I Am Louis XIV

When the queen, her attendants, ladies and a group of people came to this chapel, it was just after noon prayers. Because this chapel has been favored by the queen, although it is small, there are as many flower windows, canopies and altars. The sacred vessels of gold and silver were thus placed on the white linen, showing a beautiful shifting luster in the brilliant and changing light, and a lady dressed in black was kneeling on the kneeling stool-but heard the door. After being turned on, she stood up and curtsied calmly and gracefully to the queen.

The queen's lips immediately tightened. Although she kept telling herself and her children that she was satisfied with the king's respect, wouldn't a wife who loved her husband wish to monopolize her husband? Moreover, the meaning of the queen is different from that of other noble ladies. Each of her boys has the right to inherit, and the girls are the best candidates for marriage. It can be said that in the whole of France or Europe, only the queen cannot cheat.

But when Teresa was still the Spanish princess, she knew that she could not compare with others in terms of appearance or talent, let alone those carefully selected royal wives to be elected, but no matter which one, the Duke of Orleans recommended , or Prince Conti, or the Queen Mother, are not as threatening as the lady in front of her...more threatening.

Louis XIV is not a womanizer. He has been in power for twenty years, and there is only one public and two private royal wives. Compared with the "Happy King" Charles II across the sea (his fourteen Not all illegitimate children are born to one mother), this king can be said to be ascetic - the lovers and queens of these three kings have seen each other, Mary Mancini has a round face and a cute little chin, fluffy Dark curly hair, rosy cheeks and lips, made her look like an unmarried maiden even at the age when her son was about to come of age; even Lady Milady, who had no surname, had Coquettish and wanton, just like the warbler you can often see on dark street corners, or the ferocious she-wolf, who will fall on you if you instigate; It does not meet the French's recognition of beauty, but no one can deny that her hair is as beautiful as a waterfall, and she always has a temperament that attracts pity, and the king once talked about it with the queen, La Valli Mrs. Ayr's face had a special charm of its own.

As for the Marquise of Montespan, her beauty...is full of dangers, which makes people see that she does not have the desire to pity or conquer—instead, she will choose to shrink and escape in fear, but at the same time, they will also be attracted by those people. The glamorous and flawless face, figure and voice grab him, not only can't escape according to the rational cry, but will be dragged into the quagmire by the fiery tentacles.

Fortunately, there is always a priest by the queen's side—the priest of Eralius. He has seen such a scene and has the ability to resist. He stepped forward, stretched out the cross, and made a threatening gesture. Mrs. Montespan smiled slightly , slowly got up, and took a step back, so the weird atmosphere that entangled, or covered people, disappeared.

The queen touched the rosary beads on her wrist. The feeling just now was not comfortable. It was like walking into a glass greenhouse in summer. The humid and stuffy air was everywhere, and the clothes were tightly wrapped With your arms and feet closed, you are like walking in the stomach of a monster. Although she is a gentle person, there is inevitably a reproach in her eyes.

"I think I must beg your pardon, Your Majesty," said Madame Montespan, again bowing her knees.

"Now I want to doubt whether you really want to get the position of royal wife," the queen's eyes turned to examine: "The princess (Duchess of Montpensier) can be said to have tried her best to recommend you to me, but You acted so recklessly and recklessly."

"What kind of behavior?" asked Mrs. Montespan without hesitation.

"The priests around me should be able to answer you." The queen said, if Mrs. Montespan's two fathers were not the imperial doctor Vesalius and the Duke of Mortemare—these two ministers who are being valued by the king, the queen would Don't mess with her at all.

"If you mean that you have just been offended by a strange power," said Mrs. Montespan, "that's exactly what I need you to know."

The queen looked at the priest beside him, and he waved his hand lightly. The queen looked at the ladies and maids and said, "You can step back." Of course she will not bring those noble daughters who intend to become royal wives today, they are all here confidants, after they left, there were only two priests by the queen, and two witches who accompanied the queen in the name of handmaidens—if there was no one else here, they would be able to deal with one——

"Descendants of the Awakened," said the maid.

"Absolutely not," said the priest. "She must not be a royal lady, Your Majesty, and she must not be allowed to go to the King."

"Then who should I go to?" Mrs. Montespan said immediately: "Who is more qualified to have me than His Majesty the King?"

"Your husband, maybe?" Another maid beside the queen immediately said, "According to the laws of the other world..."

"Awakened people should not serve ordinary people," said Mrs. Montespan, "It's a pity that this precept has long since become a dead letter, because my mother is the Duchess of Mortemare, how? You dare not treat the king's favorite servants How dare you meddle in the king's private affairs?"

"The Duke of Mortemare is only a subject," said the priest; "and your Majesty is the Majesty of France."

"Because your majesty is the majesty of France, you should offer the best before him," said Madame Montespin, "and I am only a descendant of the awakened."

"Then perhaps we should bring an awakened person to His Majesty the King," said the maid.

"Can someone tell me what an awakener is?" the queen couldn't help asking.

"This is about some lunatics in the other world," the priest said before the witch, obviously, there was a bit of contempt in his words: "They are either for a long lifespan, or for the charm of confusing others, or Or just to pursue the mysteries of magic, they marry some magical creatures or demons, and their offspring will inherit some inhuman traits-but then they find that this does not bring them what they want, and then As wizards moved into the inner world on a large scale, the relationship with magical creatures became tense, and such desires gradually decreased, but in their families, there would occasionally be people who returned to their ancestors, and they inherited magic from alternate generations. The ability of creatures, you must know that magical creatures that can be selected by wizards generally have very strong abilities."

The queen looked at Mrs. Montespan quickly: "Then she is..."

"Nyxes, or sirens," said the priest.

