Flowers, Swords and France

As night falls, Her Majesty Queen Karona's birthday celebration has reached its peak. The palace's salutes are still roaring, and the fireworks that have been prepared in every corner of the city also begin to bloom in large numbers in the air. Amidst the sound of cannons and neighing, Various Colorful halos of light spread in the air, forming fleeting beautiful scenes one after another. Residents in the city also enjoyed these fireworks performances at home and on the streets, and many people reveled in the streets. Celebrating the birthday of Her Majesty the Queen of the Empire.

In such a night of national celebration, His Majesty Emperor Franz-Josef of the Austrian Empire and his fiancée also became the center of attention. After dinner, the palace began a grand dance, attended by ministers and celebrities, between the two majesties and their wives Dancing gracefully under the leadership of his wife, under the care of the luxurious crystal chandeliers in the palace, the jewels and jewels are overflowing, and the eyes are full of dancing ladies in gorgeous clothes. The scene is dazzling, almost recreating Napoleon The grandeur of the imperial court during the emperor's time.

It wasn't until late at night that the banquet finally came to an end. The lights slowly went out, and the palace fell into silence again. Queen Karona's birthday finally passed, and the celebration that had been prepared for a long time finally came to an end.

However, the Austrian Emperor's journey was not over; for him, it had just begun.

He participated in the birthday celebration of Queen Kalona with a polite onlooker attitude, and did not think it was very important. However, some things were crucial to Austria, and these things must be resolved through some kind of update. To do it in a secretive way.

At noon on the second day after the celebration, escorted by a group of uniformed Guards cavalry, the carriage carrying the Austrian Emperor and his fiancée slowly drove out of Paris, arrived on the outskirts of the city, and then stopped. Arriving at a mansion.

This is the residence of His Excellency Minister Treville. It was originally the residence of the former Prince Jourville. After the Bonaparte family's rebellion, it was half sold and half given to Minister Treville. , and today His Majesty Franz-Joseph personally visited the residence of the former prince and current minister - of course this cannot be just a courtesy visit.

The servants in the mansion were all wearing new-style uniforms, and even the buttons were polished. They moved very quickly, and their expressions were respectful and a little nervous. Everyone seemed to feel that they could receive an emperor. There is honor.

An Austrian emperor's visit to France was something that had never happened in hundreds of years, and a visit to a French minister was even more unheard of. From this, we can see their master's status in the imperial court and in the eyes of European countries. Naturally, Let them feel proud.

Under the pretended indifference of the servants, His Majesty the Emperor and his fiancée passed through the vestibule and walked hand in hand under the pillars at the entrance of the mansion. At this time, the Charles couple who had already been waiting under the pillars immediately He walked down the steps and met the unmarried couple with aloof status.

"Your Majesty, I am very grateful to you for coming to my humble home. This really makes me excited." After Charles walked to the emperor, he bowed down and saluted him respectfully, "Now, our whole family is gathered together. , they all look forward to the honor of hosting you.”

"I hope you won't have to work too hard because of our visit." His Majesty Franz-Joseph just smiled lightly. Although he spoke very modestly, he was also quite reserved and seemed to maintain a lukewarm distance. . "Please, you and your servants, please relax, otherwise it will be really embarrassing."

"Although you have a humble and kind heart, you can't stop people from admiring you, Your Majesty." Charles complimented the other person with a smile on his face, "We are all looking forward to today's arrival very enthusiastically, and hope that you can be with us We receive the most meticulous service here, so I beg you not to worry about us, Your Majesty.”

"This is really embarrassing." His Majesty Franz-Josef smiled and nodded. Obviously, he felt a little benefit from Charles's compliment, even though he knew it was just a courtesy.

While the two were talking politely, Charlotte also walked up to Princess Elizabeth and complimented her as well. However, the princess looked a little timid and didn't seem to know how to deal with this couple. Fortunately, Charlotte also knew that the princess was not likely to be able to cope with such social situations, so she just smiled at her and did not make the princess feel embarrassed.

While talking and laughing, His Majesty the Emperor and Her Majesty the Princess had already walked into the mansion under the leadership of Charles and Charlotte. At this time, there were several people waiting in the hall. The two young people were Charlotte. brothers Philippe and Eugène, and the young lady was Charles's sister.

