they were not often exposed to sunlight and dust, from the whispers of the priest of the church of Santa Maria Maggiore, The little Medici learned that they were all nobles of Spero, and just as the Medici parents were the first to receive Holy Communion, they were also entitled to wear the monk's linen robes, tie cords in place of their belts, and follow the ranks of the priests barefoot.

Merchants and guild presidents who were next to them were fortunate enough to be in the second queue behind the nobles in their regular robes, artisans and commoners were in the third ranking, and those who had committed crimes, prostitutes, and some who were engaged in dirty trades were either not allowed to join the procession or had to follow quietly.

The clergy were at the front, each holding a small relic and a Bible, behind them was Bishop Picromini with the Eucharist and the Holy Lord, the parish priest of the church of Maggiore was holding a candle for him, the monks followed them barefoot, and behind the monks were the nobles, merchants, guild presidents, artisans and commoners, and some poor people scattered around - after the procession of priests passed, the petals on the ground could be picked up and taken home. These holy and fragrant relics can be used as medicines for their healing properties, they can be ground and mixed with ink to transcribe sacred scriptures, or they are dried and filled into silk sacs to give to their lovers. The poor people could barely get a few petals, and if anyone was willing to pity them, it would be fine, and if there were mean and stingy people, they would even crush the petals they could not take with their toes in the cracks of the stone slabs.

Julio's duty today is to be the bearer of the incense burner, and together with three other boys, he carries a small incense burner with charcoal in the inner pot, and the frankincense is poured over the charcoal, and then the lid is closed, and the bearer must shake them constantly, both to keep the charcoal in full contact with the air, and to spread the smoke of the frankincense as far as possible, which is very important for the people of this age, which is the grace of God and the intercession of the saints in heaven. Especially the sick and sinful people, who breathe in the sweet and cool scent of frankincense, feel that the cumbersome flesh and the filthy spirit are undoubtedly purified.

On the other hand, the work was extremely hard, the city of Spero was not large, but the roads were tortuous, and all the churches, convents, and convents of all the sizes had built beautiful temporary altars, and the procession kept stopping in front of the temporary altars, and before nightfall, the three boys-in-waiting, except for Giulio, were a little straight-eyed, pale, and the amplitude of the shaking of the furnace was not so satisfactory.

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And in the rooms on the top floor of the three-story brown building in the white wing of the Maggiore church, all the noise and complexity are blocked out like the desires of the mortal.

There was nothing to criticize for the room even if it had been used to entertain a king or bishop, and for the splendid overhead of the bed, the head of which was carved with images of the gods of the forest and the nymphs of the water at play, the capitals were wrapped in gold, and the straps of cowhide were taut between the beds, rather than the moldy wood. Covered and covered with smooth mink, goose down-filled gold-embroidered pillows as tall as a three-year-old standing tall.

But that's just a cage, Caesar. Borgia sat bored by the window, looking down at the scenery below, fiddling with a sharp knife for sharpening the tip of a quill pen. But he also knew that it could not pose any threat to the monk standing by the door, who had the strongest hands he had ever seen, and who could stand there for hours without moving, and that a normal person might think it was a pious fellow when he saw him, but Caesar had seen a similar man beside his father, Cardinal Rodrigo, a monk who was actually an assassin.

Note 1:

(Night Prayer, Midnight)

(Morning prayer, 3-5 a.m.)

(1st hour, 6 a.m.)

(3rd hour, 9 a.m.)

(Sixth hour, noon)

(9th hour, 3 p.m.)

(Evening Prayer, Lighting or 4-6 p.m.)

(Bedtime prayer, 6-9 p.m. before bedtime or at 6 to 9 p.m.)