The meal is now over, but the banquet is not. As the servants move the tables and chairs quickly and clean up the messy environment caused by the meal, the venue that can be used for the dance is opened.
This was Rostislav's idea, and naturally no one had any objections to it. This format has been implemented in Moscow for many years.
As the soldiers shouted, the dancers who had been waiting for Xu filed out from the side doors on both sides of the hall.
Young men and women, dressed in their most respectable clothes, danced to the accompaniment of musicians who did not know when they appeared.
Moscow's most famous actress and singer Viona was also singing cheerful songs beside the band.
Many performers invited from the countryside appeared in unknown places, breathing fire or juggling in every corner of the hall, performing their own skills.
The dances performed by these dancers are not elegant. To put it simply, they are the kind of social dances performed by villagers, but they are very suitable for the current atmosphere.
There are no people here who appreciate high art. There may be some among the exiled Greeks who have settled down, but now those decencies are in the past tense, and they also know that they are not suitable for the present - the wind and snow along the way have turned these people's
All the pride has been worn away.
Soon, those young people who are always extremely energetic jumped out.
These people were all members of Moscow's privileged class, either the sons of nobles or wealthy businessmen. They boldly invited girls of their own age. Facing these, the shy girls were stunned for a moment, and then they immediately accepted the invitations, happily
Dance in it.
This is a trend initiated by Rostislav. The banquet should allow young people to have fun, while the "old people" should either watch the performance or find a corner to talk about things.
Even many boys and girls from Greece were infected by the atmosphere and participated. They first looked at their parents with tentative eyes in awe, and then participated happily after receiving approval.
These Greeks are still very knowledgeable, their energy has long been worn away by the difficult journey north, and they clearly understand their status as exiles. As for those who still have influence in the imperial capital and can return to the imperial capital soon, those
Most people stay in Kiev.
They know that since they want to live here for a long time and work within their system, they can only win a bright future for themselves by getting close to the locals and accepting their habits.
The elders are not as energetic as the young people. Most of them are sitting on the chairs prepared in advance, exchanging information they know and discussing various things with familiar or unfamiliar people around them.
Some people were either listening to music or watching performances by Baixi artists, and a relaxed atmosphere spread in the air.
Rostislav sat in the main seat, and his face was filled with happiness as he looked at the scene in front of him. He liked this scene, and so did Zoe.
Such a banquet scene is rare, even for Prince Rostislav of Moscow.
However, in this joyful banquet, some people are having different thoughts, thoughts that are different from the joy.
Leo Pappas is exactly such a person. He is standing alone in the corner now, with a very melancholy look on his face.
Many people had approached the Moscow political officer before, but they were all blocked by Leo. He really didn't have the heart to talk about this.
The reason for Leo's melancholy was simple. He had always wanted to follow Rostislav's lead in the future and return to the imperial capital as a winner to take revenge on those who had persecuted him.
Especially those colleagues, he will never forget the trouble these people made.
But now, those colleagues who persecuted him back then are either dead or exiled to the north, and their lives are even more miserable than his. Many of them will have to work under him in the future. It seems that the military nobles who have been suppressed this time are
I seized the opportunity and dealt with a wave of civil servants.
Although these people were now killed and taken away, looking at this situation, Leo really had no desire for revenge at all. He did nothing and everything fell into his own hands, which really made him feel nothing.
Leo is really infinitely melancholy. Doesn't it mean that everything he does is meaningless?
The Greek was very confused. He felt that he needed a goal to find a goal for his efforts, but he couldn't think of one, so he could only feel melancholy.
And just when Leo was melancholy, he touched his nose inadvertently, and suddenly recalled some past events that were almost forgotten.
At that time, he had just walked out of the University of Constantinople. At that time, he was so confident and full of upward desire. His whole person also exuded extremely strong self-confidence, as if his whole person was radiating brilliance like the sun.
At that time, Leo indeed had a bright future and went to Antioch to serve as an official, but this was just gilding. As a graduate of the University of Constantinople, he could return to the imperial capital after a few years.
His tallness and handsomeness also added a lot of points to him, and he had many suitors at that time.
But he did not choose any of them, because he knew that his marriage would determine his future political life, so he must be cautious about it.
But, although you can't get married, you can still have fun.
At that time, Leo was serving in Antioch, and his mission was to patrol the border. He said he was patrolling, but in fact he was visiting those border heroes and those long-established border guard families.
And then when he got this opportunity, Leo hooked up with many women from these families, and the open atmosphere on the border gave him a lot of room to do so. After all, the relationship between many border nobles and the believers of Allah on the opposite side was to steal each other's daughters.
Either he or his son will be his wife.
Leo's life was very good during that time, with entertainment and beauties everywhere, and he could return to the imperial capital when the time was up.
But, but, he should never have said that he wanted to seduce the daughter of a real military noble family, and after that, the lady said she wanted Leo to be her husband after she got pregnant.
Leo resolutely refused this, because if he agreed to this marriage, his future would only be in one place and he would never be able to enter the center. This was something he could not accept.
But later, the woman had a miscarriage because of his plan, and it seemed that she could not have children since then. At first, Leo thought that this would not have much impact. It was just a woman. What else could he do to me?
However, Leo underestimated the energy of the military nobles. Although they were suppressed by the bureaucracy of the imperial capital, they still had no problem dealing with a disobedient young man.
He was first captured and beaten, and his nose was almost cut off. The nobles originally planned to kill him, but I don't know why they didn't do it at that time - Leo later found out that they were doing it to make him suffer more.
Next, Leo was thrown into the most dangerous ravine on the front line, where he faced many enemies: Jihad Ghazi, indigenous people of Asia Minor, and even border rebel bandits. It was clear that Leo was going to die.
.
Leo struggled there for several years, during which he achieved many victories and was also on the verge of death several times. However, due to the influence of those military nobles, he did not receive any promotion and was still struggling at the grassroots level.
As for promotion or something, that is simply impossible. Returning to the Imperial Capital is even more out of the question. It's all just a dream.
Finally, Leo couldn't stand it any longer, so he resigned and ran away to his hometown of Paphlagonia.
He originally planned to be a farmer there for the rest of his life because of his frustration, but he met John, the director of the orphanage, who returned to his hometown to recruit township party members.
Leo seized this opportunity, which made him successful. Since then, the imperial capital has had a senior bureaucrat, and he even participated in the dethronement of the emperor.
Cooperating with the orphanage director to influence the political arena of the imperial capital, there was no obstacle for him to enter the palace at that time.
It's just that he prospered because of the power of the orphanage director, and he will naturally be destroyed by the power of the orphanage director.
Then he came to Rus and became a small administrator of Moscow, managing his small court for Rostislav.
"Darasenos..."
Leo read the name of that family, and he knew that what happened back then was mostly due to his unkindness, and he was the one who brought these things on himself.
But now, Leo needs a motivation for revenge and a target, so the Darathenos family, which has had such a significant impact on him, is naturally his first choice.