Flowers, Swords and France

"She is the only daughter of Count de la Porta. She can bring you a dowry of 1.5 million and an inheritance of more than 5 million in the future." In the study, his father looked at himself seriously, "You must be as respectful as your beloved. France loves her as much as he cares about her father, and I hope you can do that."

"I will, father." The younger self promised in front of his father.

Because I'm young, I don't know the weight of guarantees and commitments.

"Did you hear what the Duchess of Praslin said? His Highness the Prince's expression doesn't look right..."

"Poor woman, she is really... really not suitable to come to the palace."

"Astonishingly childish."

"What! How could someone like the Duke choose...?"

"She has a dowry of 1.5 million, and will inherit an inheritance of more than 5 million in the future. Isn't this worthy of respect?"

"Oh, Madam is so charming!"

"At least she's charming enough to make people forget she's the granddaughter of a Corsican tailor. Isn't she?"

I heard it again, I don’t know how many times I heard it.

She was indeed unfunny, very clumsy, unable to joke or argue, and sometimes had no sense of propriety. Sometimes what you say can even irritate people to death - because it is always the truth, and nothing is more irritating than the truth.

"Isn't this despicable, sir, when you spend the money you got from my father and hate him?"

"The granddaughter of a tailor? Yes, but think about what your father did in Germany!"

…………

Twenty years of marriage are full of quarrels, until the end of boredom and indifference. Isn't this what most people's marriages are like? I thought I could live like everyone else for the rest of my life until that day.

Another quarrel. for what?

"Do you think I don't know about you and those actors?"

"This is my business."

"I am your wife!"

"Yes, so what? You can also have your freedom, and I won't care about it at all."

"How can you say such a thing? I am your wife!"

"I deeply regret this."

Until the end.

"You conspirator, I'm going to report you!" The wife suddenly said something that made her heartbroken, and then turned around and left.

"Go to hell!"

When he came back to his senses, his hands were already around her neck.

Until her death, Fanny kept staring at her. What was in her eyes?

Is it hatred or regret? Is it reluctance or relief?

It was no longer possible to ask her.

……………………

"Ah!" His Excellency Charles Laure Hugo de Choiseul-Praslain, Duke of Praslin, woke up from his nightmare again. His whole body was soaked in cold sweat again.

With the moonlight coming in from the window, he subconsciously looked towards the bedroom door.

At that moment, he even thought that he had entered a new nightmare again.

The bedroom door that he had blocked with a bookcase before going to bed was opened, and several figures in black clothes stood in front of his bed, casting ominous shadows.

"I woke up in time." A person said.

Turns out to be a woman?

The person who spoke was wearing a black cloak like the others, the only difference was that he was wearing a hat with a gauze scarf, like a widow in mourning.

Before the Duke could recover, he shouted for help. The well-prepared visitors immediately rushed to his bed and choked his neck, rendering him speechless.

"Don't even think about calling for help, it will only make you die faster, Mr. Traitor." The woman still stood there, but her tone was more threatening.

Although he couldn't hear clearly, the Duke still felt that the other party was very young. He looked at her and nodded slightly in resignation.

The woman nodded slightly, and her companions relaxed their hands a little on the Duke's neck.

The prince took a few deep breaths, then coughed involuntarily.

"Don't take chances. You will definitely not survive tonight." She continued, "If you don't want your sons to die too, then you'd better cooperate."

The Duke's eyes were full of shock and panic, and he looked towards him for help.

"Do you think we can't find them by sending them to the countryside of Brest? You're too naive, sir. However, you are the only one we want to deal with, if you don't continue to do stupid things." The woman came closer. Her face was looming under the thin gauze scarf.

"You... how did you get in?" the Duke asked softly.

"I dug a tunnel from the residence next to me and let you live for a few more days." The other party replied coldly. "Mr. Prime Minister wanted to use you as bait for us to take the bait. He placed so many eyes on you inside and outside your house... But he didn't expect that he also gave us the opportunity to get rid of you."

"You..." The Duke seemed to want to say something.

"Okay, now we don't have much time to waste. If you don't want your child to be in danger, you'd better answer my questions honestly now." The other party planned his words.

"You can ask." The Duke sighed softly.

"Why be a traitor?"

There was silence.

"I killed my wife," replied the Duke. "I had to do this in order for the Prime Minister to cover up my crimes."

"You could have been a good man who had to kill people and run away to keep the secret, but now you are both a despicable murderer and a despicable traitor."

