I Am Louis XIV

  Chapter 258 The Duke of Harebul is here!

The disappearance of the Duchess of Colonna did not cause even a little disturbance in the court. To be honest, in this court, there were not many people who liked her and who hated her, except that she was a foreigner and Mazarin red. In addition to the relatives of the bishop, it was also because of the defiant attitude of Marie Mancini-although under the instigation and favor of the king, there were not a few royal wives who dared to provoke the queen and the ladies, but Marie still had one. The big problem is that she has been working to get all the love of the king, but everyone knows that if a king is like this, the kingdom's downfall is just around the corner - the more those ministers and generals love their king, the more they hate her stupidity And aggressively possessive.

   What did she think of the king?

This is a very ironic situation. Marie's emotions may be much more sincere than those of the Queen or Madame Lavalier, but there is no room for genuine affection in the court - rather, the affection of ordinary people, For these people, it is a poison to France. They would rather see a vain, power-loving woman by the king's side, because the king can give her what she wants, but Mary What he wanted was something a king could never give.

So it can be said that Mary's departure has made many people relieved. Of course, they are also targeting Madame Lavalier, because this lady is also a foreigner, the British Princess Henrietta, the Duke of Orleans Madame's one-time maid, she has been with the king for too long, and the king is also said to have promised to give her child a legal identity—that is, to legally recognize the child, who, although he still has no right to inherit, will There would be at least a duke's title, and a fief, because the lady had followed the king during the war against Holland and Flanders, and they were worried that the king had committed himself to the lady.

Paris and Versailles are undercurrents, and Louis has heard of this - but this is also a long-standing tradition. Since King Edward III of England had the first officially recorded qingfu in history, King Francois I of France specially made it for himself His lover created the position of "Lady of the Royal Family", making this disreputable title one of the important positions in the court (the wife of the royal family has a salary like the officers), and Diane, the wife of the royal family of Henry II, is a member of parliament. Papers on taxes and bills were drawn up, and official documents were signed with the king—from which the so-called "Henry Diane" came, and she is said to have even been nicknamed "the Prime Minister of the Bed."

   Some people may wonder why people in this era are keen on such immoral behavior, but from Louis' observation and inquiry, we can see that the existence of the royal wife can also be said to be the need of the palace's internal affairs and politics.

First: Generally speaking, there is only one royal wife by the king's side, so as to avoid the chaos in the period of Henry VIII - as we all know, Henry VIII is a hero, but his inner palace has been taken by the Boleyn and Howard families in turn. The girl controlled... Especially after Henry VIII's Queen Catherine went to the monastery, Henry VIII's court became a filthy quagmire, every maid wanted to be the king's lover, or even become a queen, they were frivolous and dang, Behaving rashly, not only flattering the king, but also showing gestures to any male they fancy, this trend even spread to the queens after Catherine. Anne Boleyn was remembered as the first queen to be beheaded for adultery, while Henry VIII also became a laughing stock among the kings, not to mention that his fifth queen, the Howard girl, was also hanged because of Luan Lun.

Therefore, it is agreed that the lady of the royal family represents order and stability, just like if the queen is there, and all the ladies have to bow to her, the lady of the royal family has the obligation and power to suppress those who are unruly - although not every Every royal lady can do it well, but the existence of the royal lady does give the girls a goal instead of biting each other aimlessly.

Second: As I have said, although the countries of this era are all marrying and forming alliances with each other, the promise of the king has never been credible. Leopold I, even though he and Carlos II of Spain were Habsburgs, but when he plotted with Louis to divide Flanders, Leopold I did not consider Carlos II, the king's It is embarrassing that the person next to the pillow can become the enemy of the state at any time, Louis's grandmother was like this, his mother was like this, and the current queen is also like this. To this day, Queen Mother Anne is still secretly called "that foreign country." woman."

Therefore, of course, ministers and subjects do not want their king to be fooled by a foreign woman, even if she is his righteous wife, they are happy to see the relationship between the king and queen indifferent, alienated from each other, and even encourage the royal lady to be superior to the queen above.

The third is from people's selfishness. As we all know, if a lady can become a "royal lady", then not only can she enjoy the salary, the king's generous gifts, the right to buy and sell official positions or the priesthood can also make her Her brother, father and sister ascended to heaven together, and her recommenders would also receive incomparably rich rewards - position, money and land, or the attention and favor of the king.

Louis once complained to the Queen Mother that the ministers were too enthusiastic about this kind of thing, but it was only a complaint. So less angry - "But I really don't need a royal lady for a while," Louie said.

   "I think you'd better not worry your ministers." Philip said, beckoning the servants beside him to fetch meat for him, "They will only suspect that you are ill."

"I have a strange idea," Louis said. "Is it because I give them too little or too simple work, otherwise how could they think they have to face them at the same time," Louis waved, and the attendant beside him Thinking that the king needs to serve, I hurried over - in public, the king acts, even when it comes to meals, there are procedures and etiquette, but in private, when the king eats with his younger brother, the atmosphere is much more relaxed, so the king just shakes He shook his head, indicating that there was no need. After the attendant stepped down, Louis continued to say: "Faced with more than a hundred courtiers, do I still have time to deal with a strange woman?"

  The Duke of Orleans widened his eyes in surprise: "Cope!? Your Majesty, why do you think that the royal lady exists to comfort your body and mind, why do you need to deal with it? You can do whatever you like."

   "I probably can't do that."

