I Am Louis XIV

Compared with the various calculations and considerations of King Pedro II of Portugal, not to mention Louis XIV of Versailles, even the Parisians who always hold their heads high don’t care at all. The wedding is different. This marriage is the icing on the cake for France. When people mention this marriage, they can only say that the Portuguese princess is really a lucky lady. She is old, and her father is cruel enough—now people know that he is a villain who killed his brother and usurped the throne, but only in this way can Isabella be eligible to be among the candidates for the French crown princess.

There are also people who have criticized Princess Isabella's origin, but with the voices of the Palace of Versailles, this issue is not a problem.

Anyway, after the crown prince becomes His Majesty the king, can he still have a royal wife? At that time, the queen's flaws in her birth will be an advantage.

That being the case, with the success news from the southern foothills of the Pyrenees (Catalonia) and the Gulf of Saint-Malo and the Gulf of Seine, and because the victories in these two places came from the French The two old enemies - Spain and England have taken it, and France, from the Queen Mother to the humblest peasant, is all rejoicing and triumphant, a grand celebration is like champagne foam brewing in a wine bottle, Just wait for the king to give an order, and it will explode with a bang.

In the Palace of Versailles, the shadow over people's hearts due to the passing of the Duchess of Orleans has long since faded away. The Queen Mother, who is over seventy years old, is like a rejuvenated old tree, and she starts to talk with the Queen, the Duchess of Montpensier, and the King in good spirits. The royal wife, Mrs. Montespan, worked hard on her grandson's marriage. Just like the king will hold a meeting before going to war, pioneering and building, and assign all kinds of important affairs to generals and ministers, even scholars and craftsmen, the queen mother should also determine the responsibilities of each person in the ladies' meeting, the above four The honorable lady is just an outline, and the one who is in charge of all the details is the noble lady who is favored by them.

Among them, Mrs. Falayet accepted the work of preparing poems and essays. These poems and essays were read aloud to the guests by the maids or attendants before each delicious food was served at the banquet in the palace. Between the party and the dance, it is performed as a cohesion or transitional program. It needs to be specially explained that, like the poems at the banquet, it needs to revolve around the theme of the banquet—for example, this time, the theme is to praise the king and praise the victory. The same goes for short programs between concerts and dances.

Generally speaking, when aristocrats hold banquets, small concerts, or watch theater performances, they don't need to hire someone to write new works, they can just choose from the works of previous writers according to their quest. But for the upcoming bride of the crown prince, the king's farewell before another royal conquest, the French people's desire for a grand celebration ceremony-the whole process, every detail, can not appear any perfunctory Condition.

Mrs. Lafayette has completed two novels before, namely "Princess Monbancière" and "Zhaid", and is currently working on a new novel "Princess Clive". The noble ladies in the court are of course her. For the Duchess of Montpensier, the works of this lady are not inferior to those of Racine, Corneille or Molière. Even the most jealous Mrs. Montespan has to admit, Madame Lafayette was almost as incomparable in talent as in her own beauty.

In addition to the two novels, Mrs. Lafayette also published many comments, small articles or poems in newspapers and periodicals. After being invited by the king to become a teacher in a women's college, she also led many students to become Turning her own writing into ink and Louis d’Or—if she was just a low-class woman, she might be criticized by some people, because before them, women might be able to write, but they could not take this behavior as a job do it.

It would amuse the modern man that it would be quite an outrage for a well-born woman in this day and age to live with her hands and her head, because for those hard-headed women who need work the only women are workers , Maid and "Mingshu", please note that these three are morally the same for most people - the female worker will pick up the skirt for the supervisor at any time, and the maid must also endure the nuisance of the male master at any time, Whether they are willing or not.

But Madame Lafayette is not just Madame Falayette. She is beautiful, noble, and talented. More importantly, there are Queen Mother, Queen Teresa, and Duchess of Montpensier behind her. Supported by the ladies on board, and behind them is Louis XIV. There is only one flaw in her reputation, that is, she was once bewildered by an Italian, but this flaw has long since turned to dust—someone the king never mentions, he is equivalent to non-existent in Versailles.

But even with the support of the king, those slanders and criticisms hidden in the dark can be slowly worn away by time. In the final analysis, it is because Mrs. Lafayette and her comrades have indeed produced irrefutable results ——She and her students even published articles and poems under male pseudonyms as a prank. When these wonderful words were spread around, someone announced that the author would appear in a certain salon. Looking forward, people who thought they could see a male writer like Molière and Racine welcomed a lovely lady or a beautiful wife...

Finally, when Molière was also tricked, the gentlemen finally sighed and admitted that they had lost the battle, but they also said that the ladies might be able to keep up with or even surpass the gentlemen in literature , but not necessarily in mathematics, physics, chemistry and philosophy - Mrs. Lafayette just smiled at this, why should she care, women are indeed a step behind men in the latter, but since the king allows girls and boys With the same education, the gentlemen will draw conclusions earlier.

The tempering in the past twenty years has not only opened up the heart of this lady, but also sharpened her pen tip and strengthened her spirit. The burst of vitality makes her look like the ageless Cleo, Euterpe or Melpomene (three of the nine muses, the main history, poetry and tragedy).

She is confident that she can meet the requirements of the female lords, but she also humbly proposed that in order to make this work more perfect, she hopes to invite one of her friends, who is also a widowed wife, Mrs. Sevigny to prepare with her In this matter, Mrs. Sevigny's name is often seen in newspapers and on the desks of ladies and gentlemen, and the Queen Mother readily agreed.

