readease Chapter 73 It's Love
Chapter 73 It's Love
Three days later, it was time for Munch and Julius to be executed.
The place of execution was a field far away from the center of Rome.
A row of rusty crosses was set into concrete blocks.Under the midday sun, the guards set up ladders, hoisted Munch and Julius with a crane, and tied them to a high cross.
By order of the emperor, the two were tied to opposite crosses.They will watch each other suffer and die.
The thorns wrapped around the joints and the waist, the small thorns on the top penetrated into the flesh, and a wedge-shaped wood was placed under the soles of the feet to support the weight of the body, which could delay the time of death and create longer pain.
The guards standing around will keep watch until the prisoner dies.
"Talent and tactics can't beat the coincidence of fate." Julius said with anger, "We failed..."
He swallowed gold, and the toxicity has been slowly onset in the past few days.Coupled with the punishment, it has come to the end of the day.
Munch looked a little better than Julius.His blond hair and blue eyes had long since faded, tarnished like a long-winded portrait.
Under the hazy daylight, he opened his eyes with difficulty through the flying sand in the wilderness, and looked at Julius.
"Do you regret it, Julius?" Munch said with a complicated expression, "Without my instigation, you would now be drinking fine wine in Sicilian vineyards instead of suffering here..."
"I don't regret it..." Julius half-closed his eyes, "The moment I promised you to rebel, I foresaw the current ending. Up to now, the only thing I miss is that you will suffer more than me die..."
Menxi felt a tightness in his chest, and roared with all his strength: "Why did you do this?! You clearly know...I'm just using you..."
Julius smiled and said: "That night, when you castrated yourself and came to me, I accepted you with the mentality of playing with your first love. After getting along with you for a long time, I found the feeling of being young again. I was like When I was a teenager, I fell in love with you hopelessly again. You brought me back to life..."
Menxi pursed his lips tightly, and the muscles on his face twitched slightly.
"So..." Julius struggled to say, "Even if I knew I was going to die, I still wanted to do something for the one I love like a young man when I was getting old..."
The corner of Mengxi's mouth twitched, and tears flowed out violently, dripping onto the back of his feet.
"You are too stupid, Julius." Munch said sadly, choking, "but I am not qualified to say that you... I am also stupid. I spent my whole life of love and hatred for two dead people. The saddest part is that I'll never be able to squeeze between the two of them..."
Julius gradually became confused, his vision began to turn white, and he forced his consciousness to say: "Fate will not let us go because of reluctance, Menci."
"Yeah..." Menxi sighed, "I despised eunuchs, but I had to eunuch myself to become eunuchs. I hated Thales all my life, but I ended up with him."
He said with grief and indignation: "I get what I hate."
Julius forced his eyes open, and the severe pain in his stomach caused by swallowing the gold gradually disappeared.With the last consciousness, he asked: "So, are you willing to correct me now? Mengxi. If there is a next life, will you abandon me like you did before... In other words... will you choose me or Kaka?" Ligula?"
Menxi burst into tears, with a face full of grief, looked at his eyes that were about to close, and promised with a sore throat: "...you."
When Julius heard the answer, a smile appeared on the corner of his mouth, and he closed his eyes completely.
……
After the death of Julius, Nero took all the military power from the city center to the remote provinces.Apart from Augustus, the founding father, he was the first emperor to develop absolute power.
Nero held a ceremony and officially appointed Rhodes as the Chief of the Guards.Although several bold elders expressed their opposition, they did not dare to impeach too much because they were afraid of the emperor's monopoly power.
All dust settled.
The manor on the top of the mountain was brightly lit at the moment.
Grilled fish sprinkled with shredded cheese is served, the charred skin of the fish is covered with pink and white meat.The slave took a table knife and peeled off the crispy skin of the roast suckling pig, and the nuts stuffed in the belly gushed out, steaming with the smell of meat.
The cook cut a long loaf of rye bread and divided it among three silver platters.
Nero throws a small family dinner, with only his mother, Agrippina, invited.
Agrippina wore an orange veil with black pearls stuck to it.Lying on her side with an elegant posture, she pinched off a small piece of bread, dipped it in fish sauce, and put it in her mouth.
