"Well," the king exclaimed, "do you know that there are many people who are always suspicious and accuse you because of this?"

"What do they have to do with me," said Mr. Bishop carelessly, "when people hunt, they always want the dogs to be violent and the falcons to be fierce, so why do they ask us to be gentle and merciful when it is our turn to use another falcon, your majesty, it is only that they are afraid of being bitten by the dogs, and they are afraid of being pecked out of the eyes by the falcon." ”

"In fact, as long as they keep to themselves......"

"It's a pity that they will never settle down, enemies of France, enemies of Your Majesty and enemies of mine, they can never escape from the whispers of the devil, they yearn for a monarch with an olive branch in his hand and honey in his mouth, but such a puppet can only be a disgrace to anyone who knows something, Your Majesty, I know that you are a person who wants to abide by morality and the law, but I prefer this to be your weapon rather than a burden, after all, there are many times when as a king you have to sacrifice more than your wealth, Soldier or emotion—what a great ship France is, in order for it to sail forever on the vast seas, anything that stands in its way will be destroyed, no matter how small or huge it may seem, whether it is beautiful or ugly. ”

"It is said that a monarch can do as he pleases," Louis, with the help of Bontang, put on a hat adorned with an ostrich feather worth a hundred livres, a crimson feather that almost completely covered his face, and for a few seconds no one knew what the expression on the king's face was: "But I think there must be something that preceded the kingdom." ”

"For example?"

"If a man can sacrifice anything," Louis straightened his hat and showed his face, "then one day he will be swallowed up by the black hole of nothingness, Mr. Bishop, and in order to make up for such a void he will look for many things to fill, and how can the things he has found again be combined with the original flesh and blood, such torture must be maddening—so," he put a sapphire ring on his finger to match his cobalt blue velvet coat today:" I can't help but hesitate, Mr. Bishop. ”

"Your idea is good," said Mr. Bishop, "and I would have preferred to see you surrounded by good men of good morals, but there are things that they never do, or rather, you don't have that kind of thinking, they cannot understand the darkness and meanness of the world, nor how a mad idiot can dance, and whose indecision will not only delay your affairs, but also harm them or your life." ”

"But Madame Milady, alas, Your Majesty, I know what you are perplexed about," said Mr. Bishop, "and I would not have been too concerned if it had been merely a matter of fact, but after a few months I had passed by occasionally, and remembered it, and I went to ask her what had happened. ”

"What's wrong with her?"

"She still killed the two young men," said Mr. Bishop. Not only that, but it was like a revenge that after she left the prison, she did not even return home, but stayed in that little town, which you would never have imagined, Your Majesty, but a girl of eleven or twelve, who was able to play with men and women who were far superior to her in age and experience, though I could not believe it, but it was so, she seemed to have a strange gift that could make her gain the favor or trust of anyone, her tongue was as dexterous as a snake, and her mind was also filled with venom, and she had the courage of a tiger and a leopard, if we first metShe yelled at me because she didn't know who I was, but the next time, she knew who I was, but she still wanted to give it a try......"

"Give it a try?"

"Yes, give it a try, Your Majesty, it's like a daughter playing a little joke with her own father, and a young man who has completely surrendered to her is trying to assassinate me. ”

"God!"

"Well, but what made me finally decide, Your Majesty, I caught her, the judge sentenced her to death, and when she was dragged to the gallows by the executioners, she shouted that she was willing to marry him. ”

"Oh, I remember that there was indeed such a law against unmarried virgins," said Louis, who was putting on his boots under Bontang's service, "wait, is this law true?"

"It's not the law. "It can only be described as a tradition," said the bishop. Although the Carolinian Code of 1532 tolerated the status of the executioners, and they always claimed to be God, they were still isolated from the whole society, you know, they lived outside the city, isolated from the rest of the world, without access to churches, baths and taverns, only with wandering girls, lepers and criminals, their children could not even be baptized, and the old people could not perform the sacraments when they died...... So the poor gentleman couldn't refuse her request. ”

"So?"

