Flowers, Swords and France

After seeing the arrival of the Countess, the father and daughter finally stopped arguing and sat back indignantly. Although they tried hard to pretend to be calm, their anger just now would naturally not be left without a trace. The Count's hands were still shaking, and Natasha's face was still flushed.

"What's wrong with you two? Do you have to quarrel like this over trivial matters?" Of course, the Countess was not unaware of such abnormality. She looked at her husband with a complaint, "You are really, you are still quarreling with your children at this age, is this reasonable? They rarely come back a few times a year, and you still have to be angry with them!"

"Now Natasha will stay with us for a long time." The Count said unhappily. "She is sick now and needs to rest."

"What?" The Countess was shocked, and then turned to look at her daughter, "Natasha, what happened to you?!"

After that, she walked towards Natasha, as if she wanted to confirm what happened to her daughter.

"Mom, I'm not sick, I'm in good health..." Natasha smiled bitterly, "It's just that Dad wanted me to stay with him, so I stayed."

"Is that so? That's good... I was scared to death." The Countess calmed down a little, and then she looked at her husband with anger, "Are you crazy? You actually cursed your daughter to get sick? Is there a father like you? Also, Natasha is this age, you are not anxious about her marriage, but you want to keep your daughter by your side, is this reasonable?"

Under his wife's scolding, Count Bezukhov became even more angry. He glared at his wife and then at his daughter, and his hands trembled as he wanted to slam the table, but he finally held back.

"Who said she's not sick? Her brain is seriously ill, and it's completely broken!" Finally, he cursed coldly, and then turned his pale face directly to the food on the table, "Eat! Don't waste time!"

Because of his forced order, the dinner at the Earl's mansion finally started. Fran and Mary had been hungry for a long time. They were terrified to watch the quarrel between father and daughter and dared not say anything. Now they were so hungry that they felt as if they had been pardoned after hearing the Earl's words. They started to eat immediately.

However, because of the quarrel between the family, the atmosphere was very bad. The two outsiders dared not speak, and just lowered their heads to eat.

If it weren't for the carefully cooked dishes, this dull dinner would have made Fran lose her appetite long ago.

But Fran was a little strange. Today's dishes were very French, almost the same as the food she had in Paris.

"Try more..." Perhaps to liven up the atmosphere, Andrei Bezukhov finished the stewed mussels in front of him and spread his hands to recommend to Fran, "These are all made by French chefs, and the taste is absolutely as authentic as your restaurant in China."

"French chef?" Mary was a little surprised.

"Yes, our family has always hired French chefs, and we have been raised by French tutors since we were young." Andrei Bezukhov shrugged, "My father spent his early years in France, so he has a lot of feelings for France. Unfortunately, he is also very rich... So we probably lived a French life since we were young."

"Is that so..." Mary nodded, feeling that she had opened her eyes, "No wonder your father wanted to transform the country so much."

Since the successive tsars in the 18th century, although Russia has been at war with France from time to time, the Russians have admired French culture and flocked to it. These Russian nobles have been learning French since childhood, living a different life from the common people, and even cannot speak their own language well. Therefore, for these noble elites, there is only the question of how much to westernize, not whether to westernize.

Some people live a Western life, but want to maintain the existing system, hoping that they and their descendants can enjoy all the privileges in their country; while others hope to westernize the whole country, get rid of the shackles of the existing system, and become a civilized country like Western Europe - this is probably the only difference between them.

If you understand this background, you probably won't be surprised by the ideas of Count Pierre Bezukhov and his large group of accomplices.

"Now I think of those restaurants in Paris again. It would be great if I could have a few drinks there now." At this time, Andre sighed, "To be honest, I have been in France for a long time, and I really don't want to come back."

"Many Russians are like this." Fran smiled, "As our friend, you can stay in France as long as you want."

"I hope so." Andre picked up the wine glass, then gestured to Fran, and then took a big sip directly.

Then, he suddenly laughed again, "But, you have finally come to Russia. If we only serve you some French food, then you will come in vain? You wait for two days, and then we will arrange it and give you an authentic Russian delicacy."

"What do you mean?" Fran was a little curious.

