Flowers, Swords and France

As soon as Charles returned home, he immediately went to the room of the Marquis de Treville. Since the Marquis usually went to bed at this time, he knocked lightly on the door first.

"Come in." The Marquis's voice rang immediately, and his tone was extremely calm. It seemed that the old Marquis was not sleeping.

Charles immediately walked in and closed the door.

"You came back earlier than expected. What's wrong? Didn't you enjoy your meal?" The old man asked in a low voice while he was half-lying on the back of the bed.

"I'm worried that if I come back too late, waking you up will be too mental." Charles explained in a low voice, "But I had a great time eating there, it was memorable."

"Huh hahaha." The old man couldn't help laughing, "You must have made him half angry. I really want to see Philip with a sad face..."

"It's okay." Ciel smiled.

"Let's get to the point then. What did you talk about?" The old man quickly put away his smile and got to the point.

"They proposed cooperation." Ciel lowered his voice.

Because it was expected, there was no surprise on the old man's face.

"What kind of collaboration?"

"They want our help..." Charles paid attention to the old man's expression, "to remove Mr. Soult from power."

As expected by Charles, even the Marquis of Treville couldn't control himself in the face of this sensational news. "What?"

"Just like you heard." Ciel shrugged.

The old Marquis had unconcealable excitement and smile in his eyes. "Tell me the details!"

Ciel quickly recited the conversation between Charlotte and himself to the old man.

The old man squinted his eyes slightly and kept listening quietly. If Charles hadn't known that this was a sign that he was thinking, he might have thought that he had fallen asleep.

It wasn't until long after Charles finished speaking that the old Marquis opened his eyes again. "In other words, our Mr. Duke intends to fish in troubled waters and take advantage of Mr. Guizot's eagerness to defeat Soult to achieve this goal?"

[Referring to François Guizot, born in 1787, a statesman and diplomat during the July Monarchy, the second most powerful political figure at that time, and served as Minister of Foreign Affairs in the cabinet from 1840 to 1847. He was extremely popular with King Louis Philippe. trust and respect. This is the person Charles refers to as "that person" when talking to Charlotte. 】

"That does seem to be the case at the moment." Charles nodded and continued to look at his grandfather. "What do you think? Is there any hope of success?"

"Yes." The old Marquis replied decisively, "The fortress is most easily breached from the inside. If you want to overthrow Soult, using the internal struggle within the government is the best way."

Unintentionally, he said the same thing as Charlotte.

"Well, I think so too." Charles nodded, "Grandpa, I think this is a good opportunity, an absolutely good opportunity, and we shouldn't let it go."

"It is indeed a good opportunity." The old Marquis was still very calm. "It's just that it seems that it's still in the conception stage, and there's still a long way to go before it's actually implemented, let alone successful. So, you can't take it lightly, and you shouldn't lose your cool because of this."

"Yes, I will. Don't worry." Charles agreed.

"Did they just talk about this cooperation idea? Didn't they mention anything else?" The Marquis suddenly had a hint of hesitation in his tone, "If their plan is confident enough to succeed, they should be more eager and willing to Show more sincerity? Could it be that... they are not in a hurry?"

"No, I was just about to tell you." Charles smiled and shook his head, "They showed sincerity."

Then, like a magic trick, he took out a small stack of paper coupons from his arms, a small stack of well-made and extremely beautifully printed paper coupons.

The Marquis's eyes widened slightly, and then he quickly regained his composure. "How many?"

"These are all government bonds, and the total value is..." Charles paused slightly for a moment, "three hundred thousand francs."

After hearing this huge amount of money, the Marquis was not moved at all, but seemed to have remembered something. "Exactly the amount you asked Mademoiselle Leolan to give him?"

"Yes." Charles nodded. “Not only is it exactly this amount, but it’s exactly this amount of bonds.”

Ciel recalled the scene when he took his leave.

………………

When everything was said and done, Ciel stood up and prepared to leave.

"Char, you have to give us an answer as soon as possible. Time never waits for anyone. We urgently need cooperation now. Besides, shouldn't defeating Surte be our common goal?"

"Okay, I will." Ciel replied calmly.

Charlotte's smile suddenly turned cunning.

"By the way, there's one more thing I forgot to tell you."

"What?"

Charlotte picked up a small box next to her, then stood up and handed it to Ciel across the dining table.

"In order to make you more positive and to show our sincerity, this is given to you."

Ciel opened the box doubtfully, then looked up at Charlotte.

Charlotte still smiled beautifully.

"That's right, that's the money Miss Léolan gave to my grandfather. 300,000 francs is enough to express our sincerity, and it is also enough to fund your activities, right?"

Is this considered a bribe? Is this a sugar-coated bullet?

It doesn't matter, eat the sugar coating and spit out the cannonball.

Charles accepted the bundle of bonds.

"Thanks."

………………

"My brother is really smart about using other people's money to give favors..." The old Marquis laughed sarcastically, but he soon returned to seriousness. "Char, that's easy to say. It shows that they are really in a hurry and really feel that they have a good chance of success."

"So it seems to me."

"Charle, put it away carefully. This is the income of your labor." The Marquis said calmly, "Cherish every penny you earn. This is the advice given to you by someone who has experienced it."

"Okay." Charles agreed, and then put the bonds back into his pocket.

