Flowers, Swords and France

It was not long before the banquet at Schönbrunn Palace. People came to the large dining room in twos and threes. His Majesty went back to his dressing room to change his dress under the guidance of his servants. The people who stayed talked to each other in twos and threes before the meal began.

Although the visit of the de Treville couple was more like a private visit, and the reception given to them by His Majesty Emperor Franz Joseph was not top-notch, the banquet after the award ceremony still looked very grand and worthy of the standards of the Habsburg family.

As one of the protagonists of today's banquet, the Treville couple inevitably became the focus of everyone's attention. The eyes of envy or jealousy kept turning to the gold Grand Cross Leopold Medal with white enamel border and red enamel color, which was shining under the light and worn by Charles.

In the eyes of Austrians, this gold medal represents honor, and in the eyes of foreigners, it probably represents many other meanings. Among the people present today, there were no other diplomats except the staff of the French Embassy in Austria. However, Emperor Franz Joseph's courtesy to the Treville couple will soon spread to the diplomatic institutions of various European countries. Diplomats from various countries will stay up all night to discuss what hidden purpose Charles de Treville's visit is, and what new diplomatic conspiracy has arisen between the Austrian Empire and France - but no one would have thought that this trip was specially requested by him to appease his wife.

However, he originally had some diplomatic ideas that he hoped to achieve through the Austrians, and it might not be a bad thing to start early now.

Charles was not keen on the glory that everyone was paying attention to, but Charlotte enjoyed it, so the pregnant woman who had obviously traveled a long way seemed to be happier than her husband.

As the most respected guests, the couple were arranged to sit next to the throne, and they could talk freely with His Majesty the Emperor while dining.

"Charles, these Austrians are making a big show." He looked around. After enjoying enough of people's admiration, Charlotte looked at her husband with a smile.

"They need me." Charles answered concisely, "The Austrians now want to use the power of France to intimidate those he doesn't like. This doesn't prove that Emperor Franz Joseph likes us."

"Of course I understand this," Charlotte rolled her eyes at Charles. "But what does it matter? Whether people are sincere or false, flattery is always flattery. Is Her Majesty the Queen completely sincere to us? At least I like them to be friendly to us-"

"Well, you are right, they try to please us. It's better than ignoring us." Charles hesitated, then agreed with his wife's opinion. "Charlotte, it doesn't matter if others treat me coldly, but I can't stand it if they treat you coldly, so to be honest, I am quite grateful to them now. In addition, I am very happy... Although I am not completely free to do whatever I want now, at least I can make a queen and an emperor pay great attention to you. I will continue to work hard, Charlotte, and sooner or later all the monarchs on earth will be respectful to you."

"You..." This sudden sweet talk caught Charlotte off guard and she blushed quickly. "You... Really, you are still smooth-talking here. If the people around hear us, how will they laugh at us!"

Although it was a scolding on the surface, Charlotte's hands kept twisting the tablecloth unconsciously, and it was obvious that she was very excited and happy in her heart.

"Others will envy me for having such a beautiful wife like you. Look at their eyes, they are about to kill me." Charles, who took the opportunity to coax his wife, still looked indifferent on the surface. "Especially since I am about to have a child with such a beauty."

Charlotte's face became redder and redder, in order to avoid making a fool of herself in public. She reluctantly looked away.

Then, she suddenly thought of a question.

"But I think we should try to mention Bonaparte as little as possible here... I think the Austrians have tried very hard to make themselves forget that you are Bonaparte's minister." Charlotte's face was still slightly red, "Poor Duke of Reichstadt also died here, and it has only been a few years. I think both sides can't forget the past."

The smile on Charles' face disappeared immediately.

Because Charlotte always looked down on the Bonaparte family, this sentence was a little harsh, but she still made sense.

The feud between the Bonaparte family and Austria is really too deep.

It can be said that since he became famous in Toulon by fighting the British, Emperor Napoleon relied on his record against the Austrians to achieve the reputation of the first military commander in Europe-in ​​1796, he defeated the Austrians in Italy, in 1802, he defeated the Austrians there again, and in 1805, he even fought to Vienna. He lived in the Schönbrunn Palace and forced the Austrians to surrender to him in the manner of a conqueror.

Later, Napoleon forced a marriage with the Habsburg family. After the emperor's conquest of Russia failed, Austria still joined the anti-French coalition without hesitation, completely destroying the empire. His son Francois, also known as Napoleon II by the Bonapartists, was taken by his mother to her territory in Parma, and later sent to Vienna. His title was changed to Prince of Parma and then Duke of Reichstadt by his grandfather, the Austrian Emperor Franz I.

This little Napoleon was infected with tuberculosis at an early age and was in poor health. Therefore, he died early in 1832 at the age of 21, and ended his life in this palace - and it is rumored that this poor young man died in the room where his father lived in 1809.

After counting, his benefactor Louis Bonaparte had a lot of grievances with Austria. When he was young, this ambitious man lived with his brother in Italy under Austrian control, and participated in the Carbonari party against the Austrian government. In the end, his brother died in exile.

The Austrians were afraid of the name of Bonaparte, who had brought them countless failures and humiliations, and they also despised this upstart family with no historical roots and who liked to associate with the rich and powerful. The reason why they were able to treat the Treville couple with courtesy was, first, because they pursued a pragmatic strategy, and even if they despised, they would not show it openly, and second, because the Treville family was one of the famous families in France after all, until these old stubborn people treated them with superficial respect.

