Chapter Twenty-Six: A Lively Bazaar
The king did not know that there was one of his admirers here, and they went on and on, and after the delicate fruit and vegetable vendors were the cheese and spice vendors, also guarded by meek and beautiful merchants, who respectfully saluted the queen mother and the king, and knew at a glance that they had been trained and that the goods they sold were clean and exquisite.
Behind these appetizer-like backdrops are the shops in the original Red Kids Bazaar, where the owner of the shop stands outside the door and bows deeply. The first was a merchant from Burgundy, who was here to trade wine, and had poured their best wine on a long oak table, waiting for the Queen Mother and others to taste it, and the Queen Mother was particularly fond of one of their rosés, and asked them to send some to the Richelieu house, to which the merchant complied, and the second was a wool merchant from Leicester (England), who knew that Leicester's wool was the finest and softest, and they also had the most Cheviot wool here, and some miscellaneous sheep wool, and they presented beautiful cinnabar wool, French green hats, and ruby blue sheepskin glovesWhen Queen Mother Anne saw this, she smiled at Queen Mary of England and said, "I thought I could only see russet, gray and black in English shops...... these are the colors that Protestants like, or the most commonly used, such as cinnabar, a bright color, which is used casually in England for everyday clothing will be judged for "extravagance".
Queen Mary's expression was not very good-looking, but there was nothing to be done, Queen Mother Anne was not wrong, but it sounded really harsh, but the two merchants were very shrewd, and immediately took out some tapestries made of soft wool and fine silk threads woven under superb craftsmanship, and one of the pictures of the tapestry was particularly attractive, because the angel in the center of the picture was very similar to Louis when she was a child, and the Queen Mother couldn't put it down, so she didn't mention the previous things anymore- Louis was visibly relieved to see the pair of merchants, the tapestries they had brought out were more attractive than the woolen wool and gloves they had brought out before, and there was scarcely a blank space larger than the fingernails on the canvas, and everywhere could be seen were elegantly shaped, brightly colored curly grass, vultures, and sacred symbols...... In the framed picture, you can see swans with their wings folded...... Cats harassing birds in cages...... Young man and woman running among flowers...... At this moment, not only Queen Mother Anne, but even Queen Mary, who was shy in her pocket, couldn't help but choose a small tapestry four feet square, with a decorative capital letter L on it, the meaning of which is self-evident.
Fortunately, the Queen Mother Anne did not say anything, and the third shop was the jewelry store that the ladies had been waiting for for a long time, and it was also the place where the Queen Mother and the ladies had prepared to spend a lot of money, but the people who came to greet them did not know why they looked strange, and when they walked in, Louis realized - who was the Duchess of Montpensier, who did not claim that she was sick and could not travel? She did not look sick at all, but was in good spirits and spirits, and beside her stood the Prince of Condé, and on the small table beside them was a fine set of emeralds and diamonds, which could be worn on the shoulder, or as a necklace or tiara, and was of great value.
Seeing this scene, do you need to say more? It is clear that the Duchess of Montpensier and the Prince of Condé met here in private, but she doesn't know why the Duchess is so bold, she knows that the Queen Mother Anne and the King are coming here today, but it is also possible that the Prince Condé did it intentionally, looking at the provocative eyes, and the slightly upturned corners of his mouth, it is obvious that he is very satisfied with his recklessness.
When he saw the Queen Mother, the Prince of Condé immediately saluted, and immediately withdrew, and before leaving, he kissed the Duchess of Montpensier's hand and asked her to accept his gift, the ornament of emeralds and diamonds, which the Duchess of Montpensier accepted, completely ignoring the Queen Mother's iron face.
Now it is a joke to talk about Queen Mary of England, of course, at this time, both husband and wife, it is possible that they have their own lovers (even Queen Mother Anne has been accused of having an affair with the Duke of Buckingham), but in any case, they are married, have heirs, and have fulfilled the duty that God has given them.
It is very shameful for a young girl who has not yet had a husband to do such a thing, and it will even affect her future marriage, which can't help but make the Queen Mother angry.
She didn't even stop in the jewelry shop, she walked out, and the next few shopfronts, whether they were fine porcelain, or thick furs, or ingenious bronze or crystal clear glassware, could not calm the anger of the Queen Mother, Louis noticed that the faces of the people who served them were becoming more and more stiff, and suddenly thought of a possibility, and as he left the glassware shop, he casually asked, "How much did you give Bishop Mazarin?"
"Seven hundred gold louis. The master of the house replied, and only then did he realize what he had just said, and his face turned white at once, and the king could not laugh or cry, but could only pat him on the shoulder for comfort.
If the bishop had been given similar bribes in every shop here, the bishop would have earned thousands of louis, for which Louis had to admire the bishop Mazarin's methods of enriching himself - these louis would not have made these poor people lose all their money, but who knew that the Prince of Condé would come up with such a trick?
But Louis still planned, when they return to the Richelieu mansion, part of the court's purchases will still have to come here, Bishop Mazaran never cares about these little people, maybe a few thousand gold louis is nothing to him, but for these little people, this is as important as life, it is difficult to say, the future mob will not have one of them - it is better to calm the matter before it arises.
Since Queen Mother Anne no longer had the same interest as before, the head of the area as the forerunner would not be stupid enough to continue with the original arrangement, and while they were still in the jewelry store, a group of jugglers, beast trainers, archery, and acting were already ready in the square, and these people were not all nobles or gentlemen—the latter would not do such a despicable thing, but the lowly would be lowly, and the Queen Mother Anne saw the dwarfs who stepped on the wooden balls and threw the wine bottles, and the dancing bears. The funny harlequin still laughed breathlessly, but when she saw a small comedy performed by a group of brown-skinned people, Queen Mother Anne laughed, but still refused to watch it, because the content was not elegant enough.
In this case, in the theater of the square, a sacred play awaits the distinguished audience.
Like most religious plays, this play is artistically lackluster, but there are also advantages to being stereotyped, and the pious Queen Mother is constantly drawing crosses on her chest and bowing her head in prayer, not so much watching the play as watching Mass—Louis counted the time, and then slips out with his brother Philippe, and they find the place where the arrows were shot, and there are bows and arrows, crossbows, and targets painted in various colors.