I Am Louis XIV

Louis XIV walked a few steps around the portrait in silence, and suddenly smiled: "He is indeed a beautiful child."

This sentence sounds like a compliment, but even if you don’t estimate the irony in it (given that the Bourbon family from Louis XIV on down all have extremely beautiful faces, tall and tall bodies, and intelligent and agile minds ), which is a bit too much, because Maria Teresa is the half-sister of Carlos II. Carlos II and Louis XIV are the same generation, but he rules the powerful Spain, even if what he seeks is Louis XIV's niece, Louis XIV should not use this tone to evaluate a king.

"This matter is so important that I cannot give my answer right away," Louis XIV said to the Spanish envoy. "I will give you my reply in three days." His tone was calm, and it was difficult to tell whether he was angry or concerned. Overjoyed, the waiter on the side stepped forward, covered the velvet curtain over the portrait again, and moved it down. Juan Patiño bowed silently. He had done everything he could, Next, he could only pray to God, hoping that God would protect Spain from this disaster.

When passing by the princess, Louis handed the nectarine in his hand to the princess.

For the French, being able to marry into the Spanish royal family is of course a good thing, but why not for the Spaniards? Flanders was originally a Spanish territory, and the war between France and Flanders was also a war between France and Spain. In this war, the Spanish failed to even send local troops, and France and Spain were suddenly divided. Other countries saw the weakness in this behemoth. It is conceivable that soon there will be many small actions against Spain - not to mention that the Emperor Leopold I of the Holy Roman Empire and Spain are of Habsburg blood. , when France invaded Flanders, but Leopold I's response was surprisingly slow and powerless, the Spanish guessed that the French must have made a secret agreement with Leopold I first.

In addition, as Carlos II finally reached the age of ten, the originally expelled Queen Mother of Spain and her supporters were eager to take action. After all, an illegitimate child would always lack the appeal of an orthodox heir, even if this orthodoxy was simply like a Disgusting joke - Louis XIV originally opposed incest marriage, and his marriage to Queen Theresa was a last resort. Fortunately, their children have not been cursed by incest, and Habsburg's However, in order to hold on to the power and territory in their hands, the bloodline married more than once. Carlos II had four or five brothers, all of whom died in infancy.

According to the calculations and speculations of later generations, if the consequences of incest marriage would be a disability rate of 0.25%, then Philip IV would have increased this possibility to ten times. That's 2.5%. With such a high ratio, it's a miracle that Carlos II was born and raised.

But Louis XIV, the Duke of Orleans, or anyone who loves the princess would not want the princess to have anything to do with this "miracle". It's just that the ministers and nobles in the French court seem to have replaced Louis. After making a decision, they even started to work around, trying to get a foothold in the wedding procession - because the ministers who gave the wedding usually received the king's reward, or a title, or an official position. But they probably don't know that there is probably no wedding procession, but there is a room in the Bastille. The Duke of Orleans is gearing up, and he has the leverage to make these bastards stay in the Bastille until the end.

There was only one person and one thing that made the Duke of Orleans hesitate, and that was his brother.

Couldn't the Duke of Orleans see the benefits that the ministers could see? The king would only see it more clearly than they did, but when he thought that his daughter, whom he had held for only a few years, would be married to such an abominable monster, the Duke of Orleans couldn't help but tremble all over. Ever since the Spanish envoy mentioned this marriage, He refused to attend all banquets and dances, casinos and hunts, listen to music, and go to the theater where the young duke would no longer be seen in all his glory.

He stayed in his daughter's room every day, staying with her until she fell asleep, then tossing and turning in the next room.

Even more painful than him was the Duchess of Orleans. She was once worried that the Duke of Orleans would not like her, and then she and his children. This kind of thing was not uncommon in political marriages. Fortunately, under Louis' persuasion, the Duke of Orleans still worried about the marriage. She has assumed the responsibilities of father and husband, but now, she hopes that the Duke of Orleans does not love their daughter. She is equally anxious, but she can only cry to her young son. She does not dare to let the Duke of Orleans discover that she has been Worried that the Duke would rely on the King's favor for him, he asked the King to refuse the marriage.

