Flowers, Swords and France

"Woo..." Accompanied by the long whistle, the black train roared forward on the rails.

The steam-driven axle made simple movements on the rails, but it drove the whole world forward.

It was like a conqueror sent by God, with an indomitable momentum, leaving the entire era behind and rushing forward blindly. Everything was left behind by it, and then dragged by it and slowly changed.

In the first-class carriage of this train, two young women dressed in gorgeous clothes were sitting in front of the window, looking at the scenery outside the window with interest.

It was midsummer, when the vitality of all things was the most vigorous. They looked around and saw endless green fields and farmlands everywhere. The black train passed through the rails that stretched from the horizon to the horizon, like a paper cutter, showing the most beautiful picture of France in front of them in detail.

"Wow, look, how beautiful it is!" When passing by a historic castle hidden in the woods, Mary couldn't help but point to it, "It feels like it came out of a painting."

"It is very beautiful!" Fran also echoed her excitedly, "It's a pity that I didn't bring a paintbrush now, otherwise I would paint it myself!"

"It doesn't matter, when we go back, you can get some painting tools from there, and you can paint it when you pass by here again?"

"Okay!" Fran agreed without thinking.

Then, as if thinking of her mission and the difficulties she might encounter, she became a little sad again, "But I hope I can still be in such a good mood at that time..."

"Hey, why say that at such a good time!" Mary smiled and patted her hand, then immediately comforted her, "What are you worried about? With me by your side, and you are so smart, are we afraid that there is anything we can't do?"

"That's right, with your help. Of course I can do it." Fran's mood turned better again, and then she raised her head again to look at the scenery outside the window, and then she opened the window. She took a deep breath. "Ah, it feels so good to step into the world."

Mary could understand her mood very well. The reason why she was so excited was not just because she could go on a long journey, she was even happier that she was finally forgiven by her brother and entrusted with an important task by him.

"Then you will be busy in the future!" She shook her head gently. "The world is never as beautiful as we imagined before. As soon as I stepped into it, I felt it was ridiculous..."

"There are indeed many ridiculous places in this world, but there are still many people who push the world forward and make everything better..." Fran suddenly stood up and waved in response to the roar of the train. "Look, what a great achievement! And this is an achievement created by my brother. He planned and completed all this, making the endless rails stretch to the horizon... allowing us to travel at an unprecedented speed. When I think that I can follow him to change the world. I can't help but feel happy. Yes, I have become a great part..."

They got on the train in Paris, from Paris to Dijon, then to Lyon, and finally to their destination - the southern coastal city of Marseille. They have completed most of this journey. In a few hours, they will reach the end of this journey.

From the capital Paris, to the largest city in the south, Lyon, and then to Marseille, the largest city on the Mediterranean coast. This is an extremely important railway trunk line. Since Charles took charge of the Ministry of Railways, he has regarded this line as a top priority and stepped up financing. He urged the project to be carried out and concentrated all efforts to ensure the construction of this line. Even after Charles left office, the ministry still implemented this plan according to his will. After years of persistence, this trunk line was finally completed at the beginning of this year. And it almost immediately became a major artery of the French transportation railway network.

Fran, who has always admired her brother very much, couldn't help but feel more sincerely happy to become his assistant after seeing this achievement with her own eyes.

"I really hope you won't regret it in the future. You can stay in the greenhouse for a lifetime and make everyone envious, but you have to run out crying and shouting..." She stretched out her hand jokingly and pinched Fran's face, "Hey, I really admire you."

"You don't understand me, do you have to say this to make me happy!" Fran's face blushed slightly, and then she stretched out her hand and pinched her face. The two of them started to play around like this, and there was constant laughter for a while.

Although it was obviously inappropriate for them to play like this at their current age and status, the two had known each other since childhood and admired each other. Their feelings were very deep, and after a series of ups and downs, this feeling did not fade away like most people, but became stronger.

They had shared most of their secrets and formed a unified position, so they no longer had any guard or hatred against each other and could open their hearts to each other.

After they had been playing for a while, there was a knock at the door of the carriage.

The two of them stopped at the same time and returned to their normal expressions.

"Come in!" Fran shouted casually.

Initially, both of them thought that knocking on the door at this time meant that the service staff had arrived with meals, so their attitude was a little casual. However, when they saw clearly who the visitor was, their expressions quickly stiffened.

