Flowers, Swords and France

Ignoring the eldest lady's teasing, Charles put her proposal aside with a smile, and then walked to the door politely, intending to greet the Lord Chancellor of the Seal.

When he just walked to the door, he saw Matilda wearing tortoise-rimmed glasses helping an old man up the steps. When she saw him, Matilda smiled and nodded. Although there was no other meaning in it, Charles, who had just "talked" with her sister, couldn't help but feel a little movement in her heart. Then, in order to divert With these thoughts, he turned to the old man.

This old man was wearing a heavy velvet coat, his face was covered with wrinkles, and his original appearance was almost unrecognizable. His hair was completely gray, and he looked extremely old. Even his eyes were very cloudy, almost without focus. However, he still nodded slightly towards Ciel.

Time ruthlessly takes away everyone's life, no matter how much wisdom was contained in that body.

Out of traditional respect for the elderly, he walked down the steps, and then he and Matilda helped the old man up.

The old man - who must be the Lord Privy Seal himself - did not resist Charles's hospitality, but smiled gratefully at Charles, and then allowed the two young people to support him.

Soon, the two people welcomed the old man into the living room together, and the old man's eldest granddaughter carefully greeted her grandfather to sit on the seat closest to the fireplace, while Matilda stood quietly beside him.

The old man sat loosely on the chair, his dim eyes constantly wandering around Charles, as if he was in a very happy mood. After looking at it for a while, he smiled and nodded, and then sighed.

"In the blink of an eye, it's been so many years! That boy Victor has a great grandson after all!"

Ciel just smiled and didn't answer.

"I knew both the Treville brothers when I was a child. They lived in Versailles at that time, and my father was a chamberlain to His Majesty the King. We grew up in Versailles. Later, those terrible things happened , and the poor king went to the guillotine..." The old man seemed to have recalled that He cheered up the past and spoke much more clearly and fluently than before, "Later, in order to save our lives, we each tried our best to escape from France. We have rarely seen each other for decades. If you think about it carefully, time has really flown by. Come on! How can you young people understand how rich and luxurious the palace was at that time..."

After hearing the old man's lament about the past, Charles smiled from the bottom of his heart.

When the Bourbon dynasty was restored, the Dilion family was prosperous and wealthy, while the Marquis de Treville was in desolation; when the July Dynasty came into being, the Dilion family was still prosperous and wealthy, while the Marquis de Treville and his family were even behind the scenes. The Duke and his family, who were his patrons, fell, and he became even more depressed. In the past few decades, Count Dilion has never thought about his "old friend", let alone done any favors to him.

However, at this time, he came over to make friends with my family, as if he knew my family very well!

Even Ciel, who always advocates calmness and reservedness, couldn't help but feel in his heart, "You too have today, hahaha!" The history of France, which has been topsy-turvy several times and capricious for decades, can also be vividly displayed from here.

However, of course, Ciel would not let this inner pride show itself, but quickly suppressed it from the deepest part of his heart.

"My grandpa often tells me things about his childhood. When he talks about you, he always says that he had a lot of fun with you." With a standard smile on his face, he said what everyone knew was just a polite word. Kind words.

"I have known since I was a child that Victor is a very stubborn person and likes to stick to the end," Count Dilion sighed again, "For so many years, Victor has been able to stick to his loyalty to the Bonaparte family. It is really remarkable. It’s admirable.”

"That's why we waited for today." Ciel replied implicitly.

"Yeah, I've been waiting for today." The old man smiled bitterly, and then glanced at Julie.

Julie nodded slightly, indicating that she had conveyed his meaning to Charles truthfully, and soon the Lord Privy Seal withdrew his gaze.

"As people get older, their spirits will deteriorate a lot, so I won't say any more nonsense. I think you can understand the purpose of why I came to you today, right?" His tone became serious, "You should have already talked to your I’ve already mentioned this.”

"Yes, I have already said it," Charles nodded quickly. "The Bonaparte family understands the importance of your surname and clearly told me that in order to gain your support, we can make corresponding adjustments."

"After all, it is the Bonaparte family!" After hearing what Charles said, the old man sighed softly, "Unlike those people who talk so much nonsense if they want to cooperate with them, and pursue some old events all day long..."

Charles secretly guessed that the "those people" he was talking about were referring to the royalists, and the "old past events" certainly refer to the fact that the Dillion family betrayed the Bourbon family without hesitation in 1830 and took refuge with the Orleans family. .

With such a criminal record, the royal party would naturally have doubts about the earl, which is completely understandable. No wonder they chose the Bonaparte family in the end.

