Chapter 14: Marrying an Old Wife is an Art

  Everyone knows what religion is all about. Take China for example, since Buddhism was introduced to our country, every few hundred years it would become a parasite of the state due to various privileges and then be exterminated once. The benefits of exterminating Buddhism are obvious, with national power being greatly enhanced. Christianity, because it became the state religion of the Roman Empire, naturally followed the same path as all religious powers, becoming a tumor of the empire. Over several centuries, the Eastern Roman Empire was left malnourished by the church. The emperors of the Isaurian dynasty could only strengthen national power by taking a knife to the church, but it is said that the church's influence ran deep in the blood and flesh of the Roman Empire, and ordinary struggles could not shake the church's foundation. Thus, the Iconoclastic movement was born. This movement was a sharp surgical knife, a useful weapon for imperial power to confront the vast yet corrupt church, bringing chaos to the Roman Empire, much like the Cultural Revolution, leaving the entire empire in a state of turmoil, but this chaos also had a sense of destruction before rebirth. Who let those monks get so fat? Originally struggling against the Arabs was barely holding on, but within a short few decades, the Eastern Romans not only recovered the territory lost in the early stages of internal strife but also gave the Islamic Abbasid Caliphate a bloody nose. The entire empire showed signs of revival, and if they could continue the Iconoclastic movement, perhaps it wouldn't take until the Macedonian dynasty two hundred years later to recover half of the Roman territory under Justinian's rule in the 9th century.

  But history has no ifs, and at this time a brain-damaged woman appeared, to be precise, a brain-damaged empress. The brain-damaged woman had the same name as the church, both called Irina. As an empress of the Eastern Roman Empire, she did not have Wu Zetian's ability, nor her means. But if we say that one of the contributors to the destruction of another world's Byzantine Empire is who, she counts as one, and still a great contributor, her merit is comparable to Cixi. Who let her sell out her teammates and interests as soon as she came to power, the blood and sweat built by the Isurian dynasty emperors over a hundred years were ruined by this woman in just five short years. That feeling, if I had to describe it, would be that after barely surviving the end of the Cultural Revolution, I was kicked back into the Cultural Revolution again because of that woman's rise to power.

  Bought a watch last year.

  But all this is still only the most brainless part of Irina's queen, she actually kicked her own son with one foot and became emperor herself, letting the Western Catholic Church and Charlemagne take advantage of it! Oh my god, if it weren't for her, the barbarians in Western Europe would not have been able to create the Holy Roman Empire. It is even more impossible for Catholicism to completely separate from Eastern Orthodoxy on moral grounds! To know that the Bishop of Rome has always been just one of many bishops in Constantinople. The ridiculous thing is that this woman still gloated over winning the friendship of the Catholic Church, and finally had the absurd idea of marrying Charlemagne to complete the revival of the Roman Empire.

  Damn it! A woman like that, who sells out her teammates, would have been considered a disaster on the level of Empress Dowager Cixi in the 20th century. But she was born in the 9th century, so she was made a saint by the Eastern Orthodox Church. It has to be said that Queen Irene really helped the Eastern Orthodox Church a lot, because her erratic behavior led to a significant resurgence of the church's power. After she was exiled, the nobles, generals, and local governors who were supported by the church engaged in more than 60 years of internal strife, which delayed the revival of the Roman Empire for over a hundred years until the Macedonian dynasty.

  So, marrying a wife is an academic subject, an art that is no less than military science. Unfortunately, so far, there has been no man who thoroughly studied and wrote a book similar to "The Art of War" by Sun Tzu.

  It was just a moment of distraction, and the attendant leading the way in front stopped his footsteps. I knew that my destination had arrived.....

  A bit nervous....

  The attendant who stepped aside to one side was like a large gate, slowly revealing the mysterious thing hidden behind the door, hmm, treasure? Wealth? Treasure? Or, is it more intimate?

  The woman walking towards me with a smile on her face is indeed more suitable for those adjectives.

  Because when I first saw her, the first thing that caught my attention was her enchanting eyes, with brown pupils as deep as a whirlpool, and in the space between her eyebrows and eyes, there was a hint of natural and gentle spring-like charm. At first glance, I even thought she was batting her eyelashes at me, and only after that did my line of sight move away from those eyes to look at her face.

