I Am Louis XIV

   Chapter 557 Farewell, Mrs. Montespan (Part 2)

   This small hall has only one entrance and exit. Madam Montespan stood in the center of the hall, facing the king and others, behind the jailer and priest, and the small door.

The corpse of the Marquis of Montespan was brought in through the small door just now. Vesalius covered the unfortunate man with a white cloth again, lest... Although Mrs. Montespan had already guessed, she was still dizzy—she I heard a steady, light footstep sound coming from behind.

Louis looked past Mrs. Montespan to the two children, ah, no, they were children when their father was murdered. Now, one of them is a grown-up handsome man and the other is a delicate girl. —They share some similarities with Mrs. Montespan, but there are also some features that their fathers have inherited from them.

  Mrs. Montespan began to prepare for marriage at the age of sixteen under the arrangement of the Duke of Mortmar. She has always claimed to be the daughter of a duke, but no one who knows the inside story will accept her - at that time, the Marquis of Montespan was a high-profile object to her, and it was not that people around her objected, but this marquis He lost his parents very early, and his guardian is far away in Paris, so he couldn't choose a good wife for him... The Duke of Mortmar didn't approve of it at first, and the Marquis of Montespan is a promising candidate. People, but we also know that when Artenaise (aka Madame Montespan) makes up her mind, it's hard to resist her temptation.

The Duke of Mortmar felt at the time that maybe it would be good for his nominal daughter to marry such a person. After all, she also won this, but he did not expect that the Marquis of Montespan was chosen by Artenais from the beginning. Springboard, even if they had a son and a daughter later, when the opportunity came, Mrs. Montespan never hesitated.

To Auguste, she and the king's son, just because he was unwilling to fight, to plead, and to frame things according to Madame Montespan's wishes, she was so dissatisfied with him that she even stabbed him with vicious words. He, not to mention these two are just to numb the two children born by the Duke of Mortmar - the mother should be born with motherhood, and Madame Montespan is an exception. When she conceived and gave birth to these two children, her heart was full of resentment - although the king's royal wife must be married, in general, they will avoid having **** with their husbands, let alone giving birth... In order to ensure that their appearance and Not affected by these two children, Mrs. Montespan suffered a lot of excess.

She didn't care about them, and of course she didn't know that their playroom was right above the room where she poisoned her husband, much less that the floor of the playroom had shrunk and shrunk, revealing a tiny gap just above the light fixtures. It's inconspicuous, but as long as you remove the carpet upstairs and put your eyes up, you can see the scene below.

The two children saw how she mixed the potion into the wine, and then how the father died of poisoning. The content of their quarrel was also clearly heard by the children, but at that time, the eldest son understood, the younger daughter But I don't understand. The eldest son who understands is afraid of the ruthless mother, and has never dared to tell the truth, and the young daughter will not understand what her mother has done to her father until she is about to become someone else's wife.

When the Duke of Mortmar, the grandfather who was not related to them by blood, but who was always caring for them, came to ask, they said-maybe they were worried that the grandfather would favor their mother, especially if they listened to it. Said that their mother had become the first lady of the royal family, when she was covering the sky in Paris.

Madame Montespan's eyes suddenly turned red, and her eyes filled with tears, and she turned around suddenly without receiving any reminder: "My child! My child!" She shouted in a trembling voice, But her eldest son immediately raised his hand and covered his sister's eyes, which made Prince Conti laugh unabashedly, "It seems that your child also knows what you are doing." He showed no mercy. say.

"Take her out," said Louie, and the priests immediately stepped forward and took Mrs. Montespan away—in the little room next door, she could hear and see, but couldn't make a sound or make an expression , or interfere with the two witnesses by any means.

The eldest son of the Marquis of Montespan just let go. Of course, we can also call him Mr. Gondland, because he has inherited his father's title and territory, his sister is at a loss, and his brother comforts in a low voice She said a few words—no child would not have expectations of his mother, and he had a little illusion, but this illusion was quickly shattered by Mrs. Montespan's tears.

