The Sintra Palace is located in the northern suburbs of Lisbon, the capital of Portugal, which is a place with beautiful scenery and pleasant climate, where King John I of Portugal built his palace in the 14th century, and most of the nobles have their own mansions here, but in recent years, few people have gone there to escape the summer, not for anything else, just because the titular king of Portugal, Alfonso VI, was placed under house arrest in this palace, although people say that he was here to "recuperate".

The messenger of Pedro II stopped on a hill and gazed at the palace for a long time, as if to see through the thick walls of the city, and his sight was full of contempt, helplessness and pity, and after several minutes he took the reins of his horse and galloped down.

After many checkpoints and inspections, the messenger finally came to Alfonso II, in an era when the patient's room had always been airtight and dark and damp, and even with the expensive spices, the stench of aged fat and carrion was still accumulating in the room like a liquid or a solid, and the messenger lowered his voice and conveyed Pedro II's greetings and true intentions as slowly as possible.

He went away without even waiting for Alfonso VI in the veil to ask or answer, it should be said that his mission was to do so, and to add to it would have been to blame him—for Pedro II did not need an answer, no, the answer he needed was not spoken with his tongue and throat.

The servant who waited by the bedside could not prevent the messenger from leaving, and although he was loyal, like his master, he had no power inside or outside the palace, and as soon as he heard the gasp of Alfonso VI, he hurriedly pulled up the curtain, and the flickering candlelight illuminated the hellish scene in the depths of the brocade—it was a rolling pile of fat, brewing and souring from the gap called the mouth, and at the same time, connecting to another gap above— The nose, which is still constantly bleeding a thick white, gray or yellow-green liquid.

Unfazed, the servant pulled out a French towel—a new item bought from a Calais merchant, and was exceptionally thick because it was covered with dense terries, absorbent and soft, and a face that used to take a dozen linen tolls to wipe clean now could now be wiped clean with just one.

It's just that when he casually threw the towel on the ground today, he paused slightly—there was blood on it.

He hurriedly opened the king's mouth to check, and found that His Majesty had only bitten his tongue, so he made up his mind: "I'll go get you a bottle of potion." He said.

The mass of flesh trembled violently, and a few syllables were pronounced, and the servant understood the meaning that only a few people could understand, and the king was saying, no potions.

He stood beside the bed, very sad, for he knew that Alfonso VI did not want the potion not because he did not feel pain, but because he was threatened. There is nothing to question or reproach in Pedro II's message, he simply told his brother that after marrying his former sister-in-law, the daughter Isabella gave birth to is likely to become the Dauphin of France, remember, it is very likely, his message does not mention what the biggest obstacle is, but everyone knows that Princess Isabella's biggest disadvantage is that although she is the daughter of the regent and the princess, if she is only the daughter of the regent, then she is not qualified to be the crown princess of the most powerful country on the continent of Europa today。

Everyone knew that the regent was just waiting for Alfonso VI to die, because he did not want to bear the charge of killing his brother and the king, but Alfonso VI, although he developed hemiplegia at the age of three, and his mother had been running the government for more than a decade, of course, the queen mother lacked political talent and was narrow-minded. Princess Caterina, the sister of Alfonso VI, married into England and took away two Portuguese colonies, Ceylon and Bombay, much to the displeasure of the Portuguese courtiers and nobles. In the years that followed, Portugal lost wars with the Netherlands and Spain, and the Queen Mother became a thorn in the side of the Portuguese.

In this situation, the young and brave Earl of Merloll resolutely launched a coup d'état, overthrowing the rule of the Queen Mother in 62, and the Portuguese government and army led by him suddenly burst into full vitality, not only repelling the Spanish attacks continuously, but also allowing Portugal to become independent under Spanish rule.

Ironically, the victory of Count Melloll was crowned by Alfonso VI, who could not even walk on his own, and he was called the "King of Victory".