"How dare you!" cried the queen angrily. It was impolite for her to speak so loudly, but she was not as learned as the king. When she thought that the Duchess of Montpensier recommended such a person to her and asked her to present it to the king, her eyes turned black for a while.

"Where are there swords that are not sharp enough, and where are there flames that are not hot enough?" Mrs. Montespan replied without flinching: "It depends on whose hands they are in. Do you think it is possible to conquer the whole world in three consecutive years?" Is the king of the lowlands afraid of a little awakened descendant?"

"It is impossible for me to keep such a dangerous being at court," said the queen.

"Even if your Majesty has already done this?" Mrs. Montespan asked back: "It's a pity that those two are still a pair of idiots who have nothing to say!"

"I implore you to come here," continued Madame de Montespin, "not to impress you with entreaties and sweet words, Your Majesty, but to be an emissary to bring my presents to the king, He will know who is the best choice."

"I don't think so," insisted the Queen, but her presence showed that she was already wavering: "You are such a danger."

"No more dangerous than my mother, the Duke of Mortemare still serves the king." Mrs. Montespan said: "I have no intention of hiding my specialness, not threatening you, but like those noble girls, let you, let the king Choose me."

"You confuse me by saying that."

"You will soon see that I am not full of lies," said Madame Montespan, and she showed the queen three things: a brass letter-box, a vial of shiny powder, and an ivory key.

"Your Majesty, I have read the Book of Esther in the Bible Old Testament." (Note 1)

"I've read it too, Ma'am, a chaste and wise saint."

"Then you should know that what I like most is that she brings gifts for the king every time she has an audience with the king."

"There are many who ask the king for gifts, but few who give gifts to the king."

"Yes, so this is my gift to the king. Maybe you don't understand, but it doesn't matter. Please allow me to tell you the same thing. They are exactly what I got with my own weapons." Mrs. Montespan explain. "First of all, there are two letters. You can open them and have a look, but I can tell you first that they are all letters stolen from the great Polish nobles. One is a reply to the Emperor Leopold I of the Holy Roman Empire." Said. At this point, the madam paused for a moment. Although the queen was surprised that a witch would be involved in the political behavior of mortals, she still nodded: "They can listen."

"King of Poland Michal Koribout Wiszniewicki doesn't have much time to live," Mrs. Montespan said rudely: "Leopold I is preparing to support Lorraine with the Polish nobles. The Duke is the King of Poland, of course, not the Duke of Lorraine who happily moved from Lorraine to Paris, but the eldest son of the older brother of the original Duke of Lorraine."

This sentence immediately made the queen look dignified. Lorraine was the first territory that Louis took back after he took over the government. The Duke of Lorraine died a few years ago in return for returning the territory. He, for him to spend as he pleases in Paris or Versailles, and the Richelieu House renovated by the king, he is the first nobleman to use the bathroom and sanitary facilities after the royal family members.

But on the other hand, the real Duke of Lorraine would not treat His Majesty the King if his younger brother usurped the heir's position, title and territory, and failed due to the intervention of Louis XIV in the war to regain the territory. What a good look, his eldest son has never given up the idea of ​​taking back Lorraine. He has been growing up under the protection of Habsburg for more than ten years. Although he cannot shake the rule of Louis, this enemy seems to be hidden in the Nauseous as the poisonous snakes in the swamp—he may have been responsible for the plague that the Duke of Orleans encountered in Lorraine, and he was not very old then.

Now he may be twenty years old, he is physically strong, determined, and ambitious. When I think of the tradition of Polish nobles who love to elect a foreigner as king, Leopold I supports it. Impossible, although Poland-Lithuania is separated from France by the Holy Roman Empire, it is adjacent to Sweden. As an ally of Sweden, it is impossible for Louis to ignore this, and this enemy, if not for Mrs. Montespan's warning, may have Only when the dust settled did Louis know that he had such a dangerous enemy again.

"And the second letter?" asked the Queen.

"The second letter is the proposal of several other nobles," said Mrs. Montespan. "They intend to make Prince Condé King of Poland."

"The Prince Condé you speak of is the Prince Condé we think of?" asked the priest involuntarily.

"Yes."

"How I hope to get a negative answer." The queen murmured. You know, people have been discussing when the king will put Prince Condé in prison, not to mention Prince Condé's involvement in the two Fronde movements. The ambiguous attitude, just for the second time, his younger brother Prince Conti did clearly announce that he would make his elder brother the regent king-there is only one step away from taking the throne-after the Battle of Dunkirk, Louis Not only forgave the captured Prince Kong Dai, but also let him continue to lead the army to fight for him. Some people have said that the king is as benevolent as a saint.

In fact, in the battle against Flanders and the Netherlands, some people persuaded Prince Condé to give up his military power and return to Paris or his castle Chantilly, but Prince Condé did not agree. It is no wonder that people are worried that the king will feel threatened. After all, Louis XIV claims to be the Sun King. How can there be two suns in the sky?

This news is simply worse than the last one.

No one can deny that Prince Condé, as a general capable of recruiting and fighting, is much more terrifying than the unknown little Mr. Lorraine.

Note 1: Esther is the heroine in the "Bible · Old Testament · Esther", the queen of ancient Persia in the middle of the fifth century BC. She is a beautiful and kind Jewish heroine. The lives of the Jews in Persia, using their own wisdom, exposed the conspiracy of the Persian Prime Minister Haman in front of the Persian king at that time, so that Haman was hanged (Note: This gallows was hanged for the conspiracy of Haman) Stir's adoptive father.), shattered Haman's evil plan to exterminate the Jews in Persia.

According to legend, Esther was originally just one of the many concubines, but unlike other concubines, she would bring a gift with her every time she served the king instead of asking for a gift from the king, thus attracting the king's attention. That's what Mrs. Montespan said.