The younger generation of the Treville family have gathered together to welcome the arrival of His Majesty the Emperor.

In front of His Majesty the Emperor, Charles introduced these young people one by one, and then they all bowed respectfully to His Majesty the Emperor and Her Royal Highness the Princess, and both of them responded very politely, and the hall was suddenly filled with The atmosphere became very harmonious.

For some reason, Charles felt that compared to the palace, His Majesty the Emperor and His Royal Highness the Princess were more comfortable and not as reserved as they were yesterday. Perhaps this was because there were fewer people here, so His Majesty the Emperor didn't have to say too many polite words. Secondly, the Treville family was an ancient aristocratic family after all, and compared with the Bonaparte family, it made His Majesty the Emperor feel more comfortable.

The young members of the Treville family also felt proud of it. Although they were born into a duke's family, how could they have the opportunity to speak to the emperor of a country in person? Philip and Eugene were both a little excited, thinking that this would be something they could brag about to their friends in the future.

As for Fran, she was much calmer. She had already talked and laughed with the Russian Tsar and His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, and had a lot of experience in dealing with such big figures. She no longer had a psychological sense of looking up to them. She had been taught by her brother since she was a child, and she didn't think these people were worth looking up to, because she was more comfortable dealing with them.

However, in the gap when no one noticed, she carefully watched Princess Elizabeth for a long time, as if to find out why she could be praised by her brother.

Princess Elizabeth could not feel that she was being calmly evaluated. On the contrary, she seemed a lot happier while chatting and laughing with Treville. After all, even the oldest Philip and Charlotte were only in their twenties. It was much more comfortable to be with a group of young people than to face a group of old men wearing uniforms and medals.

While chatting and laughing, a servant took a box and walked to Charlotte's side respectfully. Charlotte took the box calmly and handed it directly to Her Royal Highness.

"Dear Your Highness, I am very presumptuous to ask you to accept our gift so that you can have a better memory..." She said with a smile, "It's just a small gift, please don't dislike it."

Her Royal Highness was a little overwhelmed by this sudden move. She looked at her fiancé next to her, not knowing whether she should accept it.

The Emperor did not hesitate, he nodded slightly, after all, it would be a bit too much to refuse the gift from Charlotte on such an occasion.

So Her Royal Highness took the small box with both hands, and then opened it and took a look.

"Ah." She exclaimed softly.

Inside the small box was a string of black pearl necklaces. These pearls were round in shape and almost the same size. They shone against the red velvet, making people feel inexplicably moved.

Although her family was not a particularly wealthy family, Her Royal Highness, who had been chosen as the fiancée of the Austrian Emperor, was of course accustomed to all kinds of jewelry. However, when she saw such a beautiful necklace in a hurry, she would naturally be moved in an instant according to human nature.

Seeing the princess so moved, Charlotte's smile became even more joyful. These black pearls were brought from the South Pacific Islands by Charlotte through their distant relative, Count de La Touche-Treville. They were really rare treasures, and the pearls used in this pearl necklace were carefully selected from these pearls, which took her a lot of effort.

However, when she saw how much the princess liked it, all the efforts were not in vain.

"It's really bad that you gave such a valuable gift..." After a moment of heartbeat, the princess immediately woke up, then looked up at Charles and Charlotte, "We are just here to visit today, and it's already very bad to make your family mobilize so many people. I really don't dare to trouble you like this."

She certainly knew that there was no precious gift in the world that could be obtained for no reason. God knows what the Treville family was planning by giving such a valuable thing. She didn't want to embarrass her fiancé, who was the emperor.

"If you are willing to accept this small gift, it will be the greatest compliment to us." Charlotte still smiled, "I hope you can give us such an honor."

Charlotte did not give the princess any chance to retreat, which made the princess even more embarrassed. She looked at her fiancé again, but Emperor Franz-Joseph still nodded calmly, not taking this matter to heart at all.

The Habsburg emperor never had to worry about gold and silver treasures, and he would not feel that he owed anyone a favor. At most, he could just give a return gift casually. Anyway, there were many heirloom jewels in his treasure house.