This "King of Victory" never held power one day, first the Queen Mother, and then the Earl of Melloll, because he could not exercise, and unrestricted diet, his body became more and more fat, and because he did not receive any orthodox education, so he could not even communicate with people normally, but I don't know whether it was misfortune or luck, he actually had a very bright mind and tenacious will, even if it was only the nagging of the servants, he knew everything, understood everything- Those who knew him well said that he was not a raging beast like Carlos II of Spain.

Perhaps there was such a consideration, after all kinds of trade-offs, the Count of Melloll chose for him the daughter of the Duke of Savoy, this choice was not opposed at first, this choice belonged to the Bragança dynasty, this dynasty, as mentioned above, was not orthodox, so the Habsburgs had been questioning their legitimacy, so it was impossible for them to choose a bride from the Habsburg system, and the daughter of the Duke of Savoy, although in terms of paternity, she was a courtier of the Habsburgs, but in terms of maternal line, she was a distant relative of King Louis XIV of France.

But even if Count Mellore sold his soul to the devil, he did not expect that the duke's daughter was such a resolute and decisive figure, and the duke's daughter had only spent one night with Alfonso VI, and when she was sure that the latter was barren and could not let her have children, she immediately separated from the king, and three months later she suddenly left the palace and came to the Archbishop of Lisbon to ask him to declare her marriage to Alfonso VI null and void.

At the same time as this thunderous news arrived in front of the Count of Melloel were Pedro II's supporters and their soldiers, the count, who had made countless contributions to Portugal, had to retire in disgrace, and then Pedro II became the regent, and then married the daughter of the Duke of Savoy, Princess Isabel was born at the beginning of the second year, so legally speaking, she is legal, but in terms of legitimacy, she can only be regarded as the daughter of a prince, and it is too much to say that if something happens in the future, Alfonso VI is restored, she may only be the daughter of a traitor。

Therefore, although Pedro II was very eager, the reason why King Louis XIV of France was still hesitant was that the message brought by Pedro II's messenger, that is, a letter of urgency, he was still like a hypocrite, as if he had just come to tell his brother this important good news, but most importantly, he still hoped that Alfonso VI himself would die.

Would Alfonso VI be willing to die? The answer, of course, is no.

He has been bedridden since he was three years old, with atrophied legs and a bloated body, and he will always remember how his mother, father and brother thought of him. The daughter of the Duchess of Savoy had been his hope, and she was indeed a brave lady———— she tried even in the face of such an ugly body, and Alfonso VI was forever grateful for her attempt, but her bravery was also reflected in her betrayal - the Portuguese nobility eventually defected or chose neutrality, precisely because the queen revealed the secret that Alfonso VI was infertile.

Just like when Louis XIV was discussing with his ministers about the marriage of the Grand Princess, Carlos II didn't matter how stupid, cruel, ugly and twisted, but as soon as it was determined that he was infertile, the ministers immediately stood firmly on the side of the king, because there was no need to discuss a marriage contract that would be declared null and void at any time - human marriage was originally for the purpose of reproduction.

Alfonso VI became an outcast to all, he was quickly sent to the Azores, and then to Sintra, perhaps Pedro II felt that it was better to keep him by his side - he was a noble prisoner, forever away from his ministers and army, with only servants by his side, and only seabirds and squirrels who came to greet him, but even so, he was determined to live - even to mock his brother Pedro II, who wanted to ascend to the throne cleanly, impossible!

For this, Alfonso VI can endure any pain and suffering, nothing, he has long been used to it, he has been holding on for thirty years, he can continue to hold on for thirty years, maybe Pedro II will die before him, so thinking about it, Alfonso VI has to laugh out loud.

He felt he could do it, especially now that he was even better than he had been in years. The most feared thing for bedridden people is that they have abscesses on their bodies - those parts that are tightly attached to the sheets, and it is said that the abscesses will fester, and the person will have a fever and die. So the servants had to wipe and medicate him every day, and in the beginning his doctor followed the tradition of giving him bloodletting, guanchang and ointment, which sometimes worked, sometimes not, but since the servant secretly brought in the French doctors, they now switched to using spirits and a fuchsia potion to wipe Alfonso VI's body, which could be taken internally or externally, and the effect was excellent, and it was this potion that the servant had just said he was going to bring him.