"The new chef's skills are good," she said, chewing.
Nero was lying alone on the main sofa, eating a burrito covered with roasted nightingale's tongue as if eating a candle.With a thin body, he was alone on the empty sofa.
"Look at you, it's like eating a rock you can't chew," said Agripina.
Nero seemed uninspired, and replied in a neutral tone: "I don't like nightingale's tongue. It smells very fishy and has a strange texture."
"Eating more nightingale tongues is good for your speech and rhetoric." Agrippina wiped the bread crumbs off her fingers, "From now on you should learn from Caesar and eat a little bit of nightingale tongue with every meal. "
Nero glanced at her flatly, "I don't need to fight everywhere like him to conquer military power, and I have to give inspiring speeches every time."
Agrippina held a glass of wine, still chewing on bread, thoughtfully, "I'm curious, and I've always wanted to ask you, how did you get those generals who didn't give in easily to voluntarily hand over their military power? ?”
Nero took a sip of wine, "It was the leader of Reco of Gaul. He took the initiative to hand over the herald, and helped me persuade the governor of the Germanic province. The military forces of the two major provinces surrendered to me, out of fear , Those little generals who only have local corps naturally follow their example."
Agrippina wondered: "Why did Lei Ke take the initiative to hand over power?"
Nero put down the silver cup, with subtle tenderness in his eyes, "Because of Rhodes. Rhodes saved him when he was in Gaul."
Agrippina raised her eyebrows knowingly, and pinched the silver cup with her nails painted with cochineal syrup, and drank the wine in the silver cup.
"Where's the newly appointed Chief of the Guards?" She laughed, "Why didn't he come with you tonight?"
Nero was excited for a moment, but soon became depressed again, "He said he didn't like to lie down and eat."
Agrippina's eyes swept over his face, the corners of her mouth curled up, she put on a serious expression, and said seriously, "It's a pity, I wanted to meet your queen and teach him how to be a virtuous spouse... ..."
Nero, who was drinking, suddenly choked and coughed twice, his pale complexion turned red instantly, "I thought you wouldn't accept us..."
"Of course I couldn't accept it at first, but now I like him." Agrippina said.
Nero came to the spirit, "Why?"
His mother smiled: "It is because of him that the relationship between our mother and son has eased a lot, hasn't it?"
……
After sending Agrippina away, Nero changed out of his greasy clothes, washed briefly, and then walked into the bedroom.
The carved marble fireplace burns, and the fire dances in the newly repaired mosaic murals.Four pillars carved with sacred birds and bay leaves supported the corners of the ceiling, on which gilt-leaf candles burned.
Rhodes lit a plate of nutmeg, loose and white lace-up underwear, covering half of his thighs.
Nero put down the curtain made of silk cloth, his eyes stuck to the shiny skin.
"Your mother is gone?" Rhodes blew out the incense candles.
Nero walked in front of him, stroking his thick black hair with one hand, and wrapped his other around his waist, sticking to his lower abdomen.
Thumbs caressed his iconic red lips.Nero held Rhode's face, "Have you been in the bedroom?"
Rhodes nodded, with a faint smile on his sharp lips, "I'm waiting for you to come over."
Nero tightened his arms, stared at his black eyes, and asked meaningfully: "What are you waiting for me to come over?"
Rhodes didn't speak, he hugged his neck and kissed him.
The fresh nutmeg flickered and dimmed.This spice burns the slowest.
When the flame reaches the end, a vertical smoke rises up, with a faint sweet smell.Nutmeg burnt out.
Rhodes was lying on his side with beads of sweat on his forehead.Nero hugged him tightly from behind.
"Nero..." Rhodes closed his eyes, his voice was very soft, the name overflowed from his bright red lips like a dream.
Immediately afterwards, he called again in a low voice: "Nero..."
Nero kissed his shoulder blades and asked, "What's wrong?"
Rhodes was silent for a while, and said: "It's nothing, I just want to call your name... I miss you."
Nero tightened his waist, and pressed his cheek against the back of his wet head, "I'm right here."
