Flowers, Swords and France

November 1, 1864

This is a desolate land, so harsh that anyone would believe that it is not suitable for human habitation.

As far as the eye can see, the cloudless sky, covered by the mist woven by floating sand, shows a pale blue mixed with paleness, which looks fragile and lifeless.

And on the ground, there is a vast desert, a dead sea of ​​sand.

This desert is majestic and quiet, with a stern face, and is always a dazzling yellow. It seems that nature has solidified the surging waves and the empty angry waves here in an instant, making it still forever.

If it is a hot summer, this will be a terrible hot zone, making everyone who visits here feel extremely uncomfortable. Only when it enters winter, the climate becomes a little more comfortable.

However, although the weather conditions are still good now, the wind is not strong, and there is no yellow sand flying in the sky, but the dry air mixed with a little dust makes people always feel that their noses are a little dry.

This desert has no end in sight. It slowly expands at a speed that cannot be judged by the naked eye, ruthlessly devouring all the areas it passes through, dispersing all living things from wherever it goes, turning the sand sea into hell, and making everyone hate it.

What else can attract people to such a barren land?

Yes.

At this moment, a group of people are walking in the yellow sand, and these "things" that are enough to attract people to rush here stand proudly in front of everyone.

These are some tall stone buildings, presenting a perfect square pyramid shape, shining in the sun, announcing their existence in a ostentatious way, casting their huge shadows on the ground, mocking the world thousands of years later.

People call them pyramids.

These pyramids of all sizes stand quietly in the yellow sand, quietly telling the glory that belongs to themselves and to the empire that no longer exists.

Everyone who passes by them will leave this world and turn into a cup of yellow earth. The achievements of every emperor will also vanish into thin air, but they can continue to stand for thousands of years, as if time has solidified on them.

A group of people stood under the largest pyramid, looking at the gifts left by the ancients to the world.

Because it was already afternoon, their shadows were getting longer and longer, as if they had turned into giants lying flat on the golden carpet.

Standing in the front were a man and a woman, both middle-aged people in their thirties, dressed very formally. The man wore a black suit, a tie and a cane, and the woman also wore a gray dress. Her gray hair was carefully tied behind her head, and she wore a pair of gray tortoise-shell framed glasses.

Perhaps because of their pampered life, they have not completely lost the handsomeness and beauty of their youth, and because of their years of experience, they have also become more solemn and mature.

Looking at these tall pyramids, the middle-aged man seemed to be in high spirits. He threw away his cane and opened his hands to wave in the wind. The small sand and gravel blowing in his face did not affect his complacent excitement.

"I am under the pyramids, looking at the world for four thousand years!" He said to the endless wind and sand and the pyramids.

His voice wandered among these huge buildings, like a giant's announcement to the world.

However, his complacent and arrogant announcement did not achieve the expected effect, but instead caused a woman next to him to frown and complain.

"Well, Charles, you are already old, why do you still say such big words... Aren't you afraid of being laughed at by the children?" She gently pulled his sleeve.

"What do you mean by big talk?" The middle-aged man asked back in dissatisfaction, "Napoleon said this back then, can't I say it now?"

This man is Charles de Treville, Duke of Cresson, who is now the Prime Minister of the French Empire. Because Her Majesty the Queen is young, he handles all state affairs alone, and can be said to be the uncrowned king of France.

He is indeed qualified to be so complacent. In the political changes brought about by the sudden death of His Majesty the Emperor Napoleon III, he won a great victory, supported the young Queen, drove away other princes of the Bonaparte family, and monopolized power. Under his strong rule, all domestic oppositions have been quashed.

Moreover, because of the Duke's own efforts and ability, the originally turbulent economy of the empire has regained its chances of victory, and the country has prospered again, which can be said to be thriving.

At the same time, driven by the Duke, the financial capital that expanded in the economic development of the empire also began to go out and began to invest heavily abroad. Egypt became the focus of French investment. In order to connect Europe, the Far East and India, the French government headed by the Duke decided to dig a canal in the Isthmus of Suez to connect the arteries of the whole world.

