Chapter 11
After John Knox's figure, suppressing his anger and resentment, disappeared into the distance, Earl Morrie stood up, clapped his hands, and said indifferently, "You handled it very well, sister. I was worried that the mob would trample on the dignity of our royal family, so I rushed over. I didn't expect you to be able to handle it all by yourself."
Although he said these words, there was little joy on Count Morley's face.
Frankly, he would rather Mary be a helpless little girl who could only cry and scream when she encountered trouble, requiring him to deal with the Protestants and maintain the dignity of the royal family, than see Mary as a calm, intelligent, and capable young queen, leaving him no room to interfere.
Maitland also stood up and said, "Your Majesty, your wisdom is enough for poets to write poems in praise of you... Ah, the poet Châteauroux is here too, standing over there, perhaps he has already begun to compose a sentence in his mind."
Mary followed Maitland's gaze and saw that Albert Dester and Châtelia had arrived at some point and were standing under the shade of a tree a few dozen meters away.
The two seemed to have clashed, standing angrily at each other like beasts staring at an opponent who had offended their territory.
Châteauroux's eyes darted around, and as soon as he saw the Queen looking at him, he immediately bowed in their direction, revealing a charming and warm smile.
Mary lowered her eyelashes and looked away.
Back in the French court, as a beautiful young queen, and having joined the Seven Stars Poetry Society and studied sonnets under the poet Ronsard, she was surrounded by a group of artists and admirers, among whom was a French nobleman and poet named Danville, and the two were also close friends.
Although Danville expressed his affection, he never did anything impolite, because he had already married another noblewoman. The only interaction he had with Mary was when he volunteered to travel with several other French nobles to accompany her back to Scotland. After doing so, he returned to France to be with his wife, showing a clear-headed and rational attitude.
But Châteauroux wasn't so rational.
He refused to return to France and instead insisted on staying at the Scottish court, where he became a court poet and wrote passionate poems to Mary.
In her past life, she accepted those poems as flattery without hesitation, but in this life, she feels some annoyance.
Sensing Count Morrie's displeasure, Mary said a few words to appease him, maintaining the superficial brother-sister relationship between the two, and then sent him away.
As for Maitland, he once again warmly invited Mary to a masquerade ball at his castle.
Faced with such a gesture of goodwill and opportunity, Mary certainly wouldn't miss it. She immediately said that she would bring her maids and go as promised, hoping that the ball at Maitland's house would give her a surprise.
After the nobles left and the Earl of Boswell escorted the Protestants to the Edinburgh dungeon, Mary, who had been secretly making arrangements and filling in gaps for the day for the past week, felt much more relaxed and had the leisure to take a walk.
Because of its proximity to the sea, Scotland has a damp and cold climate, with frequent sudden rain or dense fog. Many elderly people in Edinburgh suffer from joint problems that are not relieved by any ointment or plaster. They only feel some relief when they soak in hot water.
Today was no exception. Mary remembered that when she opened the curtains in the morning, she saw the sunlight shining on the entire lawn. Now it was almost noon, but the sky was covered with dark clouds, and it would probably rain lightly.
As Mary strolled along the neatly trimmed paths outside the palace, she began to plan how to promote hygiene and medical knowledge to the people of Edinburgh.
Albert and Chartreux both followed Mary.
“Your Majesty, you are like the bright moon in the night sky, yet you possess a radiance that even Artemis cannot match,” said Shatriar.
As expected of a poet, his voice is so beautiful from the very first note.
Mary, wanting to cool down Châteliar's feelings for her, deliberately ignored him and said to Albert, "Why did you leave the room, Mr. Dester? I remember your injury was quite serious."
Mary could tell that he had hurriedly put on his coat and rushed out of the room, without even having time to fasten his collar. During the walk, he would occasionally press his hand on the wound, revealing a look of pain.
“I heard from the maid that Protestants were storming the chapel, so I rushed here in a hurry. Thank God that Your Majesty is safe and sound,” Albert said cheerfully.
“I am the Queen of Scotland. Even if something happens, I have loyal soldiers and other nobles to protect me. I don’t need to rely on you, an injured person stranded in a foreign land, for protection,” Mary said calmly.
“I understand, but you are my savior, and I can’t just give up on repaying you just because you already have countless people willing to serve you… even if you don’t need me,” Albert said softly.
...
How to deal with those more than one hundred fanatical Protestants was a question that troubled Mary for quite some time.
First of all, killing them is out of the question, even if they have committed crimes punishable by death.
