Lin Gao Qiming

Chapter 1476 Mistress

"Your praise is exaggerated," Lucrezia chuckled.She was wearing an Italian-style gown, with her attractive shoulders and neck exposed, and she covered her mouth with an embroidered scarf in one hand, and let the lace sleeves slide down, revealing a section of jade arm, which is enough to make all Spanish men Fascinated by it.

"I can't be Euterpe. But you, my lord, all the wisdom and talents of Mars and Orpheus are gathered in one person. Give me the beautiful song you wrote, "Spain the Beautiful" Girl", this gift is really precious."

"A lascivious ditty," said Sanabria, who had heard it sung in taverns and various occasions, and wanted to sarcastically.But he didn't speak after all, just snorted a few times.

"It's an honor for me."

"——I'm afraid I may not be fully worthy of your precious gift," the hostess' clear voice continued in a pretentiously coquettish tone: "I am not beautiful, and I was not born in Spain." There was a murmur of whispering in the crowd.

"I was born in Madeira, grew up in Porto, married in Naples. Until I came to the Philippine colony, I never had the opportunity to set foot on the mainland of Spain. But under the patronage of His Majesty Philip, I have traveled everywhere but in His greatness and mercy bathed in the Spanish sun."

The whispering of the guests turned into a loud uproar, and the male guests took off their hats and respectfully put them on their chests and shouted: "Long live the king!" Taking advantage of this enthusiasm, the count announced that he would play a song for A march in honor of His Majesty Philip.He played the harpsichord in a new way that the audience had never seen before, and at the same time signaled the small band next to him to follow him with the sound of the piano and gestures.Those Filipino musicians were obviously very talented in music, and they actually played the whole piece completely.Although a modern listener would find the solo and ensemble performances rough, thin and dull, the "Majestic March" is played without any prestige.But the reactions and emotions of the guests were unprecedentedly high. The applause and cheers fell like a thunderstorm. The male guests waved their hats and the female guests threw down their folding fans. Shake the earl's hand.Sanabria was caught in the crowd and walked forward involuntarily. When he finally stopped, he saw a warm woman holding the earl's hand to her lips. The two noble ladies, regardless of their identities, Fighting over the handkerchief the count put on the piano-lid.In addition to the jealous resentment, the richest businessman in the colony increasingly felt the humiliation and anger of being ignored by people.

Suddenly, a strong wind blew up.The female guests screamed and held down their skirts, avoiding the falling petals and leaves.Most of the lantern candles floating in the garden pool were blown over and extinguished.As soon as you look up, you can see that the dark clouds that only hovered on the horizon at dusk have now covered the middle sky.It was evident that the weather was going to turn bad, and the garden play could not go on.

Mrs. Charlo was still in high spirits. She greeted the guests to return to the house, and walked ahead with Earl Vananova on her arm, holding the hem of her skirt in one hand.Sanabria wanted to follow, but was blocked by a group of guests who followed closely and wanted to get close to the count.The light from the burning torches under the porch shone into the house through the glass windows, and the servants walked back and forth to light the candlesticks one by one.Sanabria found that in the depths of the corridor where the candles had not yet been lit, a shrine was illuminated by the faint light of the torch coming in through the glass window, and a figure in a black robe was kneeling in front of the statue of the Virgin, like a priest Pray.

Who would that priest be?Sanabria knew that the late Baron Charlo had always been quite indifferent to Domino, who was dominant locally.Although Mrs. Charlo presides over the Church of Mercy in Manila, she is more closely associated with the Jesuit-inspired Macau fundraisers than with the local congregation.There was no time to speculate, or even to take another look at the shrine.In a blink of an eye, the crowded crowd pushed him into the large living room, and he was involved in a whirlpool of music, wine and feasts.

The clouds accumulated in the evening finally turned into a boundless rain curtain and poured down to the capital of the Philippine colony after nightfall.The Baroness Charlo's villa is like an active water system, and the corridors lead the flow of people to the living room like a river, which is a sea of ​​brilliant lights.The walls were densely lined with lamps, and the servants filled the tables and cabinets with candlesticks, and hundreds of Australian candles were lit as if they were free of charge.This kind of candle not only has a bright flame, but also does not have the black smoke and unpleasant stench common to other candles, so it is sold at a high price in Manila and has become a gift for the rich.Glass, china, and silver gleamed in the candlelight, as did the jewels and silk dresses of the women, and the ribbons of medals of the men.Guests came in a steady stream through the rain, some whispering, some talking and laughing, unlike the formal banquets given by the governor and mayor, everyone wanted to enjoy themselves in the home of the most beautiful lady in the colony Have fun.