In just two days, many people were tortured in the palace. When the Duke of Orleans was summoned to the king's reception room, he felt relieved. He had decided that no matter what the cost, he would try to destroy this palace. Although this may form an irreparable rift between the king and him - thinking of this, his heart felt like it was being pulled on a saw, but he was already prepared to bear the king's distrust and alienation. He was prepared with indifference, and decided to use everything to compensate for his brother-the Duke of Orleans was still very rich.

When he saw that Bontang did not take him to the conference room where the king usually received ministers, but to a small room closer to the king's bedroom, the Duke of Orleans couldn't help but feel lucky. Maybe Louis would only be interested in him for a few years. Angry, can he be forgiven and return to Versailles? This thought continued until he walked into the room. The king was wearing regular clothes - a loose linen shirt, and a royal blue velvet coat. Different from what the king showed to the people and ministers, in private the king did not like to enjoy it too much. , For example, the buttons on that coat are only made of shells. Although they are shiny, they are definitely not comparable to gems or pearls.

The Duke of Orleans' heart was suddenly occupied by boundless guilt. When it came to sacrificing his life for the country, wouldn't it be possible for his brother to do so? Louis often laughed at himself for being a dull and boring person. That was because he had to devote all his energy to state affairs, and his personal emotions were pushed back countless times. At any time, he had to put the interests of France first— -Some people may accuse him of being ruthless, but there is definitely no Duke of Orleans among them.

Another terrible thought came to his mind. They were still meeting in this room. Was it Louis' intention to use their feelings to change his mind? The Duke of Orleans admitted that he was indeed wavering. The thought of his brother showing contempt for him or simply ignoring him made him desperate to commit suicide.

When Louis saw Philip coming, he raised his hand and asked him to sit down in front of him. Then without saying anything, he casually thrust a document into the hands of the Duke of Orleans.

The Duke of Orleans subconsciously opened it and read it. The first time he read it, he thought it was a hallucination caused by being too painful and entangled. The second time he thought he might have misunderstood the meaning of the letter. The third time he even thought it was a hallucination. It was a bad joke. It wasn't until the fourth time that he broke out of his trance. He looked at the king and didn't even know what he should say for a moment...

"What's wrong?" the Duke of Orleans heard a familiar voice coming from far away: "Aren't you happy?"

The Duke of Orleans raised his head and saw the bright eyes of Brother Wang: "I'm still thinking about how to delay it for a few more days. Fortunately..."

He couldn't finish what he said, because the Duke of Orleans had already rushed up and hugged him tightly.

——————

Bontang waved his hand and asked the waiter outside the door to leave. After all, the Duke of Orleans and the King were no longer three or five years old. The scene of two strong adult men hugging each other tightly was not beautiful enough. , not to mention that the Duke of Orleans was still in tears, constantly muttering, "I thought you were going to be angry with me, brother," and Louis XIV could only put one hand on the back of the chair with difficulty, and stroke the other person's hair and face comfortingly with the other. He didn't know what he was saying on his back and mouth - his eyes were looking at the ceiling helplessly.

The Duke of Orleans should remember that he is six feet one inch and weighs one hundred and fifty pounds, and he is almost twenty years away from the age of acting like a spoiled child. Bontang really doesn't know if he should go over and remind the Duke - he should be like this Do it, because just a few seconds later, an ominous clicking sound sounded from under the king's buttocks. The graceful and slender chair legs like a swan's neck are indeed pleasing to the eye, but it seems that it cannot be used with only two legs. Withstand the crushing of a pair of strong men...

It broke, and the two most distinguished men in France were thrown to the ground together. If it weren't for the thick carpet on the ground, the banquet the day after tomorrow would be much better.

