I put out his fire

Chapter 68 The Dream in the Bath

Obtaining the Herald Day of the Gaul army means holding the lifeline of Rome, which is the army with the strongest combat capability in Rome.

Nero rewarded Lei Ke with a villa with a garden and asked him to be responsible for the daily training of soldiers, but the power to mobilize soldiers and horses was completely in his own hands.

Taking the Gaul army as an example, he hinted at other generals in the Senate, promising them property as compensation.When the generals saw that Gaul, which had the strongest military force, had surrendered, they also handed over their military power one after another.

After coming to power, Nero rectified the aristocratic class and took back military power, and Nero completed the concentration of power.Since then, his throne has been completely stabilized.

Being an emperor has more resources.Nero wanted to use these resources to investigate everything about Rhodes, including Fine, his mother, and even his uncle Thales.

When investigating Rhodes' life experience before, the reason why he learned that Rhodes was born of a virgin was told by an old virgin.

At that time, he thoroughly checked Telles' criminal record.To his surprise, in addition to stabbing the emperor to death, there was a lesser crime: correspondence with virgins.According to this record, Nero found the temple where the virgin was, and also found the old virgin who had served there the longest.

Coincidentally, the previous flood sacrifice was carried out in this temple.It used to be the largest and most authoritative temple in Rome, but it has now fallen.

The Old Virgin served it for 30 years.Back then, she witnessed a black-haired and black-eyed girl who first arrived at the temple, with three strands of braids combed by an old virgin.

She told Nero that the virgin was named Diani, and because of her outstanding appearance and elegant manners, she was recognized as the next virgin.However, one day she was reported by her colleague Julia to have correspondence with men, which is a big taboo for virgins.When she, the oldest senior, assisted the high priest to review the matter, she found that the letter was written to the then chief of the Guards.In the letter, they were siblings, and it was mentioned that she had given birth to a boy who grew up in the Corsican military camp.

People who are familiar with the Fine family know that Thales has a sister, but they all think that she has been executed for the family's crimes.No one knew that she could sneak into the temple and become a virgin.This is the result of the failure of the virgin virgin screening.

The high priest burned all the letters, deliberately concealed their sibling relationship, reported to Caligula the crime of having an affair with Thales and having a son, and buried Dieny alive according to his will.

The emperor suppressed the scandal.Therefore, only Caligula, the old virgin and the high priest knew about the burial of the virgin; and compared to the emperor, the old virgin and the high priest knew that the virgin who was buried alive was not Thales' lover, but his own. sister.

Because of this scandal, the high priest took the blame and voluntarily demoted to the army.The largest temple in Rome began to decline.

Not long after the scandal, the shocking news that the chief of the guards stabbed the emperor to death was revealed.

And the High Priest at that time was the wanted criminal Munch that everyone is calling for now.

……

At night, slaves lit frankincense, and blue-gray cigarettes overflowed from the incense burner hole.The well-trained female slaves make the beds, close the shutters, light the candles hanging on the murals, and finally spit out the spices that have been in their mouths for a day.All slaves in the emperor's chambers put a piece of cinnamon under their tongues to sweeten their breath.

Nero dabs a little peppermint oil on both temples.He had just finished writing what he was going to speak in the Senate tomorrow, and there was a political adviser standing beside him to help him pick out individual mistakes in the speech.

The consultant is nearly fifty years old and is also a patriarch. He was hired by Agrippina when Nero was a child and served as Nero's tutor.Now that Nero ascended the throne, he was reappointed as an auxiliary political adviser.

Nero closed his eyes, rubbed his temples, and said slowly: "How many generals have not surrendered their military power?"

"All the generals in the provinces have handed in, only..." the consultant turned over a page of the list, fingered each name, and finally stopped, "Only Julius didn't hand in the herald, but he verbally promised to do so." Hand in. His troops are limited to the city, and his combat power is not strong."

Nero still closed his eyes and asked, "Julius? I haven't seen him in the Senate seat for a long time."

"Since the death of his daughter and grandson, he has been depressed, and he doesn't even care about the soldiers under his command who go to prostitutes secretly." The consultant said, "He degenerates, hangs around with a group of eunuchs all day long, and has no intention of politics for a long time."

"This trash is not a threat." Nero said contemptuously, "When he hands over the Herald Day, I will reward him with a bunch of beautiful slaves and send him to Naples."

The advisor jotted down the order in a memo pad.After memorizing, the engraving pen keeps moving up, and clicks next to the previous itinerary.

"In two days, you need to take a float to tour the city and meet the civilians. This is the first time they will see you." The consultant said, looking at the memo pad. Aspen's weight of hazelnuts, and sixty cars of rose petals, the route will pass through all the main streets in the city. Do you think we are giving alms along the streets? The initial plan is wine with plums..."

"These are not important, I leave it to you to arrange." Nero stopped the movement of his temples, and leaned back in the chair wearily.

The consultant warned: "You will be very tired if you have to stand on the float for a day, and you need to take a good rest in these two days."

