I Am Louis XIV

The Prince of Condé soon learned that the Duchess of Montpensier was under house arrest in his room, and he didn't take it seriously at all. Due to his own weakness, the Duchess of Montpensier may indeed have real feelings for him, but for any man with status and moral requirements, what really happened to a lady who has not yet entered marriage, It is a disgusting thing, if he is not married, he can still use marriage as a cover-up, but the Prince of Condé married very early, although he did not like his wife at all, the niece of Cardinal Richelieu .

Clara Clements, this poor woman, was only thirteen years old when she married the Prince of Condé, and now she has given birth to a son for the Prince of Condé, who is seven years old, but this son unfortunately inherited Her short stature and hunchback made Prince Condé change from ignoring her to hating her. On the contrary, her love for Prince Condé became stronger and deeper. The inheritance she inherited from Bishop Richelieu, Whether it is money or connections, they were all used on Prince Condé, and she also inherited another legacy from Richelieu, which was a cruel heart and keen insight.

Today's Prince Condé's face is full of clouds. Whether it is the prince's mother (people respectfully call her the old lady) or his brother-in-law, the Duke of Longueville, they all think it is because of the assassination. The prince and the two dukes Although it was safe, one of his favorite servants was also the most loyal, but he died because he was about to run to ask for help from the king and his party. There were also several other reliable servants who followed him from the battle with the Spanish brought him here.

"Your Highness," Mrs. Prince Clara called her husband like this, and sometimes called him Mr., because he never wanted to be too intimate with her in any public or private occasion: "Are you worried that those loyal people will stay behind?" The next wife and children?"

"I am very relieved to entrust you to do this matter." Prince Condé said: "This is not what I am worried about."

"If it is not for the dead," said the Prince's wife, "then it is for the living. Then I will tell you that I have arranged for the two officers you have brought, and they live near here. At the inn, my servants gave them a large crown every day to prepare their meals, and each of them was rewarded with twenty louis d'or, for which they are grateful in your name."

Prince Condé finally showed a clear smile on his face that seemed to be covered by heavy clouds: "Oh," he said, "my lady, this is much more than what the king promised. He only gave them five dollars each." A louis d'or."

"It's a matter of course," said the Prince's wife, "they are not the king's officers, but yours. I decided to give them so much because of the light maroon shoulder strap. Otherwise, I would rather they Go ask the king for a reward."

"That's impossible, Madame," said the Prince de Condé. "Whatever the color of their sash, they were brave men and saved my life. Twenty louis d'or is not much."

"I think loyalty is more valuable than courage," said the Prince's wife. "You can pick a brave man out of a hundred people, but you may not be able to pick out a loyal man out of ten thousand people."

Then she saw her husband's face darken again: "Yes," the prince murmured, "You are right, ma'am, loyalty is a more precious quality than bravery, and it is also rarer."

Mrs. Prince observed her husband's expression: "You look haggard, Your Highness, but I believe that the little fight on Turbig Street won't shake you. Tell me, if you have any distress, please tell me I, I may not have anything to help you, but you can tell me, even the most terrible things, and I can swear on the cross that I will keep my mouth shut."

"Well," said the prince, "isn't it the matter of those two officers?"

"Aren't they your officers, aren't they loyal to you?"

"That's the point," said the Prince: "You see, my lady, one of them was the one whom I ordered to come to Paris, because he designed a good fortification in the battle of Lorraine, He also performed outstandingly in the war in the Champagne region, so I decided to personally reward him and grant him the status of a full-fledged officer."

"That's a good thing."

"But as soon as the king summoned him, he ran to the king and obeyed his orders." The prince said distressedly: "Although he is willing to do this, there may be part of my reason in it-he and his friends took the Leading the king and the king's musketeers through paths known only to them, found us in no time, and fell with me three assassins."

"Yes." To the prince's surprise, his wife was very calm: "He is still willing to be loyal to you."

"That's right."

"But in his heart, the weight of the king is more important than you."

"obviously."

"That's it," the Prince's wife said, "This is the key point, Your Highness, do you think your strength will be inferior to that of His Majesty the King at this time?"

"How can this be?"

"And what about his exploits on the battlefield? Can he compare with yours?"

"No, he's still a child."

"So in the study and conference hall, did he perform better than you?"

"Of course not," said the prince, "he is not allowed to touch government affairs." He glanced at his wife: "What are you going to say, madam?"

"Don't you understand?" The Prince's wife said with a smile, "Your Highness, what I mean is, compared with His Majesty, the only thing you lack is a name."

This sentence made Prince Condé jump up from his chair, and he stared at his wife, as if she suddenly took off her human skin and showed her true face of the devil in front of him: "What are you talking about? !" he cried: "Tell me, you don't know what you're talking about!"

"On the contrary." The Prince's wife said: "I know exactly what I'm talking about, and you too, Your Highness, you are just blindly blinded by the so-called loyalty, just like that young officer. Can you see that the people of Paris, and indeed of all France, are more willing to submit to your will than submit to a priest's robe and a foreign woman's skirt? I have seen this since the day you entered Paris. Come out, if not, you let His Majesty the King lead 800 soldiers, no, even if 8,000 soldiers are facing 100,000 mobs, can he win the victory as easily as you?

Your Highness, if he can do it, he won't be driven out by the people of Paris! "

"My God!" cried the Prince of Condé, "you are urging me to do a crime! Like Lady Macbeth, you are manipulating your husband to rob him of what does not belong to him!"

"Big mistake," the Prince's wife stood in front of the fireplace, the red fire became her background, and her face was almost completely immersed in the thick shadows, "Macbeth was just a minister, and your ancestors in 1601 You have been the presumed heir to the throne years ago, and your grandfather, your father and you have always been the chief prince of the royal family, and you have always been only one step away from the throne..."

"A step that can never be crossed." said Prince Condé. "I will never become a despicable treason."

"Then this kind of situation will happen again and again, and it will happen in three places," the prince's wife said from the darkness, "he will take everything from you, Your Highness, he is the king." She took a step forward, and the prince took a step back , fell into the chair: "Although you can now contradict the bishop, laugh at the queen mother, and ignore the king, it is because this lion is still very young, but one day it will grow into a giant, and at that time, you need to plead with him , it is you who ask for a little mercy."