Chapter 501 Return to the Purple Room
"Luga, don't forget your father's reminder!" Andrew continued, "It was Theodosius who told you to go see your sister. I wonder why?"
"He must have his own reasons for saying that and asking me to do this!" Luca thought and decided to follow Theodosius II's idea and go to Ravenna to find Licinia. To be honest, Luca is a little resistant to seeing Licinia now, not because he is afraid of seeing her beautiful face.
The beauty's face is like a painting worth appreciating. Looking at it more often can not only please the body and mind, but also be pleasing to the eyes. However, this beauty is too scheming. Although she is so innocent and cute to others, to Lu Jia who knows her inside out, this woman is like a tiger that will eat him at any time.
After a fierce ideological struggle, Luca finally realized that he must return to Ravenna, where he had been away for a long time, to see what had happened in Ravenna during such a long time.
Two weeks later, Luca's army appeared outside the gates of Ravenna and stationed there, which made the Duke of Ravenna, who was guarding the city, sweat. If he knew, it would be easy to say, but if he didn't know, then he had to say that Luca had rebelled.
Fortunately, the army was stationed more than ten kilometers outside the city. For such a large army, the smoke from cooking was like a big fire. When the passers-by learned that the army belonged to the soldier Luca, they would always shake their heads and laugh, saying, "If Aetius knew that the army was stationed outside Ravenna, what would he think?"
Upon learning of Luca's arrival, Valentinian III had already prepared a banquet in the palace waiting for Luca.
This banquet was very different from the one held at the Soldier Captain's Ceremony. The entire scene was very simple. There were no colorful programs, no strange exhibits, only an empty dining table that was clean and tidy, but it was indeed very different from Augustus's banquet.
"It must be trying to express something. I can tell." Walking in the room, Luca was thinking secretly. Back in New Carthage, Valentinian III had sent people to protest to Luca, asking him why he took away taxes. Isn't this the theme that this banquet in Ravenna, which was so simple that it even pales in comparison with the ordinary nobles, wants to highlight? "Sir, this is your seat!" Thinking of this, the waiter who was leading the way stopped and pointed to the wooden chair in front of him. The chair was a bit old. It can even be said that the chairs used in this banquet were all old.
"OK!"
Luca seemed very polite and nodded to the waiter in front of him.
The scene was indeed simple, and even Valentinian III did not invite more people. Most of them were supporters of the Purple Room and court officials.
When everyone was seated, Valentinian finally arrived. The waiter opened the door and Licinia walked in slowly holding Valentinian's arm.
He really was a person who showed all his emotions on his face. When he saw other noble supporters, he could greet them with a smile, but when he saw Luga, the guy who made him feel uncomfortable, his expression changed as fast as a beam of lightning.
"I'm very sorry to call you all here for lunch at this time!" After Valentinian III and Licinia sat down, he apologized to the others present, "Because the finances are inexplicably tight, for the sake of the empire, we have to save money to complete this welcome ceremony, although we must know that this situation is caused by someone!"
These words were directed at Luca, and Luca could hear it, and so could the nobles. When Valentinian said this, he deliberately glanced at Luca, with a meaningful look in his eyes.
This forced Luca to smile awkwardly. He knew that Valentinian would want to cut him into pieces, but he was a puppet emperor after all. Compared to Luca who held military power, he could only mock him and not give Luca a good face. There was nothing else he could do.
The banquet was very awkward. When the food was served, not only the quantity but also the taste was much worse than before. Not only were the nobles present complaining in a low voice, but even Luga frowned when he put the food into his mouth.
Valentinian III looked normal. He didn't eat at all. He just stared at Luca with his glass of wine in his hand. His eyes seemed to say to Luca, "Eat it. Eat it well. This is all thanks to you!"
