But his energy is not very good. In fact, he woke up many times last night. This is a bad sign, indicating that he is getting older and is no longer the age where he was energetic during the day and fell asleep at night.
He yawned and gently pulled the bell on the bedside. The personal servants filed in to help him get up, wash and dress.
After enjoying a delicious breakfast, Xia Keli rinsed his mouth again and came to his luxurious study room.
The servants poured him a cup of green tea, which was the first batch of new tea this year from a small tea garden given to him by Sean in the Rocky Mountains. After a few sips, Xia Keli felt that his energy had returned.
This study was re-decorated after he was promoted to cardinal. The floor is covered with soft carpets, and the walls are decorated with religious paintings by well-known artists in enamel frames. On the huge archaeological shelf behind the desk, various art
The products and various dazzling jewelry will be replaced every once in a while to avoid aesthetic fatigue.
However, all of this was brought about by the red robe he wore. As an apostle of God, Xia Keli believed that he had lost many of the happiness that ordinary people had, but as compensation, it was also appropriate to maintain his slightly luxurious quality of life.
Therefore, Xia Keli is very satisfied with his current life, except for one trouble in front of him. The pope of the True God Religion has returned. If the pope goes to preach in any province of the empire, Xia Keli does not care, but he actually has great potential to maintain it.
The meaning of Xizhen as one's base.
However, less than half an hour after he came to the study, his secretary brought him news that made him even more angry:
Viscount Sean Connery donated 20,000 gold to the Pope of True God.
Money is not the key, but the issue of stance is what makes him angry.
If it were other nobles, Xia Keli might not be so angry. Although Catholicism is the mainstream faith of the empire and the state religion, it does not prevent the popularity of other religions, especially those nobles in remote western provinces.
Sean grew up in Sawyer Church, and his adoptive father was a Catholic priest. Not to mention that Xia Keli and Sean had a somewhat twisted relationship.
Therefore, Xia Keli believed that Sean should naturally become his most loyal ally, and as Sean's status in Genoa rose, the weight of this ally made Xia Keli have to cherish it.
In a sense, the more Sean's status rises, the more stable his status as a cardinal becomes.
But this ally betrayed him. Obviously, the word "betrayal" is still not enough to express his anger, and "humiliation" is probably more appropriate. He blinded himself in vain. When Sean was away at war, he even called on believers to pray for him.
move.
After learning the news, the archaeological shelf behind him was in bad luck, and the valuable artwork was smashed to pieces by him.
So one of his most trusted senior priests, Father Fred Licht, rushed to the University of Poitou with his anger. But Sean did not come to the University of Poitou today.
Licht had to drive to the Rose Garden again, but Sean's housekeeper told him that the Viscount had already gone to the military camp at Fort Putnam - located at the northernmost tip of the province of Genoa, where half of the Civil Defense Force was stationed.
.
In fact, Sean hid in Rowan Castle.
Sean had already anticipated Xia Keli's anger. This was the price he had to pay.
"Sean, are you going to hide like this?"
In the garden of Rowan Castle, Audrey was chatting with Sean.
"After the Bishop calms down a little, I can explain to him face to face. If I appear in front of him now, there will be no good results." Sean said.
"Then how are you going to explain to him?" Audrey asked curiously, "I'm sorry, if this happened to other nobles, maybe it wouldn't cause him such anger, but you are different. People will think,
This is a kind of betrayal and may even cast doubt on your character."
"I have to admit that after my adoptive father was called by the Lord, Your Excellency the Bishop was kind to me, but that was also based on the fact that I inherited the title. No one knows him better than me." Sean shrugged and smiled.
, "So, I also repaid him generously. For example, I gave each of his two sons a manor, and for his three daughters who were about to grow up, I gave each of his three daughters a dowry. For this, I paid a total of
It cost four hundred thousand gold louis, almost half of my income last year."
Hearing this, Audrey opened her mouth in disbelief: "Oh my god, what did I hear?"
"It's surprising, isn't it?" Sean said, "Priests give up their families and the right to reproduce, and spend their lives serving God and educating the people. They should become moral models for everyone. But he has several secret lovers, one of whom is
Keep your name anonymous and raise children for him."
"Are you threatening him?" Audrey pointedly pointed out.
"I hope this will not have a bad impact on my image in the eyes of the lady." Sean admitted euphemistically, "I have just started the conspiracy and trickery. Although I don't want to do this, and I don't even bother to use it.
They, but the current situation always pushes me forward."
"I know you are doing this for the Robinson family. I don't know how to thank you." Audrey said sincerely, feeling a little uneasy.