"Of course it's caviar." Andre said seriously, "Do we have better food to treat you in Russia? And don't worry, you will never forget the taste for the rest of your life."

"Really?" Fran was a little looking forward to it.

"You will definitely not be disappointed." Andre drank the wine in the glass. "Moreover, we will use the eggs produced by the best sturgeons in the Caspian Sea. The annual output of these sturgeon eggs is about It’s only a dozen kilograms—our family also has an industry on the Caspian Sea.”

"Then I'll just wait for that day to come!" Fran couldn't help laughing.

This family is indeed one of the richest people in Russia. They live such a comfortable and luxurious life, with countless properties in their hands, and hundreds of thousands of serfs... If they don't have to be enemies of the Tsar, I don't know how they can live. How relaxing.

After their chat, the atmosphere in the restaurant became a little more relaxed, and the dinner finally came to an end. Because they didn't want to see the quarrel between father and daughter anymore, and they were tired from the journey, Fran and Mary left immediately. Xi planned to go back to the room to rest.

"Miss Treville?"

However, when they walked out of the restaurant and came to the corridor on the second floor, the two of them were chased behind and stopped.

Fran stopped and looked at Natasha slightly warily.

"What do you want from me?"

However, Natasha did not answer directly, but looked at her with a smile, as if she was thinking of something.

"I have heard of the surname Treville. Who are you, M. Charles de Treville?"

Fran hesitated for a moment, but she had no intention of hiding it from others, so she simply told the truth.

Read the original text in Liu#9@书/吧!

"I'm his sister."

"Oh, no wonder! No wonder you were sent here." Natasha still looked at her with a smile on her face, and then suddenly lifted up her skirt and saluted her, "Then, I salute you, Dear de Treville Miss."

"Thank you." Although Fran was full of doubts, she still saluted.

"Now I understand everything. It turns out that my father's secret collaborator before was actually Mr. Treville... No wonder he is so happy recently. That's right. If France and Russia fight, then everything should be like this. He did what he wanted! I finally understand." Natasha raised her head with a smile and looked at the beautiful woman who was about the same age as herself. "Let's not talk here anymore. Let's find a quiet place?"

"I don't think it's necessary." Fran immediately declined the other party, "We are a little tired and need to rest."

"Then let's go to your place. They must have arranged a room for you." Unexpectedly, Natasha had no intention of giving in at all.

"Can't you see that we don't want to talk to you anymore?" Mary couldn't help it and rejected the other party directly.

"You're so welcome. I'm the owner of this place after all, right?" Natasha shrugged, but her smile didn't go away. "Well, I'll just say it here - you have just witnessed the quarrel between me and my father. Okay, so you must have some understanding of my position, right? What do you think of my words?”

"I have no objection to your position." Fran replied politely, "I don't want to interfere with your free will, let alone get involved in the quarrel between you and your father."

"This is not a matter of position!" Natasha was a little anxious, "Can't you see it? If my father is granted his wish, then a war will inevitably break out, and many people, many young people, will be sent to the battlefield. ... Damn it, what kind of battlefield is that? Thousands of people will die at that time, and how many mothers will die! Will be wailing in grief... Don't you think this scene is too miserable? Can you imagine a large group of people lying on the ground quietly waiting to die, with their flesh and blood staining the whole grass red? If you don’t do it, this will become a reality, and this is just to fulfill an old man’s dream!”

"...It's really pitiful." Fran tried to imagine it, and then she was shocked by the scene. "Oh God! It's terrible."

"If this is the case, how can you stand by and watch or even participate in it?" Natasha looked at Fran hopefully, "Don't you think all of this should be avoided?"

"No, I'm very sorry, you haven't heard me out yet, miss." Fran suddenly raised her head and interrupted her, her eyes seemed to be full of sadness, "Such a scene is indeed very scary and terrible, but if this If it is what my brother wants to see, then I will quietly watch it become a reality. Although...although they are very pitiful...may God save them!"

Such a strange answer immediately stunned Natasha.

The extremely beautiful woman in front of her was able to feel compassion for others and grieve for the future of others, while at the same time she said nonchalantly that she would definitely keep doing it.

Terrible people. she thought. (~^~)