I Am Louis XIV

   Chapter 36 Uninvited Guest

With the talent of a witch and the status of the Queen Mother's close maid, Mary can master many secrets that others cannot know. Interestingly, these information are Mary's father and uncle, and perhaps Bishop Reis and others, and What some ministers desperately need, this power has now become the king's weapon. Although he can't do anything for the time being, he has firmly memorized every relevant name in his heart, as far as the State Counselor Le. They all played their respective roles in this good drama. Cardinal Mazarin and Queen Dowager Anne seemed to be the protagonists, but in fact they did not know. He is just a clown, the king can see their ending at a glance, but can only act as a bystander.

If I have to describe it, Bishop Mazarin's plan is actually very simple. He first mixed in the official documents of Prince Condé with a warrant for the arrest of the slingers, because the assassination of the prince had been confirmed before. In order to provoke the relationship between the prince and the royal family, the slingers did not hesitate to sign his name on it, but on this document the name of the prisoner was written by the bishop with a special ink, Just put it on the fire and bake it to obliterate the writing, leaving a blank space for a new name to be filled in. Mr. Bishop used this arrest warrant to arrest the two military police captains who were most loyal to the Prince, and then used the same method to exchange for a transfer order to replace the guards in the Louvre with the bishop's army. In this way, Prince Condé It's like putting a heavy shackle on yourself. When he came out of the Louvre office with Conti and Longueville, and all weary, M. Bishop's guards swarmed them, grabbed them, put on their hoods, and put them in a carriage.

Of course, as Queen Dowager Anne said, even Bishop Mazarin, who had a deep grudge against Prince Kongdai, did not have the guts to execute Prince Kongdai directly. Even Conti and Longueville were the same. The three of them were imprisoned overnight. Send to Vincennes Castle, which is located in the Vincennes Forest in the lower right corner of Ba. The fastest way to get there is through the Seine River. This royal military castle was built about three hundred years ago and has the tallest castle tower so far. - The height is about one hundred and fifty-six feet. "Only birds can talk to the prisoners inside." This is what the officer here said. The three Princes of Condé are imprisoned here, whether the Bishop of Mazarin or the king The queen mother is very at ease.

Perhaps the only person in the entire palace who is uneasy is Louis. If he now has a little bit of real power that belongs to the king, maybe he will directly send someone to hang Prince Kongdai, but he does not, he can only wait for the inevitable The result came - he watched the dark night, and by tomorrow morning news of Prince Condé's arrest would spread to every street in Paris, maybe Prince Condé was just a rude thug to the royal family , but to the people of Paris, he was a hero, and as long as those who had always had ulterior motives secretly pushed it - such as Gaston, the Prince of Orleans, the royal family and the bishop of Mazarin were about to usher in a second crisis.

Bontang, the king's first valet and chief of the chambers, stepped forward, removed his straps, accessories and coat, and took off his boots, after which he could sense the king's slight pause, "Pour me a glass of wine." The king said that Bontang went to the door and ordered the servant to bring a glass of wine to the king. When he returned, the king sat barefoot on a chair with a heavy gold-rimmed Bible in his hand.

"It's not warm in the room, Your Majesty," said Bontang, kneeling before the king, wanting to put on a pair of soft flat slippers for the king, made of sheepskin and favored by ministers for their softness and comfort. The king only wore it in the bedroom, and occasionally stepped on the heels like the pagans of Monaco.

  Louis looked at the familiar head, and gently and slowly drew a small dagger from the Bible.

  ———

   The candle in the room flickered suddenly and went out.

The moonlight poured into the room through the curtain that had not yet been lowered, and Bontang held the dagger firmly in his hand. Black blood spilled from between his fingers and flowed onto the silver sword, like red-hot coals touching the sword. When the ice cubes arrived, there was a rustling noise, and the cloudy mist rose and disappeared instantly—Bontang raised his head, grinning his teeth, not the grin that would appear on the face of the King with which he was familiar.

"How did you find me? Your Majesty," "Bontang" asked curiously. He was injured, but he didn't seem to feel any pain. A huge force came from the dagger. The king let go of his hand. Clenching his fists, with a terrifying squeak, the black blood corroded the dagger into two pieces, and they landed on the carpet.

Louis lowered his eyes and glanced at it. The silver sword, which was said to be smelted from the cross worn by the saint, did not seem to be as reliable as the priest described. The place stained with black blood was full of potholes, as if it had been corroded by strong chemicals. No—no, that shouldn't be said, because Louie has tried it, and neither sulfuric acid nor hydrochloric acid can do such damage to it, and can only say... this person, no, this monster is unusually dangerous.

"I have always changed my underwear myself." The king said that now the nobles will let their personal servants do the last step for themselves, just like someone always wants to carry the potty for him, but Louis, who pays attention to personal privacy, can't stand it , forget it when he was a little baby, when he can express himself freely, the first thing is to reject the excessive attentiveness of the maid, although it was not smooth at first - Bontang was after he held the "sling pants" ceremony The one who just came to him, maybe in the squire, Bontang is not the best, but Louis valued him because he was willing to obey his orders, not to restrict him with the so-called tradition or the order of the Queen Mother Anne. .

Therefore, Bontang would never do such a rash thing suddenly. Although Louis did not know how someone could have the same face as Bontang in the seventeenth century without plastic surgery, since the world is magical, anyone who wants to come can also With their own means - the young king didn't want to find out what the other party was coming for, what else could there be? No matter who it is, this act of unkindness has already given the best answer.

"I have no ill will towards you." The visitor said kindly, as if to prove this, he blew lightly at the candle beside him, and the candle burst into flames, dark red like the flame of solidified blood, Fortunately, it soon became brighter, illuminating the faces of the king and Bontang.

The man saw his own reflection in the king's eyes, he clicked his tongue softly, the face that belonged to Bontang trembled slightly like a ripple on the water, and when it solidified, the king saw It was a completely unfamiliar face. He had only met the Duke of La Rochefoucault not long ago. The Duke's face would make many women fall for him, but compared to this face, it was suddenly dwarfed. When those red eyes looked at the human being, only Few would be able to break free - but Louis was one of the few.

   "Then," asked the young king, "what can I do for you, uninvited guest?"

The   comer laughed, his smile very presumptuous and wicked, "No, Your Majesty," he said, "you should say, I can do something for you."

   "What are you?" the king asked softly.

If someone else asked this question, Amon would definitely be furious, but at Louis, he was not angry at all: "I am the patriarch of the Zmish family, Your Majesty," he leaned down and bowed. , It is rare to have an elegant posture: "I am a... Of course, you call us vampires, but we prefer the title of blood race, although I don't think the difference is that big."

  Louis didn't know if the other party was referring: "As far as I know, you have thirteen clans, you are..."

   "The Devil," said Zmish's patriarch, "you can call me Amon."

   He stepped forward gently: "I know that you are deeply troubled by some small problems," the vampire said: "I can solve it for you, very simple, and you only need to pay a small fee."

   "What do you want in return?"

   "Your blood, Your Majesty," Amon could hardly control his thirst, his two sharp teeth stretched out his lips slightly: "Just three ounces, Your Majesty, only three ounces."

   (end of this chapter)