The Duchess of Montpensier turned her back to the Count of Lozin, her face was flushed, but her eyes were frosty, as the leader of the nobles, she was even more accustomed to being good at those intrigues than the queen and the queen mother, after all, the first two had the protection of the sun king, she didn't, or rather, her status was not in the forefront, she looked at the moonlight cast on the floor, smiled, and didn't even breathe quickly: "What are you talking nonsense? ”

Count Lozin gently grabbed her arm and turned her around, making her face himself, "It's really just a rumor. "At first, I was amazed, but Madame, there have been rumours in the court in recent years, that Marie Mancini was a witch who almost died when the king was wounded in Dunkirk—no, it should be said, that the king and the devil ......."

"Enough. The Duchess said, pressing her finger to his lips, and if it were those who really knew the Duchess of Montpensier, they would have shut their mouths at once when they saw her do so, but the Count of Lozin— He had always thought that the Duchess of Montpensier, like the women he had played with before, was a short-sighted and weak-hearted person, and this sentence was probably true, because the Duchess of Montpensier's father, the Duke of Gaston, had always hated this daughter, and certainly did not care about her and teach her, although she spent her childhood in the court of the Louvre, Louis XIII and Queen Anne would not educate her as seriously as their own children, and it is no exaggeration to say that much of the knowledge of the Duchess of Montpensier was even acquired after following Louis XIV's eldest princess and the Grand Duchess with the Grand Dure。

But to say that she is politically useless is also a big mistake, she has ambition and courage, and when she finds that something is impossible, she makes decisions faster than anyone else- Just like the king returned to Paris during the first Fronde riot, she didn't care that the other party was a married man, and she went back and forth with the Prince of Condé, so that she betrayed her father for the Prince of Condé, but once the Prince of Condé no longer had the possibility of ascending to the throne, she did not hesitate to throw herself to her father again; The title of "Daughter of Orleans" laid a solid foundation for the new Duke of Orleans, Philip, and eliminated many troubles and obstacles.

Therefore, this duchess is at least a person who is quite knowledgeable about current affairs. But the Count of Lozin did not realize this, and it was the attitude and feelings of the Duchess who confused him, to say whether the Duchess of Montpensier was impressed by this young man, of course, in how to make women happy, the Count of Lozin was far superior to any of her previous lovers, and she had even thought of finding a position for the Count of Lozin, giving him a large sum of money and a castle, as the richest lady in France, she would never treat the Count of Lozin badly in this regard, but: "All right," She threw her arms around his neck and whispered a reproach, "How good the evening primrose is tonight, sir, the moonlight is like silver, and we should pour out our love on the bed, not discuss the government." ”

If the Count of Lotin had stopped here, the Duchess of Montpensier would have remained silent afterwards, at most seeking him a less important idle post far from Paris, but the Count of Lotin did not think so: "It is for love, Madame." He stroked the duchess's long fluffy hair and said, I have to say, now that the hair in the court was no longer in vogue with a very tight comb or a towering bun, and the ladies and ladies began to wear their hair loose, and then wore headbands, small crowns, and some combed their hair into one or many braids— This is all because the suites of the Palace of Versailles are equipped with bathing equipment, although there are still doctors who stubbornly believe that regular bathing is detrimental to the barrier layer on the skin, but as the authority of the Sun King is better than every day, his every move has become a fashion for people.

For the king was so clean, that all who appeared before him would have kept themselves clean, like the old high, greased, flour-sprinkled bun, which once combed it could not be removed for days, had always been a gathering place of fleas, bedbugs, and dirt, as a noblewoman from a foreign country had made when she came to see her—the lice that bounced on her head made Louis XIV's face change and he retreated.

Needless to say, that evening there was a joke about the lady at court—she was said to be far more powerful than the Dutch fleet and the Spaniards' artillery, neither of which could make the Sun King retreat, but she did—and the lady fled back to her domain overnight, but from then on, whenever possible, the people of Versailles were to bathe and wash their hair every morning, even if they had to pay the servants and boiler officers who managed the steam boilers a great deal every day.

Gradually, too, the voluminous hair was replaced by a voluminous and crisp mantle, which was much more modest and natural than the previous one—men and women had always been regarded as an act of depravity if they were too keen to groom themselves.

Thinking of this, the Count of Lozin couldn't help but smile sarcastically, although France is still a Catholic king, but in the words of Henry VIII of England - this is the Catholicism of France, not the Catholicism of Rome, France from the cardinal to a small assistant priest, all the clergy are appointed by the king, not the pope, and the Roman Church has long existed in the hearts of the French people.

It is not to blame the princes in Rome and the old man who is dying of death for making such a crazy decision, their authority on earth is pitiful, and once France is removed, what will they have? a divided Italy? And without France, which is on the side of the Holy Roman Empire, it is difficult to say whether the masters of the Habsburgs would still be as close to the Holy Roman Empire as they are now.

Count Lozin absentmindedly bowed his head and buried his long thick hair, he must say that his frequently washed hair did smell much better than those that had been grease and flour, and that the duchess would use rose water during and after bathing.

"Afterward, my dear," the duchess nudged him, "tell me, how does this have to do with our love?"

