I Am Louis XIV

This birthday celebration is of great significance not only to Louis XIV's youngest son, but also to his third illegitimate son, Auguste, who was born to him by Madame Montespan. It also further shows Louis XIV's love for him. The strong control inside and outside France - when a king is on an expedition, it is usually when his political opponents or foreign enemies use despicable methods. There are many kings who suffer from this, and because this personal expedition is to support another A Catholic country faced off against the 250,000 Ottoman Turks. Louis XIV also mobilized part of the garrison in the occupied areas. This made some people think they had found an opportunity. They couldn't wait to jump up and down and made all kinds of ugly appearances - if they were willing to sacrifice Myself, it may be a bit too much to say this, but the problem is that what they talk about is high-sounding and high-sounding, but they will only push others to the gallows or beheading. Are they themselves, even in the worst situation, still able to survive the whole body? Retired.

When these people saw the king hastily changing his itinerary and returning to Versailles from Florence early, they were still laughing secretly in their hearts, thinking that they had finally grasped the weakness of his majesty. They did not know that their conspiracy would not make the current Louis X Four worries, he just took this to find a good opportunity to return to France as soon as possible - taking the scholars and other valuable people he collected - how can I say, do you think he really only collected Spino? Sha and the other three?

Although Italy has declined, it is the birthplace of the Renaissance after all. With a little digging, countless treasures will fall into the bag. Even if they are now dim and full of rust, with a little polishing, they can be Can glow with dazzling luster.

Now they are all French, all Louis XIV.

Louis's satisfaction came completely from his heart. His victory in Florence was far better than his victory over the Ottoman Turks, but it was a pity that he could not announce it to the public. In the end, all this excitement and joy was poured into Auguste's house. At the birthday banquet - this banquet was the same size as the previous two young dukes. All members of the royal family were present. The king even named Auguste the Duke of Montreal on the spot.

As soon as they heard the name, the eyes of the guests immediately flew into confusion, and the color on Madame Montespan's face suddenly lost color, and the joy in her eyes was replaced by loss and shame - now everyone knows that the king's illegitimate son was born. The titles they hold are often closely related to the fiefdoms granted to them by the king. For example, the Duke of Colonna. From the beginning, the king intended for him to seek the throne of Naples or even go further. The Duke of Hallebour, together with the title of his mother's Duchess of Brussels , to prepare for him to become the Grand Duke of Flanders in the future.

So, where is Montreal? In the north of America, France's largest colony and the most remote and cold colony, there is a St. Lawrence River in the cold Quebec region. An island in the river and the surrounding land are called Montreal.

This undoubtedly means that not only can Madame Montespan’s son not be able to stay in France, he will not even have a place in Europe. When he becomes an adult, he will be sent to distant colonies - Quebec at this time does not have hundreds of people. In the later years, Quebec's output was almost only furs and fish. To the French today, it was a deserted and boring place. The only local residents were natives, criminals and exiles, and they received no taxes at all...

It seems that this child really doesn't like the king.

Queen Teresa looked at Madame Montespan and touched the king's hand. Louis gave her a comforting look, "I will talk to her."

For Louis XIV, America is far more valuable than Africa, or in other words, it will develop and change more in the future. Its current barrenness and desolation are entirely due to the fact that it is too far away from the French mainland, France itself is underpopulated, etc. Objectively Reason, but the Duke of Montreal is still a baby that shakes when he walks, and his mother, Madame Montespan, cannot leave Versailles and Paris to manage the territory on his behalf, so it will be just right to entrust this colony to him when he grows up. France's population is also in a state of expansion, which can provide him with enough immigrants and relieve domestic pressure. The new recruits in the army will also be sharpened in subsequent battles - just in time for him to take to Quebec.

Mrs. Montespan angrily pulled the necklace around her neck. She was still a little hesitant before the banquet started. It was the necklace that King Dai provided to her - according to tradition, all wives who have given birth to children for their husbands should receive it after giving birth. A gift, Mrs. Montespan’s gift is a necklace with feathers and flowers in the Ottoman Turkish style. The Istanbul craftsmen have a special skill. They first set the gems on the silver base, and then wrap the silver with gold, so From the outside, the gemstone base is integrated and very beautiful; or it may be the ruby ​​and pearl necklace that the king sent to her after he returned to Versailles and spent the first night with her. This is also traditional, after the king spent a night with the royal wife. , must be given as a gift.

The former is very meaningful, and the latter can show the king's favor for her. Mrs. Montespan hesitated, and finally chose the feather and flower necklace. For no other reason than because today was the day when the king canonized August, she wanted everything to be perfect on this day - but it was His Majesty the King who finally broke this point.

She was so angry that she almost refused the king's invitation to dance, but when she took the king's arm, the king leaned over and said a few words to her gently, and she became energetic again.

