Chapter 52: Celebration (Part I)

"No, it was the Jaffa Gate." Cesar, out of caution, did not say that if someone wanted to fulfill the identity in the prophecy, the price would be huge, and it was definitely not something a slave could pay: "The King even explained to me why the Jaffa Gate had to be made in the shape of a square."

"He must have liked you quite a bit back then." Geoffrey said.

You are still seizing every opportunity to sow discord, Cesar thought helplessly. On the way back, he turned around and looked at the Golden Gate from afar.

——————

Amalric I refused the Byzantines' request, but to appease the princess, he generously promised that at the welcoming ceremony, starting with him, every noble in Arasalu would wear Byzantine-style gorgeous clothes, and the subsequent banquet would also be Byzantine-style, so that the princess would feel at home.

Some nobles had complaints about this order. They usually wore loose robes and turbans, but if it was to cater to the "daughter of the Eastern Emperor," they became a bit unwilling.

But then they thought, in the negotiations, Amalric I had already won that the wedding ceremony would follow the holy standards of the Latin Church, not the standards of the Orthodox Church. The so-called clothing and meals became insignificant details—those who could climb to this position were not fools, so of course they shut their mouths.

"I think the princess should be satisfied." Bohemond said.

Looking at it, even in the early spring without flowers, the road from the Jaffa Gate to the Castle of the Holy Cross was already full of colors. Actors were in place on the wooden platforms, dressing up as characters from various historical periods, and there were all kinds of props. The silver manger at the birth of Christ was surrounded by the Virgin and saints, and the spice box on the side was inlaid with jewels; the wooden boat that Antony and Cleopatra rode was covered with gold and silver at both ends, and there were two children dressed as oarsmen rowing; Psyche sat in a flower cluster made of silk, opening her arms to welcome the winged Cupid...

And under these high wooden platforms, on both sides of the road, crowded the spectators. They were squeezed together, full of expectation. Whenever there was such a joyful scene, the nobles would always generously throw gold coins to the crowd. What's more, for them, being able to see a king marry a princess in this life was already precious enough.

"Are they here? Are they here?" they asked eagerly, standing on tiptoe. However, these were all people who had never seen the world. The experienced ones were all listening attentively, listen, that's the trumpet, flute, and drum sound. They were faster than horses, and had already arrived with the wind. They're here, they're here, they're here!

The first wave was not the nobles of Arasalu, nor the officials of Byzantium, but a group of pilgrims—the treatment that the Holy Land envoy Count Etienne had enjoyed, the Byzantine princess also enjoyed. These pilgrims were about a thousand, occupying a long stretch of road. People laughed and booed at them, but they didn't take it to heart, just constantly praising God, praising Christ, and using every word they knew to boast about today's king and his bride.

Unlike Count Etienne, these pilgrims didn't have the guts to follow the motorcade. They just acted as a vanguard, and behind them followed a dozen or so minstrels wearing striped or multi-colored clothes.

They played the lute and sang songs, their voices soft or high, singing about the romantic affairs of Charlemagne's daughters, singing about how the love flower of the mortal Anchises I and the goddess Aphrodite brewed the fruit of Aeneas, and also singing about how King Arthur's close friend Gawain was willing to marry the ugliest witch to save his master...

Behind them were sixteen carriages, carrying the Byzantine princess's dowry, exquisite furniture, smooth silk, and even gold and silver utensils. People couldn't help but feel dazzled, and even the shouting became lower. Fortunately, this symbolic motorcade passed by quickly.

Following closely behind were the teams of monks and clerics, some from the Latin Church and some from the Orthodox Church. They were clearly separated, walking on both sides, each holding icons and crosses. Several acolytes carried incense boats and held gold basins, and the clerics constantly recited prayers and sprinkled holy water on the crowd. Those who were blessed were all extremely excited.

At this time, several loud horn sounds rang out again, and people fell to the ground like wheat rolled over by a storm.

