I Am Louis XIV

  Chapter 102 Dunkirk's City Entry Ceremony (3) (two more in one)

   "Hey," the king couldn't help but sigh, "Do you know that there are many people who always doubt and accuse you because of this?"

"What do they have to do with me," said Mr. Bishop carelessly. "When people hunt, they always expect the dog to be violent and the falcon to be fierce, so why do they ask us when it's our turn to use another kind of falcon? Gentleness and kindness have risen, Your Majesty, it is only their fear of being bitten by dogs, and of being pecked out of the eyes by hawks."

   "As a matter of fact, as long as they keep their feet..."

"It's a pity that they will never be safe, the enemies of France, the enemies of Your Majesty and mine, who can never escape the whispers of the devil, who long for a monarch with an olive branch in his hand and honey in his mouth, but this The puppet can only become a disgrace to any person of insight, Your Majesty, I know you are a person who hopes to abide by morals and laws, but I prefer this to be your weapon, rather than a burden, after all, there are many times, as A king, you have to sacrifice more than your wealth, your soldiers, or your emotions—what a ship France is, for it to sail forever on the vast seas, and anything that stands in its way will be destroyed, no matter what. It looks small or huge, beautiful or ugly."

"People say that the monarch can do whatever he wants, without any scruples," Louis, with Bontang's help, put on a hat adorned with a hundred livres' worth of ostrich feathers, a crimson feather that almost completely concealed His face, for a few seconds, no one knew what the expression on the king's face was like: "But I think, there is always something that precedes the kingdom."

   "For example?"

"If a man can sacrifice everything," Louis put his hat on, revealing his face, "then one day he will be swallowed up by the black hole of nothingness, Mr. Bishop, in order to make up for such a hole, he will seek There are many things to fill, and what he finds again, how can it be combined with the original flesh and blood, such torture must be maddening - so, "He put a sapphire ring on his finger to match him Today's cobalt blue velvet coat matches: "I can't help but hesitate, Mr. Bishop."

"You have a good idea," said Mr. Bishop, "and I would prefer to see you surrounded by good people with high morals, but Your Majesty, there are things they never do, or they don't. That kind of thinking, they can't understand the darkness and despicability of the world, nor how a crazy idiot can dance, and their indecision will not only delay your business, but also hurt them or your life."

"But Mrs. Milady is different. Well, Your Majesty, I know what you are confused about," said Mr. Bishop. "If it were only because of this, I would not have cared too much, but after a few months, I passed by there occasionally. , remembering that incident, I went to ask her how."

   "How is she?"

"She took the lives of those two young men," said Mr. Bishop. "Not only that, but it was like an aggravated revenge. After she left the prison, she didn't even go back home, but in that small town. You can't imagine staying here, Your Majesty, but a girl of eleven or twelve years old can play with men and women who are far ahead of her in terms of age and experience. On the palm of the hand, although I can't believe it, it is the truth. She seems to have a strange talent that can make her gain the favor or trust of anyone. Her tongue is as dexterous as a snake, and her mind is also full Full of venom, and with the courage of a tiger and a leopard, when we first met, she yelled at me because she didn't know my identity, but the next time, she knew who I was, but still Would love to try it out…”

   "Try it?"

   "Yeah, give it a try, Your Majesty, it's like a daughter playing a little joke with her own father, a young man who totally surrendered to her and tried to assassinate me."

   "God!"

   "Well, but what made my final decision, Your Majesty, I caught her, the judge sentenced her to death, and as she was dragged to the gallows by the executioner, she shouted that she would marry him."

   "Oh, I do remember there was a law against unmarried virgins," said Louis, who was putting on his boots under Bontang's service. "Wait, is this law real?"

"It's not a law," said Mr. Bishop. "It's just a tradition. While the Carolingian Code of 1532 graciously raised the status of executioners, they have always claimed to be wielding the sword and tightening for God. Noose, but you know, they're still isolated from the whole society, they live outside the city, they're cut off from the world, they can't go to churches, bathrooms, and taverns, they can only associate with wandering girls, lepers and criminals, and their children can't even survive. Baptism, the old man can't do the sacrament when he dies... so the sad gentleman couldn't refuse her request."

"so?"

