Chapter 490 During the Wedding (Part 2)

"This is what happened." Little Louis took the letter from Princess Isabella to him and said to the three most prominent women in the Palace of Versailles - the Queen Mother, the Queen and the Duchess of Montpensier. As for Montes Mrs. Pan? Although she can also take on some work related to this wedding and is at home among small and medium-sized nobles and officials, she is not qualified to know or have contact with such things.

"Isabella wrote me back," said little Louis: "She has made a decision - she wants to cancel the 'dressing ceremony', if something unpleasant will happen in the future - she said that she has never been born since birth. Since then, everything she has encountered is like a test or torture. People who have walked through purgatory will not be afraid of the burning coals. She is also stronger than any noble girl around her. What kind of challenge She has the courage to face it - she is grateful for my... tolerance and is willing to accept this gift." He took a deep breath: "And she is willing to accept all the rewards that come with it."

As soon as he finished speaking, the room was quiet for a few seconds. Amidst the uneasiness of the Crown Prince, the Queen Mother, whose white hair was tied up high and decorated with roses and diamonds, glanced at the Duchess in confusion, and then turned to face The queen said: "Purgatory? Oh my god, who knows what happened to that child? She is a Portuguese princess, right?"

"Probably the ones I have encountered." Queen Theresa said. The Queen Mother also became kind to the Queen as she aged, especially after Queen Theresa gave birth to Prince Charles. They are both Spanish Habsburg princesses. Unfortunately, they are not very close to their mother's family. This is also a common problem among princesses in this era. The most miserable women are this. They were abandoned by their mother's family, and their husband's family was not very close to them. It's full of vigilance.

But when they thought of their grandson, the son could inherit the family and country that had abandoned them because he inherited his mother's bloodline, the two Habsburg princesses couldn't tell how happy they were. In addition, with the support of Louis XIV, the queen mother, queen and duchess all have their own careers, so they don't care whether they have to cancel the humiliating "dressing ceremony" - they are already very satisfied. , there is no need to comfort yourself by bullying another woman.

"Have those stubborn men agreed?" asked the Duchess of Montpensier. She had more contact with people outside the palace and had seen more of the men's pretentiousness. Oh my god, the men all said that ladies can't do anything. To do what they can do, she said, men are indeed better than women. At least they can do all the things that "ladies" can do in their mouths except getting pregnant and giving birth. ——For example, getting something for nothing, being ungrateful, repaying kindness with evil, being greedy for small things and losing big things... Each of them is more efficient than the other, and they shamelessly show off as a feat.

"I agree," the Dauphin said, "but I don't completely agree." This is another lesson Louis XIV taught his son. It turns out that even if it is the king's will, ministers may not refuse to fight if they have their own ideas. It was carried out with little compromise, and the degree of concession depended on the authority of the king: "They agreed to let Isabella stay alone in the room to change her clothes."

"That will be very good," said the queen.

"I think this proposal is more suitable for the current situation." Duchess Montpensier said: "Who proposed this, you can pay attention to it."

"The Marquis de Lafayette," said the Dauphin, "but I heard that this was his mother's suggestion."

"I think so too," Duchess Montpensier nodded: "You are just a bunch of reckless boys, and those cunning guys are just waiting to see your jokes." She had no idea that these words made His Majesty the King too. After scolding, the Queen Mother also nodded. This suggestion is indeed very good. This will prevent anyone from attacking the Queen in the future because she loves her motherland and refuses to become a Frenchman. Even if Princess Isabella says she is willing to accept such consequences, it can reduce the consequences. What's wrong with some handles?

She was, after all, the wife of the future King of France.

————

After this small disturbance subsided, the wedding of the French Crown Prince and the Portuguese Princess finally went ahead. Princess Isabella completed the dressing ceremony on the ship in the port of Nantes. Although no one helped her, she quickly changed all her inner and outer clothes. After knowing this, she got help from her maid. I practiced many times, and specifically requested the queen to customize several sets of the latest styles of women's clothing in the Palace of Versailles.

According to etiquette, after Princess Isabella has finished changing, the French envoy will step forward first, hold her hand and lead her to the French side. The Portuguese in the room will watch the princess off and back away until they leave the room. All things in Portugal - as mentioned before, not a fiber can be left on Isabella's body, and her maids and ladies-in-waiting are also among them, but until she and the crown prince complete the wedding ceremony, or wait for a while Time, if she wanted, these maids could come to the Palace of Versailles and continue to serve her.

Princess Isabella didn't have much attachment to these maids and court ladies. After the marriage was settled, these women were either keen to pursue her father Pedro II, or they were flirting in front of dignitaries. They either ignored or looked down upon the princess. The ladies-in-waiting finally began to warm to her—the queen had warned Isabella that these women might beg her to take them to Versailles.

Who wouldn’t want to go to Versailles? It was a palace of gold and ivory, with diamonds dotting the dark brown sandalwood floor like dew.

There is the god-like Sun King Louis XIV, and the passionate Duke of Orleans. The crown prince, Little Louis, is handsome, strong, gentle, and open-minded - he is still a real prince, and he will inherit an extremely large and wealthy family in the future. nation!

These maids are not naive enough to want to become queens, but they are quite willing to become the lovers of the king, the king's brother or the crown prince. Just look at the three royal wives of Louis XIV and you will know how generous Bourbon is to his lovers.

Madame Mancini's son is about to become the King of Naples, Madame La Valliere's son is already the Duke of Hallebourne, and Madame Montespan's son has been sealed to Montreal, but since the king's explorers and prospectors discovered it there, After seeing the gold and iron mines, as well as the endless white pine, red pine, hemlock and oak, no one can say that it is just a desolate and barren enclave.