After a series of political measures, France finally got the approval of the Governor of Egypt and established a special company to build the canal. In order to declare his status, the Duke decided to visit Egypt in person when the canal was started.

The woman next to him is the Duchess Matilda de Treville. They have been married for more than ten years and have always had a very good relationship.

To be honest, Lady Matilda's opinion was also a major driving force behind the Duke's decision to go to Egypt in person - Matilda likes to study books and documents, and has long been fascinated by the ancient architecture and scenery of Egypt, so she wanted to I want to take the opportunity to visit Egypt together.

So after some manipulation by the Duke, the couple made the trip. As soon as they arrived in Egypt, they were warmly welcomed by Pasha Said I. This Pasha had long been interested in flattering the powerful Duke Kirson. , so the Duke and Duchess were given the courtesy of a foreign monarch - and no one thought there was anything unusual about this courtesy.

Under the very warm reception of the Egyptians, the Duke also enjoyed the flattery and fear of him, so it was normal to feel complacent when visiting the pyramids.

Seeing her husband's behavior, Matilda couldn't help but smile softly, just like looking at a willful child.

"Okay, okay... stop making trouble." She continued to tug on her husband's sleeves, coaxing him like a child. "A lot of people are watching."

"It's rare to be able to play a hero..." Ciel had to lower his hand with some indignation. "Think about it, I also made such bold statements under the pyramid. Wouldn't this scene be recorded in the annals of history by biographers?"

"Heroes don't need to act, just do what a hero should do. As long as you serve the people and His Majesty wholeheartedly, make the country prosperous, and everyone lives and works in peace and contentment, then you are a hero, and there is no need to go out of your way. Do you want to do more?" Matilda suddenly turned her head, looked at the child next to her, and asked with a smile. "Caroline, is dad a hero?"

"Dad is a hero!" The child opened his eyes wide and nodded without hesitation.

The child is the eldest daughter of the Duke and Duchess, Miss Caroline de Treville. She is now twelve years old. Like her mother, she wears a rather ordinary gray skirt without any extra decorations. She also wears the same pair of glasses, just like a miniature version of her mother.

She is more than just like her mother. Like her mother, she has also been fond of reading since she was a child, and is very interested in historical documents and materials from all over the world - which is why she wore glasses at a young age. , although she is a little confused in life, she is also very kind-hearted and has never been proud of being the daughter of a duke.

After receiving this answer, Matilda turned back to her husband with a smile on her face.

"You see...even the children know..."

Charles could only smile and nodded, because he knew that his wife was taking the opportunity to admonish him again this time.

But his reaction did not satisfy his wife. Matilda still stared at him and asked again. "Char, I think you know what I'm talking about, right? You should be nice to Your Majesty, because she is Your Majesty after all."

"Okay, Matilda, I understand." Charles waved his hand, seeming a little impatient.

"Don't be like this!" Matilda, her vision behind the lens was full of persistence, "I won't interfere with your usual things, because I know you can do it well, but this is the only thing I have objections to and I hope you will listen. My word, because she is not only your majesty, but also Victor's wife! If you make her angry, think about it, what a disaster it will be for the children! I hope our son is happy, too! I hope she can be as happy as possible.”

"From Nunnally's point of view, she will be aggrieved no matter what I do." Ciel shook his head.

"But this is not the reason for you to treat her harshly." Although Charles looked unhappy, Matilda still stubbornly advised, "If we make her feel that everything is not so bad, then she can at least endure it. . If we make her despair, then she will hate everything about us, and even forget the fact that we are also her protectors, and she will not be able to retain the throne without us, and this will be very detrimental to you and the Treville family. Yes, isn't it?"

Charles wanted to walk away to avoid the question, but Matilda held his hand and refused to back down at all.

Charles knew that Matilda was like this. She could usually accommodate everything, but once she became stubborn, she had to get a satisfactory answer.

"Okay, I'll be nice to Nunnally." In the end, he could only nod his head, which was considered a promise to his wife.

