Mary Su Stuart

St James's Palace, London, 1572 July 7.

More than 20 years ago, the first queen in England's history died here. More than 20 years later, another Queen Mary with the same name as her encountered danger here.

If only at Fontainebleau--François had never been so frightened, never so regretted.

Childbirth is a disaster for a woman, a horrible torment, and a potentially fatal process—before this day, he had never faced this bloody fact so clearly and directly.

He remembered that his mother, Catherine, suffered from dystocia when she gave birth to the twins, and neither of the babies survived; he heard that his sister Elizabeth died after giving birth to a stillborn child; , his other sister, Claude, has given birth to five children in Lorraine, and they all seem to be healthy; and when his wife gave birth to the eldest daughter, she was very happy to assure him that as long as she exercises properly and pays attention to health care, Having a baby is not difficult at all.

At that time, Mary was always smiling and radiant; now, she struggled on the delivery bed for a day and a night, her face was as golden as paper, and her breath was as if she was hanging by a thread.

It was the most terrible ordeal in the world.

He held her sweaty hand, his heart was pierced like a knife; he murmured to God, let him replace him with his body; he wished he had never consummated his marriage with her, so that she had to endure the pain of childbirth.

His courtiers all said that the queen is for the future of France.

However, without her, the future of France...

It didn't seem to matter whether he was there or not.

The long dark night gradually fades in the light of dawn.As the morning light streamed through the window, his Mary pulled himself together at last.

She panted heavily, hitting his eardrum hard with each sound.As for the calls of the midwives and the crying of the baby, those are inconsequential background sounds.

His eyes were hazy, and he could vaguely see her bloodless lips slowly opening and closing, calling out his name:

"Francois..."

His tears fell instantly, his hands were shaking beside her pillow, and his voice was trembling. "Thank you, my lord..."

"This time, I..." She took a deep breath and spoke with great difficulty. "I really am..."

what is it then?Mary's throat tingled, and the joy of being alive after the catastrophe suddenly disappeared.She didn't want to talk anymore.

She is very, very tired.Even though the room was full of people, even though François, the father of the child in her womb, was always by her side; but the deepest loneliness and helplessness of the time-traveling woman continued to erupt all day long.During these long 24 hours, she thought of death countless times...

Now, she was completely exhausted.

Mary frowned and said softly, "I need to be quiet."

Francois, who was ordered, immediately turned his head away, and rather violently demanded to clear the scene quickly.Fortunately, the courtiers are still cooperative.The midwife was busy, and she comforted the king casually: "Her Majesty really needs to sleep for a while."

Are you sure it's just sleep, not fainting?Francois looked at Mary who had closed her eyes, the corners of her lips twitched, but she didn't ask any questions after all.

He felt, in fact, that he, too, might be on the verge of fainting.

The chief courtier, Earl Reis, caught the dazed king and helped him to the couch outside.Francois drank a large glass of honey water, reluctantly opened his mouth, and asked the secretary to issue orders as planned in advance, and spread the "good news" of "mother and daughter are safe".

After doing this, he didn't even want to see the newborn baby who had been taken away by the wet nurse.He just rubbed his temples, slowly clearing the buzzing voices in his head——

"The fetal position is not correct, and the head comes out last."

"Thankfully it's not primipara, otherwise it would be even more dangerous."

"But the damage is still huge, and the doctors are trying their best to diagnose and treat it."

"This one is still a daughter."

"Thank goodness the baby is healthy."

Oh, daughter... how about daughter?He only wanted his Mary to be healthy and safe, and nothing else mattered.

Fortunately, Mary did not abandon him and was called by God...

There were moments of sadness and joy in the chest, and various emotions were ups and downs. Francois fell asleep in extreme exhaustion.

In the evening, His Majesty the King of France, who took an hour to wake himself up, could finally face his wife calmly.

他 说:

"Dear Mary, I'm really scared."

"Actually, it's enough... as long as you and me are enough."

"Two children are already a gift from God."

"We're already very happy."

"So, I'd rather not take that risk again."

"I'd rather . . . we not have any more children."

Francois's expression was earnest and almost pleading.Mary looked at him, was stunned for a moment, and sighed softly:

"Let's talk about the future."

After lying down for most of the day, her body was still heavy; however, Mary felt that the pain seemed not so unbearable.After being comforted by Francois, her strength slowly returned to her body, and Mary gradually aroused a little interest in her newborn second daughter.She raised the corner of her mouth and said:

"Speaking of which, I only hugged Vivienne before. Now, let's hug her younger sister and have a look."

Francois dared not raise any objections at this time.So, the two wet nurses responded to His Majesty's will and rushed over quickly holding the big baby.Mary looked at the red, wrinkled baby girl with her eyes closed tightly, looked at it for a while, and muttered, "Such a little thing almost killed me."

Francois was terrified. "You've worked hard, you don't have to keep staring... just have a nanny take good care of you."

Mary was really tired and didn't have as much energy to manage as she had after her previous delivery. "Well, Vivienne's nanny, change one more, go over and guide... how she took care of her two years ago, just follow the arrangement at that time."

Francois nodded repeatedly. "I have ordered them to do so."

Mary was very relieved and squeezed out a smile: "It's really good."

Francois looked sad. "That's all I can do."

Seeing this, Mary, who had recovered a bit, felt a little pity for him: Look, the majestic King of France seems to have been wronged for the birth of his second daughter...

