Flowers, Swords and France

"What the hell!"

After hearing this name, Prince Jérôme Bonaparte, who had a leisurely look on his face, suddenly turned ugly. Even his eyebrows were trembling on his rich face. It was more frightened than angry. .

Of course Charles knew why he was so shocked, but on the surface he pretended to be ignorant and just looked at Prince Jerome curiously.

It took a while for the prince to gradually regain his composure, and some fine beads of sweat appeared on his forehead.

With great difficulty, he took out a handkerchief from the pocket next to his clothes, and then carefully wiped the sweat from his forehead, taking the opportunity to observe Charles's reaction and judge his local intentions, but Charles had always been confused. He put on a smile but couldn't tell what he was thinking, so he had to put away the handkerchief.

"Well, Charles, tell me what happened?" he asked him in as calm a tone as possible, "where did you meet that man?"

"I met her when I was visiting the UK. It was an accident. I didn't expect such a thing before..." Charles applied a layer of innocent whitewash to himself before continuing. He continued to explain, "I went to visit the Duke of Wellington, and then she approached me..."

"Hell!" Prince Jerome couldn't help but curse again, "How could she run into the Duke of Wellington's house?"

"This is because one of her widowed sisters-in-law has already negotiated a marriage with the Duke of Wellington's brother, so she is now considered a relative of the Duke of Wellington and can obtain permission to enter his home." Charles explained to the prince in a low voice, "Because of this level of in-laws, she seems to be quite respected in the British aristocratic circle now..."

The Ms. Patterson he was talking about was, of course, Ms. Elizabeth Patterson. When Prince Jérôme was young and absurd, he once ran to the United States out of curiosity and wanted to make a career for himself, but the career failed. , but he hooked up with a rich girl, that is, Ms. Patterson.

The wealthy lady in the New World had never seen the flirting skills of Europeans, especially the French. Under the pursuit of Prince Jérôme, they quickly fell in love and registered their marriage in Baltimore in 1803. The prince was only nineteen years old, and his wife was only eighteen.

However, the sweet time of the young couple did not last long. After spending some time in America, Prince Jérôme Bonaparte decided to return to his country to join his brother Napoleon, who had become the First Consul of France. At this time, he was already pregnant. Ms. Elizabeth Patterson also followed her husband on the ship back to Europe, fully expecting that she could integrate into the European aristocratic families.

However, at this time, Napoleon was ready to proclaim himself emperor and make his family the most dazzling royal family in Europe. He wanted his brothers to marry the daughters of the oldest aristocratic families in Europe in order to achieve this goal. So when he heard about his brother's marriage to Ms. Patterson, he became furious and declared that he did not recognize the marriage.

Emperor Napoleon first wanted the Pope to declare the marriage invalid, but the Pope believed that the marriage procedures were complete and could not be annulled, so he refused, so the Emperor simply issued an edict himself not to recognize the marriage.

Because Britain and France were at war at the time, the Jerome couple took a boat to the neutral country of Portugal. But when they arrived on the European continent, they heard the bad news and were shocked and disappointed.

After they discussed for a while, Jérôme decided to return to France first to persuade his brother to change his mind, so he left his wife there. Elizabeth Patterson finally had to go to England to give birth to the child, but her husband Didn't look back.

After arriving in France, Napoleon scolded his young brother for his ridiculous behavior, and then forcefully ordered him to abandon Elizabeth Patterson, who had no aristocratic status, even though Jérôme defended herself in every possible way and told his brother that she was pregnant. Even though she was pregnant, she didn't change her brother's mind.

Of course, Napoleon was not blindly coercive. He also used inducements - he told his brother that he would find a royal princess to be his wife in the future, and find a kingdom for him to put under his control. under rule.

Between becoming a king and keeping his wife and children, His Royal Highness Prince Jerome wisely chose to obey his brother's orders without much struggle. Since then, I have never seen the mother and son again.

Emperor Napoleon fulfilled his promise. He later let Jerome marry Princess Katherina of the Duchy of Württemberg, and also created a Kingdom of Westphalia and made his brother the real king.

