Chapter 443: Love and War (Part 1)

People who know the inside story have already changed their attitude towards Ms. Eva. In France, which strictly enforces the Salic law, women's status is completely taken from men. When they are unmarried, people look at her father or brother. Her husband, although after Louis XIV ascended the throne, did a lot to improve the status of women, but it was never an overnight thing.

Here, the so-and-so duchess, the so-and-so countess, is different from the duchess. Simply put, the duchess title is bestowed on her by the king, and she also has a small fief, which can be used as a dowry The ones brought into the husband's house and then left to their sons can be seen in the original Countess Eleanor and Countess Anna of Brittany.

However, although Eva's title is the Countess of Forne (forne is the town where her father lives), her territory is in a seaside wasteland in Groningen, which is named New Forne.

You probably haven’t forgotten that what Princess Elizabeth brought to Sweden belonged to a territory belonging to Groningen. There is now a joint garrison of Sweden and France to strangle Denmark. Although Neuferne is desolate and narrow , but echoes with Princess Elizabeth's territory, once something bad happens to the princess or princess, they have at least one place to retreat.

The skin of the Countess of Fourney, nourished by the creams of Paris and Versailles, took on a beautiful honey color—she did not whiten herself with mirabilis seed powder and wheat flour like other provincial women, and the truth is not like that. It's ugly, but it means you're willing to bend to the rules of the game at court, rather than turn a blind eye or turn a deaf ear.

This is also the reason why people in Versailles can't understand Ms. Eva more and more, but now with the king's will, she will soon become hot.

"I don't have much interest in it," Eva said. "It was fresh at the beginning, but over and over again, they seem to have only this kind of tricks, not as good as Jack or Jean."

"You are talking about your dead husband, and Jean Bart." The princess said, "I thought you would hate your husband."

"When he was hung on the city wall, I was at peace." Eva clapped her hands and said, "What else can I do? I don't think it would be more comforting to put a wooden pole in his ass. Although he Don’t love me, but I loved him, so let’s make him decent. As for Barr,” she glanced at the naval officer who was still spinning in the hall, “I’m too familiar with him, just like you With the crown prince, even if we are not related by blood, we are like brothers and sisters, I am willing to die for him, and he is willing to die for me, but if we want to get married, we must die together."

The princess laughed when she heard the words, but Ferdinand, the grand duke's son next to Eva, showed a strange look of not knowing whether to laugh or roll his eyes.

Joseph walked up to him and asked in a low voice, "She still doesn't want to stay?"

Ferdinand shook his head: "She said that the price of a lover is far from enough for the sacrifice she made," he was a little disappointed, "When I saw her, it was already too late." If it were Eva today, she wouldn't even Marrying Jack: "And she has been awarded the title of Duchess. She said that even if I am willing to give the position of wife, she will not marry me with the French territory. This will cause a series of troubles. Of course, I will The Tuscan territory can be used as a replacement, but..."

"But your father is definitely not willing." Joseph said.

They were silent for a moment. Although Louis XIV had an extremely close relationship with Cosimo III, the Grand Duke of Tuscany, and they were still half-children, when it comes to national interests, no one can guarantee what the future will be like. I am afraid that he will not stop at a Naples, just like all heroes, since his eldest son has an Italian name instead of his original French name, it means that Bourbon may also become an Italian King's last name.

In this way, as the heir of Cosimo III, Ferdinand was embarrassed, and it is no wonder that Cosimo III would be so angry when he heard that Ferdinand had sneaked to France.

Versailles is also worthy of being a nameless political university. Ferdinand has been here for a few years, and he has been able to understand many things, but he knows that he is not the kind of ambitious person, let alone them. His ancestor, Cosimo I, the tyrant of Florence, even his father Cosimo III, he didn’t think he could do what a mediocre person could do—Cosimo III still holds Leo in his hand. As for the evidence that Pod I betrayed Spain, Ferdinand might hand it back or destroy it full of fear with just a few words from the envoy.

Cosimo III seemed to have noticed this too: "You should also go back to Florence," Eva said, "your brother is also eight or nine years old, and your father is teaching him personally, and some ministers also seem to be Be with him." She didn't finish, but Ferdinand also understood what she meant, although the Italians also enforced the law of primogeniture, but if the lord or prince insisted on changing the heir, he had to deal with the unpopular son , is still very easy.

Even if Cosimo III had the heart to kill his own child, he would be forced to become a priest and spend the rest of his life alone in a monastery.

"Is there a reason why you don't want to accept my arrangement?" Ferdinand said, "I'm just a cowardly and incompetent person who can't even control my own destiny, let alone give you protection and honor. You look down on me." I should too."

"I don't know how to comfort you," said Eva, "but you are a good man."

Ferdinand smiled bitterly and looked around. He had no shortage of friends in Versailles, but even Eva, who was closest to him, was more of a political animal than he was—she was right, they knew each other too well. Later, if she was still the girl from the fishing village who would be confused by the title of the noble, they might still have a result, but now...she is like a dry sponge, soaked in her own blood and soaked in the blood of others, Having learned such a painful lesson, and being lucky enough to be favored by the king and the great princess, she must have been prepared when she fell in love with him—it was just a game before she went into the "battlefield".

He can't even accuse Eva, because he can't get any chips... Can he publicly announce that he will marry a commoner with no title, no dowry, and no surname? His father, and even the King of France will intervene. He also didn't have the courage to give up the position of heir. He was too aware that he was just a mediocre person. Once he lost his right of inheritance, he would quickly fall into the dirtiest quagmire.

