At the end of the Tang Dynasty, it was a feudal town, but in Western Europe

Raising the wine glass, although Pepin's body is slightly hunched, but at his current height of nearly 1.8 meters, this rickety looks extremely majestic: "Tomorrow, my father will have a banquet for dinner, and he must raise the issue of being king. At that time, when I become king, each brother will have an earl, and I will give each of you a bachelor. You don't have to worry about anything except fighting, eat and drink every day, collect gold coins and sleep with women, how happy you are."

"I don't care about the Earl." Souris stood up and raised his glass. "Your Highness, I want to be the Steward of the Knights. When I went out, my father said that if I could become the Steward of the Knights, he would go to the old sow in the pen. I can't wait."

"Hahahahahaha!"

Another Vineyard brother said loudly: "At that time, I will leave everything to the secretary, and I will travel around the mountains and rivers on weekdays. I have long wanted to go on a pilgrimage to Jerusalem. I really wanted to go when I was young, but unfortunately the travel expenses are too expensive."

Another big man with a beard said: "I've always been curious about the stories Alibaba told. Maybe we can find a big spice island, so let's post it. All folk songs and epics will remember me."

Pepin laughed boldly: "Your names will definitely be included in epics and folk songs when you are under my command! There will be a day!"

Everyone's eyes became more intense, and they naturally knew what it meant.

Sitting on Pepin's lap, Sarah suddenly asked, "Where is the banquet?"

Pepin shook his head: "You just recovered from a serious illness, and I didn't want you to go."

Sara raised her head stubbornly and said, "How can I do that? How can I not have a female companion? I have to go. I am your wife. The more they disapprove, the more I will go."

Pepin knew Sarah's character, and what she decided, nine cows couldn't pull it back.

"Okay, but you have to be careful, I will find someone to protect you, don't stay too far away."

Chapter 4 and Five

In a castle near Poitiers, there was a rush of people, peddlers, nobles, followers, priests, people of all colors, and people of various identities were trading or talking in the streets and open spaces outside the manor.

Pepin was wearing a blue robe, the edge of which was embroidered with gold silk into stripes of ears of wheat, a purple belt wrapped around his waist, and he wore a sachet embroidered with dragons and jingling jewels.

In order to hold a banquet, Charlie conscripted the castle and manor that belonged to the local earl. At this moment, Pepin was standing outside the dressing room inside the castle, waiting for Sarah to come out.

Leaning on the colonnade, Pepin was still thinking about the banquet. Today, no matter what, he had to settle the matter of becoming a king. He had talked about this matter with some familiar local nobles and village elders.

If the conversation at this banquet goes well, Charlie can directly make him King of the Visigoths. If it doesn't go well, it can only be proposed at the rally.

If it doesn't work, to be honest, Pepin doesn't really want to use this trick, so he will ask Feng Sen to cooperate. At that time, in order to prevent Pepin from falling to Feng Sen, Charlie will have to seal him if he doesn't.

Charlie could think of the fact that Pepin and Feng Sen partnered to seize power after his death, and Pepin could naturally also think of it. He could even predict that the first thing Charlie would do when he had nothing to do was to treat Saxony with tenderness.

And once Pepin and Feng Sen form an alliance in a substantial sense, there will be a situation where Feng Sen is pressed and Pepin is replaced, and Charlie will not let this happen.

Although this method is good, it feels like forcing Charlie to do things.

Although Pepin has long been less concerned about getting his father's approval than before, Charlie is the king of Frank after all, and it is hard to offend him.

After thinking carefully about the future for a while, Pepin felt something was wrong. Why it had been so long and Sarah hadn't come out yet, his expression changed, and he rushed in with big strides.

"Your Highness, you are not allowed here..."

"Go away." Pepin easily kicked down the entourage who blocked him, and strode towards Sarah's dressing room.

Before entering, a shrill female voice came to my ears.

"You bloody sow! Heretic!"

"Under the eyes of the Father, how dare you wear your veil, is it because you are too ugly to see others?"

"Shut up your arrogance, this is the land of the Father!"

