I Am Louis XIV

  Chapter 289 The Amazing Journey of Anna Maria Luisa De Medici (3)

It was not difficult for this group of princes and princesses to encounter, but none of them expected that they would get nearly 10,000 livres of income within a week by playing small tricks in order to complete the work assigned by the king as soon as possible. Although the income cannot be compared with the benefits obtained by taxes or banks and fleets, it is still amazing, but it is not surprising when you think about it. First of all, people who can come to Paris will not be poor and poor, a People can even be said to have a small fortune. Although they do not know that the so-called "appreciation fee" is the idea of ​​the crown prince, they are very willing to use the money of a meal or a bottle of wine to boast about their wealth. As for most people They may think that throwing money away is a stupid thing, but in their hearts, the people who perform or display paintings for them have served the king and the great nobles, and when they cast "rewards", it seems that some Seconds are associated with those powerful people, so it is not so heartache and hesitation.

There is another kind of person, that is the real eminent person, they can easily lose hundreds of livres at the gambling table, since it is known that these four art academies are all ordered by the king, the prince and the princess supervised the creation, of course, also I don't care about this expense, but there are people who impulsively drop boxes of gold louis because of a certain character in the play, or because they are at odds with their opponents over a certain sculpture or painting. Come and compete.

After getting the approval of the king and the duke, the crown prince, Louis, was a little relieved. He walked around in front of the money box, clenching his fists excitedly, although as a crown prince, he already had titles and fiefs , but this is different. It was the first time that he realized why his father reused Colbert so much, and why Colbert was so interested in business. The income from land is stable, but to quickly accumulate a lot of money, only Territory is not enough. ,

   "That's right," the crown prince said suddenly, "Father, there is one more thing," he said.

"what?"

   "I have prepared a present for you." The crown prince said, and then he asked his attendants to bring in a painting, and when the curtain was lifted, a group portrait was revealed.

   "This painting was sent to Paris by a Dutch painter." The Dauphin said: "This painting has caused a lot of discussion, some people think it is extremely bad, and some people think it is very good."

   "Are you the latter?"

   "Yes, father, I am the latter, and I thought you would like this painting too, so I bought it from that painter."

   "This dress," the king asked, turning his head: "Duke, is it a soldier of Amsterdam?"

   "Probably," said the Duke of Orleans, "the shooters, look, they have muskets."

The king smiled, and only the crown prince would do this. Other ministers or nobles didn't have the courage to send this portrait to him, but he could understand the idea of ​​little Louis and the crown prince's appreciation of the artwork. The power and the ability to capture beauty are much stronger than his father. He sent this painting to him out of love for his father and trust in the king.

In addition to the subject matter, this painting caused such a big controversy because the painter boldly used too strong contrast - light and dark, large and small, front and back, such a picture presented in front of people, like a A suspended stage scene, this novel expression of course will make people who are used to the uniform and soft brightness of the picture feel uncomfortable, but there are also people with excellent taste who think this is a rare masterpiece.

"You said he was a Dutch painter?" said the king, "then I will summon him when I have time." He waved his servants to put away the painting, "Since you are here, let's have dinner together, Ke. Erbel is also with me, and I happen to have something to tell you."

  What the king is about to say is related to the great county master. A few months ago, the grand county master was uneasy, precisely because he was worried that the king would marry her to the king of Spain, Carlos II, for France. To repeat, but compared to Louis XIV, there are monarchs who don't care about their children, such as Leopold I. After much consideration, he finally married his eldest daughter Antonia to Carlos II, even though he knew Carlos II. Women cannot have children.

The Duke of Orleans and the king both discussed whether to let the Grand County Master know about this matter, but in the end they decided that instead of letting the Grand County Lord hear a distorted or wrong version of this matter from others, it would be better for them to let them know. to say.

As soon as this matter was said, the big county lord lost all his appetite. Fortunately, the dinner had come to an end. It was not a slap in the face. It was just the thought of a girl who encountered such a terrible thing, and the big county lord felt cold all over, especially It was her father who betrayed her.

   "It appears that Leopold I had made up his mind to stand against us," Colbert said.

"Unless Suleiman I of Ottoman Turkey is reborn and leads his army of 800,000 men to the west, don't even want to see me sitting with him." The king said: "But in addition to looking for allies, there is also a reason."

   "The throne of Spain," said the Duke of Orleans gloomily.

"He already had two sons, Ferdinand the eldest died, but John the youngest," said the king: "They were both born to the daughters of Philip IV, who did not renounce the inheritance, her The son has the right to inherit the Spanish throne."

   "But the elder brother's succession should come first," said the eldest princess, "and the mother is the eldest daughter of Philip IV."

   "It seems that the attitude of Carlos II will be very important," said the Duke of Orleans. "It is no wonder that Leopold I was willing to pay such a large price."

The princess    was a little disturbed, but the princess immediately patted the back of her hand: "Believe in our father," she said, "believe in their love for us."

"That's why I want to tell you first." The king said: "I am most worried about you, my niece, you must trust me, and your father." Although the prince and princess must meet For a political marriage, but Louis XIV and the Duke of Orleans will do their best to keep the marriage from becoming an irreparable tragedy, as is the case with the Grand Princess and the Grand Princess.

The grand princess smiled at the eldest princess, not so reluctantly: "Just thinking of that princess Antonia...and the physical condition of Carlos II... Now I don't know that this king is a Yan person, in the palaces of various countries. There are also very few.

   She was almost doomed to be ridiculed and scorned endlessly.

   "The best thing for that princess is for Carlos II to die within ten years, so that she can at least avoid marrying a madman," said the Duke of Orleans caustic.

   "Eight years." The king said: "It is written in the marriage contract that the eldest princess of Leopold I will marry into Spain when she is an adult."

   "Oh my God..."

   The eldest princess shouted softly and drew a cross on her chest.

"Speaking of this," after a moment of silence, the king also found that he seemed to have said something unpleasant, and in order to eliminate the strange atmosphere at the table, he coughed lightly, "you may have a new friends."

"Who?"

   "Anna Maria Luisa de Medici, future wife of the Duke of Colonna." The king said: "She was born in '67."

   He looked at his daughter and niece: "Before the Duke of Colonna comes back, you have to help me take good care of her."

   (end of this chapter)