"I don't think things will end so uneventfully," said Mr. Bishop, "so I sent for men to wait around the executioner's house, and sure enough, she escaped that night, though she had sworn to be faithful to her husband before the statue of the Virgin." ”

"I asked her," continued Mr. Bishop, "to go back to the gallows and hang herself, or to go to her furious husband, or to do something for me?" ”

"Why did you choose her ......?"

"It is precisely because she has neither conscience nor morality, who has despised the law, who has despised the faith, who has ignored oaths, and who has played with power—a natural witch, Your Majesty, may seem ridiculous to you, but such a person is as rare as a true saint, for I have to deal with not all the bad and mortal men that people say, but among them there are the illustrious, the noble, or the noble, or the righteous, not the kind of people who are bad to the end, and who have no scruples, who cannot deal with them. ”

"But if you want to use such a person, aren't you afraid that she will suddenly backlash?"

"Because I am willing to use her, Your Majesty, there are those who seek to avoid the filth when they see it, but there are also those who rejoice at the sight of sin, and with me not only can her body enjoy the food and glamour, but her soul can also be deeply satisfied, and she works for me, half of my command, and half of it, or more, which she willingly does. ”

Perhaps seeing the king's hesitation, Mr. Bishop added: "Let me tell you a little thing, Your Majesty, the first thing I have asked her to do after she became my spy is to carry out the will of my benefactor, Bishop Richelieu, to destroy a priest named Urbain Grandi." ”

Speaking of the priest, the king had the impression that the French priests were at all inferior to their colleagues in Rome in their absurd dealings with the ladies, and it was because of this incident that happened more than twenty years ago that he went out with the bishop, who walked carefully behind the young king, though only about a hand's hand, and said, "This is the matter," he said. " In 1618 the brothers of Erban Grandi offended the then abbot of the abbey of Cussay, and it is nothing to say, except that he insisted on walking in front of the abbot in the procession with the neighboring diocese, and it stands to reason that they were walking in his parish, and this demand should be fulfilled, but the problem is that the abbot of the abbey of Chuisay is none other than Richelieu. ”

A well-dressed retinue opened the carriage door for them, and the king jumped on it, and then the bishop walked up slowly, and when he was seated, he continued: "Many people thought that the bishop, who had been expelled from the court and had lost his patron, would never be able to gain grace again, but you also knew that a year later he returned to Paris, becoming not only a cardinal, but also your father, prime minister of Louis XIII. ”

Louis looked interested, Richelieu died before Louis XIII, and he almost didn't remember him: "Does Monsieur Richelieu remember this?"

"Your Majesty, therefore, in this world, apart from humility, there is also an important virtue called prudence, nay, in fact, at that time the enemies of Monsieur Bishop Richelieu were half of the court and the queen, and he could not for the time being take care of a small man far away in Ludan, but the problem was that the brother Grandi, when he learned that the abbot of the abbey of Qusay, whom he had offended, had become such a great man, he was not only not afraid, but even very proud, for he had succeeded in humiliating this great man. ”

"Did he still spread the word about it?"

"Yes, he was always an open Pandora's box in front of women, but unfortunately there was nothing beneficial in it, and calamity came out of his mouth, and then it came upon him. Mr. Bishop lifted the corner of the curtain and glanced out the window at the view with the musketeers: " If there is anything that Miledi did, it should be said that there are not many of them, the Grandi brothers at that time were too amorous, but still sensible, and he was in contact with some widows or commoners' wives, but the arrival and temptation of Miledi showed him another hell that led to depravity, he first impregnated one of his Latin students, a pure virgin, and deprived the fiancée of a lawyer, which far exceeded all his previous crimes, and after his illegitimate son with his student fell to the ground, his reputation was shaky, and when his intimate relationship with another lady who was supposed to be chaste was exposed, and after angering a father who loved his daughter, he angered a husband who loved his fiancée, and they not only beat him, but also complained about him to the inquisition. ”

"Then Madame Milady's work is done. ”

"For the average man, yes, but for Milady, it was only a small sip of an aperitif," said Mr. Bishop, "because neither the father nor the husband were willing to allow their daughter and fiancée to testify in court, and the priest Grundy received only a very light punishment, so his enemies instructed an abbot of the convent to accuse the priest, saying that he had summoned the devil to seduce her and the seventeen nuns of the convent— After Grandi's arrest, she deliberately indulged Grandi's pursuit of all his social resources and connections, and his enemies did just the same, and an affair snowballed in a snowball, and after those people complained to the Supreme Court and not just to the Tribunal, the priest began to be tortured, and he must have regretted that he did not immediately give in for a small punishment such as fasting on Friday— He was so arrogant as to baptize the first child of his student and her humiliated husband, a villain who was humiliated for the sake of power. He looked at the king, obviously wanting a response from him.