Several light cavalry rode across the road. Every once in a while, they would blow their horns. Behind them was a band beating small drums and blowing trumpets. They wore gorgeous yellow velvet jackets and tight dark green trousers, and dwarves drilled among them.

The King's flag with the white-bottomed yellow Arasalu cross, the Byzantine Emperor's flag with the purple-bottomed golden double-headed eagle, the Antioch Principality's flag with the shield-shaped lily, the Tripoli County's flag with the two-colored cross, and the flags of the various lords or legions of the Holy Land were all erected high, fluttering in the wind.

The knights held spears like a forest, following behind the flag team with solemn expressions. Their armor was bright, they wore clean surcoats, and their horses were all strong. Their hooves knocked on the gravel road, crisp and loud.

Their squires and armed attendants followed in a mighty procession.

Behind them was a large group of dignitaries riding horses, wearing silk, sable, and wool, shimmering with the light of pearls, jewels, and glass, including lords and noble ladies.

Amalric I was surrounded by his ministers and lords, walking in front of a huge gilded sedan chair.

This sedan chair was as big as a small house, but there were only guardrails around it. The fine gauze curtains had been hooked up with gold hooks so that the people of Arasalu could see their new mistress.

The Byzantine princess was only fifteen years old this year, wearing a loose-sleeved Byzantine-style robe, with a sleeveless coat on the outside. The robe was golden silk, and the sleeveless coat was purple. The cuffs, collar, and hem were all adorned with pearls the size of fingernails. She wore a white wool headscarf that covered both her hair and neck, with a golden crown pressed on top.

Two maids served her, and Byzantine ministers, officials, and warriors walked around the sedan chair.

People were still cheering, but the sound of cheering was significantly smaller. Although the Byzantine princess's attire was extremely luxurious, compared with Amalric I's first wife, the Countess of Jaffa—that mediocre face was originally unremarkable, and against the backdrop of gold, pearls, and purple silk, it looked even more dull. Although it could be seen that she had dressed herself very carefully, it only made that originally somewhat childish face even more mature and stiff.

Undoubtedly, those attracted by the name of the Byzantine princess would feel disappointed, and their attraction was soon drawn by the animals behind the gilded sedan chair.

Christian doctrine does not allow believers to walk into the arena like the ancient Romans to watch the mutual slaughter of animals and people, and people and people, but the Byzantines still had drama, music, and gambling, as well as other interesting entertainment items, such as animal training. The father of Empress Theodora, the wife of the 6th-century Byzantine Emperor Justinian I, was a bear trainer.

These wolves, tigers, leopards, and bears in wooden cages were all specially collected by various parties for the Byzantine princess's wedding. They could also be said to be part of the dowry. Compared with the not-so-beautiful princess, these majestic wild beasts could arouse more exclamation from people. Children ran around following them, and there were bold attendants and squires shouting on the side, but when they wanted to tease them, they were fiercely driven away by the servants guarding these wild beasts.

No one noticed that a wooden cage that shouldn't have appeared in this procession was also swaying and being dragged by six strong Shire horses, appearing at the end of the team. Just a hundred steps after the cage containing another bear passed by, a knight asked casually: "Is this also a bear?"

"A mother bear." The Byzantine official responsible for escorting this cage replied. He was dressed almost exactly the same as the previous inspectors, and the attendants walking beside the cage also wore clothes of the same pattern, so the knight asked just out of curiosity, not vigilance: "Is it big?"

Look at the deep ruts (the gravel was pressed into the road surface), and the wheels that seemed to collapse at any time.

"It's okay," the official said with a smile, "It's pretty good to be able to hold on to here."

The knight thought that the Byzantines might mean that this big bear would become the prey of the knights in the subsequent hunt. He almost wanted to lift his spear and uncover the coarse burlap covering the wooden cage, but he held back.