"Bang!" The door was kicked down by Pepin, and the expression on his face, anyone who knew him well knew that it was the expression of murder.

In the small dressing room, a maid seemed to have been pushed down. She was clutching her ankle, her left face was red and swollen, and she pointed at Sarah and cursed. On the other side, a maid was pulling Sarah's robe while trying to remove her Take off Sarah's veil.

Sarah hadn't recovered from the wind and cold, and she pushed down the maid who was on hand before, but now she was pulled by the strong old maid, and she couldn't use much strength.

"Pi, His Royal Highness Pepin." The old maid who was holding Sara's robe saw Pipin at first sight, and she let go of her hand immediately, "Your Highness, the duchess's dress is not proper..."

Before the old maid could finish speaking, Pepin's precision-forged dagger lay across the old maid's neck, frightening her so much that she couldn't move.

"If I wasn't afraid that your blood would stain my clothes, I would have killed both of you." Pepin's eyes were cold and calm, "As a punishment for bullying the master, I'll cut off your noses."

"Your Highness, we belong to the queen... ah—"

Before the old maid could finish speaking, the fine forged dagger swept across the nose of the old maid, and cut off the nose of another young maid in the same way. Pepin kicked the maid who was lying on the ground: "Get out."

The two maids, one old and one young, held hands, covered their noses, and left the room. Like headless chickens, they wandered around the castle for a long time before thinking of looking for the queen.

The two first went to the pharmacist to stop the bleeding, and then limped into the side corridor of the castle hall. At this time, the hall was brightly lit, surrounded by long tables, and the nobles were eating suckling pig and fish soup with their juices flying wildly.

By the time the two had stopped the bleeding and looked for the queen, Charlie's feast had already begun.

As servants, they definitely cannot enter the banquet scene.

So they first found Fastelada's personal maid, and made some emphatic remarks. The maid was startled at first, then lowered her head, quickly squeezed through the dancing crowd, and got to the side of Fastelada, who was talking and laughing with other ladies.

After listening to the personal maid's narration, the smile on Fastelada's face gradually froze, and even turned blue in the end.

Her gaze swept to the Pepin and his wife who were in the middle of the banquet, talking with the earls and knights. Some of the Xingyue Sect scholars that Charlie took in even had a good chat with Sarah.

But again, apart from those leaning towards Pepin, many priests and nobles stood aside with indifference, and many people were looking at Pepin with disgust and disgust.

Seemingly noticing Fastelada's gaze, Pepin turned around, smiled, and toasted the queen, making the queen's face gradually change from livid to red.

"Get out!" Fastelada slapped the maid on the face, and then her eyes focused on the heathen named Sarah.

After staying on the chair for a short while, Fastrada got up, pleaded guilty with several other ladies and left.

Charlie's face was also not very good at the moment. At the banquet, more than one earl, even Alcuin, asked him to make Pepin king.

Some of them were following the trend, some were legalists, and some were trying to test Charlie's mind, but they were blocked by Charlie one by one, but Charlie knew that this was not the way, and he had to give an answer after the banquet was over.

"I'm drunk." Charlie can't drink much wine, and can't eat meat. He can only eat fruit and "vegetarian meat". He has long been impatient. He stood up and said to the nobles, "I'm going to rest. You continue to play music and dance...Pipin, come and help me back to the bedroom."

After Charlie's speech, although the excitement of the whole banquet continued, the atmosphere changed quietly. Many people focused on Pepin and even stepped on the partner's feet several times, but the partner didn't care. He also stared at Pepin.

Taking a deep breath, Pepin whispered to Sara: "Wherever you go, don't let the guards go too far from you. If something happens, shout, we are not afraid of them."

"If something happens, I can cut off the head of the wrongdoer, you go, this is very important to everyone."

Nodding slightly, Pepin stood up, walked around the table, and with a warm smile on his face, he held Charlie's arm, showing a touching scene of fatherly kindness and filial piety.

After the two left, those little nobles who were following the trend would naturally not chat with the heretic Sarah, and the Xingyue Scholar whom Charlie took in also went elsewhere.

Sara sat alone in her chair, enjoying herself at ease.

