Xu Guangqi was surprised when he heard this and asked Yinzhen for details. The Grand Duke took out the silver needle he took from Xu Guangqi last night and gave it to him: "Your Excellency, please see——"
Xu Guangqi took the silver needle that had been used to test for poison since his mission. Seeing that the tip had turned black obviously, he took a long breath and said: "Your Excellency, you didn't insert it into the egg yolk. You know, vulcanization It’s not just arsenic that’s in it.”
The Grand Duke of Tuscany shook his head like a rattle and said while wiping his sweat: "Of course, I didn't do that. Yesterday you told me how to use it. I just tried it in milk."
Xu Guangqi pondered for a moment, walked to the door and asked the attendant to call Wang Jiaping. When he turned around, he looked at the Grand Duke whose cheeks were flushed with fear and excitement, and asked: "Your Excellency, who else have you notified?"
"Except that my wife knows about this, I did nothing and came directly to you. Because I don't know the principle of silver needle drug testing and I'm afraid of misunderstanding. After all-"
Xu Guangqi nodded and smiled bitterly: "Your Excellency, I'm afraid it's not a misunderstanding." After saying that, he took out a new silver needle, tried it on the tea cups, milk and bread in the room, handed it to the Grand Duke and said: "If you don't meet Sulfur, it will not turn black, and there is sulfur in arsenic, which happens to be the most common poison."
At this time, Wang Jiaping was outside the door asking to see him. When Xu Guangqi opened the door and let him in, Wang Jiaping was startled when he saw the solemn expressions on their faces. He thought to himself: "Isn't it because the 'shen treasure' has eaten up the prince? Then I will make a big fuss." joke......"
Xu Guangqi was anxious and explained the matter clearly. Wang Jiaping let out a sigh of relief when he heard this, then frowned and said: "Your Majesty, your palace is not very safe. Are all the people who have access to the milk under control?"
Francisco I shook his head. Xu Guangqi smiled bitterly and said: "The Grand Duke was afraid of causing misunderstandings, so he came to me for confirmation first." Then he shook his head and said: "It seems that there are disadvantages in using too much porcelain. If you use silver tableware - then the poisoner will have to think about it." Think about it."
When the Grand Duke of Tuscany saw that Xu Guangqi confirmed that he had been poisoned, his face suddenly became extremely serious. He nodded to the two of them, bowed slightly and said, "I think I know what to do."
...
As guests, after expressing concern about the Grand Duke's encounter with this kind of thing, everyone in the mission could not do more, lest they exceed their duties as guests and even get involved in inexplicable chaos.
For the sake of absolute safety, the mission purchased and processed the ingredients themselves on the pretext of missing the local cuisine, so as to prevent the murderer from going crazy and accidentally injuring himself - who knows if there is any poison in that man's hand that cannot be detected by a silver needle?
On December 4, 1584 in the Julian calendar, the Grand Duke, who had disappeared for several days, appeared again in front of Xu Guangqi and Wang Jiaping, with a very ugly face.
After Xu Guangqi expressed concern again, the Grand Duke said with tears in his eyes: "My wife and I may have been poisoned for some time. I have found out that the poisoner was my personal servant, and he was instructed by Ferdinando. This is already the second poisoning."
After hearing this, Xu Guangqi nodded and said: "Your Excellency, as far as I know, after milk enters the human body, it will form a protective film in the stomach, which greatly reduces the power of the poison. Arsenic is a potent poison. You have no poisonous symptoms for the first time. , it should be that the poisoner did not understand this knowledge. And this time the murderer increased the dose, and he was detected by the silver needle."
When Wang Jiaping heard what Xu Guangqi said, he opened his mouth, but couldn't say anything to comfort Francesca I.
In fact, he and Xu Guangqi had already guessed that Ferdinando had the greatest motive for committing the crime since he didn't know whether his brother could produce an heir.
The archduke's eyes were red and he said: "I have ordered the secret arrest of Your Excellency the Cardinal. But this matter is not trivial - you two, I have to ask you to leave for Rome immediately."