   The uninitiated might think that Mrs. Montespan was moved by seeing a child she hadn't seen in a long time, but Mr. Gundland, the scene of his father's death, was still deeply etched in his memory.

Besides, since Madame Montespan went to Paris, even if he got married, had a son, or got married by his sister, she didn't have a letter or a message, you know, not to mention how many people were willing to help her at that time. The minister under her skirt, even the Duke of Mortmar often sees her.

What Miss Gondland didn't know was that Mr Gondland had actually gone to Paris in secret, when Madame Montespan was cleaning Paris on behalf of the king, and the corpses hanging from the gas lampposts showed that the king gave him the How much power she has, how much she trusts, and this lady, no matter what rumors, rumors and gossip, in the tavern or in the salon, no one has mentioned her previous two children.

  Mr. Gundran was severely reprimanded and vigilant about trying to test one or two. Obviously, this was Mrs. Montespan's inverse scale. People in Paris and Versailles only knew that she and the king had a son, Auguste, Duke of Montreal.

   Mr. Gondrain went back without saying a word, thinking that even if Madame Montespan was expelled from Versailles by the king, she would not return to him and her sister.

For the past ten years, Mrs. Montespan has been a non-existent person, a name, to the brother and sister. To the brother, she is a sword of Damocles hanging over her head. He is worried that if Montespan Madam Pan gained more power from the king, or went a step further, completely confused the king, and his and his sister's lives were threatened.

   Even though he thought so, Mr. Gundland still thought... She would be at least a little sad.

If Mrs. Montespan would yell and hysterical when she saw them, he wouldn't be too sad, and he wouldn't be as frightened as she is now, but she...she guessed that the witnesses were them without turning around, And quickly responded "correctly" - intending to impress them with tears and cries, and possibly another affectionate performance to follow... In an age when the testimony of servants and other inferiors was not acknowledged , they may be the only two witnesses.

   Whatever it is, as long as it can shake them. Even a moment was enough, and Mrs. Montespan was confident that she could find a breakthrough.

   Unexpectedly, Mr. Gondland was unmoved, and immediately held down his sister who might have been bewitched by her. As for the king's order, it was even more timely and reasonable.

There's no need to say more, the two children were young at the time, but it was so terrifying, and it had long-term effects - "I will repeat this scene every night in my nightmares." Mr. Gundland said calmly that his sister also had a very deep memory of the incident, and they corroborated each other, saying things the other didn't see, adding some details, even the lace pattern that Mrs. Montespan used on her cuffs at the time. I remember it clearly, it's like... putting the scene in front of people again.

"She... made a quick decision..." Vesalius said hoarsely. The nicotine was hidden in Madame Montespan's writing desk. At that time, she had just written a letter to the Duchess of Montpensier when she heard that her husband had returned. He poisoned the wine on the small table beside him - the Marquis of Montespan hurried back, it was hot and anxious along the way, and he drank a big glass as soon as he saw it - excitement and intense exercise. The more turbulent blood later made the nicotine work faster, and he died a few minutes later in anger and confusion.

Because the unfortunate Marquis had no other relatives at the time, almost all the servants were bought by Mrs. Montespan, the children were small, and in this era, there was no complete medical system, and people could not or did not know how to treat their bodies correctly. - Poor people lack oil and protein, rich people are too many, and many people die in their 40s and 50s.

Even if some people doubted the cause of the Marquis's death, the doctors at the time couldn't see why - the Marquis's lips and nails were not blackened, there was no bitter almond taste in his mouth, no foaming at the mouth, no obvious wounds on his body, why? Will it be murdered? The most they can conclude is that the marquis died suddenly because of the overwork of the long journey and because of a dispute with his wife, which caused the bile to thicken and the blood to overheat.

At that time, Louis was fighting the most important battle - the war against Flanders. Except for the Marquis of Lois, who suddenly lost an overly sentimental subordinate, no one would remember the name. Later, even the Marquis of Lois remembered it. , and did not expect - Madame Montespan had not come to Paris at that time, and even if she did, she would have no reason to murder her husband.

