I Am Louis XIV

   Chapter 469 Gemma's thoughts on the Duke of Orleans on Gemma

Does Gemma, who is not worth a peso, know the contempt people have for her?

   Of course she knew, she was only deprived of the right to speak, but she was still able to listen and think.

   But she also knew that those people, even the lowest servants, could show arrogance to herself, but it was because she had no chance of fighting back. The priest said that she was going to hell, even if she had been atonement, she could not refuse atonement, she also wanted to end her life after killing her younger brother and sister, but after what happened before, she Know how terrifying death is.

The younger brothers and sisters are so small and ill, they look no more difficult to break than a raw egg. She gave them the wolf poison that the wandering girls used for contraception, but they always struggled not to die, but kept vomiting. With crying, she had to strangle them with her own hands, how terrible, the power of such a small, weak body almost made her give up her original idea.

   But what if they don't die, even if they get away with it, the future of these children is still dark.

Gemma had resented them, and her own mother—who probably no one knew, but her mother pushed her down a peso alley, even though she was selling for more than a peso at the time, and her mother knew she couldn’t live. , let his eldest daughter continue to do this shameful business to support the children below.

   She resented her father and brother, and her fiancé even more.

If only they hadn't been involved in the riots against the Spanish government, if only they hadn't given her the opportunity to learn, if only they had never told those noble ideals and righteousness, then she would be the same as today. In general, suffering and suffering, like those ignorant women, can only think that it is the curse of the devil, the trick of fate, and sometimes it is a kind of happiness.

   She hated the present life, but also feared death.

  The contempt, ignorance and torture of her by priests and people are all based on the threat of death to her. What the priest asked her to do, she has to do it, she doesn't want to die, even if she loses the right to speak, even if she is covered in filth, even if she has "Meidu", the whole body is left after treatment Branding, she can only practice herself willingly.

  When she was sent to serve the gentleman, she knew why the priest chose her alone. Could there be anyone more unshakable than her?

Gemma even waited for this noble gentleman with great interest to try to seduce or bribe her. There are many such girls in the alley of one peso. These noble people occasionally come here to meet their servants or on the road. The peasant daughters they met play a game of love. Maybe these girls don't dream of being their wives. Unfortunately, often in the end, all they expect is a small fortune, a mill, or a field. The dew in front of them, at dawn, they only have a pair of empty hands, and sometimes they also have Marseilles disease or a fetus.

   The former might find a less desirable marriage, while the latter would be relegated to Peso Lane.

Gemma knew what she was like, even if the gentleman was too careless to explore her past, she could talk with her ugly scars off her clothes, she wouldn't be paranoid like a real young girl, she even hated it All good things. Besides, if this gentleman could endure this disgust and say something nice to her, she would just laugh.

   Even she would feel sick when she saw herself. If anyone would still love her, then he must be a saint or a devil.

After Roussillon changed hands, Gemma guessed that she might be sent away. Unexpectedly, the gentleman, no, His Royal Highness said that he hoped that she would stay and serve him, which was undoubtedly right in the middle of the priest and others who wanted to control the French But before Gemma returned to the Duke again, Father Clarisse gave her a serious admonition, called her away every few days, and warned her with whips and purgatory not to forget her own. sin.

Gemma thought maybe it was because Father Clarice was a little bit unconvinced that the duke wasn't trying to do something, but the duke really didn't do anything, he treated Gemma like any other maid, Gemma and his contact Not much in fact, especially after the duke's valet arrived in Roussillon - of course, they couldn't follow the duke while Roussillon was still under the control of the Spaniards, and now Roussillon belongs to the Catalans , to be precise, belong to the future Carlos III, of course they have to return to the master.

   This gave Gemma a rare amount of time of her own.

The French duke from Versailles was not as lofty as Gemma had imagined—as we know, the person who can be the organizer and commander of a riot will not be a peasant or a craftsman, he must be educated Yes, and in this day and age, education is still the monopoly of the nobles for the time being—Gemma's father was a knight, although he did not have a title.

Gemma had seen an earl, and that was the most impressive thing in her dazzling and irreparable youth, though it was a Spaniard—and the Catalan magistrates and councillors her father knew People, they are all high above without exception, she clearly remembers the scene where she peeped through the crack of the door at the secret meeting... Only when her father was hanged, his property was confiscated, and his wife and children were living on the streets, None of these people showed up.

Her mother would only cry and bemoan, but Gemma remembered for no apparent reason that her father would sometimes complain half-truths, and that the reason why these people rebelled against the Spanish government was mostly because the government's taxation and recruitment had seriously affected the To their income - after the death of their father and brother, the family is... worthless to them.

  ———

  —Why would you allow me to stay by your side?

   Even the Duke of Orleans was taken aback when Gemma "asked" this question.

He did think about winning Gemma's favor, especially since he didn't even have a credible person by his side, he didn't even need Gemma to do anything, and sometimes some unintentional clues were enough for him to do it. He made an important decision, but after hearing about Gemma in that village, he showed more genuine compassion for her.

  —do you need me to do something for you?

  —If not, why are you being so kind to a lowly little person like me?

  The Duke thought for a while, there were only two of them in the room for the time being, and the cat was purring slightly in his pocket.

