CHAPTER 12 #3
Finally, Easter arrived, and the city's theaters began to stage the usual mythological stories, with the traitor Judas always portrayed awkwardly, like a clown.
As was customary, their group made their way to the Florence Cathedral to participate in the prayers and the Holy Kiss ceremony.
It was an old tradition—two or three hundred years ago, it was the practice for the congregation to kiss each other to bestow peace upon one another.
However, because kisses between opposite sexes could provoke accusations of heresy and defamation, the Church later decreed that people were only allowed to kiss someone of the same sex.
Eventually, it was changed to kissing metal plates and holy images.
Their group stood in a long line, passing the metal plates to one another under the watchful gaze of the bishop.
"Peace be with you, my brother."
Lorenzo placed the silver plate down, and people began to bow their heads and kiss the plates as they passed them along.
"—And with the Holy Church."
Hedy took the silver plate, absentmindedly giving it a kiss.
She had had a restless night due to menstrual cramps and hadn't slept well.
Da Vinci took the plate from her hands and suddenly remembered the romantic novels of ancient Greece, Ovid's poetry, and Merodach's line, "I told the maiden she was beautiful, and then I kissed the holy image."
He paused, realizing the bishop was watching him, so he quickly lowered his head and kissed the plate too.
It just happened to be the same spot she had kissed.
There was a slight warmth and a faint citrus scent lingering on it.
Hedy...
He snapped back to reality, realizing he had unconsciously taken a deep breath.
The young man looked at the girl beside him in a fluster, but she was gazing up at the holy image in the stained glass.
The bishop's voice echoed from afar, sounding distant and surreal.
"—May it accompany your soul."
——
I heard that the lord from Milan has successfully proposed, and next month there will be a grand wedding at the Alberti family’s mansion.
As Hedy was determining the fermentation rate and preparation scale of penicillin, she was also listening to various rumors from all directions.
Some said that the passionate and domineering lord had used both coaxing and deceit to tame the charming noble lady, while others claimed it was another transaction between two noble families.
Some even claimed to have seen Sforza out and about having fun with another woman, but this statement seemed somewhat dubious.
Listening to these gossip, Hedy didn’t take those dramatic conspiracy theories seriously.
In this era, noble marriages were quite common—Lorenzo’s sister was one such example.
The Medici and Rucellai families had a close and cordial relationship, with frequent business exchanges.
The palace where she had gone for a late-night emergency was located on the western side of the city, right where the emerging textile district was developing. Even the entire workshop she had purchased was nearby.
The young Mr. Rucellai not only came from an ancient lineage but also had a long-standing good relationship with the Medici brothers. Ten years ago, they had even celebrated Pope Sixtus IV’s election together.
Political marriages not only allowed families to exchange resources and stabilize their positions but also helped to unite against external enemies.
She snapped back to reality and continued reading the data in her notebook, feeling light and cheerful.
Thanks to Da Vinci, the mold on the melons, after being purified and fermented, had greatly improved in speed, much to her relief.
If the factory continued to expand, they could even steadily supply medicine to the entire city.
Of course, this new medicine was expensive and rare, but at least it was now able to treat two or three patients every month.
The wealthy had caught wind of this and began to show even more enthusiasm in currying favor with the Medici family.
Just at this crucial moment, Lorenzo had summoned her again.
"Council of a hundred? Me?"
"Think about it," Lorenzo said, lowering his head as he reviewed documents about irrigation channels. His tone was casual. "An old gentleman died of a stroke, and if you're willing to participate, Mr. Rucellai and a few others from the leadership group are willing to select you."
She froze for a moment, her expression still a bit uneasy.
It wasn’t that she feared politics or was inherently timid and weak.
It was just that this sudden act of goodwill was unexpected and beyond her comprehension.
"What are you thinking?" Lorenzo finally lifted his head, studying her expression for a few seconds. "You’re doubting, aren't you?"
"Does this Council of a Hundred have any women in it?"
"There weren’t any before," Lorenzo said, taking a sip of water. "But now there can be."
"Is it safe enough?"
