Although hundreds of years later, people did not know much about this secret matter, but after the negotiations between Portugal and France began, everyone knew that this marriage was based on the bones of Alfonso VI, and Louis XIV felt a little unhappy about this - he was not so anxious to find a suitable spouse for the crown prince Louis Jr., knowing that Louis Jr. would not officially come of age until next year, although the Portuguese princess was indeed the most suitable person - Louis XIV felt that he could wait.

But to Pedro II, no, it should be said, for Portugal they urgently needed a reliable and strong ally - As previously described, when Portugal was still a kingdom, it was obtained by the youngest son of Henry, Duke of Burgundy, who married the illegitimate daughter of the king of Castile, which was the predecessor of Spain, so in the traditional sense, Portugal was a subordinate of Spain, and more than a hundred years ago, the Habsburgs were descendants of the illegitimate son of the king of Portugal, who also regained Portugal through marriage, until the ancestors of Pedro II and Alfonso VI, the last Burgundian of the Portuguese king, managed to "re-inherit" through war and negotiation Portugal, and Portugal's independence from Spain, was only a matter of Alfonso VI.

But for France, Portugal probably can't take too many bribes to buy Louis XIV, after all, what they are asking for is the position of a crown princess, Louis XIV's importance to little Louis is obvious to all, he is the eldest son, and he will definitely be the king of France in the future, it is no exaggeration to say that if Louis XIV gives this position to Leopold I, Leopold I will immediately put aside all the past grievances and happily marry his daughter to Louis, the crown prince of France.

Therefore, when Alfonso VI was persecuted, the most conscientious Portuguese only prayed for him silently, but to say that Alfonso lived a long life and let Portugal lose this important marriage, those with the most conscience would also be reluctant...... Ironically, but it is true, the Spanish and Austrian lines of the Habsburgs have always been mutually supportive, and this time Leopold I has almost made his position clear, ignoring the almost open secret that Carlos II was infertile, and that he was going to marry his daughter to that crazy monster, and that if Portugal failed to form an alliance with Louis XIV, the only one who could confront Leopold I, it was likely that an Austrian-Spanish alliance would be ready for fifty years of independence.

However, Pedro II's approach also made this marriage between Portugal and France inevitable, otherwise from the day of Alfonso VI's death, the Portuguese would hate the French until the end of the world, even more than the Spaniards and Austrians.

Louis XIV also talked to Louis Jr. about this alone, after all, Princess Isabella was not the best candidate for personal circumstances, and in addition, Alfonso VI's death would also be a cross on her back - even if she didn't think so, there would be people with ulterior motives who would make her think so, especially when Louis XIV heard that Pedro II had asked Isabella to go to Alfonso VI - he could understand this practice, but he would never appreciate this kind of approach, which was akin to sending an ignorant child to the altar.

"I'll send some priests and female officers. When Louis XIV said this, Louis the Dauphin looked surprised.

"But, is that okay?" he said with a slight stammer, and in general, after the marriage contract was confirmed, the princess would receive some education about the country in which she would spend the rest of her life, such as the most important language, so that she would not even be able to talk to her husband after the marriage, but Louis XIV's behavior was undoubtedly questioning the education standard of the Portuguese royal family— But the problem is that Pedro II and his ministers had to eat this slap in the face, because Pedro II's previous behavior was almost equal to semi-coercion, and Princess Isabella was embarrassed by the fact that she was not a boy and the time of her birth - if it weren't for this marriage, she would probably have been ignored to death by all the Portuguese.

Of course, the most important thing is that Portugal needs this marriage more than France.

There are still eight years left before Princess Isabella of Portugal marries France, and Pedro II can do something to make his five-year-old daughter beg her uncle to die for herself and Portugal (even if Princess Isabella doesn't know what she is doing), it is difficult to say whether he will subtly or even force Princess Isabella to become a puppet of Portugal in these eight years, and he chose the Dauphin of France for his crown prince, not the Portuguese princess.