"Thank you for your kindness, madam." After seeing the emperor's approval, Her Royal Highness was relieved and immediately thanked Charlotte. "I really hope to repay you."

"If you are satisfied with our hospitality, then it will be the best reward." Charlotte replied with a smile.

After Her Royal Highness accepted the gift, the atmosphere between these people became more harmonious, and there was a bit of relaxation unique to young people in the conversation and laughter.

However, this sense of relaxation was not what the Emperor of Austria was looking for. He looked at Charles again and nodded slightly, indicating that it was almost time.

Charles naturally understood what he meant, stood up from his chair, and bowed to the Emperor again, "I am very happy to talk to you again, Your Majesty."

The original text can be read at Six # 9 @Books/Bar!

He said it without meaning it, but His Majesty's expression froze slightly.

Apparently, his words reminded His Majesty of the last meeting between the two. At that time, he had diplomatic staff to help him, but Charles still controlled the direction of the talks with a strong attitude, and allowed him to boast about the strength of France. This strong attitude was naturally not liked by His Majesty.

However, His Majesty has long been familiar with working with those he doesn't like.

He made a gesture, and Charles immediately left the table and took His Majesty to his study. Of course, the others also understood, and no one said anything about it.

Soon, they came to the study. After closing the door, the laughter in the living room had been isolated by the door. It was already quiet here, and then Charles opened the curtains, allowing the beautiful scenery of the garden to be seen from the window.

"It's a pleasure to talk to you again, Your Majesty." Charles walked back to His Majesty and sat down.

"It is indeed something to look forward to." His Majesty the Emperor replied in a low voice, but he did not seem very enthusiastic.

He did not want to continue to say polite words, "Please tell me, under the current situation, are you and France ready to fulfill the promise you made to our country at that time?"

"I am afraid that at this time, our ambassador to Russia has already issued an ultimatum to the Russian government." Charles was frank with His Majesty Emperor Franz-Joseph with a rare honest attitude.

"What?!" With the initial astonishment, His Majesty the Emperor could not help but exclaimed.

Then, the astonishment immediately faded, replaced by anxiety and... anger.

He was originally afraid that the French would not be active enough and would not fulfill their promise to stop the Russians' behavior by force, but he did not expect that the French would actually be ready to issue an ultimatum to the Russians now!

There is no doubt that this was a premeditated move by them. Considering the time of communication between Paris and St. Petersburg, this must have been a time determined in advance. In other words, they had to use this time to show their power to both the Russians and the Austrians, and at the same time make this move look like a common position between France and Austria.

Too active, too active, so active that now he has been dragged into an embarrassing situation.

Originally, he thought that even if the French wanted to take military action, the preparation time would be delayed for a while, but he never thought that they would be so desperate.

"You..." His Majesty frowned, as if he wanted to rebuke Charles, but he couldn't think of the words.

"Your Majesty, what are you anxious about?" Charles was well prepared, so he asked back calmly. "Isn't this a good thing? You need to defend against the Russians, and we are ready to defend against the Russians for all European nations without hesitation - this is our commitment to defend European civilization, this is our obligation and responsibility, and we are very happy that we can fulfill it so quickly."

"Why must it be at this time?" His Majesty the Emperor frowned and looked at Charles very sternly.

He wanted to blame Charles, but he didn't know how to phrase it all of a sudden, after all, it was the Austrians who asked the French to use force against Russia.

"This is to make you express your attitude in the same way, Your Majesty." Even in the face of the anger of an emperor, Charles was not panicked, "We can't give the Russians any luck. If the Austrians express their attitude with us, the Russians will definitely be scared."

"This is not your prior promise!" The emperor retorted sharply.

"But this is a must! If you can't express your dissatisfaction to the Russians in a stern manner, then you are going against the teachings of your ancestors!" Charles refuted the other party without giving in. "There is no doubt that the Russians are very powerful, but the Habsburg royal family will not be afraid of any powerful enemy. The seemingly invincible Turks came to Vienna several times in the past. Wasn't it your ancestors who drove them away with that fearless spirit? You are the same to the Russians - what's more, now you have two big countries standing by your side as friends... Why are you still hesitating? You can be armed and neutral, but you must express your position. This is the opinion of us and the British! Please accept it!"