Ferdinand stood in the corridor with a gloomy face, and not far behind him his faithful retinue waited for the king to vent his anger.

Queen Isabella again rejected Ferdinand's proposal to build a dam on the upper Ebro, and not only that, but she told her husband in a very positive tone: "As long as I live, you will not see this dam built." ”

It was the first time Isabella had spoken to him in such a tone, much to Ferdinand's anger and uneasiness.

Over the years, the relationship between him and Isabella has long since degenerated into a relationship of mutual dependence and exploitation of political alliances, and even sometimes in his spare time, he thinks that even if they have several children, maybe they have no feelings but interests from the beginning.

There were many reasons why Isabella would be adamantly opposed to damming the upper Ebro River, but Ferdinand believed that the main reason was to curb the development of Aragon.

Although Castile was significantly larger than Aragon, Aragon had more fertile land and cultivated plains, a huge difference from the mountainous and barren land of Castile.

Castile would get a lot of food from Aragon every year, which could alleviate the embarrassment caused by Castile's mountains and lack of land, and it seemed fair that Castilla could use its great advantage in seafaring to provide Aragorn with many business opportunities, but Ferdinand knew very well that the result would eventually be that Aragon would gradually become a vassal of Castile.

This is something Ferdinand definitely doesn't want to see, even if the two kingdoms will become a unified country in the future, but Ferdinand still wants Aragon to have an equal or more important position in this United Kingdom, Isabella's purpose is too obvious, she only wants an obedient Aragon, which makes Ferdinand very angry.

"Your Majesty, the queen has been a little strange lately," the attendant said cautiously behind him, this person did not return to Aragon with Ferdinand before, but stayed in Barriaridud, which made Ferdinand have an extra ear and eye in Babiaridot" The queen seemed to be a little anxious, and this was the case in many things, although she didn't know what was going on, but she could clearly feel that she seemed to be in a hurry. ”

"What?" Ferdinand turned to look at his men, he wanted to see the answer on the faces of his entourage, but when he saw the man's cautious expression, he gave up on this plan: "Juana, what is she doing?" ”

"The princess still locked herself up in the castle, and she refused to come out." The entourage replied a little helplessly, he was not very optimistic about this princess who was about to inherit the future kingdom from the bottom of his heart, in fact, it was not only him, but the people around Ferdinand were skeptical about whether the princess could become a qualified queen in the future, which made them put their hopes on the king even more, because they didn't want to see a foreigner rule over them.

But fortunately, this threat seems to be gone, and the beautiful Philip is now a pile of rotten meat, and it is said that the servants must wipe his body with water every day, and then squeeze the foul pus out of him, and sometimes even scrape off the rotten flesh that has grown maggots.

The torture was horrific to think about, but surprisingly, their princess still stuck to the rotten meat, staying by the bedside all day long, and kissing the wounds on Philip to relieve his pain whenever he cried out in pain.

This affection was met with surprise and fear at her behavior, and people thought that the princess had gone mad, at least in spite of all the legends that had been passed before, but her current actions proved that she had really lost her mind completely.

It has been suggested whether the queen should forcibly break into the castle of the heights and snatch the princess out of it, because no one knows if Philip's strange disease will be transmitted to the princess, which worries many people, because if Juana has three longs and two shorts, it means that the throne of Castile is likely to fall into the hands of someone they absolutely do not like.

Who could this person be?

Maybe it was Ferdinand, or worse, maybe Maria, the wife of King Manuel of Portugal.

This was absolutely unacceptable to the Castilian aristocracy, who did not like Philip either, but feared that the throne would fall into the hands of a careerist.

However, Juana had the castle gate blocked with large stones, and she even carried scissors with her, which made people worry that if she broke in, she would be completely angered and lead to terrible results.

Worried about this, Juana still locked herself up in the castle of the Highlands, and there was no way for the people to get in touch with the princess except to provide food to the castle.

This annoyed both Isabella and his wife, and Ferdinand felt that his daughter was really completely insane, and he was already planning to give up Juana, but the thought that only Juana had the right to inherit the throne of Castiria, and that only her inheritance of the throne would be beneficial to him, Ferdinand had to reluctantly continue to tolerate the incomprehensible madness of this daughter.

It's just that Isabella's behavior puzzles him, although Isabella in the early years had such and such contradictions with him, but she has never been so impatient or even impulsive as she is now, not at all like the wise queen who is always thoughtful.

It's actually very bad for her.

They knew that there were still many people in both countries who opposed reunification, whether out of hatred or interest, and that they felt that a united United Kingdom would be a loss to them, so that even though they hated each other, they united in this matter.

Isabella's move clearly provided a good opportunity for these people, which made things even more complicated.

What made her so abnormal, Ferdinand wondered in his heart.

It had been a few days since he returned to Barriaridud, but he and Isabella had not had many opportunities to actually see each other, they were always busy with their own things during the day, and at night they slept in their own rooms, and they were both devout believers, so they carefully followed the rules of the canon that it was an obligation rather than a pleasure for a husband and wife to reproduce, at least so they thought so.

