Augustus Road

"I always cherish freedom and put it above money." - Nivias.

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At this time, the court was even more crowded. Men and women from the slums, carrying chair legs, iron rods, chisels and other things, rushed to the court from the shanty towns of Avendini Mountain, Subura District and Maximus sewage ditch. Some of them received signals from Claudius's followers in advance, and some came spontaneously to protect the future tribune. They were not interested in the secret affairs of the nobles. Since Claudius could give up his noble status and become one of them, and was willing to fight for all the people living in shanties and "floating island" apartments, they were willing to show a million points of loyalty. This group of people quickly dispersed and beat the wealthy citizens who had gathered at the steps of the court's colonnade to watch the excitement like a violent whirlwind, and then threw stones, wooden boards or iron-hard single-grain wheat relief bread into the court, like a storm, and the followers had to remove the feather boards or portrait boards in the court to resist.

The chief judicial officer Catullus looked calm, while Cicero was a little scared. He was afraid that he would not be able to go home after the adjournment. "Dear Cicero, you must know that you are the father of the country, and you have lifetime immunity. This is a privilege granted to you by the Roman Citizens' Assembly when crushing the Catiline conspiracy. No one dares to hurt you. Don't be afraid." Catullus firmly cheered Cicero.

Cicero, who regained his confidence, led the group of prostitutes to a row of robed men, "Since you all said that Knight Carapis and his adopted son Claudius spent 500 or even 800 dinars on each of you and reveled all day and night, you must recognize which one of them is them?"

The prostitutes began to scratch their heads, hesitating and prevaricating in front of everyone, pinching and touching the men. Cicero, Catullus, and Lucullus in the spectator seats all sneered. Yes, Cicero has successfully proved that the new knight Carapis is lying.

What awaits Carapis is the beating of the entourage's staff and a fine of 10,000 sesterces.

The beating was carried out on the spot. Carapis knelt in front of the colonnade, right at the junction of the inner and outer parts. The jury and the mob who were watching saw his execution clearly. The stick came down hard on his back. Although there were only ten hits, it was a bloody scene. The cheers and cries of sympathy from the mob outside were overwhelming. They regarded Carapis, who stood up for Claudius, as a famous hero.

Claudius, who returned to the dome patio, looked at Cicero with a gloomy face and terrifying eyes.

Cicero was also a little angry. He really couldn't believe that this young man who had fought for Catiline's conspiracy and came to his house respectfully from time to time to ask for advice on rhetoric and speech, and the young man he had been optimistic about, was actually a silver stick scum who seduced his wife privately, and was the ghost of Catiline who still lingered in the world after his death.

So Cicero decided to kill Claudius and completely destroy him. The last witness he summoned was his neighbor on the Palatine Hill, Claudius's sister, Claudia.

Then, Cicero attacked Claudia frantically. He pulled the slave girl from her ex-husband's house to testify that she had an ambiguous relationship with her brother: "Fifteen-year-old Claudius still slept in the same bed with you in the name of being afraid of the dark. All Romans regarded the scandal of you two siblings as an appetizer on the table."

"I heard that your nickname is Little Copper Coin. Your lover once promised to give you a bag of silver coins, but you opened it and saw that it was all copper coins."

"You and those playboys [], not only on the yacht of Bea, but also in various places in Rome, hidden backstreet corners, dirty crossroads, as long as you think that the person who enjoys you is useful, you are always like a prostitute to sell yourself. You seduce those men of noble birth who sit in the first fourteen rows of seats in the theater, leading them to moral corruption, but you are not like the noble men of noble birth. Lowly civilians are messing around in bed, and you even seduce young children who are still playing the walnut game, hurting their vitality and virginity! "

"You use the most vulgar civilian language to talk to people, corrupting the customs of the Roman city, and you still want to win the rights of women in the social arena. Your brother is a good example you have educated. Not only will I let your brother receive the due punishment for invading the high priest's house this time, I will also make him lose the qualification to run for the tribune."

Cicero was merciless, and although Claudia was attacked to pieces and her brother's fierce roars rang in her ears, she still kept a rare silence like admitting it. But when Cicero threatened her brother's qualifications for taking office, she even begged the most powerful orator to give her family a break, because for the Claudius family, political future is life. Luculas, who was sitting in the audience, stopped laughing, looked at his ex-wife and brother-in-law, and then looked at his adopted son who was lying on the ground gasping for breath after being beaten with a stick. He was silent for a while, and felt that he had had enough fun in this comedy, so he left his seat and went back to Villa Prima.

At this time, along with Cicero's hearty victory, the noise of the mob outside became louder and louder, and more and more terrifying. Even the members of the jury began to tremble. "Whether your brother is qualified depends on whether His Excellency Julius Caesar thinks it is necessary to punish him, but I believe Caesar has such a wish. Your brother's future is over. A person who is convicted will automatically be disqualified from running for consul or tribune, just like Catiline did in the past."

But after Lucullus left and Cicero summoned Caesar to testify in court, for a long time, until the mob outside lit torches, Caesar still did not come.

Finally, an old slave from the Julius family in Subura entered the court after obtaining permission, saying, "The master has left Rome and gone to Spain to take up the post of governor."

It was like another bomb explosion. Catullus was extremely puzzled, Cicero was furious, Claudius was shouting and screaming, and Carapis sneered secretly, "But before leaving, the master said that he was unwilling to make any statement on this matter. He himself had no hatred or hostility towards Claudius, but Caesar's wife's chastity was not allowed to be doubted, so he divorced Pepeia."

"Okay, the jury can vote." Catullus said angrily. It was late, and he had seen enough of this farce.

After a while, a jury member stood up tremblingly, looked at the torches everywhere outside, and began to apply for "voting protection" from the legal officer Catullus, because they were afraid that they would be cruelly retaliated after leaving the court. (To be continued.)