The Sintra Palace is located in the northern suburb of the Portuguese capital Lisbon. It is a beautiful and pleasant place. In the 14th century, King John I of Portugal built a palace here, and most of the nobles also had their own mansions here. However, in recent years, few people have gone there to escape the summer heat, for nothing else, just because the nominal king Alfonso VI of Portugal was placed under house arrest in this palace, although people say that he was "restoring illness" here.

Pedro II's messenger stopped on a hill and stared at the palace for a long time, as if he was about to penetrate the thick wall to see the people inside. There was contempt, helplessness and mercy in his sight. After several minutes, he lifted the reins of the horse and galloped down.

After many levels and inspections, the messenger finally came to Alfonso II. In this era, the patient's room was always airtight and dark and damp. Even with expensive spices, the stench of steak mixed with the flesh and rotten meat was still piled up in the room like liquid or solid. The messenger lowered his voice and conveyed Pedro II's greetings and the true purpose of coming as slowly as possible.

He left after he said that, without even waiting for Alfonso VI in the curtain to ask or answer. It should be said that his mission lies in this. If he adds his strength, he will be blamed - because Pedro II does not need an answer, no, the answer he needs is not spoken with his tongue and throat.

The servant waiting by the bed could not stop the messenger from leaving. Although he was loyal, he had no power, both inside and outside the palace and outside the palace. As soon as he heard Alfonso VI's breathing, he quickly pulled up the curtains, and the swaying candlelight illuminated the scene like hell in the depths of the brocade - a pile of rolling fat, brewing and sucking the sour smell from the gap called the mouth. At the same time, it connected to another gap above - the nose, which was still flowing out thick white, gray or yellow-green liquids.

The servant was used to being unaware of it and took out the French towel beside him - this was a new product bought from the merchants of Calais. Because it was covered with dense terry rings, it was particularly thick, absorbent and soft. The face that used to require more than a dozen linen towels to wipe clean now can be wiped clean with only one.

But today when he threw the towel on the ground casually, he paused slightly - there was blood on it.

He quickly opened the king's mouth to check, and found that His Majesty had just bitten his tongue. He calmed down: "I'll get you a bottle of potion," he said.

The meat shook violently and issued several syllables. The servant understood the meaning that only a few people could understand. The king was saying, "No potion."

He stood by the bed, feeling very sad because he knew that Alfonso VI didn't want the potion because he didn't feel pain, but was threatened. Pedro II's message had nothing to question or blame. He simply told his brother that after marrying his former sister-in-law, his daughter Isabella was likely to become the princess of France. Remember, it is very likely that his message did not mention the biggest obstacle, but everyone knows that Princess Isabella's biggest disadvantage is that although she is the daughter of the Regent and the Princess, if she is just the daughter of the Regent, then she is not qualified to become the princess of the most powerful country on the Europa continent today.

Everyone knows that the Regent was just waiting for Alfonso VI to die because he was unwilling to be charged with murdering his brother and king. However, Alfonso VI - although he developed symptoms of hemiplegia at the age of three, his mother had been in charge of the government for more than ten years. Of course, the Queen Mother lacked political talent and narrow-mindedness. Princess Catalina, who was Alfonso VI's sister, married to England, took away two Portuguese colonies Ceylon and Mumbai, which had made the ministers and nobles in the Portuguese court very unhappy. Then in the next few years, Portugal suffered repeated defeats in the wars with the Netherlands and Spain, and the Queen Mother became a thorn in the Portuguese's eyes.

Under such a situation, the young and brave Earl of Melloir resolutely launched a coup, overthrew the Queen Mother's rule in 1962. The Portuguese government and army led by him immediately showed vitality. Not only did they repel Spanish attacks continuously, but they also made Portugal independent under Spanish rule.

Ironically, the victory won by Count Mellor was crowned by Alfonso VI, who could not even walk independently, and he was called the "King of Victory".

