On the rain corridor on the second floor of the mansion, the high priest slowly walked out and looked at his son's back in the distance, when Alp by the door stepped forward and waited beside him with crossed hands.

"No, Alp, Leo is a measured child, you can just go with me to breakfast right away, and we'll wait for him here." The high priest commanded very indifferently.

The Dungeon of Tulianum, arguably the most chilling part of the city of Rome, lies like a flesh-and-blood beast in the morning breeze, lying further east of the altar of Hercules, across the river from the temple of the goddess Belona, and it looks like a simple two-storey masonry building, but it has two chimney-like protrusions, which make it stand out - the jailer will tell you that these two "chimneys" are not angry, but only dead, and their exit is sealed with an iron bar, and then it goes on and on, Up to the oval crypt prison underground, in which the prisoners can only get some air and sunlight along this high chimney, and at night, the jailer will completely seal the chimney with a lid, so that the whole dungeon will be submerged in complete darkness.

The dungeon had no compartments, for there were not many people imprisoned here, so there was no need to do so, and there was only one prisoner now, Turinus, who had spent the night alone in the dungeon—the damp and slippery walls, the endless darkness and cold, the lifeless reliefs, the strange wind blowing through the cracks, and the dead silence of seclusion.

In just one night, Turinus was ten or twenty years old, and Leo was like a moth when he stood in the passage outside the dungeon with a torch. Leaned over quickly. "I can swear to you again. With the most poisonous oath, I have never participated in the planning of the Liliqu mutiny! ”

"And how do you explain the insults you made to me and my sister, and to my parents?" Leo under the torch said with a look of regret.

"Forgive me, it's because I'm young and vigorous, and I don't know anything about the world, and I've figured it out in the past few days. I am determined to confess my mistake to you, and I don't care if I lose my engagement to Corinna, even if I lose my name as Caesar, but I don't want to keep me here for even a day. I'm innocent Leo, I'm innocent! Even though I smug and slander behind my back, I really haven't done anything to actually hurt you or your family. Turinus, holding on to the iron railing, wept silently.

Leo sighed twice, and then he said, "Then you should think about it, and I will convey what you have said to my father—first of all, when you were in command of the legions in the Greek theater of operations. Is there really a lack of military resources? ”

"Yes, that's right. Since the distribution of the inheritance, the industries run by the freemen and freed slaves under my jurisdiction have been very sluggish, many of them have gone out of business, and many of them have been unable to make ends meet, so for a year of the war I have had to rely on the funds allocated by the treasury of the Saturnalia. Brutus's four legions, on the other hand, were financed financially by the allegiance cities of Asia Minor, Greece, and Macedonia, which was the root cause of my repeated disadvantages. I really have no choice but to borrow money from you in my private name. "Turinus seems to have grasped a lifeline.

Hearing this, Leo shook his head, "Then now I tell you the reason for this situation, Turinus, you are still too young, and the reason why your adoptive father obtained a lot of money was not because he ran the property well, but because he became rich by the exile of the governor of Gaul, and the hot money from war booty and extortion. And inside, your Julius family's industry and commerce are actually very weak, and their strength is only on the books, and once they encounter economic competition, plus the death of your adoptive father, they will be very vulnerable. ”

"Yes, yes, you're right, you should have accepted the invitation to join my army." Turinus didn't know what Leo meant by these words, "Also, I was tricked by Fonteus, I kind of understand, this guy actually came to me with false intentions, and he is still angry about being dismissed by my adoptive father, and now he is playing a double agent to trap me!" ”

"Well, Fonteius was indeed your mistake when he quietly took control of the guards, paperwork, and confidential affairs around you after the death of Avinus, and you kept Agrippa, who was truly committed to you, to keep him exhausted at the front, Turinus. So in secret, Fonteus stole your seal, defrauded Lili's five hundred Tallents, and he also used money to buy the twin legions, create a mutiny, and with a turn of his face, he used self-revealing tricks to trap and blame you. Leo said slowly.

"Yes, Leo, you know? And Mecenas, whom we have always regarded as my brother, also has prejudices and misunderstandings about me, and he must have thought that I was the murderer behind the Lilibian mutiny, which is why he hated me so much at this moment, and I know that his father was Kaimez, and your father's most trusted disciple. When you've explained everything clearly, I'll go and tell Mecenas the inside story myself—it's all Cicero, Fonteus, and my stepfather. Turinus excitedly reached out and shook Leo's hand across the iron fence, "Do you remember?" You have no doubt how we went together a few years ago to watch the various athletics and performances, and you have no doubt about it, but now the friends are gone, and little Juba has gone to Utika, ready to become king of Numidian Adamia; Agrippa was also on the front lines of Epirus, serving in the army; Vivia is your wife, pregnant with your child; And I've fallen here, what about your sister Corinna? She should be the saddest person, right? I'm also very concerned about her, so all my hopes are pinned on you, Leo."

"How can I help you, Turinus." Leo turned his hand and grabbed the back of the other's hand, "I'm also very distressed"

"No trouble, my friend, I beg you, and I beg your father, if the guardian agrees, even if I am exiled for three years, nay, even five years, and he will invoke me back to the city of Rome and continue to carry me along, and that will be fine. Leo, I beg you, this is the only hope. Corinna, Corinna, yes, although I did have evil thoughts about other women, I never betrayed her, and if Corinna is really willing to wait for me, I will always regard her as my mistress, my favorite wife. ”

At this time, the torches were rising and falling in the wind, and Leo and Turinus held hands together, and after a long silence, Leo let go of his hand and said faintly, "It seems that you have not yet understood what I am worried about, Turinus." (To be continued......)