The lord fell silent for a few seconds, slowly standing up.
"You may have misunderstood the essence of this."
"Placing you in such a position is actually meant to give you more authority and protection from those in power."
At that moment, Hedy suddenly understood the implications of his words.
She wasn’t in a safe position at all.
The reason for this was, once again, because of the newly discovered medicine.
In this world, anything precious and beautiful was destined to be watched, coveted, and plundered.
The penicillin she held was a medicine capable of curing diseases that had stumped doctors for centuries. It was almost like a miracle, capable of bringing people to their knees.
If Hedy’s only role in this world was to know the formula, she might have been erased without a trace, with the Medici family alone safeguarding this secret.
But what she understood was far more than just this formula revered by many nobles.
She was, in fact, like a miracle herself.
From microorganisms to maternal and child care, from pharmaceutical preparations to the strategy of war, there was almost no field where she couldn’t make a difference.
And unlike those dreamers who liked to speak in vague terms, almost everything she proposed could be immediately tested and utilized.
It might take Da Vinci months to prove whether his dredging method worked. Many quacks also sold so-called "miracle medicines" under the banner of heresy.
But only her penicillin injection could make symptoms subside overnight, much more effective than bloodletting or enemas.
Such an existence couldn’t be plundered or erased.
To reap long-term benefits, it could only be given the utmost protection and association.
"First of all, your current identity is that of a distant relative of the Medici family, but you are also of noble birth."
He walked around the desk and slowly approached her.
His deep, melodious voice was as smooth as velvet, almost like a radio broadcast.
"Secondly, it’s not unusual for women to participate in politics."
Hedy snapped back to reality and took a deep breath.
"From Eleanor of Aquitaine to Queen Margaret I, right?"
He smiled. "You may not be able to become an empress, but you can still be loyal to me."
In the Middle Ages, women had a significant impact on politics and war.
For example, Eleanor of Aquitaine, known as the "Grandmother of Europe," had married both the King of France and the King of England.
In her seventies, she still wielded political power in England, raising funds and recruiting soldiers for the Crusades.
She even single-handedly carried a huge ransom to Germany to rescue her son.
Another example was Queen Margaret I of Denmark, who seized power at the age of twenty-two. Over the following years, she unified Sweden and Norway and played her political games with ease, almost controlling all of Scandinavia.
Ironically, in the past century, the status of women had steadily declined, and they were even denounced as sinful beings.
The Roman Catholic Church and today’s mainstream Christianity believed that women were "fallen creatures who tempted men into sin" and unworthy of education or equal treatment.
But Lorenzo himself was a rebellious lord. He could openly oppose the Pope, encourage Botticelli to create numerous pagan mythological works, and do whatever he saw fit for the benefit of his family and himself.
If Hedy joined this parliamentary-like organization, she could easily become another voice for the Medici, helping him pass decrees in more fields.
"I’ll join," she said with a smile. "I’d be delighted to."
The news quickly spread among the families, sparking anger in some and a sense of relief in others.
As for Hedy, her prestige in Florence had risen dramatically. She had saved many wives and children, and she possessed the kind of miraculous medicine that could bring the dead back to life.
She shared the formula for making light blue oil paint, which allowed many artists to breathe easy and provided employment for workers in nearby cities. Verdigris was heavily mined and sold, often found at Christmas markets.
Lord Kiesler was learned, benevolent, and generous, and his speeches at the Florence Academy left many scholars in awe, with admirers and worshippers aplenty.
Equally important, she was also one of the Medici family members who guarded the city.
This alone was a powerful reason.
Now, the people's parliament and elections had been abolished, and there were no opposing factions fighting for power.
Just last year, Lorenzo had restructured the government, creating a council made up of thirty leaders and seventy legislators.
It followed the ancient system of life terms, with vacancies filled by internal elections. In essence, it was a form of monarchical absolutism and centralized power.
When Hedy first heard the news about this reform, she had thought to herself about the necessity of centralized power in this era—rather than letting a bunch of ignorant fools take turns at the wheel, it was better to weld a capable person to the seat.