I Am Louis XIV

  Chapter 25 Overzealous Officers

  If I could give this chapter a name, Louis would have liked to call it one of the surface works of seventeenth-century Paris.

The bazaar had obviously been taken care of, and the clamor he heard came from a woman with a ruddy face and a high chest. Her stall was full of chrysanthemum lettuce, white asparagus, Artichokes, parsnips (radishes), cabbage, ginger, and beetroot, aside from parsnips, cabbage, and beetroot, none of these vegetables could be bought by the common man, let alone in Paris today—perhaps some of the more strapped merchants or Not even aristocrats.

When the king and the others got off the carriage, stepped on the muddy road with high clogs, and walked towards the street vendor, her white and fat little hands revealed her true identity. Of course, this is understandable, after all, in the When Saint-Germain-en-Laye, the Queen Mother and others were already embarrassed to sell jewelry and clothes, but when they returned to Paris to accept a gentleman's hospitality, they refused his wife to serve the Queen Mother and drink, because this is the count Only ladies above the lady's level are qualified. It is said that the gentleman's wife fainted from crying when she heard the news.

The Queen Mother Anne bought some white lettuce, cabbage and beetroot very seriously, and gave them to Miss Marie Mancini to carry. The delicate basket handle was wrapped with silk so as not to cut the young lady's delicate hands. Queen Mary and Princess Henrietta of England also picked some clean vegetables and handed them to the maid Louise beside them. The king's eyes fell on her and quickly moved away.

No one knew how nervous Louise was when the king's gaze rested on her gloves. Her father, Clayland, was a werewolf, of course she was, but if you looked at her little hands, you couldn't detect the signs of a werewolf. Yes - as soon as she was about to come to Paris to serve the princess, her father was so ruthless that he cut off her ring finger with pliers, so that even if she became a werewolf, she would lose a paw, and that finger She had no nails, but she could not take off her gloves except when she was eating and serving the princess dressing, so that she would not be discovered.

Louis looked at her for no other purpose, just to see how many people chose the white lettuce he liked, and then he chose the artichokes that Wang's brother Philip liked. Wang's brother liked to eat this kind of vegetables rather than play. This kind of vegetable, because it is very interesting to peel it off piece by piece, and it is more in line with the king's younger brother's wishes to eat only the end. After all, he hates vegetables as much as most children, and is completely reluctant at the request of the king. for it.

In the end the king stayed on the chrysanthemum leaf for a while, yes, it was Mary's favorite vegetable, and his fingers slowly moved away, which was a bit uncivilized, but he finally put one in under Mary's eager eyes. Put the chicory in the basket held by the little witch.

Princess Henrietta was a little embarrassed. She had always been aware of the expectations of her mother and brother. Although the Queen Mother Anne and Bishop of Mazarin of France had always been opposed to this, they even deliberately slandered her feelings for her father, King Charles I— She also learned from her mother that if they insisted on the original idea, maybe the following rumors would make her identity questioned, because Princess Henrietta was not born in the English court, she was born in Exe Tate, a small riverside town in Devon, and was raised there for a long time, before being brought to Paris when he was two years old.

First, people can attack whether she is still the original Princess Henrietta, after all, babies change every day; second, they can attack her as not the blood of Charles I. Before that, we all knew that Queen Mary had a relationship with England because of her religious beliefs. of Protestants did not get along well.

But before Charles, Duke of Cornwall left, still thought they might have room to turn around, he had contact with Louis, a gentle child, and if the Duke of Cornwall could go back to England and be crowned successfully, then his sister would be beyond doubt The eldest princess, with such an identity, plus the bargaining chip of love, it is not impossible to continue the marriage between Britain and France.

   To say that Henrietta likes Louis? Of course, although she was still a child, in this day and age, children mature faster than the fruit on the tree. Henrietta's mother married Charles I at the age of fifteen, and was even called the late princess among the princesses. There are many princesses who marry at the age of twelve. Generally speaking, when a princess is eight or nine years old, people start looking for a husband for her. Henrietta was born in 1644 and is now seven years old. Since she was still a baby, she has not been able to enjoy the honor that a princess should have. In Paris, the embarrassing life of Saint-Germain-en-Laye is even more impressive. Profound, not to mention, if it wasn't for Louis's order, she might have died in the constant high fever.

   It was completely normal for her to have a feeling of nostalgia for Louis, but even this meager hope was strangled in the cradle by the Queen Mother and Bishop Mazarin. The younger brother's hostility towards her was almost unreasonable, but for this Miss Marie Mancini, she allowed her to approach the king with a connivance attitude, because of her humble status, even if the king really fell in love with her, At most, she can only be an "official royal lady" - since the end of the fifteenth century, every court has such a configuration, they can get a title, have a satisfactory marriage, sell an official rank and even take bribes, and even participate in political affairs, but They will never affect the king's marriage. It is also never possible to steal the queen's position.

  Princess Henrietta looked at the light in Miss Mancini's eyes. She really didn't know who was more pathetic, her or Mancini?

Louis did not notice the eyes of the girls. He paid more attention to the whitewashed and cleaned streets. Although the walls can be decorated, the building itself cannot be easily changed. At this time, almost all buildings are below the fourth floor. The houses in the market are neat and beautiful. According to tradition and needs, the first floor is open to the street. There are shops and taverns that can be rented or for personal use. The second floor is the owner's living room. The flag, although of poor workmanship, is brightly colored, with three floors and four floors and a loft or a bedroom for rent to others, or a dwelling for hired workers, with a few small windows open, where curious eyes can be seen, a young The man stretched out his hat from inside and waved it enthusiastically a few times.

  Although he was quickly dragged back by his companions—should be the request of Bishop Mazarin to them, the king was still amused, and he raised his hat and gracefully returned the salute to the window.

Louis didn't know if the rash young man had seen his return, but he was more pleased to receive such support than to receive compliments from ministers and priests. What he didn't know was that the young man was wearing a light maroon on his shoulders. of the shoulder straps, that is to say, he was a trainee officer in the regiment of the Prince of Condé - not very soon, to be exact, since he had been involved in the fortifications during the campaign near Lorraine the previous year. Design, and fought valiantly in the offensive and defensive battles in the Champagne region, his name was soon known by the Prince of Condé, and he was called to Paris to accept the prince's reward and to be promoted to "cavalry officer".

   His companion looked at him in disbelief: "Sebastian," he whispered, "that's the king!"

   "Yes!" Sebastian Vauban said excitedly: "You saw it! I saluted the king, and he returned my salute!"

   "So what," said his companion, "we are loyal to Prince Condé."

   "Prince Condé is loyal to the king," Sebastian said at once.

His companions paused. In fact, many people knew that Prince Condé had no respect for the royal family. From Queen Mother Anne to King Louis, from Bishop Mazarin to King Philip, he was the object of his complaints, while his soldiers , of course, they are more for the Prince Kongdai, who pays and rewards them. Some of them may not be able to see the king in this life, and they have no concept of the royal family.

  From Saint-Germain-en-Laye to Paris, it is said that either Prince Condé or Gaston, Duke of Orleans, succeeded Louis as king. But this is obviously impossible to tell his friends, he thought that Sebastian's enthusiasm and loyalty to the king was just a disguise, and now it seems that he is very wrong. He couldn't help but have a headache, and was deeply worried about the future audience (Prince Kongdai).

   This chapter is not finished, and will be completed tomorrow morning.

   (end of this chapter)