I Am Louis XIV

   Chapter 262 The Value of Mrs. Montespan (2)

   "I don't love you," said Mrs. Montespan calmly.

   "I don't think you need love either." This is the second sentence she said: "Or, love will only bring you countless troubles."

"What makes you dare to speculate on the heart of a king?" asked the Duke of Orleans ill-naturedly. Although this woman could be said to have saved his wife's life, her aggressive attitude, especially in front of the king, really made He is dissatisfied.

"My mother, and my father. My two fathers." Madame Montespan said with a sweet smile, her eyes on the king's face, and she had to admit that Louis XIV had a handsome face and a beautiful figure. Chi Chang, although he is over thirty, he is still as strong and powerful as a young man in his twenties. Twenty years of pro-government career has made him extremely dignified. When they first met, the young king still had a sense of youthfulness. It has completely disappeared. This is something that Mrs. Montespan has never seen in any male before. This is a splendid existence created by her own excellence, external authority, and internal confidence. He calls himself the Sun King, No one will think that the name is not worthy of the name, but only think that this title really complements me.

"You remember the first time we met, when you were a teenager and I was a child, but I have learned that love is just an ineffective anaesthetic, it can be exciting, joyful, I feel like I can do anything, but tablet can do it as well as alcohol, and the latter is cheap, the former is expensive, especially, the paralyzing effect it produces will make people unknowingly pay too much they can't afford, after a binge The moments of sobriety brought them endless remorse."

"My father Vesalius did, and so did my guardian, the Duke of Mortmar," continued Madame Montespan, "not to mention their love for my mother, your majesty, that is not love, that is monster's. Blood works on them, and I know I shouldn't despise them, because I benefit from them, and I have no right to pity them, because without them, I'm just a lowly slave." She opened her eyes wide, " But how can this make me believe them? I will never believe them, believe in love, I grew up in a monastery, but I saw no less love than those in the court, especially in the monastery , they sprout hard and grow in the shadows, they should be tougher than ordinary love, but anything, money, power, even just food and water, can destroy them with ease, like my father and mother The ones that were destroyed were like me and my husband."

   "If I'm not mistaken," said the Duke of Orleans impatiently, "I see you in black mourning."

"Oh, that was a test of mine," replied Mrs. Montespan softly. "My stepfather didn't want anyone but him to steal my mother's gaze, so my sister and I were in the convent. Growing up, I didn't want to blame anyone, we were well educated there, and when I came of age and returned to the castle of the Duke of Mortmar, the Duke told me that he would choose a husband for me, Although I would like to be in court, my mother thinks differently from us - she thinks I deserve a love, the love of my husband."

   "Doesn't the Marquis of Montespan love you?" Louis asked.

"Love, it is because he loves me that I am further sure of what a dull and mean thing love is." Mrs. Montespan said: "I have tried countless times to distill and distinguish the elements of love, and I have Like my father Vesalius working on potions, so when you strip away that gorgeous and sweet thing on the surface, what's inside? Desire, erotic, possessive, destructive—whether it's Vesalius , or the Duke of Mortmar, or my husband. Even if Vesalius didn't understand at first, he didn't know what to do with what happened after we came to the world? The Duke of Mortmar even My mother was not allowed to keep us by her side, my husband imprisoned me in his castle, and he draws happiness from me, but he does not allow me to be happy."

   "If he really loves you, then jealousy is justifiable." The Duke of Orleans couldn't help saying.

"But isn't the greatness of love lies in sacrifice?" Madame Montespan said coldly: "This is a paradox, Mr. Duke, human beings are inherently selfish. Although feelings seem incomprehensible, like money, they can be Bookkeeping, but if a person keeps paying for his love, or if he insists on paying, then his account book must be constantly thickening. Once the balance between the two years cannot be kept in balance, then surely One party is going to fall into the abyss, but to say, who can give equal love forever, and how to give it evenly? One person can never see into another person's heart, you think enough is enough, but the other person can only I think you're ungrateful."

   This sentence made Louis a little dazzled.

"Your Majesty has suffered so much, and must know what I mean," said Mrs. Montespan. "Gentlemen, my mother wanted to teach me how to get love, and my father, I mean my two fathers, both taught me. How to get what I want."

   "Alas," said Louis, "I believe that both Vesalius and the Duke of Mortmar are trying to prevent you from entering the court, let alone becoming a royal lady."

"Exactly, but one of them is your imperial physician and the other is your minister. There is no doubt that they know you better than the others. I see from their letters and accounts that love makes you Worry, and my greatest virtue is that I don't need love, Your Majesty, if you remember when we first met, I would trade my beauty and wisdom for power."

   "You said that, so that I dare not give you the position of the royal wife, you are very ambitious."

"My ambition is not ambition, but a promise, when my purpose is in line with yours." Madame Montespan said: "I am glad I am not a man, Your Majesty, and I am not a true Duchess. , my way to the summit of power is only you can provide, without you I would immediately fall from the throne, I will never betray you, nothing is more reliable than the covenant of profit."

   "How did you do it?" The Duke of Orleans pointed to the letters, keys and diamond powder on the small table.

"When I was very young, people came looking for my father, I mean Varo Vesalius, Vesalius rejected them, but I didn't." Madame Montespan said: "Your rice Mrs. Lady is doing well in Gayola, but she and you both support the Mancini family, so you can't get the approval of their enemies, you don't think that after you enter the inner world, someone will think of resistance Those big families."

   "Milady did mention it to me." Louis said calmly, but Mrs. Montespan could feel the hidden undercurrent: "So are you helping to fuel Mary's madness?"

   Mrs. Montespan was silent for a moment: "It's not me."

   "But you know."