But now Alfonso VI could not believe them, fearing that the servant would bring him a bottle of poison, and for the next few days he allowed them to give him only external potion. Even to endure the use of boiled eggs and beef, sprinkle a little salt, and drink no wine, only water—this is not so much to prevent someone from assassinating him, but to declare war on all those who expect him to die, no, he will never die!

And so, the ministers and nobles who had disappeared from his life without a trace appeared, and they all seemed to have come to greet him with courtesy, but in fact they urged Alfonso VI with their eyes and subtle body language— You should return to the arms of God, there is no place for you in the world, you should die for Portugal, they said in silent language, even the Archbishop of Lisbon, who baptized him himself, and even brought holy oil and anointed him with it, despite Alfonso's resistance and the shouts of his servants.

Alfonso VI was not as healthy as Pedro II, but his vitality was still very tenacious, and he sprayed the archbishop with a stinky saliva.

Then the next day, the Earl of Merloll came.

The Count is now in his old age, but in Alfonso VI's memory, he has always been stronger and more perceptive than his peers, and although he covers the sky with one hand, he still retains enough respect and love for His Majesty, and when he was in charge of the government, he often came to visit Alfonso VI, and sometimes brought up important political matters, and when Alfonso VI spoke in a language that no one else could understand, he would listen patiently until Alfonso VI felt tired.

In retrospect, his years in power were the happiest for Alfonso VI.

As soon as Count Melloll entered the room, he saw two points of light that appeared in the darkness, as if in an instant, he had gone back to the time of 1665, when he was in high spirits, scolding Fang Xuan, and vowing to dedicate his life to his king and country, and when he said this, Alfonso VI looked at him in the same way—those eyes were shining today.

He slowly walked to the chair in front of the bed, sat down, and said nothing.

The eyes slowly dimmed.

A week before the feast of the Assumption of the Virgin, the Queen Mother also came, and she had always disliked the child, because he had become an unworthy waste in his childhood, and she thought that she would say many cruel things, but as soon as she saw Alfonso VI, she raised her hand to cover her face and began to cry.

The last visitor, unexpectedly, was the young Princess Isabella, who was too frightened to look directly at Alfonso VI on the bed, and at the urging of her nurse, she approached the bedside little by little, knelt down before Alfonso VI, and begged him to bless her.

Alfonso VI looked at her, he should hate her, she was a proof of shame, the crystallization of two traitors, the retribution of sinners, but—it was a small, small, very small girl, in her face he could see his brother, and he could see his wife, and he knew how embarrassing her identity was—that if her father did not ascend the throne, she would not be able to have a satisfactory marriage, and no, more likely, she would not even have the chance of marrying, because the lineage of her children would be questioned...... The Bragança Dynasty originally had a lot of criticism, why did those who were in high positions and powerful choose such a person as their wife, which only increased the hidden danger?

Princess Isabella had been kneeling there for an unknown amount of time, all she knew was that her mother, who had always been cold to her, told her that this was her only chance to turn her destiny around.

It wasn't until she stiffened that she felt something heavy and generous fall on top of her head, and a few seconds later her nurse came up and took her away, and she looked over her shoulder, and all she could see was a hazy white shadow in the shadows, the last impression her uncle had left on her.

On the day before the feast of the Assumption, Alfonso VI died in a coma without pain because he had drunk too much spirits.

On the third day after the Feast of the Assumption, Pedro II officially ascended the throne, the daughter of the Duke of Savoy became queen, and their only child, Princess Isabella, was also named after her.

In the same month, negotiations between France and Portugal began.

——————

PS: In real history, Pedro II was able to officially ascend the throne in 83 years, and this Isabella princess lived only twenty-one years and was unmarried and childless.