Chapter 8 Flora Festival

I thought I could get a good night's sleep, but in the middle of the night, I woke up hungry. It seems that the few pieces of cake last night were not enough.I secretly glanced around, the others were soundly asleep.So, I got up cautiously, bypassed everyone, and tiptoed out of the room. Kitchen, where is the kitchen? With my sensitive nose, I quickly scouted the exact location of the kitchen. The kitchen in ancient Rome was much simpler than I imagined. It seems that in ancient Rome before BC, no matter the poor or the rich, they didn't pay enough attention to the kitchen. I saw the leftover food from last night at a glance, and couldn't care less, I grabbed a piece of bread with my hand and put it in my mouth.

"Help..." Suddenly there was a faint cry for help from the side of the stove, I was taken aback for a moment, thinking it was my auditory hallucination, the voice appeared again... I put down the bread, bent down to have a look, and was surprised to find that the sound was actually a peacock with its feet bound. "What's the matter with you?" I asked while chewing on the bread. The peacock seemed startled, and raised a pair of black eyes to stare at me, "I've never seen a peacock like you before." "Please, I'm not a peacock, I understand bird language, understand?" I glanced at it.

"I don't want to be eaten...save me..." It looked at me pitifully. By the way, peacocks were also popular among ancient Roman nobles at that time, and the price of a peacock was still very expensive, which was not something ordinary people could afford. "It's very difficult for me to do this, because in this era, you are already regarded as food. If even pigs and cows come to ask me to save them, the world will be in chaos." I immediately refused, I don't have the flood of sympathy my mother has. "Woooooo, I'm old on the top and young on the bottom... I'm still so beautiful, I can't be eaten. I really can't..." It blinked those black eyes and shook That gorgeous tail.

"Okay, okay...I'll let you go after I finish eating. But it's none of my business if you get caught again." I impatiently stuffed a piece of bread into its mouth, what a wordy peacock what…… When I got up to get another plate of bread, I suddenly felt that something was wrong. I turned my head and saw the figure by the door, and I jumped up in shock. Agrippa was actually standing there, his whole body bathed in silver moonlight, reminiscent of the elegant and romantic Roman mythology. "You, why are you here?" I was startled, and stammered, "Could it be, did you die from poison? So what appears now is a ghost?"

Bang!As soon as the words fell, I was hit on the head by a hard piece of bread. "How dare you curse me to death!" He said as he stepped through the door. "But you can get out of bed so soon?" I looked at him in surprise, he was half dead a few hours ago.But now it looks like nothing happened. "What's so surprising, this little thing doesn't matter to me at all." He also picked up a piece of bread, "It would be ridiculous if someone foolishly talked to a peacock." "But what are you doing in the kitchen in the middle of the night?"

"Your emetic method vomited out what I ate a few days ago, can I not be hungry?" He glanced at me. "But, don't you have so many slaves and attendants? Why do you come here by yourself?" I looked at him in bewilderment as he ate up the bread in his hand. He took an apple, took a bite, and sat down on the ground, "Do you really think I'm so delicate? I'm also a commoner, and I grew up hard. Sometimes it's more comfortable to let others serve me than to do it myself." .” I shook my head in disbelief, "I see you enjoy being served, don't you?"

He raised his eyes and looked at me, "Since you have become a nobleman, you have to adapt to all this, at least you must maintain the appearance of a nobleman in front of people." I laughed, "Isn't it inappropriate for you to look like this now? Are you not afraid of being laughed at by me?" He seemed to remember it, and smiled slightly, "By the way, you reminded me, so there is no other way, I might make you disappear..." "Uh----" the corner of my mouth twitched, "it's not that serious, my mouth is very tight, and, no matter what, I'll save you once."

"By the way, you saved me." His smile made me feel a little scalp numb. Before I could react, he had already grabbed my wrist, "Say, how should I repay you?" He The smile was a little ambiguous, and the tone was soft, "Why don't I dedicate myself to you?" I hurriedly broke free from my hand, and hurriedly said, "That's not necessary, I can't bear this great gift." "Oh, so what do you want?" When I turned my eyes, I just saw the peacock looking at me pitifully, and pointed out, "I want it!" He glanced at the peacock with a little surprise, "Do you like to eat peacocks?"