  She looks younger than the age that Old Man told me, her delicate facial features are almost perfect in my modern aesthetic view which has been bombarded with information of 21st century. The only shortcoming is that this exquisite face is a standard little secret face, with eyebrows and eyes as charming as a fox spirit, and the movement of her eyes is full of charm.

  She probably also understands her own facial features, so everything is dressed around this feature.

  A woman's silk gauze triangular hat, several long bird feathers stretching out from the top of the hat like a noblewoman stretching her waist, are expensive longevity bird tail feathers, decorated with silk thread edges, below is a large piece of snow-white skin and slender waist supported by a tight-fitting corset, a dark-colored silk satin pleated skirt with deep purple gold-edged amethyst decorations.

  The overall atmosphere is very solemn, and the price is very expensive. To be blunt, this woman has dressed herself in a Mercedes-Benz, which costs at least 3,000 to 4,000 Solari. I guess today is the day for serving the Holy Mass and meeting me, so she chose a more serious and dignified outfit. However, even so, her lethal power remains strong, not to mention her plump red lips, but that mole on the corner of her eye is like the finishing touch of a painting, and the gaze of the elderly bishop in front of her is the best proof. And she doesn't care at all, completely used to men's gazes...

  "The master, this is Mrs. Leonidas." The servant introduced me.

  "I come from the house of Seofano, madam. You may call me Nikiforos... or simply Nikis." I forced a smile to my lips, but somehow it didn't feel quite natural. What exactly felt unnatural about it, I couldn't quite put into words.

  It seems that my judgment was correct, and things have indeed developed in the direction I speculated. So all of this is crystal clear. That cheap old man is sending a signal.

  A signal to everyone that Alexander is his heir. What better way to convey this information than by marrying someone who, despite not being of noble birth and having no powerful family backing him up, is incredibly wealthy? And what better way to soothe the negative emotions my son will likely experience upon learning this news than with a stunning beauty?

  As for why I don't like her, I think she must be a very difficult woman to deal with. Also... this woman's private life is probably not decent.

  I smiled faintly and waved my hand, indicating that we could sit down on the bench first. This gesture seemed to leave the woman somewhat at a loss, and she hesitated for several seconds before following me with her small handbag. This was normal, according to etiquette, if I extended my palm, she should kiss the ring on my hand, and if I didn't make any gestures, she should bow her head in greeting. Hopefully, my kind intentions didn't seem too awkward.

  The front row of the long bench, I sat down, and the beauty also sat down, and a fragrant scent filled my nostrils instantly. A very fresh smell, it's a rare white lily perfume. This made me a bit surprised, I thought someone dressed like her would use overly sweet to sickly rose perfume.

  "Ma'am, are you a bit nervous?" Noticing the beautiful woman was somewhat unnatural or stiff, I said as she turned her head to the side, "I am too, after all from childhood to adulthood, I have never been this close to a woman."

  Damn it, I said the wrong thing, nervous, of course I'm nervous, damn it, being nervous is what I'm good at... completely self-destructing... this is just the beginning and I've already shown my weakness!

  "It's a great honor for me." The beautiful woman smiled again, with another flirtatious glance.

  "What does the lady think a prince's life is like?" I didn't deceive her, because at home there was a perverted old man, and in the palace, all the attendants were rough men. But why should I say this, she wouldn't be interested in my daily life... Interesting topic... Where is the interesting topic? Who can help me out?! Heaven, it's really true that 'when you need a book, you regret not reading more'. When flirting with girls, I found that I didn't know how to flirt before, and now I don't know how to flirt either.

  She carefully observed that I wasn't joking, then revealed a slightly astonished expression: "This is indeed somewhat unexpected."

  Look, what a diplomatic answer... Alright, I give up, whatever, I'm powerless anyway.

  As expected, Wendi soon found out my depth through a few simple conversations, and then she put down her awkwardness and restraint. Our soft conversation didn't last long, the bishop on the podium began today's worship service.

  I sat on the chair in a daze for several hours and finally waited until it was time to pay.

  According to the unwritten rules, the wealthy people sitting in the front row usually donate gold coins or other precious items. Those who make large donations can even wait until the end of the mass and then go find the church steward to tell them the amount, so that they can be recorded and someone will come to collect it later. If the amount is substantial enough to satisfy the bishop's appetite, they may even receive the bishop's blessing and friendship.

  But I only took out one dinar.