"Charles, did you only see the money?" the Marquis suddenly asked. "Of course money is important, but some things are more important than this little money..."

"Don't worry. Of course I won't be complacent just because of this." Charles replied immediately.

"Then do you have any other plans?"

"The organization will hold a very secret meeting in a few days. If I reveal the news..." Charles looked at his grandfather. "I think it will make all the attendees cheer, right?"

"And if it can be done..." the Marquis added.

"That will greatly improve my status." Ciel looked very calm, "and reflect my abilities."

The old Marquis raised his head and looked directly at his grandson, his eyes full of relief.

"It's really good that you can think so far, Ciel." He reached out and patted Ciel on the shoulder, "Since you can think of it, then go ahead and do it!"

"I will." Ciel lowered his head.

Just when Charles felt that it was already very late and it was time to say goodbye and let the old man have a good rest, suddenly there seemed to be a very light noise coming from the corridor outside the door.

"Who?!" Grandma and grandson shouted at the same time, their voices equally filled with shock.

"You have a good rest and I'll go take a look." Charles said as he immediately jumped up and walked forward and opened the room.

He opened his eyes wide, and the scene in front of him was almost unbelievable.

Read the original article in Liu#9@书/吧!

Fran was half-kneeling by the wall, looking at her brother in horror, her eyes full of fear and helplessness, like a frightened little squirrel.

"Charle, what's wrong? Is anyone eavesdropping?" The Marquis's voice was infinitely fierce at this moment, and the officer who had fought countless battles seemed to be resurrected.

Ciel took a deep breath.

"It's nothing, Grandpa, it's just a mouse running across."

"Really? That's good." The Marquis's voice became obviously relaxed, "Speaking of which, this house is also old. It hasn't been renovated for a long time, and there are a lot more rats and insects..."

"Let's renovate it later." Charles replied calmly, staring at his sister closely.

Fran didn't dare to move, as if she was petrified by her brother's gaze.

"Then you should have a good rest...it's getting late." Charles looked at his sister.

"Well, you should also have a good rest." The Marquis' voice also had a hint of fatigue, "I'm going to bed, good night."

"Good night." Charles closed the door with his backhand.

Then he walked slowly to his sister.

Then, he bowed down, stretched out his hands, hugged his sister, and walked to his bedroom.

Maybe she was really frightened by her brother's expression. Even though she was held in the air by her brother, her sister, who was always extremely arrogant in front of her brother, still didn't dare to move.

After gently kicking open the bedroom door, Charles threw his sister onto his bed, then stood beside the bed and stared at Fran closely.

"Why, why are you eavesdropping?"

Tears suddenly appeared in Fran's eyes, and then tears rolled down from her eyes. "I...I..." She was sobbing and speechless.

Ciel waited quietly for her to cry for a while, and then asked again after she regained her composure a little. "Why?"

"I...I...I'm just worried!" Fran's tears were still flowing. "You went to her house! I'm so scared!"

"Afraid?" Charles came back to his senses after a moment, "What are you afraid of? Could it be that Charlotte will attack me in her home?"

"I'm afraid..." Fran looked up at Charles, her fair face full of tears, "I'm afraid... I'm afraid that you will be with Charlotte again and won't want me!"

"Huh?" Charles was surprised. "What?"

What kind of thinking does this girl have?

"If you and Charlotte get back together, Charlotte will definitely try her best to deal with me! She hates me! She hates me! I hate her too! I hate her more than anyone else!" Fran almost shouted. out.

"So you came to eavesdrop? Just because you're afraid of Charlotte?" Charles suddenly felt weak.

"Yes! If you marry her, she will definitely send me away. She hates me so much!" Fran's tears became more and more urgent. "Then I will never see you and grandpa again. I have nothing! I’m just afraid of this..."

Ciel frowned at first, and then secretly breathed a sigh of relief. Fortunately, it was not the worst outcome.

He looked at his sister, who was huddled on the bed, her face full of fear and worry, and - fear.

I actually made my sister afraid of me! He sighed inwardly.

"Then what did you hear?"

Seemingly seeing Ciel's expression soften a lot, Fran's fear subsided a little, and she shook her head vigorously.

"I didn't hear it. I just got there, and the door was so thick... I didn't hear anything... Then you rushed out and looked at me like that... looked at me like that... looked at me like that..."

Charles finally felt relieved.

Then he reached out and slapped his sister's butt hard.

"Ah!" Fran cried out in pain.

"Forget it this time, but if you dare to do this again next time, I'll beat your butt. I'm serious." Charles hardened his heart and reminded.

Then he helped Fran up. "Go back to sleep."

"Then... then..." Fran suddenly raised her head, "Then you and Charlotte, won't you still..."

Charles looked at his sister.

And at this moment she was looking at him expectantly.

She only had these two relatives, she was afraid, she was afraid of losing everything. God, this is my only sister, will she hurt me?

"No." He answered softly. "And, no matter who it is, I will never abandon you in this life, don't worry."

Fran opened her eyes wide and looked at her brother, tears in her eyes again.

Charles leaned over and kissed his sister's forehead. "Go back, really, never do this again. You can't interfere in adults' affairs, and you can't even know about it."

"But, I... I can't walk anymore." Fran's tears stopped, but her face turned red.

"Really, idiot." Charles muttered and scolded in a low voice, then used the same method as before to carry his sister back.