"What's so delicious about peacocks? In our place, peacocks are all ornamental animals. It's too barbaric to eat such a beautiful animal." "Its feathers are very beautiful, so many people also pluck its feathers when eating peacocks." He laughed. "If you like its feathers, you can pluck them out. You don't have to kill it and eat it." As soon as I finished speaking, the peacock pecked my hand heavily. Mr. Peacock seems not very satisfied with my suggestion. "By the way, I felt like I drank a lot of milk when I was unconscious. Why did you let me drink milk?" He asked curiously.

"Because you are lead poisoned, drinking milk can prevent lead from combining with human protein, and directly combine with milk protein to relieve poisoning... Ah, you don't understand." I suddenly remembered that this is not modern, and explained to him It was a waste of effort. Sure enough, he looked confused... I can imagine that his head was full of words such as lead, human protein, and milk protein. After a long time, he burst out, "Who says I don't understand, I know protein." The muscles around my mouth twitched, and I held back my laughter. "That peacock belongs to you." He stood up and paused when he reached the door, "Your name?"

"Xiaowan." As I answered, I helped Mr. Peacock untie, and Mr. Peacock burst into tears... "Xiaowan..." He repeated several times, and walked out of the kitchen with a smile. Back in the room, after not sleeping for a few hours, I was woken up by the sound next door. The slaves and maids began to get busy, and the day of the ancient Roman nobles began again... I rinsed my mouth with club soda, chewed on a licorice leaf, and considered making a homemade toothbrush for the night. Maybe because of yesterday's accident, everyone saw me as extraordinarily polite today, and no one asked me to do this or that. Yesterday, because of the severe loss of vitality, I didn't pay much attention to the layout of this villa. It turns out that the entire courtyard is surrounded by a main hall.It's cool in the main hall, and it's almost ten meters high.There is an opening in the roof through which rainwater flows into a marble basin inside.There are vivid frescoes on many of the walls and ornate mosaics adorning the floors.In particular, the painting under my feet is actually a battle between Alexander the Great and Darius III of Persia, and it is almost inlaid with hundreds of pieces of stained glass and marble. Tsk tsk, it's not ordinary luxury. "Xiao Wan, why are you here? The master asked you to go to the courtyard." Amy, a Greek slave girl who shared my room, hurried over with a bowl of fruit in her hand. I responded and followed her to the courtyard. It seems to be the time for the Roman nobles to have breakfast. The breakfast and lunch of the Romans are very simple, but the dinner is very rich and is the most important meal of the day.the 47 Agrippa was lazily lying on his side on the couch, and the slave girl beside him was putting the sliced ​​apple into his mouth, while he slightly closed his eyes, looking like he was enjoying it. He also said that he is not used to being served by others, I think he is too beautiful... He opened his eyes and pointed to the chair beside him, "Xiaowan, sit here." He then pointed to the food on the table, "You can take whatever you want, you're welcome." I am still wary of his kindness.After hesitating for a moment, he picked up a bowl of cookies and was about to put them in his mouth when he suddenly said, "Wait a minute, Amy, put sauce on her food." Amy seemed a little surprised, took out a small bottle, and poured some dark sauce on my cake. It might be some kind of seasoning. I saw similar sauces on his food, so without thinking about it, I reached for a piece and put it in my mouth. As soon as I put it in my mouth, I spit it out with a puff. Since I was a child, I have never eaten anything worse than this! "This is expensive Garham sauce," Amy blurted out. Garham sauce?This name seems to have been seen in the book. I heard that the method is to put the fish viscera in the sun until it rots, and the extracted liquid is this kind of seasoning.This process requires a long time and considerable craftsmanship, so the value of Garonne sauce is extremely high, and the price of a little is quite amazing. "Aimi, give me water, give me water!" When I think of the word rot, my psychological effect is more obvious, as if my mouth is full of strange taste. After pouring into a large pot of water, I felt better in my mouth. Agrippa kept looking at me gloatingly, and when I calmed down, he said with a smile, "You dare to spit out the food that the master rewarded you. How do you think I should punish you?" I then took another sip of water, "That depends on what it