Chapter 321
Chapter 321.
“A grand ceremony?” Aldrich asked curiously.
“Yes, a grand ceremony! Just like in that old fresco in the Colosseum.”
Aldrich understood, the Imperial Capital’s Colosseum was built during the Ancient Bella Empire and has been passed down to the present day, and it is unknown how many times it has been repaired in between, but many valuable frescoes have been preserved, and one of the biggest ones depicts the scene where the Ancient Bella army paraded the foreign captives in the streets after their victory.
This parade is not as simple as it seems, it includes a large set of complex rituals and processes.
“Teacher, let you, a Bachelor who is well-versed in history, formulate the flow of the celebration, the planning of the various aspects must be detailed and specific, and try to restore the kind of pomp and circumstance that existed in ancient times.”
“Uh…… Your Majesty.” The emperor wanted to continue, but saw the old maester shake his head, “For your idea, I think it is very inappropriate.”
“Why?” Bartlett Griffin was surprised, he had thought that his teacher would be very much in favor of the idea.
“You know what, teacher? We captured more than 50,000 prisoners in this war, and never in the history of the war with the Nestorians have we won such a great victory. It would be perfect to celebrate the victory and raise the nation’s sense of honor with a grand ceremony.”
Aldrich shook his head, “The Nestorians have easily expressed their willingness to submit, we can completely use the opportunity to gain more substantial benefits for the empire in the negotiations, so why offend them for the sake of vanity. That kind of Gubela-esque ceremony, although it can increase our honor, will also cause the Nestorians to suffer great humiliation, and after they know about it, they will surely regard it as a national shame to confront us to the end and restart the war end.”
Disgruntled, Bartlett said, “Really, Sensei! What an opportunity this is, and to make a name for my boy Antonio, who brought about this victory, so great an honor is enough to dissipate all those rumors of dishonor on him, and you taught Antonio, don’t you want to make things better for him?”
Hearing the emperor’s words, the old maester immediately retorted, “Giving him many dazzling halos too soon will only harm him, many people don’t want to watch Antonio make such a splash.”
The Emperor’s face was clouded with a layer of gloom, “This is what the teacher is really worried about, isn’t it? Let me think about which people …… Diaz you are afraid of?”
Aldrich did not respond to the Emperor’s speculation and sat in his seat in silence.
Emperor Bartlett’s hand clenched into a fist shape, “He is my son, I will protect Antonio. Hmph, I’ll see who dares to touch a single cold hair of my son.”
Aldrich sighed and advised, “Your Majesty, a shield can block a sword slashed from the front, but it cannot block a dagger stabbed from the back. I know you are doing this for Antonio’s good, but this victory will already allow him to enjoy enough prestige in the upper echelons of the empire, and I’m afraid any more would be a curse rather than a blessing.”
Bartlett was very troubled and said with a feeble obeisance, “All right. Mr. Aldrich, I’ll follow your advice and put the matter of the ceremony on hold for now.”
Aldrich breathed a sigh of relief and said, “His Highness Antonio will be returning to the imperial capital soon, your majesty, do we need to discuss what conditions we should make to the Nestorians?”
“Well, this matter should indeed be put on the agenda.”
“Let’s draw up a preliminary formula and then bring it to the Imperial Council for everyone to discuss ……”
……
The meeting of the duo of Maester Aldodrich and Emperor Bartlett continued until late afternoon when the Emperor left them to enjoy dinner. Once again, to Kevin’s surprise, the royal dietary conditions were the same as those of the rich in the imperial capital in general – such as the likes of Mr. Aldrich, as the Chief Maester of the Maester’s Tower, his family was certainly not short of money. Before he came here, he thought that the spoons His Majesty the Emperor used to drink soup were all made of gold.
After the meal, the three of them bid farewell to His Majesty the Emperor and left the side hall. As they strolled through the corridors within the palace, they came face to face with a long-built young man. “Good morning, Maester Aldrich.” The young man smiled as he took the lead in greeting, “It’s hard work deliberating with my father at this late hour.”
The older maester smiled back, “Good evening, Your Highness, the First Prince. This is my duty as a royal advisor, how dare I say it’s hard work.”
Kevin was surprised, this was the emperor’s eldest son. Unlike his father who was the emperor, he was rather covered in beads and looked graceful. Behind the emperor’s son was also followed by a court lady, her face was veiled and could not be seen clearly under the candlelight, and she stood quietly behind the emperor’s son after she had made a bow to Aldrich.
The two of them, the prince and the old maester, parted after a few words of courtesy, and just as their figures crossed paths, the eldest prince suddenly turned his head and asked, “Is it about my brother’s return?”
Aldrich did not answer whether or not, but simply said, “It is for the victory the empire has just gained.”
The Grand Prince smiled meaningfully and said, “Yes! What a great victory! I have such a wonderful brother, I am so proud of him.”
Then he turned and walked away, the courtesan following close behind him.
Kevin looked at the background of the two as they left, and the courtesan seemed to sense his sight and looked back at Kevin.
For some reason, although through the veil, to Kevin felt as if she smiled at him.
When they returned to the Bachelor’s Tower in the carriage, the moon was already high in the sky.
Along the way Kevin held a bellyful of questions, wanting to ask but not daring to ask, a commoner he inquired about royal secrets to the old maester in person, it doesn’t seem too good, right? Today’s teacher and the emperor of that conversation, how to listen to some of the flavor of court intrigue, the common people like to see.
He and the senior together sent the teacher back to the study, Aldrich said, “You each go and rest, I still have to write something.”
So they said good night and left. Without taking a few steps, Mond said, “Seeing that you’re suffocating on the way, if you have any questions, just ask them …… Well, I know what you want to ask. It’s actually not a secret, it’s clear to everyone in the imperial capital from the nobles down to the commoners.”
Mengde began to give elementary school brother science: “Tell you, His Majesty the Emperor’s two sons are not a mother, the eldest prince was born by the Empress, and His Highness Antonio …… mother is someone else.”
Oh, Kevin’s heart is clear, is it a dog blood bridge of royal brothers hooking up to fight for the inheritance?
“The Empress was born from the Diaz family, a famous imperial family, and her father is still the current Chancellor. And Antonio’s mother died when he was very young, and none of the outside world knows her identity.”
Saying this, Mond sighed, “Moreover, there are rumors that His Majesty Antonio’s mother is ……”
What is it, the daughter of a peasant family? The status difference was indeed a bit disparate.
“A witch.”
Holy shit, Kevin was shocked, the hallowed emperor of a country had a child with a witch, it is really ……
Is this the so-called “dishonorable rumor” in the emperor’s mouth?
(End of chapter)