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"If it’s still in the belly... we call it prenatal education," she answered nonchalantly. "We play classical music for them—preferably Mozart—and read them books and poetry. Some educators believe this helps the child develop sufficiently."
Then, her musician husband started bringing different instruments for his daily performances.
At first, it was the lyre—he played and sang, with the deep and joyful melody continuing for half an hour.
After the Queen had grown tired of the lyre, the breakfast music changed to the flute.
Clarinet, harp, violin...
In the end, he tried to have the servants bring in the piano as well.
"Leonardo—" Hedy said with a mix of laughter and exasperation, raising her voice in amusement. "Our child will be smart enough; there's no need to be so nervous, okay?"
The man tried to put on a serious expression, but after just two seconds, he cracked. "So next time, should I play the olive leaves for you?"
Hedy rubbed her face and waved her hand. "Just sing a cappella, anything is fine."
She began reducing the frequency of her outings, dedicating more time to establishing a nationwide unified examination standard and education system.
However, a certain calligrapher insisted on writing on her behalf, so she was content to lie on the bench for the whole day, waiting until the evening when the weather cooled down before going downstairs for a walk.
While dictating, Hedy’s thoughts were clear and well-organized. Leonardo often had the layout and key points outlined by the time he finished recording.
The curriculum content for public schools in each city began to be clearly planned and regulated, and the proportion of theological textbooks was steadily reduced.
The significance of this was that it allowed more children from ordinary backgrounds to participate in the competition of life through exams.
After the Queen’s decree was issued, children could complete their education by working part-time, and based on their performance, they could enter universities or guild schools, obtaining professions that could support a family.
They were no longer destined from birth to be "a servant of some noble" or "a peasant always on the brink of ruin." Instead, through education, they could rise through the ranks and gain more income.
The church and the nobility were very displeased with this, but they had no way to stop it.
—Both the royal and military powers were firmly in her hands, with no one else having any room to interfere.
When the Code was released, everything about what the upper and lower houses could question, and what issues were untouchable, had been clearly outlined with the assistance of Niccolo, who was essentially an old fox known for using his pen as a weapon.
Once August passed, the weather finally began to cool down.
Before the autumn rains could wash away the dust, ambassadors from Milan and Naples arrived.
They requested a meeting between officials from the three countries, with the location to be chosen by her.
This would be the first three-nation conference since the birth of the Italian Empire.
When the news arrived, the couple was studying the construction of a stethoscope.
Hedy, now just over four months pregnant, already had a belly that appeared as though she were five or six months along.
Despite controlling her food intake and eating frequency, and the swelling in her limbs not being too severe, her belly was growing unusually large.
Could it... be twins?
——
The first time Leonardo tried to listen to Hedy’s heartbeat, both of them were startled by the situation.
At that time, Hedy was still just his ordinary friend, lying in bed pale from menstrual cramps.
