I Am Louis XIV

"Does she want money?" said the Duke of Orleans, speculating on the girl's identity.

"I'm not sure." The Marquis of Lois said with a complicated mood, because when he was flipping through the interrogation records, he couldn't believe his eyes - how did Mr. Bonnard leave such an important document to that person? As for the lady, to put it simply, as Count d'Artagnan often encountered, he just accidentally met a messenger of Venus in the tavern. The girl in the tavern, whether she was a maid, She was also the boss's sister or daughter, often working in the trade, and it would have been only a short-lived love story - if Monsieur Bonnard hadn't left a bag on her bed.

It is also possible that this girl stole it, but in the future, it was easy to deal with it. A commoner's daughter could be bribed with money, or threatened with prison or torture, let alone Lovas or d'Artagnan. , even Colbert had hundreds of ways to get her to hand over the documents obediently - but when things got here, both the Duchess of Bouillon and M. Bonnard got stupid again, and they actually went to find that person again. priest, because they felt that they were able to find the documents precisely because this priest prayed devoutly for them.

"What's the name of that priest?" The Duke of Orleans couldn't help but ask after hearing this: "Is it Saint Francis or Saint Peter?"

"Don't mention this. This priest is called Lesage, and he also has an assistant called Lavoisin. They went to Bordeaux not long ago and persuaded a lot of ignorant people and women with their sharp tongue. , and even attracted many powerful people, and the Duchess of Bouillon also celebrated mass in their church." The Marquis of Lois said dryly: "In short, this priest made a lot of arrangements for them. The priest told them that he would curse the girl if she persisted in not returning the important document to them."

"Is the Duke of Luxembourg accused of practicing witchcraft related to this?" Louis asked. Although in many cases, priests would also act as witches, and the mass was not necessarily for blessings and thanksgiving, but once it was confirmed, the evidence was basically conclusive.

"That's not it." The Marquis of Lovas paused, because Bontang was bringing him a glass of wine. He bowed slightly to express his gratitude to the king, drank the wine in one gulp, and his mouth was indeed dry. Dry, "If it's this, God, it doesn't matter, because this priest only curses this girl to lose her love."

At this moment, even Bangtang couldn't help but show a hint of surprise. This was really rare for Bangtang. He was the closest person to the king besides the queen, queen mother, royal wife and children. It could even be said that, He knew some things that even the queen and the queen mother might not know, and he knew them regardless of whether they were in the inner palace or the outer court.

Except for the time when the king had to enter the other world alone after the assassination at Dunkirk, Bontang had never left the king's side. He had seen and heard probably more than ten thousand mortals. He has long since developed the ability to be able to defeat a mountain without stopping. To put it more bluntly, he is professional and has been trained, so... unless he encounters something really funny.

Others didn't notice it, but Louis could feel that Bontang's action of taking back the cup for the Marquis of Lois and his slow pace of walking out of the room were a bit fast. He believed that his chief chamberlain must have gone outside to laugh.

The king and the Duke of Orleans just laughed and sighed. The Duke of Orleans glanced at his brother: "I think I must apologize to you," he said, "I didn't understand why you needed so many schools at that time..."

The Marquis of Lovas nodded seriously on the side. He was also thinking at that time, forget about boys, why should girls be admitted to school together? But when he thought that his future daughter-in-law and granddaughter-in-law might be another Duchess of Bouillon, he trembled with fear. This is an idiot who can completely bury hundreds of years of struggle of a surname in one breath.

"Then the girl has lost her love?" asked the Duke of Orleans.

"I don't know whether she has lost her love," the Marquis of Loise said numbly, "but it is true that she still never lacks company on her bed."

"The Duchess of Bouillon and Bonnard," he went on, "felt that they had been deceived, and the priest, Lesage said, it was because they had encountered a dangerous witch, a seducing devil, He raised his hand and rubbed his forehead: "So they took the girl out of the tavern, brought her to the church, and performed a black mass."

Now even the Duke of Orleans began to frown.

"They...killed the girl in the church, cut her into pieces, and threw her into the river. But compared to misleading people, the priests seemed to be less good at erasing traces and disposing of the body. They and the corpse containing the body parts The barrel was caught by the patrol at once." The Marquis of Lois said, while looking at the king, Louis knew what he meant. Since Louis took charge, he has set out to change the situation where France seems to be unified, but in fact it is divided - from faith to From a financial perspective, he got the power of appointing bishops from the Roman Church; from a financial perspective, he abolished the tax collector system; from a local strength perspective, all soldiers who were injured or retired in the war were sent by the king. When they went out, they, together with the king's supervisor, took over the power and responsibility of local security. If just a goose was lost, or someone owed a debt, they would not care about it, but it involved human lives. , whether it was suicide, homicide, or an accident, they had to compile a list and submit it to Versailles.

Especially in Bordeaux, because it was once a stronghold against the king, the supervisor was even more careful. He must have figured out the king's thoughts, so he detained all the people involved in this matter, except for The Duchess of Bouillon was under house arrest in her castle.

"So how did the Duke of Luxembourg get involved?" Louis asked.

"Although they killed the girl, they still failed to get the document, so... under the instigation of the priest, Mr. Bonnard actually obtained a new appointment through the Duke of Luxembourg's trust in him. In addition to the positions and candidates previously agreed upon by the Duke of Luxembourg and the Duchess of Boulogne, there is also a blank space between the Duke's signature and the main text. They wrote a few lines on it... This is what you see. , is also the so-called basis held by those two priests."

Louis opened it and looked at it: "The handwriting is wrong," he said.

"It doesn't matter whether you are right or not," said the Duke of Orleans. "What they want is your attitude."