After Charles agreed, Matilda was finally relieved, and then burst out laughing.

"What's wrong?" Charles was a little surprised by her reaction.

"It's really strange... You are usually so strict with her, but in private you only call her Nunnally and never Your Majesty." Matilda replied with a smile.

"...This is just a personal habit. I really can't call a child Your Majesty." Charles was stunned for a moment, obviously he didn't realize the problem. "Maybe after helping her for a long time, I regarded her as a daughter. Bar."

"Then you should be nicer to her!" Matilda shook her head. "Forget it... You are usually too tough towards outsiders. I don't expect you to be very good at this kind of thing. I just want you to do a superficial job, and I will do the rest. "

"What do you mean?" Charles was a little confused.

"When we return home, let me go to the palace and be your majesty's teacher. It's almost time for her to find a teacher to learn from." Matilda whispered.

"You...why?" Charles was really surprised now.

"I want to be a good teacher, teach her what I know, patiently support her to grow up, let her master the etiquette and knowledge that an emperor should master, and at least let her not hate you so much." Mathil Da explained to her husband carefully, "In addition, I can also take this opportunity to get rid of the usual boring banquets. You don't know, every time I attend, a large group of people are fawning and flattering. It's really heartbreaking to see." It’s boring, and I hate this kind of excitement.”

"...Isn't it a good thing for others to flatter you? It means they respect you." Ciel was a little confused.

"Why do I want others to be in awe? Don't I know how sincere they are when they flatter me? Fake flattery will only be harmful, it will prevent me from enjoying the fun of communicating with others, and it will just be a waste of time. Matilda disagreed, "I have seen too much such flattery since I was a child. If there is nothing worth remembering, I might as well spend my time reading books."

Charles was silent.

Matilda rarely asked for anything from him, so he couldn't bear to refuse. Besides, it was always a good thing to have Her Majesty in the palm of his hand.

"Okay... I hope you can teach her well. I feel that she has a very bad temper. She can't stand anyone. It's very difficult to deal with this kind of little hairy who doesn't know the heights of the world." Charles nodded, Agree to my wife's request.

"She just lacks security and love. This is not her fault. Who told her to be born in a royal family, lose her father early, and experience so many changes? After all, we still owe her something." Matilda He sighed, obviously feeling emotional about some things, "We can't change the past, but we can find ways to change it in the future - I want to give her the things she lacks."

"If it were you, maybe you could do it." Charles looked at his wife, "You have such a good heart."

"No, I'm not kind enough. We have done too many terrible things, and I'm afraid we will have to do more in the future. And I will follow you regardless of any moral concerns, because you are my husband." Matilda smiled bitterly and shook her head, "Only when we are safe can I show my kindness. How can such a person deserve to be called a good person? It's almost a kind of hypocrisy."

"At least better than me." Charles looked at his wife, and then suddenly took her hand, "I love you."

"Don't say that. Aren't you embarrassed? The child is still there!" Matilda blushed a little.

She immediately changed the subject, "Also, the children might as well follow me and accompany His Majesty in class. This will allow them to build a relationship with His Majesty from an early age."

"Is it necessary to do this?" Charles hesitated. "The children are still young... they should have some fun first."

"Of course it is necessary! How can children just know how to play? You usually know how to do your own thing. When you want to get closer to them, you like to use this method to spoil the children. This is different from bribing children. What's the difference? You can't buy children this way. Love it." The duchess persuaded her husband patiently, "Besides, what does money mean to us now? Our children must not learn to spend money like some dandies. They should. Learn to do something more meaningful.”

Is it meaningful to look at drawings and stone tablets with a magnifying glass? Charles wanted to ask Matilda a question, but in the end he did not ask.

In general, it is better to indulge in old papers than to be arrogant and extravagant, Ciel thought to himself.

At this time, the sun was gradually approaching the horizon, and there was some golden light in the sky. Against this light, the buildings on the horizon looked even more magnificent.

Before the blush on Matilda's face faded, she walked to her daughter, and then took her through these magnificent buildings, from the small pyramids to the largest pyramids, and finally at Stopped beside the Sphinx.