Glancing at the scratch marks on the back of his hand that she had made several hours ago, and then thinking about how she pinched and pinched him excitedly half a day ago... Mary felt more calm.

It's just that his promise just now...was it sincere?

I just had a little bit of this awareness...

However, his position...

The crown of France, you can't inherit it without a son.François, is he really willing to give up?

At this moment, he must have been impulsive. How credible are the words he said?

Ever since that night in Edinburgh ten years ago, Mary has understood that people change.The boy who once obeyed her could suddenly become ferocious.In another ten years, or even 20 years, will he be able to maintain his current thinking?

She was so absorbed in her thoughts that she suddenly touched the wound.Hiss, it hurts.

Mary shook her head silently in her heart.Think about what to do with so much what you have and what you don’t have, and nourish your body; don’t worry about it, your body is the most important, and your body is the capital of revolution.

Her fist, quietly clenched and then loosened.

"Well, we all need a good rest now."

Francois nodded obediently.He wiped her sweat with his own hands, waited for her to narrow her eyes slightly, and then reluctantly left under the urging of her attendants.

Both the supreme husband and wife have complicated moods.Meanwhile, the Privy Council in England was unanimously gleeful.

However, despite celebrating Her Majesty's good luck and escape, the ghost of Bloody Mary in St. James's Palace failed to drag her away... The ministers are still a little afraid: there are too many variables for a woman to have children; the country is entrusted to the monarch There is a real risk in one person.

"However, with these two princesses, it can be regarded as an extra layer of protection for England." Cecil thought optimistically. "In this way, there are still many opportunities for England to regain its independence in the future."

Today's His Majesty the King of England is King Consort, the so-called co-rule king who is crowned by his spouse, and his status exists with the queen.Francois of France, like Philip of Spain, did not exercise much power over England.Moreover, the current Queen Mary is also quite strong, and she will never allow England to become a vassal...

Therefore, she probably would not let her daughters easily give up the inheritance rights of Britain and Ireland.If she has no son in the future, England can legally and legally part ways with France.

And his former assistant, a Protestant who has been promoted incredibly quickly, and the newly appointed Police Minister Walsingham, is much more cautious. "Take care of your eyes first. In the past few days, the French courtiers of St. James's Palace have been coming and going a lot, and there are also ambassadors from other countries... In short, there are mixed people. You must be careful about the safety of your majesty and the two little princesses!"

************************************

The family members, the Duke of Montpensier and the noble Duke of Guise, brought the news that the King of France had another daughter, traveled across the ocean and returned to the Louvre in Paris.A short time later, another Duke of Longueville, more closely related to the Queen, rode the waves across the English Channel to bring other news to his sister and brother-in-law.

He briefly talked about official business: the third-level meeting held at the end of last year, Coligny did not come back, and the new Prince Henry of Condé also went to the border of the Netherlands to welcome back his father's coffin; now they are still close to the capital... Under the repeated "encouragement" of the Queen Mother, the Duke of Vendôme, who has lived in the court for a long time, has repeatedly participated in Catholic Masses, and seems to be willing to "reform evil and return to righteousness"...

Then there was a personal affair: Charles, Duke of Orléans, and Princess Anna of Austria had at last conceived their first child—a daughter.

Well, if combined with the fact that the King of France has no son so far, the birth situation of the Duke of Orleans can also be regarded as "official affairs".

Because, according to Capet-Valois's Salic law tradition that "titles and territories are only passed on to men", the current number one heir to the Kingdom of France is the Duke of Orleans, the younger brother.

If Charles, Duke of Orleans also remains childless...the kingdom will pass to Henry, Duke of Anjou.

Then there is the younger brother, Egur François, Duke of Alençon.

And then...no more, all the Valois males end here!

Mary recalled the sons of Queen Catherine in history: Charles IX's legal child was only a daughter; Henry III was a transvestite, homosexual, and his wife did not even have a daughter; the Duke of Alençon "pursued" for many years Queen Elizabeth, who was 20 years older than him, died early.When Valois became extinct, Henry, Duke of Vendôme of Bourbon and King of Navarre, went from left to right, and finally resisted all opinions and ascended the French throne.

Uh, after all these years of hard work, could it be that the Valois royal family will still disappear into the long river of history along the "inertia"?

No, Mary still wants to change and fight for it.

After all, all these years... She already has deep feelings for France and Francois.

She also hopes that his and her descendants will not give up that land, or be abandoned by that land.

She and Francois had dreams of merging both sides of the English Channel and Ireland to establish a unified kingdom in Western Europe.Now, their generation has just started to work hard, and they have just seen the prototype of the United Kingdom... She doesn't want people to die!

As for the stubborn and old-fashioned traditions of France... the future may not be so bright, but we should try to fight.

The more difficult it is, the more it arouses her fighting spirit.

Hmph, in history, after the death of Henry III, the last man of Valois, Philip II brought Isabel Clara Eugenia, the eldest daughter born to Queen Elizabeth, to France and Bourbon men to compete for the throne Woolen cloth.

Compared with the Spanish princess, Vivienne, the French princess, should be more justified.

Besides, after World War II, France thought about respecting the monarch of England as its co-monarch (but it was rejected by Britain).

So, when it comes to merging or something, you should be more courageous, and don't dare to think about it!

No matter what difficult mode it is... Let's give it a try!

The author has something to say: Mary: I am not only beautiful in appearance, but also beautiful in my thinking.