Louis XIV was not at all worried about Pedro II's refusal, and he even had the intention of pushing the king to remove Princess Isabella from Lisbon – Portugal did not strictly follow Salic law, that is, in Portugal, the officially recognized Princess Isabella had the right to inherit - as long as Pedro II did not have a son with his wife...... Given that the throne of Portugal had been transferred twice by marriage, Pedro II must have been wary of all the French.

Once Princess Isabella leaves the Portuguese court in Lisbon, Louis XIV will be able to create a wife for little Louis.

"Maybe you can go see her. Louis XIV put his arms on his son's shoulders affectionately, which made little Louis laugh a little embarrassed and happy, and he wondered if his father had noticed that he had not been a little envious of the Duke of Colonna, after the Duke of Colonna had betrothed to Anna, the eldest daughter of the Grand Duke of Tuscany, Louis XIV had managed to bring Princess Anna to Paris, and now, although the Duke of Colonna and Anna were both going to school, they were almost inseparable on their days off— The Duke of Colonna was not yet in love with Princess Anna, but after the Battle of Gayola, he was mentally and physically exhausted, and he clearly needed such simple and warm companionship, perhaps because Princess Anna had grown up under the knees of her grandmother and female officer, and was more silent, perceptive, and sensible than her peers.

It was unfortunate for a child, but it was a blessing for the future wife of the Duke of Colonna, who was calmed by Princess Anna, who often curled up together on the windowsill behind the curtains to read, or to go boating on the Grand Canal, or to ride horses to the woods...... Just on horseback, the Duke of Colonna was clearly tired of killing, and the attendants who served them said that the pair was really strange, because they could go hours without speaking.

Louis only smiled when he heard them say this, and when he allowed Mary to come to his study, they often stayed together, but they did not say a word, and even went their own way, but the strong emotions took root little by little in the boundless silence—even if it finally bore bitter fruit, it was not because he or Mary was at fault, but only that the seed had fallen in the wrong land.

But the Duke of Colonna did not have to face such a difficult choice, the Grand Duke of Tuscany was not a wise monarch, but he was still quite caring for his children, Louis XIV's request was not reasonable, but after several considerations, he still acquiesced in the matter, after all, this approach is the most beneficial to Princess Anna.

When she officially enters the marriage room in the future, she will not face a terrible stranger, but a like-minded Langjun.

Of course, for the current Anna and Princess Isabella in Portugal, true love is still far away, but it can build the cornerstone of family and friendship before love.

It's not a bad thing, if love is gone, they can at least be respected, and they won't fall into the worst situation, like the former Queen Anne......

"You can write to her. Louis said that he could take the daughter of the Grand Duke of Tuscany to Paris and Versailles because, matriarchically, Princess Anna was also a member of the Bourbon royal family, but the royal family of Bragança in Portugal had almost nothing to do with the Bourbon royal family, and Pedro II could tolerate the French priesthood and female officials, but would never allow Princess Isabella to live in France for a long time before she was married.

"Well," the Dauphin sighed, "I have heard that," he approached Louis, "and you have also written to your mother?"

"I have written a lot," said Louis, "if there is one of the most trusted ministers and generals in the world, your wife must be one of them, but like the Viscount of Tyrrenne or the General Vauban or the Marquis de Lucas, you must let her know you, and you must understand her, so that you can have a tacit understanding and advance and retreat together...... Uh, why are you looking at me like that? kid. ”

"It's nothing," said little Louis with a strange expression, "I don't think that's what I want...... "He'd better ask the Count d'Artagnan, although his mother and father didn't think there was anything wrong with this model, but he said it before, he envied the Duke of Colonna and Anna, not his father and General Vauban—it would be a nightmare!