"At this point, this is probably no longer the reason for Priest Grandi. ”

"Yes, from here on, it became a struggle between the Richelieu faction and the anti-bishopric faction, and the two sides were at odds, but after all, it was the Richelieu faction that was the uprising, so I can only say that Mr. Bishop Richelieu was greatly rewarded in this turmoil - it was a foregone conclusion that two years later, Priest Grandi was burned at the stake, but before that he was also covered in bruises and dying. ”

Even Louis sighed deeply when he heard this: "It is clear that she is both zealous and good at recklessness," he said, "and she knows how to master and provoke people's hearts, and this is a powerful weapon, Mr. Bishop." ”

"Fifty years ago, or fifty years from now, neither I nor Mr. Bishop Richelieu would have used her, but at this time, Your Majesty," said Bishop Mazarin, "she could have done many things that people could have imagined.

"I understand what you mean. Louis bowed his head, and at this moment they heard the monotonous sound of a trombone, and the carriage had come to the open gates of Dunkirk, which announced to the people of Dunkirk that the king was here.

On both sides of the gate they passed stood round arrow towers, on which hung the lily blue flag of the French royal family, and behind the wide open gate were the long-awaited people and Dunkirk with the silver key in their hands, and as soon as the king's chariot stopped, a light retinue opened the carpet with a shimmering golden light, extending from the king's feet to the mayor, Louis took the mayor's key, and smiled at the Viscount of Tirrenne, who had fulfilled his promise, that even if it was symbolic, the key to Dunkirk was of course bigger and heavier than that of the town。

The king took the keys and walked forward, and behind him was the Bishop, Viscount Tyrenne, and then the officers and soldiers who had been awarded special honors for their bravery at the Battle of Dunkirk, and they proudly puffed out their chests and followed the king, which had previously belonged only to princes and ministers, and it was obviously contrary to etiquette to let some ordinary soldiers occupy them, but Louis preferred to give this honor to those soldiers who were willing to defend the king with their lives than those who were far away in Paris.

They walked until they reached the end of the road, a circular square, and on the other side of the square was St. Martin's Cathedral, which, like in any city, is always the most splendid and tall, where the bishop of the city celebrates a great Mass of blessings for the king.

——————

Milady knew that she would have to spend some time with these two guards to regain trust, yes, not freedom, but trust, and she loved the feeling of dancing between the nooses, like a trickster, until the last moment to lift the veil, and then she would be able to harvest either frustration, annoyance, and more likely resentment, and she never minded being exposed, because no one knew how many hole cards she had hidden.

"D'Artagnan?" she called softly.

"Don't go over," said Daramiz, "don't listen to her, we are her guards, not her friends." ”

"Not only is it not a friend," said d'Artagnan, "but I will hear what she has to say, and rest assured, my companion, I will not listen to a word, but on the contrary, I will taunt her fiercely, and tell me that I am not one of those fools who will be fooled by her." ”

Dalamiz wanted to say, "In that case, wouldn't it be good for you to ignore her?" but he had worked with d'Artagnan for some time, and knew that the acting captain was frivolous and arrogant, so he took a slight step back, and in that case, he thought, I would be a watchman.

D'Artagnan walked over, and Miledi was locked up in a windowless room, and the only way to get out was through the room where d'Artagnan and D'Aramiz were, and there was a door between the two rooms, and d'Artagnan leaned against the door without opening it.

"I have an important thing to do. Miledi said.

"The only thing you can do is stay inside. D'Artagnan said.

"Of course, you must observe your duty," said Miledi, "but this matter is the same, or more important, than your duty." ”

"Unless the king comes and speaks to me. D'Artagnan said, "Either you have his warrant, or you don't want to go anywhere, you don't want to see anyone." ”

"Mr. Bishop has acknowledged that I am his man. ”

"Well, not the king's. ”

"If you insist, send someone to the place I say. ”

"May the man who saved you come?"

