Flowers, Swords and France

After informing the gatekeeper of his identity, the gatekeeper ran over to inform him. After a while, he came back with a surprised look on his face, and then opened the door to let Charles in.

Next to him, another servant followed Charles inside.

Charles nodded to them calmly, then walked in leisurely under the guidance of the servant, and then glanced around from time to time to observe the internal layout of the mansion.

Although the two houses were not particularly far apart, and although he had been brought to this mansion many times when he was very young, so many years had passed and he had already lost all his memories of it.

After walking a short path, he came to the mansion. The gate of the mansion was decorated with two large brick pillars, supporting a corridor that could accommodate carriages and horses. There were more than ten steps outside the door, and there was a column corridor under the steps. First, there was a spacious front hall with a brick floor. There were two French windows on the side, forming two doors that led directly to the garden next to it.

Charles followed the servant up the steps and finally arrived at the front door.

Unfortunately, no one came to greet him.

If it were him in the past, he would definitely be very angry about this deliberate neglect, but now that he knew the reason, Charles was not unhappy about this somewhat rude reception.

He followed the servant in silence and walked along the corridor to the study.

He didn't wait long, and soon. The door of the study was reopened, and then a middle-aged man in casual clothes, with short brown hair, tall and thin figure, and a somewhat weak face walked in.

Although I don't know him. Although no one introduced him, this middle-aged man must be Mr. Elwin de Norderien, my mother's younger brother, Agnes's older brother, and the newly inherited Duke de Norderien.

I must have been held many times when I was a child, Charles thought.

However, the first meeting between the nephew and the uncle was unexpectedly cold. After looking at each other, no one spoke first to greet each other.

"Sir, did Agnes explain it to you clearly?" After a long silence. Duke de Nordelien used this question as the opening remarks of the first conversation between relatives in many years.

Although this sentence was a bit abrupt, Charles remained calm. "Sir, I don't know what you are referring to, but I already know. Your family has some... um. Some evidence that proves that my father did some ridiculous things back then."

"Wow! Some ridiculous things!" The uncle shouted with a little exaggeration, "Is this how you, the Treville family, view murder?"

"This is an accident, sir, no one wants this to happen." Charles sighed. "And I... I came here today to put an end to this unfortunate incident, so that it won't make everyone restless."

"We also hope to put an end to it, but you stopped us." The middle-aged man replied with a hint of sarcasm, "Where is Agnes? Didn't she come back with you?"

"She stayed at my house as a guest. I'm afraid she will have to play for a while before she can come back." Charles replied calmly.

After a moment, the Duke understood the true meaning of Charles' words.

"You... you gave her...?"

"That's right. Although we experienced some meaningless disputes, she finally agreed to stay at my house as a guest." Charles nodded calmly.

Of course, what else could she disagree with if she was already tied up?

A trace of anger swept across the middle-aged man's well-maintained face, and his forehead even had blue veins.

"We are really a family! Ha! What? Do you want to threaten us?" He growled, looking at Charles angrily, "I advise you to release her quickly, otherwise I will..."

"Publish all the evidence of my father's crimes?" Charles asked back.

"You already know it, do you still need me to tell you?"

"I'm afraid I can't let you do that." Charles sneered, "Besides, do you really want to do that-and then become my mortal enemy?"

"Do you think I'm afraid of you?!" The Duke frowned, "It seems that I can't talk to you. Go back quickly and release Agnes, otherwise we will not be polite!"

"No, no, no, in my opinion, the current situation is actually in our favor." Charles replied calmly.

"Agnes, who was the most impulsive and persistent, has lost her ability to act, so we can talk calmly and talk about some men's topics. Mom's affairs are history. We men should focus on the future and do something constructive, right?"

"What nonsense are you talking about?"

"My words are very clear. What is the point of our desperate struggle except that both sides will suffer and the tragedy will continue? Can the De-Nodelien family withstand such a struggle?"

