When Madame Milady traced the whereabouts of the maid, they could not find anything of value except the empty house, which had been abandoned for some time - the original owner had died in an accident, he had no relatives, although the lawyer was also looking for his heir, but so far, no result, the house had been closed, the curtains were drawn, and unexpectedly it was used to make a terrible deal.

————

"You say there are traces of wizards in this?" Louis asked with a gloomy expression, "Evidence, or witnesses?"

"Precisely because there is no evidence, and there are no witnesses, Your Majesty. Madame Milady said cautiously, "If it is the work of a mortal, we cannot fail to find clues." ”

Louis sat at the Duke of Cologna's bedside, holding the child's hand. The most critical time had passed, the duke fell into a deep sleep, the lost blood could not be replenished for a while, his face was pale, his lips were pale, the fingertips of the king held in his hands were as cold as marble, he squeezed the hand that was as slender and slender as he was, and stood up.

He was not only a father, but also a king, and though he was more than willing to be with his children, if His Majesty did not appear before the people at such times, I wonder what rumors would spread as quickly as the moss under the steps—France was indeed victorious, but it also added countless enemies, and Louis would not easily leave the handle to them: "Here you are, Madame," he said, "take care of this child for me." ”

Madame Milady bowed her knees: "So," she added, "what about the Duchess of Cologna?"

"Although she has always been stubborn and extreme, she has not gone mad to this point," said Louis, "but how much of it is true and how much it is false, we can never know," said Louis. Louis glanced at the Duke of Cologna lying on the bed, this child intervened to stop his mother, and it was precisely because Marley talked about the queen and the crown prince, because Louis had preset the future path for his eldest son very early, so he knew very well that even if Louis loved him again, he would not allow him or his mother to hurt little Louis and Queen Teresa- If Luciano will be the king of Naples in the future, then Louis the Younger is the one who will take over the crown and scepter of the King of France, and Louis XIV has such deep expectations for France and his country, how can he allow the most orthodox heir to be threatened?

Therefore, even if he had to raise his wand at his mother, the little Duke of Colonna would never allow her wishful thinking to reach the ears of the king, it was a taboo that should never be violated.

Sadly, the little Duke of Cologna's hard work was in vain, and Madame Milady sighed, and sat down in the chair beside her—Marie Mancini seemed to have regained a little of her senses at dawn, and the problem was, as the king had said, that no one knew how much of the madness was in those crazy words— Even if the king did have some youthful nostalgia for Marie Mancini, he could not have let her stay in Versailles, nay, it should be said, the Duchess of Colonna would probably have to live her life on the island of Gayola or in Calais.

——————

When Louis XIV came to the Hall of Victory and received the invited guests, some sharp-eyed people noticed that today's king seemed to be close to the Duke of Orleans, using a little fat powder, it seems that something did happen in the Palace of Versailles last night, but in this era, the assassination of dignitaries has always been a commonplace, seeing the king, the royal brother and several important ministers, the generals are still steady pace, behaving as usual, some people are happy, some people regret - But whatever their intentions may be, when the king walks towards them, he always sees his head bowed like a reed blown by the wind, and the king stops in front of the familiar royal blue, these are the officers and soldiers who accompanied him on his expedition to Flanders and Holland: "I remember you, Gerald," Louis said kindly, "you are a brave man, how is your arm?"

"Thank you," Gerald replied excitedly, "I am fully healed, Your Majesty, and I look forward to being able to return to your army and continue to serve you!"

"No doubt, sir, I am looking forward to seeing you again. Louis said that the generals who followed him could not help but smile, yes, since Louis returned to Paris, there have been people who have been knocking on the side, asking what to do with the 120,000 army—every king wishes to create his own standing army, but the army— That is, how much pressure a full-time military man can put on the treasury, as can be seen from the fact that the king had to borrow money from merchants at every war, but Louis successively collected nearly a million livres of assets from Flanders, and two million and 70 thousand livres from the Netherlands, which is almost equal to six Queen Teresa, and perhaps the ambition of the French kings since François I the big nose could be fulfilled at the hands of Louis XIV.

And for these soldiers, whether ordinary soldiers or marshals like Viscount Tyrrene, almost all yearn for war, especially when they have already reaped the great dividends of war.

Gerard was able to be remembered by the king, and even said a few words to him, which made the people next to him look envious, although he and his wife could not have a room in Versailles, but at the banquet his seat moved a few steps forward, and at the evening concert there was also a seat for him, although the officer was born in a vulgar tavern, and probably had no appreciation for music as a lamb chop on a plate, and he was not so much listening as watching— Because for this boring man, in a huge orchestra of two hundred people, only the conductor performed the most wonderful.

This was not nonsense, and Louis was startled when he first saw how Monsieur Lully conducted the performance, for he was conducting it with a heavy, pointed-toed cane, and when the conductor entered a state of self-forgetfulness, he was almost gritting his teeth and fighting a giant, rather than leading people into the halls of music, and the Monsieur Lully, whom the Duchess of Montpensier brought into the court, was not only the initiator, but also the best, and every time the king saw him conducting a performance, he felt that he should be in his army。

Gerald had the same idea, and when everyone was focused on the good show, he kept sighing and sighing, oops, oops, and asked him to say, "It would be better for this conductor to be a grenadier, look at that powerful arm!" Every time he struck the floor, the floor vibrated once, and sometimes the rhythm of "Bang Bang!" was so dense that it was impossible to breathe - God, he said in his heart, he didn't need those drums, The harp or the trumpet, as long as this gentleman stands there and strikes vigorously, is enough to make people excited.

