Flowers, Swords and France

In the midst of the jewels, Fran's attention was attracted by these shining jewels, and for a moment she couldn't help but exclaimed.

Although she is not a person who loves money very much, liking these sparkling jewelry is an inherent instinct of every woman, and even everyone. How many people can not be surprised when they see so many jewels in front of them at once?

Seeing how shocked she was, the corners of Crown Prince Alexander's mouth twitched slightly, obviously very satisfied with the effect.

"What do you think? Using these as rewards to pay you should satisfy you, right?"

"That's too much, Your Highness!" Fran almost blurted out, "I...I'm just an unknown painter, and I'm not worthy of your remuneration!"

Although she is not a professional jeweler and has no way to appraise the value of the entire box of jewels, she can already conclude that these jewels are valuable just by looking at them. Even if she hires the top painter to paint, she will not be able to do so. Much remuneration.

Even if the Tsar was always generous, it was really surprising that he would give such a generous gesture so casually.

"What we value is talent, not reputation. People who deceive the world and steal reputation will never get our attention." Crown Prince Alexander still smiled and took his hand back at the same time, "Please don't refuse, accept us Give me a gift, you deserve it. My father is very satisfied with your paintings, and hopes that you can continue to paint new works with the same enthusiasm and level in the next few days, and that they will be enough to serve as two emperors. gifts to each other.”

"Of course I will continue my work...but...I think I am not qualified to receive such a high remuneration." Fran hesitated, and finally handed the box back to Crown Prince Alexander, "Your Highness—— You gave me a big problem..."

Because of the rare rejection, Crown Prince Alexander frowned slightly, but this displeasure was quickly covered up by the formulaic royal smile.

"Why, don't you like these? Are they not good-looking enough? If you are still not satisfied, then I can change a batch of better ones, which will satisfy you..."

"No... Your Highness, I'm not dissatisfied, but I'm too satisfied. I'm satisfied to the point of panic. I know I can't afford such a gift." Fran's expression was already very serious, "And I firmly believe that you will give me such a gift." My gift is definitely not just out of appreciation for my painting skills... You must have other ideas, although I don't know what they are. So under such circumstances, I feel that I cannot accept your gift. Or reward.”

She changed her usual gentle style and said these words in a serious manner, which surprised Crown Prince Alexander slightly. He did not expect that this young lady who usually looked timid and even confused would be so awake at this time, and He was able to resist the temptation of these jewelry. Suddenly he couldn't help but have a higher opinion of her.

"You... you are really a serious person." In order to ease the atmosphere, he smiled intentionally, and then gently pushed Fran's hand away, "But, I'm sorry, our Romanov family gave it away as a gift. The gift will never be taken back, please accept it..."

Then, before Fran could refuse again, he looked around and lowered his voice, "Okay, don't refuse. Let's find a place and I will explain it to you in detail..."

"Explain in detail?" Fran was a little surprised, but at this time Crown Prince Alexander had already taken steps and walked into a room next to the corridor.

"Can you tell me now?" After walking in, Fran kept a little wary distance from him, and then asked again.

"Well, first of all, I want to make it clear that these jewels are indeed remuneration, and they represent the sincerity of my father and me. There is absolutely no ill will towards you..." Crown Prince Alexander lightly shrugged, appearing calm and unhurried, " Of course, these rewards are not just for you, but also...your brother."

"My brother?" Fran was a little surprised at first, but soon understood something.

Is this a bribe?

The Russian Empire intends to bribe His Excellency Minister Treville?

"To be precise, this is only part of the reward. If your brother can maintain friendship with Russia as we hope, then he can get more reward - I can guarantee it is more than he imagined." Crown Prince Alexander still kept his smile, almost like a breath of fresh air, "My father Have I just told you? We intend to develop the relationship between the two countries in a good direction. To this end, he plans to present his portrait to your majesty and brother - of course, just gifting the portrait is not enough. You know, Minister Treville is a practical person, so let’s just be practical.”

"Your level of practicality is a bit surprising." Fran sighed softly with a hint of ridicule and dissatisfaction. "...The French people would be shocked if they knew what you plan to do to him!"

"Then why don't you let them know?" Crown Prince Alexander's smile deepened, "We are the only ones here, and I will never tell it. Will you tell it?"

"you……"

"Well, don't get angry about this, beautiful Miss Treville. I know that your brother is not a perfect man in morality, so you don't need to say something high-profile and destroy our friendship." Fran wanted to say something, but was stopped by the Crown Prince gently raising his hand. Now his blood-inherited arrogance has been revealed in detail. "Now that it has come to this, it doesn't matter if we are frank - in fact, this matter is very simple. We need your brother's help, and we also know that he will not help us for no reason, so we are creating conditions and reasons for him to help us. I don't see what is necessary to blame. Isn't it right to receive rewards for hard work? As far as I know, Talleyrand received a lot of such rewards - and from more than one foreign government."

His words were so explicit that Fran was a little amused and didn't know whether to be happy that he compared her brother with Talleyrand, but angry that he despised his brother's morality.

However, there was nothing to be angry about. In the eyes of the courts of European countries, wasn't her brother that kind of person?