They take a break.Rhodes got out of bed, his white body showing a golden yellow of turpentine in the firelight.
A gap was opened in the tightly-woven wooden window, and a gust of cool wind blew in, blowing on the red and hot cheeks.
Rhodes lay on the wooden window frame and looked out through the gap.Under the white lacquer-like moonlight, the grass on the top of the mountain glowed a little tender blue.
"Spring in Rome is coming." He expressed the feeling that many Romans have been expressing recently, opened the wooden window wider, and looked down the mountain, "It seems that the flood that made you in debt has receded."
Nero came behind Rhodes, and moved his hands on his smooth back, "The flood has receded, and the shopping street at the foot of the mountain is being built, and it will be profitable immediately."
Rhodes couldn't help chuckling: "I want to thank that flood, it saved me. If I jumped down and encountered hard ground instead of water..."
Nero's expression became tense, and then he also lay down on the cool wooden window frame, and looked out the window with him.Moonlight illuminates their lips and chins.
"Although the flood made me heavily in debt, it saved you. Who would have thought that the disaster that caused me to be heavily in debt would actually save my lover at a critical moment... The so-called good and bad are just temporary illusions." The wool-like silver hair was blown by the cool wind, Nero's eyes were lost, and he said with emotion.
Rhodes turned his eyes sideways and stared at Nero for a long time, from the gray and silver eyebrows, to the freckles, to the sharp and thin chin.He said seriously, "You've grown up, Nero."
Nero also turned his face sideways, his brown pupils became mature, "Because of you."
"Me?" Rhodes asked suspiciously.
"Yes." Nero said bluntly, "You can give me a complete erection, Rhodes. Not only physically, but also mentally."
Rod smiled.He took Nero's hand and kissed the back of it.
"I love you." His dark eyes sparkled. "My Lucius."
……
As the fifth emperor of the imperial era, Nero never married a wife, let alone had children.
At the age of 40, under the advice of the elderly Agrippina, he adopted Octavia's youngest son as his adopted son.It is a consolation to Claudius who was poisoned by her.
Octavia's youngest son inherited his mother's gift for reading and writing, and his father's quick wit.Fortunately, however, the child was in good health and did not inherit the hunchback of his mother and grandfather.
Like Nero back then, he is also a direct bloodline of Augustus and is recognized as the heir apparent.
Known for his diligence and closeness to the people, Nero has a good reputation no matter whether he is a nobleman or a commoner.The only thing worthy of impeachment is his same-sex relationship with the sensitive Rhodes.
The emperor never married and had no heirs.In Rome, which prides itself on procreation, it caused some controversy and ridicule.But despite this, most people think he is a wise king.
The emperor and his personal guards were inseparable, sharing the same bed, waking up together in the quilt every morning, bathing and falling asleep together at night.
At the age of 70, Nero voluntarily abdicated to his adopted son, and moved to Naples with Rhodes, where he spent his later years.
They have lived together for more than 60 years.
Until one day, the pale-haired Rhodes died in his sleep.At that time, Nero often returned to his youth because of his old age.Less than three days after Rhode's death, Nero clamored to go to Cyprus to buy olives by boat, but he caught a cold from the sea breeze, and finally died at sea with a smile on his face.
"Rod, you've come to pick me up..." These were his last words before he died.
The old house slave who took care of Nero all his life had gray hair.He has witnessed all the ups and downs of Nero and Rhodes from young to old, and when he heard this sentence, he couldn't help but burst into tears.
They stay together for a lifetime, and truly love only one person in their life.
Life and death are irresistible.Under the oppression of fate, they have won the maximum freedom.
The new emperor held a luxurious funeral for them. Each other's coffins were put into the tear jars they had prepared when they were young, and the two urns were buried in the same tomb.
In front of the tomb, two stone tablets were erected, engraved with the epitaph they reserved for themselves.
Nero:
"There is such a term.It has been eulogized from generation to generation. It is a belief that transcends religion, a panacea to relieve loneliness, the source of all the goodness in human nature, and the premise for two souls to break through the restrictions of the body.But this name has been repeatedly stolen by flesh│lust...』
Rhodes:
"It's love. 』
(End of text)