Prince Conde walked out of the room and met the Duchess of Longeville in the corridor. The two women looked at each other in the dim light. They were once enemies who disliked each other. When Bishop Richelieu was in power, Prince Conde, the Duke of Angian, had a woman of admiration. Even the Duchess of Longeville regarded each other as her future sister-in-law. Although the sudden insertion of Clara Clermans was not her intention, it was essentially a humiliation to the entire Conde family. The Duchess of Longeville's unfortunate marriage made her feel deeply jealous of Clara in addition to disgust. Prince Conde was indifferent and mean to his wife. The Duchess of Longeville not only did not try to persuade him, but even added fuel to the fire.

But at this time the two noble women had the same purpose. Perhaps Prince Condai would be surprised. Instead of fighting with his eyes as usual, they looked away and passed by calmly. The prince's wife had planted the seeds, and the Duchess of Longeville wanted to try to make it flourish.

No one knows what happened in this room yet, but those who are interested can still guess one or two of them. After the Queen Mother Anne ordered the servants to put the Duke of Monponsier under house arrest, he met with Bishop Mazaran for another whole afternoon.

"You mean they want to arrest Prince Conde," Louis said.

"Yes." said Mary Mancini, "and Prince Conte and Duke Longeville." She looked at Louis worriedly, because the king's expression was not as good-looking.

"Have they ever said what to do after arresting the prince?" Louis asked.

Mary frowned and shook her head, but she immediately said, "I'll go and listen?"

"No." Louis said: "I... even if I know... it's useless." Could he still warn Prince Conde and ask him to escape quickly? He dared to swear that as soon as Prince Conde leaves Paris, he will immediately raise the anti-royal flag.

Mary, like many girls, was insensitive to politics, but she could clearly feel the king's depression: "Can I do something else for you?" she asked tentatively.

"Nothing," the next thing was to wait: "If you have to do something," Louis said. "You can organize your bags and important luggage."

"Why? Do you want to leave Paris?"

"I don't want to," the king said with a wry smile, "but obviously, this is not something I can decide." He looked at his hand, and for the first time he felt that time passed so slowly.

———————

The king felt that time was slow, but the Duke of La Rochefoucau felt that time flew as fast as quicksand. He followed Prince Conde back to his residence in Paris. Two or three days passed in a blink of an eye. Prince Conde was still hesitant. He was a warrior on the battlefield, but in the political situation, he was like a weak woman. No one pushed him away, so he would rather stand still, but to say that he was willing to do so... Ha! He would not be full of complaints about the royal family and chattered endlessly, and did not want to get any rewards he could get. Could this make him the prime minister or the regent king? If that were the case, what was the difference between being openly rebelled?

No, there may be a difference, probably that he can still maintain a good reputation, but such a concealed act made it difficult for Duke Larochefoko.

He had been frowning these days, and even if the Duchess Longeville left her still-cultivated husband and ran to him to comfort her, it would be useless. At dusk, a stranger sent him a letter, so the Duke's eyebrows almost never stretched out again. But no matter how reluctant he was, he still had to go to the appointment. So after seeing the Duchess Longeville away, he took good care of himself, put on a black casual outfit, put on a cloak, and rode his horse alone, which was not worthy of a status gentleman. He didn't even bring a servant, which was really unconventional, but if anyone saw his whereabouts, he would immediately show an understanding smile - because the Duke went to the Woods of Boulogne.

The Boulogne woods are located on the left side of Paris and belong to the royal family. The king often leads nobles and important officials to hunt and ride horses and spend time. Over time, like Versailles and Fontainebleau, surrounding this emerald green paradise, there are some hotels and theaters, some purely to take care of the noble people's daily life, while others are to meet another need - interestingly, because it is closer to Paris, the latter, that is, the transactions that cannot be used for outsiders, developed violently without realizing it, completely surpassing people's original intentions. However, given the amazing profits it brings to them, two consecutive prime ministers, namely Richelieu and Mazaran, remained silent after collecting huge taxes.

People in the whole of Paris and even half of France know that the "famous ladies" in the Boulogne Woods are of high quality, authentic service, and fair fees, and although expensive, they can be regarded as fair. Men like to go where they go, even ordinary citizens or small merchants. Some husbands even embezzle their wives' dowry or force their wives to do the same disgusting things to make money to take care of the girls' business. For a time, the nights here are even more lively than daytime, with carriages and horses flowing endlessly, and it is difficult to stop traveling. Even if the whole of Paris was rioting before, there were no traces of soldiers, butchers or judges here, or because of the uneasy situation, people also need more paralysis and comfort, and have the urge to squander. After all, in this era, even the king did not know whether he could see the sun of tomorrow.

So, neither the wife of Duke La Rochefooke (and his cousin who already has several children) nor the Duchess Longeville who had an illegitimate child with him, nor the right to interfere in his actions in this regard, nor would anyone be curious about his whereabouts. What else can men do when they go to the woods of Boulogne?

Duke La Rochefoco rode his horse and arrived in Boulogne before sunset. The place he was going to was a love temple hidden between the swamp and the woods. This building would be strange to others to see, because not only is it surrounded by a continuous corridor outside the room, it also extends to the courtyard, which divides the courtyard into four parts. Unlike the low plants that people like now, the courtyard is full of tall trees, and their branches and leaves cover the sky. It can be imagined that in midsummer, when the sun is hot, even if a person does not wear a hat or an umbrella, he will not be harmed by the sun.

When the Duke walked into the place, a grand banquet had just begun. Someone took off his cloak, some helped him put away his hat and gloves, and some brought him a brass basin containing rose water to wash his hands. As soon as he entered the room, what was blowing over him was the hot air and the rich aroma of wine.

"Who is dominating here today?" asked the Duke of Larochefoco.

"Bacchus," someone answered this. This is a trick played by famous ladies to keep people fresh about them. Because of their secret and dark symbolic meaning, Bacchus appears almost second only to Venus.

So the Duke also changed into the Roman cross-lace shoes, put on loose linen robe, and put on the crown of ivy and grape branches. A young man with his arms exposed poured him wine, and he drank it all with his glass - this was almost a hint, he followed the boy deep into the courtyard, and every room he passed by was full of spring. The Duke thought, if someone wanted to be a sacred referee, it would be better to let him pass here instead of letting him pass the twelve red iron plows. If he could not have any desire, then it would be no different from the saint, and of course there would be no sin.

This thought didn't dissipate until the end of the corridor. The Duke's guide stretched out his hand and pushed open the heavy copper door - no one could tell that the slender and fair hand had such great strength.
Chapter completed!