I Am Louis XIV

  Chapter 32 The Secret of the Merry Duke

The Princess of Condé came out of the room and met the Duchess of Longueville in the corridor, the two women looking at each other in the dim light - they had been enemies of mutual disgust, and when Bishop Richelieu was in power, still Angry. The Prince Condé of the Duke of Gian has a woman he admires, and even the Duchess of Longueville regards her as her future younger brother and sister. Although Clara Clemence's sudden insertion was not her original intention, it was essentially the right thing to do. The humiliation of the entire Condé family, the unfortunate marriage of the Duchess of Longueville made her feel deeply jealous of Clara in addition to disgust, the Prince Condé was indifferent and mean to his wife, the Duchess of Longueville not only Do not try to persuade, and even add fuel to the flames, adding fuel to the fire.

But at this time, the two distinguished women have the same purpose, and maybe Prince Kong Dai will be surprised. They did not fight with their eyes and tongues as usual, but looked away and passed by calmly. The prince's wife has already The seed has been planted, and the Duchess of Longueville will try to make it flourish.

No one knows what happened in this room for the time being, but those who are interested can still speculate one or two of them. After the Queen Mother Anne instructed the attendants to put the Duchess of Montpensier under house arrest, she talked with Bishop Mazarin for a whole time. afternoon.

   "You mean they want to arrest Prince Condé," Louis said.

   "Yes," said Marie Mancini, "and the Prince of Conti and the Duke of Longueville." She looked at Louis worriedly, because the King's expression was anything but good-looking.

   "Did they say what to do after arresting the prince?" Louis asked.

  Mary frowned and shook her head, but she immediately said, "Should I go and listen?"

   "No." Louis said, "I...even if I know...it's useless." Could he still warn Prince Condé and tell him to run away? He dared to swear that as soon as Prince Condé left Paris, he would immediately raise the anti-royal flag.

  Mary, like many girls, was politically insensitive, but she could clearly sense the King's depression: "Can I do anything else for you?" she asked tentatively.

   "It's nothing," and then there was only waiting: "If you must do something," Louis said, "you can organize your small bags and important luggage."

   "Why? Do you want to leave Paris?"

   "I don't want to," the king said with a wry smile, "but obviously, this is not something I can decide." He looked at his hands, and for the first time felt that time passed so slowly.

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The king felt that time was slow, but the Duke of La Rochefoucault felt that time flies like quicksand. He followed Prince Condé back to his mansion in Paris. Two or three days passed in a blink of an eye, and Prince Condé was still hesitant. , he is a warrior on the battlefield, but he is like a weak woman in the political situation, no one pushes him away, he would rather stand still, but say he is willing to do it... Ha! He won't be full of complaints about the royal family, chattering, and don't think about what other rewards he can get. Does this make him Prime Minister, or Regent King? If that's the case, what's the difference between it and blatant rebellion?

  No, there may still be a difference, probably because he still has a good reputation, but such a covert behavior makes the Duke of La Rochefoucau embarrassed.

He had been frowning these days, and it would not have helped the Duchess of Longueville to leave her recuperating husband and come to him to comfort him. At dusk a stranger sent him a letter, and the duke The eyebrows hardly stretched again. But no matter how reluctant he was, he still had to go to the appointment, so after sending off the Duchess of Longueville, he took care of himself, put on a black casual dress, put on a cloak, and rode away alone The mansion, this is really inappropriate for a gentleman with status. He didn't even bring a servant, it was really indecent, but if anyone saw his whereabouts, they would immediately show a smile of understanding - because the Duke to the Bois de Boulogne.

The Boulogne Woods is located on the left side of Paris and belongs to the royal family. The king often leads nobles and important officials to hunt and ride horses inside, killing time. Over time, it is like Versailles and Fontainebleau, surrounding this emerald green paradise. There are some hotels and theaters, some are purely to take care of the food and life of the nobles, and some are to meet another need - interestingly, because it is closer to Paris, the latter, which cannot be traded for outsiders. Unknowingly, it developed aggressively and completely surpassed people's original intentions. However, given the amazing profits it brought them, the two consecutive prime ministers, namely Richelieu and Mazarin, were charged a huge amount of money. He also remained silent after the tax.

The whole of Paris and even half of France know that the "Famous Shu" of the Boulogne Grove is of high quality, the service is authentic, the fees are expensive but fair, and men love to go wherever, even ordinary citizens. Or small businessmen, some husbands even embezzled their wives' dowry, or forced their wives to do the same disgusting things to get money to take care of these girls' businesses. For a time, the night here was even more lively than the day, and the carriage and The horses are constantly flowing, and the exchanges are inexhaustible. Even if there were riots in Paris before, there are no less traces of soldiers, butchers or judges here. There is a more profligate impulse, after all, in this era, even the king does not know if he can see the sun tomorrow.

So neither the Duchess of La Rochefoucault (and his cousin with whom he has had several children) nor the Duchess of Longueville, who also had an illegitimate child with him, have the right to interfere with his presence here. No one will be curious about his whereabouts, what else can men do when they go to the Boulogne woods?

The Duke of La Rochefoucault rode to Boulogne before sunset. The place he was going was a temple of love hidden between the swamps and the woods. This building must be seen by others. It is very strange, because not only is there an endless corridor outside the room, but it also extends into the square courtyard, dividing the courtyard into four parts. It is a tall tree, and their branches and leaves cover the sky and the sun. It is conceivable that in the midsummer season, when the sun is scorching hot, even if a person does not wear a hat or umbrella, he will not be harmed by the sun.

When the duke came in, a grand banquet had just begun. Someone took off his cloak for him, someone helped him put away his hat and gloves, someone brought a brass basin with rose water for him to wash his hands, and he As soon as you enter the room, you are greeted by the hot air and the rich aroma of wine.

   "Who rules this place today?" asked the Duke of La Rochefoucault.

"Bacchus, the **** of wine," someone replied. This is a trick played by celebrities in order to keep people fresh for them. Bacchus, the **** of wine, because of its secret and dark symbolism, appears almost second only to Victoria. Nas.

So the duke put on the cross-laced shoes of the Romans, put on a loose linen robe, and put on a crown of ivy and grape branches, and a young boy with bare arms poured him wine, He took the glass and drank it—it was almost a hint that he followed the boy to the back of the courtyard, and every room he passed was full of spring, the duke thought, if someone was to be a holy judge, rather than Let him walk on the red-hot twelve iron plows, it is better to let him walk through here, if he can not have any desire, then he is no different from a saint, and of course he will not be guilty.

This kind of thought did not dissipate until the end of the corridor. The Duke's guide stretched out his hand and pushed open the heavy copper door - no one could see that the delicate and white hand was like a small hand made of powdered sugar. great strength.

There are several rooms connected together, separated only by curtains, and in every corner there are young men and women sitting or lying, drinking and having fun, letting the scarlet liquor pour on the expensive silk carpets-finally. A drapery of heavy blue-purple velvet, embellished with long-forgotten prints, where the boy stopped, the Duke of La Rochefoucauld held his breath with a reverence he had never seen before the King or the Prince of Condé. He waited until he was called, then lowered his head and walked in step by step.

   (end of this chapter)