Chapter 71

Several years ago, Mary had also privately discussed the question of who the Queen's husband would be.

Fleming wanted the Queen to marry the Spanish Crown Prince so that Her Majesty and they could regain their exalted status. Beaton wanted the Queen to marry a French nobleman, as she had always longed to return to France. Livingston was indifferent to this, but he preferred that the Queen remain in Scotland, so he once hoped that the Queen would marry Lord Darnley.

Seton and several of his friends had different opinions.

Her Majesty is so capable that she can establish herself in Europe on her own. So why would she need to rely on a husband with a high position and power?

She hoped the Queen would accept Mr. Albert's proposal.

Because he truly loved His Majesty and was even willing to die for him on the battlefield.

Fleming secretly told Seton that this Italian wanted to win the Queen's heart with his looks and then become king. Don't be fooled by his seemingly affectionate demeanor; he's actually full of scheming and not even as good as Prince Juan Carlos of Spain. If the Queen married Juan Carlos, she would receive substantial benefits from Spain, but if she married this poor Italian, she would only have to give and receive nothing in return.

Finally, Fleming reminded Seton to be extremely careful to prevent Her Majesty from falling into the Italian's trap.

Seton disagrees.

Love... Love is like a bonfire burning brightly in a fireplace on a winter's day; even if she doesn't touch it herself, just standing beside it, she can feel its warmth.

Mr. Albert was unlike any of his suitors.

...

Mary remained silent for a moment before speaking her true feelings.

“I will never marry, Seton. I will not love anyone, nor will I marry a man and have children. As long as I live, I will be revered as Queen, and after I die, my name and deeds will be forever etched in history books,” Mary said.

“But you are lonely…” Seton said, emphasizing his words.

“Even in solitude, I stand above millions, enjoying glory and immortality in my loneliness,” Mary said calmly.

At this point, Mary suddenly thought of Lord Darnley.

According to the order of succession, once she dies without an heir, the right of succession will fall to Lord Darnley and his descendants.

In her previous life, after Elizabeth died childless, the one who inherited the British throne was James VI, her son with Lord Darnley.

It seems that Lord Darnley will have to achieve his wish in an unconventional way in this lifetime. Could this be considered a twist of fate that has ultimately brought him back to the starting point?

As for Albert... Mary can only say that no love is immune to the erosion of time.

For a long time, this blond youth had only given to her without receiving anything in return. If things continued like this, sooner or later he would come to his senses, have children with other noble ladies, and return to the normal path he should have.

Mary had been waiting for this day to come.

...

Upon returning, Mary began to convene members of the upper and lower councils to discuss medical reforms.

Mary had already implemented this policy in Edinburgh a few years ago with great success. Elizabeth in London saw the positive results and copied the policy to promote it as well.

Today, the use of forceps in the UK, the need to wash hands before delivery, doctors wearing white coats to keep clean, and the need to sterilize items that come into contact with wounds by boiling water have all become popular, saving Mary the trouble of promoting these practices in the UK.

These common-sense facts only need to be spread to Ireland.

Mary now needs to add a few more items, such as building London's sewers, encouraging people to keep cats to kill rats, fostering a love of cleanliness, and establishing a sanitation department to clean the streets and garbage.

It wasn't that she had a special love for cats, but rather that she wanted to prevent the Black Death and other epidemics from breaking out again.

The plague has never ceased; it has always broken out sporadically. If Mary remembers correctly, a century later, London will experience a second major outbreak, in which 100,000 people will die, and corpses will be piled up on the roadsides. London's response to this is to mass-kill cats that have been abused, so that these witches' helpers and evil animals will be completely eradicated from London. In this way, the plague will also be eradicated.

Then the rat population surged, and the plague spread even more severely...

Now that there was an opportunity to change mindsets at their source and stop the rampant plague, Mary didn't want to let it slip by.

Members of Parliament generally disagreed with the policies proposed by the Queen of England.

“Your Majesty, with our national treasury so depleted, we should use the money on more critical areas, rather than wasting it on a group of lowly people,” Chancellor of the Exchequer Thomas Gresham was the first to voice his opposition.

Especially building sewer systems that can last for many years is too expensive!

“Sir, please watch your words. The lower classes you speak of are citizens of England. As the monarch, I should cherish them. Moreover, increasing England’s population and preventing further outbreaks of plague would greatly benefit the restoration of England’s economy,” Mary retorted immediately.

After a protracted struggle and debate with members of Parliament, the Queen of England made the final decision and forcefully implemented the decree.

Then, Mary brought up the second thing.

— Vaccination with smallpox.

The Queen of England hoped that the nobles and members of parliament present would set an example by being the first to get vaccinated against smallpox, thereby allaying the fears of other commoners in Britain and encouraging them to get vaccinated willingly as well.

This time, when the Queen of England expressed her thoughts, Westminster Palace erupted like boiling water.

Mary actually made quite a few preparations for this.

She brought in doctors who had previously tested this method and had them give reports of the positive results achieved on other farmers. Apart from brief fever and smallpox, they had no other adverse reactions, and even when receiving treatment with smallpox patients, they showed no signs of infection.

While in Edinburgh, she had already received the smallpox vaccine.

Mary tried to persuade the councilors, but it turned out she had underestimated the fear of smallpox in this era.

No matter how good the experiment's results were, not a single member of parliament agreed with the Queen's decision.

From Secretary of State Cecil to Secretary David, they rushed to voice their opposition, pleading with the Queen to retract her decision and not risk their lives.

They refused, because it could very well lead to the extinction of all the British nobility with ancient traditions!

Mary "..."

If she herself hadn't been vaccinated against smallpox, she would now be quite happy to set an example for these members of parliament and nobles, thereby allaying their fears.

The problem is that she has already been vaccinated and cannot personally participate in the vaccination.

Mary rubbed her forehead, feeling a bit of a headache, and turned her expectant gaze to her current confidants, the ministers she had brought from Scotland.

She hopes they will stand up for her decision and, ideally, be willing to be the first to get vaccinated against smallpox.

Sitting in the ornate high-backed chair, Maitland quietly shifted her gaze, staring intently at the floor as if a large bag of gold pounds had suddenly fallen to the ground, not daring to meet the Queen's eyes.

David Leejo worked diligently on his note-taking, gripping his quill pen tightly and writing furiously, not daring to look up at all.

Even the bravest of them all, Boswell, subtly shifted his position, pretending to be completely absorbed in admiring the maid's figure outside the window.

Mary "..."

Excellent, in a critical moment, you can't rely on any of them.

These native Scots had been thoroughly subdued by the Queen and dared not, like these Englishmen, loudly object to Her Majesty's demands. But this silence was also a form of resistance.

Since that's the case, she couldn't directly use violence to send soldiers to forcibly drag them to the doctor to get vaccinated against smallpox.

The Queen of England, seated on her throne, sighed softly, and was about to reluctantly announce that the matter would be discussed again in a few days when someone stood up.

"I trust the doctor's decision and His Majesty's judgment. I am willing to get vaccinated against smallpox to prove to all of Europe that this scourge of smallpox is not invincible," Albert said with a smile.

Although the smile was a little stiff.