I Am Louis XIV

A woman appearing next to the king will always attract a lot of unnecessary scrutiny and inquiry. Although Madame Aubigne is cautious, even Madame Lafayette can see that she intends to disguise herself, let alone others, so She was summoned to the palace by the Duchess of Orleans, who was the honorary principal. It was not surprising to meet an outstanding teacher, and it could even be regarded as a kind of entertainment.

Only Madame Aubigne entered the room. The Duchess of Orleans bowed slightly to the room behind the curtain and left silently, leaving Madame Aubigne alone in the room. If it were another woman, she might have a heartbeat. She blushed, but Madame Aubigne had read all the information about this king when she was in Rome. She knew Louis XIV better than most people here.

But the feeling of hearing about a lion or seeing a portrait of a lion is completely different from seeing it in person. Louis XIV walked out from behind the crimson curtain, habitually holding a cane in his hand. Today's coat is dark gold and hangs down to the knees. Because the gold-woven fabric is originally luxurious enough, there is no embroidery or embellishment with gems. Even the buttons are just black soot. Madame Aubigne bowed her head and saluted. After receiving permission, Her eyes moved from the hem of the coat to the second button, and then stopped. She had no identity, she was just a civilian, and she was not qualified to look directly at the king.

"Sit down, madam," said Louis XIV. He was also observing this messenger from the Roman Church. The method used by Madame Aubigne to disguise herself was very clever. She first removed most of her eyebrows. Everyone knows that eyebrows occupy a large proportion in human expressions and faces. , a person without eyebrows will definitely make people feel weird, but sparse eyebrows are a common problem for some people; in addition, the corners of her mouth seem to droop out of inertia, making her look very serious, for a female officer and teacher What is said to be an advantage is an out-and-out disadvantage for a woman. Today she wore a piece of clothing between gray green and dark brown. This messy-looking color is even more eye-catching. Feeling bored.

"So," Louis XIV twirled the handle of his cane: "Which of us will ask the question first?"

"Of course it is you, Your Majesty," Madame Aubigne said respectfully.

"What happened to Madame Montespan?"

"She is the person chosen by Clement X." Madame Aubigne said calmly: "Everyone around you is under the attention of the church, especially this lady, her two fathers, one is Your generals and ministers, one is your imperial doctor, she is in the inner court and the outer court. She is born with great advantages, and she is ambitious. Most importantly, Your Majesty, she is beautiful. You have to admit this."

"I admit that her beauty is very valuable." Louis XIV said. As soon as Mrs. Montespan appeared, almost everyone would think that she would be the Sun King's true love. What Louis could not do before was pushed to the royal family. Both the ministers and the generals will immediately shut up about the madam's misbehavior - they think this is a wonderful thing worthy of publicity and encouragement.

Madame Aubigne covered her lips and smiled, "Indeed, Your Majesty, your bishop has been worried that you will become an unreasonable tyrant anytime and anywhere."

"Lariviere?"

"That's your lord." Madame Aubigne bowed slightly to show respect, "Your Majesty, he thinks that you lack happiness in your life. He said that you live like an ascetic, and you know, almost All ascetics are madmen, and there is something wrong there or there is something wrong here.”

"I will deduct his salary." Louis XIV said: "How could he think so? I feel that my life is full of happiness."

"Are you talking about the joy of standing in the church of Rome?" said Madame Aubigne: "Forgive me for being arrogant, Your Majesty, you are full of adventurous spirit."

"It can only be said that starting from the handsome man Philip IV, the kings of France began to follow this tradition," Louis XIV said frankly: "This is also something that cannot be done. Madam, you are a smart man, otherwise you would not be able to do anything about it." I will take on this dangerous job, so I tell you clearly that if you want to discuss matters related to the appointment and dismissal of bishops with me, I cannot continue the conversation with you."

"It seems you are bound to do it."

"For France." Louis XIV said that for the church, the right to appoint and remove bishops is to expand its religious power and obtain huge income. Now France's financial situation can be stabilized at a level under Colbert's careful consideration. In an optimistic situation, Louis XIV will not compete with the church in this regard, but the problem is that he intends to popularize primary education throughout France and supervise secondary or higher education - everyone knows that almost every city Universities were religious in nature at the beginning, and some universities even let priests serve as professors. Later, the Jesuits opened many junior schools.

Louis XIV was not that great. He founded schools, from elementary to advanced, just to establish the concept of country and king in the hearts of the people, just like his new army. They knew very well who they were fighting for. To whom should one devote one's loyalty, or even one's life, to something like the previous one, which was so chaotic that it was almost like a mercenary? As long as there was money to be paid, one could work for anyone - whether he was a foreigner or a traitor, absolutely. Not allowed to happen again.

But Jesuit schools will undoubtedly break this concept, because for the Roman Church, their students should respect and be loyal to their faith first. To put it simply, when the king and the church choose one, the students must stand with the church. Of course, Louis XIV could not tolerate this, so he had to obtain the power to appoint and remove local bishops to ensure that his power would not be divided by the church.

Mrs. Aubigne was indeed a smart person. She immediately dropped the topic because the king had already given the answer. This answer could not be changed. She organized her thoughts and then said: "I said before, Montes Mrs. Pan is the person chosen by the current Pope Clement X. He hopes that Mrs. Montespan can change your mind on some things after she comes to you."

"I don't quite understand," said the incomprehensible king: "How a woman can reverse any important situation. A general who is good at fighting, a messenger who is good at speaking, or a minister who has a clear mind may not be able to do it. Can a royal lady do this? Sometimes, not to mention them, even a king may not be able to control the development of the situation."

