David immediately understood and kept silent, not tearing into it any further.
David absolutely could not speak about accepting bribes; he himself had done it often enough that if they dug deeper, he would probably die before Lorenzo.
Lorenzo was directly stunned by such a sudden barrage of praise; for a moment, he didn't know what to say, still pondering whether the Pope's words were genuine or sarcastic, real praise or a veiled warning.
Lorenzo hadn't recovered when Enzo attacked again: "Lorenzo, on an afternoon during the Christmas holiday, many people gathered at your residence.
Can you tell Enzo what you all discussed?"
"Enzo, do you also need to control who visits my own home?
Aren't you controlling a bit too much?" Lorenzo said, displeased.
"Enzo truly has eyes and ears everywhere; every single event happening in the Papal States cannot escape his notice.
I fear even the Pope's daily life is under his surveillance," Romeo said, helping Lorenzo change the subject and attempting to arouse the Pope's suspicion of Enzo.
If he could use the Pope's hand to bring down Enzo, that would be ideal.
When Romeo incited him like that, Augustus also realized that Enzo was indeed very capable, seemingly having everything under control.
He had never caused him any problems and even provided some confidential intelligence from abroad, showing his considerable ability.
The relationship between Enzo and several other ministers was also very subtle; Francesco and David were closer, while Romeo and Lorenzo usually agreed, but Enzo was not on good terms with anyone.
Enzo offended everyone, yet they were all helpless against him, instead being led by the nose.
He also maintained a good balance, seemingly keeping a dynamic equilibrium, weakening them individually while preventing any of them from completely bringing down another.
This showed his profound cunning.
Since he became Pope, Enzo had never opposed him and always followed his ideas, speaking and acting exactly to his liking, using opportunities to weaken others and strengthen himself.
He only knew the superficial aspects of Enzo, yet Enzo could already guess many of his thoughts, which indeed made Augustus somewhat wary.
If such a person could be used by him, it would undoubtedly be a great asset; if he could not be controlled, he would also be a great hidden danger.
Enzo did not heed Romeo's instigation but instead pressed Lorenzo, saying, "To my knowledge, the guests who visited your residence that day were all opposed to the army integration, and they came precisely for this matter."
"Why would anyone oppose integration?" Augustus feigned ignorance.
"I don't understand either," Enzo followed suit, feigning ignorance, then added, "Lorenzo should know."
"I don't know either," Lorenzo blurted out.
Isn't it just feigning ignorance? I can do that too.
Of the reasons those people opposed integration, besides the ones he had used before and the ones no one would believe, which one was presentable?
If he feigned ignorance, the Pope wouldn't likely dig into the root of the matter and force him to explain.
"It seems Lorenzo is unaware, Enzo, are you mistaken?" Augustus asked feigning inquiry, his subtext being: "Tell me everything else you know that you haven't said."
As soon as Enzo opened his mouth, Augustus understood what was going on.
In his impression, Enzo never accused others without evidence.
Lorenzo's reaction also made Augustus believe that it was indeed true.
If this had nothing to do with Lorenzo, any random reason could be fabricated, as it was not a secret.
What Lorenzo needed to conceal was certainly not this; it was simply that the more he said, the more likely he was to reveal flaws, so he chose to say nothing at all.
So, what did Lorenzo not want him to know?
Enzo immediately understood and said unhurriedly, "To my knowledge, Lorenzo accepted many valuable gifts and verbally promised them certain things.
What exactly he promised, I do not know."
Enzo certainly knew what Lorenzo had promised, but he wanted Lorenzo to say it; it would be better for him to say it himself than for Enzo to say it.
If Lorenzo chose to continue concealing it, Enzo would not reveal it either.
Originally, what Lorenzo had promised was a trivial matter of no consequence, and revealing everything would not lead to any severe repercussions, as making the Pope suspicious and even hostile over this matter would be the greatest blow that this incident could inflict upon Lorenzo.
Facing Enzo's relentless pressure, Lorenzo finally retaliated: "May it please the Pope, the gifts Enzo mentioned were merely ordinary social exchanges between relatives and friends during festivals, not valuable ones.
As for Enzo saying they oppose military integration, that is complete nonsense.
They are completely loyal to the Papal States and support all your decisions.
If you plan to integrate the army, they will, of course, support it as well.
Furthermore, they are very concerned about the integration and want me to help them inquire about it so they can prepare early and cooperate better.
They are all relatives and friends; if I refused such a reasonable request, wouldn't I be inhumane?
So I agreed.
But Enzo, based on his own conjecture, arbitrarily slanders loyal officials.
What are his intentions?"
Those present who knew the inside story were dumbfounded, witnessing Lorenzo's ability to twist facts.
Even Enzo, who usually showed no emotion, involuntarily raised an eyebrow when he saw Lorenzo making such impassioned remarks.
Although he knew every word spoken in Lorenzo's house at the time, he couldn't say it now.
Earlier, he had said he didn't know, and now saying he knew everything that happened would clearly make it seem more like he was fabricating facts and framing loyal officials.
"Enzo, in the future, you must investigate thoroughly.
Such incidents must not happen again; they hurt the hearts of loyal officials too much," Augustus said, feigning displeasure, though he was secretly delighted.
By saying this, Lorenzo not only outwardly sided with him but also claimed that those at his house were on his side, which would inevitably restrict their actions.
If Lorenzo had directly and explicitly expressed opposition, Augustus could not have immediately done anything to him.
Ministers who reached this position had deeply entrenched power, and a single move could affect the entire situation; acting rashly could very likely lead to the situation spiraling out of control.
If Lorenzo opposed, it would shake his authority, and continuing the integration under pressure would lead to unknown resistance.
However, Lorenzo also knew that the more difficulties he created for the Pope, the more he would be resented.
Lorenzo had not yet enjoyed enough of his good life and did not want to escalate things to a point of no return with the Pope, and he knew he couldn't, so he first ruled out this most undesirable path.
"Yes," Enzo replied, appearing as usual, but he secretly held a grudge.
The feeling of being outmaneuvered was unpleasant, especially for someone accustomed to winning.
Although he had initiated it himself, that did not stop him from bearing a grudge.