The princess sighed, and the atmosphere became dull. Fortunately, her fiancé Frederick came back to her from the hall at this time. Speaking of which, it would be great if Ferdinand had Frederick's face. It is impossible for the crown prince not to know what kind of request his father made in the letter, but it does not prevent him from continuing to stay firmly with the princess. He may not return to Prussia until the marriage contract is concluded, because he Must meet his bride in Berlin.

"Who were you dancing minuet with just now?" The princess asked casually. She had already danced with Frederick before, and she was not too keen on dancing, so she let Frederick do whatever he wanted. Contrary to people's cognition, starting from the eldest princess, the noble ladies of Versailles seem to be gentle and charming, innocent and generous, but they are fundamentally different from the women outside - it's hard to say what it is, but The men around them can experience it for themselves. Frederick and Ferdinand exchanged glances quickly. It seemed that Ferdinand had just suffered a blow, whether it was from the princess or Ms. Eva.

"And Madame Montespan," said Frederick.

The people present naturally looked towards the center of the hall. Mrs. Montespan was more willing and good at enjoying the glory and wealth than the two royal wives before the king. On such occasions, she completely let go of herself, like a flower Flowers that are in full bloom are also like birds that try to spread their wings and sing - after Louis XIV founded the dance school, the dance system that already had a rough model in the French court was further strengthened. There are minuet, garvotte and counter dance, as well as polonaise from Poland and Leandre from the Alps, but now the hall is playing waltz.

Of course they are dancing the round dance now, which is the prototype of the later waltz. Like the Leandre dance, it comes from Austria. The waltz originally meant sliding, rolling, and spinning—but now they are willing to dance this kind of intimate and brisk dance. Most of them are young people, or masters of flirting and love-because this kind of dance was only popular in the northern countryside of Austria a hundred years ago, and it has only been a dance of the Austrian court for 30 years... frivolous.

People in the court are only used to keep a distance, face to face, calm and somewhat restrained dance or the older Gavotte dance, at most it is a dance of touching arms, this kind of men and women face each other alone, close distance The dance that can be kissed with just a touch is really unsightly for some people. It is said that the British Protestant church has included this dance as a taboo, and conservative believers also regard it as a scourge.

But for Mrs. Montespan, this kind of dance that can fully reveal her graceful grace is completely better than other old antiques. Her waist that swelled during childbirth has long since returned to the original full grip. The never stingy king allowed her to buy the right jewelry and clothes as she wanted - and she did - and was the brightest at every ball.

She is now dancing with the Duke of Luxembourg, but looking at the Duke's stiff shoulders and unsmiling face is also a task that has to be done-people close to the king must flatter this lady a lot, lest people misunderstand Mrs. Montespan She has lost the king's favor—it's not that the king really has any sincerity for her. Mrs. Montespan has indeed played a role that some ministers and generals cannot.

"It's time for you to ask Madame Montespan to dance later," Madame Eva said to Ferdinand. Relations between the Grand Duke of Kanna and the king are deteriorating."

Ferdinand nodded. He was not as willful as he was a few years ago. He got up and went to Mrs. Montespan's place. The princess stared there for a while, "Maybe it's my illusion, today Montespan Madame is unusually quiet and self-absorbed."

Joseph laughed when he heard this sentence: "It must be because of some fright."

"Do you want some more small cakes?" Frederick said suddenly. Obviously, the next two Bourbons might have to say something that he would pretend not to know even if he knew it now. On the cake stand beside the couch, Frederick didn't care about Frederick's excuse of not being careful: "Go and get me a piece of lemon cake." Frederick kissed her lightly and walked away immediately.

Joseph clicked his tongue. He did this on purpose before—Leopold I was despicable, and King William I of Prussia could not be said to be aboveboard. What happened to Tani?" This incident was as dangerous as an undercurrent under the ice, killing people silently, without even leaving any traces. If they hadn't picked the wrong candidate, His Majesty the King would have It will only go to be judged to have died in a coma.

"Mrs. Montespan is frightened."

The princess nodded slightly: "It's not surprising," she sighed. She didn't hate the former Duchess of Colonna, even Marie Mancini. The Duke of Colonna also cared for her very much. They are blood relatives and family members. : "If this thing is done, Mrs. Montespan is undoubtedly the beneficiary. She has become a royal lady, has a child with the king, and has been canonized. Little Louis, my cousin, is gentle in nature, especially Queen Leisa is not the kind of person who is so narrow-minded that once the king dies, she will deprive the royal wife of her jewelry and title and expel her from the court."

"In addition, she often complained about her son being named the Duke of Montreal," Joseph said, "not to mention that she always regarded Mrs. Mary Mancini as a thorn in her flesh. By the way, she had plotted against Manci before. Ni."

"But she really wasn't involved in this matter," said the princess, "she's a smart person."

"Not so clever," Joseph said. "My mother, you know, Mary is my aunt... She is very concerned about this matter. I heard that although Mrs. Montespan finally got rid of the suspicion, she My mother said she would suffer as my aunt did."

"Oh," the princess opened her fan: "I've been busy with the dowry recently... Is there anything I don't know?"

"It's nothing new," said Joseph, "she's in love with the king."

The princess paused: "It's really nothing new," she said indifferently, "Your Majesty will only find it annoying."