Nero said wearily: "Add another itinerary. After patrolling the city, I will go to the temple, which is the one where the flood sacrifice was held. It is the largest temple in Caligula's time, I remember And the murals of Pandora's Box."

The advisor's face turned cautious, "But that temple...is on the mountain of your manor, halfway up the mountain. Your passing this time is no different from revisiting the old place. Although it has been two months, you can bear it Do you live..."

"I know." Nero opened his eyes, candlelight came in from all directions, and shone into his eyes.He felt a sting and couldn't help squinting his eyes.

He said in a tired and miserable voice: "I must be able to bear it."

The advisor looked at him in surprise.

"The ashes of Thales are buried in the crypt of that temple." Nero said, "Maybe there is also his sister's body..."

That's Rod's mother, my mother-in-law.

Nero, who had been busy all day, thought so in his sleepiness, and his mind was wandering.

The consultant was stunned, and blurted out, "Thales still has a sister? How could his sister be buried in the temple?"

Nero became more sober, and caught a glimpse of the advisor with his mouth open.

"It's nothing," he said with a gloomy face, "You don't have to ask about this matter, just remember the itinerary."

The consultant responded winkingly, closed the notebook, and took off the lens hanging in front of his left eye that can enlarge the font.

He weighed his words and said in a tactful tone: "The soldiers have searched the whole city four or five times..."

Nero woke up instantly, his heart was beating violently as if being pulled.It had been two months, and now he was more afraid of hearing about Rhodes' whereabouts than having no news.

Because that means Rhodes is really dead.

"Except for the boundless sea, the soldiers would go back and forth to salvage wherever they encountered water. But... nothing was found." The consultant said apologetically, "I didn't even find shoes or clothes."

Nero breathed a sigh of relief, his tense body slowly relaxed, and ordered coldly: "Keep looking."

The consultant nodded, "One more thing...Men Xi's bounty has almost reached the upper limit of the law. But he seems to have evaporated. We suspect that he fled to other provinces, but there is no record of him leaving the city. "

"Increase the bounty to the upper limit." Nero said in a dangerous tone, "When I find him, I want to witness with my own eyes that he peels off his whole body bit by bit, starting from the bottom of his feet."

The consultant broke out in a cold sweat, and quickly opened the memo pad to write this down.

……

The square bath is steaming, and there are statues of snake heads spitting water at the four corners.The slaves sprinkled rose petals and drops of essential oil into the pool, and the bathroom curtain was a diamond-encrusted gauze with faint spots of light in the roiling steam.

After a tiring day, Nero soaked in hot water.As soon as the slave put soap horns and towels by the pool, he led him away and stood outside the curtain.

Nero bent his knees and squatted to the bottom of the pool, almost drowning him in the gentle hot water.He emerged from the water, brushing back his wet silver hair, revealing his tough facial features due to his emaciation.

He leaned against the marble wall of the bath, his cheeks flushed from the steam.He narrowed his eyes in sleepiness.

In a trance, the tumbling white steam was very similar to the white mist on the top of the mountain that day.

Nero was half asleep and half awake, and through the mist-like water vapor, he saw a silhouette with soft and shiny black long hair, deep rock-like black eyes, bright red lips, and the water surface just below the protruding collarbone.

"Rod..." Nero opened his eyes wide in surprise, "You're back."

Rhodes smiled at him from behind the mist.

Nero swam over, buried his face in his slippery neck, kissed his Adam's apple and said, "I think you're going crazy."

Rhodes wrapped his arms around his neck, leaned against his side, and said with his lips against his red earlobe, "I miss you too, Nero."

"I know you're not dead..." Nero moved his palm up along his curvy back, "Where did you hide...I've been looking for you all this time."

He took Rhodes into his arms, kissed his shiny black hair, his chest was pressed tightly, and water droplets flowed along the shape of Rhodes' jaw, onto his white chest, and then squeezed into the gap between the two skins .

"I..." Rhodes raised his head slightly and pushed him away.

Nero was pushed away, surprised, and blinked hard a few times, eager to see his black hair and red lips clearly.

"Lucius." Rhodes smiled and called his nickname, and slowly backed away.

"Rod," Nero panicked, "Where are you going..."

"Lucius..." Rhodes read his nickname, as if he was on the top of the mountain that day, and finally disappeared into the rolling white mist...

Nero woke up crying in the bath.

Condensed water drops from the ceiling hit the red-hot eyelids.Nero was shocked.

He stretched out his hand, trying to push away the tumbling water vapor, but there was nothing behind the water vapor.

At this moment, Nero felt that the whole world was false.

His throat was thirsty, and when he lowered his head, a few bright red rose petals drifted past, and he saw the erection between his legs...

Hastily wiped off the water droplets with a towel, Nero wrapped up his pajamas, tightened the belt embroidered with reproductive totems, and walked out of the bathroom.

He cleared his hoarse throat, faced the bedroom, and ordered the slave who fell asleep after waiting for a long time: "Take out Rhodes' gloves and put them on my bed."

