I Am Louis XIV

Many noble ladies in the court now follow Madame Montespan's example and wrap lace or ribbons around their ankles. The dark ribbons against the white and thin skin are indeed a beautiful sight, but they probably don't know that underneath the ribbons are The wounds are so deep that you can see the bones - relying on the wizard's strong system, Madame Montespan has never been soft on herself. Of course, she is tougher on others. The warden of the Bastille simply worshiped her as a goddess - those It was originally a torture device that was mostly used as a decoration, but now it welcomes several new customers every day.

"enough."

This sentence would not be said by Madame Aubigne, nor Buntang, nor even the Duke of Orleans. The only person who can calm down Madame de Montespan, this beautiful mad dog, is the Sun King, Louis XIV. , her master.

"But..." Madame Montespan still wanted to fight for it, but the king only glanced at her and stretched out his hand to Madame Aubigne: "Is that my child?"

Madame Aubigne put down the child silently. Regarding the education of this child, Madame Aubigne also maintained different ideas from Madame Montespan. Madame Montespan valued this child very much and doted on it, even though it was said that it was already mature. He was only a toddler, but if it weren't for Madame Aubigne's insistence, his little feet might not be able to touch the ground until today.

As soon as the king mentioned Auguste, Madame Montespan immediately stopped talking. She was not a fool. When Madame Aubigne passed Auguste in her arms on the corridor, the dignitaries in the palace said to her. Although she was very ardent, she turned a blind eye to the child behind her. After all, in this era, even if she is a crown princess, the queen's pregnancy must be recognized by the king - sometimes it is just a word or a small banquet, but without this, there is no People will admit that this child exists, even if he is right in front of them, such a big one.

Compared with her little dissatisfaction, August's identity is of course the most important.

Auguste fell to the ground, turned around, and looked at his mother and Madame Scarron with suspicion. Although his mother was not very responsible, she would remember to look at him and hug him every morning and evening, and Madame Aubigne He was more familiar, and now the two ladies were gently pushing him forward - in front of him was a stranger sitting in a chair, looking at him with cautious eyes.

As a father, it was impossible for Louis XIV to fall in love with Auguste right away, but after he came back, Duchess Montpensier had already described to him how cute and lively the child was, and now he Finally saw his youngest son - compared to his three brothers, August is perhaps the one least similar to the king. His appearance is mostly inherited from his mother, and his hair is chestnut Brown, very curly, his eyes are golden amber, although they are also very touching, this color obviously does not belong to Bourbon, his lips and brow bones also have the same sharp edges as Madame de Montespan, Although it doesn't look obvious on a child, you can imagine what he will look like when he grows up. Mrs. Montespan has that kind of gorgeous and sharp appearance.

But he must have been the prettiest of all the king's children. The Duchess of Montpensier said that he was cute, which is not quite true. He reminded Louis of those children who were painted on the canvas, maybe because the author was always an adult. , their charm in the painting is more likely to come from the conflict between two time periods - children and adults - this is the case with August, the king walked forward hesitantly, and then almost fell. Then he held his little arm and put him on his knees. He stroked the child's hair and carefully looked at his eyes, his nose, and his chin. The child's bright eyes, moist little nose, and perfect shape The chin brought a surge of affection to his heart.

He was wronged because of the child's mother.

"I heard you call him Auguste," said the king, and Mrs. Montespan immediately lowered her head. Auguste is a meaningful name. It means August in English, but Montespan She certainly didn't name her child because she liked the month, and his birth date wasn't August - August was actually a corruption of Augustus (Latin Augustus), as for Augustus, of all people Everyone knows what this word means - it has become the name of every Roman emperor, and is now also inherited by emperors and kings. Although this child is an illegitimate child without inheritance rights, Mrs. Montespan's ambition is still evident, " But since you have already used this name," Louis said, "then I will not change it, he is Auguste, my fourth son."

Madame de Montespan was so delighted that she immediately left her chair, knelt on the ground, and thanked the king for the gift - thus Auguste received a formal recognition, and from now on he could at least have the title of duke, according to Louis XIV Judging from his previous actions, he may still have a fiefdom.

"In three days," Louis played with Auguste's little finger: "I will hold a dinner in Versailles to celebrate Auguste's birthday. You can think about who you need to invite." He looked at Madame Aubigne, who had hardly spoken since entering the room, said: "Madam, come with me. Although I think you can still get an invitation from the eldest princess or the Duchess of Orleans even without me, but now since You are right here..."

“I’m not keen on it,” said Madame Aubigne, “but it’s an honor.”