The supervisors, the police, and the judges of the High Court, as long as the king nods, they will immediately put the Duchess of Bouillon and the Duke of Luxembourg on the trial bench. The best result for them is to be imprisoned for life, and the evidence of the crime is conclusive, even if Ludwig I of Poland could not say anything. Not only could the king take back a duchy, but he could also seize the opportunity to annex Luxembourg...

"Where is the Duke of Luxembourg?" asked the king.

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The warden of the Bastille once served as the general manager of the Bastille Castle for thirty years, but in these thirty years, he did not see as many dignitaries as he had seen in the past few years - Louis XIV was a dictator The king was young, strong and decisive, and his standing army of 150,000 men ensured that all his enemies would be a tragedy, both outside France and within France.

Especially after the king returned triumphantly from the Netherlands and Flanders, the guests at the Bastille became more distinguished. Just over a year ago, even the Duke of York from England was a guest here. The warden was quite proud, especially when he heard that some people had compared the Bastille with the Tower of London - although he believed that one day, the Bastille would be more famous than the Tower of London.

Just when he was thinking about whether he should raise some small animals in the Bastille (there are ravens in the Tower of London), a warden ran in and said that a respectable nobleman came to visit him. The warden was surprised. He quickly put on his hat and boots and hurried out to greet him.

The visitor was in the prime of life, ugly in appearance and plainly dressed, but when the warden glanced from the window, he saw that he was riding a war horse worth fifteen hundred livres - his son was also one of the king's musketeers - —He can figure it out at a glance.

When the gentleman saw the warden, he stood up straight, but took off his hat. There was only a white feather on his hat, just like any officer, instead of an exaggerated ostrich feather. He looked towards The warden's eyes were cold and stern, as if he was about to pull out his sword at any moment to give him a break. When the warden saw the guard making way for him, he almost clung to the wall.

The warden stared at this gentleman, and his face felt familiar to him. He recalled where he had seen this man, hoping it was not a wanted portrait, but then he remembered...

"I am François-Henri de Montmorency-Boutville," he said. "I have come to apply for a room from you, sir."

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Back forty-five years ago, the name of François-Henri de Montmorency also appeared in the streets of Paris. Unfortunately, the reason was not a love affair or other trivial matters. , people talk about him because he brazenly started a life-and-death fight with another gentleman after Cardinal Richelieu (Prime Minister) promulgated the "Law of Prohibition of One-on-One Duels", and he Under Bishop Richelieu's window.

This behavior, which can be called a provocation, certainly made Bishop Richelieu furious. He sentenced Count Boutville to death with almost no hesitation. It is said that the count went to death calmly and only worried about himself. The beautiful beard was cut off in advance because he needed to be tortured. No, when his head fell from his shoulders, the beard stayed on his neck.

At that time, our Duke of Luxembourg was still a fetus in his mother's belly, only six months old. After he was born, his weak mother gave him to his aunt, Mrs. Prince Condé, to raise him, so he and Prince Condé The relationship between them is unmatched by ordinary brothers and friends.

He must admit that he indeed prefers Prince Condé to ascend the throne rather than Louis XIV, but what makes his mood more complicated is that Condé may be another Louis XIII, or even Louis IX, but he will never Unable to be Louis XIV. At least when it comes to exercising the power of a king and bearing equal suffering, Condé's performance is far from comparable to that of Louis XIV - Louis XIV always seems to be able to see far, far, far away, even they can't An unimaginable place. For this reason, his eyes would not even fall to his feet, let alone the past.

Condé said this to the Duke of Luxembourg, before he became Ludwig I, but the Duke of Luxembourg only thought that although Louis XIV's eyes were always looking further away, his Majesty stepped on a pebble. When the time comes, will you kick it off casually?

What is now in front of the Sun King is such a small stone, which is full of the smell of conspiracy, but... this is too beneficial to the king. The Duke of Luxembourg thought that even if the person who gave this gift had ulterior motives, it would be beneficial to the king. What damage? He was now like a whale with a torn hole, and the king's sharks were swimming beside him. As long as the king nodded, they would pounce on him and bite him crazily.

This feeling of completely entrusting one's fate to the conscience of another person is really too painful and tortured. The Duke of Luxembourg, who knew about this matter, did not escape back to Luxembourg or Bordeaux as the informant thought. , or Spain and England. He sat in the room and thought for a while. He took out the medal and ribbon awarded to him by Louis XIV and placed it on the table, looking at it over and over again.

Before dawn he left Versailles for Paris and knocked on the door of the Bastille.

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Louis also found it a bit funny when he heard that long before the Marquis of Lois came to see him with the documents, the Duke of Luxembourg had left for Paris, found a room in the Bastille, and stayed quietly.

"Looks like we have to take a trip," he said.

"Do you want to go in person?" the Marquis of Loise asked. The look on his face was a bit...maybe he was jealous. If Louis XIV decided to go along with the situation and convict the Duke of Luxembourg, the Marquis of Lovas might be very sad, but Louis Now he decided to go to the Bastille - of course it was impossible to execute the second François-Henri de Montmorency, but to personally pardon the Duke of Luxembourg for his sins. He became jealous again.

Of course the Duke of Orléans had to follow him. His habit of watching people's excitement started when he was still wearing a small skirt, and now it has become even worse. However, when he arrived at the Bastille, he stayed outside the room with the Marquis of Loise and the warden. .

As mentioned before, the warden of the Bastille had decided to defeat the Tower of London, so he also prepared comfortable rooms for those noble prisoners. The Duke of Luxembourg was in one of the rooms, and there was even a small suite. He sat Sitting on a chair, staring at the candlelight in a daze.

When he saw Louis XIV, he knew that Prince Condé had won.