is!" He raised his eyebrows, "Garham sauce is our Romans' favorite food, and such a small pot can be replaced by dozens of slaves like you." "Please, do you know relativity?" I rolled my eyes. "In our place, there is such a saying that A is honey and B is poison. The same thing has different values ​​for different people. For A, it may be honey, which is a good thing. But for B, it may be poison. Don’t think that everyone likes you.” As soon as I finished speaking, Agrippa grabbed me into his arms. There was a smile on his lips, but there was an unfathomable look in his eyes, "Oh? Then, to me, you Poison--or honey?" I was tightly encircled by his arms, and his strong and powerful heartbeat could be heard clearly in my ears. I suddenly felt that my heartbeat frequency also jumped a few beats. When I grew up to such a big size, I hadn’t talked with anyone except my dad. No other man has ever been in close contact like this.Want to struggle but feel powerless... Seeing my unease, the unfathomable look in his eyes gradually faded away, replaced by a faint look of narrowness. "Ahem..." A low cough suddenly came from not far away. I jumped up from his arms as if I had just woken up from a dream, moved aside, followed the sound, and was surprised to find that it was Octavian standing there. He walked over with a smile on his face, "Agripa, seeing you like this, I don't think I need to worry." Agrippa laughed, "It's just a small matter, I'm fine now." Octavian glanced at me, "Is this the girl in the Colosseum? I didn't expect such a beautiful girl. By the way, I heard that she helped a lot yesterday?" Agrippa glanced at me. "I wouldn't die without her!" When he said this, there seemed to be a childish tone in his tone.And he spoke without rules, Octavian didn't care at all.Although he is the same age as Octavian, it feels as if the younger brother is talking to the older brother, which may have something to do with them being childhood friends. "What's going on with Anthony? You've already declared war on Egypt, so he should have taken action too?" Agrippa suppressed the smile on his face. As soon as Agrippa asked me about something that interested me, I pricked up my ears. "I heard that he has transferred some of his troops to the west coast of Actium, Greece. It seems that naval battles are inevitable." Octavian paused, "He and the Queen's army together have about 100,000 people. There are nearly 500 ships, and I am not fully sure about this naval battle." "Even if they join forces and have more people than us, they may not necessarily be our opponents. As long as I, Agrippa, are around, I won't let them have a chance to win." It was the first time Agrippa looked serious. See you. "Agripa, my most loyal friend and comrade-in-arms, I fully believe in your ability, but this battle is related to the fate of Rome, and what I want is the best chance of winning, so, Agrippa..." Octavian stood up, turned his head to look at the blooming roses in the garden, and said in a low voice, "After the Flora Festival, you go to Egypt." "Egypt?" Agrippa was taken aback. "Yes, Egypt." Octavian smiled meaningfully, "Agripa, come with me to the main hall." I thought of Si Yin's words, the source of your fate, the Queen of Egypt, because she believed the lie of the Roman consul Octavian, she deliberately lost in the naval battle and betrayed her lover Anthony... In other words, Octavian probably asked Agrippa to go to Egypt as a special envoy to persuade the Queen of Egypt to form an alliance with him, but why did he choose after the Flora Festival? Maybe Antony was not in Egypt during that time, so he gave the house An opportunity for Dawei to take advantage of? Thinking of this, I feel extremely excited. Could it be that this trip to Egypt will be the key? As long as you complete this task, you can continue to the next task... As long as you work hard, you will definitely reach the unknown end point, and you will definitely be able to see your mother again... So, I'm going to Egypt too, by whatever means! After Octavian left, Agrippa just sat there quietly, as if he had been thinking about something. How can I speak?Wouldn't it be strange if he said rashly that he would go to Egypt with him?Moreover, my current status doesn't seem suitable for making such a request. How can I get him to agree to take me to Egypt? Alas, you should know that you didn't ask for that silly peacock yesterday... Just as I was thinking, I suddenly heard the sound of flapping wings, I turned my head and looked, uh. .Really said peacock, peacock arrived. "Why are you still here?" I whispered. It looked at me pitifully, "I don't dare to go anywhere, and I will be eaten by others when I go outside. I'd better stay here. Master, you have to protect