Monsieur Lully did not know that there was a man in the audience who "admired" his conducting skills and talent so much, and he was also an unlucky fellow—he was an Italian, his father was only a miller, and his mother was the daughter of a miller, but his humble birth did not delay him from showing his talent, and although he was at first wandering with a group of bohemians, dancing with dancers on guitar and violin, at the age of fourteen he was miraculously taken by a stranger— That man was the Duke of Guise, who was given to the Duchess of Montpensier, along with some beautiful gifts, and the Duchess was so fond of this handsome young man that she not only made him her squire, but also made him study under his own musician, who later became not only the son-in-law of the musician, but also inherited his position.

When the Duchess of Montpensier returned to Paris, she also brought him into the court, as early as a few years ago, the Duchess had intended to introduce Lully to Louis XIV, but at that time, Louis's mind was all on the upcoming war, and Luli's performance could not attract his attention at all, until the king triumphed from the Netherlands, and the Palace of Versailles not only needed statues and frescoes, but also wonderful plays and beautiful music to shock tens of thousands of guests, so Lully and Molière were immediately promoted to high positions by the king, and in return, they came up with three grand tragicomedies and several witty plays, and the "March of Victory", specially composed for this glorious triumph.

In today's audience, there are many people like Lieutenant Gerrard, but they are not the people that Luli cares about, he works so hard because the king is here, but when he looks at the king in exhaustion, he still regrets to find that the king does not show any signs of being conquered by his music or performance, he frowns slightly, and says something to the royal brother next to him, Luli looks worriedly at his hostess, the Duchess of Montpensier, the duchess clapped her hands gently, indicating that there is nothing wrong with his performance, then it is state and government affairs- This is also a helpless thing, for the king is not very keen on pleasure, and, somewhat arrogantly, Luli thinks that this Majesty of theirs may not have much artistic talent......

The King, of course, did not know that his musician was subtly despising him, and Lully guessed correctly, the King's mind was still on his desk, and half of it belonged to the Duke of Cologna, who was still struggling with his wounds, and in his firstborn son, he and Philip discussed how to keep the absence of the Duke and Duchess of Cologna from attracting attention and speculation— During the day, it is understandable that they may go hunting or visiting the Grand Canal, but in the evening there is a seat at the king's table, and Mary does not care how the king is, but the Duke of Cologna, Louis does not want to be thought by some to have lost the favor and trust of the king—so the Duke of Orleans proposes that everyone tonight should wear a mask until the banquet is over, so that as long as a young man of the same size as the Duke of Cologna sits beside the king, there will be no suspicion.

The Duke of Orleans, the royal brother Philippe, as was known to the week, was the king's favorite brother, and was even more willful than the Dauphin Louis the Younger, and he pretended to make a cheerful suggestion, which the king gladly promised, so that when the time came to light the candles and torches, the Palace of Versailles was full of masked guests—the evening guests were almost all princes, ministers, and envoys, who never cared about money— Although it was only for a few hours, none of them were embarrassed by the whims of the Duke of Orleans, and some of the ladies' masks were even able to match their outfits.

These masks could only cover the forehead, the bridge of the nose and a few cheeks, and the materials ranged from silk to gold, but they were enough to hide some of the differences between the stand-in and the Duke of Cologna in the flickering candlelight, and he sat on the left hand side of the king, trying to make a calm appearance, and the king looked at his hand, and it was only a teenager: "Who are you?" Louis asked gently, this child must have been very credible to the Duke of Orleans to be selected to assume the Duke of Cologna.

"Let me tell you, Your Majesty," said the boy, in a low voice, "I am François Eugen, son of the Count of Soissons. ”

Louis paused slightly, no wonder he felt that this child had a lot of similarities with his Luciano, of course, they could be said to be cousins, the mother of this child was none other than Olympia Mancini, the sister of Marie Mancini, and his father was not even Eugen Maurice, Count of Soissons, but Leopold I, Louis's greatest enemy, Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire.

Olympia Mancini has been "accidental" because of the king's acquiescence And died, the child should have been sent to the monastery, but the Count of Soissons out of pity, or because he was unwilling to let a Holy Roman Emperor, the child of the Archduke of Austria go into exile, so he recognized the child, and Louis also prepared an additional fief for him, so that he could settle the child in the future, but I didn't expect, no, the Count of Soissons fought under the Duke of Luxembourg in this battle, unlike Gerald, this originally distinguished general also had a room in Versailles, but he didn't expect him to bring little Eugen too, Louis's heart suddenly flooded with an indescribable ripple。

"Don't worry," said Louis, "the Duke of Cologna is just ...... I have something for him to do, but I don't want others to speculate, so please take his place for the time being...... Only tonight, child, you will follow me, and no one will disturb you. ”

"Million...... Honor, Your Majesty," little Eugen's cheeks were visibly stained crimson on the outside of his mask: "I would be happy to serve you, Your Majesty. ”

"Well," said Louis, "I am glad to hear you say so, sir." ”