"Escape? If I escape, everyone will know that the Duke of Praslin is a murderer and an absconding criminal. What about my children...my children? As the son of a fugitive, living under everyone's ridicule Go down? Besides, our family’s reputation...is nothing?"

"Honor? The reputation of a traitor?" The woman laughed disdainfully. "How much did you tell Surte?"

"I have told you all I know," the Duke answered simply.

"What is Sirte going to do with those who have been arrested?"

"He plans to select a few collaborators like me, and the others will do hard labor."

"Where to be exiled? Brest or Toulon?"

"Toulon."

The Duke was surprisingly cooperative, perhaps because the threat to his child's life made him lose the courage to resist, or perhaps he never thought of resisting in the first place.

"What will he do next?"

"I don't know this, he didn't reveal it to me."

Read the original text in Liu#9@书/吧!

"Very good." The other party replied coldly, and then whispered. "Then go to hell."

The hand on his neck tightened again, and the Duke felt it became increasingly difficult to breathe.

"Kill me...you can kill me, please...don't...don't...hurt my child!" The Duke struggled to say a pleading word.

Breathing became increasingly difficult, and the Duke found that his vision was becoming blurry.

Being able to die in the same way as Fanny would be a reward.

"I'm sorry, Fanny, I didn't mean to..." The words he would say in every nightmare rang in his heart.

At the last moment, he suddenly thought of a question.

Since Fanny already knew it, she could have reported it long ago, right? Why, why didn't you report it?

Why? Why?

Maybe this was a mistake to begin with?

I can't think about it any further.

Then atone for your mistakes.

He closed his eyes.

"It went more smoothly than expected." Seeing that the Duke was killed without any resistance, and the operation went more smoothly than expected, Charlotte secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

"This is the fate of a traitor," she said softly. Not even looking at the body on the bed. "I hope his fate can wake some people up."

"Then what should we do next?" asked the comrade next to her.

"You guys should leave Paris first and go to other provinces to stay for a while. The situation has been very tight recently." Charlotte's voice was still very calm. "If it weren't for this damn bastard who exposed us to so many people, I wouldn't need to personally participate in this operation."

"OK."

"Then, let's evacuate first!"

The three turned and left.

Before leaving, Charlotte did not forget to throw a handkerchief embroidered with white lilies on the bed.

"Really, it's so uncomfortable to be covered in dust and mud!"

==========================================

"What!" Early the next morning, the Prime Minister learned the news that the Duke was dead from the Minister of the Interior who came over urgently to visit.

There was silence.

"Bang!" The desk suddenly made a loud noise. "Are all your people just freeloaders? You actually asked someone to kill him! Haven't you caught anyone yet?!"

"Your Excellency Prime Minister, at your request, I have been sending people to monitor that area!" The minister was sweating like rain. "There was no news beforehand, no one thought... no one thought they dug a tunnel from the side and got in!"

"Incompetent! Incompetent! Can you be even more incompetent?!" The Prime Minister was furious, "Are you really not interested in doing this?"

"We will continue to investigate..." The minister did not dare to make any more excuses, but just lowered his head and kept ensuring.

"Three days, I'll give you three days. If you don't find any clues that satisfy me, you can figure it out on your own!" The Prime Minister yelled again. "You incompetent losers!"

"Yes...yes...Your Excellency Prime Minister." The minister agreed repeatedly.

After venting for a while, the Prime Minister sat on his desk and took a deep breath, obviously still angry.

"We will definitely do what you tell us," the minister, who lowered his head, glanced at the Prime Minister from time to time and asked cautiously. "So, should we inform the outside world about this? I'm afraid the newspaper reporters will get the news soon..."

"Does this need to be said?!" the Prime Minister replied angrily, "Are we telling the public that the royalists are lawless and will kill whoever they want, and whoever betrays will die?!"

"Okay..." the minister agreed repeatedly, "I will inform the outside world that Mr. Duke of Praslin committed suicide yesterday..."

"Go quickly!"

======================================

"What?! Duke Praslan actually committed suicide?!" Charles was also shocked when he learned the news.

"But this is good." After thinking for a while, he said to himself. "Isn't this commission completed? The marshal has let the murderer of his daughter leave the world as he wished, and also preserved the reputation of his grandchildren. They can live without any shadow..."

The more he thought about it, the more he felt that this was the best ending.

Maybe the Duke of Praslin thought so when he committed suicide?

Forget it, who cares.

Charles carefully put the confession he got yesterday on his body, and then went to visit Count de La Porta.

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