I Am Louis XIV

   Chapter 16 Games and Kitchen

  Louis only saw a person dressed as a guard bowing to him, but he couldn't see the person so far away, and although the other person might not be able to see it, the young king nodded slightly to him to express his gratitude.

   "What are you looking at?" Mary shouted, "Your Majesty, why don't you play with us?"

Today, the children almost all stay in this largest room. It is sunny and well ventilated, which is suitable for them to play and play. Although Louis still likes to read books, occasionally the Queen Mother Anne will drive him out of the study and let him do Games, playing cards or something. If he was still in Saint-Germain-en-Laye, Louis could at least go horseback riding and hunting, but in Paris, he could only stay in his room or that small courtyard, staring at the fountain in a daze.

   His name was the King of France, but he was no different than a prisoner, and sometimes Louis wished he was a ten-year-old child who could cry in spite of himself.

   "Come on!" It was Mary who urged again, while it was King's younger brother Philip who kept shouting "too rude". Mary was probably the most daring girl Louis had ever met, and arguably the bravest of all the children, not only because she could face the werewolf without changing her face and strike back sharply, but also because she obviously Contempt for all authority, from her uncle, the Cardinal of Mazarin, to King Louis, and his younger brother Philip, she was the only one who dared to treat Louis as an ordinary person, shouting at him without any scruples.

Philip also had a fight with her because of this, but I'm sorry, although they are similar in age, girls are always one step faster than boys in terms of development, so this time it was Philip who was beaten. Not giving up the right to share the bed for a whole week, he deliberately had a long talk with Philip - he indulged Marie for many reasons, except that Marie was the niece of the Bishop of Mazarin, that Marie had rescued him from his relationship with him. Queen Mother Anne is also the life of Philip's mother, so Philip should be grateful to her.

   As for Mary's lack of education... Louis badly handed this task to Philip, so Philip took the role of Mary's etiquette teacher seriously. Although Mary didn't catch a cold, at least they didn't do it again.

   "Quiet," Louis walked over helplessly: "Quiet, Mary, the whole room is your voice, this is not what a lady should do."

   "I was never a lady." Mary said, "I am a witch."

"Oh, don't say such terrible words." Henrietta said on the side, she did not know that Marie was really a witch, but her age was destined to not know the real relationship between the palace and the wizard, she All known wizards and witches come from the sensational rumors of the maids. "Witches are burned to death."

   "It wouldn't be me either," Mary shrugged: "I'll be a more powerful witch than I've ever seen before, just like Vivian."

   "Who is Vivian?" Louis asked.

   "Merlin's disciple, or his lover, it is said that Merlin taught her all the spells," Mary said: "In the end, Merlin also died under her spells."

   "Does Merlin really exist?" Louis said, "I always thought he was a legendary figure."

   "Maybe," Mary said casually, "it doesn't matter—I said, can we start?"

They were playing four-handed cards, which were very well done and popular at this time, but it was still a little foreign to Henrietta, because to the Puritans of England they were like devils that would only bring Fallen, and the church's perception of it is not so good. In 1397, the bishop of the Paris Cathedral banned people from playing dice and cards on weekdays. By 1541, the Paris Parliament also banned the East of Paris and the suburban families. Dice and cards, mostly for fear of them gambling or not going to work.

   But for the people of the court, there was no better entertainment than this, and they preferred to gamble with dice and cards.

Since the royal family returned to Paris, the previous embarrassing situation no longer exists. Although the royal family property confiscated by the High Court of Paris has not been fully returned, the gambling funds of His Royal Highness and His Majesty have all turned into Ecu (silver coins) and a small amount of money. Gold-Louis, they were dumped on the carpet from their leather bags, and they shone beautifully in the sunlight, the eyes of the maids and the maids could hardly be taken from above, only a little maid beside Henrietta always paid attention Focus on the princesses of England.

Henrietta's luck is still very bad today. Although she now has subsidies from the Queen Mother Anne and King Louis, she can't help but tremble in her hands and feet when she thinks of what happened before, even if she knows that Louis will play the game after the bet is over. The way to give back more money, she still feels bad every time she loses - "You better come," she said to her maid, "Louise, maybe you will have better luck. "

The king did not object, so Henrietta and the maid exchanged positions, because they both sat on the ground, which saved a lot of etiquette trouble-Louis is a shy child who saluted the king and his brother. She couldn't raise her head again, but it was her luck, no, it should be said that her agility was far beyond people's impression of her. When the sun slanted to the west, there was a small pile of Eju in front of her, and there were still mixed in it. With a gold louis or two.

  Henrietta was very happy. Although she was a little tired, she kissed Louise and grabbed a gold louis and stuffed it into Louise's hand as a reward.

   "What's for dinner?" asked his brother Philip, who was also tired.

"Today is the day of fast." Louis said, "We eat fish." It stands to reason that a king should not know the recipe well, but at this time Louis is not allowed to contact government affairs, and always reading books will be boring. It's not in his heart, so in order to save him and other people's taste buds, the kitchen has become his first battlefield - it's not easy to convince those stubborn cooks, who still insist on it for hundreds of years Fruit has to be boiled, fish has to be grilled, meat has to be stewed, and no pan of cream, or pounds of cheese, or a lot of spice is not a dish…

   Probably no one can think that the first enemy he faces after dressing as a king is the cook... But he really doesn't want to eat the so-called cream stew...

  Fortunately, after several hard battles, he could finally eat his beloved boiled fish. The bishop and the queen dowager also like it, but they always taste it, because at this time, chili peppers are still regarded as "exciting things", Mazaran is a priest who swears chastity, and the queen dowager is a widow, this dish It's a bit inappropriate for them.

But before the dish was served, a maid suddenly came to the door in a hurry. She said a few words to the guard, and the guard said a few words to the general manager Bang Tang, and Bang Tang talked to the queen mother. The maid said a few words, and the queen mother's maid and the queen mother said a few words... In short, Louis saw that this sentence was passed on to him by several people. It turned out that someone said that a Mr. Brayland suddenly rushed in. Richelieu's mansion, although he was wearing the clothes of a bodyguard, a careful examination found that there was no such person, and when they were about to expel him, the Mr. Breland claimed that the king had hired him.

   (end of this chapter)