Flowers, Swords and France

In the early morning, Charles was in high spirits after a good sleep. He was sitting alone in the small reception room as usual, with a chessboard placed next to him, and every chess piece was placed on the chessboard. Ready to go.

However, today, he did not have nothing to do.

Charles took the name appendix of the "Almanac de France" and found records about the marshal.

"Count Olas Sebastiani de La Porta, born in La Porta, Upper Corsica, joined the French revolutionary army when he was young and later became a supporter of Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte During 1801-1802, he served as diplomatic envoy to Napoleon's first cabinet in Turkey, Egypt and Syria, and in 1806-1807 he served as ambassador to France. Ambassador to Constantinople. During the Restoration, he returned to Napoleon's side again and served as a general in the National Guard. After the second restoration of the Bourbon Dynasty in 1815, he was temporarily forced to say goodbye. He entered the political and military circles until 1819, when he represented Corsica as a member of the French House of Representatives. In the legislative election of 1824, he lost his qualifications as a member...

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After the establishment of the July Monarchy, he served as Minister of the Navy, Minister of Foreign Affairs and other positions. In the following years, he also served as French Ambassador to the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies (1833-1835) and London (1835-1840). In 1840 , because of his meritorious service over the years, he was awarded the title of Marshal of France by King Louis-Philippe, and then he retired from politics. "

After reading, he began to digest the information he had obtained, and then raised his hand to move the chess pieces, thinking step by step in his mind while playing chess. More important than the entrustment of the client is to think about what the client is thinking.

"There is no doubt that although Mr. Marshal has retired, he has also occupied a high position in politics. He must have countless connections and friends. If he has questions about the death of his daughter, he can at least go to the political police. Department of Finance, why did he come to us?”

In a short period of time, a variety of guesses flashed through Charles's mind, and then he evaluated and calculated these guesses from a neutral and objective standpoint. This was a habit of his.

"Is it a trap?" "No, if you really want to deal with us, there is no need to go around in such a big circle."

"It seems like it's really just a personal request." "But why are you looking for us?"

"Maybe there is something unspeakable?" "Is there something unspeakable...?"

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Various thoughts were intertwined, but Ciel still couldn't find any clue. However, as the old Marquis has considered, as long as it is not an intentional trap, it is necessary to try his best to fulfill the old marshal's request. Although he has retired for several years, with the marshal's former status, there are still people in the political and military circles. With a certain degree of influence and appeal, if he can be brought in, it will definitely be great news for the Bonapartist plan.

Charles inquired from other people and learned that Fanny, the marshal's only daughter, got married in October 1824. Charles continued to check the name list and soon found the list of the Duke of Praslin's lineage.

"César Gabriel de Choiseul was born on August 15, 1712 and died on November 15, 1785. An outstanding soldier and diplomat, he was famous in the era of Louis XV. Young man At that time, he joined the army and slowly rose through the ranks because of his bravery and good command. He rose to the rank of Lieutenant General of the Army, and served successively as Minister of the Navy and Minister of Foreign Affairs in the Cabinet of the Duke of Choiseul from 1761 to 1766. In 1763, he became Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of France and participated in the signing of the Peace of Paris, which ended the Seven Years' War. Made a great contribution.

In recognition of his achievements, His Majesty King Louis XV made him Duke of Praslin, and he became the first Duke of Praslin. The Choiseul-Praslan lineage was thus established. "

[This man is a brother of the same clan as the Duke of Choiseul, the prime minister of the Louis XV era mentioned in Chapter 12 above. 】

After reading the introduction to the first Duke of Praslin, Charles skipped the introduction of several of his direct descendants and went directly to the list of the current Duke of Choiseul-Prasland.

"Charles-Lauret-Hugo-de-Choiseul-Praslain, the current Duke of Praslin. Due to the storm of the Revolution, the former Duke of Praslin, Charles Renate, had been in exile for many years. , and then returned to France after Napoleon came to power. His eldest son, Charles Loray, was born in June 1804. In 1821, he inherited the title of Duke of Praslin.

On October 18, 1824, the Duke of Praslan married Miss Fanny Artalis, the daughter of Count Olas Sebastiani de La Porta, a general in the old empire, 1838-1842 During the years, he served as a member of the House of Representatives for the Seine-Marne department and was quite successful in politics. Now, the Duke of Praslan, as a noble queen and an outstanding young politician, will play his part in the French political arena. "

After reading these vague introductions, Ciel felt like he had some idea.

The marshal was obviously of civilian origin, but he married his daughter into the Choiseul family, one of the most prestigious families in France. What did he do?

Without a doubt, it’s money.

The turbulent revolution destroyed the rule of the nobility and also destroyed the economic foundation of the nobility. During the Revolution, the French nobles who stayed were sent to the guillotine, and the nobles who fled abroad would have their property and industry confiscated. Therefore, many nobles had to face the cruel reality of being almost penniless except for a surname that was constantly depreciating.

