Chapter 21 The Stone Falls (Part 1)

"No matter what happens, England must lead." - Thomas Masterman Hardy, captain of the "Nelson"

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"I loved the years when I was a student. At that time, we were all observers and imitators of the world, and such people did not need to shoulder real responsibilities. But now we have all entered the world, as newcomers, Sister, your name needs to be changed, that is, the bride. The laughter has been lost. We no longer live for our own joy, but for others and the glory of the family." At this time, a pleasant wind blew down from the clear sky. The leaves in the garden fluttered, making a deep and dense rustling sound. Octavian raised his forehead, his straw-yellow hair tumbling, and said comfortably but with a sigh, "I, like Leo, are both wearing Ring, I am no longer Turinus, but Octavian, but Caesar; Leo is no longer the shy and quiet little lion, he is Lepidus and Aemilius. We all need to be the same, for the sake of the theater. He competed openly and covertly with all other enemies for his seat in the arena, because the Roman nobles were never willing to settle for second place. For him, second place was always the position, not the goal. During the celebration, we sat in the seats and watched the sword slaves. Fighting, we fight on our own on weekdays, with or without blood..." Then, Young Caesar Octavian gently lay on his sister's knees, his light green eyes shaking lazily. Reflection of autumn clouds, "Tell me, sister. Do you like me to be the number one in Rome?"

"Hope. Of course I hope - I'm just begging. Don't fight too selflessly and cruelly." Octavia held her brother's face sadly. answer.

"Then you continue to tell me, has the City of Seven Hills become beautiful under the rule of my guardian?"

"I won't lie to you on this point. The commotion of the common people has been significantly reduced due to the arrival of food rations. The nobles have also begun to concentrate on studying knowledge. The vendors are free to walk around the streets again, and people have begun to buy without worries. They have money. And the shops have plenty of goods to sell for money.”

"Because my guardian is a man with dreams, but sister, my dream is even bigger than his!" After saying that, Young Caesar stood up with a smile and pulled out a thick deerskin pouch that he brought next to his seat. A thick roll of parchment came, and then it was spread out smoothly in front of Octavia.

"It's so beautiful!" Octavia's feeling at this moment was like the most precious thing in her memory, which was when she heard the pronunciation of "porcelain" and "silk" in Leo's mouth in Antony's house during their wedding. ——The drawings are full of meticulous and graceful lines. It also marks the Tarquin Marsh, the various hills, the Tiber River, and there is no doubt that this is the plan of a Roman city. But this is by no means the current Rome, because in this drawing the streets of Rome are straight, the temples, libraries and arenas are all elegant and symmetrical in Greek style, and the colorful garden fountains are row upon row.

"Yes, this is my ideal city of Rome. Agrippa drew it when he was free during the previous war. I carefully collected a copy and brought it back to you to see. Sister, or anyone, please ask me about it. Caesar, what are you pursuing, I will show him this picture, because this is my dream."

"I envy you for having such a dream, and I envy you even more for having the opportunity to realize this dream. So go to the banquet well, my brother, say hello to Corinna and Leo for me, and get Corinna as soon as possible. Married to Niushou Street, I hope to be with her at all times." Octavia moved the topic to a harmonious and upward level very sharply, and then she put the pendant on her brother's chest with her own hands, and her step sister. The two brothers kissed and waved goodbye.

In front of the door, when the servant brought a horse, Young Caesar immediately waved his hand and said, "I haven't been feeling well these past two days. Is there a tamer donkey in the stable in the backyard?" The servant immediately went to do it, and then Young Caesar asked He cheered up, pondered over his words, rode on a donkey, and, escorted by several armed slaves, slowly headed towards the Prema Villa.

He arrived a little earlier than the appointed time, but Leo, Vivia and Corinna greeted him with smiles in front of the arch very early. Young Caesar immediately got off the donkey's back, laughed loudly and hugged Leo, " Tell me, do you have a child?"

"You can tell at a glance." Leo pointed to his wife Viviya's highly swollen belly, "My father gave it to me from the Mother Goddess and Juno before he went to war. Fortunately, I asked for the amulet from Mama Yulia, but who I think it’s working in Viviya’s belly now.”

Afterwards, the two of them smiled and exchanged greetings. Leo also explained to Young Caesar his previous unwillingness to help in Lilybi City. "After all, it is a private letter. You should not submit it to the official office, but this time I have raised all the funds for you - An Xin, my father happily agreed, and the accounts were all made clearly, through the channels of the Executive Yuan and the treasury, which is a thousand talents. "

Young Caesar was also very generous. He looked at Corinna, who was leaning against the door frame and said nothing, but was as beautiful as a forest fairy, and joked, "Because during the military campaign, your family and I were There are too many personal correspondences, so maybe the paperwork was mixed up." The implication of this sentence is obvious, that is, the fact that Corinna has been exchanging letters with him. Sure enough, Corinna's face immediately turned red, and she continued to respond. She looked at the back of her neck and said hurriedly, "All the distinguished guests are here. I'm going to help Mama in the kitchen." After saying that, she swung her skirt naturally and hurried into the house.

"But she can't actually help at all. She can only try food at most. She is really not as good as Viviya in this regard. Since Viviya received the blessings of the Mother Goddess and the Queen, I, Mama, can only operate independently. The whole Prima's back cook." Leo just chatted and laughed with Young Caesar, and passed the front garden, walking along the crocodile pond and fish pond, towards the Apollo restaurant.

Along the way, Young Caesar observed carefully. This banquet was by no means large-scale, because there were no actors or musicians coming or going. The whole villa was very quiet, with only a few gardeners pruning the shrubs: but having said that, he knew that the more the party was held, the more likely it would be. It is a small-scale, quiet banquet, the higher the level of confidentiality and importance.

It is no exaggeration to say that this banquet represents the final outcome of the consulship in the coming year, and Caesar naturally knows this very well.

When he and Leo walked into the most splendid main hall of the Apollo restaurant, they found that the guardian was standing under the huge mosaic of the Roman city on the wall, and greeted him with a smile, "Forgive me, because there are some gossips about you. The accusations made it a bit difficult for me to handle government affairs in the Senate, but please rest assured that everything has been resolved properly and there will be no such rumors again. I am absolutely sure."

"Of course I am aware of your painstaking efforts, Lord Lepidus. From the bottom of my heart, I have never meant to complain, not at all. My mother, father and I all admire and respect you as a saint." Young Caesar was also very happy. He stepped forward and hugged Li Bida. (To be continued...)