Licinia, who was beside Valentinian III, was completely different from Valentinian. This woman did not hide her inner passion at all. She looked at Luca with such scorching eyes, as if the water flowing in her eyes was so hot. This made Luca feel even more ashamed. After accidentally drifting there, Luca buried his head in the plate in front of him and said nothing, enjoying the "delicious" food by himself. Licinia, who was ignored, naturally withdrew her gaze in dismay, her eyes full of disappointment.
The banquet ended hastily. I'm afraid no one was satisfied. Luca was really embarrassed. From beginning to end, he felt like he was being tortured by Valentinian and the complaining eyes of the crowd. It was as if they were questioning Luca over and over again, "Why did you withhold the taxes?"
After everyone else had left, and only Valentinian III, Licinia, and Luca were left on the messy table, the whole scene suddenly became quiet. It seemed that the problem was being solved.
"Caesar!" After a long silence, Luca knew that such a cold war was not a solution to the problem, so he decided to step forward and take the initiative to communicate with Valentinian III.
"Hmph!" Unexpectedly, Valentinian III not only did not appreciate it, but instead snorted coldly, stood up and left the banquet hall directly followed by his servants. The whole world seemed to quiet down with the sound of the door closing.
Now only Luca and Likinia are left. This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for Likinia.
"My father said I must come and see you." Luca hesitated for a long time before finally saying these words. His voice was as soft as the buzz of a mosquito, so quiet that he himself might not even hear it clearly.
"Oh!" Likinia answered very casually, as if it was a perfunctory response.
However, what surprised Luca was that this time Likinia did not do anything excessive or say anything inappropriate. This should have been her style, but she did not do it.
"Has she really changed?" Luga said to himself. For some reason, he felt a little lost, as if he had lost something.
Li Jinia sat in her seat without saying a word, she bit her lips tightly and lowered her head. She had always been the initiator of a topic, no matter how stupid the topic was, but this time she was exceptionally calm, or perhaps numb.
"Well, is Eudoria okay?" Luga finally found a topic, which made Li Jinia's eyes flash with light, as if her whole body was activated!
She raised her head and looked at Luga, her eyes revealing disbelief. She didn't believe that Luga would actually care about Eudolia, his biological daughter.
"I think she can walk now." Luga didn't know what he was saying. He just felt that he was surrounded by sin and couldn't escape. He still said with a smile: "Look at me, I haven't seen that lovely little princess for such a long time. My father misses the little girl very much, so I came to ask her specifically."
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"Yes, not only can he walk, he can even call me father," Li Jiniya replied coldly.
Luka was dumb and didn't understand what this meant. Likinia sat up straight, sighed, then stood up and said to Luka, "It's not convenient to talk here. Otherwise, I'll take you to see Eudoria."
Without waiting for Luca's consent, Liginia stood up.
Following behind Likinia, Luga felt that her back seemed a little heavy. It must be the burden of life that made her breathless and made her understand many truths. She was no longer the innocent little girl. She was only a little over twenty years old.
Walking along the long corridor, Liginia finally pushed open the door at the end of the corridor. Luca followed her in, while the maid serving Liginia waited outside.
This was a boudoir, where Luca saw a girl with white skin, black hair and black eyes, typical Latin descent, who looked a bit like Luca. The little girl was at a loss when she saw the stranger behind Likinia, and she just stood there with her eyes wide open.
Luca also saw a person, a boy, who looked like a teenager approaching adulthood, with shiny hair and Germanic ancestry. There was another thing about him that he looked like someone, but Luca couldn't put his finger on it. When the boy saw Luca, he reacted even more violently, backing away in shock, and almost tripped over the corner of the table behind him.
"It's okay, go out!" Liginia said to them. The boy and the maid who was playing with him hurriedly bowed and left the room, leaving only Luca and the other three.
"I didn't expect it to be so big!" Luca looked down at Eudoria and said with a smile.
"There's no time for jokes now, Luka!" Likinia grabbed Luka and moved closer, staring at him intently, "I have to tell you something very important. This is a warning. You must be alert!"
Seeing Likinia so serious, Luga also felt something was wrong, and he nodded quickly.
(End of this chapter)