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One may wonder how people can obtain and preserve ice in an age when commoners have only two meals a day of pea paste and still have to be grateful to God for it? As early as Claudius's time in Rome (yes, the early childhood of Spero), the Romans learned to use horses and slaves to transport snow and ice from the top of Mount Etna in SicilyHe 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 the mentor of Emperor Nero, who was only twelve years old at the time, and then, at the age of sixty-nine, he was told by the emperor's centurion that he was rumored to oppose Nero's tyranny: 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. ”

Little Medici kept recalling this point only to realize that his mind had diverged to a strange point, and at this time, the drink in a large silver cup had been brought to him, and the cup exuded a light mist, and the silver cup had two ears that could be held, and the walls of the cup were not decorated, but inscribed with a motto: Be humble and be your own servant; It means that a person is willing to always stay away from the appearance of vanity and frivolity, constantly introspect, examine himself, and be "his own servant" so that he can complete his work and be fed, and it is better than those who are all day long boastful and full of lies and are rejected by people, so that their hands are empty, and they are only set off by a luxurious drink in their glasses, which 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.

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

Bishop Picromini put down the bread and looked at his ward suspiciously, the expression was not so much like he was ecstatic at the taste of sweet and delicious taste, and, for a moment, the nose and eyes of the little Medici were subtly red, and the eyes were even more sparkling The Bishop knew very well that Giulio had not been the kind of child who liked to scream since he was a baby, and that there were even fewer things that could make him cry, so little that he could scarcely remember whether it was the Pache family or the Assassins of Pope Siscott IV who followed them？

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?" asked the bishop curiously, for 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, which should be said to be nothing to be faulted with, except that it was a little cold. In addition to the ice, goat's milk, almonds, and honey named by the bishop, but also ginger, cinnamon, alfalfa, rosemary, and nutmeg, the monks who acted as cooks probably crushed all their spices and put them away, as thick as the soil under ice and snow, and guaranteed to taste fragrant.

Giulio watched as Bishop Picromini passed the cup to the others, and every monk present tasted it, and many of them nodded their heads in appreciation, but, Bishop, there were heavy people who could eat even maggot-infused cheese, half-rotten dried meat, and fishy pickled fish, and they thought that good food might not be suitable for a child who was only six years old and had a very 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.

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 widened as he watched the people walking or resting on the edge of the street with torches and candlesticks, bringing flowers and petals to the crowds with dustpans, baskets and skirts, the sweetness of which even Giulio could clearly smell from the windows of the three-story building, and the light gray streets were outlined in white, and others were 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 end of the liturgical procession of the Eucharist, in which the clergy and the accompanying persons will walk on the petals and flowers, untouched by the slightest earthly filth, like angels walking on the clouds, and those who lay the carpet toiled like bees, their faces flushed with pleasure, their eyes glittered with happiness, and the intricacies, splendid and realistic pictures were born under their hands, which was undoubtedly quite attractive, until Juao heard the sound of the door being gently opened, and then slipped off the box like a small snake and slipped onto his bed。

This little trick was of no use to Bishop Picromini, who had played a stern role as a administrator at 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 not long ago he had stood in a place where his feet were prone to cold The bishop looked around, and his gaze soon rested on the Roman box under the window, a rectangular box of Roman style made of a large number of iron pieces to avoid wear and tear and to be fastened to the horseback and carriage top, the latter of course, which also served a decorative role, especially on the lidThere are even more metal parts inlaid with pull rings than the mottled wood parts.

To Leo's surprise, however, the bishop rebuked him as harshly as he had done before. What he did not expect was that Bishop Picromini had been so harsh before, 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 have a chance to save himself, but that a wise man would be quicker and more stealthy 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, destroying not only themselves, but also their relatives, friends, and family。

But if he is born spiritual, then the bishop no longer has to worry that he will be confused by the glory and splendor of the world. , just as when Francis was young, he was not only an unruly dissolute dissolute, but also, like him, the chief of the children of merchants and officials, who had nothing to do but drink wine, jousting, hunting, and indulged in the arms of prostitutes, and after a serious illness that almost killed him, he joined the army of Assisi against the invasion of Perugia, and fought in Perugia for twelve months until he was redeemed 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, convinced that Giulio di Giuliano de' Medici, even though he was young, was destined to go further than he did on the road to Jesus.

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 together, and the following prayers and hymns were sung, and Giulio saw a few people dressed in monk's clothes, but with worldly hairstyles and beards, and their bare feet were unusually white and fat, and they seemed to know that they were not often exposed to the sun and dust, and from the whispers of the priest of the church of Santa Maria Maggiore, the little Medici knew that they were all nobles of Spero, just as the Medici parents could be the first to receive Holy Communion, they were also entitled to put on the monk's linen robes, to tie cords in place of belts, and to 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 Maggiore held a candle for him, the monks followed them barefoot, and behind the monks, the nobles, merchants, guild presidents, artisans and commoners, and some poor priests, the petals on the ground could be picked up and taken home, these holy and fragrant relics could be used as medicines for excellent healing, or they could be ground and mixed with ink to copy sacred scriptures, some people rearrange them and fill them into silk sacs and give them 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 carry the incense burner, and he and three other acolytes carry a small inner incense burner, the charcoal of this incense burner is poured over the charcoal, and then the lid is closed, and the bearer of the incense burner must shake them constantly, and the second is to spread the smoke as much as possible For the people of this age, this smoke is the grace of God and the intercession of the saints in heaven, which is very important, especially for the sick and those with sin.

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.

On the other hand, the work was also 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 made splendid 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 furnace shook me.