I Am Louis XIV

The Duke of Colonna is the firstborn son of Louis XIV. Everyone knows it, but he is the eldest son of the Duke of Colonna in name. Good thing, at least in marriage, his bride will not be ridiculed as marrying an unblessed husband; The shelter obtained may not be comparable to that of a recognized illegitimate child, at least he cannot call Louis his father, but a legally recognized illegitimate child can, and he cannot stay in Versailles forever and live with Louis.

The banquet in which the Duke of Harlebur was brought out in swaddling clothes and his existence was publicly acknowledged was held in the Vesta Room in Versailles. Vesta is the Roman heart god and the patron saint of the family. The meaning is profound. Although the guests all smiled and talked sweetly, their thoughts in their hearts were probably contrary to their words, especially when they saw the child's mother standing above everyone, and they were like a family with the king, their eyes were simply ecstatic. It's like quenching poison.

They don't like a Spanish woman (Queen) next to the king, nor do they want an English woman (Madame La Vallière) next to the king. Although the Sun King's previous achievements have made them docile, it is also because of his glory As the day progressed, they even looked down on people from other countries to share the glory of the king, or seize the power bestowed on them by the king, just like Richelieu and Mazarin in the past.

Madame Lavallière looked down, and all she saw were humble and kind faces, and all she heard was flattery. In this court, only the king, queen and queen mother can show her favor. Philip also has this right because he is deeply favored by the king, but they used to ignore Mrs. La Vallière, or they maintained a lukewarm attitude towards her because of the king's mediation.

She rarely attended banquets in the past, but now she also knows why she is so hated, she occupies a good position, too close to the king, which is the center of power, look at those princes, those dukes, Those ministers and generals who take their place in this hall by virtue of their talent or valor—they don't know how much Madame La Vallière has done for the king, they only see a foreign woman, a maid, Just because of the king's preference, he can stand on their heads and dominate them.

But it’s only today. As a werewolf, Mrs. La Vallière’s recovery speed is far faster than that of ordinary people. She has decided to take her clansmen and go to the fief with the Duke of Halebur. There are countless birds and beasts in the vast forest. Sunshine, rain, and it all belongs to her and the king's son, where they can enforce the laws they set, collect taxes, decide what to use for the land, build palaces or forts - even have their own army, this is Louis The additional rights granted to her, although only 3,000 people, and it is likely to resist possible attacks by the princes of the Holy Roman Empire, this means that the Duke of Halepur is different from those who can be easily exiled and removed from the territory. He holds military power, just like Prince Kong Dai, as long as he does not have rebellious thoughts, then this territory can be passed on for thousands of years.

After the banquet, after taking a nap, the Duke of Harble was carried down, and Madame La Vallière also resigned, and the reason was ready-made, she was going to take care of the children, although at this time the ladies seldom took care of the children themselves, But in view of the subsequent ball... the Duke of Colonna, who had just recovered from a serious illness, also left with no support.

Only the queen, the eldest princess and Crown Prince Louis cannot shirk, the eldest princess can still, because she has already confirmed that she will marry King Karl XI of Sweden, so this suffocating content has been included in her education The look of Crown Prince Louis is a bit weird——in the "royal wives" system, the most unbelievable thing for people today is that although these royal wives are recommended by important ministers and dignitaries, these beautiful women are the first To become the queen's maid, and then to officially become the king's lover, that is, the royal wife.

Therefore, in this ball, it is not the king but the queen who is surrounded by beautiful and charming ladies. After the king and queen danced the first dance, people began to pay attention to the maids around the queen nervously. Their every move, guess which of them will be chosen by the king.

What embarrassed Louis the most was that Queen Teresa graciously recommended several of these young women to him—of course, according to tradition, they were all earls or marquises, because married men and unmarried women It is immoral to have love, and children born in marriage are... more reasonable... Although even the author does not know where the reason is, but that was the atmosphere at the time.

"I don't want to interfere with your wishes," the queen leaned over and whispered in the king's ear, "but don't choose another foreign woman." If Louis is just a weak and ridiculous king, he can choose whoever he wants to be the wife of the royal family. The ministers will not go into it, but now that he is the powerful Sun King, the ministers will certainly fear that he will make wrong choices because of love.

"Not now," Louis said to her sideways, "I'm not in the mood right now."

"This choice must be made carefully," the Queen agreed, "I will tell them."

"Thank you, my dear queen," said Louis.

"This is my duty." Queen Teresa said, "It's a pity that I can't share your worries elsewhere."

"My court is so peaceful, and your deeds must never be lost," said Louis. This is true. After two consecutive wars, did no one try to disturb the Louvre to shake Louis's resolve? Although Teresa is not an intelligent person, she is good at patience - as long as Louis left, the Louvre will be silent for as long as she does not interfere with any affairs outside the palace, and any chaos outside the palace will not even think about invading the palace. With the help of Colbert and other ministers left behind by the king and the guards, she and Queen Mother Anne worked hard together to prevent Louis from having more undue troubles: "I should give you more rewards. "

Queen Teresa readily accepted, not only for her due, but also for her children, her eldest daughter may be married to Sweden in a few years (she did not believe Louis' nonsense), her son He is also about to become an adult, and dealing with ministers, bishops and jazz afterwards is also a big expense.

