I Am Louis XIV

  Chapter 331 Versailles of Love and Flowers (2)

The Duchess of Montpensier turned her back to the Count of Lozen, her face was still flushed, but her eyes were frosted. As the leader of the noble ladies, she was even more used to and good at those intrigues than the Queen and the Queen Mother. After all The first two were protected by the Sun King, but she didn't, or rather, her status was not in the forefront, she looked at the moonlight on the floor, smiled, and even her breathing never became short of breath: "You are talking nonsense. What's the gibberish? My dear."

Earl Luo Zeng gently took her arm, turned her around and made her face him, "It's really just a rumor." He pretended and said sweetly: "I was surprised at the beginning, but Madam, there have been rumors in the court in recent years that Marie Mancini was a witch who nearly died when the king was wounded in Dunkirk, and that she made a deal with the devil - no, it should Say, it's the king and the devil..."

"Enough," said the Duchess, pressing her finger to his lips, and those who really knew the Duchess of Montpensier would have shut their mouths as soon as they saw her. But the Count of Lauzin - he always thought that the Duchess of Montpensier, like the women he played with before, was a short-sighted and weak-minded person, and this may be true, because the father of the Duchess Montpensier The Duke of Gaston has always hated this daughter, and of course he will not care about her, teaching her that although she spent her childhood in the court of the Louvre, Louis XIII and Queen Anne would not treat their children like their own. To educate her like that, it is no exaggeration to say that much of the knowledge of the Duchess of Montpensier was only acquired after taking classes with the Grand Princess of Louis XIV and the Grand Princess.

But to say that she is politically useless would be a big mistake, she has ambition, she has guts, and she makes decisions faster than anyone else when she finds out that something is wrong - like a king in the first place When she returned to Paris during the second riot, she didn't care that the other party was a married man. She went to and fro with Prince Kong Dai, and she was a concubine. She even betrayed her father for Prince Kong Dai, but Kong Dai. Once the prince no longer had the possibility of ascending the throne, she did not hesitate to turn to her father again; after the fall of the Duke of Gaston, Louis XIV sent the Count of D'Artagnan as a messenger to expose the fact that the Duke of Gaston had passed away. For the evil deeds of enriching her own pockets when she was managing the territory, she cut off the relationship with her father in a smooth way, returned to the Louvre, and even after the death of the Duke of Gaston, she took the title of "Daughter of Orleans" for the new one. Philip, Duke of Orleans, laid a solid foundation and eliminated many troubles and obstacles.

  So, this duchess is at least a person who is quite knowledgeable about current affairs. But the Count of Lauzen did not realize this, and it was the attitude and feelings of the Duchess that confused him. To say whether the Duchess of Montpensier was moved by this young man, of course, in terms of how to make women happy, Lau The Count of Zeng is far better than any of her previous lovers. She has even thought about finding a position for the Count of Lauzen, giving him a lot of money and a castle. As the richest lady in France, she will never be here. The side treated Earl Luo Zeng badly, but: "Okay," she grabbed his neck and scolded softly: "Tonight's Ye Lai Xiang is blooming so well, sir, the moonlight is like silver, we should be on the bed Talk about love instead of discussing politics."

If the Count of Lauzin stops here, the Duchess of Montpensier will remain silent after that, at most to find him a leisure job far away from Paris and not so important, but the Count of Lauzin does not think so: "It is for love. , ma'am." He stroked the long fluffy hair of the Duchess and said, I have to say that now the court has begun to wear tight or standing buns that are no longer popular, and ladies and female officials are beginning to resemble the Middle Ages In the early days of French women, they let their hair loose, and then wore headbands, small crowns, and also combed their hair into one or many braids - all because the suites at Versailles had bathing facilities, although there were still Doctors stubbornly believed that frequent bathing was detrimental to the skin's barrier, but as the Sun King's authority grew day by day, his every move became fashionable.

Because the king is so clean, everyone who appears in front of him will inevitably take care of himself, like the original kind of tall hair that cannot be removed for days after being rubbed with grease and dusted with flour. The bun has always been a gathering place for fleas, bugs, and dirt. A lady from out of town made this mistake when she came to see her. The lice on her head made Louis XIV's complexion change and he backed away.

Needless to say, jokes about the lady circulated at court that evening—and it was said that she was far more powerful than the Dutch fleet and the Spanish artillery, both of which failed to keep the Sun King at bay. Back off, she did it—the lady fled back to her own territory overnight, but since then, whenever possible, paid a small daily fee to the servants and the boiler officer who manages the steam boiler, the Versailles People also shower and wash their hair every morning.

So gradually, loose and refreshing hair gradually replaced the huge bun, and the priests also recognized this behavior, because this hairstyle is much simpler and more natural than the previous bun - they always think that men and women are too enthusiastic To adorn oneself is an act akin to depravity.

Thinking of this, the Earl of Lozen couldn't help but smile ironically. Although France is still a Catholic king, in the words of Henry VIII of England - this is the Catholicism of France, not the Catholicism of Rome. A small deacon, all the clergy, are all appointed by the king, not the pope, and the Church of Rome has long existed in the hearts of the French in name only.

I can't blame the red princes in Rome and the dying old man for making such a crazy decision. Their authority on the earth is already very little. Once France is removed, they still have What? A torn Italy? Moreover, without France, which rivals the Holy Roman Empire, it is difficult to say whether the masters of the Habsburgs will still help each other with the church as they are now.