Unfortunately, the good times did not last long, the empire soon collapsed, and the Kingdom of Westphalia disappeared with the fall of Napoleon and became a relic of history.

However, unlike Queen Louisa who betrayed Emperor Napoleon, Queen Catherine did not abandon her husband, but continued to live in seclusion with Prince Jerome, and finally gave birth to three children for him, two boys and one girl, while Jerome The Mu branch has become the most prosperous branch of the Bonaparte family now.

During these decades, Prince Jerome made no attempt to contact Ms. Patterson and her son. He had obviously made a decision and left them all behind.

Therefore, when he heard Ciel mention this person, his reaction was so violent.

Ms. Elizabeth Patterson's brother, Robert Patterson, married a wealthy woman, Marianne Caton. After his death in 1822, his widow finally decided to marry Wei, who was also widowed after many years of widowhood. The Marquess of Ulsley - the brother of the Duke of Wellington.

Napoleon, who was born a wealthy man in the countryside of Corsica, looked down on the wealthy Americans and did not want his brothers to marry them. As a result, the British aristocrats who had been passed down from generation to generation did not have so many scruples, which is a bit sad to say.

However, Prince Jérôme was not in the mood to lament now. On the contrary, he was a little panicked, because he knew in his heart that he did owe the mother and son a lot, and the more he owed them, the less he wanted to see them and hear about them. their news.

"Ha...is that so..." Prince Jérôme laughed dryly, but there was not much smile visible, "Then did she tell you anything?"

"Well... I was shocked when I heard her identity just now. Out of respect for the late emperor's will, I didn't want to say anything to her at first, but she was very insistent and kept chasing me. Ask to talk to me in detail." Charles shrugged slightly, as if he was very regretful. "In the end, out of respect for a woman, I had to be patient and listen to what she had to say."

"Hey! Why are you telling her so many rules?" The prince couldn't help sighing, "Don't you know, she won't have anything nice to say to me or the empire! Why bother to listen more? !”

Because he was tied up in his heart, he couldn't care less about his image now.

After a moment, he remembered that this was not appropriate, so he reluctantly sat up straight again, "Okay, what did she say to you?"

"I'm afraid you guessed wrong. She didn't have anything particularly bad to say about the empire, and she almost never mentioned you." Ciel lied without blinking an eye. "She just said that she wanted to take her grandson with her." Come to live in the Empire together, and let her grandson serve the Empire and contribute his due contribution to the cause of the Bonaparte family. "

"Grandson?" Prince Jérôme asked in confusion.

"Yes, her son gave birth to two more sons in the United States." Charles nodded, trying not to let the ridicule in his heart show. "One is older and has served in the army after graduating from West Point Military Academy. , one was born recently.”

"Really...I already have two grandchildren..." Prince Jérôme sighed again, as if a little softness appeared in his heart for a moment.

But this softness disappeared immediately. He raised his head again and told Charles, "Don't let them go back to France, otherwise everything will be messed up? No, no!"

When the prince was anxious, Charles did not speak, but just sat calmly.

His attitude gave Prince Jérôme an extremely bad feeling, and he couldn't help but open his eyes wide.

"You...you haven't told His Majesty, have you?"

Ciel still didn't answer, just looked at the other person with a smile.

"You...you...what have you done! Why did you only tell His Majesty and wait until now to tell me?"

The prince was so angry that he stood up in excitement, his whole body was trembling, and even his white hair was shaking. "How can you... take care of my family affairs? What qualifications do you have to take care of it? Damn it! No! Absolutely not!"

Because of anger and anxiety, the prince's words were already somewhat incoherent, and his face became very ugly. If it weren't for the fact that there was still some sense left, he might have hit Ciel with his cane - although it was almost done now.

"Don't be anxious, Your Highness...it's important to take care of yourself." Charles waved his hand gently, signaling the old man not to be too angry, "This matter is very important, and it is also a matter of the Bonaparte family, so after After careful consideration, the decision will be reported to His Majesty, and then he will make the decision. After all, he is the patriarch of the Bonaparte family now, and he should be in charge of all matters related to the Bonaparte family, right? "

"But I am also his uncle, and I am the person involved!" Prince Jérôme immediately interrupted him with a roar, "How could you hide it from me!?"

