Returning to Scotland

The mocking smile of the Queen Mother of Medici becomes more obvious, but she stops at the funeral of her deceased eldest son, and does not provoke Mary Stuart who is holding on to her dignity. Then she is the first to cross the church door and ends this small storm.

As for the storm in her heart, Mary Stuart could only comfort herself.

Well, she deserves it, how much she looked down on people before, now there are how many people who want to make fun of her, she truly can't blame others.

…

After the funeral, Mary Stuart goes to find the Duke of Guise and discusses returning to Scotland to preside over government affairs.

Scotland, a small country located in the north of Europe, occupies only one-third of the British Isles in terms of area, and most of the terrain is mountainous and hilly, and the plains used to grow crops are so scarce that they can be ignored. This also means that most people living on this land can only make a living by raising cattle and sheep or being fishermen, which is easily disturbed by weather or other factors. It is naturally far away from England and France, where grain can be harvested steadily every year, and it is almost destined to have fewer poor people.

However, fewer poor people do not mean fewer problems.

The storm set off by Henry VIII's Protestant Reform has been brewing for many years and finally blew into this small northern country, causing many lords to convert to Christianity. Naturally, they resisted Mary Stuart, a devout Catholic king, and even openly said that they wished that they would never see Mary Stuart again.

Her half-brother, Earl of Moray, quickly seized power in Scotland after the death of Queen Mother Guise. Naturally, he did not want the legitimate monarch of Scotland to go back and fight with him for power. Even Elizabeth I, who was far away in London, spent thousands of pounds every day to secretly bribe many lords of the Scottish Parliament and spread rumors in various places that could influence Mary Stuart at any time and anywhere, trying to delay her return home...

In short, Scotland has no shortage of conflicts between Catholicism and Protestantism, conflicts between the monarch and the nobles, and conflicts between the country and foreign countries.

The later she returns, the longer her majesty as a monarch will be shaken, and these problems will become bigger and bigger. In this case, it is better to go back and face them directly as soon as possible.

After listening to Mary Stuart's words, the Duke of Guise does not hesitate for long and agrees to his niece's decision to return to the country to rule.

The reason is that his wish for his niece to marry the King of France again has completely failed. In this case, letting her return to Scotland to rule is the most beneficial to the Guise family.

In order to prevent his prestige from being damaged by the failure of the marriage proposal, the Duke of Guise carefully points to the Queen Mother of Medici this time to test her reaction, but he did not expect to encounter unprecedented fierce opposition and ridicule from the latter.

Until the matter is brought up again in private, the Duke of Guise is still so angry that he slams the table.

"Mary, you don't know how many unbearable words that old woman said!

She actually said that it was because of you that two French kings died one after another, and the prophecy of Nostradamus, the Jew, finally came true!

She even compared you to a witch who brought disaster, and swore that she would not let one of her sons fall into my hands again, but be ruled by the Guise family. God, if she was not the Queen Mother of France, I would definitely hang her alive!" The Duke of Guise says extremely angrily.

As the Duke of Guise complains, Mary Stuart's face changes again and again. Finally, she sigs and says disappointedly,

"It can only be said that with the death of Francois, the Guise family will never go back to the past."

Before leaving France, Mary Stuart has already prepared herself to put aside her pride and visit the Medici Queen Mother again with cold eyes to apologize for the past offenses and see if the relationship could be improved.

After all, the chips in her hand are pitifully scarce. She tries to get along well with anyone, but she couldn't expect to pull the Medici Queen Mother to her side of the alliance.

She only hopes that in the future when fighting with England, even if France does not lend a hand, it would be able to watch coldly. 

However, she didn't expect that Catherine Medici has such a great hatred for her. This relationship is destined not to improve.

Then, Mary Stuart once again told the Duke to be careful of his own safety and the Huguenots. Since she remembered that in just over two years, this uncle would die of excessive blood loss and serious injuries due to the assassination of the Huguenots. After Mary Stuart repeatedly emphasized, the Duke of Guise finally takes it a little seriously this time and asks her if she has received any secret intelligence, but Mary Stuart evades the question with words.

As a queen, even a queen without any power in a foreign country, Mary Stuart has her own small court since she was a child.

This small court is composed of two half-brothers, two Scottish ministers and Mary Stuart when she set foot on French soil at the age of six. Later, with the death of the Queen Mother of Guise, the two illegitimate brothers immediately heard the news and returned to Scotland to fight for power, leaving only two ministers in France.

Now, hearing that the queen is going to return home, the ministers are busy preparing their luggage while planning to send a formal letter to apply for a transit visa from Elizabeth I.

Unexpectedly, this is blocked by Mary Stuart.

"Your Majesty, why is this? Although it is just a procedure, if there is no transit visa, we cannot legally pass through English land." The minister asks.

"My Lord, I think you are supposed to still remember the Treaty of Edinburgh." Mary Stuart says.

"Yes, that is an unreasonable treaty." The minister says with consideration. In fact, the treaty drafted last summer has not been reached because one of the clauses requires Mary Stuart to recognize Elizabeth as the legitimate Queen of England, so it has been delayed until now.

Mary Stuart recalls the conflict in her previous life, a trace of displeasure flashes in her eyes, and she says coldly,

"If I say now that I want to apply for a transit visa, my cousin will immediately ask me to sign the Treaty of Edinburgh, but I absolutely cannot agree with this clause. Instead of embarrassing both parties at that time, it is better to save trouble and go back home by sea directly."

Serving the monarch is the duty of the minister. Since Mary Stuart has said so, the lord from Scotland immediately tears up the half-written letter on the table and burns it, and then begins to prepare the ship and the letter ordering Scotland to meet them at the seaside.

Mary Stuart officially leaves France in the spring of 1561. It is a rare good weather, with beautiful weather, lush grass and flying birds. The clear sunshine almost sweeps away the winter haze.

Led by Mary Stuart's three powerful uncles, the Duke of Guise, the Cardinal of Lorraine and the Cardinal of Guise, many nobles, ladies, artists and poets gather together to form a huge and gorgeous guard of honor, and then set off from the Saint-Germain Palace, heading to Calais to bid farewell to the Queen of Scotland with music and salutes.

This is a must for Mary Stuart when she leaves France. Even the Queen Mother of Medici agrees very much. Only in this way can she declare to everyone in Europe, especially the England, that the alliance between France and Scotland is as strong as ever.

On the seashore, a huge sailing ship flying the royal flags of Scotland and France is waiting for the voyage. In addition, the Duke of Guise also specially mobilizes two warships equipped with artillery and several clippers to escort it to avoid any accidents on the road.

This is not the peaceful era of later generations. The rampant pirates only care about money and will not give up plundering just because the people on the ship are noble. Moreover, England may come to destroy secretly.

Mary Stuart feels very tired after sitting in the carriage for days, but she still has to follow the etiquette and formally bid farewell to the nobles one by one on the seaside. She watches them kneel in front of her and swear to be loyal to her forever, even if they are across the ocean, and then smiles and nods, indicating that she has really felt their loyalty.

After this set of necessary tedious procedures gets completed, Mary Stuart is so tired that she doesn't even want to stand up. With the support and cover of her three uncles, she walks onto the ship with a dignified manner.

"Your performance in the past few months has opened my eyes, dear Mary. I am waiting for your good news in France and am willing to support you at any time." The Duke of Guise says with a smile on his face and a hint of meaning.