I Am Louis XIV

The misfortune that befell the eldest princess of Leopold I was like a dark cloud passing over a clear sky. In order to brush away its shadow as soon as possible, Anna of the Medici obtained permission to see the king that afternoon. The nobles are both envious and jealous of all the favors of the Duke of Colonna - everyone knows that although Princess Anna is allowed to live in the Louvre as a member of the Orleans royal family, look at Montmartre Margaret, the king, the queen mother and even the queen refused to see her. It is conceivable that she could only spend the next few years in loneliness in the monastery.

Princess Anna was treated differently by the king simply because she was engaged to the Duke of Colonna. Even if the Duke of Colonna returned to Italy, his fiancée would still be treated second only to the princess. People whispered, Because the king summoned all the royal family members to welcome the future bride.

Princess Anna is just a child, but this child also knows that it is a privilege to be immediately allowed to visit her without spending the night in the Paris mansion purchased by the Grand Duke of Tuscany - in Paris or There are many people in Versailles who have been waiting for days, weeks, and months without being able to see the king.

"Having said that," Anna's wet nurse complained reluctantly: "Can't we wait a few days? A day or two is fine. We...the princess just arrived in Paris and needs a good rest."

"Stop talking," Anna's female officer quickly took off Princess Anna's clothes, "We will meet at three o'clock in the afternoon. We need to be ready at eleven o'clock. Now is," she glanced at the clock on the wall. , it was seven o'clock in the morning: "We only have four hours, we can't just let the princess go to see the king. Fortunately, there is a bathroom here, but there is still something missing. Mrs. Barbie, please come over and give the princess a bath. I will go..." She looked around and said, "Go find a friend and see if you can get some help."

"Your friend, how come I didn't know that you also have friends in Paris?" Mrs. Barbie muttered in a low voice, walked over slowly, reluctantly took over Princess Anna, who was wrapped in a fluffy cotton towel, and said what she said , it is not impossible to simply wipe it, but... speaking from the bottom of her heart, she did not dare to refute the words of this female official. Even if she was from a humble background, there was always a kind of majesty about her that people could not ignore, even if she was The former grand duchess didn't dare to go crazy with her - or maybe the grand duke's mother treated her like a daughter.

"You also need to wash your hair." Before leaving, the female officer also ordered this, which resulted in more vague complaints. After all, washed hair needs to be dried with a drying cloth again and again, even if there is a hoop weave in Paris. The towel can absorb water like dry sand - considering that women at this time almost never cut their hair, and Princess Anna's hair also grew to her knees, it was not easy to wash and dry it, so the wet nurse shouted loudly The maid came to help and carried the princess into the bathroom.

Long before Anna was born, the Grand Duke of Tuscany remodeled his palace according to the Richelieu House in Paris, so the wet nurse was not unfamiliar with those toilet facilities, except for the large white porcelain one that could accommodate two people. The bathtub still made her smack her lips slightly, and there were countless bath gels, balms, ointments, etc. She only knew a little French, but Princess Anna knew every word on it. These were packed in colorful glass bottles. Things have different uses and smells.

The wet nurse was not stupid enough to make the little princess smell bad. She carefully selected a few bottles of rose-scented bath milk and balm. When the little princess fell asleep in the warm bath water and fragrant fragrance, the female official Come back, she didn't come back alone, she was followed by many merchants delivering goods, and some people with servants, but they didn't look like nobles. They made the princess's maid feel puzzled, especially the last one, He holds a cane, wears black curly hair (wig), and wears a cloak. There is a cute little page boy on the left and right holding a huge multi-layered box.

He was so arrogant that he didn't bother to talk to the doubtful maids, and walked straight in until the wet nurse hurried out of the bathroom: "Oh God," she shouted, "Who is this?"

"He is Monsieur Champagne." said the female officer. As soon as she said this name, the wet nurse's expression suddenly changed, from nervous and vigilant to flattery and flattery. Speaking of Monsieur Champagne, even a lady from Florence They were also eager to be served by him once. Unfortunately, his family was originally the royal barber of the French royal family. By the time he fully revealed his talent under the protection of His Majesty the King, even the ladies of France had already queued up. One or two years later, let alone foreigners, this is under the premise that he only receives viscountesses and above.

Not to mention how Madame Barbie was wondering how a female official who was as unfamiliar as her could invite Monsieur Champagne. Monsieur Champagne was already commanding his servants to drive him around in the princess's bedroom like an officer. formation, but his soldiers are all made up of sparkling pins, hairpins, golden or black wigs, lifelike velvet flowers and real flowers with dew on them, as well as hidden hair ties and hair covers, etc. …

"Please take out the princess's clothes for today." He said, and then stared at the clothes thoughtfully for a long time. After letting out a long sigh, he nodded to the female officer, indicating that it was probably OK. , and then he looked at the princess's jewelry. If at first some of the maids couldn't believe that this unassuming middle-aged man was the famous Champagne, then seeing him calmly taking out the jewelry from that statue, he could never finish it. Take out the hair accessories that match the jewelry from the box - whether it is diamonds, emeralds, rubies, topaz, or even coal... The quality of some hair accessories even exceeds the princess's jewelry, but Champagne just shows it indifferently Waving his hand, "The gemstones on hair accessories are very small," he explained, "so it's normal for them to be a little more outstanding than the gemstones on other jewelry."