There were too many historical grievances and too heavy a burden on their backs. So when Charles and Emperor Franz Joseph talked, they simply avoided talking about history, hoping to bypass all the unpleasant things - and Charlotte's suggestion was the same.

But even if they avoided talking about it completely, could the shadow of the past really disappear? As a time-traveling traveler, Charles didn't particularly care about the so-called honor and shame of these families. So he could do things that were beneficial to the present with an indifferent attitude, and he didn't feel bad at all.

Bonaparte and Habsburg were different. Both families were burdened with unimaginable historical baggage, and it could even be said that their surnames themselves were meaningful, so could the leaders of both sides really put aside historical grievances and interact with each other with a realistic attitude?

Charles was not sure. Perhaps even with his efforts, the two emperors, Louis Bonaparte and Franz Joseph, would still choose to fight in some way.

If that were the case, would all his efforts be wasted?

No, absolutely not. No matter who it was, he could never lightly overthrow all the achievements that I had worked so hard to build, no one could do that! Charles thought to himself.

"Charles?" Seeing that his words had made Charles fall into deep thought. Charlotte called him quickly. "Why are you distracted again?"

"Oh, sorry, I just thought of something else." Charles retracted his thoughts and smiled apologetically at his wife.

Although she didn't know what Charles was thinking about, Charlotte felt that her unintentional words had embarrassed her husband, so she felt a little guilty.

"Charles, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have gotten involved in your business. If what I said is wrong, you don't have to take it to heart..."

"No, you're not wrong." Charles shook his head. "On the contrary, it's because you're so right. So I can't help but have some doubts about my idea... If Bonaparte and Habsburg refuse to reconcile because of boring historical grievances, then my hard work is doomed to be in vain, right?"

"Charles, it's not like you to worry about gains and losses." Seeing that her husband seemed a little discouraged, Charlotte quickly cheered him up, "You are so good, who can let your efforts go to waste? As long as you work hard, there will be results, and my children and I will do everything we can to help you."

Charlotte's comfort made Charles feel much more relaxed.

Yes, I'm not fighting alone, and... since I can even achieve such great achievements now, why should I be afraid of an uncertain future?

"Children... yes, yes." Charles was happy and put on a teasing smile again. "How many children do you think is better?"

Charlotte's blue eyes were suddenly filled with anger, and she was about to lose her temper, which scared Charles so much that he turned his head away.

Just when the young couple was arguing, there was a strange commotion in the hall.

The commotion finally made Charlotte remember where she was, so she just glanced at her husband and then looked at the place where the commotion started.

It seemed that the emperor was coming.

"Your Majesty and Princess Elizabeth are here!"

The door was opened at the loud shouting of the court attendants, and then the young Austrian emperor appeared at the door of the restaurant.

Beside him, there was a girl on his arm.

The original text is in the six # 9 @book/bar!

The girl was wearing a fluffy white palace skirt, with fair skin, regular features and a little bit of cuteness. Her black hair fell on the white veil like a waterfall, and she looked like a princess who had never been tainted by the worldly world.

No, it wasn't that she looked like a princess, but that she was originally like that.

She seemed not to be used to the current situation, so she held the emperor's hand tightly. And although her expression was very tense at this time, although her eyes were fixed, she blinked frequently, looking nervous and confused. In order to keep up with the emperor's striding steps, her steps were very fragmented, and only the constantly moving eyes in her eyes barely revealed a little cunning and playfulness belonging to this age.

She looked like a child who was overwhelmed by her own happiness and was being brought to the most grand ball by her mother for the first time, and she knew that she was about to become the focus of the ball.

Maybe this was the truth.

The handsome young emperor and the shy beautiful girl, in the magnificent hall, this scene, like a moving painting, was deeply imprinted in the hearts of everyone present.

"Oh my God!" Charlotte kept watching this scene intently, and then couldn't help blurting out. "They are a perfect match!"

Compared to Charlotte, who was already dazzled, Charles was much calmer. After the initial dazzle, he quickly returned to that strange calm.

They are indeed a pair of golden boys and jade girls.

He really didn't expect that Charlotte, who was arrogant and thought that her family was the top wealthy family in Europe and therefore never submitted to others, would actually stare at them like a 21st century star chaser.

This is probably the most famous fairy tale of this century-a young, beautiful, kind-hearted princess will marry the youngest and most handsome emperor.

Is there a more beautiful dream in a woman's heart?

But she is still a child.

Charles thought.

To say that she is a child does not only refer to her age, but also to her psychology. She was born into a well-off aristocratic family (although her father's title is not the top one and there are disputes about bloodline, he is also a member of the royal family). She was well cared for by her parents and never experienced the dangers of the world.

When she was a teenager, before she really saw the society (even if it was only the upper class), she was chosen by Franz Joseph as the future queen.

She was thrown into the pit of Habsburg before she knew what kind of job it was to be a queen. I really don’t know whether it is lucky or unfortunate?

She only knew her luck, but she didn’t know what kind of obligations and fate were waiting for her.

It’s good to be young.

Charles thought silently.

And at this moment, Emperor Franz Joseph also brought the princess and slowly walked towards the Treville couple. The emperor changed into a dress, and this gorgeous dress made his fiancée look more elegant and refined.

He smiled very happily, as if he wanted to show off his luck in front of Charles.

I feel so sad for you, two children.

One day your fairy tale will reach the end, and my wife and I will be crowned kings.

With a calmness that surprised himself, Charles gently picked up the wine glass. (~^~)