me..." Ah... I rolled my eyes, "Please, I don't want it." Disturbed by our voices, Agrippa looked up at us, "By the way, Rome's Flora Festival will be in a few days, so you should go too." "Flora Festival?" My eyes lit up, and I have heard about this famous festival in ancient Rome. If I can see the grand event with my own eyes, it must be a great memory in the future... And... stop, stop... like this Things can't tempt me, I'm going to Egypt, I'm going to Egypt! No matter what, I have to try it! I glanced at the peacock, seeing my evil eyes, Mr. Peacock shuddered. "Can I change my request, yesterday I said I want this peacock just because of impulse." Hearing my words, Mr. Peacock rolled his eyes and passed out. Oh, I'm sorry, Mr. Peacock... Agrippa looked at me with a smile, "Then what do you want?" I took a deep breath, "I want ----- you..." At this point, I clearly saw the corners of his mouth twitching, and I was a little amused again, and slowly finished the second half of the sentence , "------Take me to Egypt." His smile disappeared slowly, and he whispered a few words, "Why?" "I know that you went to Egypt to persuade the Queen to betray Anthony and turn around to form an alliance with you, right?" I said bluntly. His expression changed, "What did you say?" "Octavian told you that just now. The intention behind it is not there. The best chance of winning is to join forces with the queen, isn't it? Otherwise, why would you go to Egypt. You are really slaves and you are all dead." I didn't Said angrily, but in their minds, they didn't regard slaves as human beings at all. He stared at me firmly, and suddenly smiled again, "Xiaowan, aren't you afraid that I'll kill you?" "I think you should not only kill me, but also take me to Egypt." I also looked directly at him. "Oh?" He raised his eyebrows interestingly, "The reason?" "Well, there are three reasons. First, as a special envoy, of course, the less noticeable the better. I will accompany you as your maid. I won't attract as much attention as the other guards, but I can also serve as a guard. Second, I am proficient in multiple languages, whether it is Egyptian hieroglyphs, Latin, or Greek, they are all easy to understand. If the other party has any tricks, I can detect them early. Will the journey be much easier if you come to me?" Hearing my last sentence, he couldn't help laughing, "It sounds like I have to take you with me. By the way, it seems that I haven't asked you all this time, how did you come to Rome from Serris?" He suddenly asked. I told him again what I had said to Hafei, and I also told him about being accused of being a spy by the way. "So that's how it is," he looked at me thoughtfully, "Then do you want to go back to Serris?" I nodded without thinking. A trace of displeasure flashed across his face, and he snorted softly, "Then, from now on, you have to give up this idea, because you are already my slave." I am too lazy to argue with him about human rights now, and what I am most concerned about now is whether he will take me to Egypt. "So, should you take me there?" "For the sake of the last reason, maybe I'll think about it." He suddenly laughed again, and reached out to stroke my hair, "We'll talk about it after the Flower God Festival." The Flora Festival in ancient Rome was established to show respect for Ferrola in Roman mythology. Ferrola is the god of flowers worshiped by the ancient Romans and a symbol of youth in Roman mythology. During these days of the festival, both civilians and nobles will dress up and decorate themselves with roses, and come to the streets to drink, sing and dance all night long. Early in the morning of the festival, I was dragged up by Amy, and let her do whatever she wanted on me in a daze. After an unknown amount of time, she picked up a silver mirror and let me see if I was satisfied. At this look, all my sleepy bugs flew to the sky. The thread was tightly wrapped around my neck, and my eyes were deeply outlined with antimony paint, and painted with eye shadow made of malachite and azurite; Round and dark beauty mole... I'm freaking out... 07 "Xiaowan, don't you like it? The master specially ordered us to dress you up." Amy lowered her voice, "Actually, since you first came here, I feel that the master treats you differently from others, especially when you rescued me. After killing him, I think you may be able to get rid of this slave status soon..." "I really don't like it, especially this one." I pointed to the mole on my face, alas, what's the difference, it's all because I stole his clothes... "This is the most popular makeup method nowadays." Amy has a look on her face that you are very ignorant. Well, I saw my relatives put forward the opinion that milk does not alleviate