The "King of Victory" never held power one day, first the Queen Mother and then the Earl of Melloir. Because of his inability to exercise and unrestricted diet, his body became increasingly obese. He had not received any orthodox education, so he could not even communicate with people normally. But I don't know whether it was misfortune or luck. He actually had a very intelligent mind and a tough will. Even if he was just a servant's nagging, he knew everything and understood everything. Those who knew him said that he was not just a violent beast like Carlos II of Spain.

Perhaps because of this consideration, after all the trade-offs, Earl Mellor chose the daughter of Duke Savoy for him. No one objected to this choice at the beginning. Now Portugal belongs to the Braganza dynasty. This dynasty, as mentioned above, is not orthodox, so Habsburg has been questioning their legitimacy, so they cannot choose a bride from the Habsburg system. The beauty of Duke Savoy's daughter lies in the fact that she is a minister of Habsburg, but in terms of matriarchy, she is a distant relative of King Louis XIV of France.

But even if Earl Mellor sold his soul to the devil, he did not expect how decisive and decisive the Duke's daughter was. The Duke's daughter only spent one night with Alfonso VI, and confirmed that the latter had no fertility and could not allow her to have children. She decided to separate the house with the king. Three months later, she suddenly left the palace and came to the Archbishop of Lisbon, asking him to declare that his engagement with Alfonso VI was invalid.

At the same time as this thunderous news, the supporters of Pedro II and their soldiers were in front of Earl M. Pedro II, who made countless contributions to Portugal, had to leave the court in disgrace. Needless to say, Pedro II became the Regent and then married the daughter of Duke Savoy. Princess Isabel was born at the beginning of the second year, so legally speaking, she is legal, but in terms of orthodoxy, she can only be regarded as the daughter of the prince. To put it too much, if any accidents happen in the future, Alfonso VI may be the daughter of a traitor.

So although Pedro II was very eager, King Louis XIV of France was still hesitating for the reason. The oral message brought by Pedro II's messenger, which was a death-seeking book, was still like a hypocrite, as if he was just here to tell his brother this important good news, but the most important thing was to hope that Alfonso VI would die by himself.

Will Alfonso VI be willing to die? The answer is naturally no.

He was bedridden since he was three years old, with his legs shrinking and his body bloated. He always remembered how his mother, father and brother looked at him. Savoy's Duke's daughter was once his hope, and she was indeed a brave lady. Even in the face of such an ugly body, she tried it. Alfonso VI was always grateful for her attempt, but her courage was also reflected in her betrayal. The Portuguese nobles eventually turned against each other or chose neutrality, because the queen revealed that Alfonso VI's infertility was inexplicable.

Just like when Louis XIV discussed the marriage between the princess and Carlos II with his ministers, no matter how stupid, cruel, ugly or distorted, Carlos II had nothing to do with it, but once he was sure that he had no fertility, the ministers immediately stood firmly on the side of the king, because there was no need to discuss a marriage contract that would be declared invalid at any time - human marriages originally existed for reproduction.

Alfonso VI became the abandoned son of everyone. He was first quickly sent to the Azores and then brought to Sintra. Perhaps Pedro II felt that it was more at ease to keep him by his side. He was a noble prisoner who had left his ministers and army forever, with only servants around him. Only seabirds and squirrels came to greet him, but even so, he was determined to survive. Even so, even if it was to mock his younger brother Pedro II, Pedro II wanted to ascend to the throne cleanly, it was impossible!

For this, Alfonso VI could endure any pain and torture. It was nothing. He had been used to it for a long time. He had been persisting for thirty years, but he could continue to persist for thirty years. Perhaps Pedro II would die before him. Thinking of this, Alfonso VI would laugh out loud.