Madame Montespan almost couldn't control herself. She got up, walked a few steps, came to the king, knelt on Louis' knees, and put her head in Auguste's arms. The king smiled. , "Take August down first, madam," he tilted his head: "Buntang, prepare a room for madam and August."

Bontang bowed his head and retreated with Madame Aubigne and Auguste.

In place of Auguste, Madame de Montespan nestled contentedly in the king's arms, and during the king's absence from Paris she often reflected on the past - her first meeting with the king when she was still Atenais. When they met for the first time, the king was still a teenager, and she was just a child, a child with some innocent thoughts. She almost begged the king to allow her to stay with him. Although she was young at the time, she already understood deeply. Seeing how vicious and sharp power is - don't think that there are no people outside the palace who are good at playing with power. An ordinary hotel owner can tell them to get out of his house together on a windy and rainy night; even a clergyman can be counted Readers who are not good enough can deny them entry into villages and towns; a butcher, a fisherman, and a farmer are all nobler than them without status; the magic potions stored by their father can buy them clothes, food, and shelter in the beginning. ——But they couldn't get a usable identity certificate. It's not that they didn't try, but they were deceived several times. It was only after that that they learned that a refugee without identity wanted to see someone who could sign the identity certificate. How difficult is it for a big shot.

The king was once an opportunity for them, but their father rejected him. At that time, Mrs. Montespan did not understand it very well, but later she guessed it-once they accepted the king's asylum, in a sense, they became the king's. They are slaves, not that the king will do anything to them, but that they will not be free from now on, just like the Mancini family - but how many people can have true freedom in this world.

She had resented her father and laughed at his naivety. Even now, she did not feel that the choice he made was the right one - if she were not the daughter of the Duke of Mortemar, the Marquise de Montespan, but A daughter of a royal doctor cannot become a royal wife. She has had enough of the pain of love and will only pursue power and money.

"Then what else are you unwilling to give in to?"

Mrs. Montespan was startled. She thought she had unknowingly spoken her true words, but judging from the king's expression, he probably just guessed, "I thought of some things in the past, Your Majesty."

"The past, what kind of past?"

"It's not a pleasant past," said Madame Montespan. "It's better not to mention it. Your Majesty, you have worked hard all the way. Don't you want to have a good rest?"

"What you're doing now doesn't seem like you want me to rest." Louis held Madame Montespan's hand.

"Sometimes exercise is the best way to rest, you said." Mrs. Montespan stood up from his arms, "Although there is still some time before night, let me serve you."

This is when the benefits of being a witch came to light. She was able to get out of tight corsets and layered skirts without the help of servants.

——————

"God, is this Versailles?" Alexander shouted excitedly.

Baruch Spinoza, Alexander Torricelli and Christian Huygens were noticed by Louis XIV and transformed from exiles and prisoners in cages in the square to the seats of the king. Guests, they were released from their cages by the soldiers. After bathing and changing clothes, they were packed into the French carriage and followed the army all the way to Paris. They were still in a daze, except for Spinoza - generally speaking, a philosopher always It is a profound study of human psychology and behavior. The other two people have no idea what is going on. When they arrive in Paris, it is not Paris, because the king directly stuffs them into the Chateau de Vaux-Vicomte, which is the original Fouquet. The golden nest that the husband built for himself was transformed into the Royal Academy of Sciences after it was taken over by the king as his own - under the premise of legality.

Like Versailles, because many scholars valued by the king gathered here, they always had family members and friends, and the latter also had their own families, so a town quickly formed here, and the king even built some in the style of the New District of Paris. The apartment is here, so they, mainly Torricelli, are different from Spinoza and Huygens who are still inseparable. He has a wife and several children, and they are immediately assigned to an apartment with more than a dozen people. Large apartment with rooms.

He immediately entertained his friends in a lively manner, but what made them even happier was that this place was simply a paradise for all scholars and researchers. As long as the "project" here has the permission of the king, you can do whatever it takes, no matter it is Disobedience to doctrine, or disregard of ethics - but most of the subjects that usually have these problems are medical subjects, and the only person they have to worry about is Spinoza.

Contrary to what people had guessed, after Spinoza came here, he was not eager to join this group of people, nor did he immediately start to promote and explain his ideas. Different from what he did in Amsterdam, The Hague and Florence, Instead, he calmed down. Although he appeared in classes, salons, and parties, he mostly listened to other people's talk, while he seemed to be silenced.