"The king really has Madame Montespan under his control." Prince Conti said half sarcastically, half admiringly.

"What's strange about this," said Colbert, standing next to him: "Everything about her comes from the king."

"No, I mean," said Prince Conti, "she was not that stupid when she was fooling and blackmailing the whole of Paris."

"She is a smart person, but also a vicious person," Colbert said: "But she has a problem, that is, she values ​​power too much. In the face of power, she can put down everything, including dignity and wisdom, like a vicious... When a dog faces its owner, even if the owner wants to knock her to death, skin her, and eat her flesh, she will still wag her tail. Not to mention that the king at least gave her a son, and her ending is the worst. It can’t be any worse.”

"I don't think so. I thought the Duchess of Colonna and the Duchess of Brussels were bad enough, but I didn't expect that the King could find something worse."

"She is the daughter of Duke Mortemar, a Frenchman, and a beauty." Colbert glanced sideways at Prince Conti: "I thought this was the person you expected."

Prince Conti was about to speak, but he suddenly coughed twice, and Colbert also shut his mouth alertly. It turned out to be the king's physician, Varro Vesalius, who was walking behind them. As we all know, Montespan The lady and her sisters are not the blood of Duke Mortemar. They are the little crows in the Love House and the Crow. Duke Mortemar's wife died three years ago - that is, Vesalius's ex-wife.

The origin of Varro Vesalius is also unknown. He may be similar to the "astrologers" and "alchemists" around the king. In a certain sense, the marriage contract between him and his wife is not recognized, so Only Duke Mortemar begged His Majesty to show mercy and admit the possibility of entering into a marriage contract with someone else's wife...anyway, this matter was really messy.

Madame Montespan didn't care at all. According to the maid next to her, she even wrote to Duke Mortemar and Vesalius at the same time, calling them dad and asking them to help her speak well in front of the king.

Talking about devils and devils, here they mentioned Madame Montespan’s two fathers. Vesalius’s doctor came from behind Colbert, and then Duke Mortemar also came from behind Prince Conti. ——Every place they passed by was subtly quiet. Everyone looked at them from the corners of their eyes. The ladies were a little excited.

This is the first time they have met in public.

Duke Mortemar looked at Vesalius, and Vesalius looked at Duke Mortemar. Vesalius had watched his enemy die in pain and festering in nightmares countless times - and the Duke had also watched countless times in his nightmares. In the fantasy, she stabbed "him" through the throat with a sword, but the one in the nightmare always had a distinct face, while the one in the fantasy had a blurry face.

They approached calmly. Duke Mortemar leaned forward slightly and raised his hand to press the brim of his hat, while Vesalius bowed.

"Today's banquet is really lively." Duke Mortemar said.

"Yes," Vesalius said, "It's just that there are too many people, and the air here becomes turbid."

"The doctor said that I can't stay in a place with turbid air for too long. Sir, can you go for a walk with me?" Duke Mortemar said.

"I am very willing." Vesalius said, so the two people walked out side by side - the banquet was held in the Venus Hall, and outside the hall was the famous Holly Labyrinth. This labyrinth is not only large, but also has forked paths. There are many dead ends, and there is always a pair of symmetrical seats at the end of the dead ends, so that exhausted people can sit down and rest. Vesalius and Duke Mortemar walked for a long time to ensure that they would not accidentally meet anyone. Encountered by chance" and sat down in a blind corner.

"You are here today," Duke Mortemar was the first to speak: "Is it because of Madame de Montespan's invitation?"

"Yes," Vesalius showed a look that was both pity and sarcasm: "She said that I did not attend her mother's funeral. I should at least attend my grandson's birthday party."

Duke Mortemar also smiled: "Marlena told me before she died that she was going to see you."

"Did she never know?"

"I don't want her to know," Duke Mortemar said frankly: "I am a despicable villain. In order to take her away, I even framed you. I hope you die so that she can be completely free." belong to me."

"So do you still love her now?"

"It is strange that love left me the moment she died," said Duke Mortemar. "She was like a pile of coals that would never burn out. By her side, my blood will never burn out." It was boiling and tumbling endlessly, but when she died, my heart became a handful of ashes, not only cold, but also never warm again."

"When did you first know that she was a witch?"

"Very early."

"Have you ever doubted her?"

"You have to ask me if I am aware of anything strange about myself," Duke Mortemar said, "Yes, I once thought that I would not be that crazy. I have had several wives and lovers, but there has never been anyone who can compare to me." She will make me so crazy." He looked at the deep black holly bush: "But that's not all, sir, she is a lovely and good woman. There is nothing to blame except being too fragile and naive... I don't I know that my love for her is somewhat real and somewhat false, but I think our life is peaceful and happy."