"Hey, hoo, look who's here?" cried Don Basilio, who chased after every feast in Manila as much as he emptied the purses of all the shipowners who came to port.The attention of the guests was attracted by the shout of the port tax collector, and they saw a man entering the hall on tiptoe, as if afraid of stepping on something unclean and soiling his shiny Persian sheepskin boots.Apart from the count, this man can be called the tallest man in this hall, but his figure is slender rather than strong, with a thigh-length velvet coat, a belt full of gold and silver embroidery, stockings tied with bows and The garter belts accentuated his playboy frailty.

The visitor ignored the other guests, including the tax collector.He tossed his head out of habit so that his brilliant blond hair would shine even brighter in the light.With his left hand he is twirling his well-groomed mustache, and with his right he is fiddling with a gold-painted cane.He walked proudly through the crowd, squeezed in front of the count, and stretched out a hand tightly bound with a lace cuff: "Don Eugenio García Zapatero, loyal follower and servant of His Royal Highness the Doge Greetings to you." As if afraid of being crushed, he quickly pulled his hand out of Weiss's palm, then grabbed the baroness's slender hand, and respectfully put it to his lips.

Weiss took two steps back, pretending to avoid the "perspiring" mayor's wife who was rushing towards him with her arms outstretched, took a glass of Madeira from the servant's tray, and walked to the finance officer. Andrade's side. "Is that gentleman a local celebrity?" The earl asked in a chatty tone, "Maybe it's because I rarely see such elegant celebrities in the eastern colonies."

"Eugenio García Zapatero, File Superintendent, Secretary of the Governor's Office," Andrade took a sip of the sherry and covered up a sarcastic smile, "or you can call him Mr. Salamanca In this day and age, every peninsula person who is willing to condescend to come to the East India colony can add a "Tong" before his name on his own initiative, even if he is just a poor guy who can't pay his debts in his hometown, or A fugitive who escaped from a hard labor ship."

"It is said that he also writes a Latin sonnet for His Excellency every week. Last week he wrote a poem to celebrate the Governor's relief from constipation." A bored young gentleman who never misses any sarcasm Besides, the clerk's blond hair is as suspicious as his Latin, "Mr. Count, if you could also write a little Latin poem, Mr. Secretary would be like Sanabria." Hate you. Now, he has only a little hostility."

"Hostile, why?"

"Ah, isn't it enough that the song you played has mesmerized the ladies of Manila?" The young gentleman played with the glass in his hand, "I'm worried, Mr. Earl, your popularity as a woman will make you many enemies... "

"And you too?"

"Oh, I'm not in urgent need of a respectable widow to enrich my pockets, but there are many people in this place who covet the money and—the title." The young gentleman looked forward to being surrounded by stars. Mrs. Charlo, who was sitting, glanced at it.

Andrade couldn't help laughing "hehe" a few times, because his nephew was also one of Mrs. Charlo's many suitors.In the face of property and title, the age gap is obviously not a problem.

During this conversation, the two of them failed to hear Eugenio's compliments to the hostess, but Lucrezia's crisp laughter still came over: "---Although it is a pity that His Highness cannot be welcomed, but you It is very kind to bring greetings from His Excellency the Governor."

"Where has the Governor gone?" Captain Iker Suvisareta asked with a strong Basque accent.This silly question was immediately countered by Eugenio: "Master Salamanca personally went to inspect the newly built fortifications in Cavite. Even if the weather was bad, he decided to stay in the barracks overnight. From Madrid to Manila, I can swear in front of the Savior and the Holy Mother that an official like His Majesty Salamanca who devotes himself to the noble cause of God and the King is unique and hard to find in the world!" The governor's secretary waved his hands and began to show his incomparably noble passion With absolutely deep emotion, it seems that he will use the torrent of words to drown out all the remarks that are not good for the governor.In the end, it was the count who rescued Captain Suvissareta from his embarrassing situation, and proposed that, as a token of respect for His Royal Highness, he would play the "Majestic March" again.

(End of this chapter)