lead poisoning, it is like this, the information I found at that time is: Fresh milk protein contains nearly 20% whey protein.Whey protein is rich in cystine, which is a precursor of glutathione, an essential substance for the human body.It can combine with lead in the body to form water-soluble compounds, which are excreted through the kidneys and reduce the toxicity of lead in the body.Therefore, drinking milk can achieve a good lead removal effect.In addition, lead is a heavy metal element that can cause protein denaturation, and milk is protein, so that lead denatures milk and combines with milk protein instead of causing pathological changes in our body.Let the foreign protein replace the protein denatured in our body, so it can detoxify. Therefore, I am also confused about the view that milk cannot alleviate lead poisoning. It would be better if there is a more professional principle to explain it.I'm going to ask the pros again just to be correct, and thank you very much for pointing this out :) "I don't want it." There was a drop of cold sweat on my forehead, sorry, I really can't accept such an aesthetic view. "Do as she says." Agrippa's voice suddenly came from behind, and I turned my head to see that he was still wearing a white robe today, but he added a coat with lavender borders on top of the robe.There is also a delicate rose on the coat. It took me a long time to get back to my original shape, but unfortunately, the red hair cannot be changed back. "This is quite suitable for you." Agrippa smiled, and inserted the rose on my coat into my temple, "Let's go." I froze, "Just the two of us?" "Just the two of us." He walked forward and looked back at me, "Hurry up, we won't be able to see the parade if it's too late." Although I was mentally prepared, when I arrived at the People's Square in the center of the city, I was still surprised by the spectacular sight of the sea of ​​people. It is estimated that everyone in the city of Rome was dispatched today. The whole city is decorated with blooming roses everywhere, and the ladies in beautiful costumes compete for beauty.Some use Saper to dye their hair golden yellow, some even light blue and purple, and the variety of jewelry is even more dazzling, including gold from Egypt and the Balkan Peninsula, pearls from the Red Sea and the Indian Ocean , gems from the Vesuvius region, crystals from the Alps and Asia Minor... I can't help sighing, what a prosperous ancient Roman Empire... "Why are you sighing?" Agrippa looked at me curiously. "Rome, what a bustling city," I blurted out. He smiled slightly, "Because, this is Octavian's Rome." He stared ahead, his sight seemed to penetrate the crowd and land on an unknown place far away.the b "So, as long as Octavian tells you to do, will you do it?" I looked up at him. He froze for a moment, then recovered his normal expression, smiled and nodded. "Whatever?" "No matter what." He smiled back at me, "Because he is not only the consul of Rome, but also my best friend." I have already seen Agrippa's loyalty to Octavian in history books, but apart from the relationship between the monarch and his subjects, it seems that the friendship between them is also an important reason why Agrippa is so loyal. However, if it was an order from Octavian, why did Agrippa become the person the queen hated and cursed?With the queen's intelligence, she should have thought that Octavian was the mastermind. Is there a connection between the two? "So, what if he asked you to kill yourself?" I asked with a smile. His face changed, "How could he have such a request." "I mean if, if..." "Bang!" I was hit on the head by him, "You little head, what do you think about every day." A strange smile appeared on the corner of his mouth, "Maybe because I'm too curious, I'll want to open it and have a look." The veins on my forehead twitched, and I immediately fell silent. If I could use magic, I would turn this man into a praying mantis. "Look, the float is coming!" The crowd suddenly shouted excitedly. I hurriedly followed the sound and saw a float decorated with roses coming slowly. In the center of the float, there seemed to be a plump Enchanting beauty.The whole float seems to have come from ancient times, with grace and elegance, and an intoxicating fragrance... The crowd suddenly became agitated, and people kept pushing in from behind. In such an instant, Agrippa and I were dispersed by the crowd... There were still many people who were knocked down, but they didn't wait. They stood up, and the people behind stepped on it again, and suddenly, there was a scream... There were more and more people, and the scene seemed to be a little out of control... The beauties on the floats also showed panic expressions, and even the