Maybe he should inquire about what happened, Ferdinand secretly pondered, although the entourage was very shrewd, but after all, he could not have more intimate contact with Isabella like him, Isabella's actions made him vaguely a little apprehensive, and a thought suddenly flashed through his mind, although it was fleeting, but it had already made his back chill and secretly frightened.

While Ferdinand summoned his entourage, Isabella was in the Queen's living room, receiving a dark green and steaming drink from her Moorish attendant.

Looking at the slightly swollen and broken blisters in the cup, Isabella frowned and looked at the attendant, then pinched her nose and poured it down.

The spicy, sour, and foul smell made her almost vomit, and if it weren't for the attendant who shoved a piece of honey into her mouth in time, she might have spit it on the floor.

"What's in here?" Isabella asked annoyedly.

"You won't want to know, Your Majesty." The attendant took the cup and carefully poured the sticky-looking residue into a nearby pool of living water, which would flow with the water into the river outside, so as to ensure that no one saw the queen taking herbs.

I don't know if it was the potion or it was a pure hallucination, Isabella felt that she seemed to be better, she stroked her aching shoulder and shook it, feeling that her back was about to vomit a lot easier, and then she went to the mirror to look at her face, and when she saw that she was still a little pale, she ordered the maid standing aside to put on her own makeup.

Only those closest to her knew that she was sick, not even Ferdinand, but the makeup, masks, and all sorts of red tape that prevailed in the court protected her so well that she could hide even her husband.

The sudden illness was clearly not part of Isabella's plan, and Juana's irrational behavior was completely beyond her plans.

Isabella now fears that she might suddenly fall ill, not to mention the United Kingdom, or even within Castile.

Isabella knew Ferdinand's ambitions too well, and it could be said that they were able to unite because of the mutual attraction of their ambitions, which had ousted Enrique from the throne in the first place, but now she began to worry that this ambition would make Ferdinand a threat in the future.

"How's the war going in Andalusia?"

Isabella suddenly misses Gonzalo very much, this love of hers will be her most trusted soldier, she has been deliberately cultivating Gonzalo since a long time ago, she indulges Gonzalo's arrogance and arrogance, and turns a blind eye to his selfish war windfall, which makes Gonzalo not only more unscrupulous, but also gradually becomes the minister who is least likely to betray the queen in everyone's impression.

Because Gonzalo himself and everyone else knew that no one could pamper and pamper him like Queen Isabella, so his only choice was the queen.

"Do you want to know about the war in Andalusia, I'll inform your ministers." The Moorish attendant immediately said that this man knew very well what his role was, he could be the only person who knew many of the queen's secrets, but as a Moorish he could never interfere in even the slightest court affairs, he was a loyal servant, and even the slightest ambition would be the most terrible end for him.

"Go and call them, that Don Bavi has already caused me too much trouble, and now our enemy is the Portuguese, so we can't waste too much time on him."

The Moorish attendant did not seem to hear the Queen's words, and he asked the servants who were guarding the door to summon the ministers, and then he hid in the room on the other side of the living room.

The ministers were also waiting for the queen to summon him, and they brought him news that he did not know whether it was good or bad.

"The Pope has arrived in Valencia?" Isabella looked at the people in front of her in surprise, and the first thought that flashed through her mind when she heard the news was, "Did Ferdinand know about this beforehand, or did he deliberately hide it?" ”

Then she asked, "Is the Pope coming to attend some great ceremony in Aragon?" ”

Obviously, Valencia, although the Pope's homeland, was certainly not important enough for the Pope to be present in person, so the only explanation was that there was going to be a major event at the Aragon court or in the Church.

But Ferdinand didn't reveal it to her at all, which cast a shadow over Isabella's heart.

But at last she noticed that the ministers looked strange, they looked at each other as if they were discussing with their eyes how to report to the queen, and just when Isabella was already a little impatient, finally a man spoke: "Your Majesty, something terrible has just happened in the Vatican, the Cardinal Conference believes that the Pope is no longer capable of ruling the Holy See, and they agree that what the Pope should do now is to leave the Vatican to inspect the dioceses, and as for the specific affairs of the Holy See, it is now presided over by the Cardinal Church headed by Cardinal Rovere. ”

Isabella was slightly stunned, she raised her hand and made a gesture that she didn't seem to understand, and then slowly lowered it again, and the room was quiet for a while because no one spoke.

"This is a terrible situation," said the Queen, and then looked at the ministers as if she had suddenly remembered something, "and has the Pope sent a messenger?" ”

Seeing the minister's blank eyes, Isabella already knew the answer.

It is clear that for unknown reasons, Alexander VI did not seem to be in a hurry to let the courts of the two countries know of his intentions.

Isabella, however, did not think that this necessarily meant the Pope.

