I Am Louis XIV

  Chapter 463 The Princess Castle

Hundreds of years later, people still cherish the memory of this beautiful princess who was decisive and strong in character, but in 1679, in this castle built in the thirteenth century, the Grand Countess of France was very interested in Hamburg, this building, and the For the people here, it is not a good guest, and similarly, the Grand Princess has no favorable impression of this indifferent place.

Frederick's father and the elector of Saxony are the same as the seventh (eighth) elector, but Frederick is safer and more comfortable here than a French county owner. If it were not for him, this team might be. To spend the night outside the city—he brought wine, bread, and salt from the kitchen, refused the attendant, and opened the door himself.

The mansion belongs to the medieval period, that is to say, it pays more attention to safety than comfort. The square city wall and the four-corner towers coolly overlook the central residence, although the stone walls of the rooms are made of walnut and oak planks. Covering the decoration, there is still an undisguised cold air that seeps out from behind the black wood.

Surrounded by maids, the Grand Princess had already changed her original attire. Frederick even felt a little regretful when he saw it, because in order to reduce the time on the road and confuse the eyes of the assassins, the Grand Princess changed after leaving the territory of France. Dressed in the musketeer's clothing, that is, men's clothing.

Nowadays, women wearing trousers and shirts will not arouse people's doubts at all, but in this era, in some remote places, women wearing trousers will also be reprimanded as "witch behavior", like the former virgin virginity De was accused of wearing men's clothes and trousers, although Joan of Arc argued that it was a last resort in order to avoid being abused... But from this we can see that wearing men's clothes is not good for women, especially such as the Grand Princess. Such a noble woman is quite disrespectful and even evil.

But with the tolerance of Louis XIV, the princess and the princess have all worn men's clothing, mainly trousers, in order to be able to straddle the horses, instead of sitting on the saddle as elegantly as other noble ladies, that kind of graceful posture Touching and sentimental, but the horse would throw the rider off and break her leg or neck as soon as the horse ran too fast.

   But to say, how could Frederick bow his head willingly for this marriage, after all, a young man like him, who is also a prince of a country, must be somewhat proud.

   Not only for politics, but also for his own love.

Frederick has always been the kind of open-minded and adventurous person who saw the great princess disguise himself as a musketeer, like a man with a pistol, straddling the horse, and put the feathered When the wide-brimmed hat was lowered, not only did he not get angry, but he could not help but applaud, claiming that he had once again fallen under the charm of the great county master.

   So when he walked into the room, he felt a little regretful when he saw that the big county master had changed from the musketeer's wide short cloak to the same loose but delicate robe.

  The Grand Princess smiled when he saw Frederick holding a silver plate on which wine, bread and salt were placed: "Oh," she said, "Is the master here to entertain guests?"

Frederick laughed too. He had seen a lot of noble ladies in the court, and he once wondered how King Louis XIV of France would educate his daughter and niece as a prince, but now he understood it, even if it was a political matter. In marriage, whether the wife and husband can communicate with each other is much more important than the amount of dowry - although most people still value the latter.

To be honest, Frederick is not the kind of person who will maintain his innocence outside of marriage. Like all young gentlemen, he has some inevitable romantic affairs, but whether it is a famous Shu or a lady, the women he met before. , Except for the big princess, probably no one could give such a correct and interesting response when he came in with a silver tray.

  Bread and salt sent by Frederick is actually a special ancient ceremony.

This ritual even dates back to ancient Greco-Roman times, where all strangers were considered to be under the protection of Zeus and had the right to be a guest from harm and threat, a right that was later inherited by the Romans It is like Zeus who has become Jupiter. If you want to dissolve this relationship and rights, you even have to go through a very formal and public ceremony.

After ancient Rome was torn apart, this ritual had a blank period, but because people in the Middle Ages lived very hard and poor, and because of the former, they became very vulgar and barbaric, which extended countless hatreds and sins. - For example, the master robs the merchants or pilgrims in the past, or vice versa, the pilgrims or the knights sacked the monastery or the castle, and also slaughtered the enemy through the tournament or the wedding, funeral, etc. The... This kind of thing happened again and again, which made everyone panic and almost couldn't go on.

   So there are priests, and there are wizards who have not yet left the watch world to reclaim the guest rights.

When a stranger arrives in a strange place, if there is no conflict or hatred with the local host, the host should bring out food to entertain him, and he should also accept the food. This ceremony represents that both parties have agreed not to be enemies with each other. , from the time the stranger came here to when he left, they should all be kind and not move their swords.

   There have been many such ceremonies, and food is an equally important certificate, and finally it has been simplified to bread and salt. After all, no matter which castle, there will definitely be bread and salt.

  It stands to reason that when the convoy of the great county owner comes to Hamburg, the mayor of Hamburg should lead officials and nobles to greet them, and offer bread and salt to show their welcome and respect.

