It is not clear how much wealth Louis XIV eventually grabbed from Holland and Flanders, except that Colbert, the king's most trusted chancellor, spent thirty days in Amsterdam before he was able to escape and return to Paris, while his ministry officials remained until Viscount Tyrrenne re-entered Amsterdam to assist him in his rest of the work before leaving. It may have taken more than a year, and it is ironic that there were even Dutch caravans, and when they were still at sea, the Netherlands ceased to exist, and they were in a dilemma- But in the end, they still had to return to Amsterdam or The Hague, to the surprise of Viscount Tyrenne, there were even two large ships full of spices, and the value of the goods was about 200,000 livres, if they arrived in Amsterdam a few months in advance, or Prime Minister Werther, or William III was still in Amsterdam, France might really have to return empty-handed this time, after all, 200,000 livres, in the hands of a decisive king, could completely influence the tide of the war, at least until Leopold I's coalition army posed a threat and oppression to the French army。

But this is all later, at this time Louis XIV was still on his way back to Paris, the Duke of Orleans was asked by the king to return to Blois after the battle of Amsterdam, not because the king had any suspicion of his brother, but he was always worried about the research and development of smallpox vaccine by his doctors and medical researchers in the letters he received before- He really couldn't feel at ease if he didn't see it with his own eyes, but as a king, he couldn't easily set foot in such a dangerous place, but because this matter was so important that he didn't believe it in anyone except Philip, and it is not an exaggeration to say that if this happened a hundred years ago, it was very likely to be hailed as a holy miracle.

The Duke of Orleans returned to his brother with good news, and since the medical school was in Blois, it was likely that he would be put in charge as well, and the young Duke was in good spirits—he said to his brother, "What a great sum of money it will be." The king couldn't help laughing, indeed, removing the religious and political trade-offs, it was also an astonishing economic deal, not to mention, there were no more kings who died of smallpox, like Wilhelm II, the father of William III, who was said to have died of smallpox, and every outbreak of smallpox would take away hundreds to tens of thousands of people, not as desperate as the Black Death, but as terrible as demons.

Especially now in the whole of Europa, only Blois has a prescription for smallpox - to be precise, the vaccine, they use the pox liquid of people and cattle as a vaccine, and it has been successful - The people of those three villages, who would not be able to get out of the Blois valley for many years, if not half a lifetime, after this, were like the craftsmen who had been held up on the island by the Venetians to keep the secret of mirror-making, but who had nothing to be sorry for, and who could spend the rest of their lives in their own homes without worry, much more comfortable than the peasants or craftsmen who had to toil all day long for their own stomachs.

The thugs who dared to attack the king's royal physician did not have this kind of preferential treatment, they were now in the underground prisons of the Château de Blois, and endless experiments awaited them, which was not uncommon at this time, let alone in Blois, even in Paris, where the materials used by medical students to practice were mostly criminals, both alive and dead.

The Duke of Orleans, perhaps because he had been away from His Majesty for too long, was almost entirely in his ears from the time the King saw him, to the time they dined together, to the time they went to bed, until Louis told him bluntly that he needed a quiet place to sleep, and he reluctantly stopped—"What about my nephew?" he asked.

"In Paris. Louie said.

"I'm talking about the Duke of Colonna. Said the Duke of Orleans.

"I asked him to go back to Gayola Island. Louis took the robe handed over by the Duke, "The wizards of Gayola have not performed badly in the war against Flanders and the Netherlands this time, and I will let him go back with my bounty - and let him select some wizards from Gayola and Calai, who will then work in the new provinces of France, and will need to be carefully reviewed and selected after recruitment." ”

"Do you want them to replace the wizards of Flanders and the Netherlands?"

"I can't give those dark wizards a chance to make a comeback. Louis said: "Flanders, Holland, both on the outside and in the open, I want them to be mine, and mine." ”

"Little Lucy is only twelve years old. The Duke of Orleans said, "Shouldn't you let Mary do this?"

"There's still a lot to do for little Lucy," Louis said, "and it's an important job, but it's good that there's no chance of a new job." "In Holland, in Flanders, no matter how serious a mistake may have been, Louis has a way to cover it up or suppress it, but in France, not to mention others, even Louis may not be able to tolerate it.

"Will he take part in the triumphal ceremony?"

"Probably. Louis said, "By the way, there's something I think you probably already know." Philip, you're going to have a new nephew or niece. ”

"I don't know if I should be happy about it," Philip said, "and I don't approve of it." ”

"I must say, Philippe, I owe something to Madame de Lavallière. ”

"She doesn't believe you. Philippe said unhappily that the king had in fact promised to place her people in Vincent, but Madame Lavallière always felt that she had too few chips in her hands, as he thought.

"Think about it from her standpoint," Louis advised, "Philip, they are werewolves after all, creatures of darkness, and if I or my heir change their minds, they will face the catastrophe of destruction, and if it comes to exploitation, it is me, not her, who is the initiator, I have not given her love, how can I demand her to love me?"

That's what she said, and maybe she thinks so. ”

"Otherwise," said Louis, "not everyone can accept the trade of the Naked Lulu, and with a high-sounding name, she doesn't have to suffer so much." ”

Philippe shook his head, his eyes showing pity, of course not to his brother, he was angry with Madame Lavallière's inches, but now he had to pity her again, the king did not seem to think that she had any real love for him, but he did not want to believe the promise he had given before, but a child of blood can always change many things.