"For the king will not agree to marry you. Count Lozin said this, with a bit of real annoyance.

The duchess froze slightly...... Of course, the Count of Lozin had proposed to her before, but who was she? the Duchess of Montpensier, one of the highest-ranking women in Europa, and she was not naïve enough to give herself up easily, even if the king and the ministers agreed, so she only managed to prevaricate at that time, but now—was she the one who gave the Count of Lozin such an illusion? Or was it not her who was naïve?

"I have proof. Count Lozeng said.

"So you're going to threaten your majesty with this?" asked the Duchess curiously.

"I do not wish to embarrass you," said Count Lozin, "and my presence would probably only be an embarrassment to His Majesty—so your Highness, you will only have to speak to him alone on this matter." Of course," he hastened to add, "if he is willing to fulfill us, and readily agrees, we may not mention it." ”

"Oh, I see. "The duchess said, I see, if the Count of Lozin said so, such a villain who could not even enter Versailles without her, there would not be too many people who believed him, but if it was the Duchess of Montpensier, the king's cousin, a childhood sweetheart with the king, and a person who had almost become the queen of France, people would have believed it or half-believed, and then someone would inevitably add fuel to the fire, and even if Louis XIV could handle the matter, he would have been anxious for a while— As to whether she would quarrel or not, there was no doubt that those people thought she would, for the king would never allow her to marry the Count of Lozin.

The Duchess of Montpensier's fiefdom and wealth were large enough that after the death of the Duke of Gaston, the king's high court awarded her most of the movable property, and the king borrowed money from her during the war, which was later returned with interest several times more than usual, and even gave her a small port near Amsterdam. Such wealth is enough to shake a country.

"Well," the duchess touched her young lover's face affectionately, "and when Louis returns from Slovenia, I'll ask him." ”

When the Earl of Lozin heard this, he fell asleep contentedly.

When he woke up the next day, he was in the Bastille.

——————

As we have said before, the warden of the Bastille also had ambitions, and his ambition was that the Bastille would become a formidable prison and execution place like the Tower of London......—how could the Tower of London be so famous? He had been looking forward to it—wasn't there a Duke of York who had been imprisoned here last time, and it was a pity that he could not be executed, and he was more than willing to be the executioner.

When Madame de Montspan, the first royal lady, and the first noblewoman, the Duchess of Montpensier, came together and brought him a prisoner, the warden was overjoyed, but as soon as he knew the identity of the other, his face immediately elongated subtly—Count Lozin, who does not know?

Now it looks, oh oh, this gentleman might not be good.

If the Count of Lozin was still the king's musketeer, then he would have been imprisoned and interrogated by a court or the king's permission, but now he had no identity, and he was secretly taken in, and no one cared where he had gone—such a man was the case in Versailles.

"Do you need manpower?"

"Not necessarily. The Duchess of Montpensier smiled and said, "Our servants are strong. ”

Mrs. Montspan waved her hand, and the warden immediately retreated obediently. The servants beside Madame de Montespan immediately grabbed Count Lozin and poured cold water on his head.

It was the hottest month, but the basement of the Bastille was still cold, and the Count of Lozin awoke at once, and when he saw the Duchess of Montpensier, he smiled blankly, and perhaps he thought it was a little joke between lovers, but when he saw Madame de Montspan, his face changed drastically.

"Looks like you know me. Mrs. Montespan said.

"Of course I know you. Count Lozin gasped. He rolled his eyes, finally seeing where he was under the burning torches, and he looked at Madame Montespan in panic: "You have betrayed us!"

"Wonderful," said Mrs. Montespan unmoved, "it seems we can ask fewer questions." ”

"The only one who can threaten Louis with this is the church. "The Duchess of Montpensier said, "Man is changeable, my dear." She nodded to Mrs. Montespan, and Mrs. Montspan said, "Begin." ”

"No, no, no, no, you can't do this to me, ma'am, you can't do this to me!

"If you are an envoy of the Pope, then you should have proof, what about your paperwork?" said Madame de Montespan, wearily, "Forget it, don't shout, Clement X will not give you any papers, lest you be betrayed by you—you should know this better than I do, sir, and now answer me, who else but the Church?"

"Who?"

"Unfortunately, the answer was incorrect. Madame Montespan took a step back, "But it doesn't matter, sir, we don't necessarily have to get an answer. ”

Before Count Lozin could grasp what she meant, he was lifted up by two strong and powerful servants, who skilfully stripped the Count of his clothes, all of them, and made him stand on the ground naked like a hairless rooster to be slaughtered, and then seized him at the Count's cries, and forced him to look at all the instruments of torture in the room.

Nowadays people may not know what this kind of behavior represents, but in fact, in France, torture is also carried out through a solemn ceremony, the victim is first stripped naked, then the torture equipment in the room is looked at one by one, and then the punishment is carried out according to the crime, or from small to large, from light to severe.

The Earl of Lozin certainly knew what was going to happen to him, and he pleaded and howled incoherently, but Madame de Montespan kept listening, and after a moment she shook her head, "Nothing useful. ”

The Duchess of Montpensier smiled, "Just what I want." She pointed to a torture instrument: "Let's start with this." ”