The Count of Lozen lowered his head absentmindedly, burying his thick long hair, and he must say that hair that was washed often smelled much better than one that had been rubbed with oil and flour, and that the Duchess would be in the bath and after the bath. Use rose water.

   "After that, my dear," the Duchess pushed him: "Tell me, what does this have to do with our love?"

   "Because the king will definitely not agree to marry me." Count Luo Zeng said this with a bit of real anger.

The Duchess    was a little stagnant... Of course, Earl Luo Zeng proposed to her before, but who is she? The Duchess of Montpensier, one of the highest-ranking women in Europa, she was not naive yet, even if the king and ministers agreed, she would not give herself away easily, so she just tried to prevaricate It's past, but now - is she the one who made Earl Luo Zeng have such an illusion? Or, is the innocent person not her? But the Earl of Luo Zeng?

   "I have evidence," said Count Lozen.

   "So you plan to use this to threaten Your Majesty?" the Duchess asked curiously.

"I don't want to embarrass you," said Earl Lauzen. "If I were there, I might only embarrass Your Majesty—so Your Highness, you can just talk to him about this matter alone. Of course," he hurriedly added: "If he's willing to fulfill us, readily agreeing, we can also quit talking about that."

"Oh, I see." The Duchess said, so it is. If the Count of Lauzen said so, such a villain who could not even enter Versailles without her, there would not be too many people who believe him, but if it is Montpang The Duchess of Sières - the king's cousin, a childhood friend of the king, and a man who almost became the queen of France said, people will believe or doubt it, and then someone will definitely add fuel to the flames, add fuel to the fire, Louis X Even if Si can handle this matter, she will definitely be in a state of turmoil for a while - as for whether she will make a noise, there is no doubt that those people think she will, because the king will never allow her to marry Count Luo Zeng.

The territory and wealth of the Duchess of Montpensier were large enough. After the death of the Duke of Gaston, the king's high court awarded most of the chattels to her. The king lent her money during the war, and later also cooperated with more than usual. Several times the interest was returned together, and she was even given a small port next to Amsterdam. Such wealth is enough to shake a country.

   "Okay," the Duchess touched her young lover's face affectionately: "I will ask Louis when he returns from Slovenia."

   Earl Luozeng fell asleep contentedly after hearing this.

   When he woke up the next day, he was already in the Bastille.

  ———

   As we said before, the warden of the Bastille also had ambitions, and his ambition was that the Bastille could become a prison and execution place as daunting as the Tower of London - how could the Tower of London be so famous? It's not because in its towers, many dignitaries have been imprisoned and executed, including even a king, a king's brother, two queens, several dukes... He has been looking forward to it - the last time a Duke of York was also arrested. Are you locked here? It was a pity that he could not be executed, but he would rather be the executioner.

When the first lady of the royal family, Madame de Montespan, and the first noblewoman, the Duchess of Montpensier, came together and brought him a prisoner, the warden was full of joy, but as soon as he knew the identity of the other party, his face changed. Immediately, it subtly elongated - Count Lozen, who doesn't know? The Duchess's lover is just that, although he has always claimed that as long as he wants, he will marry the Duchess, but everyone knows that this is impossible, and the King will not allow the Duchess to marry such a person.

   Now it looks like, oh oh, this gentleman might be bad.

If the Count of Lozen is still the king's musketeer, then to be imprisoned, he will need to pass the court, or the king's permission, but he has no identity now, and he is in secret custody, no one will care where he goes - Versailles There are many such people.

   "Do you need manpower?"

   "No need." The Duchess of Montpensier said with a smile: "Our servants are very strong."

   Mrs. Montespan waved her hand, and the warden immediately withdrew obediently. The servants beside Mrs. Montespan immediately grabbed Earl of Lozen and poured cold water on his head.

Although it is the hottest month, the basement of the Bastille is still extremely cold. It was still a little joke between lovers, but when he saw Mrs. Montespan, his face changed suddenly.

   "Looks like you know me," said Mrs. Montespan.

   "Of course I know you." Count Luo Zeng gasped. He rolled his eyes and finally saw where he was under the burning torch. He looked at Madam Montespan in panic: "You betrayed us!"

   "Very good," said Mrs. Montespan unimpressed. "It looks like we can ask a few fewer questions."

"The only one who can threaten Louis with this is the Church," said the Duchess Montpensier. "People change, my dear." She nodded to Madame Montespan, who said: "let's start."

   "No no no, no! You can't do this to me, ma'am, you can't do this to me! I'm the Pope's messenger!"

"If you are the Pope's envoy, then you should have proof, and what about your papers?" Madame Montespan said wearily: "Forget it, don't shout, Clement X will not give you any papers, lest you Betrayed by you—you should know better than me, sir, answer me now, who else but the church?"

"Who?"

   "Unfortunately, wrong answer." Mrs. Montespan took a step back, "but it doesn't matter, sir, we don't necessarily have an answer."

Before Earl Rozin could grasp what she meant, he was picked up by two sturdy and powerful servants, who skillfully stripped the Earl of his clothes, all, leaving him standing naked like a slaughtered rooster. on the ground, then grabbed him at the earl's cries and forced him to see all the torture devices in the room.

People today may not know what this kind of behavior means. In fact, in France, torture also needs to go through a solemn ceremony. The charges, or from small to large, from light to serious, are punished one by one.

   Count Rozin certainly knew what would happen to him next. He pleaded incoherently and howled, but Madame Montespan kept listening. After a while, she shook her head, "It's no use."

   The Duchess of Montpensier smiled: "It's exactly what I want." She pointed to a torture tool: "Let's start with this."

   (end of this chapter)