Bontang walked over, trying not to look like he was gloating about his misfortune, but because he was happy for the princess - he first dragged the king out from under the Duke of Orleans' elbow, and then helped the Duke of Orleans from being taken down. The Duke of Orleans struggled to free himself from under the table. The Duke of Orleans was still holding the document tightly, as if he was holding his daughter's happiness. "Then..." As soon as he climbed out from under the table, he said impatiently: "I can go and summon the ministers. Your Majesty?"

"Go, no, wait." Louis rarely ignored his image and said with a grin: "Buntang, you first call Varo Vesalius and ask him to bring some potion." There are many places on his body that are covered with blood. The pain was severe, and the Duke of Orleans was no exception - when he fell, the Duke of Orleans was obviously above him, but at the last moment he tried to block him from the ground. Although he was not completely successful, it was still It fell hard to the ground and was hit by a heavy table - the tables at this time were all made of solid hardwood, and were no different from metal in terms of weight and hardness.

There are already enough rumors in the palace, and there is really no need to add such disturbing rumors that brothers are feuding and fighting each other until their noses are bruised and their faces are swollen regardless of their appearance.

Varro Vesalius arrived quickly. In view of his status, although his room was small, it was very close to the king. He carefully examined the scars on the king's body and showed a hypocritical smile: "Merlin Proof," the abominable potion master said: "Your Majesty, your injuries today are actually more serious than what you suffered on the battlefield."

Louis gave him a roll of his eyes.

To be honest, although Varro has been preventing his daughter from entering the palace, Mrs. Montespan's understanding of the king is really thanks to his and Duke Mortemar's "admonishment". The standard thing backfired, Louis I don't know whether I should thank them or express my anger. Varro Vesalius and Duke Mortemar seem to be aware of this, so they rarely appear in front of him recently.

But Mrs. Montespan... The king sighed at the thought of this, "You have to thank Mrs. Montespan, she was the one who got this document."

The Duke of Orleans nodded slightly, but he also knew that without the king's order or even force, this document would never have appeared here so quickly.

"Brother..." He murmured, tears flowing down again, but these were not tears of pain, but tears of joy and relief. Louis roughly stretched out his sleeve to wipe his tears, and was pleased to find that the Duke of Orleans did not powder his face today.

"Remember the night we were at the hunting palace in Versailles?" Louis said lightly: "I am the king, brother, and I promised that as long as you are loyal to me, I will protect you until the last moment of my life."

——————

The ministers entered the king's conference room and filed out after a while. Their expressions were not good-looking, but they were not bad either.

The document obtained by Mrs. Montespan had no important content. It was just a strictly confidential case, but it had the signature of the Spanish Archbishop and several important witnesses-from Don Juan Jose. Safe, the regent kept this document undoubtedly to prepare a way out for himself - this case clearly stated that Carlos II's organs were damaged, it was difficult to excretory, and he was unable to have sex with women. , let alone having offspring.

He is just...a celestial eunuch.

In the marriage between countries, whether the couple can successfully have sex is one of the important contents for the marriage contract to be recognized by God and the law. Among other things, when Louis XII of France wanted to marry Anna of Brittany, he used himself as his wife. He failed to have sex with his first wife, Jeanne of France, and asked the Pope to declare the marriage contract invalid, but he also succeeded - so, even if the princess and Carlos II entered into a marriage contract, as long as Duke Don Juan had such With a document in hand, either Spain and France were willing to tolerate the Duke's blackmail, or they had to admit that the engagement was invalid.

The French ministers and nobles are willing to let the princess make sacrifices in return. If the princess cannot give birth to a Spanish heir, she may not be able to win the love of her husband. The engagement will be invalid at any time. They are Only mad people would send the princess to Spain.

After a while, the Duke of Orleans took the princess into the king's room. The princess fell at the king's feet, grateful beyond measure.

That night, there was a little joke, that is, the eldest princess actually ate the nectarine that the king had given her and kept for several days - although the nectarine would not be eaten quickly because of its thick skin. It was rotten, but not fresh anymore. The Duke of Orleans had to go to the royal doctor, and the princess lay in bed for several days before she could get out of bed.