A sharp light suddenly flashed in the middle-aged man's eyes, but he stopped roaring.

"Why, are you threatening us?"

"No threat, I don't want to threaten anyone..." Charles shook his head, "On the contrary, I want to help you, my uncle, to revive the family business. After doing this, can't I get your forgiveness?"

After hearing this, his uncle didn't speak.

"You have remained silent, which shows that, unlike Agnes, my grandfather and you are not emotional and have brought their hatred to the point of being irreconcilable... Do you think what I say makes sense?" Xia Er stared at the other party closely, "In this case, why can't we have a good talk about this topic now? After all, I am not boasting, I should have some capital to help you now."

As an old aristocracy, this family was good at assessing the situation. After King Louis-Philippe succeeded in driving away the Bourbon family and usurping the throne, they quickly changed their families and joined the new dynasty. It was precisely because of this. They continued to maintain their wealth, and the new king reused them and appointed grandpa as a member of the House of Lords.

However. After the February Revolution broke out, this assessment of the situation suddenly turned into a speculative error - the newly established republic abolished the House of Lords, and naturally no one paid attention to the orthodox nobles and Bonapartists who quickly regained power. After passing this family - it was obvious that they had lost power since then.

Today, when King Louis-Philippe has passed away suddenly, they can probably understand even if they don't need a time traveler like Charles. This state of losing power may continue for a long time.

Well, it's obvious. No political family would be willing to lose power—this place could serve as a breakthrough.

In other words, his uncle had been waiting for this sentence from the moment he arrived?

Well, there is no need to pursue this matter.

"Then what are you going to do?" After a moment of silence. he finally asked.

"I think I made it very clear...didn't you hear clearly?" Charles smiled slightly. "Although there is no House of Lords now, there are still many stars to pick from in France's great official budget. And I, as you know, the big man I follow, will not be able to win in the foreseeable future. It will surely become the sun guarded by these stars..."

The middle-aged man looked at Charles uncertainly, not knowing what he was thinking.

"We are men. Men can be more direct with each other, sir. I just want to ask you. What kind of stars do you need to forget these unpleasantnesses and hand things over to us? In this regard, I can provide as much help as I can ." Charles stared at his uncle and said the most important part. Advice, "Of course I feel equally sad about my mother's tragedy, but... that is history after all. We have to look forward. We each carry a family forward and need to fulfill our obligations. Therefore, I I don’t think there’s anything wrong with my proposal, do you?”

"Do you want to buy us off with this?"

"That's not what I think," Charles shook his head. "I just want to get rid of those things that threaten me - I think you don't want to be that kind of thing. As for Agnes, if she wants to If you want revenge, you can go find my father, as long as she can be found. I saved my father once and I have fulfilled my obligation. I don’t want to care about him anymore. "

His words were like the last weight, completely weighing down one end of the scale.

"So, sir, how do you plan to fulfill your promise?" Duke Nordlyon looked at Ciel hesitantly, "Don't make any promises to me. We all know that they are completely unreliable."

Ciel lowered his head seemingly in embarrassment.

"Now I don't know what kind of star can satisfy you, and my influence is not enough to let you get whatever you want... Let's make an agreement that within two years I will find a star for you that you like. "

After hearing this, his uncle laughed sarcastically. When he was about to say something sarcastic, Ciel continued.

"However, I also know that this kind of commitment has limited binding force. So we might as well do this-I write you an IOU and agree to repay it in two years. If I can't find such a position for you by then, I will Pay you..."

Then Charles stopped talking and asked his uncle to think about it for himself.

Will everyone fight to the death, or will they follow my arrangements?

He believes that rational men know how to choose.

The silence lasted for a long time, so long that Charles almost thought his uncle did not want to acknowledge it.

Read the original text in Liu#9@书/吧!

"Three million." However, he finally said it.

"Um?"

"I will do as you say, you will give me a certain position within two years, and I will give you those things." The Duke stared at Charles closely, "Then, write me an IOU and agree to repay it in two years. , the amount is set at three million.”

