Chapter 24: The Difficult Case of the Expatriate Legal Officer (Part II)
"I hope that the goddess Fama and her brother Kous will curse you, curse you Lybidaeus, for your injustice, for your dissoluteness, for your cold Fama, every pair of eyes and every tongue on every feather on her body, will constantly scold you and scold you, and the scud of Kous will spread your ugly deeds all over the sea and land. I was like a deer on the Cretan island, shot by your arrows, and then ran wildly, and finally you mercilessly caught me, gutted the insides, and then sold for a good price, I should have fallen in love with you, and the goddess of blessings should have fallen on the roof of our dormitory, but now, it's all because of you, Li Bida! In Naples, in an Egyptian-style villa originally built for the "Piper", Cleopatra leaned up the staircase fence full of vines, and scolded Li Bida in front of her, Caesarion was handed over to her two most personal handmaids to comb their hair and hold it, and also followed in the fountain atrium, directing the eunuchs and women who carried him to load and unload the luggage and utensils, Li Bida was silent with a blue face, and then he also held on to the railing, pointed to Chamion and Eras, and shouted, "You two don't take the slaves and put down your things." Because you're going to have to leave soon, take the kids around the courtyard for a while! ”
All the followers were thrown on the outskirts of the bay, so Cleopatra could say these words without hesitation, perhaps Li Bida did this to let her vent to her heart's content.
Then, despite the scolding behind him, Li Bida continued not to speak, and after passing through the dome corridor of the villa, he walked to a sheltered glass heating room, and then he stood in front of the door. He made an inviting gesture to Cleopatra. When Cleopatra walked in angrily. After untying the soft cloak, I found that there is a hole here, the walls are all hollowed, pasted with various colors of glass, sunlight refracted in, and with the indoor warm water bath and fireplace, so that in the autumn and winter, it is still spring.
Cleopatra was particularly surprised. Also in this room, there sat a Roman noblewoman with good manners, and when she saw them come in, she got up with a reserved smile and gave a salute, and Li Bida also stepped forward and kissed her arm, Cleopatra was an extremely intelligent person, and if this scene was seen by Adiana, she would never give up, but she only returned the salute generously. Then sit down in your seat.
"Let me introduce you, this is Caesar's ex-wife. Pepea. However, the current Caesar's wife, Corpunia, takes care of her. Li Bida then stood in the middle and said.
Cleopatra didn't understand what Lypita meant by calling him, was it to emphasize to me Caesar's meanness? Why, then, did he push me to Caesar in the first place? But she also remembered that if it were not for this, the situation in Egypt at that time would really be difficult to recover. As a result, the more Cleopatra thought about it, the more she thought about it, the more chaotic she became, and she couldn't help but cover her face with her hands, and tears flowed.
"Please don't be sad anymore, my noble queen of a foreign land." Pepea comforted her, and then she cleared her throat and continued, "Actually, I went to the villa of my friend Lybidaeus not only to thank him for his selfless generosity and help to me, but also to bring the words of my ex-husband, now my father-in-law, Piso, who said that if you want an inheritance, you can go to the Grand Court to sue Caesar, and ask the treasury to pay the relevant amounts, but Caesar's private property and the money of the Holy Treasury, he will not give you a penny, because the key is in his hands now, and he has the final say." ”
"Rome is now a world full of dangers, full of your enemies, and I am the only one who is your friend, and for another four whole months, that is, until the next year's Feast of the Wolves, which continues with festivities, and the dictator has already decreed the closure of the market, and even if the market is still being developed, the courts and the civil councils have ceased, and we judges have only accepted private pleadings, and then arbitrated them. Therefore you will now go with a lot of anger, and you will only bring shame on yourself, and Caesar's relatives and wives will not treat you, even his cronies, and insult you, and will you no longer care about the glorious name of Ptolemy? You know, now all of Rome is densely covered with Caesar's enemies in the open and in the dark, just before I came, I tried my best to keep a low profile, just saying that I was going to Campeña to deal with some disputes over the resettlement of veterans, but even so, the spies must have set their sights on you and me, if the rest of the judicial officers knew about it, seized the handle of the demolition, and forcibly convened a court to deliberate, and shake the affairs of you, Caesar and Caesarion in broad daylight, it would hurt you even more - don't forget it. You and Caesar did not enter into a marriage recognized by Roman law, and his current wife is still Corpnian, which means that Caesarion is only an illegitimate child and cannot be protected by any rights. After finishing speaking, Li Bida walked to the glass window, facing the sun, and his tone became gentle, "When did I deceive you, you asked to ascend to the throne of the royal family and obtain the crown and power, didn't I do it on your behalf?" Now I can assure you that Caesarion will continue to hold the glorious authority of Egypt and his ancestors in the years that follow, and will not be affected by his Roman status. ”
These words made Cleopatra sneer, and she in turn asked Li Bida why he was so confident.
"Because Caesar will probably not survive after the Wolf Hunt next year." Li Bida suddenly said such a sentence, in front of two women who had a close relationship with Caesar.
At this time, no one spoke, but the fountain in the small bath rose sharply and made a breathtaking sound, followed by the sound of the water tumbling, which now sounded particularly uncomfortable. Li Bida slowly turned his head and said to the two stunned women, "That's right, I'm not crazy, Caesar can't live anymore, he has spent his quota too soon, his fate has withered, the ancestors of Julius have already called his name in the cemetery, the bloody night owl hissed on the roof of his courtyard, and the Grim Reaper with torches and black snakes is approaching, this is what the virgin said to me, and the most famous prophet from Tuscany will say the same thing." ”
"But didn't the virgin say that a king must be in command of the army when going to Parthia?" Pepeia said softly.
"Yes, but the expedition to Parthia will not be in the coming year, and the king is not Caesar, and the virgin has not made it explicit, and is this not the most notorious thing about this prophecy?" Li Bida sneered and said, and then he was also a little sad, "However, in order to verify whether Caesar is really destined to do this, I will still bravely challenge this prophecy and ensure that he can survive as much as possible in the dark, so can you two help me keep this secret?" ”
"Who will be the murderer?" Cleopatra asked hurriedly.
"Everyone, including you and me." Li Bida said coldly.
Then Matthias came running in a panic, saying that Aetius and Brutus were hurrying towards the city of Rome with the court's retinues, which had been reported by the eyes of the ambush in the city. (To be continued......)