Cardinal Grand Lovere could not help glaring at him, and in his heart, although he had a lover, an illegitimate child, the buying and selling of the priesthood, bribery and corruption, and even murder, he was still a good shepherd, and if he had not been shamelessly betrayed, he would have been a good patriarch, and how could he endure a little friar's rambling against the sacred vat, and if possible, he would have liked to watch his son, another Lovere, open the Holy Door and nail his name to the statue of the saint.

"Do you think that's bad?" Joshua said uncharacteristically, "Then come to me if you want, and I will listen to your thoughts." ”

Martin. Red's gaze fell on his cardinal's robes, and he hesitated for a moment, "No," he said, "it would be nice that you would forgive me for my rudeness, but I still have a lot of homework to do—and my teacher often accuses me of having too much crankiness, so I don't need to torture your ears with that." ”

"Then wait for the opportunity," Joshua said softly, "and we are both in Rome, and there are many opportunities to meet." ”

Martin bowed deeply to the two cardinals, then lifted his robe and ran away, leaving only the priest who had to hold back his anger - but in front of the two cardinals, he did not dare to say anything, Joshua beckoned to him, he hurriedly stepped forward and bowed deeply to the cardinals - much deeper than Joshua, Joshua nodded to his retinue, "Give him fifty gold ducats." Then he said to the priest, "I need a dutiful man to take care of a library for me, and I will command my steward to give you fifteen gold ducats a month." ”

It was not a surprise for the priest, who did not care about the fifteen Kindukats, but wished that he would be favored by a cardinal—whom he recognized as Cardinal Lovere the Younger, who had recently become dangerous and evil in the mouths of the Romans, but so what, even the other cardinals who had seen him would have to be polite, who had in his hands too many crucial evidence and witnesses—and his uncle, or more accurately, his father, the Grand Lovere, who was doing everything in his power to support him, In just a few months, he had already established an authority that no one could question.

And the one who once acted with him was another disciple of Pius III...... The black-haired cardinal, once known as Luzifer, lost his reputation as the morning star, and gradually dimmed, and not even too many people talked about him anymore.

——————

The dim morning star – Julio. The Medici was not dissatisfied with his current situation, but could he really be canonized as a living man? So they were afraid that they would do whatever it took to turn him into a dead man—a method used by Pius III to intimidate the cardinals.

In the Pope's private prayer room, only he, Pius III and Brother Desi were there, because there were no outsiders, their posture was very relaxed, Pius III was half sitting and half lying on a Roman dining couch - that is, there were supports at both ends, but there was no cover at the back, only a loose long white robe, Brother Desi sat at a small round table a few steps away from him, enjoying a glass of mellow wine, Giulio did not sit on a chair, but sat directly on a thick round carpet, Leaning on his shoulder, he read a letter from Florence to them.

"The Sodrini family is fighting for the position of Archbishop of Florence." Pius III said, "But I want to give this parish to your brother, Giulio, who is Joe. Medici. He glanced at Giulio: "As much as I hate to cut off his sleeves and his robe below the waist, I cannot give Florence to anyone else, especially Sodrini, who are not enemies of the Medici, but who are definitely not your friends - as soon as I am appointed, I will let him go to Florence." ”

"The bishop was supposed to be in his diocese." Brother Desi said, tasting a slice of ham with relish, so that one could not tell whether the sentence was unintentional or deliberate—but only here did he dare to say so, after all, most of the cardinals at this time had two or three or more dioceses, in order to consolidate the power of the family and to accumulate wealth, and to keep each bishop in their diocese, would it not be enough to break them apart? Or deprive them of their parishes? They tore the Desi friar into strips without dipping the sauce and ate it directly.

"I'm also the Archbishop of Lucca." Giulio said.

"But you wouldn't want to abandon the diocese of Lucca, would you?" Brother Dési said, "The best thing about you is affection, and the worst thing is affection." ”

"It's okay," said Pius III, who could not tolerate accusations against Giulio, "it's not impossible to stay in Rome. ”

Brother Dési tasted the meaning of this sentence - Rome is the diocese of His Holiness the Pontifies. As long as Giulio became pope, he could, of course, no, should stay in Rome. But he couldn't help but glance apprehensively at Giulio, as well as Pius III, who was already showing his old state.

