Arriving all the way from Monteriggioni to Florence, the tired Lu Xiao passed through the investigation by the Medici family's defenders and successfully entered Florence with the identity certificate given by Mario.
Lu Xiao's oriental appearance, which was very different from the Italians, inevitably attracted the attention of the soldiers defending the city and the passing business travelers.
In order to avoid attracting more attention, Lu Xiao put on the hat of his windshielding cloak again after entering the city, and rode his horse low-key to find his way through Florence.
The outer part of the city of Florence looks no different from Monteriggioni. Low adobe houses can be seen everywhere, and most of the people coming and going look numb and wear dirty and simple linen clothes.
But as Lu Xiao rode his horse slowly along the avenue, the prosperity of Florence gradually appeared before his eyes.
Men and women wearing gorgeous medieval costumes can be seen everywhere. Although the style of clothing is still conservative, their mental state is very different from the poor people in the outer city.
These middle-class people hold their heads high confidently while walking, chatting and laughing with their companions. In the lively market, you can still hear the shouting and soliciting of customers, which truly shows the vibrant and prosperous city.
street scene.
The churches and towers dominated by Gothic buildings on both sides of the avenue are mixed with many exquisite buildings unique to the Renaissance.
Gothic architectural style churches are tall and thin, usually with spire designs. They aim to express the mystery, pathos and sublimity of Catholicism with excellent architectural technology, making people instinctively feel awe and reverence.
As the center of the Italian Renaissance, Florence, under the rule of the Medici family, was the first to abandon the Gothic architecture that represented the supremacy of theocracy.
The Church of Santa Maria del Fiore in the center of the city is one of the most famous Renaissance buildings in Florence.
The design of this church completely subverts the concept of Gothic churches, using more classical column proportions and semicircular arch volumes, which expresses the restoration of the ancient Roman architectural style to the greatest extent.
Following the map directions given by Mario, Lu Xiao wandered around this famous Renaissance city with curiosity on his face, and finally found the Auditore family's mansion not far from Santa Maria del Fiore Church.
"This is really..."
Lu Xiao looked at the vast mansion in front of him and couldn't help but marvel.
Taking the modern society where Lu Xiao lives as an example, the closer you get to the city center, the land prices will inevitably rise geometrically.
The fact that the Auditore family can own such a large mansion in the center of the city is enough to prove their status and wealth in the city of Florence.
After many days of travel, Lu Xiao and the horse under him looked a little tired. He led the horse to the door of the Auditore mansion, and Lu Xiao handed Mario's letter of introduction to the concierge.
"Please inform Mr. Giovanni Auditore, and give him this letter as well."
The concierge looked at Lu Xiao, whose face was covered by a hood, suspiciously: "I'm sorry, the master is still working in the bank. Can you give the letter to the mistress Maria?"
Lu Xiao raised his eyebrows slightly and quickly recalled the information Mario told him in his mind.
"Maria de Mozzi was born into the famous Mozzi family in Florence. She knows everything about Giovanni's career and secret identity. She is his most important wife and a member of the Assassin Brotherhood."
Lu Xiao's head under his hood nodded slightly: "Okay, please give the letter to Mrs. Maria."
The porter smiled and bowed his arms several times with fancy gestures: "Okay, I will hand the letter to the mistress right now and ask the distinguished guest to wait here for a moment."
The dusty Lu Xiao looked out of place in the neatly dressed central area of Florence. Pedestrians passing by looked at this mysterious man wearing a hood with strange eyes.
"Hey! Who are you? Why are you blocking my door?"
A somewhat cynical voice came from behind Lu Xiao, and at the same time, a palm patted his shoulder without scruple.
Lu Xiao, who was nervous, almost instinctively pulled out the two swords hidden under his cloak and attacked the opponent. Fortunately, he recalled the current situation in time and forcibly suppressed his desire to attack.
'Calm down, this is the peaceful center of Florence, not a wilderness where you may be attacked by bandits at any time.'
The suburbs of Italy in the 15th century were not safe at all. Lu Xiao encountered bandits many times while traveling from Monteriggioni. The long period of killings made him habitually stay on alert. These bold bandits gave him added strength.
Got a lot of practical experience.
The tense muscles relaxed again, and the person behind him who reached out rashly didn't know that he had turned around in front of the gate of hell.
Lu Xiao turned to look at the person who made the noise. He was a young man wearing exquisite aristocratic clothing. The slightly frivolous smile on the other person's face concealed his scrutinizing and wary eyes to a certain extent.
This young man has a very handsome appearance and a somewhat bohemian temperament. Behind him is a young aristocratic boy with a timid look.
"Ezio, don't embarrass our distinguished guest."
A calm and slightly reproachful female voice stopped the young man's actions. The young man immediately let go of his hand and raised it above his head, putting on an innocent expression.
"Mother, I didn't do anything!"
'Ezio?'
Lu Xiao's eyes under his hood were fixed on the face of this noble young man for a moment. There were many differences between Ezio's appearance and his impression.
The Ezio in the game is also very handsome, but the overall feeling is relatively tough, while the Ezio in front of him looks more feminine and handsome.
'It seems that the rumor is true.'
Lu Xiao had heard a rumor about Assassin's Creed 2 a long time ago. It is said that the Ezio controlled by the player has the appearance of Desmond who is pursuing the DNA of his ancestor, in order to give him a more sense of substitution and the real Ezio.
It is not consistent with the appearance presented in the game.
The messy thoughts in his mind disappeared in a flash. Lu Xiao temporarily ignored Ezio, who was pretending to be pitiful, and turned his attention to the woman who had shouted to stop him.
She was a middle-aged lady with a graceful and elegant temperament. The years had carved some traces on her face, but she still looked charming, and her gestures showed that the other party accepted her.
Receive strict etiquette education.
The lady waved to signal Ezio to be quiet, then she slightly lifted her floor-length skirt, saluted Lu Xiao and introduced herself.
"I am Maria Auditore. Nice to meet you, Mr. Lu Xiao from the far east."
Lu Xiao also touched his chest and saluted with the etiquette he learned from Mario: "Mrs. Maria, I am also honored to meet you."
Maria smiled and stretched her hand toward the door: "Please come in and take some rest. Giovanni won't be back for another 1-2 hours."
Ezio, who was left out in the cold, asked loudly and dissatisfiedly: "Mother, who is this person?"
Maria glanced at Ezio and said in a calm tone: "He is a friend of your uncle Mario. He will stay in our house for the time being. You will spend a lot of time together in the future."
"ah?"
Ignoring young Ezio's cries of dissatisfaction, Maria gently introduced to Lu Xiao: "To make you laugh, these are my second son Ezio and youngest son Petruchio."
"As you can see, these two children are still very immature. I hope you can help take care of them in the future."
Petruchio, who was twelve or thirteen years old, smiled shyly at Lu Xiao. His personality was completely different from that of Ezio, who was chattering beside him.
"Mother! I don't need anyone else to take care of me! I..."
"Shut up, I'll be thankful if you don't cause trouble outside."
Maria snorted with some displeasure: "Come in with me, Ezio, you'd better not get into any trouble again, I won't indulge you like your father."
Ezio's body trembled, and he replied in a low voice with some guilt: "Yes..."
Lu Xiao looked at the young Ezio with a smile and emotion, "Young people don't know what it's like to be sad. A generation of great assassin mentors also had such a young and frivolous period... No wonder he was ridiculed as an old pervert."