"Calm and happy..." Vesalius chewed the adjective bitterly: "Your words remind me of the last letter Atenais wrote to me. I am talking about Atenais, Sir, I have always wanted to know whether this letter was her idea, or whether you managed to embellish it."

"This letter makes you heartbroken," said Duke Mortemar. "I asked someone to write it because Marlena loves her daughters very much and it is impossible to cut off contact with them if they are still attached to you. , then Malena will not forget you - of course, she still has not forgotten you, she just thought you were dead, but at that time I planned to cut off all relations between you."

"You said that your love for Marlena had rested with her six feet below," said Vesalius. "It does not seem so now - but for the letter that Madame de Montespan later wrote to me, I would have almost I have to believe you - Atenais." He paused slightly: "She at least knows, but she was not originally... such a child. It was because I was too stupid and too arrogant before. Let her, her sister and Marlena suffer too much... before things reach this irreversible point."

"I must admit that you are right," Duke Mortemar looked at Vesalius: "But there is also a part of it that comes entirely from her nature."

He looked at Vesalius: "Although I was born to be aloof, I have seen many people like Mrs. Montespan. They are like a poisonous snake that is never satisfied. When he can get food from you, They will appear extremely docile, but once you cannot satisfy them, they will jump up and bite your throat out."

Vesalius let out a long, sad sigh.

"Do you know what result His Majesty will give her?"

"I don't know," said Duke Mortemar, "but this is the last time I will answer her prayer."

He looked at Vesalius: "What about you?"

Vesalius pursed his lips: "I'm just a royal doctor," as if to explain, he continued slowly: "The king has given her enough and great powers. If these are not enough, then there is nothing I can do. Help her." At this point, he seemed to have let go of a huge burden: "I used to be full of hatred for you, Duke, you took everything away from me."

"I'm sorry, if that's what you want to hear, I'm willing to compensate you, but you probably don't need any compensation." Duke Mortemar is not a smart person, nor does he have any outstanding talents. , but the advantage is that he followed the king (even if he was not so willing) very early, and he did things in a systematic way, and he was not very keen on power. Let's put it this way, he is a person who is very good and suitable to be an assistant. Don't think of him as an assistant. It is easy to find people who can face their shortcomings and admit their mediocrity.

But compared to Varro Vesalius, yes, on the surface, Vesalius was just an imperial physician. The imperial physician's status in the Palace of Versailles was not too high, but someone like Varro could serve the king at any time. The court doctor is different. Otherwise, why would those dignitaries rush to live in Versailles, or even be willing to serve as the king's attendants? Although Louis XIV did not say it explicitly, everyone knows that when a person makes a choice under similar conditions, he will inevitably choose people or things he is familiar with, such as those who have accompanied Louis XIV from his youth to the present. Who among us has not achieved great success?

And as a person accepted by the top of the pyramid, Duke Mortemar also vaguely heard that Vesalius led a group of wizards and scholars. Some key parts and formulas for important machinery and medicines can only be produced by wizards - like It is a new type of dye that has been popular in Istanbul twenty years ago. So far, other countries have not been able to crack the formula of those dyes. They bring a large amount of real money to France every year.

"I accept your apology, Your Excellency," Vesalius sat upright in his chair and looked at the sky. Only the moon and the sun seemed to be eternal in the world. "You almost destroyed me." He He still said in that unhurried tone: "But it has been so long, no," he lowered his head: "It should be said that there is no longer only Malena in my life, Atenais and my Two other daughters.”

"Your other two daughters..."

"I know, I want to thank you. You found them a good marriage, which a poor potion master cannot do," Vesalius said calmly: "But I don't think I will appear in front of them. They live a peaceful life, as long as they have a father like you."

"You and I have the same idea." Duke Mortemar said: "You are now in an important position, and people's attention to you will not bring them any benefit. They are not Atenais and will not feel that hapiness."

"You are right," Vesalius stood up, "Then let's shake hands and say goodbye."

"It's a great honor, sir." Duke Mortemar stood up. He didn't want to deceive himself, but for this man who crawled out of prison with empty hands, no capital or identity, he could only rely on his own talent and wisdom. Climbing up step by step, the man who finally stood face to face with him was full of admiration. He had seen people like Atenais, but never seen people like Vesalius. The latter was more powerful than the former. Rarely, he took off his gloves and shook hands with Vesalius.

Then they said goodbye to each other and returned to the banquet hall and their rooms.

The Duke of Mortemar was the one who had to return to the banquet hall. After all, his identity was different from that of the royal doctor. He looked at Atenais sitting at the feet of the king. She hugged the Duke of Montreal, her eyebrows were flying, her cheeks were raised. Bright red.

This may be her most unforgettable day.