Right here, the two largest pyramids, the Pyramid of Khufu and the Pyramid of Khafre, stood in front of them.

The golden glow passed between the side-by-side pyramids, and the magnificent scenery made almost everyone feel shocked.

This is a building built thousands of years ago. God knows how much the pharaohs paid for it at that time.

In 1852, a French archaeologist named Auguste found a life-size statue of Havre carved from black volcanic stone near the Sphinx. Near the statue were the remains of a building that was later known as For the temple valley.

This statue was sent to France by him, and now it has become a national collection. Because Matilda and Caroline are very interested in these things, these Egyptian cultural relics-obelisks, statues, and a lot more Documents - I have read them carefully.

When they came to Egypt and saw the majesty of the pyramids with their own eyes, their desire for knowledge could not help but become higher and higher, and they forgot the passage of time for a while. While observing, they discussed with each other, put forward their own guesses, and prepared for people to continue archaeological excavations here.

As a husband and father, Charles was not in such a mood. He just stayed beside them with a smile on his face. Although there were few people here, there was actually a large group of cavalrymen who had set up a cordon around them. No one could get close within a few miles, and no one would disturb the Duke's family's tour here.

The original text is available at 6 # 9 @Books/Bar!

When they arrived at the foot of the Pyramid of Khufu, Caroline was still young and felt that she could no longer walk. She wanted to rest, so Matilda finally stopped talking to her daughter and turned her attention back to her husband next to her.

"Let's go in and take a look together?" Matilda suddenly asked Charles, as if she was just talking about something ordinary, but her tone was a little trembling.

The setting sun in the evening looked like a red ball hanging in the sky. It no longer had the courage of noon, but was a little more gentle - as red as Matilda's face.

She wanted to be alone with me for a while, and Charles understood what his wife meant.

In fact, she also has a little bit of romantic feelings in her heart - just not the same as ordinary people.

"Okay." Charles nodded with a smile.

The two of them left Caroline and walked into the passage of the pyramid.

In 1798, in order to avoid the fierce political struggle within the Republic's Directory, Napoleon, after obtaining the consent of his backers, led an expedition to Egypt with a large army.

In addition to a French army, he also brought a "scientific expedition team" composed of more than 200 experts and scholars. These expedition teams not only investigated the cultural relics and monuments all over Egypt - the focus was naturally the pyramids, but also focused on excavating cultural relics and bringing them back to France.

Some of them had entered the Pyramid of Khufu, but found nothing. One night in the following year, Napoleon himself entered the tower. It is said that he ordered his entourage to leave, and then stayed alone in the funeral palace to meditate. When he walked out of the tower, he was pale and panicked. Someone asked him what happened, but he kept silent and just ordered to leave quickly.

This anecdote once became an unsolved case. Many people have speculated about what kind of revelation the meteor that once burst into glory on the European continent and was so blazing that people could not look directly at it got here?

Charles walked into the pyramid with his wife in the dim light with a subtle feeling.

Although there were vents in the pyramid, the air still made him feel a little stuffy as soon as he entered, but Matilda was very interested. Although she had never been here, she took Charles through it with her memory of the documents in her mind.

As they walked, Matilda was explaining to her husband, and Charles also responded vaguely.

Finally, they passed through the deep corridors and aisles and walked to the deepest part, which was also the king's funeral room where Napoleon once stood alone. There was a huge sarcophagus here, and the irony was that the coffin was empty.

There was nothing. In order to let his soul rest, the pharaoh spent countless material and human resources to build such a terrible building.

However, in the end, his body did not rest here.

Maybe it was because of the uprising, maybe it was because of the tomb robbery, maybe this is the meaning of death.

"A person actually has to do so many things for his own death! It's terrible." Matilda looked around with a look of awe. "And after we die, it's enough to be buried together quietly. The tomb only needs a few feet wide."

Charles didn't speak, not because the air was dull.

But because he wanted to get a revelation like Emperor Napoleon.

