Ezio looked at the ceiling, "It's a long story. ”

"It's all right," Constena sneered, "Say, we have a lot of time, and I think you're quite free, at least not as busy as when you gave me Biancas, without even a superfluous explanation." ”

Ezio sighed and made a gesture of surrender: "Well, two, if you want to listen. ”

The three Medici all nodded, and of course, little Cosimo was purely learning from his father.

"It was a few years ago, when I was on my way back to Rome on a job," Ezio muttered, "passing by a small lake on the outskirts of Forlì, it was late and there was no one around, but I heard a woman crying out for help, so I went to ...... After a closer look, it turned out that she was in a small boat in the middle of the lake, there were no oars, no anchor, no food and water, she was wearing only very thin clothes, and she was in very bad condition. She said that she had overcome her husband while hunting, and that his husband thought that it was extremely unseemly for a woman to outperform a man while hunting, and they quarreled, and her husband, in a fit of rage, threw her into the boat, cut the ropes, threw away the oars, pushed the boat into the center of the lake, and took everyone away with him – unfortunately she could not swim. Of course, I couldn't sit idly by, so I swam over and brought the boat back to shore...... Of course, she was very grateful and invited me to one of her mansions to warm up and change my clothes......"

"That's it?" Constena asked.

"I said she was very grateful to me ......"

"What does she look like?"

"Hmm...... Very good. ”

"So you slept."

"Constella."

"I'm listening, you're asleep, and then?"

"She's Katarina. Sforza. ”

"Duke of Milan Galeazzo. Maria. Sforza's illegitimate daughter," said Constena, "married to Siscott IV's nephew, or illegitimate son, Girolamo. Rio. ”

"I have seen the paperwork," said Giulio, "and for this marriage the Pope gave Girolamo, who had belonged to Sforza, to Girolamo, who had been the lord of Forlì, as his fiefdom, so that he had two domains, Forlì and Imola." "Actually, Cardinal Picromini showed me a secret document, but it doesn't matter if you know—this lady once led a group of mercenaries to occupy Castel Sant'Angelo at the time of the death of Siscott IV, so that the cardinals could not hold a funeral for the pope and begin the election of a new pope, and later her husband, the commander of the church army at the time, Girolamo, persuaded her to retreat. ”

"Then the following year her husband died." Konstena said succinctly. Then she looked at Ezio: "Legend has it that she killed her husband and threw him naked in the middle of the square for everyone to watch his embarrassing death." ”

Ezio pursed his lips, "She's out of helplessness, too. ”

"There's nothing to hide," said Constena, "just look at Madeleine to see what the Pope's sons are." ”

"After that she was attacked, except for ...... In addition to the reasons Constena had said, some of the things I had left with her became known, and although she had escaped into Forlì in time, they had taken her two children hostage...... I helped her get it back. ”

"I know something from Bianca," interrupted Constena, "in fact, it was she who left her child behind and fled to Forlì alone. She sat upright and looked at Ezio: "And not only that, but when the wicked men threatened her with the comfort of their children, she stood on the wall, lifted her skirt at them, and cried out, 'You fools, don't you see that I can give birth to more?' This is what Bianca said to me personally. She said bitterly: "As a woman, I admire her courage and decisiveness, but as a mother...... She didn't qualify. You know very well, Ezio, that you helped her get her back, but they are not unharmed. ”

She turned to Giulio: "It's a bunch of brutes, how can they pity those two children who were abandoned by their mothers when they find that their plot will not succeed?" The boy had a hand cut off and an eye gouged out, while Bianca ...... Unfortunately, she's a girl," her chest rose and fell violently, "she was only ten years old at the time, still a child, but she was still ...... Unspeakable atrocities, according to the doctors, her 97th house was dragged out of the body, and it was purely the Holy Spirit to survive, but no matter which doctor or which witch, they all said that she could not have any more children of her own. ”

Ezio grimaced, he killed the mercenaries, but so what, what had been lost was irretrievable.

"More than the devils," he said, "Bianca hates her mother even more—I went to Forlì because she tried to kill Caterina...... It didn't work out, but Katerina didn't want to see her again, and she didn't want to stay in Forlì any longer, so I ...... So he took her to Florence, where she was supposed to vow to be a nun. ”

"I don't know when they fell in love," Constena propped her head, "I'm too busy," but she was also responsible for all the Medici affairs in addition to the Neri family, "but when I found out, they had a secret wedding, and I told Giuliano that he could not be the Medici head of the family without an heir under the formal marriage, and he said that he would rather not be the head of the family, as long as he could spend his life quietly with Biancaan." ”

The room fell silent, and finally it was Cosimo Jr.'s ah-bang that broke the silence.