He savored the face of Rhodes in the dream, and said in a low voice, "I want to use it."

……

Ever since he received the order to hand over the Herald, Julius began to sell his assets in Rome in exchange for money to purchase property in the provinces.

He released or gave away the original eunuchs. Except for the slaves necessary for housework, only Munch was left by his side.

Julius returns from the outside.He had just completed the contract to transfer out the vineyards in the suburbs under his name.

As soon as he stepped into the house, a cold wind blew his thick beard, and no slave greeted him with hot water for washing his hands.Looking at the empty courtyard, he had a strange feeling.

There was the sound of glass shattering in the hall.

Holding the hem of his robe, Julius trotted into the room. As soon as he entered, he saw Munch who was going mad.

Menxi was hugged by two slaves, screaming and trying to break free, his face was as red as a ripe crab shell.The house was in a mess, books were scattered, and the stained glass of the windows was shattered.

"What's wrong?!" Julius asked him loudly, grabbing his wobbly arm.

The hysterical Munch bit his hand, and Julius almost cried out in pain.

"Are you crazy?! Mendy!" Julius broke free from his mouth, looking at the bright red teeth marks.

After Meng Xi finished biting him, he stopped struggling as if he had lost his strength.His eyes were red, and he sat slumped on the scattered books.

"My younger brother is dead." Menxi covered his face, tears flowed between his fingers, "He was poured to death by Nero with molten iron..."

Julius froze for a moment, and gradually became serious.He actually had the ability to rescue the old lover's brother from the dungeon, but didn't do it.

Antony was not unrelated to the death of his daughter Messalina.At that time, she stole her father's herald day and intended to rebel, which was her own fault.But Anthony's temporary betrayal undoubtedly made her death come faster.

Julius hated Antony because of this, and hoped that his old lover's brother would not die well.

He coughed twice, walked forward, sat on the book with Men Xi, and asked, "Who told you?"

"I can't go out of the house, let your slave visit the prison instead of me. But when the slave came back, he told me..." Menxi choked, and the big blue-green blood vessels exploded on his red forehead, "He died too badly... ...I cannot accept that the descendants of the Otto family died in such a miserable way..."

He said fiercely: "It was Nero who killed him...it was that vicious little wolf cub..."

Julius tried to comfort him: "Anthony curled up in a dungeon as big as a dog cage all day, and death was a relief to him."

"Oh...shut up! Shut up!" Munch beat the ground with his fist.

Julius shut his mouth and put his arms around his shoulders, not daring to make any more noise.

"I hate Nero, even though he is Caligula's nephew." Menxi's eyes were red, and tears kept dripping from his trembling chin, "Including his personal guard, the one who looks like Thales... …He is the reincarnation of Thales, the return of his ghost. This pair of master and servant full of scandals is always recreating the former Caligula and Thales, reminding me all the time, I An emotional loser. Now he's brutally killing my brother..."

Julius patted his arched back to comfort him, but Munch pushed him away impatiently.

"I want revenge...I want revenge like Thales...Even if I am crucified, I want revenge." Munch squeezed out these words viciously through his teeth.

Suddenly, his expression changed again, he laughed a few times, and continued with a strange expression: "Now I finally understand your state of mind, Thales. You must kill your sworn enemy, even if the price is self-destruction, you It worked. I hate you so much, the irony is, I've been following in your footsteps all my life..."

Julius was startled, and hurriedly asked, "What are you doing? Mendy."

Menxi said with a sullen face, "I want revenge! I want to kill Nero!"

"Oh..." Julius didn't feel panicked at all, but found it funny, "Dear Mendy, we are all old, and when we reach the age when we will be summoned by the god of the underworld at any time, we should forget our hatred and enjoy a stable old age. That's the smartest thing to do..."

Men Ximi glanced at him and said coldly: "You have changed, Uriel. You were not such a wimp in the past, and you are not the brave and fearless first love I loved so much."

Julius was stunned for a moment, and began to doubt himself under the gaze of Munch, "Really?"

Menxi didn't answer the question directly, but slowly approached him, his stiff white hands crawling on his back like sticky snakes, "Have you forgotten your grandson? Uriel."

Julius' eyes widened as if he had been stabbed in the foot.

"It is said that when Quentin was alive, he and Nero got along like enemies. It was Quentin's sudden death that gave Nero a chance." Menci looked at him with ulterior motives and said, "If your grandson doesn't die , today's new emperor, no matter what, it won't be Nero's turn."

He glanced at the contract in Julius' hands and sneered, "Do you still need to move from the bustling Rome to other provinces? Do you still need to bargain with a bunch of opportunistic knights for the transfer?"

Julius sat with his back rigid, his beard twitching with the breath from his nostrils.

Meng Xi patted his thick shoulder, "You have fallen into yourself for so long, it's time to wake up, Uriel."

His Uriel's breathing was stagnant, and his eyes were trembling in the old eye sockets.

The author has something to say:

It seems that I have really been off for too long, and many little angels can't remember the plot haha, it's up to me