"Mrs. Sara, the queen invites you to chat with her in her bedroom." A tender-faced little maid timidly ran to Sara's side and said.

"Ma'am." The guard leaned over and whispered in Sarah's ear, "It's best not to go."

Seeing that Sarah frowned, with the intention of refusing, the little maid hurriedly added: "It is for the throne of King Visigoth and His Royal Highness Pepin."

Sara narrowed her eyes and said after a few seconds of silence, "I see, let's lead the way."

Home: Brother [-] Chapter Father Kindness Son Filial Piety II?

"There's no fire in the stove." Sarah's guard Daddario said angrily, "It must have been done by that damn poisonous woman."

Sitting on the bed, Sara wrapped her body in a towel and was drying her hair. When she heard Daddario's words, she couldn't help but smile.

She remembered the scene just now, the maid who splashed water was beheaded in front of Fastrada, and then the queen was so frightened that she came to Sarah with a bloody scimitar.

Originally, he wanted to get back the scene, but he lost even more face, which is a bit funny.

But this was her own fault, obviously the queen invited her to talk, and obviously other male attendants were allowed to enter, but the guards she brought couldn't do it, so they forced her to hang out in the cold park for half an hour.

Even when Sara left in the end, she pretended not to be careful and poured a basin of "foot washing water" on Sara's body, giving a bad breath for the queen.

But they didn't expect that Sarah was not an ordinary lady who was willing to be insulted, and they didn't expect that Sarah, a woman, could actually bring a machete into the castle.

"Mrs. Sara, please cover yourself with the quilt first. Don't catch a cold. I'll get some firewood." Daddario bowed to Sara.

"Go, be careful." Sarah lay down on the bed indifferently.

The strange thing is that she obviously didn't feel very tired, but inexplicably, she fell into a deep sleep as soon as she touched the pillow.

After sleeping for an unknown amount of time, Sara felt hot and sore all over her body. She managed to open her eyes, but saw that the fire in the room was still not lit, and Daddario, who was going to fetch firewood, was nowhere to be seen.

"Daddario?" The hoarse voice in her throat made Sarah think it was someone else speaking, "Daddario, I need water."

There was no answer in the dark room.

Sarah supported the bed board and wanted to stand up, but she had no strength at all. Her body was hot and cold, and her brain was even more chaotic. However, after years of dancing with blades, she quickly understood the situation.

Daddario may not come back in a short time or even forever.

But it doesn't matter, Sara knows that there is still Pepin, and if he can't see her, he must come to look for her, as long as she bears with it for a while, it will be fine, it will be fine.

Hiding in the thin quilt, Sarah waited in a dream and waking state.

"Pipin, Pepin..."

"Pipin." Lying on the throne, Charlie suddenly said, "You hate me, don't you?"

In the empty hall, only the stove was emitting raging flames, and the dark wind blew in, making the flames in the brazier start to shake.

After helping Charlie to sit on the throne, Pepin was standing aside at the moment, trying to pour Charlie a glass of water to sober up.

Hearing this, Pepin paused when pouring water, but soon straightened up again: "You are my father, how dare I hate you?"

"You say you don't dare, not that you don't hate. Even an ordinary Frank will hate me after experiencing this." Charlie patted the armrest of the throne with a hint of drunkenness in his tone, "If you say no Hate, who would believe it?"

Pepin turned around with a smile and handed the water to Charlie: "Who made me a Carolingian?"

Charlie laughed loudly, and then carefully looked at this hunchbacked young man. He was majestic, unlike Anthony who had a thick beard, he only had a short beard under his chin and lips.

"It was a heavy burden for your mother to name you Pepin."

"This is my mother's wish, and I want to be worthy of the name Pepin."

Charlie snorted coldly: "The owner of this name kicked his monarch off the throne, locked him in a monastery, and usurped his position. Are you going to do the same?"

Standing in front of Charlie unhurriedly, Pepin looked into Charlie's eyes without timidity: "I have always admired the Merovingian monarchs, but the will of the heavenly father made my grandfather make this decision, so if one day, the heavenly father wants me to do the same, I will do the same."