This made his friend Huygens a little worried, but before he could have a good conversation with Spinoza, the king's envoy sent Louis XIV's decree, which could also be said to be an invitation - the king sent a message to his youngest son Augu. Many scholars were invited to Ste's dinner, and they were just one of them.

Torricelli was probably the one with the least psychological burden. After he discovered that all the things he had hidden in Florence had followed him to Paris, he no longer cared about his former hometown and decided to be here wholeheartedly. I am French. What is the most important thing about being a Frenchman and a Parisian? Of course it's Versailles. You must see it. It's best to go in and take a walk. But not everyone has such qualifications. Those nobles from other provinces are not even willing to return to their own territories and only spend time in Paris. Time is not just for an invitation. ,

Of course, if you can have a room in Versailles, you will have no regrets in life.

"But to complete such a large project," Huygens said, "how much money and manpower will be spent."

"Perhaps it did cost a lot," Spinoza said, "but this project is not the pyramids of the Egyptians or the Colosseum of the Romans. It is just like Paris. Not only did it not cause harm to the people, but it also caused long-term damage to the people." Helped them."

"You are saying that the king hired them and paid them wages so that they could support their families," said Huygens.

“Primarily refugees,” Spinoza said. “There were tens of thousands of refugees here.” A number that would terrify any king.

"I don't know when you knew this king so well," Huygens said.

"Now that we are here," Spinoza said, "and probably spent a lot of money on this king, I don't think he will send us away casually. We may have to stay here for a long time. That being the case, we should get to know him well.”

"Perhaps he is indeed different from what we think," Huygens said. "He respects knowledge and science."

Spinoza just smiled. There were some things he had better not tell his old friend. He was on the road, in Paris, and in Versailles all the time absorbing news about this king. The Dutch called him a tyrant and a dictator. Or, this may be true. Although they were sent directly to the Castle of Vicomte de Vau, in the salon, you could always hear about someone's relatives, or even being thrown into prison and hung up with gas lights - this person The king's treatment of rebels was no different from that of other kings.

Then they stopped discussing the matter, because there were still more than 300 steps to go - this is what all those who are lucky enough to enter the Palace of Versailles (except those who have the privilege to ride in the sedan chair) have to face Fortunately, the king's architect took this into consideration. So many steps are not straight from top to bottom. There is a platform every twenty steps, which not only ensures safety, but also allows people to have a place to rest. Later, the queen added marble sculptures in the middle and on both sides. The base of the sculpture was about one and a half feet from the ground, and the width was also one and a half feet, so that people who were tired from walking could sit down - forget about men at this time. , the wide skirts of ladies are not only large, but also very heavy. It is said that some female nobles from other provinces, after getting permission to appear in court, have to practice riding and walking at home in order to appear less embarrassed in the maze square of Versailles.

This kind of seat is called the Queen's Seat. At first, Huygens complained a little. He didn't understand why the king built the Palace of Versailles at such a high place. But he climbed halfway up and sat on the Queen's Seat to look into the distance. When he saw it, he suddenly felt calm - he saw the blue sky, the dark green forest, the brown and golden land, the silvery lake, the purple and pink flower fields, the red roof tiles, and the rows of roofs. , the gray road stretches from under the white marble steps to the invisible distance.

This is the scenery that Louis XIV sees every day. He suddenly understands that if he is also a king, he can make the Netherlands present such a scene. He will not feel that annexing and occupying other countries is a sin. I will only feel that I am spreading blessings to all directions like God.

He took a deep breath - at heights, even the quality of the air is better than on the ground. When he was about to talk to his friend Spinoza, there was a sudden noise. Spinoza was the first to speak. The queen stood up from the queen's seat and pulled Torricelli and Huygens, who were still confused, to stand up. Only then did they realize that everyone around them had stood up or retreated to both sides of the steps - it turned out that there was someone lifting the stairs. The sedan comes from bottom to top.

As mentioned before, there are not many people who can use the sedan chair on the steps. Apart from the royal family members, there are only a few of the king's beloved ministers and dukes, and some older and respectable people, such as the chief physician Luo Mu, René Descartes, etc., but Descartes rarely came to Versailles, and Rohm preferred to spend his last time in medical school. Colbert sometimes used it, after all, he often needed to travel between Paris and Versailles. There is a lot of time, and the work is heavy, but he usually only uses a small sedan chair, as simple as a chair. He often sits on it, hanging his head and dozing off - although this will inevitably attract some ridicule, But it can satisfy his little vanity and cautious nature at the same time.

But if it were Colbert, he would not have caused such a big commotion, so the three scholars quickly saw the source of the turmoil.