I Am Louis XIV

  Chapter 259 Madame Montespan enters the court

The Duke of Colonna is the firstborn son of Louis XIV. Everyone knows that, but he is nominally the eldest son of the Duke of Colonna. The concession of the Colonna family allows him to be born as a legitimate child, not an illegitimate child, which is a benefit to him. The good, at least in marriage, that his bride would not be ridiculed for marrying an unhappy-born husband; but not without its drawbacks, that, as the Sun King's prestige grew, he took from Louis. The shade obtained may not be comparable to the recognized illegitimate son, at least he cannot call Louis his father, but the legally recognized illegitimate son can, and he cannot stay in Versailles all the time, living with Louis.

The Duke of Harlebull was taken out in a swaddle, and a banquet that publicly acknowledged his existence was held in the Vesta Hall in Versailles. Vesta is the Roman **** of the kitchen and the patron saint of the family. Holding a celebratory banquet here can be described as The meaning is profound. Although the guests all smiled and talked sweetly, their thoughts were probably the opposite of what they said, especially when they saw the child's mother standing above the crowd, and the king was like a family, their eyes were simply unremarkable. It's like being poisoned.

They don't like the king with a Spanish woman (the queen), and they don't want the king with an English woman (Madame Lavalier), although the sun king's previous exploits made them docile, but it is also because of his glory As they flourished, they even looked down on people from other countries to share the glory of the king, or to seize the power that the king bestowed upon them, just like Richelieu and Mazarin.

Madame Lavalier looked down, and all she saw were humble and kind faces, and what she heard was flattery. In this court, the only people who could give her color were the king, the queen, the queen dowager, and the king's brother. Philip also has this right because he is deeply favored by the king, but they either ignored Madame Lavalier in the past, or because of the king's mediation, they maintained a lukewarm attitude towards her.

She seldom attended banquets in the past, but now she also knows why she is so hated, she occupies a very good position, too close to the king, the center of power, look at those princes, those dukes, Those ministers and generals who, by virtue of their talent or valour, took their place in this hall—they did not know how much Madame Lavalier had done for the king, they saw only a foreign woman, a maid, only Because the favor of the king can stand on their heads and be a blessing.

But it is only today. As a werewolf, Mrs. Lavalier's recovery speed is much faster than that of mortals. She has decided to take her clan and go to the fief with the Duke of Halebur. That vast forest has countless birds and beasts. Sunshine, rain, and it all belonged to her and the king's sons, where they could enforce their own laws, collect taxes, decide what to do with their land, build palaces or fortresses—even have their own armies, which Louis added. The power granted to her, although only three thousand people, and most likely to defend against possible attacks by the princes of the Holy Roman Empire, means that the Duke of Harebul is different from those who can be easily banished and removed from the territory. Holding military power, just like Prince Kong Dai, as long as he does not have the idea of ​​rebellion, then this territory can be passed down for thousands of years.

After the banquet and a nap, the Duke of Harlebull was carried down, and Madame Lavalier also resigned. The reason was ready-made. She was going to take care of the children. Although noble ladies rarely took care of children at this time, But in view of the ball that followed... Duke Colonna, who was recovering from a serious illness, also left because he could not support him.

Only the queen, the eldest princess and the crown prince Louis can't be avoided, the eldest princess is still, because she has determined to marry the Swedish king Carl XI, so her education has included this suffocating content , Crown Prince Louis's expression is a little weird - in the "royal lady" system, what is most unbelievable to people today is that although these royal ladies were recommended by important officials and dignitaries, these beautiful women must first Become the queen's maid, and then officially become the king's lover, that is, the royal wife.

Therefore, in this dance, it was not the king but the queen who was surrounded by the charming and charming ladies. After the first dance between the king and the queen, people began to pay attention to the maids next to the queen nervously. Their every move, guess who among them will be chosen by the king.

The most embarrassing thing for Louis was that Queen Teresa was so generous in recommending several of the young women to him—of course, according to tradition, they were all counts or marquises, because married men and unmarried women were born. Love is immoral, and children born in marriage are... more reasonable... Although even the author doesn't know where it is reasonable, but the atmosphere at the time was like this.

"I don't want to interfere with your wishes," the queen said softly, leaning over the king's ear, "but don't choose another foreign woman." If Louis is just a weak and ridiculous king, he can choose whoever he wants to be the royal lady. The ministers will not go into it, but now that he is the powerful Sun King, the ministers will of course be afraid of him making the wrong choice because of love.

   "Not now," Louis also turned to her sideways and said, "I'm not in the mood right now."

   "The choice is indeed a prudent one," the queen agreed. "I will tell them."

   "Thank you, my dear queen," said Louis.

   "This is my duty." Queen Teresa said: "It is a pity that I cannot share your worries elsewhere."

   "My court is so peaceful, and your merits are invaluable," said Louis. This is the truth. After two consecutive wars, did no one try to disturb the Louvre to shake Louis's resolve? Although Teresa is not a smart person, she is good at patience - as long as Louis has left, the Louvre will be silent for as long as she does not interfere with any affairs outside the palace, and any chaos outside the palace should not invade the court. With the help of the ministers and guards left behind by the king such as Colbert, she and the queen mother Anne did their best to prevent Louis from causing more undue trouble: "I should give you more rewards."

Queen Teresa readily accepted, not only for what she deserved, but also for her children, whose eldest daughter may be going to Sweden in a few years (she doesn't believe Louis' nonsense), her son He is also about to come of age, and his dealings with ministers, bishops and knights are also a big expense.

