I Am Louis XIV

   Chapter 121 Firstborn and Queen (3)

   Chapter 119 The firstborn and the queen (3)

Marie Teresa was unlike any woman Louis had ever met, from Henrietta, to Marie, to the Duchess of Montpensier, who had been abandoned in Exeter since she was a child (The Queen of England was forced to give birth here), when she was two years old, she was brought to Paris by her mother. In Paris, they were also dependent on others, especially during the civil war. Maybe she will die of high fever, so Henrietta has been depressed and inferior since she was a child - especially when facing Louis and Philip, she is even a little afraid of Philip, although her mother and brother have repeatedly asked her to move closer to the king, but she always hesitated. Not going forward, when Louis thinks of her, his impression of her is like the sunlight penetrating a dusty glass window, thin and vague; Mary need not say much, and sometimes Louis even finds it funny, because he and Mary In the previous relationship, he placed himself in a high position ironically. He was tolerant and loving towards Marie because he was the king of France, but he did not know that Marie looked at him the same way - even if he was a king, he was a mortal, she But she was a witch; the Duchess of Montpensier was probably the most noble lady of the country and of the age around them, like the Duchess of Longueville, short-sighted and greedy, but after a lesson, she would change. Be gentle.

   Then what kind of person is this Spanish princess? It can only be said that she is a person with a calm temperament to the point of being a little weak. Although she was nominally the heir to the throne of Spain, her father did not even use her as a spare, and she could not be found in foreign dynasties or at the court. To supporters, and because her biological mother left too early, her stepmother connected with her father and gave birth to several children, which made her class fall again and again - she is the kind of... how should I put it, someone who has become accustomed to enduring, she Can endure any harsh treatment, but gentle behavior and words can make her a little uneasy. She is like an empty child, eager to play with friends, but suffering from candy and cookies to share with others.

Louis returned to Paris with her, rode in the same carriage on the road, and stayed in an adjacent room when they were boarding, which allowed Teresa to recover slowly, like a withered flower after drinking water. She became more plump. When she arrived in Paris, not only did she not become haggard due to the long journey, but she also gained a little weight, which made her who was originally just a beautiful girl even more ordinary. The Queen Mother Anne was her aunt and her. My mother-in-law, she couldn't help but frown slightly when she saw her. It was good that Teresa didn't stand beside Louis, but she was even more eclipsed when she stood beside Louis. With contempt or sympathy, whispering behind the fan - the queen's appearance is so mediocre, the king must feel very embarrassed when he wants to fulfill the obligations between husband and wife, they laugh at the queen, and can't help but want to try, the king's lover Marie Mancini is said to have returned to Italy and has become the wife of the Duke of Colonna. Given her husband's status, she is afraid that it will be difficult for her to return to the court. The queen is not amazing, and their chance has finally come.

On the way, Louis probably described the scene in the palace with Marie Teresa. She was also a Spanish princess. Teresa was not timid about the malicious eyes of these noble ladies. She was calm, but she was not She would cringe at those who had to bow down to her. After she bowed to the Queen Mother, it was the ladies' turn to bow to her. She stood up straight, smiled slightly, and swept her sharp eyes from them. Over-Louis told her that he has no "Royal Lady" configuration yet, so who gave these stupid people the courage to despise her?

   She may only have the respect of the king, but as long as the respect of the king is enough, her position in the court will always be above ten thousand people and below one person—the only one who will inherit the throne of France in the future can be her son.

  ——

While Louis was familiar with government affairs, he also took time out to have **** with the queen. The queen and he were both at the age of marriage and childbearing. After three months, Teresa could be preliminarily determined to be pregnant. At this time, Louis could not laugh or cry. Things sounded out again, when the ball was held in the palace—the ban on **** was lifted on the day the king returned to Paris, and according to tradition, the queen was still required to attend in full dress, wearing delicate but dangerous silk-satin dance shoes, cinched With a thin waist and heavy skirt braces, the king wanted to tell her to go back to rest, but was reprimanded by the queen mother. It turned out that in this era, even if the queen was pregnant, she could not publicize it when she was only two or three months old. Before the publicity, if the queen did not appear on the same occasion as the king, the subjects would accuse the queen of not fulfilling her due diligence. responsibility.

The only thing the king could do was to replace the opening dance (as the most honorable people in the room, they had to lead the dance) to the slower and quieter Pavan dance, which was popular in the Renaissance and was a neat and orderly procession. dance, after which he returned to his seat, and the queen had a chance to rest for a while—a scene that continued until the queen showed her arms, and the king announced the news in a dramatic tone at breakfast, and then The whole country rejoiced, and many people who came to congratulate the king entered the crucian carp crossing the river, and there was a dance party after dance party in the palace.

   In order to thank the queen for her hard work, the king specially prepared a string of pearl necklaces for her as a gift. When the prince is born, the queen can also get a more formal gift, such as a set of diamonds or emerald jewelry.

  ———

When Mary woke up from her drowsiness, she heard the cry of the baby, and the cheers from the inside out, her father went out with the little Duke of Colonna in his arms and showed everyone that this was the king The blood of the Mancini family is the origin of the prosperity of the Mancini family - a person walked in at this time, and Mary paused for a while, before realizing that this person was the king's messenger, and he opened a flat velvet to Mary. The box, the box is a complete set of dazzling sapphire jewelry, from crowns, to necklaces, earrings, bracelets and rings, worth a lot of money.

