Flowers, Swords and France

As the members of the Treville family watched, Duke Treville breathed his last and fell into eternal sleep.

No one spoke, and in the dead silence, only Charlotte's unstoppable sobbing resounded throughout the room, making everyone's already sad and desolate mood even more uncomfortable.

After an unknown amount of time, Marquis Treville gently patted Charlotte on the shoulder. "Okay, kid, don't cry. You're still pregnant! People of our age don't have to be so sad even if they pass away. Sometimes we just have to face reality. You still have your life."

Then, he walked up to the little Duke Treville.

"Philip, from today on you are the new generation of Duke of Treville. I hope you can perform well and prove that you will not disgrace this title and name. He and I have worked hard to rebuild this family. Don't you Its glory should be tarnished."

His expression was so solemn and serious that his nephew also became serious.

"Okay, uncle, I will." Little Duke Treville—no, he is now a real duke—straightened his back and looked at his father.

Father was lying on the bed, looking like he was asleep, but his face was even grayer. No matter where you want it, no matter where you want it... No, you can't think about it any more, otherwise the tears will stay again and make the juniors laugh.

He immediately looked away, feeling a twinge of pain in his heart.

"Shut up, too!" The old Marquis looked around, "His work has been done, but there are still countless things for you to do. Cheer up and don't let my brother have peace in heaven. !”

Under his scolding, everyone's crying slowly stopped. Even Charlotte stopped and just looked at her grandfather's body reluctantly.

After the death of the Duke, he was the oldest in the entire family, and now he seemed to have the right to speak out. His composure. It also seemed to drive away the uneasiness and hesitation in everyone's mind.

Seeing his grandfather behave like this, Charles felt heartbroken.

God knows how much effort he put in to overcome the pain of losing his brother and endure it to comfort others?

"Grandpa. You should also go and take a rest." He held Grandpa's hand and looked at him with concern, "It's getting late..."

He was indeed worried about his grandpa. He was already old, tired and suffered from such mental stimulation. If I don’t rest, God knows what will happen.

The old Marquis did not refuse his grandson's kindness and allowed him to help him out of his brother's bedroom.

The old man's steps were very steady at first, but when he reached the door, he suddenly staggered and almost fell to the ground. Fortunately, Charles immediately supported him.

"Thank you." The old man whispered, but tears fell from the corners of his eyes again.

Charles didn't say anything, he just took his grandfather to the next room and helped him rest as soon as possible.

Now, only the father and three children were left in the room, and the atmosphere suddenly became a little strange. It was as if something else was suddenly mixed in the air besides sadness and sadness.

"Dad, let me take you to have a rest." After a moment of silence, the eldest son Philip finally spoke, "The housekeeper and the others are ready, let's not delay them."

Because the Duke has been ill for a long time, the family has already made corresponding preparations, so it is not too hasty now, just follow the previous preparations.

"Well, okay." The middle-aged man nodded. Then he looked at his father lying on the hospital bed for the last time, let out a long sigh, and followed his son out of the room slumped.

After they walked out, the room became quieter. Only two siblings, Charlotte and Eugene, were left.

Charlotte sat on the edge of the bed and kept looking at her grandfather's face, full of sadness.

Among this family, in terms of feelings for the Duke, I am afraid that only the old Marquis has a deeper affection than her.

However, people live in this world. How could it be possible to rely solely on feelings?

In addition to feelings, it also requires will, and...fighting.

"I'm afraid they are going to discuss it." After a while, Eugene said in a low voice, "Philip will not accept this result, and dad...it's hard to say."

"Do they even dare to deny grandpa's will?" Charlotte bit her lip. "They just swore an oath in front of grandpa!"

Ou Ren shrugged and showed a mocking smile.

"That's tens of millions of properties. What is an oath compared to that?"

Charlotte was silent.

Although she was extremely reluctant, she knew that what her brother said made sense.

Grandpa's hands had become cold, as if he had also taken away the warmth in Charlotte's heart.

Her face slowly sank, and her expression became very solemn.

Whether it was to fulfill her grandfather's last wish or for herself, she would never do it, even if she was facing her own father and brother.

"You are the only one among them who still has some conscience!" Charlotte said angrily after a long silence.

"It's not that I'm more conscientious than them..." Ou Ren shook his head, "It's just that it has nothing to do with me. It's money anyway, and it's the same as anyone else. In comparison, I prefer to take it from my sister, at least. You are more generous than Philip."

"That's enough! What right do I have to ask for more loyalty?" Charlotte sighed, then stood up and hugged her brother, "Don't worry, I will never treat you unfairly."

"Then I wish you good luck." Eugene also hugged his sister.