In return, after the ball, the queen condescended to visit Mrs. La Vallière and the Duke of Harable, gave her rewards, and made many promises to ensure that the king would not completely forget her and their love. The child—this made the crown prince little Louis feel confused and uneasy, the queen noticed, "What's the matter, my child," she smiled and pulled the little Louis's hand: "Is it the first time Madame La Vallière appears?" In front of us?"

"No," Little Louis said, "I just feel..." He hesitated a bit, as if he didn't know whether he should express his doubts.

"Speak," Queen Teresa encouraged. Although she is a princess of Habsburg, the love and respect she received from Louis made this gloomy and extreme woman gradually become kind and generous. Not only does he love his own child, but he also has the patience and full understanding that today's noble ladies seldom have, so after hesitating for a moment, little Louis approached his mother and whispered: "Do you know what happened to the Duchess of Colonna?" ?"

The queen was a little surprised: "I thought you didn't like the Duke of Colonna."

"I don't like it very much." Little Louis said, they were about the same age and had the same father, and they agreed that he was his father's favorite child, but little Louis was really jealous of little Luciano before, because he was younger than himself. More like a father: "But... can I know what happened before?" The father may hide anyone, but he will never lie to his wife. Little Louis is still a little sure about this.

"Well, it's a long story..." To be honest, the queen has extremely complex feelings about Mary, and because Louis has been honest with the queen on many things, the queen doesn't know whether to be jealous of Mary or to pity her. She, it would be a lie to say that Louis has no real feelings for her, but it is a lie to say that her position in Louis' heart is not as high as she thought, so after she finally touched Louis' bottom line, even with the Duke of Colonna , she could not escape the punishment given by Louis.

The queen briefly told little Louis about Mary's affairs, and then raised her finger: "Do you know that the Duchess of Colonna made a mistake that absolutely cannot be forgiven by His Majesty?"

"Because she almost killed the Duke of Colonna?"

"besides?"

"She threatened... you, and me?" Prince Louis said, "But didn't you say that there might be a pusher behind this incident—she was not in a normal state of mind at the time?"

"Look deeper, child, deeper," said Queen Teresa. "What do you think you mean to your father, and what does the Duke of Colonna mean to him?"

"..." Little Louis showed a tangled expression: "His child?"

"It's inheritance," said the queen. "More precisely, you are France, Luciano is Naples, and Duke Harlebor is Flanders... at least in part." She took the Dauphin by the shoulders, Under the care of Louis, the child has shown the rudiment of a strong body, and maybe in a year or two, she will no longer be able to hold him in her arms: "You will be his arms, the extension of his will, France Therefore, the Duchess of Colonna said the last thing she should say and did the most impossible thing. The king will never allow that possibility to happen. You, the Duke of Colonna, or the Duke of Harlepur."

"So, whether it's her being manipulated by others, or she just speaks indiscriminately," the queen continued, "Your Majesty will not let this possibility continue to exist, even if it is only one in ten thousand."

"That's why you're courting Madame Lavallière...?"

"Not all," said Queen Teresa, "his fief is in Harlebour, on the south side of Brussels. If I guess correctly, your sister Elizabeth's dowry will be nearby, and even Harleburg is connected. Only his sons and daughters can help each other in the war that follows."

"Oh!" Little Louis couldn't help crying, "he's still a baby!"

"Time goes by very quickly," the queen laughed. "My child, the way you are still eating your toes in the cradle seems to me like just yesterday."

This sentence made the crown prince blush, he quickly broke free from his mother's arms, said good night in a hurry, and ran out amidst the chuckles of the maids.

Queen Teresa was finally able to let go of her tense shoulders. She waved her hand to get the maid to step back, then returned to the dressing table, took out a letter from the drawer, the smile faded from her face, and her eyes became Seriously, she opened the letter and read it again. This letter was written to her by someone recommended to her by the Duchess of Montpensier, but unlike the Duchess of Montpensier, Queen Teresa did not I don't like this person, especially, this person's father, whether it is in name or in substance, does not approve of their daughter entering the court, let alone becoming a royal wife. The queen was planning to put her on hold at first Get up—the king’s respect for the queen gave her such power, because Mary and Mrs. La Vallière both made the queen take on responsibilities that she shouldn’t have to bear. This time, the royal lady the king just mentioned some must For example, the relatives of the ministers and generals that he would never use, for example, were all handed over to the queen.

The Queen did laugh at a lot of bribes and win some supporters, but this Marquise of Montespan... First of all, her two fathers did not support her, so how could the Queen do unnecessary things, but this lady actually The Duchess of Montpensier sent a letter saying that she has enough confidence that she will be chosen by the king.

Bubi has decided not to marry for life, not only firmly stood by the king on the matter of the Duke of Gaston, but also lent a large sum of money to the king during the two foreign wars, so he can be as absurd as possible. The Duchess of Sierra, Queen Teresa is the biggest enemy of France now, the princess of Spain, she should be more cautious in doing things. After thinking for a long time, she decided to agree to the lady's request and meet her.

They agreed to meet in a small church on the outskirts of Paris, where the queen often held mass. Because of the remoteness of the place, there were very few people coming and going. Even if the Palace of Versailles was full of eyes and ears, the impact would not be great. .