But what Mary cares about is not its value, but its symbolic meaning. At this time, husbands will definitely prepare such a gift for their wives after giving birth, unless he does not love or respect her, Mary looked at It suddenly burst into tears.

   Milady stepped forward to accept the gift, the messenger bowed to Mary in silence, and left the room.

   "Look at it," whispered Milady, "it's beautiful."

   "I want to see Louis."

   "When you can move freely, Your Highness, we can go to Naples or Sicily," said Milady, "and from there go to Calais, where the king has a palace."

Mary struggled to prop up her body. The physique, medicine and medicine of the wizards were better than those of mortals, but giving birth was always a dangerous and difficult thing for women. Milady hurried forward and put the pillow on the ground. Behind her: "Maybe I was wrong," murmured Mary, lying on the pillow, "I should have kept him."

"Then you are going to lose Your Majesty forever." Milady comforted her softly, she stretched out her hand, and Mary grabbed it subconsciously. For the past few months, Milady has been by her side all the time, because she suspected that she was being raped. Mary, who was deceived by her family and her lover at the same time, and was emotionally unstable because of her pregnancy, sometimes seemed to be crazy. Only Milady could comfort her. Although the Mancini family was still a little worried about her, she hesitated. Again and again, Milady stayed by Mary's side - Mary was holding her hand, her nails digging into the flesh, but Milady's face didn't change at all, as if it wasn't his own hand at all. She gently stroked Mary's wet hair with the other hand, and chanted the incantation softly. Mary struggled for a while, and then fell asleep uncontrollably. Milady then withdrew her hand, slightly stunned. Glancing at the scar on the back of her hand, she stood up and greeted Mancini's parent who was returning from outside. The infant was waving his arms and feet in worry, he was a strong boy, "His Majesty the King will be happy to meet him. Yes," Milady said.

This sentence made Mancini's parents a little stunned. This is also something he has considered for a long time and has not been able to decide. Of course, the Mancini family is willing to keep this child in the world to raise, so that this child can become a Mancini. Not a bourbon, but how can their relationship be so deep without their father?

Milady may not be as magical as any of the Mancinis, but there is no match for her here: "Your Majesty wants you to raise your Highness to seven or nine," he said: "Then he's going to watch the world to be taught, and there's nothing to teach him more than a father and a king by his side."

   This sentence really made Mancini's parents feel a little relieved. "Ms. Milady," he put the baby back to Mary and asked, as if unintentionally, "Did the messenger say that?"

   "Of course, could there be anyone else?" Milady replied in a more casual manner: "He said he brought a letter from His Majesty the King."

"Oh, I haven't had time to see it yet," said the parent Mancini. He stood by his daughter's bed and stared at the pale face for a while, then turned and left. In a hidden room, he opened the king's The letter did say the arrangement for this child. The king gave everything in the world to this newborn. Although he was still very young, he already had a stable foundation, and this huge gift The Mancini family can make good use of it... Just these, their previous investment has come back, and the king, as promised, intends to connect the Mancini family with the Savoy royal family. This news makes the Mancini family happy. Crazy, it was not a wise move to choose to abandon Mary at the beginning, and with the little Duke of Colonna, they also have the bargaining chip to contain the king.

However, their current relationship needn't be so rigid. According to the king's plan, the little Duke of Colonna will become the spokesperson of the Mancini family, the uncrowned king of the world, which is beneficial to both of them. They just need patience. Wait - and put in a little extra power.

For example, the wizards who were sent to Paris to surround and suppress vampires with the monks of the Inquisition can only be said to be the peripheral personnel of the Mancini family. , after all, there are too many of them, more than rats and bugs, and the Mancini family can keep a large part of the commission paid by the king, not to mention those so-called pensions, if the wizard is only single, but If there are not a few friends and relatives, they will confiscate it directly, or else? You can't just bury it in the ground with you.

   Milady bowed his knees to the Mancini parent with a smile and walked out.

  ———

   "But what if that child," said Wang's brother Philip worriedly, "if also... become a wizard?"

   asked him to say that he was innocent and greedy just by looking at Mary.

"No," said Louis, "there are as many wizards as trees in the forest, but there are only a few mentors chosen by each family. Even if it's not the one I choose, I can buy and bribe them. They, and Mary must have been willing to take him to meet me."

   "No wonder you ordered someone to repair the palace in Calais." Philip walked around the desk twice: "Then, brother, have you heard a rumor?"

"what?"

   "You are going to dedicate a new palace to your queen." Philip took out a peacock feather from the painting bottle and plucked its whiskers one by one: "It's at Versailles."

"It's not a rumour," said Louis, "it's true, I've been planning to rebuild a new palace at Versailles a few years ago, and I've just put it on the table, but if people want to say it, think so, then Let them go."

   "Some people are concerned that you are too...loving Her Royal Highness," Philip said.

Just like what happened to Queen Dowager Anne, the Spanish princess must have a difficult life in the French court. Before she gave birth to the king's heir, she was the enemy of the French, not theirs. Queen - but Mary Teresa was indeed lucky, she met Louis and was soon pregnant, but there were still questions about her loyalty to France and fears that she would blow the pillow wind in the king's ear, Get France to concede or appease its policy toward Spain.

  Louis put down the file and smiled, "So they want you to be a lobbyist? What do they want me to do?"

   "They want you to be able to choose a royal lady," Philip said.

   This surprised Louis, he thought for a while, and couldn't help but sigh, "Tradition..."

   (end of this chapter)