The point was, should she accept these gifts? When she came to Russia, she didn't receive any instructions about this, and no one told her what to do in such a situation.

"Why, are you still a little uneasy? This is really unnecessary." His Royal Highness Crown Prince Alexander smiled and waved his hand again, urging her to make up her mind quickly, "You are so beautiful and smart, isn't it natural for you to get some gifts from us? Don't think there is anything wrong, you are doing a great job to make the relationship between the two countries go to the right path and make the people of the two countries happy and peaceful!"

"Really...?" His sudden encouragement made Fran a little confused.

"Of course, if the relationship between our two countries has improved because of the efforts of you and your brother, then haven't you done a great thing?" His Royal Highness the Crown Prince asked back firmly, "Since you have done a great thing, why can't we make the greatness worth it? With your achievements, it is only natural to accept the reward you deserve!"

...Flan was already a little stunned. She didn't expect that when needed, the Crown Prince of an empire could actually talk about bribery so high-soundingly.

On the surface, she should refuse this unexpected gift, because she did not receive acceptable instructions, and she should not let Minister Treville have any relationship with the foreign court.

However, after some thought, Fran made another decision.

"Undoubtedly, I hope that the relationship between the two countries can move towards friendship and harmony, because I have a good impression of Russia..." After hesitating for a moment, she gave this answer. "And you and His Majesty are also very friendly to me."

Her eyes were very clear and her face was innocent.

Although it seemed like just polite words, His Royal Highness, who had been trained in social circles for so many years, could certainly hear that this was a promise that was not revealed.

Good guy! Who could tell from such a face that she would accept a large bribe!

At this moment, His Royal Highness suddenly realized that he had almost completely misjudged Miss Treville before. She was not as ignorant of the world as she seemed, but she was very clear-headed and calm in both actions and retreats. What's more, she could make herself look innocent no matter what the circumstances.

The original text can be read in Liu # 9 @Shu/Bar!

God knows how many people this girl has deceived in France. For a moment, His Royal Highness had some strange thoughts about her... Of course, this was just a minor detail. What really made him happy was that his plan and intention had been completed for the most part.

He wanted to restore the relationship between Russia and France, and although his father agreed with his views, he was not willing to make too much effort for it. After all, his attitude was still too arrogant. Tsar Nicholas believed that his portrait was enough to show his sincerity to the French, but Crown Prince Alexander was more willing to believe in the power of gold, silver and jewelry.

As long as Minister Treville, who was deeply trusted by Emperor Napoleon III, could help, then this matter would probably be almost certain. For a moment, he was secretly glad that he had seized this opportunity and found a middleman who was good enough to establish contact with the French court.

If something else could happen with this middleman, wouldn’t it be better...

"Our friendship will never fade." He stretched out his hand with a smile on his face and gently took it towards Fran's hand, "Please keep the box. I think the things in the box are not worth mentioning compared to your beauty. It is their incomparable honor to be able to send them to your hands through my hands..."

"I just conveyed the good intentions of His Majesty the Tsar and you to that person on your behalf. You don't have to compliment me like this. This is really an honor I can't afford." Fran also smiled slightly, and then gently pushed the hand away.

"You really don't want our friendship to last forever?" Crown Prince Alexander asked unwillingly.

"Really." Fran said firmly.

"Okay... okay..." Crown Prince Alexander nodded disappointedly. According to the rules of the social world, it would be embarrassing to hint further. "At least you have established friendship between us and France."

Then, he changed the subject, "As I said before, I also wrote a personal letter to your brother. I hope you can pass it on to him. The content of the letter is very important."

"Of course there is no problem with that. Since I have accepted your gift, I will naturally not let your kindness go to waste." Fran joked with a smile. "However, I cannot guarantee that he will give you a satisfactory answer."

"You just need to deliver the letter, and God will make the judgment for us." Crown Prince Alexander was obviously full of confidence. He could not help but reveal a little in front of Fran, "I believe that he will not be unmoved by our sincerity. To tell you the truth... We plan to build Russia on a large scale in the future, just like the British and French do in their own country, building railways to every corner of the empire, and this requires a lot of funds, countless funds... And now the French have money, and Solomon favors you so much, so we plan to borrow money from France in the future-if Mr. Treville can help us with all his strength, then he can naturally take his own remuneration from these loans."

Even Fran had to be stunned for a moment by such a proposal.

"It's... terrible." After a moment, she could only make such an answer. "Your sincerity has frightened us."

There is no doubt that if Russia really borrows a large amount from France, the amount of funds will be unimaginably huge, even if only a small commission is taken from it...

"I am only sad that what I gave you is too little, so it is not enough to impress you!" Crown Prince Alexander sighed softly, obviously still feeling a little disappointed for being rejected just now, "If you let me know how to impress you, it would be great."

"My heart has been filled with what I pursue. I am really sorry, Your Highness." Fran shook her head.

"Is it a painting? Alas... you artists are always like this." Crown Prince Alexander made his own understanding and then sighed.

"I... I am very happy to be regarded as a member of the Treville family. You gave me a surprise that my brother has not given me yet!" Fran did not explain anything else. She said something that made Crown Prince Alexander confused, and then suddenly turned around and left the room. "May your father and your empire be forever healthy!" (~^~)