Maybe it's about fate, maybe it's about his future achievements.

Finally, he got a revelation.

As if he was moved by someone, he looked at his wife's eyes scanning around, and suddenly his heart was filled with an indescribable love.

She wanted to be buried with me.

"Matilda, I love you."

Matilda turned her head and looked at her husband in surprise.

Charles didn't let the passion slowly fade away. Instead, he suddenly walked forward and hugged his wife from behind.

"Matilda, I love you... I have done so many things to let you down before." He leaned against Matilda's back, almost crying, "But I really love you"

Matilda looked at her husband in confusion, but was moved by his affectionate confession.

"You don't have to apologize to me. Our fathers and ancestors all went through this. We just need to love each other." She smiled slightly.

"No... It's different. I owe you too much." Charles hugged his wife tightly, "Time is short. The pyramids can exist for thousands of years, but what about us? They will disappear in a few decades."

"At least we can be buried together, right?" Matilda replied in a low voice.

After hearing this, Charles couldn't bear it anymore. He suddenly grabbed Matilda's waist and gently pushed her shoulders forward.

Caught off guard, Matilda almost hit her head on the sarcophagus, but she quickly reached out to hold the sarcophagus, then turned back and looked at her husband in horror.

"Charles, what's wrong with you?" she asked in panic.

In her eyes, her husband suddenly became a little rude, his eyes were a little red, and he looked like he was crazy.

However, Charles was not crazy, he was just emotional.

He was not a man who was easily moved, but now, when he was alone with his wife, he found that feeling again.

The excitement he felt when he first united with Matilda.

It was as if he had finally found the only person in the world.

He wanted to catch this person and keep her by his side... He wanted to unite with her...

It was like this more than a decade ago, and it was still like this more than a decade later.

At this time, the Duke and Duchess were in a strange posture. The Duke stood at the back, while the Duchess was forced to bend over and had to hold the Pharaoh's sarcophagus with both hands to maintain balance, and her hips were raised.

But something more shameful was still to come.

Charles suddenly picked up the hem of Matilda's skirt, and then he casually wanted to lift it up, and then he casually pulled down the cover under his body, and suddenly a large piece of dazzling white seemed to make the dim funeral palace brighter.

"Are you crazy?" Matilda reached now, of course, she understood what was wrong with her husband.

But it happened to be in such a place...

She had a feeling of almost shame in her heart.

"No, I'm not crazy!" A strange smile appeared on Charles' face. "I want to prove to the world that no matter what Pharaoh and Napoleon did, there is at least one thing that cannot compare to me. One thing..."

Matilda wanted to struggle frantically, but she was no match for Charles' strength. Soon, something familiar to her entered her body, as if it was a branding iron, making her feel a little painful.

You bastard! She couldn't help cursing in her heart.

"You...you...we..." She wanted to say something, but she couldn't form a sentence. She was pushed forward constantly, but her waist was held in her husband's hand, so she couldn't move a step in the end, and the clothes on her chest swung to the edge of the sarcophagus again and again, almost scraping it.

In this environment, the two people now seem to be alone, but it seems not, and she is also in pain and shame, but she has a wonderful feeling.

And Charles's confession of "Matilda, I love you" just now is still floating in her ears.

Charles...actually I love you too.

As the feeling of happiness in her heart gradually rose, the secreted liquid also made her husband's movement smoother.

When she was pushed again and again, her mind was finally lost, and she could no longer care about anything else. She couldn't help but let out a slight hum.

"Charles, wait... um... wait until we go out, what should we do?" She asked while humming.

"Isn't that just right? Let the lion head outside witness our love, isn't that good?" Charles laughed and answered. "Don't worry, no one dares to gossip about us."

"Idiot! This is... this is... the Sphinx, not the lion's head!" She mustered up her last bit of strength and whispered to correct her husband's statement.

"Okay, but who cares!" Charles laughed, and then continued to speed up the pulling under him.

His laughter, mixed with Matilda's suppressed dull hum, and then the sound of body collision, and a little dripping water, continued to echo in this stone room. (~^~)