The beneficiary must keep the favor in his heart, but the giver must not remember it.

- Marcus Tulius Cicero (Roman statesman, orator, orator, jurist, and philosopher)

The next day's sun was exceptionally bright, and the entire Augustan mansion was busy with tonight's feast; Old Carabes went to the Maxentius family early in the morning with dozens of wagons to look for Sevio and Marcus, and Raqa was busy delivering invitations to Oscar's guests. Prisca pulled Mingyue to chat in the room; Therefore, the affairs in the mansion are all personally commanded by Oscar himself.

When night falls, the guests come to the door; The grand banquet can be called a rare luxury banquet in the upper class. The food prepared by Sevio and the performers prepared by Marcus opened the eyes of all the guests, and even Oscar was amazed by the preparation of the two. The whole banquet began at four o'clock in the afternoon and lasted until nine o'clock in the evening; Five hours of luxury made Mingyue officially a member of the Roman aristocratic circle.

By nine o'clock in the evening, when the guests had gone home, the day had passed; Oscar collapsed in his bedroom from exhaustion. Why didn't Oscar sleep with Prisca tonight? Because Prisca doesn't know why the relationship between Prisca and Mingyue suddenly became very close, and even the two had to sleep in the same bed tonight; So much so that Oscar had to keep the empty room alone.

However, Oscar doesn't mind this at all; Mingyue can get along well with Prisca is also what Oscar wants to see. Moreover, Oscar is really tired from the day today and just wants to go to bed early; Tomorrow Oscar will continue to learn about the city of Rome with Quintus. Of course, this time I didn't go to the Tuscan streets, but to learn about the bathing customs of the city of Rome.

The ancient Romans were very keen on bathing, and during the Roman monarchy, someone once asked a Roman king why he bathed once a day, and the king replied helplessly: "I am too busy to take a bath twice a day!" "It can be seen from this. Bathing became the most basic daily activity of the Romans hundreds of years ago; At the same time, the Romans generally believed that bathing in public baths would be blessed by the goddess of health.

So, to some extent, Roman bathing has gone far beyond hygienic significance. It gradually evolved into a social behavior, and then slowly elevated to a refined pastime. Every Roman would choose to bathe in the public baths frequently, regardless of whether they are rich or poor; Of course, this also led to the fact that the Romans rarely had large-scale outbreaks of disease, because the Romans bathed so diligently!

Early Republic. Wealthy families tend to have private bathrooms, mostly like a small indoor pool rather than a small bathroom. But at the time, even though many people had their own private baths, they still had to bathe in public baths often, because it was believed that only when they got there was a real bath.

During the expansion of the Republic, whenever a colony or military fortress was to be built, the first public facility to be considered was the bathhouse; Thus, in the large cities of the Republic, public baths became an important part of municipal planning, like lecture halls. Many public baths are funded by the state or privately. Admission is usually low, and some are even free.

Therefore, the Romans, rich and poor, were citizens who flocked to the public baths to enjoy a leisurely time. Usually before dinner is the peak time for the men to bathe, but the poor, who do not have a job, often spend the afternoon in the bathroom, enjoying a hotel-like service before returning home in the evening to endure the poor housing conditions. Those who can't afford to wipe down the service will help each other or wipe themselves with their backs against the marble wall.

For the wealthy and leisurely class, going to the public bath is purely a pastime that amuses the rich. After the republic entered into peace, the noble men gradually degenerated into feminine indulgers, who were fond of ostentatious wealth; He often wears the most beautiful clothes to the public baths. There was a group of slaves by his side. They soak in the hot water of the luxurious baths for hours, then sprinkle perfume on their bodies, and have their mistresses or maids dress them up and apply grease and powder. Extreme pleasure.

In short, throughout the Roman Republic, public baths became a popular place for rest, entertainment, and recreation; An anonymous artist once described the various forms of the poor and the rich in the public bath in elegiac verse: "The bathroom, the color of wine, corrodes our bodies, but it makes us have no regrets in this life." ”

Because going to the public bathroom to take a bath is generally a matter of the night, Oscar is not in a hurry to get up early tomorrow, and can rest assured that he can sleep boldly. A dreamless night. When Oscar woke up in the morning, it was almost lunchtime; When Oscar walked out of the room, he saw Prisca and Mingyue chatting and eating fruit in the garden pavilion.

Mingyue, who was still a little restrained, quickly got along with Prisca under Priska's deliberate low posture; Of course, it is undeniable that there is also Mingyue's deliberate flattery of Prisca in this kind of mingling. Nearly ten years of wandering life has given Mingyue a sleek and experienced experience far superior to that of her peers, and she didn't know Oscar's identity and the status of the Augustan family; I just thought that Oscar was a young little aristocrat.

But last night's words made Mingyue understand a lot; It turned out that the Augustan family was actually one of the five most powerful families in the Roman state, and Oscar himself, despite his young age, was already the supreme leader of this powerful family, and he had established great feats on the battlefield. Mingyue knew that the Roman system was not consistent with that of the Eastern countries; But the position of those in power remains the same.