"I don't know what to say," he put down the document in his hand: "Gemma, it's a bit harsh, but I don't think you can do anything for me—and of course I want to thank you for listening to me during the riots. I ordered, but now, obviously, the person who brought you to me doesn't trust you very much anymore. He is worried that you will be conquered or bribed by me, and you are indeed a small person, and no one will tell you any important secrets - so, Gemma, I let you stay here mostly out of pity for a weak person, and a small part of my dissatisfaction with Father Clarice."

   He looked directly at Gemma.

"Maybe such descriptions and descriptions will make you feel ashamed and angry, but Gemma, the priest, and those who throw stones at you (Note 1), the latter may be selfish or indifferent, but your former master , Father Clarice, but reminds me - I don't know if you ever see how people tame wild - like those Tatars, they like to tame falcons to hunt and scout for them, but that kind of raptor is not so easy to obey, so...they blindfolded their eyes and prevented them from drinking, eating, and sleeping, and when they were tortured to the point of dying, the man who would be their master came and opened the blindfold and gave them food and Water, after a few rounds, the wild falcon will succumb in gratitude and intolerable torment."

He smiled, "Don't look at me like that, well, I admit, this method was also used by Bishop Richelieu and Bishop Mazarin." That Madame Milady was actually branded and went to prison Person: "But I swear to God, neither I nor my brother have ever used this method."

  —and neither do you.

"Thank you for your compliment." The duke stroked the green and black stubble that had grown out of his toil for the past few days, thinking that he should shave later, and said casually: "But if you are in France," he said, "the king will be beheading all the way from Father Clarice - how could they do this to the descendants of a loyal man?! I can't understand it, but that doesn't prevent me from giving those two steadfast men some reward. , to his daughter and sister."

  —you know what I do…

   "I know," said the duke, "but I've been on the battlefield, and I've visited the Wounded Barracks, and I know what sickness and death are."

Ordinary people might shy away from this kinslayer, but the duke saw a lot of people who were better off dead—many of them were shot, shelled, and fired before the king introduced the wizard's potions and compensation and pensions into the army. After a soldier who survived was cut off with an axe by a "doctor" or executioner in the army (otherwise the risk of fever would be 100%), even if there was no fever, there would still be people who couldn't bear the pain zone. torment and despair, begging others to kill him all day long.

In addition to the pain, the wounded and amputated soldiers could only go home. After returning home, the disabled were unable to work in the workshops and fields, and could only be a drag on beggars, refugees or their families, and their future was dark. , hopeless—so real people, usually their best friends and brothers, do it.

These people were later pardoned by the king. Maybe it was a bit unbelievable for the dukes who had not been to the battlefield and had seen the people at the bottom, but for the dukes who had experienced both, to understand those people, As well as Gemma in front of him, it is not difficult at all.

Without their parents and sisters, would those who disappeared without a trace after the accident suddenly come out to take care of them? If these children are healthy, it’s fine, even if they become beggars or thieves, they can still live. Go down, but they are sick... As long as you put yourself in the shoes and think about it, you won't blame a woman who is only two decades old.

"You may be guilty, but no one can judge you here," the Duke said, returning his attention to the paper: "I can't, the priest can't, only God and the victim can judge you." Elsewhere, at least In Gemma's situation, this was all he could think of.

  Gemma bowed her knees, just like the "woman who was taken in adultery" and walked away silently, at least on the surface, it could not be seen whether her heart was touched or not.

"It's just a momentary pity indeed," said the duke. "When things are over here, I'll take her to France, a place where no one knows her, and she can start over." Atonement, self-torture, or forgetting everything. Let her decide for herself.

  Catboy stepped on a plum blossom footprint on the document and abandoned the original topic: "These people actually allow you to participate in military projects."

"No, no, I'm a creditor now." Before he came, the Duke of Orleans didn't expect the Catalans to be so... Subtle, the bravery of the Catalans is undeniable, but the problem is their laxity It can also go hand in hand with the former - Roussillon's riots made the duke discover a lot of problems, and if he hadn't insisted on intervening, these Catalan riots might not have been more than a few special decorations on the trees. other results.

   So when these brazen fellows sought, or asked for aid again, the duke took out his purse.

  Comment 1: The Bible says that the scribes and Pharisees brought a woman who was caught in adultery and made her stand in the midst. And he said to Jesus, Master, this woman was caught in the act of adultery. Moses commanded us in the law to stone such women to death. What do you think should be done to her? When they said this, they were tempting **** to gain an accusation against him. But **** bent down and wrote on the ground with his finger.

   They kept asking him, and **** straightened up and said to them, Whoever is without sin among you, let him stone her first. So he bent down and wrote on the ground with his fingers. When they heard this, they all went out one by one, from old to young. Only **** was left. And the woman was still standing there.

   **** straightened up and said to her, Woman, where are those people? Has no one condemned you? She said, Lord, no. **** said, I also do not condemn you. Go for it. Never sin again.

What the duke means here is that those who say they want to condemn Gemma should first look at the sins they bear. They first planted the cause before they have the current crime - what happened to Gemma is mainly Catalan. There was a faction dispute, Gemma's father and brother unfortunately became the victims of the conflict, which led to a series of events in the future. Father Clarice was not the master, but the indifference and narrow-mindedness of the superior made him annoyed at Jie. The lack of self-love between Ma's mother and Gemma... Some people will not understand the difficulty without suffering.

   (end of this chapter)