I Am Louis XIV

  Chapter 4 Louis' Memory

  Louis XIV was an ordinary man, but like any ordinary man, he had an incomparable thirst for power and money, and he did not think he would be a villain or a saint. When he was born at the castle of Saint-Germain-Leon near Paris, he couldn't immediately perceive his identity from those unfamiliar languages ​​and vague figures. He even thought he was a girl for a while because his baby was lace. Yes, with a lace hat.

And when he finally realized that he was not a girl, but a boy, he was held by his father in front of the minister. In French, Louis pronounced clearly and was the first word he understood. Although the prince in French is the same as in English, But people usually called him His Royal Highness, and the French pronunciation of the "v" made him incomprehensible in any way, until at last, a cardinal Monsieur, known as Richelieu, came before them and saluted the king. At that time, the familiar little round hat suddenly made Louis' eyes widen.

Although he was not very keen on real history before, he at least knew that the red coat is the proof of the cardinal, and a cardinal will only salute so humbly to two people, one is the Pope of Rome, the other … can only be a king.

He remembered raising his head vigorously to see the emaciated, pale man. Louis had never imagined that his father was so prominent—Louis XIII was not a man of luxury in private, perhaps it was For this reason, he did not get along with his mother, Marie Medici from Florence, Italy. In his spare time, he always wore a plain black coat, white leggings, and a large lapel shirt, which looked like the castle. There is not much difference between the nobles who come and go.

   And he was quite amiable, to women, Louis, that is, to his two wet nurses, the Marquise of Sevia and Lancézi, very gentle, and to Louis' mother, though not close, but polite.

It is a pity that the time between Louis XIII and little Louis was extremely short. Louis XIII and his wife Anne of Austria had been married for 23 years and had no children. After Louis was born, he fell into the water on a horse and died when he was five years old. He remembered being taken into a dark room with a strange aroma, his father lying on the bed, an azurite dressing gown over a loose linen shirt, and Mazarin he had seen surrounded by several ministers. Around his bed, Mazarin was even sobbing in a low voice, and the wet nurse held him close to the king, whose icy lips touched his forehead and cheek, and he was led out.

   After a while, Mazarin came out of the room, stroked his head and said, "Cry, child, the king is dead."

Later he heard from his maid, that Louis XIII's death may not be simple. Some people say that the Queen Mother at that time, that is, Marie Medici, cursed her before her death in the way unique to Italian witches. Son, because instead of being on her side in the political struggle with Richelieu, Louis XIII expelled her from Paris, deprived her of her property and annuity, and let her live a miserable life in Angers; It is also said that the king was indeed cursed, but not from his mother, but from his wife, because Louis XIII's Queen Anne was born in Habsburgs, while the Habsburgs of Austria It was France's lasting enemy, and what they were talking about was tangible, even how Louis XIII was dragged off his horse by a huge swamp monster as vividly as they were watching.

Others firmly believe that the death of the king may have something to do with his younger brother, Gaston, duke of Orleans, who was the second in line to the throne when Louis XIII had no sons. Thirteen had Louis, followed by Philip, and Gaston, who had only one daughter, lost his eligibility for the throne - he couldn't not hold grudges, and Louis XIII had always been more guarded against him.

In 1632, against the will of the king, he entered into a secret engagement with Marie Lorraine, the sister of the Duke of Lorraine. Louis XIII sent troops for this reason, and the duke fled to Flanders, where he suddenly fell in love with the Bosch School of Painting. His works aroused great interest. Even while in exile, he also collected many paintings of Pieter Bruegel the Elder. According to those who have seen those paintings, those who can draw those things are not devils. Also demon-possessed - with empty minds, flying eyeballs, burning castles, long-legged fish and half-monster, half-human "things"...

In 1642, Henry, the Marquis of Sammars, assassinated Richelieu at his instigation. He was charged but finally escaped, and because he had been forgiven by the king and Richelieu for his previous two rebellions, there were people. Legend has it that the Duke of Orleans has made an alliance with the devil, and the works of the Bosch School are his contract with the devil, and with the help of the devil he confuses the king and the cardinal.