Mr. Bishop spread his hands, "I guess things won't have such an unremarkable ending, so I sent people to wait around the executioner's house, and sure enough, she escaped that night, although she had been in the statue of the Virgin before. I swore to be faithful to my husband before."

   "I asked her," continued Mr. Bishop, "to hang back on the gallows, or to go to the raging husband's side, or to do something for me? You see, she made the right choice."

   "Why did you choose her..."

"Precisely because she had neither conscience nor morals, contempt for the law, humiliated faith, disregarded oaths, played with power—a born witch, Your Majesty, you may find it ridiculous, but such a person is simply the same as the real Saints are so rare, because what I need to deal with is not all the bad people and mortals that people call them. Among them, some are distinguished, some are noble, some are noble, some are just, not the kind that are bad to the end, and they are not bad. Unscrupulous people can't deal with them."

   "But if you want to use such a person, aren't you afraid of her sudden backlash?"

"Because I am willing to use her, Your Majesty, some people will run away when they see filth, but some people will be ecstatic when they see sin. With me, not only can her body enjoy delicious food, but also her soul. It is deeply satisfying that she works for me, half at my command, half, or more, she does it willingly."

Perhaps seeing the king's hesitation, the Bishop added: "Let me tell you a little thing, Your Majesty, after she became my spy, the first thing I asked her to do was to carry out my order. The will of the benefactor, Bishop Richelieu, to destroy a priest named Urban Grandi."

Speaking of this priest, the king is really impressed. The priests in France are not as good as their colleagues in Rome in their absurd and presumptuous interactions with the ladies. It is precisely because of this incident that happened more than 20 years ago that he and Mr. Bishop They walked out the door together--the Bishop walked carefully behind the young king, though only about a palm's distance away-- saying: "That's it," he said: "This is in Urban Grandi. In 1618, the brother offended the abbot of the Qusay Abbey at that time. It is nothing to say, but he insisted on walking in front of the abbot in the procession with the neighboring parish. It is reasonable to say that, They are walking in his parish, and that request should be fulfilled, but the problem is that the abbot of Qusay, whose name is Richelieu."

A well-dressed entourage opened the carriage door for them, the king jumped up first, then the bishop walked up slowly, and after he was seated, he continued: "At that time, many people thought that this man was expelled from Court, the bishop, who has lost his patron again, must have no chance of regaining his favor, but you know, but a year later, he returned to Paris, not only as a cardinal, but also as your father , Prime Minister of Louis XIII."

  Louis showed interest. Richelieu died earlier than Louis XIII. He almost forgot about him: "Does Mister Richelieu remember this?"

"Your Majesty, so, in this world, in addition to humility, there is an important virtue called prudence. No, in fact, at that time, Bishop Richelieu's enemies were half the court and the queen. Taking into account a small person far away in Ludan, the problem is that the Grandi brother, when he learned that the abbot of Qusay, who he had offended, became such a big person, he not only did not feel afraid, but even felt extremely proud. —because he had succeeded in humiliating this eminent man."

   "Did he spread this thing out?"

"Yes, he has always been an open Pandora's box in front of women, but unfortunately there is nothing of any kind in it. The disaster was released from his mouth, and then it came to him like this." Mr. Bishop said this He lifted a corner of the car curtain, glanced at the scenery outside the window, and said to the musketeers, "If you want to say what Milady did, it should be said that there is not a lot. The Grandi brothers were too romantic at that time, but they were sensible. All the widows or wives of commoners who communicated with him, Milady's arrival and temptation showed him another **** of depravity. He first let one of his Latin students, a pure virgin conceive. Pregnancy and the loss of her virginity to a lawyer's fiancée far outweighed all his previous crimes, and after he had **** with a student's illegitimate child, his reputation was shattered until it was revealed that he had a relationship with another The intimacy between a woman who was supposed to be chaste, he angered a husband who loved his fiancé after he angered a father who loved his daughter, and they not only beat him, they charged him with the tribunal.”

   "Then Mrs. Milady's work is done."