Then, the servants followed the doctor and opened the door and walked in, ready to collect the Duke's remains, and the siblings also withdrew.

Just as Eugene expected, a storm was indeed brewing in the new Duke's bedroom.

After returning to the room with his father, Philip carefully took out a bottle of whiskey from the wine cabinet, then poured a glass and handed it to his father, "Dad, drink some to calm down first, I see you are at a loss!"

Although it seemed a bit unruly to drink after his father died, the middle-aged man who was already in a state of confusion did not care too much, and obediently picked up the glass of wine and gulped it down.

After drinking, his pale face finally regained some color. He coughed several times and tears came out of his eyes.

"Oh my God! Oh my God!" He shouted loudly. He even scratched his hair with his hands.

Philip did not speak, allowing his father to vent his grief.

After waiting for a long time, the middle-aged man calmed down again and took another big sip of wine.

"Do you feel better now?" Philip asked.

"Much better." The father sighed.

"But I don't feel good at all." Philip frowned. "Dad, we were the natural heirs a moment ago, but now we are penniless and can only rely on others - if we do nothing!"

"What do you mean?" The Duke thought of something and looked up at his son.

"Don't you understand what I mean? Grandpa's arrangement before his death. Let us, let his direct heirs lose the inheritance rights, but let your married daughter accept everything!" Philip raised his voice. "Can you accept such an unfair and illegal arrangement?"

After hearing his son's words, the father suddenly realized.

Then, he slammed the table heavily.

"Asshole! Why do you still express your objection at this time?! Have you forgotten your oath just now? You swore in front of grandpa, and it's only been half an hour!"

Looking at his father with bloodshot eyes, Philip felt a little scared, but he knew in his heart that if he didn't work hard now, he would become his sister's slave in the future. Therefore, the fear of the future in his heart completely defeated the fear of his father.

"The oath was made to make Grandpa happy. It was a last resort! Now that Grandpa is gone, can we living people still feel comfortable with the oath?" He stared at his father and instilled his fear into him, "Dad, I am not only doing it for myself, but also for you! Can you accept this result? Think about it, if you obey the last will of an old man, you will become a subordinate of your daughter and son-in-law in the future, and let her manipulate you! You could have become the leader of the Treville family who has the final say. But she put you under her! Dad, while there is still time, let's make up for it quickly, don't let Grandpa's momentary confusion ruin all our future!"

After the grief disappeared. Only personal considerations are left.

Amid his son's angry shouts, the new Duke of Treville was silent.

He knew his son was right. If he did not object to his father's dying arrangements, the family's wealth that was supposed to be inherited by him would fall into the control of his daughter, and he could only be his daughter's mascot at best.

When his father proposed this proposal, he thought it was just a momentary impulse of the old man. He didn't expect that his father would do it with the stubbornness that is unique to the elderly.

But... this is his father's arrangement after all! Can he really disobey it?

His father's accumulated power over the years made it difficult for him to make a decision to resist.

"That was my father's arrangement. He has a will. What else can we do?" He said sullenly.

"This arrangement is illegal!" Philip got angry when he said this, and even his voice became louder. "You are grandpa's only son. The law cannot deprive you of your inheritance rights, so you don't have to pay attention to this will. As long as you seek legal means, nothing can stop you from recovering your due rights! What's more, you are Charlotte's father. As long as you say a word, she has no right to disobey!"

Although his son said it lightly, the middle-aged man knew that things were not that simple. He knew that his father did not completely deprive him of his inheritance rights, but only made many restrictions-he had no idea whether this restriction was legally valid or not.

Moreover, my father was a wise man, and his plans for his afterlife must be more than just asking me and my son to swear an oath. He must have left a backup plan.

The more important question is, should I resist my father's plan?

"What are you still hesitating about? If you hesitate any longer, everything will be over! God knows how happy Charlotte is now!" Philip was so angry that he urged his father loudly, "Father, make up your mind quickly!"

"You... do you hate Charlotte so much?" The father looked at his son in disbelief.

"No, I don't hate her, she hates us! She has been ambitious since she was a child and wants to take everything into her own hands, so she has been catering to her grandfather to please him! She knows that she has no right to inherit, so she deliberately She found someone from our family to get married because she knew that if she got married, she would still be regarded as a member of the family, and she could continue to deceive grandpa! As a result, she has really succeeded now, and we have fallen into the trap of a conspirator. In my hands!"

"What nonsense are you talking about!" The middle-aged man couldn't listen anymore. He scolded his son.

"Am I talking nonsense? Did I say something wrong? Isn't that the truth?" Philip asked, "The reality has been placed in front of you, and you still want to continue to cover your eyes?"

He knew that his fate had reached the most critical moment at this time, and his future honor and disgrace were all tied to his father's thoughts, so he no longer had any scruples. He tried desperately to convince his father.