Mary I of England's act of burning over three hundred Protestants at the stake not only destroyed her prestige among the people, but also single-handedly created the evil legend of Bloody Mary that has been passed down for hundreds of years.
If Mary had followed her example and executed these hundred-plus Protestants, she would likely have instantly lost the love and respect of all the Scottish people, becoming the new "Bloody Mary," and incidentally inciting hostility among all Scottish Protestants.
However, releasing all these people would greatly undermine the monarch's authority, implying to the common people that storming the palace was not a big deal and that they would be released unharmed.
Fines are also out of the question.
These commoners were all so poor that they could barely make ends meet and had no extra money. Taking away their last grain would be tantamount to forcing them to their deaths, and Mary knew she couldn't bring herself to do it.
After much deliberation, Mary decided to exile these people to remote hillsides to cultivate the land, and to send priests to preach to them every day about loyalty to the King. Once they were no longer so fanatical about Protestantism, they would be sent back to Edinburgh.
If there are any incorrigible believers among them who remain loyal to Reverend John Knox, then let them stay in the wilderness until she has dealt with John Knox.
After making her decision, Mary immediately sent people to Edinburgh City Hall to announce the cause and effect of the case in the city center square with drums and gongs, and to repeatedly publicize the Queen's merciful and lenient handling of the case to tens of thousands of people in Edinburgh.
The literacy rate among the common people of Edinburgh, or rather, among all the common people of that era, was very low. They couldn't even write their own names. If they wanted to promote something or announce a policy, they would usually find a few people to loudly proclaim it in the square.
Mary herself revised the draft of how to announce this to the public.
The story begins by recounting how these people rushed to the palace after attending Mass in the Protestant church, how the mob shamelessly slandered Reverend John Knox, how Reverend Knox defended himself and called them sinners, and how the Queen mercifully spared them from execution, only sentencing them to end their manual labor.
The entire story is told in great detail, fully proving John Knox's innocence and preventing him from being associated with the shameful crime of "rebellion against the king's rule".
As for what the people of Edinburgh think of John Knox, that's none of her business.
Finally, Mary specifically instructed the town hall to publicize the news for a whole week, so that no one in Edinburgh would miss it.
...
"Crack!"
A piece of the saint's hand bone was thrown violently to the ground, the fingers and arm were broken in two, and at the same time the silver plate supporting the sacred object rolled to the side, making a crisp sound!
The sound brought Knox back to his senses, causing the angry old man's knees to buckle. He knelt on the ground and carefully picked up the saint's hand again, then placed it on the high platform for believers to worship.
"How dare that witch slander my innocence like that! How dare she!"
"The Lord's devout believers, those lambs who have been fortunate enough to return to the embrace of the righteous path, have listened to the witch's slander and have even begun to waver in my character, refusing to listen to the words of this wise man, and have begun to doubt me."
“God, how terrifying is the power of Satan! He has enabled a woman to successfully dominate me, allowing the Catholic Church in Rome to extend its tentacles and casting a shadow over my homeland, Scotland. When will I be able to establish a theocratic state? Lord, please guide me, please guide me!…”
By the end, John Knox's voice was almost a muttering to himself.
In the dark church, a beam of light shone down from the skylight, illuminating a huge cross. Apart from that, the other foundations of the church were empty, with only some bronze fragments that had been forcibly destroyed and stuck to them, which had rusted over time.
Those were statues of Jesus, saints, and the Virgin Mary that were forcibly demolished during the Reformation. They were sublime symbols that Calvinists abandoned from Roman idolatry. Those shameful statues had stood in sacred churches for a thousand years since Roman times, receiving worship in place of the Lord. Finally, at his call, they were thrown into the furnace and turned into pools of useless molten iron!
John Knox’s gaze wandered, but after a while, his expression gradually hardened again, and he regained his steely will.
He took a leather whip from the box at the bottom of the cross and then lashed it hard across his back!
This was his self-imposed asceticism, and also his punishment for his carelessness and falling into the trap during the struggle against the witch.
"Slap! Slap! Slap!"
Soon, Knox's back was covered in bruises and swelling.
Outside the church, Knox's second-in-command, John Craig, waited as usual at the door until the teacher inside had finished his ascetic practice before pushing the door open and entering.
“Teacher, how are you?” John Craig asked.
“I’m fine…” With the help of his students, Knox put his black robe back on and said calmly with his head bowed, “…Even a saint’s preaching is not always smooth sailing, let alone this incredibly cunning witch. Listen to me, we will now preach with even greater devotion to regain the trust of the common people of Edinburgh. First, we must find a scapegoat for this whole affair…”
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