Madame Barbie didn't know how much the lady-in-waiting spent to invite Mr. Champagne. After all, twenty years ago, this gentleman's fee was as high as several hundred livres. But it must be said that it was worth every penny. Florence was once The center of the Renaissance, but as Italy fell apart again and again, changing owners and generals, all its glory was gone forever. Fashion is often closely related to the power and wealth of a country or even a region.

The crown now belongs to Paris.

Mr. Champagne is no longer the young apprentice who gingerly held a poker to perm Miss Marie Mancini's hair. He has been in the industry for twenty years, has entered the boudoir of countless noble ladies, and has been immersed in the expensive world. He has spent a quarter of his life surrounded by balsam, the glitter of jewels and smooth silks. He has touched more hair than any other dandy, and has seen snow-white shoulders and plump arms, even the sultan of Ottoman Turkey. Incomparable - but this is not the most important thing. The most important thing is that as a barber, the last step of the procedure he performs is the most critical, so all the tricks played by noble ladies cannot escape his eyes - He is the person who knows the most about the fashion trend in Paris, even the smallest changes.

So as long as this gentleman is invited, Princess Anna will not make any mistakes in dressing up.

When Princess Anna returned to the dormitory, all the curtains and curtains in the dormitory had been raised high. The room was bright and clean, with only the sweet fragrance of roses. Mr. Champagne sniffed it and said sincerely: " That's great." He bent down and said to the little princess, "This is the king's favorite taste."

"Really?" Princess Anna asked with her eyes wide open.

"Of course, I won't lie, especially to you, you are like a shining star." Champagne said, he was also looking at the Medici princess carefully. Parisians are very fond of the Medici. The French royal family is no stranger to strange things. Among other things, the French royal family has two queens from the Medici - but at this time, the current French king will not continue to choose a weak daughter of a prince as his wife, but to say that The Duke of Colonna, for whom the king's favor was well known, only needed to legally recognize this illegitimate son. The king did not recognize him not because he did not love him, but because he loved him too much.

Princess Anna is still young and very cute, but she can roughly tell her future appearance, especially for Champagne, a barber who has seen countless noble ladies. His sharp eyes estimate the appearance of this princess when she grows up - —She has abundant hair and thick eyebrows. It can be seen that she is a healthy child. Her skin, like any noble girl, has been developed to look white and thin. You can see the veins hidden under the skin. He speaks French, and his manners are still a bit reserved, but thinking about the young Mr. Eugen and the young Duke of Enghien in the palace, he must be able to teach him quickly.

Although the description contained many words, it only took a few seconds for Mr. Champagne. After making his judgment, he quickly dressed up Princess Anna and even made some suggestions for the princess's clothing and jewelry: "King I don’t really agree with children dressing up like adults,” he said: “Reduce cumbersome lace and jewelry as much as possible.” He directed the tailor to quickly subtract from the princess’s clothes, and said with interest: “This is not Italy. "It's not Spanish clothing, it's the latest Paris style." He asked seemingly casually: "Whose suggestion is this?"

"It belongs to Madame Aubigne." The maid on the side said casually,

"Oh," Mr. Champagne looked around and found that Mrs. Aubigne had left at some point. He thought of that lady. Although she looked gloomy, how could Mr. Champagne not see that? A beauty that was deliberately hidden? But yes, the court of the Grand Duke of Tuscany was much more chaotic than the French court. The daughter of the Duke of Gaston did not care about anything except amassing money and stealing treasures (the Medici family’s collection). Question, the Grand Duke’s mother also values ​​power more than the peace of a family. This lady was first the maid of the Grand Duke’s eldest son, and then the eldest daughter’s lady-in-waiting. Her beauty can only attract endless rumors and terrible threats, whether it comes from Women or men.

When Princess Anna boarded the carriage sent by the Louvre, she was already very different from when she arrived in Paris. Her black curly hair was simply pulled up, she wore a gardenia corolla, and her jewelry was only a string hanging around her neck. Pearl necklace, the royal blue satin skirt on her body was originally decorated with a lot of lace and lace, but now Mr. Champagne directed the tailor to remove a lot of it, but also added a lot of pearls (removed from another necklace) , so not only does she not look shabby, but she also looks more fair-skinned and cute.

Mr. Champagne watched her leave and left with a group of servants. Before Princess Anna arrived at the Louvre, information about her and the people around her was already on the king's table.

After reading the information, Louis looked at his brother: "Do you know who introduced Champagne to Madame Aubigne?"

"It's Madame Montespan." Philip showed a bewildered expression: "Although I don't dare to believe it, brother Wang, is it possible that the power behind Madame Montespan is..."

"The Church of Rome." Louis finished the sentence for him.

The recent transition has been a bit slow, sorry.