Ferdinand's figure passed by her, and she suspected that Ferdinand had deliberately concealed Alexander VI's whereabouts.

But what it was for, she didn't know for a while.

At the same time, the Pope's arrival in Iberia without warning also made her wonder.

Although, according to the ministers, Alexander VI was more likely to be deposed, Isabella could not take it lightly.

At the beginning, the establishment of the papal meridian made Isabella very impressed by Alexander VI's smooth hand, and now because she does not know what kind of changes will be caused by the arrival of this pope, Isabella can't help but wonder how to deal with the various changes that may occur with the arrival of the pope.

But before that, she had more important things to do.

The war in Andalusia had dragged on for far too long, and if it weren't for Gonzalo's loyalty, Isabella might have wondered if he had any intentions.

So she first sent a complaining letter to Gonzalo and reminded him to settle the war in Andalusia as soon as possible.

"I don't know why the Pope returned to Valencia, even though it is his hometown, but it is still too strange, and given the fact that you have openly disrespected him in Rome, I cannot but suspect that the Pope's return may not be a good thing, so end the war in Andalusia as soon as possible before many things become complicated, because I will soon have another more important war to command you."

Isabella was very direct about her concerns in the letter, and at the same time expressed her displeasure at Gonzalo's delay for so long.

Isabella would never have been so blunt with other generals, but she didn't need to be so tactful with Gonzalo, because she knew that just as she believed that Gonzalo would never betray her, Gonzalo must have known how much she trusted him.

Then she sent someone to Valencia to send an invitation to Alexander VI.

"We should ask the Pope to come to the Barriatricot, although we all know that he did not have a good reputation as Archbishop of Valencia, but that does not prevent us from listening to the Pope preaching the Gospel, does it?"

During lunch with Ferdinand, Isabella said to her husband across the long table that Isabella smiled and raised her glass in response to Ferdinand's greeting in approval.

But she didn't know that just after leaving the table, Ferdinand summoned his cronies again.

Ferdinand was also surprised by the arrival of the Pope, especially when he heard that Alexander VI had returned directly to Valencia, and he couldn't wait to send someone to find out.

Although many of Aragon's nobles, like the Borgia family, had an unshakable influence in the local area, the Borgia had two popes.

This gave the family an unusually special status, not only in Valencia, but also in the Kingdom of Aragon.

But this just made Ferdinand, who was determined to weaken the power of the aristocracy, even more scruples.

However, after the initial impulse, as he heard about what happened to Alexander VI, Ferdinand suddenly realized that this might be a rare opportunity.

The thought of what an excommunicated and almost deposed pope could do was thrilled to think about it, and he immediately sent his cronies back to Zaragoza to deliver a letter to the Archbishop of Aragon.

In the letter, Ferdinand asked the archbishop to send a special trip to Valencia at once to send a formal invitation to the pope, who was visiting there, to come to Zaragoza, and to ask the archbishop to give a blessing mass in the cathedral of Zaragoza.

Ferdinand's actions were not hidden from Isabella, but he didn't care, it was a normal thing, and he believed that Isabella would not think about what he was going to do for a while.

Isabella really didn't care too much about her husband's actions, she was too busy, the rebellion in Andalusia, the battle for the Azores, and the situation with the Portuguese on the border made her a little anxious, and the trouble caused by Juana was a headache for Isabella.

So when she heard that Ferdinand had sent a letter to the Archbishop of Zaragoza inviting the Pope to preach in Zaragoza, Isabella simply thought that this might just be her husband's desire to show his piety.

It was just strange to Isabella that Ferdinand, who had been annoyed by Juana's nonsense, suddenly seemed to be less interested in her affairs, so that when Isabella again proposed the idea of sending someone to break into the castle in the Highlands, Ferdinand coped with it perfunctorily at first, and then simply said "Maybe it's better".

Isabella wondered why Ferdinand suddenly became less concerned about Juana's affairs, until she heard the news from Zaragoza and suddenly understood the reason for Ferdinand's strange transformation.

In mid-August, Pope Alexander VI visited Zaragoza and presided over a grand Mass of Blessings at the Cathedral of the Salvation of God in Zaragoza.

On this Mass, the people of Zaragoza noticed two striking things.

One is that the Pope, in his sermon after the Mass, suddenly mentioned "the temptation and depravity of the devil."

Another, among the pope's entourage, was a rather surprising man, Duke of Roman Thesia, Alexandre Giulian Gombray.

And with this rather unexpected sermon by the Pope, a topic that had been faintly mentioned among the Barriedots, but which no one dared to discuss publicly, was finally brought to light with the public questioning of a bold priest in the Inquisition.

"Prince Philip's illness is so strange, and Princess Juana is like a shell occupied by a foreign body, so is this the temptation of the devil and the depravity of the soul?"

When Isabella, who was in the palace, heard this question, she finally understood Ferdinand's intentions.

It was also on that day that Queen Isabella, who had been working hard since she ascended the throne, finally fell ill in bed because of physical discomfort.