Xu Guangqi nodded when he heard this. The Archduke continued: "Antonio is still young and he cannot handle this matter independently. I will officially recognize Carlo's identity and let him negotiate with the Holy See on my behalf. I hope that you can protect his safety."
Xu Guangqi was slightly surprised when he heard this. He pondered for a moment and asked, "Does this matter involve the Holy See?"
The Archduke nodded and said: "You know, since I took over, I have used Habsburg as my foreign aid, which has affected the interests of the Holy See to a certain extent. Ferdinando has always believed that this was a betrayal of the Medici in the Holy See. In addition, Antonio’s bloodline issue was also an important reason that prompted Ferdinando to commit the murder.”
Today, the largest family in Europe is the Habsburg family, and the most powerful of the Habsburg families is Felipe II of Spain. There is a profound conflict between the Holy See and Spain in their struggle for European dominance. On the grounds that Xu Guangqi arrived, the Pope issued a "peace edict" to create obstacles for Felipe II.
When Xu Guangqi heard this, he pinched a handful of jasmine seeds and felt a little regretful about taking in Carlo Medici. He now knows that the Medici have great influence in the Holy See - up to now, the Medici family has produced three popes since Leo X a hundred years ago. As for the cardinals and above, it is simply countless.
It is not surprising that among such a huge family, there is a Francisco I who is unwilling to be manipulated by the Holy See. However, Ferdinando tried to poison the Archduke, but the visiting delegation was also involved in the whirlpool.
As the Chinese envoy, Xu Guangqi should try his best to remain neutral among the political forces in Europe in accordance with the principle of maximizing interests. Although he is responsible for choosing collaborators for the emperor, he cannot easily decide for the emperor at this time.
If he takes Carlo to the Holy See, in the eyes of caring people, this can be regarded as a kind of siding with others. But from another perspective, when Xu Guangqi could not tell anyone he was neutral, letting Carlo Medici separate from the mission was an attitude in itself - a way to maintain relations with the Grand Duchy of Tuscany. Distance, even opposition, a kind of alignment.
Wang Jiaping saw him frowning and knew exactly what was going on. He reminded him in a low voice in Chinese: "Zixian, Spain will fall out with us one day."
The Grand Duke of Tuscany was no ordinary person. Hearing Wang Jiaping speak in Chinese - this was considered a disrespectful act, and after thinking about it in his mind, he knew what was going on. He immediately expressed his position: "Your Excellency, the Principality of Tuscany will remain absolutely neutral in the dispute between Seris and Spain - business is business, and we are willing to support our cooperation in the financial field with great sincerity. "
Seeing Xu Guangqi's noncommittal, Grand Duke Medici took a deep breath and said: "All Medici banks in Europe can support the redemption of Seris Bank's bills. If the mission can exert the necessary influence in the Holy See, I guarantee that Seris You’ll get more.”
For Xu Guangqi, the Archduke's promise was almost priceless - if he wanted to realize the emperor's idea of using finance to get involved in Europa, the support of the Medici Bank would be the most effective way to get twice the result with half the effort. His family is currently the largest banker in Europe, almost in All major cities had branches, and almost all kings were in debt to the Medici.
how to say? Wang Jiaping gave the Grand Duke "Shenbao" pills, and Xu Guangqi suggested that he use silver needles to test for poison. It was a gift from God to the mission. After the Grand Duke escaped with his life, out of gratitude and self-preservation, he actually offered the mission a price that was difficult to refuse.
The support of Medici Bank will give Zhu Yijun an extremely smooth start in Europe. Xu Guangqi even felt that there was an illusion of being arranged by fate.
He paused and said: "Your Excellency, I must discuss it with the people in the mission, and I will give you an answer tomorrow - at the same time, I need more information from the Holy See."
The Archduke nodded and said: "This is your right. But I sincerely hope that we can reach an agreement. The news I received from Rome today is that Gregory XIII is seriously ill and it is estimated that it will be difficult to spend this Christmas."
"Your Excellency, the whole of Europe is now looking at Rome."
