I Am Louis XIV

What does the king want to do?

Of course it's something he's always wanted and has been doing.

make money.

Although it is also to comfort the little witch who is always standing by his side, it cannot be said that one thing can only achieve one purpose, right?

The king's royal barber can also be said to be half an imperial doctor, well, after all, in this era, people are keen to use bloodletting to treat all diseases, from mental depression to hemorrhoids, from dysentery to syphilis, this is a panacea , is a wonderful countermeasure, and it is also a good comfort for patients.

So when Louis resolutely refused—fortunately, he was able to speak freely and be respected when he started to get sick. His royal barber was very frustrated. He didn't understand why the king would reject this wonderful universal cure. For them, and most of them, bloodletting is just one of the most common treatment methods, not to mention the sick, even some healthy people will do bloodletting from time to time to ensure their blood, black bile, yellow bile, and mucus. This important humoral component is not out of balance-like a certain Sir, who regularly has his favorite children come to bled himself, and drains nearly a pint of blood (nearly five hundred milliliters) every month. .

Only those barbers on the street, their status is higher than slaughter artisans, only lower than doctors, and it is precisely because doctors are unwilling to do such despicable and dirty work that they can intervene in such a noble profession. In the barber's shop, there will not be a window without a few bowls of blood to attract customers-even if this kind of advertisement, which is always surrounded by flies and rats, is banned because of the king's request, they are in the door again. Blood-stained gauze was wrapped around the pole to tell the guests how good their skills were and how busy the business was.

And the customers always happily go into the dark shop, have their hair cut, their nails manicured, their broken teeth pulled out (and replaced with fresh ones from poor people's mouths), and bled. Of course, a skilled barber, in addition to bloodletting, will also amputate limbs, cupping (also a way of bloodletting), leech (same as the former), and cut open abscesses...sometimes according to the doctor or customer At the request of the doctor, blood, feces, and urine are tasted to see if the person suffers from other diseases (sometimes more responsible doctors will do this themselves).

But the king did not allow his royal barber to touch him except for cutting his hair and manicure.

The barber had groomed himself as best he could to the King's liking--mainly clean, and his hands were clean, and always anointed with almond cream and olive oil, keeping it soft as cotton and fragrant, he Spraying himself with perfume (of course), and risking typhoid fever, he bathed the day before the king called him, but the king didn't seem to care how much preparation he did. The King stood beside him while he was getting his hair cut, watching his every move, and secretly warned him that if the King had only a scratch in his skin, someone would come and cut off his hands.

Even he was not allowed to bring his own scissors, nail clippers, which had to be prepared by the king.

Barbers can be wronged.

But it seems to be different today, the king's entourage asked him to take all the tools, and then there were his apprentices, he had two sons and apprentices, he took them all, they held the box for their father and master, climbed When they got into the carriage and arrived at the palace, they were both fresh and panicked. The older one even stumbled and almost fell down. Bontang watched coldly, but the youngest one was very calm and looked at those flexible eyes. , he wasn't petrified or overwhelmed.

They were the first to be brought before the king. What surprised the barber was that there was also a beautiful girl here. She had long black hair and creamy skin, which was the same color as the light blonde hair that is popular in the court today. It didn't match her pale skin, and she looked a little uneasy, but the king held her hand, so the barber immediately guessed that this might be Miss Mary Mancini, who was said to be favored by the king, and he hurriedly congratulated her. He bowed respectfully forward, and his sons followed suit.

"I want you to come today," said the king, "I want you to do something for me."

"My honor, my expectation, Your Majesty, please tell me, I will do my best."

"I hope you can follow my request." Louis reached out and touched Mary's hair: "Make an exquisite hairstyle for this young lady."

This request made the middle-aged man in his forties hesitate. As mentioned before, barbers belonged only to men, but he had had enough of the king's cold treatment, so he agreed without hesitation.

The first thing he had to do was to curl Miss Mary's black hair. People curled their hair as far back as ancient Egypt, when women curled their hair on wooden sticks and then applied an alkaline solution containing a lot of borax. After drying in the hot sun, knock off the mud and wash off the attached dust, the hair will show a wonderful curl, and their men will also use a flat iron to give their hair and beard an enviable look. The ancient Greeks also used cloth strips to bend their hair; the rich people of the ancient Romans curled their hair by inserting an empty copper cylinder with a hot metal rod in the middle.

Of course, the king prefers to be able to use a cold perm to deal with curly hair. Unfortunately, the most basic chemical solution has not been invented. At this time, the most commonly used is the lighter, but the lighter is also very dangerous. The method is worth applying one or two, so the king asked his royal barber to use the method of curling the hair on a hollow post and inserting a hot metal rod into it-this method is slow, but safe, Mary sat in the sun In front of the ample window, strands of hair are wrapped around the post, unable to move at all, and have to maintain the same posture for a long time. But Louis read the documents by her side, talked to her, and from time to time fed her honey water, candied fruit or any snacks that girls like, making this long "punishment" not only painless, but even too happy to appear Too short.

When Mary's hair turned into beautiful curls from the shoulders down, the king asked the barber to comb them, but all the curls should be fluffy and neat, and then the curls and tightness like a crown The middle of the hair was allowed to be inserted with diamond hair pins. Here, the barber found himself more awkward than ever, because he dared not touch the hair of the king's lover, and Mary was also nervous, her back was arched, Shoulders shrugged, neck stretched forward unnaturally, the barber tried several times but failed, and almost ruined the curls that were so hard-won - he was sweating profusely, seeing the king's displeasure When he frowned, he didn't know where to put his hands. He wanted his eldest son to replace him, but his eldest son shook his head desperately holding the wooden box. At this time, his younger son took a step forward, clearly Asked, "May I come, Father?"

The Queen's barber hesitated, he didn't intend to let his youngest son do it, his youngest son is only twelve years old this year, although he has been studying with him for a while, but he is a noble man! The king was by her side and there was no room for error.

"Come on," Louis said.

So the youngest son of the royal barber took his father's place. His hands were small and soft, and because he was only twelve years old, barely a child, Mary's body slowly relaxed.

Just to meet the king's request, he still tried several times. Fortunately, this young man was careful and conscientious, so only one or two curls were messed up. Just tidy up a little, and wait until all the hair is tied up. , the king took out a row of diamond hair pins - he took apart several Louis XIII coats and put them together. He carefully inserted the twelve hair pins above the hair curls, and then made of lace and satin The finished flowers, Mary now looks like a nymph coming out of a dense forest, wearing a gorgeous wreath, and the diamonds in the garland are the sparkling dew.