He felt that he could do it, especially now, his physical condition was even better than in the past few years. What bedridden people fear most was that they had abscesses - those parts that were closely linked to the sheets. It is said that the abscesses ulcers, and people would get fever and die. So the servants had to wipe and use medicine for him every day. At the beginning, his doctors followed the tradition and vented him, guanchang and applied ointments. These ointments were sometimes useful and sometimes useless. However, since the servant secretly found a French doctor, they now used strong liquor and a purple-red potion to wipe Alfonso VI's body. This potion can be taken internally or externally, and the effect was excellent. The servant just said that he wanted to get him this potion.

But now Alfonso VI couldn't believe them anymore. He was worried that what his servant would bring was a bottle of poison. In the next few days, he had only allowed them to apply potion to him. He even endured only boiled eggs and beef, sprinkled with a little salt, did not drink alcohol, and only drank water. This behavior was not so much to prevent someone from assassinating him, but rather to declare war on all those who expected him to die. No, he would never die!

So, the ministers and nobles who had disappeared in his life appeared again. They seemed to have greeted with diligent greetings, but in fact they used their eyes and subtle body language to urge Alfonso VI - you should return to the arms of God. You are no longer in the world. You should sacrifice for Portugal. They said in silent words, even the Archbishop of Lisbon who baptized him personally. He even brought the holy oil, and despite Alfonso's resistance and the shouts of his servants, he rubbed him with holy oil.

Although Alfonso VI was not as healthy as Pedro II, his vitality was still very tenacious. He sprayed the Archbishop's smelly saliva.

Then the next day, Earl of Melloy arrived.

The Count is now over 100 years old, but in Alfonso VI's memory, he has always been stronger and sharper than his peers. Although he has one hand, he still has enough respect and love for His Majesty the King. When he was in charge of the government, he often visited Alfonso VI and sometimes brought up some important political affairs. When Alfonso VI spoke of the language that others could not understand, he would listen patiently until Alfonso VI felt tired.

Looking back now, the years he was in power were actually the most pleasant time of Alfonso VI.

As soon as Earl Mellor entered the room, he saw two lights that appeared in the darkness. It seemed that in a moment, he returned to 1665. At that time, he was full of energy and courage, and vowed to devote his life to his king and country. When he said this, Alfonso VI also looked at him like this--the eyes were also shining today.

He slowly walked to the chair in front of the bed, sat down, and then said nothing.

Those eyes slowly dimmed.

A week before the Assumption of the Virgin, the Queen Mother also came. She had always disliked this child because he became a useless waste when he was young. She thought she would say many cruel words, but when she saw Alfonso VI, she raised her hand to cover her face and started crying.

The last visitor was unexpectedly the young Princess Isabella. She was so scared that she dared not look directly at Alfonso VI on the bed. Under the urging of her wet nurse, she approached the bed little by little, knelt in front of Alfonso VI, begging him to bless her.

Alfonso VI looked at her and he should hate her. She was a proof of shame, the crystallization of two traitors, and the retribution of sinners. But - it was a very small, very small girl. On her face, he could see his younger brother and his wife. He knew how embarrassed her identity was - her father had not ascended the throne for one day, so she could not have a satisfactory marriage for one day. No, more likely, she would not even have a chance to get married, because her child's bloodline would be questioned... There were many criticized parts of the Braganza Dynasty. Why did those people with high positions and powers choose such a person to be their wife, which only adds hidden dangers?

Princess Isabella knelt there for a long time, but she only knew that she had always been indifferent to her mother, saying to her that this was her only chance to twist her fate.

It was not until her whole body was stiff that she felt something heavy and broad fell on her head. A few seconds later, her wet nurse came forward and took her away. She looked over the wet nurse's shoulder and could only see a hazy white shadow in the shadow, which was the last impression her uncle left on her.

On the day before the Assumption Day, Alfonso VI died in a coma without pain because he drank too much spirit.

On the third day after the Assumption of the Virgin, Pedro II officially ascended the throne, the daughter of the Duke of Savoy became the queen, and their only child, Princess Isabella, was also named.

In the same month, engagement negotiations between France and Portugal officially began.

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Chapter completed!