"Charlotte is not that kind of person!" The middle-aged man slapped the table again, "And do you really think your grandpa is so easy to bully?!"

"What kind of person she is? Aren't the facts already in front of us?" Perhaps recalling some unpleasant memories, Phillip clenched his fists tightly, "She has never liked me since she was a child. I knew she had bad intentions! Now, she actually confused Grandpa, and then Later, he was coaxed into giving her all his property, so that we could only live by flattering her! Grandpa did have a wise life, but everyone gets old! In the end, the old man was taken advantage of and committed such a crime. Big mistake, the entire family's property is in her hands! You said, this will work! Okay... Think about it, if she has any respect for you, she should take the initiative to give up this illegal right and let you be the head of the family. This is natural, but you see, she has! No hesitation? She didn't want to push away this right that didn't belong to her. , but she accepted it as a matter of course. Why do you think she is married? She has nothing to do with it! She has no right to manipulate us!"

Under his son's stormy words, the middle-aged man fell into silence again.

He wanted to speak several times, but still nothing came out.

He didn't want to go against his father's last wishes. But the poison of selfishness eroded his heart, causing him to fall into extreme contradictions.

Read the original text in Liu#9@书/吧!

Yes, how could a natural heir not be entangled when encountering such a thing?

If we remain silent now, everything will be irreversible. The family wealth and the family business that my father has worked hard for many years will become a fund. fell into the hands of her daughter.

But at least I won't be short of money during my lifetime.

It must be said that the old father's arrangement was very clever. He allocated the income from the land to him, allowing him to have a large fixed income during his lifetime, which was enough to maintain his normal expenses, which invisibly diluted the resistance.

Philip saw what his father was thinking.

The father could get something, but he couldn't get anything.

"You are his son and the only direct heir. You have unshakable inheritance rights!" He shouted anxiously, trying to awaken the blood in his father's heart. "Are you just going to accept it silently? You gave up a golden mountain. In the end, I am grateful for the scraps of charity given to others! Are you kidding me?”

Father still didn't answer.

Phillip took his father's hand and said, "Let's go there!"

"Where are you going?!" My father was caught off guard.

"Go to Grandpa and get the will!" Philip replied loudly.

If it's convenient, burn it. Although he didn't say this, the meaning was self-evident. As long as you do this, no matter what others say in the future, everything will be uncorroborated.

"What?!" These terrible words made the middle-aged man tremble.

Go back to the bedroom where your father died, and get his carefully written will under the watchful eyes of his father's soul?

It's terrible.

This, this will make my father’s soul unable to rest in peace!

He twitched violently, then withdrew his hand.

After Phillip saw his father take back his hand, he stared at his father blankly.

"You're too weak." After a moment, he sighed.

However, he had no intention of being weak.

He suddenly turned around, strode towards the door, and opened the door suddenly, as fast as a soldier on the battlefield.

However, after just opening the door, he was stunned. "you!?"

His sister, Charlotte, was standing at the door. Stare at him without any emotion.

The consternation was followed by embarrassment, then irritation. "Why are you eavesdropping on us outside? How long have you been eavesdropping?!"

"I originally planned to come to discuss things with you." Charlotte looked at her brother calmly, "but I overheard your conversation. You looked very excited, so I didn't plan to disturb you and waited for you to say Done. Don’t worry, I’ve heard everything you need to hear.”

Heard everything? Philip was horrified.

Before he could react. Charlotte pushed his hand away, then walked into the room on her own, and saw her father sitting slumped in the chair.

Then, she took out a piece of paper from her arms and slapped it directly on the table.

"Aren't you going to get this? I've already brought it for you, so you don't have to go through the trouble!"

There was a bang, which startled both father and son.

Philip saw the page swinging on the table, and he felt anxious.

"I brought it here for you. You can do whatever you want with this piece of paper." Charlotte looked at her father and brother, her blue eyes full of pride. "But let me tell you. You can destroy a page, but you can never destroy grandpa's last wish and the rights that I deserve! You swore to abide by grandpa's arrangement, but then you turned around and wanted to deny it. ? If you want to fight, then fight, I will fight to the end!"

Charlotte's unflinching expression made her father cringe even more, but it inspired Philip's anger.

"Okay! I knew it! That was your plan from the beginning, and your carefully planned plan finally succeeded. Are you happy? Are you proud?!"

"You're right, I'm very happy." Charlotte looked at her brother calmly, "Because...because I was recognized by grandpa, because grandpa recognized it. You are just a mediocre person who was born in front of you by luck. I More qualified than you to take charge of this family!"

Such harsh words made Phillip's eyes widen with anger. He wanted to step forward, but finally held back.