In return, after the ball was over, the queen condescended to visit Madame Lavalier and the Duke of Harlebourg, rewarded her with gifts, and made many promises to ensure that the king would not completely forget her and their Child - this confused and disturbed the Dauphin's little Louis, and the queen noticed, "What's the matter, my child," she smiled and pulled little Louis's hand: "Is it the first time that Madame Lavalier has appeared in the in front of us?"

   "No," Little Louis said, "I just think..." He hesitated a bit, as if he didn't know if he should express his doubts.

"Come on," Queen Teresa encouraged. Although she was a Habsburg princess, the love and respect she received from Louis made this previously gloomy and extreme woman gradually become kind and generous. Not only does he love his children, but he also has the patience and full understanding that today's noble ladies rarely have, so after a moment of hesitation, little Louis approached his mother and whispered, "Do you know how the Duchess of Colonna is? ?"

The Queen    was a little surprised: "I thought you didn't like Duke Colonna."

"I don't like it very much." Little Louis said that they were of the same age and had the same father, and they agreed that he was his father's favorite child, but Little Louis was a little jealous of Little Luciano before, because he was more than himself More like a father: "But... can I know what happened before?" The father may hide anyone, but he will never cheat on his wife. Little Louis is a little sure about this.

"This, it's a long story..." To be honest, the queen has extremely complicated perceptions of Mary-, and because Louis is open and honest with the queen on many things, the queen doesn't know whether to be jealous of Mary or pity her, It would be a lie to say that Louis had no true feelings for her, but to say that her place in Louis' heart was not as high as she thought, so after she finally touched Louis' bottom line, even with the Duke of Colonna, she would still There is no escape from the punishment given by Louis.

The Queen    briefly told little Louis about Marie, and then raised her finger: "Do you know what mistake the Duchess of Colonna made in this matter that absolutely cannot be forgiven by Her Majesty?"

   "Because she nearly killed Duke Colonna?"

"and also?"

   "She threatened...you, and me?" said the crown prince, little Louis, "but didn't you say that there might be a pusher behind this matter - her mental state was not so normal at the time?"

   "Look deeper, boy, deeper." Queen Teresa said: "What do you think you mean to your father, and what does the Duke of Colonna mean to him?"

  "..." Little Louis showed a tangled expression: "His child?"

"Inheritance," said the queen. "It is more accurate to say that you are France, Luciano is Naples, and the Duke of Halebur is Flanders . . . at least in part." Under the care of her, the child has shown the shape of a strong body, and maybe it will only take a year or two before she can no longer hold him in her arms: "You will be his arms, the extension of his will, the French's The guarantee of continuation and expansion of glory, therefore, the Duchess of Colonna said the most unspeakable thing, and did the most unacceptable thing, the king will never allow that to happen, you , the Duke of Colonna, or the Duke of Harlebull, either."

   "Therefore, whether she is being manipulated or just speaking out of words," the queen continued: "Your Majesty will not allow this possibility to continue, even if it is only one in ten thousand."

   "That's why you're courting Madame Lavalier...?"

"Not all," said Queen Teresa, "his fief is in Hallepur, on the south side of Brussels, and if I am not mistaken, your sister Elizabeth's dowry is also nearby, and even Hallepur is connected, so that His sons and daughters can help each other in the wars that follow."

   "Oops!" Little Louis couldn't help shouting, "He's still a baby!"

   "Time passes quickly," the queen laughed: "My child, the way you are still eating your toes in the cradle seems to me like yesterday."

   These words made the crown prince blushed, he quickly broke free from his mother's arms, and after hurriedly saying good night, he ran away from the laughter of the maids.

Queen Teresa was finally able to let go of her tensed shoulders. She waved her hand and told the maid to step back. Then she went back to the dressing table and took out a letter from the drawer. The smile faded from her face and her eyes changed. Seriously, she opened the letter and read it again. This letter was written to her by a person recommended to her by the Duchess of Montpensier, but unlike the Duchess of Montpensier, Queen Teresa did not Don't like this person, especially, this person's father, whether in name or in substance, is not in favor of letting their daughter enter the court, let alone become a royal lady, the queen was going to put her on hold at first Up - the king's respect for the queen gave her such power, because both Marie and Madame Lavalier had previously made the queen take responsibility that should not have been borne by her. This time, the queen of the royal family just mentioned some necessary responsibilities. Requirements, such as those who must not be the relatives of ministers and generals that he will reuse, are all handed over to the queen.

The queen did laugh at a lot of bribes and won some supporters, but the Marquise of Montespan... First of all, her two fathers did not support her, how could the queen do unnecessary things, but this lady passed The Duchess of Montpensier sent a letter saying that she was confident enough to be chosen by the king.

Not only has he decided not to marry for the rest of his life, not only did he firmly stand on the king's side in the matter of the Duke of Gaston, but he also lent the king a large sum of money in the two foreign wars that followed, so he could be absurd and unruly. Duchess of Sière, Queen Teresa is France's biggest enemy now, the princess of Spain, she should be more cautious in her actions. After thinking for a long time, she decided to agree to the lady's request and meet her.

They agreed to meet in a small church on the outskirts of Paris, where the queen often gave mass. Because of the remoteness of the place, there were very few people coming and going. Even if there were eyes and ears everywhere in the Palace of Versailles, the impact would not be great. .

   (end of this chapter)