Augustus Road

"I would rather be asked why I don't have it than why I have it." - Cato's remarks against luxurious Hellenism.

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Before, when all the black slaves were exhausted, Demetrius finally squeezed out some stuff, and although Princia was itching with hatred in her heart, she could only flatter him, kneeling at the Jew's knees, and carefully licking a few drops of smelly stuff with her tongue.

"Now I can't stop Lepidus from taking revenge on you, but don't worry, the chief legal officer will receive my commission by then, and you will definitely walk out of the court innocent, and your business and reputation will not be affected. After the completion of the Pompeii Theater, you will still sit in the first fourteen rows and take the lead in standing up and applauding the performing troupe." Demetrius was very happy, and pinched Princia's mouth with his hand to prevent her from spitting it out, and said.

Sure enough, a few days later, Lepidus sued Princia, but he did not sue her personally, but instructed a young nobleman to do so. In this way, when Princia appeared in court, she finally felt relieved. In addition, Demetrius spent a lot of money to hire a very powerful lawyer for her and bribed the jury votes one by one. Therefore, Princia was charming when she sat in the seat, with a slightly raised corner of her mouth: as long as she waited quietly for the jury to cast a predetermined number of votes, she would be acquitted.

However, the price of fighting with Lepidus was too bloody. No matter who is eloquent and wants me to get involved in the affairs of Pompey, Caesar or Crassus, I will never do it again.

At this time, in the Prima Villa, in the study surrounded by fish ponds and springs, Lukulas and Marcos were sitting in armchairs. Kelly brought the letters from Caesar and Lepidus. After reading them, Lukulas said to Marcos in a reproachful tone: "Don't play this dangerous game in the future, brother. Also, that vicious woman Princia is almost as scary as my ex-wife. Don't contact her in the future, let alone take my ring casually."

Over there, Marcos pouted and sat listlessly in the chair, a little angry. Lukulas shook his head and touched his head, feeling that his energy and brain power were indeed declining. If this continued, he would gradually lose the ability to protect his brother. Now, he could only ask Kelly to keep all the seals and confidential documents in the house under strict supervision, and pray that Marcos would not cause any trouble next time.

This time, let Lepidus teach that vicious socialite a lesson.

In front of the Temple of Virtue, cumulus clouds were dark and dense, dyeing the temple buildings painted with various bright colors with a hazy gray. This was the "battle headquarters" of the tribune Claudius. Every morning, Claudius would come to the temple under the protection of hundreds of supporters, wearing an exaggeratedly large cloak, white goose feathers on his head, and ochre-red boots. The steps here had been demolished under Claudius's instructions, because he publicly said to the people: "What are steps? They are evil things that distinguish people from each other. If I were born a few hundred years earlier and saw an architect invent this thing, I would push him off the Tarpeia Rock!" There is no doubt that his move excited the people. It was crazy enough that Claudius would give up his noble status to join their ranks. People like this kind of guy who makes crazy moves from time to time, don't they?

In addition, the four walls of the Temple of Virtue were demolished, leaving only the external side, which was transformed into a defensive wall by Claudius's followers. Wooden sheds and ladders were set up on it. Every day, a large number of street thugs armed with sharp knives would light torches and guard here day and night, intimidating the kind and timid citizens passing by. The temple thus became a place where Claudius and his gang committed crimes. He also followed Lepidus's advice and established a "sign-in system" to register all the hooligans, prostitutes, rogue noble youths, and guild leaders in Rome on his own list. These people had to prepare to gather at the temple every morning. The fireworks and excrement smoked the originally beautiful goddess murals beyond recognition. On the wall paintings, the graceful goddess of virtue stroked the blackened clouds on the wall, looking down at the most violent elements in Rome with her peaceful and beautiful eyes. Soon, even the goddess's face was engraved with words - three groups of Latin words, "serious, fanatical and lively", which seemed to be Lepidus's gift and exhortation to Claudius.

When Lepidus stood in front of the temple in a long robe with his hands raised high, countless thugs and ruffians gave him a thumbs up. Claudius first arrived at the door, and when he saw Lepidus, he threw his cloak "swish", looked at each other from a distance, stood with his feet splayed out, one hand on his waist, the other hand slightly raised, his eyes looking at him fiercely, then walked down and circled Lepidus several times, and then the two hugged each other warmly (sorry, these dramatic poses that can arouse the enthusiasm of the people were all given to Claudius by Lepidus, and the effect was naturally extraordinary).

"Don't worry about re-election, Caesar has promised me that after he leaves office, all the affairs of Rome will be decided by you, and Pompey has also agreed!" The good news brought by Lepidus made Claudius burst into tears.

"Thank you so much. You don't know how timid and worried I was before because the adoption issue was not resolved. Now I will make a big move in Rome and let Caesar and Pompey know how wise it is to choose me as the tribune." Claudius's boast is completely correct. Maybe he is indeed a villain, a hooligan, and a stallion with a decadent private life, but he has a talent that even Lepidus can hardly match in inciting populism and driving the people to go through fire and water for him. He can be called the leader of the "chaotic evil camp".

"Before the big move, I suggest you make a small move, just as a practice." Lepidus suggested calmly, "This time you will lead the team to attack the Roman court. Caesar will step down soon. At this critical moment of deciding whether he will serve as the governor of any party, Claudius, you will play the most important role!" Then he loudly encouraged him.

"No problem at all." Claudius agreed, and waved his hand at the guard wall. The gangsters immediately blew the horns and flutes that were only used in the army. Countless men and women in tattered clothes, like a group of evil ghosts rushing out of the gate of hell, held up all kinds of weapons and rushed towards the court. The Temple of the Goddess of Virtue and the court were only separated by a large square.

At this time, the debate in the court had ended. The young nobleman invited by Libida was obviously at a disadvantage, and the chief legal officer also announced that the jury could cast their own fair votes according to their own views and feelings. Princia was confident of victory, and her eyes were rolling at her defense lawyer, obviously wanting to embarrass the young prosecutor, "Since you are standing on the opposite side of my enemy, you are not blessed to enjoy the favor of a beauty." (To be continued.)