In other words, the House of Augustus is the equivalent of the royal family of the Eastern countries; Oscar himself is in charge of the world with four other people. There is no doubt that after understanding Oscar's identity and status, Mingyue's heart was very shocked; She had never been in contact with the aristocracy before, dealing with either slaves or merchants, and was eventually sold into a brothel. I didn't expect to meet such a noble person who treated me differently because of a blessing in disguise, it is really impermanent!

When Oscar came to the pavilion, Mingyue quickly got up to say hello to Oscar; And Prisca not only did not get up, but ridiculed Oscar for having a good night's sleep today. Prisca's teasing made Oscar blush a little, he really slept late today; Maybe the joy of meeting his compatriots for the first time since he came to this world made him too excited, Oscar can only explain in his heart.

Oscar didn't bother Prisca and Mingyue too much, but told Prisca about going to the royal public bath with Quintus tonight; Then he said some kind words to Mingyue and walked out of the back garden alone and went to the guard barracks. Since coming into this world. Oscar has never exercised himself properly; This is mainly due to the fact that Oscar has always thought that as a leader, he does not need to go to the battlefield to fight in person.

However, this is not the case in the real world; Many countries, including Rome, have a tradition of commanders personally participating in battles on the battlefield. Even if you don't fight in front, you can't stay away from the battlefield; After all, there was no developed communication equipment in this era, and if you want to command the army, you must be on the battlefield. And on the battlefield, any kind of accident can happen. There is no such thing as a safe place.

Moreover, they cannot completely leave their lives to the guards to protect; The last battle of Liliba was typical. Faced with the enemy's strong attack and his own losses, Oscar had to take matters into battle himself; At the time, Oscar relied purely on the instinct of this body and the quality of weapons to fight. In this way, Oscar was almost killed by the enemy several times; There was even a tragic battle in which the Augustan family veteran died for Oscar.

These bloody lessons made Oscar no longer dare to slack off easily; So. In the following time, Oscar will not only strive to improve the combat effectiveness of the various legions of the Augustus family, but also try to improve his own combat effectiveness. If you want to survive better on the battlefield, you can really rely on the sword in your hand; Otherwise, relying solely on someone else's protection is not a long-term solution.

Another reason that prompted Oscar to decide to practice his skills was that there were too many assassins in the history of the Roman Republic! For institutional reasons, armies were not allowed in the city of Rome; Even the five great families only relied on their own guards to protect their family members. But only those who have been thieves for a thousand days, how can there be thieves for a thousand days; Anyone can be negligent sometimes.

The calm of Rome on the surface could not hide the waves in the darkness; Therefore, Oscar felt that since he lived in such an unpeaceful city, he should be strict with himself. Just in case, but also for the sake of his own life. Oscar decided to practice swordsmanship and exercise his body; As long as you have a strong physique and superb swordsmanship, then at least you don't have to worry about your life safety all the time

Oscar, accompanied by Licinius, exercised his body for an afternoon in the guard barracks; Because it was the first day of exercise, Licini didn't need to ask Oscar more, just let Oscar run 5,000 meters and do 500 push-ups. Even if these are not done all at once, they still make Oscar, who has not exercised for a long time, tired and half dead; It took an afternoon of hard work to fulfill Licinius's request.

At supper, Quintus rode in the carriage of Scipio to the house of Augustus; Oscar immediately packed up and took Licini and Quintus to the royal public baths. Why take Licinius with you? It's not because Oscar feels safe with a confidant by his side, who makes our Oscar's own force too weak now!

The royal public baths are the most popular public baths, and they are lavishly furnished like royal palaces. Marble columns, domed ceilings, intricate parquet floors, fountains and statues are all on display. The bathroom is open to the public and does not take a penny; There are also hot, cold and medium temperature pools, gymnasiums, massage rooms, lounges, play rooms, and wonderful fountains in the corridors. There was even a museum and library for the poets to relax.

After entering the bathhouse, the bathers are first unloaded in the alcove-like dressing room, and the clothes are guarded by special slaves; Then warm up in the conservatory, or go straight to the warm bath; Then sit down and relax your body and apply special sesame oil to your body; Then go to the dry steam room and pour water on the hot pebbles to make hot steam. Or to the hottest hot bathroom; Finally, cool off at the next hut or take a dip in the cold plunge pool.

There are also people who are accustomed to steaming while washing, and steaming and washing are combined; Some people first have to do pre-bath exercise with jumps, and create sweat without sweating, and then apply olive oil naked, go to the warm pool, hot pool, and steam room in order to make a sea of unbridled sweat, and then use a metal scraper imported from Greece to scrape off the sweat and oil on the body, and then enter the cold bath to wash; After washing, apply olive oil to your whole body, and put on your clothes to go home.

(To be continued.) )

PS: Thank you book friend Skodamine for his strong support for chasing the wind; What Chasing the Wind values is not the reward of 200 starting coins, but Skodamin's love for Chasing the Wind and "Empire". Today is already Thursday, and tomorrow will be the weekend of the three chapters. At that time, Oscar will also officially return to Sardinia to start the rise of himself and his family; I hope that book lovers can continue to support Chasing the Wind and continue to support "Empire". Thank you!