"Three million? So much?" Charles was a little surprised by his uncle's appetite. "One million."

"I betrayed my elder sister and younger sister, sir. Shouldn't I pay a greater price on my conscience for this?" Duke Nordlyen asked with a sneer, "Besides, from my personal point of view, in fact, I don't If you don’t want to receive this money, I prefer you to work hard and fulfill your promise. This is just an insurance. Relatives should not bargain too much, what do you think?”

Thank you for being able to say this with a straight face.

"Okay, two million. No more." Charles frowned, as if to remind the other party not to be too greedy, "One million per person. No matter how you look at it, is it enough?"

No matter how you look at it, three million francs is a huge sum of money that can make almost anyone tempted.

"Sir, we are talking about feelings, don't do this!" However, his uncle was still reluctant, "Besides, there is another person among them, your unborn sister, can't it be counted as one million?" ”

Ciel looked at the other person with disgust. But after planning for a long time, he felt that such an outcome was feasible.

In other words, the two families had reached a deal, if Charles could not find satisfactory official positions for them within two years. They were about to collect the three million francs owed. to compensate for political frustration.

My future is not more than three million... Ciel thought to himself.

Although this feeling is uncomfortable, it is not unacceptable if it can make up for the sins his father committed against his mother.

Besides, this result is much more cost-effective than killing all the uncle's family and leaving everything behind to go to America.

After making up his mind, he still pretended to hesitate for a long time.

"Okay, three million is three million." Finally, he turned away in disgust. As if he was already ashamed to bargain, "However, I have to make it clear beforehand that I have shown my greatest sincerity by doing this. If you are playing tricks and want an official position and an IOU, huh, then I will absolutely No mercy!"

"I still say the same thing. I hope you don't have to pay this money. For us, the position is more important. As long as we get what we want, we will destroy the IOU immediately." The Duke replied with a smile, "As for you, Sir, we have no reason to put you to death? What good will it do to us to ruin your future? We didn't do it back then, and we have no reason now."

Then, he sighed and said, "Hey, after I figured out the matter, my father was very angry and wanted to cause trouble for you. However, he was stopped by my sister. She said that she would solve the matter alone. Please tell your father to keep quiet, so as not to affect your future." Duke Nordlyen smiled and spread his hands towards Charles, "Now, her love for you has been reciprocated like this. I really didn't know she was. How are you feeling right now?"

What else could it be?

Ciel could only shrug slightly.

"I'm almost moved by what you said. Besides, haven't these things now produced unexpected value beyond blood?"

"Humph, you are quite eloquent." The Duke looked at him with a somewhat complicated look.

There was resentment, disgust, and fear, but at the deepest level, there was a trace of appreciation, as if he admired Ciel's decisiveness and generous means.

"Humph, I know that none of the Trevilles are good." After saying this, he walked out again.

……………………

When the Duke returned to the study, he already had an extra small box in his hand.

"Sir, let's exchange one thing for another," he said coldly. "Everything you want is in there."

"Very good." Charles took the pen and paper leisurely, and then quickly wrote down an IOU in the amount of three million, which was agreed to be settled in two years.

Then, the two people exchanged the things in their hands with each other.

The box his uncle gave him contained a large stack of documents.

Charles picked it up one by one and looked at it. These yellowed papers contained the testimony of the doctor at the time, the records of the police who were responsible for the investigation at the time, and even the confessions of the servants previously employed by the Treville family.

Very detailed and enough to prove each other.

In other words, even from the perspective of the 21st century, this is clear enough evidence... Ciel made a judgment in his heart.

Huh, but they'll never see the light of day again.

He lit candles and burned them before his eyes.

It wasn't until the wisps of green smoke disappeared that he looked at his uncle again.

"There is one more thing that I want to take away."

"What?"

"My mother's remains, or ashes. Personally, I think it would be better to rebury her in her original place..." After a pause, he added, "And that one." (To be continued. . )