"After His Majesty's careful judgment, he decided that it would be best for him to make a decision first, so I didn't tell you immediately." Charles shook his head seemingly aggrieved, "Besides, haven't I told you now? Did you?"

Read the original text in Liu#9@书/吧!

"What's the point of telling me now? Huh, Your Majesty... Your Majesty! What's the point of talking about His Majesty? Are you trying to scare me? Who doesn't know that you are selfish? Don't act like you are passionate and loyal! Prince Jérôme did not look fooled by him. Instead, he sneered, "Besides, your Majesty is your Majesty, but my son and I are princes, and we are your Majesty's successors. Have you forgotten this?" ”

"At least for now, I must be loyal to Your Majesty. What's wrong with that? If something unexpected happens one day, it won't be too late for me to be loyal to you again." Charles's expression also became serious, " Also, Your Highness, I have to point out to you that you have said some very, very inappropriate words. If strictly held accountable, even you will not be able to take responsibility. Although I can keep it confidential for you, you'd better not Keep talking like this."

His cold words finally calmed Prince Jerome down a little.

The prince thought about it, and then realized that at least he couldn't do anything to Charles now-he had just proved this.

"Okay, okay, Charles, I'm sorry, I'm a little excited." He sat down again in a daze, and then tried to speak to the other party in a gentle tone, "So has your Majesty made a decision now? Can you tell me now?"

"Your Majesty is still considering it." Charles did not dwell on what happened just now, but answered very calmly, "But in my opinion, he is more inclined to agree to this request. After all, the Bonaparte family is small, and in order to maintain the empire, it is good to have one more helper..."

"No... Don't let her come back!" Prince Jerome shouted in despair, "This will be a huge temporary difficulty. You don't know how hard her heart is."

"Your opinion... Actually, I I also somewhat agree. Although I have no contact with her, from her performance that day, she is indeed a determined woman. "Charles nodded in agreement, "and she has a strong desire for revenge."

"Yes, that's right! So why should we do as she wishes!" The prince nodded repeatedly, "Charles, do me a favor and ask His Majesty to keep her out of the country!"

The prince couldn't go to the emperor to plead in person, because that would mean that he had learned the secrets; and the prince also knew that if he went to plead with His Majesty, it would probably only make him more determined - because Louis-Bonaparte was actually quite wary of Jerome's family, and calling back the grandson left behind by the prince was probably just to divide his family.

I think Elizabeth Patterson and her grandson would not have a good impression of Jerome's family.

"Well..." Charles deliberately pondered for a while.

After His Royal Highness got a little anxious, he nodded, "Actually, I think the same as you, and we should indeed stop it. But... you also know His Majesty's character. If he has made up his mind, it will not be so easy to change it - so I think, if she can't come back, just let the grandson go back to the country."

"Like this?" Prince Jerome pondered again. "Can't we try harder?"

Charles spread his hands.

The prince lowered his head, thought carefully, and finally breathed a sigh of relief. "Okay, let's do it this way, Charles, please be sure not to let her set foot on French soil, please do me this favor!"

"Okay, Your Highness, I will do everything I can to fulfill your wish." Charles nodded immediately.

As he said, after receiving his report, Louis-Bonaparte did tend to agree to this request, but Charles also lied - Ms. Elizabeth Patterson did not ask him to let her come to France, but just wanted her grandson to come back.

He deliberately blurred the difference in order to scare the prince, to pressure him with his majesty's will, and then lower the conditions a little bit.

He not only wanted to let the prince know that he owed him a favor, but also to let his highness know that such a disaster could happen again at any time - so he should still ask for help in the future.

At the same time, he will also fulfill his promise to the lady and let her grandson set foot on French soil. Although he can't directly bear the title of the royal family, he can at least enjoy some of the honor he deserves.

And that Bonaparte will become another friend of his in the royal family.

With this joyful mood, he looked at Prince Jerome again.

The poor old man was obviously exhausted because of the double torment of anger and shock just now.

And he was very happy about this. (~^~)