"I was really glad when I heard the news," said Mrs. Montespan, "but not for me, but for you, Your Majesty, you are very tolerant of Marie Mancini, and perhaps you feel that you have something for her. You owe it, but it's not the case - on the contrary, the Mancini family has threatened you and even almost did it, so why do you still choose the Mancini family as your spokesperson in the world? Can you say no? Is there any reason for Marie Mancini in it? As an ambitious king, no matter what you do, you can't put your feelings first - you always keep this in mind, but you are still a mortal after all , you held her tenderness, but hid it in your authority, and she was foolish enough to turn a blind eye to it."

Speaking of which, Madame Montespan shook her head gently: "Look, even the little Duke of Colonna, who is only twelve years old, can see your feelings, so he never complained with his mother. Or hated you, he was totally on your side - you educated him very well, and his accident surprised those people - but from what I've learned later, it's not surprising that Mary always thought she Her feelings were not rewarded, her thoughts were no different from my husband who would imprison me or even kill me for my pursuit of power he could not give, and the Duchess of Colonna would not care what she did Will you be forced to face a more dangerous and difficult situation... IMHO, the Spaniards have no reason to attack you and France, but if your queen or your dauphin encounters an accident, they will surely rejoice Inspiring to use this as a reason to go to war."

Madame Montespan paused here and did not reveal the deeper reason - Queen Teresa's 500,000 livres dowry has yet to reach France, and everyone from the king to the commoners seems to have forgotten This thing, but...isn't it because these half a million livres are the return of Queen Teresa's renunciation of the Spanish throne?

  So, once Mary showed her hostility to Queen Teresa and the Dauphin, even her child, the little Duke of Colonna had to pull out her wand, and the king had to imprison her.

   "I can't possibly let someone who hurt my child get away," Louie said.

"I'll put their heads in front of you, a lot," Madame Montespan said, and then she smiled and looked at the king defiantly: "And the Mancinis—you shouldn't need them anymore. They are."

   "Your words are really disgusting." The Duke of Orleans said: "Then how did you find out about the Duke of York's conspiracy?"

"I'm also thinking, how could my spies have such omissions." Louis said softly, compared to the spies network of Richelieu and Mazarin, he also increased the spies of ministers and generals - D'Artagni The Count of Ang, the spy of the royal nobles - the Duke of Orleans, and the world, that is, Madame Milady, and the church - Cardinal La Riviere and Elarius.

   "I must say that this was not my intention," said Mrs. Montespan: "I only surmise from some indication that you may be interested in Naples."

The words    made the Duke of Orleans glance around subconsciously.

"The island of Gayola is not so important," said Madame Montespan, "or you wouldn't have led the wizards to Calais, and I've heard that the Orleans area is also set by you to be a wizard and a human being. Mixed living place, but you still value Gayola very much, an empty island is important to wizards, but of what value is it to you, a man who owns all of France, and most of the lowlands? It's the biggest The value is in the location, facing Naples, between Sardinia, which is ruled by Habsburg Austria, and Sicily, which is ruled by Habsburg Spain. When I look at the map, I think, An island hidden by wizards, an island that can hide at least 100,000 soldiers, what a sharp dagger."

"and then?"

"I just kept thinking, Your Majesty, I had a lot of free time in the monastery, in the castle—I thought, what would I do if I were you? I'd choose a wife for the Duke of Colonna , it was in Italy, but there wasn't much choice, so I managed to put a few people in the Grand Duke of Tuscany and the Duke of Modena - better than nothing, but my eyeliner was occasionally in Cosimo III, aka Tos The Grand Duke of Cana found something, you should remember that the wife of Cosimo III is the eldest daughter of your uncle, the sister of the Duke of Gaston and the Duke of Lorraine."

   "Margaret."

"It was she who had a double hatred with you. Her father was exiled by you and finally died in pain and unwillingness. Her uncle, the original Duke of Lorraine, died in the civil war of Lorraine, but everyone knows that this is your handwriting."

"She didn't have a good relationship with Cosimo III, and was even more angry when she heard that Cosimo III was going to marry her daughter to an illegitimate son, the Duke of Colonna, so she and Leo Pod I and the Duke of Modena are in contact. It is said that as long as the Duke of York destroys the British-French alliance, Leopold I will support him to fight for the British throne. Of course, the Duke of Modena would rather have an English king as his son-in-law, and the Duke of York would have Full of hatred for Princess Henrietta - it's easier after that, Your Majesty."

  Louis glanced at Philip. Here, Mrs. Montespan is not true, but she thinks that this may be a hole card she prepared for herself - there is nothing to worry about.

  Letters, diamond powder, keys, as Mrs. Montespan said, is just a job application.

   "You said you didn't love me," Louis finally said, "then I'll also say that I don't like you either."

   Mrs. Montespan held her breath.

   "But I accept your gift," said Louis with a deadpan expression: "I accept you too, ma'am, please stand up, you have this position."

  ———

The moment the carriage door was closed, Madame Montespan collapsed in her seat.

Of course, she is willing to be like her mother, only using beauty and talent to get what she wants, but if she wants to control her own destiny and that of others, instead of being manipulated at will, the whole of France, no, the whole world, may only be Louis X. Four can do it, and how can he be a prey?

It is undoubtedly an extremely risky thing to expose all the sins and darkness in front of the other party, especially although the other party is an unquestionable dictator, but he also has a fair and kind heart, Mrs. Montespan can only bet once, Her worth can be greater than her sins - just like Madame Milady and Marie Mancini, they are not clean and innocent people, if the king can tolerate them, then he can also tolerate himself.

   "Tomorrow..." she murmured, tomorrow.

  Tomorrow she will be the royal wife of Louis XIV.

   (end of this chapter)