Roman soldiers who maintained order began to be at a loss. This is the first time I have encountered such a chaotic scene, and I don't know where Agrippa has gone.Calm down, I'm small and easily pushed down by others, but I can't get out now.So I wanted to find a relatively safe place, I looked around, and the safest place right now should be ----------- that big beauty's float! So, I hurriedly broke away from the crowd and approached the float. Seeing that I was about to reach the float, someone pushed me hard from behind. I staggered, and my center of gravity was a little unstable. At this moment, a pair of powerful Hands hold mine tightly. "Fortunately, so you are here." This usually depressing voice made me feel very kind at this moment. "Agripa..." I looked up at him, his face showed undisguised worry, and a trace of relief when he saw that I was fine. "Grab my hand and don't let go." He squeezed my hand tightly. "Agripa, will you take me out?" "No, I can't leave people here, believe me, everyone will be fine, including you." He pulled me towards the float, helped me climb onto the float, and then he himself stood on the top of the float . "Citizens of Rome, please stay calm and stay where you are from now on." He shouted loudly, "I, Agrippa, in the name of Octavian Consul, will keep you safe!" "It's General Agrippa!" Someone in the crowd shouted first. "It's General Agrippa next to Octavian!" "Oh my gosh, that's great..." "Also, soldiers, follow my command now..." Agrippa smiled and gave orders to the helpless soldiers, directing them how to evacuate the crowd. Under the sun, his whole body seemed to be coated with a faint golden light. Between his handsome brows, there was a gentleness that can be retracted freely, an unshakable firmness, a confidence to command thousands of troops, and ----- ---That comes from a strong inner self-confidence. The familiar feeling in my chest came again, as if something was about to burst out, and also, that unbelievable sense of intimacy and familiarity... It seems that I have experienced such a scene a long time ago... The crowd finally dispersed slowly, and he held my hand firmly from the beginning to the end. "Why, are you dumbfounded? It is undeniable that I am very handsome." He said this with a smile. I hurriedly shook off his hand and was about to refute him when the beautiful woman who was almost fainted suddenly woke up and threw herself into his arms, "General Agrippa, I'm so scared, I'm so scared , luckily you saved me..." Agrippa kept smiling, "It's all right now." He wanted to push her away, but he didn't expect her to cling to her tightly, and he didn't push her away after several pushes.of 8 Seeing his smile turned into a wry smile, I smiled at Mimi and said, "Ma'am, the beauty spot on your face has been wiped off." As soon as the words fell, the beautiful woman screamed, pushed Agrippa away with lightning speed, and looked for it in a panic in the car with her head down. "Why are you still standing there, get out of the way!" I pulled him up and slid off the float, and ran away. I don't know how long we ran before we stopped out of breath.I desperately patted my chest to comfort myself.I haven't exercised like this for a long time... "Oh, you have spoiled a good opportunity." He was actually unhappy. "Hey, I'm here to help you, Agrippa!" I looked at him depressed. "By the way, together with this sound, you called Agrippa several times just now." He laughed strangely. "If a slave doesn't respect his master, he will be punished." "Punishment?" I squinted at him, "Okay, okay, then I'll send you to that big beauty, okay?" After I finished speaking, I realized that I was still holding his hand, and quickly shook it off like chewing gum.Unexpectedly, this piece of chewing gum not only cannot be shaken off, but sticks even tighter. His voice whispered in my ear, "So, I want to punish you, come with me to Alexandria." I was stunned, and immediately realized that, by the way, Egypt is now in the period of the Ptolemaic Dynasty, and the capital of Egypt at that time was also changed to Alexandria.Immediately, a burst of joy welled up in my heart, "Really? Really take me to Egypt?" "But I'm not here to play, you understand?" "I understand, I understand, I will be obedient." I was almost dancing, getting closer and closer to the truth! "Are you obedient-----?" An ambiguous smile floated on his face, "Oh...it's really exciting." "Don't think about it." I glared at him, trying to shake off the piece of gum again. . "I seem to have heard someone say to be good, I'm afraid I'll change my mind," he said with a smile on his lips, and glanced vaguely at my hand that was seeking relief. Uh----------For going to Egypt, for my mission... Me, I can bear it!