Charlotte lowered her gaze slightly, as if she was lost in memories.

"Indeed. You are right. My decision to marry Charles was indeed a long time ago...a decision made a very, very long time ago."

As soon as these words came out, both men opened their eyes wide in shock.

"Okay! Good! What a conspirator!" Philip shouted. "Dad, look, what I said is right! That's right! Grandpa and we fell into the hands of a conspiracy!"

"Where do we start talking about this?" Charlotte didn't care at all about his reaction and just recalled it, her tone full of extremely rare melancholy. "At that time... I was almost ten years old. That's when I understood for the first time that although I was also my father's child, I was completely different from a boy and did not have equal rights at all. No matter what I did for my family , after I got married, my family would give me a dowry, and then send me away from afar... From then on, I became a member of another family, and I couldn't even keep my surname. "

Her tone was so strange that the two observers were speechless for a moment.

"I was very sad at first and couldn't accept this result...because I am obviously no worse than my elder brother and younger brother, so why can I only be treated as useless and thrown away when I reach my age?" Charlotte's face said, A wry smile emerged, "But then I understood that there are so many unreasonable things in the world, and it is meaningless to pursue them. I can only obey. So, then I made a decision..."

The father and brother, whose appetites were aroused, held their breath at the same time, waiting for her to say the most crucial words.

"I decided that even if I can't keep the same rights as my brother, at least I will keep this surname, because...because I love it very much, and because I am proud of it!" Charlotte shouted out selflessly, "From now on From that moment on, I decided to marry Charles. It doesn’t matter whether he is good or bad, virtuous or foolish, I will marry him anyway.”

Then, Charlotte suddenly laughed, "However, after I kept interacting with him, I realized that he was such a good person, so I fell in love with him wholeheartedly... I accidentally bumped into him, so I made a mistake. A wise decision. Although I have gone through so many things, my wish has come true. Now we are married and I am pregnant with his child - the purest blood of the Treville family. Isn't this the best outcome? "

Seeing her joyful smile, Phillip was speechless.

After laughing for a moment, Charlotte became serious again.

"...Although I have such thoughts, I have never thought about murdering you, nor have I thought about confusing Grandpa and asking him to do something for me. I just want to make some contributions to the family, so I have always been by Grandpa's side. I'm just a helper. Is this wrong? If so, why didn't you stop me then? ? What are you doing? You all only care about your own pleasure, and no one helps him! Grandpa likes me more because of this. Is it my fault that I have inherited his spirit? , I fulfilled the agreement he made with my cousin, and I obeyed it without any complaints. Is this wrong? "

Charlotte's sudden and stern questioning made the two of them look at each other blankly.

"If there is a mistake, it is also your fault. It is you who gave up your superior position, only cared about your own happiness, and forgot your obligations!" Charlotte's eyes were full of excitement, "If grandpa is like Just like you, he was killed by the mob a long time ago. How can he recover his family business? Because of your incompetent performance, grandpa was bitterly disappointed... You were not there when he needed to help. As a result, after he entrusted the family to me, you still came to blame me? You swore in front of him to obey? You're going to break your promise as soon as he dies, what do you think of your last name?"

No one answered her question, and Charlotte didn't expect an answer.

"After hearing Grandpa's arrangement, I was as surprised as you at first, but... since this is Grandpa's will, I will obey it." Charlotte raised her head and looked directly at her father and brother, "I won't pretend to say that I am only doing it reluctantly to obey Grandpa's wishes, no! I want to say that I am very happy, very happy, happy for Grandpa's recognition of me, and happy for the combination of Charles and me! This is... what a blessing it is!"

"You... you said you want to fight back? Okay, then you fight back, I'm waiting! The will is in my hand now, come and take it!" Charlotte picked up the will in her hand and shook it, "You can do whatever you want, but I won't swallow my anger, I will fight to defend my rights... If you want to fight, let's fight!"

Looking at her father and brother who were pale, Charlotte couldn't help laughing.

"If you insist on fighting, Charles, I, and my uncle will never give in. We will fight, we will suffocate you, and we will make you regret your decision. If you don't believe me, just try it!"

No one answered until she finished laughing. Even Philip was overwhelmed by her momentum and was speechless for a while.

It's really... disappointing. She thought to herself.

Dad and brother, they seem to think that everything that grandpa has built with all his efforts should belong to them. Unfortunately, grandpa doesn't think so.

"Fortunately, I will correct this mistake." She gently stroked her slightly bulging but not too abnormal belly, and closed her eyes happily. "The children of Charles and I will definitely be very smart, and then I will tell them that there is no wealth and status that is born to be, and tell them how to make themselves worthy of those..."(~^~)