"No, no, madam, this is not all for the Robinson family. After the steam engine was invented, the world changed rapidly. It is obvious that the old order has been loosened, and now this trend is becoming more and more obvious. In order to cope with possible shocks in the future, I
Something has to change," Sean said.
Seeing Sean's seriousness, Audrey asked worriedly: "Did you get any information?"
"Madam, what was a noble like a hundred years ago?" Sean deliberately looked around the garden, asking and answering, "I think it was not just a life of horse and chicken fights surrounded by servants. But the lord also shouldered the responsibility of governance.
He not only shoulders the heavy responsibilities of one party
They have the responsibility of executing the king's decrees, and also have the right to issue orders under their own rule. In their own territory, vassals are the kings of one party. When the king gives the order, the nobles prepare their own weapons and lead the young people to go to war.
This is where their glory and authority come from."
"But everything has changed now. The nobility has given up the direct power to rule a party, leaving only the title and of course certain privileges. But this privilege is not exclusive to them, it has been challenged. And some nobles, if not
People who know how to run a business, for example, my adoptive father’s father, the old Viscount Connery, was too poor to raise a horse and maintain the minimum dignity. The same is true for the church. They still stubbornly insist that they are the spokesperson of God in the world, and they are aloof.
, one day, they will be overthrown."
"Sean, is this your judgment?" Audrey asked in surprise.
"I'm sorry, madam, I scared you." Sean said, "Don't let these words get out."
"Don't worry, I won't tell anyone. But what should I do?"
After all, Audrey is a woman and has never thought about these deep-seated things. In her eyes, the family's future is the most important thing, and she instinctively thinks that this may affect herself.
"I have everything!" Sean said softly, and at the same time he patted Audrey's soft hand, his eyes full of tenderness.
Audrey withdrew her hand as if she was electrocuted, her face turned red, and she deliberately started another conversation:
"Do you have any other clues about the letters left by Karl's father?"
"The Earl was born in September 1829. I focused on checking his letters since January 1826, which was also the time when he just arrived in the Holy City." Sean said.
"Yes, the Earl was elected as a member of the Noble Parliament at that time. The Earl cherished this honor very much." Audrey said, "In our entire province of Genoa, he and Count Coval were the only two elected members."
"Yes, obviously our influence in Genoa in the Holy City is still too small, and now only Count Coval is supporting it. Madam, let's get back to business. Among the letters left by the previous count, there is a man named Henry Sewell
I think you also noticed that he mentioned two special gifts in his letter to congratulate the earl on his election." Sean said.
"But I have never heard of this person, and no one in the family knows this person," Audrey said.
"Yes, I specifically checked the imperial nobles' directory, and there was no noble named Sever. I originally thought that this person might be a businessman. The Earl was a celebrity during his lifetime, so it is normal for him to make friends with one or two businessmen.
But Professor Goslet, a historian at the University of Poitou, is a scholar proficient in aristocratic allusions and heraldry. He told me that a family in Genoa was involved in rebellion more than sixty years ago. It was later proven that this crime was completely
He was wronged, but nothing was done for various reasons. Rumor has it that this family had done evil to the founding emperor Carlos I. This family has the surname Severus and holds the title of baron."
"Since they are from Genoa, I have never heard of this family." Audrey said.
"Madam, it's normal that you haven't heard of it, because this family quickly became common people and no one talks about it yet. However, this family has been seeking to restore its title, and its direct descendants were exterminated in September 1829.
The last day. Isn’t this a coincidence?”
"It's a coincidence." Audrey's newly raised hope was ruthlessly extinguished again, "I am more and more convinced that this is a conspiracy, poor Percy!"
"Sean!" Audrey took the initiative to hold Sean's hand because of her excitement, "Promise me that you will catch the murderer! Also, if possible, please let Percy come back. I believe you must have contact with him.
.”
Sean said: "Madam, I will definitely find the murderer behind the scenes. Now there is other progress. As for Percy, frankly speaking, he is actually busy with this matter now. He cannot come back until he can clear his grievances.
, and don’t want to come back.”
Only then did Audrey realize that she was holding Sean's hand tightly. She quickly retracted her hand and stood up in a covert manner: "I'm going to see how the snacks prepared by the servants are going."
Sean watched Audrey's upright and pretty figure disappear from the thousands of flowers, and then looked at his hand. The beauty was gone for a while, but there was still a lingering fragrance in his hand.
He stayed at Rowan Castle for a whole week, and he was well taken care of during this week. The servants at Rowan Castle were much more professional than those at Rose Garden. There was even a dedicated person responsible for cleaning his leather shoes.
More importantly, Audrey was with me during the day, and I was so happy that I never knew where to go.
However, Cleveland's butler sent a message that he had to go back because the cardinal was going to come to the Rose Garden to question him.