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"I said I could come by myself," said Mrs. Lafayette. "It's not twenty years ago." Walking on the streets, people will throw dead cats and dogs at people in gorgeous clothes. Now, King En has raised the Parisians for twenty years. The poorest and humblest people here can also dress up like a gentleman, not to mention the sufficient food and the confidence and satisfaction brought to them by a stable job.

A man like that wouldn't risk destroying everything he had to commit crimes.

"Even if I want to stay with you for a while before setting off, mother." Said Mrs. Lafayette's son, he is the young Marquis of Lafayette, twenty-three years old this year, in the prime of his life, from the military After graduating from the academy, Mrs. Lafayette found him a position in the Guards. The young man who inherited his father's bravery and mother's intelligence was promoted very quickly in the army. His name is also in the team.

Indeed, Mrs. Lafayette had no choice but to let him go. But as Mrs. Lafayette said, there is almost no danger in walking on the streets of Paris these days-especially now that it is afternoon, the streets are full of people, walking arm in arm, or stopping in shops. In front of the glass window, or in and out of theatres, libraries and clubs.

The policemen in dark blue or black uniforms ride horses or walk, like reefs hidden in colorful waves, which makes people feel at ease just by looking at them—of course, this is only for those who keep their own place.

These policemen were originally a group of despicable and cowardly villains, but since the king gradually injected new blood from retired soldiers into them, it seems that they either colluded with the mob, or wantonly extorted the weak, or both. After that, the situation is much less. Under their management and rectification, Paris is becoming more and more peaceful, beautiful, and prosperous every day. If you sit in the tavern, those who used to complain to the king-mainly because the king moved the court from Paris. Versailles, too, is gone, though sometimes they still sourly correct foreigners—Paris-Versailles, not Versailles-Paris.

Paris-Versailles, Versailles-Paris, Madame Lafayette thought with a smile, and there really isn't much difference. Outsiders call these two cities so because the king has been building roads and erecting various buildings between these two cities for twenty years, and slowly connecting them together, especially in the old city of Paris. After the city wall was completely demolished due to the need for urban expansion, it and Versailles looked like a dumbbell-shaped conjoined body. It is no wonder that some people said they had arrived in Paris when they arrived in Versailles, and they said they had arrived in Versailles when they arrived in Paris. Even the Parisians are too lazy to argue and explain.

But Paris must be ahead.

Madame Sevigny welcomed her friend with pleasure, and she couldn't help laughing when she saw the Marquis de Lafayette, and with a little regret, Madame Lafayette knew what she was thinking. Mrs. Sevigny and Mrs. Lafayette are good friends. Their children are similar in age and are in the same family. Of course, she hopes to let the young Marquis become her son-in-law, but the Marquis firmly believes that she should make some achievements. Considering the matter of starting a family and starting a business, Madame Sevigny could only regretfully marry her daughter to the Earl of Grignan.

The Count of Grignan is also a young and promising person. Unfortunately, he is about to go to Provence to work for the king there. Madame Sevigny can't let go of her job in Paris-she founded a newspaper by herself, so She couldn't go with them, as Madame de Sevigny's husband died eight years after their marriage, and she and her daughter felt very sad that they had been dependent on each other for more than ten years.

Hearing Mrs. Lafayette say that the Queen Mother gave this job to her friend, Mrs. Sevigny was very happy. After hearing that Mrs. Lafayette recommended herself to the Queen Mother, she was even more delighted. On the one hand, he was a little apprehensive, but on the other hand he was a little excited. His previous regrets about the Marquis of Lafayette were suddenly thrown into the sky. He held Mrs. Lafayette's person tightly, walked with her into the study room, and moved out of his Poetry collection and book collection, discussed with her intensively.

Compared with the product of inspiration, this kind of work with specified content and intention needs more experience and reference.

They may still remember the Marquis of Lafayette at the beginning-many books were placed on high places or were too heavy, but after talking about it, the young Marquis became a mass of air, he looked up at the sky, Touching his nose, he groped out of the study against the wall and came to the kitchen.

"Is there anything to eat?" Because his mother is very close to Madame Sevigny, the Marquis is not a stranger here. He knows every servant here, especially in the kitchen. He ordered the cook to prepare dinner while Pick up the sandwich bread in the basket and eat it all, don't underestimate the appetite of a soldier! While he was drinking beer, he heard the housekeeper sigh.

"I haven't seen my lady so happy for a long time," said the housekeeper, who had been with her even more than her husband and daughter; "good sir, why don't you marry our lady, who is a What a girl."

"You are quite right, Madame," said the Marquis politely, "I can only say that love has not yet reached my heart. I yearn for the army more than for the family, and for horses than for ladies."

"Joining the army does not prevent you from having love and marriage. Even if you have never been hit by Cupid's golden arrow, you should still think about your mother. It would be so beautiful if you could have a child."

"My mother has many children," said the Marquis. "Monbansier and Zeid have a Clive."

"Sew your mouth shut with a needle and thread," said the housekeeper rudely, and the Marquis was nothing more than a little villain she watched growing up: "Let your mother hear it, and she will whip your ass."

"Is there anyone in Paris who doesn't know about these three children?"

"There are always some people who like to make a fuss." The housekeeper said, she paused: "Don't talk about other people's business, your classmates are all married. Don't you have a girl you like?"

"I don't think so," said the Marquis, and what he didn't say was that he had turned down Lady Xavier's offer precisely because Lady Xavier's daughter was the kind of woman most people admired—shy, pious, obstinate. Stereotypical - nothing like the kind of woman he desires.

As soon as he saw the girl who had gone against her mother, he knew that if they married, it would be painful for both of them.