The person who walked in from the door step by step was a young woman wearing a golden dress. She had a high bun. She was very delicate and beautiful, but her face was expressionless, like a moving doll.

From the moment she appeared here, the atmosphere suddenly became stiff, and the temperature seemed to drop a few degrees.

The two of them glanced at each other secretly and uneasily, wondering why she came here on her own initiative.

Their trip was precisely to handle land transactions in the south on behalf of the Shire. So, naturally, there was a person in this train, and this person was someone the two of them had deliberately avoided mentioning.

"Good afternoon, Mademoiselle de Beauvin," Fran forced a smile out of politeness, "I hope the beautiful scenery along the way will make you as relaxed and happy as we are."

"Miss de Treville, what a pity. In my heart, no beautiful scenery is more important than affairs. Only when I devote myself to affairs can I feel relaxed and happy." Laura did not say any polite words to her, but looked at her coldly. . "So please believe that I am not looking for you to talk about boring weather and beautiful scenery."

Laura's full and sharp gaze made Fran feel quite uncomfortable, but this gaze instead aroused the arrogance deep in Fran's heart.

How dare a daughter of a nouveau riche dare to put on airs with me like this? I was extremely embarrassed at the time. I have never been afraid of you, and even tortured you to death, and now you dare to do this... very good. She sneered inwardly.

"Then what do you want to talk to me about?" She looked at Laura without showing any signs of weakness, and she no longer looked as timid as before.

"I said, it's about this business. When we go to Marseille together this time, aren't these the issues?" Laura was still very calm, "The transaction is not as simple as it seems. There are many problems like this. I need Let’s coordinate with you first.”

"Coordination? Okay." Fran was stunned for a moment, then immediately nodded in agreement. "Please sit down and let's talk."

"I mean I want to talk to you." Laura glanced sideways at Mary.

"..." The two people looked at each other again.

"Look at how pretentious she looks!" Seeing Laura looking so arrogant, Mary couldn't help feeling a little annoyed.

However, due to Laura's accumulated prestige, she did not express the resentment in her heart. She just excused herself in a low voice, "I'll go out and see the scenery first."

"No, you should stay here," Laura raised her eyebrows slightly, "Miss Treville. I want you to go to my place to talk. This place is full of poverty and it is really not a place where you can stay for a long time. ——Besides, I have no interest in moving that pile of documents."

The smell of poverty?

This disparagement of hers aroused equal irritation in the two close friends.

"Ms. de Beauvin, I am different from you. I did not swim out of the sea of ​​money. I have seen what embarrassment is when I was a child, so I can stay here. If you think this place is unbearable for you, you can wait. We'll talk about it when we get to Marseille. For me, there's nothing to lose." Fran responded with a tough attitude, "Okay, you can go back first, I want to continue to see the scenery."

"What? Are you afraid of me?" Laura sneered, "Don't worry, I won't do anything to you. I just want to do a good job with you. Can't we figure things out together first? Will it be detrimental to you? I advise you that it is not a good thing to bring personal emotions into work affairs. If you want to be able to take charge of yourself, you'd better be like me, discuss the matter as it is, and then do what is beneficial to you. ”

When she said this, Fran hesitated slightly.

To say she was afraid, she was indeed a little afraid of Laura. This time, the family sent two people to protect their safety along the way. Although protecting their safety is usually enough, but... maybe it's because she has a heavy responsibility this time, maybe it's because of the De-Bowang family Having learned lessons from the past, the Baron asked Laura to lead a large group of subordinates. These people were private militiamen who had been raised by the Baron for many years. They had done many things secretly, and they were all considered dangerous.

Since discovering this situation, the two of them have been worried that Laura will suddenly order these people to rush out and kill them. Although they all know that Laura would not do this under normal circumstances, who dares to say that they can completely figure out a situation? Where is the madman who killed his brother with his own hands?

Laura naturally knew the uneasiness in their hearts, but instead of dispelling their doubts, she mocked them.

Although she knew that the other party was using provocation, Fran still knew that the other party had a point. Yes, since you are working, you should adopt a serious and responsible attitude. Hesitation and shrinking are not only useless, but will also make the other party look down on you.

Besides, if she was really crazy, what difference would it make if she was in her carriage or not?

Read the original text in Liu#9@书/吧!