"In fact, this situation is not uncommon. Clement X's mistake was that he did not expect Madame Montespan to be too eager and forthright. She wanted to get the position of royal wife so much, so she did not hesitate to give her a good job. All the hidden things are laid out in front of you," said Madame Aubigne: "Her ostentatious behavior will only arouse your vigilance."

"I'm actually a little touched. Look, I gave her the position of royal lady," Louis said sarcastically, "but that's why you gave up on her."

“My maternal grandfather is Benedetto Otezcalchi,” Mrs. Aubigne said: “You may not be familiar with this name, but Your Majesty, I can tell you that he is now the Cardinal Prince of the Church of Rome. "

Louis was indeed a little surprised. According to the information sent by the secret agent, Madame Aubigne's first thirty years were not satisfactory. She was indeed a beauty, but her status was low because her father committed treason and was imprisoned in a building. In prison, his mother was the daughter of the warden. It is difficult to say whether this gentleman hoped to exchange for a more comfortable environment and treatment, but Françoise Aubigne was born in prison. wrong.

When Aubigne was three years old, he followed his exiled father, his mother and brothers to the French colonial island of Martinique to live together. At that time, Martinique was a desolate and backward place. Life was all-consuming, and Aubigne lost her parents when she was twelve years old. After returning to France, she was raised by her uncle and aunt. She attended a convent school and received an extremely strict education.

But if you want to say whether her guardian cared for her, that is pure nonsense, because although we cannot record Aubigne's situation before she was fifteen, she was forced to marry when she was sixteen. The fact that Paul Scalone was killed shows that even if the couple did not want to harm their niece, they had no intention of thinking about her - who was Paul Scalone? He was already forty-two years old when he married Françoise, and although he was a poet, he had no property. He only gained money and connections by making jokes in salons and banquets to flatter the nobles. If you are vicious, you are just a clown who makes people laugh.

In addition, Paul Scalone is not only old, but also often sick. His body is so weak that he cannot stand alone. He may have had a straight face, but due to long-term pain and suffering, he looks like a skeleton wrapped in skin. Brown and black, every time before attending a banquet, she must dress herself up with rouge and powder like a woman, so as not to be disgusting.

It was scary to think about such a person, let alone sleep with him.

There was only one reason why Madame Aubigne's uncle and aunt chose Paul Scalon, and that was that Scalon did not want the woman's dowry. Madame Aubigne definitely had no dowry, and she returned to France almost empty-handed.

With such a husband, it’s no wonder that Madame Aubigne insisted on changing her surname back to her original name after her husband’s death.

"My real grandfather found me after my husband died," Madame Aubigne said, smiling understandingly: "Although there was an interval of so many years, he probably only occasionally remembered that he had another one in France. Daughter, my mother is dead, but my performance satisfied him, so I entered the court of Cosimo III, where I became his children's nurse and maid, and now I am here again."

"What did your grandfather want you to achieve? Apart from episcopal ordination."

"Clement X is already eighty-four years old. He can only last for one or two years at most. You also know that it is absolutely impossible for a French cardinal to be elected as the pope."

"Is your grandfather sure?"

"It's very big, Your Majesty. It will be even bigger if you have your support." Madame Aubigne said: "France will need an ally."

"Leopold I once asked Cosimo III to sign an alliance with him. Do you know what Cosimo III answered him? He said. 'Your Majesty, I am very willing to become an ally with you, but I am afraid of the document. Before the ink was dry, Louis XIV's army entered Florence.' I can also send this sentence to your grandfather. Leopold I would never just watch the Roman Church tilt towards France. As soon as the so-called covenant was signed , Leopold I’s troops would greet the Pope in the square of St. Peter’s Basilica.”

"Alas," Madame Aubigne said calmly and kindly: "You only remember the outer world, have you forgotten that you also have an inner world?"

Louis was really surprised now. "Has the Roman Church fallen to this point?" he asked.

"This question should have been answered thirty years ago. You know that your first royal wife, of course, undisclosedly, Mary Mancini was a witch, but she was also the bishop. Of course the Roman Church also knows this.”

"For the past thirty years, I have really been looking for someone who can give me the answer." Louis looked at Madame Aubigne: "What kind of existence are wizards and the Roman Church, the inner world and the outer world, and what is the relationship between them? What kind of connection is there?"

————

When the King of France asked Madame Aubigne, hoping to get an answer to the question that had been on his mind for a long time, in Toledo, Spain, the inner world and the outer world overlapped at this moment.

The two kings (Isabella I and Ferdinand II) who had set up countless burning racks must not have expected that just one hundred and twenty years later, the wizards who were expelled to the lowlands to survive would once again Appearing in the Spanish court, they were almost all dark wizards. Those who were able to refuse to obey Boss's orders and escape from Louis XIV's grate-like pursuit were either powerful or lucky enough.

The Queen Mother and the Prince Regent of Spain were waiting on both sides of the king's bed, staring at the potion bottle in the wizard's hand without saying a word. The potion that was very similar to semi-coagulated blood looked extremely evil, let alone the potion inside. There are also living leeches, they are wriggling happily, as if they are also honored by their sacrifice.

"Is this it?" the Queen Mother asked uneasily. Her hand subconsciously grasped the rose beads on her chest, and then suddenly let go as if she had been burned.

"Only this," said the wizard, who was used to seeing mortals behave like this, so he was not angry: "it will make your son, the King of Spain, healthy and live long."

"How long?" asked the Prince Regent.

"Until he can lie with his bride," answered the wizard.

"That will be enough," murmured the Prince Regent, "bring it here."