Louis XIV was unaware of the Dauphin's contempt - after all, he was not a god, he was just an ordinary Sun King. He felt that he had succeeded in solving a great problem, knowing that even after a few hundred years, a father might not be able to guide his son well in marriage, and he later heard that the Dauphin was quite surprised when he went to the Count of d'Artagnan, and his uncle, the Duke of Orléans, and he tentatively asked the Duke of Orleans at dinner if the Dauphin had any problems that the Dauphin could not solve......

Duke of Orleans: "Huh. ”

The Duke of Orleans knew. His royal brother, of course, is undoubtedly a good king, a brilliant ruler, but God is always fair, isn't he? After stripping the Sun King of glory, you will find that this majesty was born without a string of "love", he is a controlling fellow, and anything that gets out of control is something he cannot tolerate - he certainly can't understand the young heart of the crown prince.

The Count of d'Artagnan also came to discuss with the Duke of Orleans in person, and it was absolutely impossible for the Dauphin to have any fantasies about the Portuguese princess, whom he had never met and was only a third of his age, but he had some naïve thoughts after witnessing the harmony between the Duke of Colonna and Princess Anna - the most crucial problem was not here, but ...... Not only are there people trying to find a way to heaven from the lord of the county, but there are also people trying to open the door from the crown prince.

Fortunately, Louis XIV was not the kind of person who indulged in women, and the Dauphin was so blind that when he began to dream of love, his first choice was his own wife, and no one else—Louis XIV's answer could not be said to be wrong, but it certainly did not meet the expectations of Louis Jr., and he was even a little creepy—the Count d'Artagnan came running as if he were an enemy, and it was for this reason that they did not interfere, but feared that others would interfere.

But how to discuss this matter with the royal brother is also a problem, Louis probably could not accept the approach of the Queen Mother and Bishop Mazarin, especially since his experience with Marie is still in sight, but the people in the court will definitely hope that the crown prince's first female companion is French, and the king has enrolled the prince in the public school, although the people around the crown prince have been selected, but it is impossible to say that they have no selfish motives.

"It's a real headache. The Duke of Orleans sighed, but the Dauphin must have by his side a young lady who could lead him into the palace of love, but not too greedy (whether for money, power, or love), even if he did not have a title, would have a great influence on the Dauphin, and this battle hidden behind the curtain was no less than that of the men's battlefield.

"Madame Montespan is interested in offering a candidate. Said the Count of d'Artagnan.

"Isn't she about to give birth?" asked the Duke of Orleans, "and such mental strength, is it one of her two sisters?"

"No," said the Count of d'Artagnan, shaking his head, "Madame de Montespan's two younger sisters are under strict surveillance, and they are not people like Madame de Montespan—they do not have such an urgent need for power, perhaps because one of them is still an infant and the other is still in the womb of his mother, and they have become the daughter of the Duke of Motmar, and Madame de Montspan recommends a lady of the same age as the Crown Prince." ”

"Recommended?" said the Duke of Orleans, frowning, and could only say that only his royal brother dared to put such a woman by his side, and Madame de Montespan, if she was a man, was a figure like Fouquet—her quest for power and wealth never stopped, "did she take the money, or did she make a deal?"

"I think I took the money. Said the Count of d'Artagnan.

The Duke of Orleans paused, and the Count of d'Artagnan did not yet know that behind Madame de Montespan was the Church of Rome, "It must be a lot of money." He said.

————

Madame d'Aubigne now has two identities, the future wife of the Duke of Colonna, and the female officer of Princess Anna, daughter of the Grand Duke of Tuscany, and one of the teachers of the girls' school run by the Duchess of Orleans, and she also has an undisclosed identity as an emissary of the Roman Church.

As soon as she arrived in Paris, she went to visit Madame de Montespan, an act that not only warned Madame de Montespan, who was intent on getting rid of the church after she became pregnant, but also semi-openly opened her identity, and she waited for the king's call, although the kings of France had always been good at and liked to march in Rome with arms, but a figure like the Sun King would not make major decisions solely because of personal likes and dislikes - the church had no army, but there was always a force that no king could ignore.