   Therefore, the death of the king was naturally attributed to the jealousy of the Duke of Orleans. Louis XIII was also a skilled rider, and his horses were even better, and it was impossible to fall on that kind of short mound.

Before Louis danced face-to-face with the werewolf, he thought that these were people's imaginations or the intimidation of the church. Even if he began to observe Mass and fast with the Queen Mother Anne, he had seen countless priests and ascetic monks, but he I really didn't think that these might be true.

  The devil is real, the werewolf is real, the witch is real, and he hasn't been able to see... all kinds of non-human creatures.

  Louis thought he had something to say.

After a night, he was always tossing and turning. At dawn, when he heard Bishop Mazarin gently push the door to leave, he barely felt sleepy. Who knew that after a while, a small body squeezed in again—— Louis moved under the pillow, holding the dagger in his hand, and asked quietly, "Philip, how did you get here? Where's your wet nurse?"

   "Here comes Henriette," said Philip. "I hate her."

   "She's your cousin." Louis said, "You have to be polite to her."

   "She's a pig."

   "You shouldn't be so rude even to a lady," Louie said, yawning, and then he felt his pajamas being pulled.

   "Look at my hat," said Philip.

  Louis opened his eyes painfully: "It's beautiful, what's up?"

Philip watched Louis in the dark. He was only two years younger than Louis, and he was eight years old. Of course he was a boy, but the Queen Mother and the maids always liked to dress him up in a flowery, eye-catching way. The cap he wore, Even in a dimly lit room, silver satin and dark gold embroidery showed an unquestionable presence. Under the layers of lace, his hair was carefully curled with tongs and draped over his shoulders. With cheeks and blue Del round eyes, it's hard to imagine that this is Louis' brother rather than his sister.

As a child, Louis always wore floor-length dresses, lace hats, and satin shoes, but when he was able to express his will, his mother and Richelieu held a meeting for him. In the simple ceremony of "suspending trousers", under the witness of the princes and ministers, he changed his skirt and put on tight pants, and appeared in front of everyone with a new look.

He was less than six years old at that time. Generally speaking, noble boys in France would hold this ceremony between the ages of six and eight, but neither Mazarin nor the Queen Mother mentioned holding a "sling pants" ceremony for Philip. Meaning - boys in this era are not considered adults, only adult men are eligible to wear long pants, so boys wear long skirts like girls, once this ceremony is held, it shows that he is already a man - that is Said that from the day he changed his trousers, Philip had the qualification to compete with him for the throne.

   "Mother always says I'm her cutest little girl, brother Wang." Philip said: "What about you, do you think I am? Am I a cutest little girl too?"

  Louis lost all sleep, he held his brother's hand, and a burst of indiscernible emotion flooded his heart, making it extremely difficult for him to say the next words: "Philip, you must remember my words."

"what?"

   "Of course you are the cutest, but the cutest can also be the bravest."

   "The cutest and the bravest?"

"Yes, my brother, there is no conflict between the two, you will be the cutest and the bravest." Louis paused for a while, the room fell into a chilling silence, and he approached himself The younger brother, his younger brother, not the younger sister, the eight-year-old boy should have established the correct gender consciousness long ago, and he held Philip's hand more and more forcefully, maybe Bishop Mazarin and the Queen Mother just wanted to avoid the brotherly quarrel, and then cause more trouble. Big turmoil, but he can't watch Philip, even if it's not Philip, just an ordinary boy, being deliberately led down a rough and painful road - he doesn't know this history, maybe it's useless, after all, he There were no witches and werewolves in what he read, but he still heard about the tragedy of Philip, the future Duke of Orleans. If Philip is an adult, has mature thoughts, and can make his own choices, he will not. Interfere, but Philip is now only eight years old.

   Philip's biggest mistake may have been to be his king's younger brother, but he shouldn't be held responsible for that.

   "I will ask Mr. Bishop and Mother to do the 'slinging' ceremony for you," said Louis. "Maybe not so fast, but you have to believe me, you are my brother, and you will always have this ceremony."

  Philip looked at him in the dark, the eyes of the child were always bright, even in the faintest light, they were like twinkling stars.

   "I believe in you." Philip whispered, "I believe in you, brother."

   (end of this chapter)