"You must think that we have no choice but to come to you because we have nowhere else to go, right?" Who knows that just when he thought of this, the count suddenly smiled sarcastically, "If you think so, then you are wrong. …”

Ciel looked at him with some confusion.

"We contacted the royal party at that time, and we also told them the news that Prince Jourville will hold a banquet in the palace, and His Majesty the King will also attend." Matilda, who had been standing next to her, suddenly interjected . She said this with an expressionless face, and it was almost impossible to hear the thrill in it.

But Ciel heard it.

No wonder Viscount Dillion was so eager to fool him, so that’s it! Ciel suddenly understood.

But he was still a little confused at the moment. The Dilion family didn't seem to be such bold people? Regicide is no joke.

"We never thought at the time that they would directly assassinate His Majesty. If we had known, we certainly would not have done so." As if he had seen what Charles was thinking, the old earl explained directly, with a flash in his eyes. He expressed a trace of dissatisfaction and contempt, "However, it looks good now. Now everyone in the country knows that this dynasty has no hope."

"At the same time, I also want you to understand that there is no hope for the Bourbon Dynasty to be restored again?" Charles asked as if to add.

"Let me tell you, you are a smart man!" The Lord Privy Seal smiled again, "They can only think of this way to gain power, which is really disappointing, not to mention that they haven't succeeded yet! Of course I can't help it. You must understand that the fate of the Dilion family depends on these people."

In an instant, the old man without any trace cleared away all the responsibility for his multiple changes of family and long-term bets, including the suspicion of regicide.

"Of course I can understand." Ciel was still smiling.

"Well, it seems that we have reached the most fundamental intention on cooperation. We will serve the Bonaparte family next, but..." The old man half-squinted his eyes, and his sharp eyes glanced at Charles and then flashed. And no, "How will the Bonaparte family plan to reward their new servants?"

Start asking for price.

Ciel did not answer immediately, but deliberately pondered for a while.

When he saw that the Minister of Privy Seal became a little impatient, he suddenly asked a question.

"What would you like to be satisfied?"

The old man frowned slightly. He was not used to having such a slightly disadvantaged conversation. However, the situation was stronger than the person now, so he had no choice but to tolerate this slight rudeness.

Read the original text in Liu#9@书/吧!

"I am already about to be buried, what else can I be dissatisfied with?" He quickly covered up his dissatisfaction with a smile, "Young man, don't show off, just tell me directly, Bonaparte How does the family plan to buy our services?”

The old man's tone was so direct and his words were so explicit that Charles clicked his tongue.

The more cunning and tactful a person is, the more straightforward they like to be when bargaining. Ciel finally understood the meaning of this sentence.

Now that it comes down to this, he doesn't plan to go around in circles anymore.

"How about a minister?"

"What department?" the count asked immediately. He hid his expectation and anxiety well under his dim old eyes, and looked at Charles expressionlessly.

It seemed that this was his psychological price, and Ciel immediately understood.

"A new department." Charles immediately followed up and explained. "After the Bonaparte family returns to power, a new department will be established to oversee all railway construction and operations. The Bonaparte family believes that your son will He is a very suitable candidate for the position of minister..."

After hearing what Charles said, Count Diliion couldn't help but frowned again.

It was not because the bid was low, but because the bid was high, so high that he had not thought of it beforehand.

"Has the Bonaparte family really agreed?" he asked suspiciously.

"Really," Charles nodded, "Mr. Joseph Bonaparte said it to me personally."

In fact, it is not considered bribery. For such a hot position as the Minister of Railways, of course the Minister can only choose candidates who are acceptable to all political factions, and the Dillion family, which has always been cunning and versatile, may indeed be the most suitable candidate. .

"But... we also have a condition..." Before the count could reply, Charles suddenly added another sentence.

"What conditions?"

"If Viscount Dilion can accept this difficult task, I will assist him as Secretary of State..." Charles stopped talking, still smiling.

The count half-closed his eyes again, obviously thinking about something.

"Matilda, go get Grandpa a glass of water." After a moment, he suddenly said something unrelated, "Want it to be warm."

Matilda walked away in confusion. Although she knew that her grandfather wanted to get rid of her, she could only obey the order.

"I completely agree with this arrangement," the Lord Privy Seal immediately replied after she walked away. "Although my son is smooth, he lacks determination and willpower. He also needs help from people like you."

"Then, deal." Ciel smiled and nodded.

"You can also consider my other proposal..." The old man still looked at the place where his granddaughter left. (To be continued.)