You know, in France, all titles are land-based. They don't have much ambition, as long as they have such a fief, it doesn't matter if it's smaller.

But Isabella didn't want to.

She thought that she would always remember the big fat hand hanging on her head. She did not die in the neglect of the wet nurse, and she did not live in a deserted and lonely life in the monastery. After her death, there was only a name belonging to a nun on the tombstone.

This is all because a good man saved her tragic fate with his life. He could have lived for a few years, more than ten years, or even longer, watching his hypocrite brother looking at the throne so close to him in pain. , he rejected his mother and the archbishop, but he did not reject a child who was only five years old.

He knew that as long as he was still the king, in just a few months, France might not continue to delay it - Portugal, a country that had recently become independent from Spain, did not have the qualifications to make the French crown prince wait, and the marriage would be negotiated. When she died young, what awaited Isabella was a living grave.

He should hate this child who represents shame and betrayal to him. Even Pedro is unwilling to admit that this daughter with an ambiguous birth date is not even a boy!

But Alfonso VI still gave her a little light - a very small light, which was also the last bit of property the unfortunate king had - if, Isabella thought, if she could be happy in the future, she would not She would not be grateful to her father Pedro II, nor would she be grateful to her mother, the daughter of the Duke of Savoy. She would only be grateful to Alfonso VI, her uncle, and her father in heaven.

The further away from Portugal, the more she looks forward to and the happier she is.

Let the French mission personnel see that this princess is unexpectedly cheerful, healthy, and full of vitality. This is really great. Although compared to her future husband, this princess with dark brown curly hair and fair skin has some disadvantages. Not enough, but still pretty and amiable, especially those eyes, which are very moving, but I don't know what the tears contained in them mean.

As one of the bodyguards, the Marquis de Lafayette carefully looked at Princess Isabella from the corner of his eye. He was not interested in what other people were keen on - seeing whether the princess was docile and suitable for having children. , what he cares about is the inner nature of the princess - judging from the constant exchange of letters between the crown prince and her, it is probably impossible to be docile. It is unlikely that a daughter who is so rebellious to her father will suddenly become a submissive wife. , he couldn't help but worry about the crown prince for a few minutes, and then he also noticed with some keen people that the princess didn't seem to have any deep feelings for Portugal.

This is a good thing for France, but they are also wondering whether this noble lady is too unreasonable...

What the French think is not within Isabella's consideration. Anyone who has read history books and newspapers knows that a foreign princess will face countless people's doubts and difficulties after becoming the queen of this country, but Judging from the letters written to her by the crown prince Louis, Isabella felt that she could still give it a try.

After all, the crown prince has such a father. Even if things develop to a point that none of them want to see, she can have her own career and income like the Duchess of Montpensier, and she can also get the respect and love of the French without relying entirely on her husband. With the king's favor.

However, such thoughts almost disappeared when she set foot on the road to Versailles. She could not believe that the people of a country would support and admire their royal family so much.

When the carriage that welcomes the bride rushes in, the flat light gray road is dotted with black marks - not the annoying excrement or soil, but the wine poured on the road by the people, It was sprinkled with spices and flower petals, and Princess Isabella couldn't help but open the window and smell the fragrant smell carried by the breeze.

No matter day or night, there are people in costumes escorting them on both sides of the road. As soon as they see Princess Isabella, they cheer in unison, singing Long Live the King and Long Live France. They carry all kinds of gifts. From simple wood carvings to expensive silver plates, people are vying to offer them to the Crown Princess. Some people also send their daughters and sons to serve them with children with rosy faces and sparkling eyes. Of course, these special gifts All were declined.

In addition to the smell of wine, spices and flowers, you can sometimes smell the aroma of roasted meat. According to the envoys from Versailles, this is the city where they passed. Rich people or officials bought bulls, deer or pigs. , roast it and distribute it to the poor, so that they can be happy together; and on the city streets, the street lights are not extinguished even during the day, and the lampposts and porch pillars are wrapped in colorful cloth and decorated with flowers.

Wherever they stayed, they were beautifully decorated and extremely comfortable. The water pipes here were all filled with warm water at a suitable temperature, not ice-cold or scalding water - this was Sintra in Portugal. What the palace has not been able to do, Princess Isabella is overwhelmed with countless kinds of skin care creams, ointments and powders, as well as a piece of jewelry that is delivered to her every day - the Crown Prince Although he can't come to greet her, he can let his gift tell his future wife that he is always paying attention to her.

The Crown Prince's actions also made Princess Isabella's French maid restrain her little thoughts. If there are a thousand noble ladies in the Palace of Versailles who hope to become the royal wife of the Sun King, then they want to try their luck with the Crown Prince. There are at least a hundred of them, but now it seems that the time has not yet come, and they still have to wait - I hope they won't wait too long.

Isabella deliberately did not guess the darkness behind those submissive gestures. She swore to herself that if she wanted to seize happiness, she must do her best. She would not waste time and energy on unreasonable suspicions - this This also aroused the favor of everyone in the envoy. For the gentlemen, they have had enough of suspicious, hysterical, and unreasonable wives. Don't let them have such a queen again.

"This is the Seine." A minister said to Princess Isabella, "It is beautiful."

"Yes, it's so beautiful," Princess Isabella said.

The Rhine River at night doesn't look very clear and moving, but the black mirror-like surface of the river reflects the lights of the ships and the fireworks that continue to rise into the sky. The latter come and go, just like a colorful light tower set up on the river. The bridge is impossible to look away from.

What surprised everyone even more was that at the end, the fireworks actually formed Isabella's name, followed by a crown.

Now let alone French women, even French men are starting to feel sour.