Chapter 670 Belated Wedding

After the crowd dispersed, Luca handed the wooden stick and scepter in his hand to the ceremonial officer and asked Demisius and John Antiochus to leave.

Luca pondered for a moment, then turned around and looked at the map of Rome hanging behind him. All the provinces were right under his feet, looking at this vast land.

After just staring blankly for a moment, Luca slowly put on the purple fur cloak with the help of the waiter, and then slowly walked out of the back door of the conference hall under the escort of the guards.

"If the Vandals agree to leave the tribute at Ptolemy, how should we explain this to Ravenna?"

"There is no need to explain to Ravenna. Anyway, Valentinian hates me to the core now, and there is no need for me to make any concessions in order to maintain the stability of the country."

"But the Roman Senate and the Vatican are in great need of these tributes, and there are still many supporters of Caesar in Rome."

"I know that very well, John, but the point is that I am not in want of provisions, and I care nothing for money and food, but I do not want to give them to Valentinian."

"You want to starve him, don't you, Caesar?"

"Don't worry, this will only make him more anxious, and it won't make him starve to death."

"But how can we appease the Holy See and the Senate? After all, Lord Leo is very concerned about how much he can get."

"That's why I have to leave the tribute in Ptolemy. The cunning Vandals are like foxes and cannot be trusted. They may make an excuse that the tribute was attacked by pirates on the way to Constantinople or Athens, which is why the tribute cannot be delivered."

"You know, John, this is the usual trick of the barbarians. They used this as an excuse to reduce the tribute again and again, and finally stopped paying it. Despicable barbarians, I can't imagine why they live in this world."

"So, Caesar, what should we do, especially regarding the Senate and the Vatican?"

"Don't worry about this, my friend. I have decided to divide half or even more of it and escort it from Ptolemy to the Tiber River. The tribute will be paid to the high-ranking officials of the Holy See and the Senate. As long as we firmly grasp the nobles, we will firmly grasp the western Rome."

"Yes, it's a perfect plan, Caesar, but can we really be sure that Gaiseric will decide to give us tribute because of such pressure?"

"I'm not sure, but what I can be sure of is that we now have enough time to keep this Vandal and let him communicate with Gaiseric. I'm not in a hurry because I'm ready to talk to them for half a year. I'm not in a hurry because as long as I see the fully loaded carriages arrive at Ptolemy next autumn, it will be enough."

Kessel paced back and forth in the room where he was assigned. He realized that this was not a simple matter of dividing the spoils, but it might have risen to a confrontation within Rome.

Perhaps just this small issue of tribute is enough to show how fierce the power struggle within Rome was.

However, as a small boat swaying between two huge waves, Kessel certainly knew how important he was to this decision, and he had to be extremely careful.

He spent the night writing a letter to Geiseric and then asked a courier to deliver it for him.

He still felt vaguely uneasy, but he heard a noise outside, which attracted him to walk towards the window.

Pushing open the window, he saw slaves busy coming and going. They seemed to be decorating the entire palace. What was particularly eye-catching was the flower baskets woven with rattan held by the slaves, which were filled with petals that had been prepared long ago.

For the Romans, during every grand celebration they would stand on high places and scatter flower petals downwards. Only the decoration of flower petals all over the sky could highlight the extraordinary liveliness of the festival.

"Is it some special festival?" Kessel wondered. He thought of himself as a barbarian who was very familiar with Rome, but it was not easy to find flower petals on such a cold winter day.

Kessel walked out the door, grabbed a slave who was busy and asked, "What day is it that makes you so busy?"

"Caesar is getting married!" the slave continued mysteriously.

"Oh? Really?" Kessel was a little curious. He widened his eyes and asked, "Who is the woman who is worthy of Augustus?"

"It is said that there are two Augustas. This is the first time in thousands of years. I don't know what other nobles will think. After all, this is a big problem for the current doctrine..."

"Hey, what are you talking about, you lowly slave!"

Just then they heard a scolding, which made the slave tremble all over. He turned around and saw a court official walking towards him angrily with a wooden stick in his hand.

"Oh, God, damn it!" The slave who was caught by the court official cursed inwardly, and hurriedly lowered his head and bent his waist like a dog with its tail between its legs trying to escape.

He ran towards the court official, begging for mercy: "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, sir, forgive me, forgive me!"

"Today I will let you know the rules of the palace. You are not qualified to talk to anyone else!" The court official scolded loudly, and raised the wooden stick in his hand high, and hit the slave who was begging for mercy on the back twice. The slave grimaced in pain and begged for mercy again and again.

After beating the slave away, the court official strode over in his Kessel, bowed slightly, and continued to say to Kessel: "I was a little offended just now. This new slave doesn't know the rules. I hope you didn't get scared."

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"No, no, no, no, no!" Kate asked the palace official with an apologetic smile, "Do you know why such a grand event is being held?"

"Caesar's Wedding."

"Then what kind of lady is worthy of such a great man as Augustus?"

"I'm afraid there is no need for you to know, sir." The court official looked at Kate coldly and had no intention of revealing anything.

Before Kessel could ask further questions, the court official turned around and left.

"What a strange court." Kessel shook his head. It seemed that he had been busy for a long time, but in the end he got nothing.

Flavius ​​Luca took some time to come to the side palace. There were not many people here, so it naturally seemed deserted.

The guard at the gate saw Augustus' carriage and quickly opened the door, watching Luca's carriage enter.

Walking into the room originally arranged for Tenaia, he saw Maximus playing quietly nearby. Maximus saw Luca and hurriedly stood up in a daze. In his heart, he was still afraid of this father who did not give him the love and care he should have.

Luca just came over and touched Maximus' head, then walked in and saw Tenea.

She was sitting on a wooden stool, holding a gorgeous robe in her hands. This was prepared for the wedding. Luga sent it to her early in the morning just to see if Tenaia was still dissatisfied.

"how!"

Tenaia was startled by Luga's voice. She quickly hugged the clothes in her arms, as if she was afraid that someone would take it away. She looked up and saw that it was Luga. She couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief and sighed softly: "Oh, it's you."

(End of this chapter)