"For the common man, yes, but for Milady it was just a little sip of an aperitif," said Mr. Bishop, "because neither the father nor the husband wanted his daughter and his fiancée to go to court. Testified that Priest Grandi received only a slight punishment, so his enemies ordered a convent to charge the priest, saying that he had summoned the devil to seduce her and the seventeen nuns of the convent—in After Grandi was arrested, she deliberately indulged Priest Grandi to seek all of his social resources and connections, and his enemies did the same, and a love affair rolled like a snowball. The priest must have been horribly tortured after those brought their complaints to the Supreme Court, not just the tribunals, when he must have regretted not giving in immediately for a small punishment like Friday's fast— He was so arrogant as to baptize the first child of that student of his and her humiliated husband (a villain who was humiliated for power)." He looked at the king, obviously wanting the king's response.

   "This matter is probably no longer the cause of Priest Grandi."

"Yes, from here on, it has become a battle between the Richelieu faction and the anti-bishop faction. The turmoil has paid off enormously—it was foreshadowed that two years later, Priest Grandi was burned at the stake, but before that, he was bruised and dying."

Even Louis couldn't help but sigh deeply when he heard this: "Obviously, she is both keen and good at wanton behavior," he said, "and she knows how to control and tease people, which is really powerful. Arms, Mister Bishop."

"If it were fifty years ago, or fifty years from now, Bishop Richelieu and I would not have used her, but at this time, Your Majesty," said Bishop Mazarin, "she can do many things that people cannot. imagine things.

"I understand what you mean." Louis nodded. At this time, they heard the monotonous sound of the trombone. The carriage had come to the open gate of Dunkirk. The sound of the trumpet announced the king to the people of Dunkirk. already here.

On both sides of the city gate they passed stood circular arrow towers, on which hung the lily blue flag of the French royal family. Erke, as soon as the king's chariot stopped, a swift entourage opened the carpet that was shimmering with golden light, extending from the foot of the king to the front of the mayor. Louis took the mayor's key and asked to cash it. Viscount Turenne, who had promised, showed it with a smile, even if it was symbolic, of course, the key to Dunkirk was bigger and heavier than that of the town.

After the king took the key, he walked forward. Behind him were the Bishop, Viscount Turenne, and then the officers and soldiers who had been awarded special honors for their bravery at the Battle of Dunkirk, standing proudly one by one. Raise your chest and follow the king. In the past, these positions were only reserved for princes and officials. It was obviously against etiquette for some ordinary soldiers to occupy them. However, compared with those mediocre people far away in Paris, Louis was more willing to take this position. Honor goes to the soldiers who are willing to give their lives to defend the king.

They walked all the way to the end of the road, a circular square. At the other end of the square is the Cathedral of St. Martin. Like any city, the church and its annexes are always the most splendid and tall. There, the bishop here wants to A grand prayer mass was held for the king.

  ———

Milady knew she would have to spend some time with these two guards to regain her trust, yes, not freedom, but trust, and she liked the feeling of dancing between the blade and the noose, like a trick Yes, she didn't open the curtain until the last minute, and then she could get a face that was either frustrated or annoyed, more likely full of resentment, she never mind being exposed, because no one knew how many trump cards she had hidden. .

   "D'Artagnan?" she called softly.

   "Don't go there," Dallamiz said, "don't listen to her, we are her guards, not her friends."

"Not a friend," said d'Artagnan, "and an enemy of hers, but I want to hear what she has to say. Rest assured, my comrade, I will not hear a single word; on the contrary, I will To ridicule her badly and tell me I'm not one of those idiots who would be fooled by her."

  Dalamiz wanted to say, since that's the case, why don't you just ignore her? But he had worked with d'Artagnan for some time, and he knew that the acting captain was frivolous and arrogant, so he took a step back, and in that case, he thought, I would be a watcher.

D'Artagnan walked over, Milady was locked in a windowless room, and the only way to go out was through the room where D'Artagnan and D'Artagnan were, there was a door between the two rooms, D'Artagnan Ang did not open the door, but leaned against the door.

   "I have an important thing to do," Milady said.

   "The only thing you can do is stay in there," said D'Artagnan.

   "Of course you must abide by your duties," said Milady, "but this matter is the same, or more important than your duties."

   "Unless the king comes and speaks to me," said d'Artagnan, "or if he has a warrant, you won't want to go anywhere or see anyone."

   "Mr. Bishop has admitted that I am his."