But there were several cities before, even Frederick didn't have much expectations for Hamburg. He was glad that a sidekick of Hohenzollern was in Hamburg. Although this gentleman could not greet the grand dame of France with great fanfare, but There is no problem in trying to prepare a residence for them.

   There is no welcome ceremony, no bread and no salt, he can prepare one for his future wife.

Before entering the room, Frederick was still worried about whether the Countess would understand what she meant. Of course, he was overthinking. The Countess also followed Louis XIV through several cities. Of course, she knew very well - Hamburger Her rude behavior is undoubtedly a guarantee for the position of the elector of Saxony. Her uncle, the king of France, also said that when the war may come at any time, it may be the most friendly attitude for her along the way.

However, Frederick was willing to do this. It was more considerate and gentle than any expensive jewelry. The grand princess took the bread from the silver plate, took a pinch of fine salt and sprinkled it on it, put it in his mouth and bit it slowly. down.

The   bread was fresh, and the salt was fine enough—“French salt,” she said.

"Guérande salt," said Frederick, a sea salt from Guérande in Brittany, fine, clean, and with a wonderful violet aroma, often used at the court of Versailles For this kind of salt, the Grand County Lord brought some chats in his luggage to comfort his homesickness, but Frederick would not use her things privately, so: "There is also Guérande salt here?" The Grand County Lord asked, here It's a long way from Brittany or Versailles.

"Paris and Versailles have too many things to chase after." Frederick said, he also took a slice of bread and ate it with salt. He didn't say it, but the lord of the county could also guess that, Trey must be thinking, no wonder so many people hate King Louis XIV of France - France has so many good things... and looks like it will continue to be rich and strong for many years... it is like a strong lion , rules a vast territory, hunts all the animals that live on the territory at will, and does not allow others to interfere, even the church...

In comparison, Philip IV of Spain was a tiger with all his teeth lost, Carlos II was a deformed puppy, and Leopold I of the Holy Roman Empire was only the younger and more ambitious of the pack of wolves. Just one. No, wait, he's not including his own father and himself when he says that, which is not good.

   Frederick's strange look caught the attention of the Grand Princess and the maid, "Are you tired?" the Grand Princess asked.

   "It's a little bit," said Frederick. "Well, I want to apologize to my honored guest. I think I'll go back to my room first." He stood up and bowed.

"The guests would like to thank you for your hospitality and expect something in return in the future." The Grand Princess said mildly: "But now you really should go back to rest." Frightened all the way, running endlessly, even if Frederick is young and strong, his face is still Pale and vain, the relief he insisted on bringing her bread and salt was enough.

Frederick brought more than just bread and salt, as they were not yet married, and gifts such as jewels were immoral, but the silver plate on which he held bread and salt was clearly a work of art Like a vessel, the relief in the center of the tray is the God of Love and Beauty and her son. The lines are deep and fine. Twelve finger-sized pearls are inlaid around the silver plate. Interested, only slowly walked to the side of the big princess.

   "Aren't you even a little curious?" The Grand Princess turned to look in the mirror and said with a smile.

"To tell the truth, if I have to say whether I have seen it, I have seen it." Not only have I seen it, but I have also touched it. Almost all of her male elders and peers work on privateer boats, and her uncle is still A "black businessman" who sold off stolen goods, she has seen, touched and used even more beautiful silver plates than this one - her "husband" is really in a hurry, if he can be patient, or more Respect her a little, and care about her a little, his conspiracy might really succeed.

Now…

Eva put the head that was hollowed out by the sea breeze, crows, maggots and sunlight behind her head, and slowly combed the long hair below the knees for the grand county master. This mansion, like other buildings of the same period, had no For water, personal cleaning can only rely on flour and a small amount of water. However, during the entire journey, not to mention whether the places where they settled have kept up with the equipment of Paris and Versailles, the endless "accidents" also forced them to temporarily abandon their original habits.

They have been able to enjoy a brief period of peace these days thanks to Frederick, he is the son of the Prince of Prussia and the elector, and some opponents became restrained because they saw him in the motorcade. A son and heir, if Frederick were involved in an accident, the king of France would really have several unshakable allies.

  The electors of Saxony did not want to see them in trouble on their own territory.

   "When they are all asleep," Eva said in the ear of the great county master: "I will give you medicine."

The princess blushed a little. She had learned to straddle, but she had never traveled such a long distance before. Eva had no such problem. She was always bold. With the permission of the king, she often rode in trousers under her skirt... a big The maid of the princess is indeed more free and unobtrusive.

   "I don't know what's going on with my father, and your Majesty." The grand princess whispered.

   "Your father should have arrived at Clay City," Eva said. "As for Your Majesty, Jean Barr said they might have to fight the British first."

   (end of this chapter)