But Philip knew that the maid who had been hiding behind Princess Henrietta did have a sincere intention - Princess Henrietta was now his wife, but she also almost became Louis's queen, so Louise may have hidden anyone, but she could never hide from Henrietta's eyes - women are always very sensitive to enemies in love.

————————

Madame de Lavallière, who had been talked about by the two most distinguished brothers in France, was leaning against the window at this moment— This is Amiens, a large city on the banks of the Somme, where the king and his party stayed, this castle was built in the thirteenth century, majestic and tall, the courtyard is full of green grass, because they know that Madame Lavalier accompanied the king, and the dignitaries here not only offered many precious gifts, but also gave the Amiens people's favorite puppet theater troupe, wanting to make this noble lady smile, but how can Madame Lavallière now have the heart to watch the puppet show?

Looking at the window, which was only about ten feet above the ground, Madame Lavallière even had the heart to jump out of the window and escape into the vast night......

"I don't think that's a good idea. ”

Madame Lavallière was startled, and turned back sharply to see that it was Varro Vesali, "I advise you not to do this," Vesalius said, "We have been sent by the king, but if you insist on going your own way," he pointed out the window, "and guess if you do get out of here, will the king regret it and want to regain your trust, or will he break the contract with the Serbian werewolves?"

"He won't," said Madame de Lavallière, weakly, "he loves children so much." ”

"As long as you get out of here, whether you are born a human or a werewolf, he will not recognize him, an illegitimate child who is not recognized by the king, ma'am, his fate will not be better than that of your people. He paused: "Madam, you are fortunate that you are a person who has not suffered hardship. He raised a hand and interrupted Madame de Lavallière's rebuttal: "While you were with your father, your father had a status in the human race—he was an officer, and after you became the lady-in-waiting of Princess Henrietta, you were still free from food and clothing, not to mention that the king had promised you to be his lover, First Royal Lady, you may have been tortured, but you did not live a real hard life like those inferior people." ”

"But I have. Vesalius continued. "I have, ma'am, and I was as naïve as you as I thought that by my own talents I could afford to take on my own life, and that of my wife and daughter, and you may not know that when I first met the king, I did not even take this mortal man seriously, though I was so embarrassed that I had to borrow money from my student, Mademoiselle Mancini. No, it shouldn't be a loan, it should be a begging, but I didn't realize it at the time, but hunger, cold, and sickness are not the most terrible things, do you know what is the most terrible thing about being a powerless person? is that you can never control your own destiny, when you endure, when you are silent, when you suppress your anger in your bosom again and again, you think you can live in peace— Even if it's bitter and cold, as long as those people, those who have power, change their minds, you will lose everything that you take for granted. ”

"Are you talking about you?"

"I'm saying that I've been taught that there's nothing that people have to obey, laws, or morals, ma'am, when bad luck comes, you will find that you are so fragile and incompetent - the king has been very kind to you, but that doesn't mean he can't be cruel to you, you don't want to lose this child, if he's unfortunate enough to be a werewolf, but have you thought about it? You know that once the king loses his protection, the werewolf is the acolyte of the demons, the priest of the Inquisition, the soldier of the human race, and even a stupid serf will pick up a hoe to drive him away. ”

"Are you trying to persuade me to watch him die, then?"

"If he is indeed a werewolf, I am indeed trying to persuade you to let him die. ”

"You're a father too!"

"It's because I'm a father. Vesalius said unwaveringly, "I used to hate my wife, my daughter. I gave everything for them, but in exchange for their merciless betrayal, but then ......"

"Later?"

"Then I understood, ma'am, that even if I had gouged out my heart, a promise without the strength to back it would only be disappointing. Sorcerer, mortal, werewolf...... Otherwise, I could not refuse the pain they gave me when I subjected them to hopeless torment. ”

"But it's not your fault. ”

"It was my fault," said Vesuari, "that I could have avoided, at least avoided, the suffering that followed them, and when the Mancini family decided to end my engagement with my wife, I should have realized that it would be better to give them a dose of poison than to take them out of the inner world and wander hard and blindly in a world of utter strangeness and danger—of course." He smiled: "This is also a selfish practice, in fact, because I don't want to lose them, the actions of the Mancini family are humiliating and whipping for me, but for them...... It shouldn't be bad, it's just another engagement. ”

"Didn't you even think about taking them back?"

"My other identity is unspeakable," said Vesalius, "the daughter of the royal physician, and the daughter of the duke, are two very different concepts in the court, and I want her back, but I want her to be happy." ”

"You see," he continued, "you can take your child with you, but you have to think that in ten years, even if he can save his life because of your deeds, he will hate you, that he is hungry and clothed, that he treks through the jungle and sleeps in the wilderness, that he eats bugs and rats to sustain himself, that he has no surname and no identity, while his half-brother is able to dress himself in a robe, call friends, be followed by countless attendants, lead wolf dogs, and ride Arabian horses— When he raises his musket, he may be pointing at your child, and he will never know that he has a werewolf brother. ”

At this point, Vesalius sighed, "If you think our majesty can't do it, go ahead and do what you want." ”