"Okay, since you are so enthusiastic, let's have a good talk." After thinking for a moment, Fran finally nodded and agreed.

"Okay, please follow me." Laura turned around and left without saying anything.

"Be careful, don't be fooled by her!" Mary whispered to her best friend before leaving.

"I know." Fran nodded, "But I'm not afraid of her."

Soon, Fran followed Lola to the carriage she had booked.

Lola never forgot to show off wherever she went, even when she was a passenger on the train.

This railway line runs through the whole of France from north to south. And it passes through the most important cities in France, so it has always been considered the most important and most profitable line. Therefore, the layout of the first-class carriage was originally very luxurious, but when Lola came. She didn't hesitate to spend a lot of money here-even if she only needed to stay here for two days.

There was a special fragrance in the air, which seemed to be fumigated with special spices, and there were carpets on the floor. There were even a few paintings hanging next to the window-what was even more unbearable was that these paintings were not crude imitations. Instead, they were valuable works.

Hey, it's just a train ride, is it necessary to do this? Fran couldn't help but flash a thought mixed with contempt and jealousy.

Decorate and then remove, what a waste. With this thought, she slowly sat down on the walnut chair beside the table.

"This carriage is for our own use. Considering that the railway is getting wider and wider, my father thinks it is necessary to prepare a special carriage for us to travel. The layout on the carriage does not need to be moved back and forth, just put it in the station, and hang it on the train when you need to go." As if she could see what she was thinking, Laura suddenly whispered. "So, it's not as expensive as you think."

Even so, it's still very expensive! Fran wanted to answer this, but she still held back.

"Your family really knows how to enjoy." She said half flatteringly and half sarcastically.

"If you can't spend money like water, then what's the point of accumulating so much wealth?" Laura asked back, then walked to a desk, opened the drawer, and took out a pile of documents inside.

Then, she came back and threw the stack of documents on the damask tablecloth on the table. "I believe you should have understood the general situation when you came out before, but I'll explain these bills to you first."

"Thank you, please continue." Fran nodded.

"This is the receipt of your brother's loan from us at that time, this is the bill of money we intend to pay this time, this is the notarized document, this is the contract, this is the contract of the railway company..." Lola sat opposite Fran and explained to her page by page. "You only need to look at this one. You need to take this one back and look at it. You will sign this one in person in front of the notary..."

It must be said that Lola's work attitude is indeed unusually good. Her thinking is very organized and her explanation is very clear. Even these documents are sorted out by category. Some documents are also posted with notes. With her explanation, Fran quickly understood these slightly complicated business documents and their respective functions.

"It's really detailed. You must have spent a lot of time to organize it, right?!" After listening to Laura's explanation, she actually forgot her vigilance and disgust towards Laura, and instead praised her sincerely, "I thought you would leave most of the things to others!"

"It's common sense to be serious when doing things. I just did what I should do. How can I compare with my father." Laura was not moved by her praise, but looked calm, "If everything is handed over to others, then sitting on so much wealth is not only ugly, but also dangerous."

"You are indeed a much more suitable candidate than your brother..." Fran sighed softly, "Although I haven't seen him much, I believe he will never be as serious as you."

After hearing this praise, Laura was stunned for a moment, and then sneered.

"So what if it's suitable? He is a man, and I am a daughter, so I am destined to be his foil until I don't want to be one."

If the father treats his children equally, then will I, who enjoys half of the inheritance rights, risk my life and death to do such a thing? She had asked herself this question several times, but she never got an answer.

But at least there wouldn't be such a humiliating thing... When she thought of this, the bitterness surged in her heart again, and she couldn't help but glance at Fran - the frustration and humiliation that the brother and sister gave her was too unforgettable.

"Sorry, I shouldn't have mentioned him." Fran immediately felt something was wrong and apologized quickly, "I just spoke out of my feelings just now, and I didn't mean to bring up the past. We'd better write off the previous things and sink them into our memories."

"It doesn't matter, now that things have come to this, it doesn't matter if you mention it." Laura cleverly hid her hatred in her heart, "I said, I won't pursue you for that matter anymore."

"Is your explanation enough? Is there anything else you need to tell me?" Fran saw that the atmosphere was a little awkward again, so she decided to leave.

"There's one more thing." Laura suddenly raised her head and stared at her, "Miss Treville, we have something we hope you can help with."

"You guys?" (~^~)