  The Marquis of Lois doesn't know that there are people in this world who don't want to let his wife become a royal lady.

   Just from the testimony of the two children, Mrs. Montespan did not even hesitate - she did not consider that maybe the Marquis could be persuaded and poisoned.

  There are witnesses and there is evidence that Louis first let the two children back, and then recalled Mrs. Montespan.

   "I don't think I need to say more," said Louis mildly. "You are guilty, ma'am, you murdered your husband. You cannot exonerate this crime in any way."

"I don't plead guilty... Your witnesses at that time... were all children. After more than ten years, they may have made a mistake, Your Majesty, it is also possible... They were bought by me, or by your enemies, before they came to frame me... That corpse is also... Your Majesty, please! I plead not guilty, I did not do it! For the sake of my work for you, for the sake of our son! Have pity on me, I am innocent, Your Majesty, you want justice, you should be just!"

  Louis laughed suddenly, and Madame Montespan's eyes sparkled with hope.

"You think you know me well, yes, ma'am," he put down the dossier in his hand, and the thick page had turned to the last page: "I attach great importance to rules, to people, to non-human beings, to the whole country, and even the entire The world, I hope they can continue in an orderly and undisturbed manner, the law is one of the most important accessories, so even me, I do not want to be above it, yes, I am willing to accept its constraints. ' He gave his ministers a reassuring glance, and went on:

"You keep reminding me, ma'am, that you say I want justice because you know very well that you have committed an unforgivable crime and that the only way out is to escape through the loopholes in the present law—then You may go to a certain monastery or another country, but the money you have amassed now, and the title and status you have received from me, are enough for you to be like a fish in water in other courts."

   He sighed softly: "But you are wrong, you can take advantage of the law, and so can I, here I am, ma'am, then, do you know what a 'Royal Circuit Court' is?"

"While the king, queen or other royals are out on tour," added Prince Conti sympathetically, "he has the right to open a royal court anywhere, in which all free men will be heard. , the writ (judgment) signed by the king is greater than the decree of the local judge or prince."

"So," Louis said softly, "Madam, I said that you are guilty, and you are guilty. This is in accordance with the law." He made a gesture, "Madam, you still remember that you brought a token and came with me. The time we met? You said, you only want glory, power and money, and don't want my love, alas, you should regret it, and you regret it too, because you realized that with my love, you can do whatever you want ."

"Like now," said Louis earnestly, "if I love you, you can at least save your life." He raised his hand, Bontang brought the ink, the pen and the writ, and the Prince of Conti stepped forward and bowed so that the The king signed the writ.

   Madame Montespan's eyes widened until the corners of her eyes were cracked and bleeding, and she wanted to shout something, and was dragged out by the priest and the jailer.

Bastille was originally a military fortress, that is to say, it had a small square for the training of knights, on which a guillotine had been erected. "Welcome, ma'am," said the warden happily, while Cut off Madame Montespan's long hair, "I deliberately chose an experienced executioner, Madame, he was originally reserved for the Duke of Gaston, with delicate gestures and handsome features. But it's still not as good as the one for Charles I. Beheaded executioner, in a hurry, ma'am, he's in London again.

   But I also painted the guillotine, asked the academy painter to paint the saint's portrait, and made a new sword with your name engraved on it. Would you like to see it? "

Madame Montespan uttered a curse, and then, from the time she was pinned to the guillotine and the executioner swung the great sword, she cursed everyone, from her father, Vesalius and the Duke of Mortmar, To her cowardly mother, to her children with the Marquis, then to Auguste, Duke of Montreal, the Duchess of Montpensier, the Queen Mother, the Queen, Marie Mancini…

   Finally, Louis XIV.

   In her hoarse cry, the executioner's great sword fell.

The    cry came to an abrupt end, and a beautiful head rolled and fell into dust.

  ———

   "Farewell," said Louis, "Mrs. Montespan."

   (end of this chapter)