   "Well, not the king's."

   "If you insist, send someone to where I say."

   "So that your rescuer will come?"

   "So that you can regain the king's trust."

   "Go to hell!"

"Someone will come to my hut," said Milady impatiently. "Give me the latest information, and it will be hidden in a brass letterbox, and one will bake it in moist dough. , make it look like a loaf of bread," she said, after a slight pause, and the silence let her know that people outside were listening: "It sometimes has very important news, gentlemen, you want Get it, and give it to me, since I can't leave, you are the only ones who can tell the king - if it is good news, he will rejoice, if it is bad news, he will also thank you..."

   "Why," said D'Artagnan angrily, "don't try to trick us out of here."

"Gentlemen," said Milady, "listen to me, gentlemen, I have no ill will, nor will I, I was at first the man of the bishop, and now he will hand me over to the king, pardon me, as As a woman, I can't help but have infinite anxiety about my future - I beg your forgiveness, but for the sake of Our Lady I didn't expect things to get to this point - like your sisters, Or my wife, my eyes may not be able to see so far, gentlemen! I even foolishly let myself be hit by a sharp crossbow bolt, passed out, and put myself in such an embarrassment situation.”

   "Whatever you say, I won't let you go," said D'Artagnan.

"Let your servant go and tell him to go to that room and get a piece of bread, he won't know anything." Milady begged: "If there is something useful in it, then you and I can at least be able to. Get a little trust from Your Majesty again."

   "Maybe there are a lot of enemies in ambush there." D'Artagnan said to Dalamizi, and when Dalamizi heard this, he knew that he was moved.

Milady's estimate is right, they may be able to ignore beauty, gold or emotion, but when it comes to what they lost because of Milady - of course they hope to get it back from Milady, if it is really like Milady Di said that this was compensation for them, as well as a remedy for his reckless behavior.

   And send a valet, no problem.

D'Artagnan's valet ran quickly and came back quickly, and although he was puzzled that his master made him run so far just for a loaf of bread, he was reliable, and D'Artagnan had a pinch of that loaf of bread. Finding the letterbox, he opened it and pulled out the parchment inside, only to find that it was full of messy words.

   "Give it to me." Milady said, "Only I can interpret this."

D'Artagnan and Daramiz hesitated, and Daramiz shook his head, but they really couldn't read it - although they guessed that it was a piece of paper that needed to be rolled on a suitable cylinder to see what was written. , but the letterbox was obviously not. They tried many times before rolling up the parchment and stuffing it through the keyhole at Milady's urging.

Milady took the parchment and rolled it around her wrist. This was just her pastime when she was here waiting for the king. She didn't think the shy young man could really bring her any important information, but she only put the parchment on. The paper was rolled on my wrist, and after reading a few lines, I couldn't help but exclaimed loudly!

   D'Artagnan and Daramiz heard her shout and the sound of slamming the door hurriedly, and instead of panicking, they showed their expected eyes.

   "Open the door!" cried Milady, "I want to see the bishop, or the king!"

   "Well, that's it, but no way!" said D'Artagnan, laughing. "I know what you're up to, Madame Milady, but I won't trust you any more!"

   "Someone is going to assassinate the king!"

   "What a sensation!" said D'Artagnan, "but it's no use, Madame Milady, why don't you say that there is a devil going to crawl out of hell?"

   He and Milady had been with the snake for so long, just waiting for this moment, he mocked her well,

   Dallamiz also only smiled on one side.

Milady was trembling with anger and her cheeks were numb, she knew that these two were trying to tease her—she was actually acting, at least a few minutes ago, but she never thought that she would really get such a big fish. fish! "Then open the door," she said. "You are two strong young men, and I am just a wounded woman. Open the door a crack, and I will put my hand out. See for yourself!"

If Milady cried and cried, or said something sweet, the two musketeers might not have believed her, but D'Artagnan heard her voice... He gave Dalames an uncertain look, D'Artagnan "If you do anything, I'll cut off your hands like I do forgers," Ramiz said.

As he spoke, he let D'Artagnan open a small gap, Milady's hand immediately stretched out, the note was rolled around his wrist, D'Artagnan glanced with his head tilted, and his face changed. .

   (end of this chapter)