"So you are not so perfect," said the Duke of Orleans, and now he only dared to say so to the King: "You are always too indecisive in your feelings, and you see, all those worthy ladies are It's a bunch of monsters."

  Louis made a gesture for Philip to stop talking: "You and I have wives and daughters. Do you think my Elizabeth and your daughter are the same?"

"As much as I love my daughter, I have to say that you don't see her pestering me that much," said Philip, "I'd even leave my room on tiptoe, or you'd have to wait a few days. Heaven can't see me—" He raised his fork and said nostalgically: "When that sweet little devil leaned on your knee, put two cloud-like hands on your chest, and kept screaming. What can you do but give in while muttering 'Dad'?"

   He said so, and even the king couldn't help but smile, "It couldn't be more right, Philip, it couldn't have been more right."

The Duke of Orleans paused for a moment, his brother hadn't shown a happy face for days, because of the wicked witch, and because of the rebellion in Gajora—and the heartbroken Duke of Colonna, "Okay. ," the duke said subtly again: "Since we are all mortals and can't get rid of our inner weakness, I will go and convince them that you need time..."

   "After Madame Lavalier gave birth."

   "After Madame Lavalier gave birth," said the Duke of Orléans, "you have decided that if she can give birth to a healthy boy, you will admit him and give him a fief?"

   "That's what I promised her," Louie said. "God bless us."

"God bless you, Your Majesty," said the Duke of Orléans, "then do you mind if I spread the news? There are always those who fear that you are too fond of Madame Lavalier—but if this is the last consolation, they will not mind."

   "Absolutely, that's what I talked to her about."

"Fortunately, her temper is not like Marie." The Duke of Orleans said bluntly. He also fought with Marie when he was a child. Since then, he felt that Marie Mancini lacked reverence for royal power, so He has never been optimistic about the relationship between Mary and her brother. On the other hand, although Madame Lavalier was sometimes too naive and cowardly, she at least knew that she should bow down to the king's will.

   "Let's stop talking about her." Louis said gently: "By the way, Philip, there is one more thing you need to do for me."

   "Please order, Your Majesty."

   "I probably don't have time to look after the Duke of Colonna recently. I hope you can go to the hunting palace and accompany him until I can get out a little."

   "Of course," said the Duke of Orleans with a hint of pity, "he's a good boy."

  ———

No one could have imagined that the king had been busy until the midsummer, and on the last day of June, Madame Lavalier gave birth in a suite in the castle of Vincennes - different from the much-anticipated Queen's birth, it was remote and dangerous, Inaccessible, there are only the king, the Duke of Orleans, Vesalius and Elarius outside the suite. There is no window in the room where Madame Lavalier is, and there is only a door leading to the small hall outside. That is to say, she has no chance to escape. It was her female kin who helped her give birth—whether they were lucky enough to get out of here instead of going straight to jail depends on whether the Bohemian witches lied to Lavalier.

Female werewolves are far superior to human women in childbirth. They only waited two or three hours, and Madame Lavalier gave birth to a boy - she felt the child detached from her body, while waiting nervously In the final sentence, the first thing she heard was a loud baby cry!

   "She succeeded!" Ela whispered slightly, because if it was a werewolf, the first sound at birth would only be a sad whimper, because a werewolf's long kiss can't cry as loudly as a human.

Louis knew this too, he fell back, into the chair, the Duke of Orleans' hand was holding him tightly, and then the Duke felt that the king's hand was gradually warming, before they were cold .

Then they watched a delighted maid walk out with a swaddle. Louis reached out and took it. The Duke of Orleans eagerly opened the swaddle, and a healthy and normal human male baby appeared in front of everyone. Completely relieved - although Vesalius and Erael still have to test how many bloodlines in his body belong to werewolves, and whether he still has the invisibility of werewolves - these tests are deliberately avoided by the king. Eyes, because some of the tests are really scary.

But these didn't do much harm to the child. When he returned to the king, he just blushed angrily, and his little fists and little feet ran out of the scattered swaddles. Louis held them and looked at Visa. Li and Elarius, "Can I make an announcement? Gentlemen?"

"It's alright," Elarius said. "He has werewolf blood in his body, but it's already very thin. He can't turn into a giant wolf, and he can't show his fangs or claws." Said: "Even if he wants to return to the werewolf community, he will be expelled. There are too many human elements in him."

  The king looked at Vesalius, and Vesalius nodded.

The King    looked at the newborn with a soft expression, "Then," he announced, "Let's welcome the Duke of Harpur!"

   The room was finally able to rejoice, led by the Duke of Orleans, they were all shouting, the Duke of Harlebull is here!

   Madame Lavalier in the room also threw her head up on the pillow. No one knew how tormented her in the previous few minutes. By the end, no one knew whether the king would change his mind. But now, the king has given the newborn child a title - Duke of Hallebourg. This title may be confusing, but Madame Lavalier knows that it is a forest in the south of Brussels, when the king and the She once went with her to admire the bluebells there - every spring, the huge forest is full of blue-purple flowers like elves, like a dream - the Duke of Harlepur, which means that the child has been taken by him His father was canonized to Flanders, as his; two brothers, he would grow up under his father's protection, and then guard the domain for his father.

The    king fulfilled his promise, and she was finally rewarded, although this reward also represented the coming separation.

   Madame Lavalier's tears soaked her beautiful long chestnut hair. Perhaps in this world, there will be no more tears, which contain such deep sadness and joy at the same time.

   (end of this chapter)