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Looking back to the ancient Middle Ages, abortion was also considered a grave sin.
Yet in the church’s confessional manuals, there were often no guidelines for confessing certain acts.
People silently accepted infanticide, abandonment, and the quiet acts of contraception and abortion.
Hedy chose to separate her own emotions and inclinations from the issue, approaching it with a perspective that was fitting for her time, aiming to revise the protections for women and children.
Sexual abuse of children was a crime, child labor abuse was a crime, and the oppression of women was also a crime.
She did not want to see a widespread witch hunt and brought many matters to the forefront early on.
Each decree she passed was a blend of punishment and reward, using vague but highly charged language to stir public opinion, guiding the nation toward a brighter direction.
At the same time, she established a new holiday—
February 2nd, the Day of Rest.
Citizens across the country were to go to church before dawn to mourn the children who had died prematurely.
These children might have died from parental neglect, from the spread of disease, or even from being torn apart by wild dogs, their bones never recovered.
Every year, thousands of children were hastily born, only to die in pain and despair.
"—People must face the sins they have committed with their own hands," was all the queen explained when some questioned her decision.
On February 2nd, crowds of citizens gathered along the Arno River, forming long lines.
They murmured prayers of rest and placed paper boats and flowers on the water, watching as they slowly drifted away.
Many women came with their children.
As they looked at the white daisies blooming on the river’s surface, and the paper boats swaying gently in the current, they couldn’t help but tear up.
Rest in peace, children.
Heaven will grant you peace and warmth.
May your next life be filled with happiness and love.
Hedy had almost no time to deal with wedding preparations. Her businesses in Milan were gradually shifting to multiple cities across the country, and the penicillin workshop wasexpanding. The pile of documents on her desk was so high that it nearly reached the ceiling.
Five days before the wedding, she had finally managed to handle most of her burdens and went to see her fiancé.
Leonardo had been very busy lately, and there was still dust from minerals on his clothes.
Fifteen days earlier, Hedy had shown him a fascinating experiment.
—By inserting different metal wires into an apple or potato, and then using these wires to stimulate the legs of a dead frog, the legs would begin to move, almost as if revived.
In order to understand the structure of the battery, this genius had gathered almost every metal he could find into the workshop.
He had a vague sense that there was a peculiar reaction between various metals, but observing these phenomena was like watching a performance through a curtain—it was hard to see anything clearly.
"Maybe we need a... periodic table?" Hedy said, watching how he fiddled with metal plates and saltwater, sitting nearby with curiosity. "What are these two?"
"Zinc plate and silver plate," Leonardo motioned for her to come closer, showing her the wet cloths draped over both ends.
Hedy cautiously touched one, and immediately felt a tingling sensation, as if she had been shocked.