"Why did you talk to him so much?" As soon as the knight walked away, an attendant approached the official and questioned him. Judging from the tone, his status was actually higher than the official's, but the official didn't seem to care at all, "We have all entered Arasalu. What other problems do you think will arise—it's you, the person you bribed really hid the mother bear's cub in the reliquary?"

"I watched it being put in and then put into the sedan chair with my own eyes."

——————

Princess Maria suddenly heard a scream that stopped abruptly. While continuing to smile at the crowd, she turned slightly to the side.

"I accidentally knocked over a box—but Princess!" The maid whispered in panic, showing the opened reliquary to the princess. This reliquary containing the hair of the Virgin Mary was to be placed on the altar by the princess herself. Inside should be silk and a few strands of dark hair, but what she saw wrapped in the silk was a furry little animal. It was already dead, but there were no obvious bloodstains on its body.

An ominous sign, this was the princess's first thought. Was it the women around the Emperor, or the ministers who opposed this marriage, or the clerics and believers of the Orthodox Church? The Latin Church hated the unruly Orthodox Church, and how could the Orthodox Church not hate the Latin Church, which had arms that were too long?

For Amalric I and Manuel I, this marriage involved more secular cooperation, and there was not much faith component. But standing from the perspective of the Church, making two disobedient rulers feel embarrassed made them happy. As for the Saracens, would there be no kings willing to launch a third, fourth, or more crusades without Amalric I and Manuel I?

But just a few breaths later, the princess knew she had thought wrong.

——————

Baldwin and Cesar followed Amalric I. They had not yet become official squires, and in such a queue, they could only be counted as embellishments. The sons of dignitaries like David and Abigail were also around them, but because these guys had previously betrayed Prince Baldwin, it was difficult for them to have the face to laugh and talk with him now. David had been secretly looking at them, and Abigail was hanging his gloomy face.

"Where is William?" Baldwin asked suddenly.

David was stunned for a moment, "What?"

"I just saw him go to the back, he went to..." Before Baldwin finished asking, he heard a terrified, almost tearing scream from behind. He immediately turned his horse around (fortunately, they were still riding adult horses this time) and rushed out before everyone else, with Cesar following him closely.

It was the onlookers who screamed, "It's a beast, a beast has run out!"

Several wooden cages were opened, and the wild beasts inside all ran out. In order to keep them quiet, their diet had been intentionally reduced these past few days—before the hunt began, they should have been lazy and reluctant to move.

But once they got the chance, they erupted with wisdom and strength beyond human imagination. Some just wanted to pounce on a person and have a big meal, while others didn't care about anything and fled to places with fewer people first—people watched them running towards them, baring their snow-white teeth, with bright red tongues exposed. How could they remain calm?

There were also brave knights and squires who went up to fight the wild beasts, but this instead aroused their ferocity. More intercepted wild beasts began to tear and scratch, and blood almost immediately splashed on the brown sandy soil and gray-white stones.

No one noticed that a black-gray mother bear was walking slowly among the chaotic herd of beasts and the crowd. It raised its head, sniffing the bloody smell in the air. Suddenly, it found its cub and also smelled its death. It ran forward quickly—it was hard for people who had never hunted bears to imagine how fast, light, and agile such a huge creature could run. Some knights saw it, but couldn't react in time.

At this time, a maid who thought she was clever wanted to take advantage of the chaos to throw away the cub in the reliquary.

Before she could let go, the mother bear arrived. Unlike humans, it didn't roar to the sky before attacking. It had already smelled and seen its cub, and immediately locked onto the target—the gilded sedan chair.

Princess Maria's face was gray. She didn't expect that what these people wanted was not just to make her look ugly and leave a regret or a root cause for the marriage to break—these people had directly pulled the firewood from under the cauldron!

The mother bear rushed to the sedan chair, and with one claw, it broke an official's spine and smashed the head of a sedan chair slave. The sedan chair fell to the ground and fell apart.

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 53 =====