"That you may gain the trust of the king. ”

"To hell with it!"

"Somebody will come to my hut," said Milady, unmoved, "give me the latest information, it will be hidden in a brass letterhead, and a man will wrap it in moist dough and bake it, so that it looks like a loaf," and at this point she paused slightly, and the silence let her know that the people outside were listening: "It sometimes comes very important news, gentlemen, you must get it, and give it to me, since I cannot leave, then only you can inform the king— If it's good news, he'll be happy, and if it's bad news, he'll thank you as well......"

"Oh," said d'Artagnan angrily, "don't try to trick us into getting out of here. ”

"Gentlemen," said Miledi, "listen to me, gentlemen, I have no ill will, and I will not be, I was at first the man of Mr. Bishop, and now he is about to hand me over to the king, forgive me, as a woman, I have always been anxious about my future—I beg your forgiveness, but for the sake of the Virgin, I did not expect that things would come to this point—just as your sisters, or your wives, my eyes may not be able to see so far, gentlemen! I even foolishly allowed myself to be hit by a sharp crossbow arrow and fainted, so that I put myself in such an awkward position. ”

"Whatever you say, I'm not going to let you go. D'Artagnan said.

"Let your henchman go, and tell him to go to that house and get a piece of bread, and he won't know anything. Milady pleaded, "If there is anything useful in it, then you and I will at least be able to gain a little trust from your majesty again." ”

"Maybe there are a lot of enemies lurking there. D'Artagnan said to D'Aramiz, and when D'Aramiz heard this, he knew that he was moved.

Milady was right, they might have ignored beauty, gold louis, or emotion, but when it came to what they had lost because of Milady, of course they wanted to be able to get it back from him, and if it was as Milady said, it would be a reparation for them and a remedy for their own recklessness.

And it doesn't take much to send a follower.

D'Artagnan's attendant ran quickly and came back quickly, and though he was puzzled that his master had told him to go so far just for a loaf of bread, he was reliable, and as soon as d'Artagnan pinched the loaf of bread, he found the letterbox, which he opened and pulled out of the parchment, only to find that it was full of stumbling words.

"Give it to me. Miledi said, "Only I can interpret this." ”

D'Artagnan and Dalamiz hesitated, and Dalamiz shook his head, but they couldn't read it—though they guessed that it was a note that needed to be rolled on a suitable cylinder to see what was written, it was clearly not, and they tried many times before they rolled the parchment and slipped it through the keyhole at Milady's urging.

Milady took the parchment and rolled it on her wrist, it was just a pastime when she waited for the king here, she didn't think that the shy young man could really bring her any important information, but she rolled the parchment on her wrist, and after reading a few lines, she couldn't help but exclaim aloud!

D'Artagnan and Dalamiz heard her shouting, and the sound of the rapid pounding on the door that followed, and instead of panicking, they looked at her as expected.

"Open the door!" called Miledi, "I want to see the bishop, or the king!"

"Well, that's it, but it can't be!" said d'Artagnan, laughing, "I know what you're up to, Madame Milady, but I won't trust you anymore!"

"Someone is going to assassinate the king!"

"What a sensational!" said d'Artagnan, "but it is useless, Madame Milady, why do you not say that there is a devil who will crawl out of hell?"

He and Milady had been with each other for so long, just waiting for this moment, and he mocked her well,

Dalamiz also smiled only to one side.

Milady trembled with anger and her cheeks tingled, she knew that these two men were trying to tease her—and she was acting, at least a few minutes ago, but she never thought that she would really catch such a big fish!"

If Miledi had cried and shouted, or had spoken sweet words, the two musketeers might not have believed her, but d'Artagnan heard her...... He glanced at Dalamiz uncertainly, and Dalamiz said, "If you are going to do something, I will cut off your hand as I did with those forgers." ”

As he spoke, d'Artagnan opened a small slit, and Miledi's hand immediately stretched out, and the note rolled up on his wrist, and D'Aramiz tilted his head and looked at it, and his face changed.