Pius III once lamented unabashedly that he had become pope too late and that he had not much time left for them, so much so that he had to choose a more rugged path for Giulio.

"How's Rome doing now?" Pius III asked.

"Though it has calmed down," said Brother Desi, "it is still cloudy. ”

Pius III smiled—though many in the outside world thought he was invulnerable and vulnerable, but only he knew—that if he did nothing, those who knew him well would be genuinely afraid, because they knew him and knew that he wouldn't just spend his term in silence...... He had to move, but he couldn't force those clumsy clowns to do irreparable things - he wouldn't care if he was just that eccentric and withdrawn Picomini, but now that he had Giulio, he had to think more, be careful, and take it one step at a time.

Now they must have felt much more at ease, and perhaps a little complacent, for yet another noble man had been forced to submit to their obscenity.

"You've seen so much." Pius III asked gently, "Tell me, Julio, what do you see?" ”

Julio sighed softly, "A swamp, teacher, a swamp. ”

"What if you want to rebuild the temple of God on it?"

"If I want to be bold enough to say it." Julio looked at Pius III and then at Brother Desi: "I will leave this quagmire behind and choose a new place." ”

The glass in Brother Desi's hand fell and rolled to the ground with a grunt, scarlet liquor contaminating the edges of the carpet.

"What a ......," he stammered, "really, one, very ......"

"Dangerous thoughts." Pius III continued: "But, it is true, it is the simplest and most effective method. ”

Brother Desi looked left and right, and there was no more glass, so he took the bottle and poured it directly into his mouth.

"But no, Julio." Pius III said softly, "I love it, I can't abandon him, and I beg you to do the same." ”

"But...... It's too hard......" said Giulio, as he said, it was a swamp of mud - filth as far as the eye could see, and people who touched it would inevitably be filthy, and if anyone dared to go deeper, they would be swallowed up, and only assimilation would give them a glimmer of life.

"So what are you doing now?" Brother Desi asked.

"I'm stirring up the scum of the depths." Pius III said: "Otherwise, we will always have to dust off the surface." ”

Brother Desi took another sip of wine, anyway, under Giulio's supervision, Pius III only had a ration of three glasses of wine a day - "You have to get rid of them......"

"Introduce a turbulent clear stream."

"But ......," Brother Desi glanced at Julio.

"They're destined to be with the scum." Seeing Brother Desi showing some pity, Pius III couldn't help but smile slightly: "Are you pitying them?" Monk? No, even Joshua had already vaguely guessed my intentions, and his father, Cardinal Lovere, needless to say, would still accept it, and even couldn't wait, why? For that is the authority, monks, the sword they use to deter their enemies, the shield against themselves—I think here to sacrifice them, and in their hearts we are only sacrifices to their eminent places. ”

"I see," said Brother Desi with a deep sigh, "it is their nature—greed, lust that can make them give up everything, including reason. He glanced at Giulio again, and saw that the young cardinal's eyes were full of sorrow, but very firm: "Nothing else. ”

Pius III, of course, was able to understand Brother Desi's unfinished meaning, and he did not answer, but reached out and touched Julio's head.

——————

"Who is that blasphemous monk, is he the firstborn son of a patriarch? Or the son of a duke or marquis? Watching the priest depart, guided by his retinue, with a thousand thanks, Cardinal Grande Lovere asked with some dissatisfaction.

"Neither," replied Joshua calmly, "he was the son of a small mine owner in Mansfeld, nor was he the firstborn. ”

Cardinal Grande Lovere was almost about to reprimand his son, but when he looked over, he saw the moonlight blue eyes, inherited from his mother, who had been as innocent and clear as a baby when he was young, and now that he had grown up, this blue was like the sky that one can see but can never touch when one has fallen into a frozen lake—a beauty that makes people desperate and frightened.

Cardinal Grand Lovere immediately fell silent: "What can he do? ”

"It's useless." Joshua whispered, "But like you said, let Julio. The Medici suffered a little. ”