Facing his father's murderous eyes, Pepin calmly seemed to be wandering in his own garden.

"For the sake of the throne, can you imprison your father in a monastery?" With wide eyes, Charlie stared at Pepin like a man.

Pepin's face didn't change at all, he just straightened his waist and looked into Charlie's eyes: "You are the king chosen by the heavenly father, I believe that day will never come."

"Bang!" Charlie slapped heavily on the armrest of the throne, but did not continue to say anything.

The sound of the servants walking in the corridor was transmitted to the room through the wooden boards, and the dust in the room was flying in the vibrations. Whether it was the gold wire on the edge of Pepin's robe or the red and sapphire on the crown on Charlie's head, the dancing firelight was reflected.

Whether it was Charlie or Pepin, their faces were looming in the flickering firelight.

"Hahahahaha."

Charlie laughed boldly and broke the silence: "This is my son, this is my son! You are indeed my son, Charlie, and a Carolingian!"

There was also a faint smile on Pepin's face.

"Okay, okay." Standing up, Charlie went to the stove to stir up the flames, "Then let me ask you, if one day you became the king of the Franks, what would you do in the face of the current situation?"

"I will relax the reform of the nobles in the area of ​​​​the Seine River first, and even give certain preferential treatment, and then concentrate the policy and reform in one place." He said, "I will concentrate my main energy on both sides of the Rhine River. If the kingship is to be concentrated in the hands of the monarch, it will not be a matter of time. Cutting off one prince today and cutting five princes tomorrow, the stronger I am, the weaker the enemy will be. After that, the whole of Frank will naturally be firmly in control."

With a cold snort, Charlie continued: "Then let me ask you again, if you are the king of Frank and the nobles below all oppose your wife because she is a heretic and does not recognize your son, what should you do?"

Pepin thought for a while before cautiously saying: "I have always believed that the Heavenly Father is right and must be able to embody the truth in all things. In arguing with the heathen, is it possible that the absolute truth of the Heavenly Father can't compete with those fallacies and heresies?

As long as private fights are not allowed, I think it is a good thing to have heretics. They are like a mirror. The more you argue, the clearer the way of the Heavenly Father. As for them not acknowledging my child... Carolingian’s child does not need their acknowledgment! "

Caressing the armrest, Charlie's eyes were burning: "But this kind of internal friction is too much. What if you change a wife, for example, I know you like that woman, but what about making her your lover? Is it possible that I like Fasterada Is it? Why don't you have a baby with her?"

Pepin shook his head slowly: "Father, behind Sara are Berbers and Chinese craftsmen, the Star Moon Church rooted in the Iberian land. Although these people will be eradicated in the future, they are still my solid supporters now. Once I lose their support, I will fall into the abyss."

"The Franks are also your solid supporters."

"Really? I don't believe it."

Tensions rose again, but this time it was broken by a squire who trotted in through a side door.

He first made a accusation, and then he said a few words in Charlie's ear. Charlie immediately frowned, glanced at Pepin, and said to the attendant, "You handle it yourself."

After the verbal confrontation just now, Charlie's face gradually softened, and he even spoke a little lazily at the moment: "Do you suspect that I took the opportunity to seize your power?"

"I just don't want Iberia to fall into the hands of the desert herdsmen again. We can't face three enemies at once." Pepin replied imperceptibly, "I don't represent their interests, but now their existence can feed back to us. You also know that the trade in the Mediterranean is monopolized by the Saracens. The reform of the Tang Dynasty requires commodities and metals. Iberia is a good channel. Maybe we can reproduce the glory of Rome."

With a long sigh, Charlie was silent for a longer time before rubbing his temples and said: "Well, let me give you a proposal, I will arrange for you an orthodox Frankish wife, an Austrasian, and she will marry you.

As long as you say yes, then your Sarah, I neither recognize her as your wife nor deny it, I will no longer target her and you, and will make you King of the Visigoths, don’t worry, I will make a will in front of the Pope, after my death, you will inherit the Frankish Kingdom! "

Slowly raising his head, Charlie looked into Pepin's eyes without any expression on his face: "What do you think?"

Pepin did not speak.