Under the oppression of reality, these nobles had to struggle to survive in a foreign country like ordinary civilians, doing labor work that was despised in the past - some were shoemakers, some were tailors, and some were chefs. For example, Charles' grandfather and cousin, the two brothers, the Duke of Treville, heard from the old marquis that they made a living by repairing shoes in Düsseldorf, Germany. Later, because the shoe repair technology was greatly improved, the business was good, and the two brothers even opened a small shop...

Later, the Bonaparte Empire was established, and then the Bourbon Dynasty was restored. The nobles returned to France from foreign exiles. Although the country has always had corresponding compensation measures, it is impossible to completely make up for all the losses before, so it is not surprising that the property of the nobles has shrunk greatly.

In this dilemma, many nobles followed the trend and intermarried with the civilian rich people who were despised in the past, marrying the daughters of the bourgeoisie, and using their surnames in disguise to exchange for money. The two major ruling classes in France began to communicate and merge in an unsmooth manner.

And the generals of the Napoleonic Empire were one of the first choices for the nobles to seek marriage.

The secondary reason was that they were famous and had fought for France for many years. Even if they were born in the common people, they were considered noble.

The main reason is that the army of Napoleon's Empire traveled all over Europe and looted all over Europe. They captured Milan, Venice, Madrid, Lisbon, Vienna, Berlin, Moscow... They gathered countless treasures and money. Not to mention the ransoms extorted from various cities. For example, Milan was saved from being burned by the emperor only after paying a ransom of 120 million francs.

Because of this, almost all the senior officers of the Napoleon Empire made a fortune and lived a life of extravagance. Even Charles' grandfather had a famous romantic life.

How much love can be involved in this kind of marriage? It's self-evident. How much common language will a noble duke with an outstanding family background and a general's daughter from a commoner have after marrying for money?

Charles thought while deducing the chess pieces on the chessboard.

I have a clue.

Why did the old marshal feel that his daughter's death was suspicious? And why didn't he go directly to the government, but asked his old comrade for help? Could it be related to his daughter's marriage?

Could it be... he thought...

Charles thought more and more, and gradually, he raised the White Queen.

"Well, this can be used as a main clue to explore." He said to himself.

"What to explore?" The person next to him asked in a pleasant voice.

"Explore the truth." Charles answered subconsciously.

Then he came to his senses, who came?

The voice sounded a bit like Fran, but it seemed a little different...

He raised his head and looked to the side.

Sure enough, it was not Fran.

The visitor wore a pink wide-brimmed sun hat with feathers, a white pleated skirt, and a rose decoration on the hem. Like Fran, she had a long face and thin eyebrows, and the blue eyes of the Treville family made her look gentle and quiet. She looked to be about 20 years old, just in the blooming season. At the same time, there was always a faint smile on her face, which made her look even more mysterious.

Charles was stunned.

The original text is available at 6 # 9 @Books/Bar!

Looking at Charles's reaction, the visitor seemed to have a little mockery in his eyes.

"Don't you want to say hello, Charles? Is this your way of entertaining guests?"

Then, she took off her hat, and the golden braid was untied, and the soft golden hair poured down from the edge of the hat like a waterfall.

The faint fragrance drifted into Charles' nose with the wind. What a familiar fragrance it was.

How long has it been since I smelled it? Not long, but it seemed a long time.

What he wanted to forget and what he wanted to remember flashed through his mind along with the fragrance, and for a moment he completely forgot everything.

No, no, wake up!

A shout suddenly flashed through his mind.

Charles returned to the real world.

He frowned and stared at the girl in front of him.

"How...how did you get in, Charlotte?"

"How did you get in?" Seeing the young man regain consciousness so quickly, the girl still had a smile on her face, but her eyebrows were slightly raised, "Of course I walked in... Just like in the past, I asked them not to inform, and then I walked in."

"Really?" Charles frowned even more tightly, "I really should talk to the doorman and not let everyone in in the future!"

Seeing Charles's tough attitude, the girl was not angry, but walked to Charles' side and looked at Charles with a smile.

"The more sarcastic you are, the more it proves that you still care about it, right?"

Charles chuckled. "You feel good about yourself."

"Is it just my feeling?" The girl's smile became brighter.

"Of course, what else could it be?"

"So, why did you want to cancel the engagement after hearing that grandpa wanted to marry me to Marquis Leoran?" Charlotte asked gently.

"Because Fran asked me to save her friend!" Charles answered in a slightly rough tone. "Don't you know?"

Charlotte put away her smile, then suddenly raised her hand, and then gently placed it on Charles' head.

Charles wanted to get rid of it, but in the end he didn't move.

The slightly cool hand brushed through Charles' short hair, and then wiped Charles' smooth forehead.

"You are afraid. You don't dare to come to see me, right?"

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