"So, you mean," said Giulio, "you're going to allow them to marry, and then ...... Give them little Cosimo. ”

"He'll be a Medici, a descendant, a son out of wedlock." Constena looked at Cosimo the Younger, who began to spit on her father's robe, with infinite pity: "As you expected, Giulio, you gave him this name, the name of our great-grandfather, the first tyrant of Florence, the uncrowned king. ”

——————————

As Ezio said, Bianca. Before leaving Forlì, Liario had made up her mind to become a nun, and she did not want to be a bargaining chip for that cold woman, for the sake of her ambition to marry a man like her biological father, not to mention, except for Ezio's father, she would be nauseous and vomiting at the sight of a man, and she couldn't help but shiver - and at the same time, she felt a little glad when she learned that she could not have a child of her own, she could not have imagined, Caterina. Sforza's bloodline will live on for generations to come.

In the Palazzo Florence, she felt a rare peace, under the protection of Constena, and no one could disturb her, and she prayed and recited scriptures all day long, hoping that her piety would enable her poor brother (the one who was caught with her, who died of his wounds) to escape from purgatory and ascend to heaven.

Who knows, she met Giuliano. What about the Medici.

Giuliano. The Medici were the last direct male descendants of the Medici, but to his pain, in 1494, when Charles VIII invaded Italy, the Medici were expelled from Florence because of Pierrot's folly, and in the process of escaping, he accidentally hit the saddle of his horse - and he has not been ...... since. He was afraid to tell his sisters about the joyful and embarrassing little problems, and he was even tight-lipped about the others, and he tried to go quietly to the doctor and the witch, but to no avail.

And his sisters had already begun to look for a suitable marriage for him, and he was so anxious that he almost wanted to die, and he did not dare to think about what he would do if on the night of the wedding, when he was in the same room, the bride jumped up angrily from the sheets and accused him of being a useless liar. What should the family do? The Medici would turn into a joke in Florence and in all of Italy!

When Bianca saw Giuliano, she thought she had seen her poor brother, who was nine years old and nineteen years old, but equally pale, slender, thin, and stood there like a shadow of color, the first adult male to be feared by Ezio's father.

They went back and forth quietly and shyly, and they loved painting and music equally, and they didn't like to be noisy, but they liked to be quiet...... There is also unspeakable pain, and when their feelings become deeper, it is Bianca who speaks first - she can't ruin Giuliano, who is the Medici's patriarch and must have an official heir, and she doesn't want to raise Giuliano's illegitimate son in jealousy.

But her fear, shame, and pain became a duty and a strength when she learned of Giuliano's hidden illness, and she wanted to protect the child and not let him fall into the quagmire of ridicule and slander, even if because of this, the benevolent and kind Lady Consterna considered a despicable and shameless prostitute, she wanted to become Giuliano's wife and keep this secret for him for the rest of her life!

They stood hand in hand in front of the closed door.

It was Giuliano who went up and opened the door, and they saw Constena sitting by a cradle, looking at the child with great affection.

"This is Cosimo Jr. "If you are sure that you are going to get married—then this is your child—you can get married in the Medici house, and then go to Plato, where you can wait until the child is five years old, and then go back to Florence." ”

Bianca cautiously walked over. The child in the cradle...... Although she could not estimate it accurately, she was at least twelve months old.

"I can find out...... Whose child is he? "If she was just looking for an adopted child for them, Constena could have waited until a few months later and chose a newborn baby instead of putting a soon-to-grow baby in front of them.

"A man of illustrious proportions." Constena said, "And of good, noble character, this child...... It can only be said that it was not from his original intention. But now that he has been born, he is able to receive the love of his father. Now that he is willing to give the child to you, will you do the work for him? ”

"Will he ever get this kid back?" Giuliano asked cautiously.

"If it's worldly relations," said Constena, "no." ”

Giuliano and Bianca glanced at each other, and a name almost blurted out, but neither of them spoke, only swore quietly to Constena.

So, they were married the following month, and after three months, Constena announced that Bianca was pregnant and needed to recuperate, and the two moved from Florence to Plato.