[Masterpiece Les Miserables] Paris Sparks

Corona was no longer willing to go to those banquets, but Caton asked her to go instead.

Now he has inherited the title under the name of Evermond, and naturally inherited the property under this surname-those properties undoubtedly lost a lot during the Great Revolution, but Fu Ke, the brother of the former Duke of Evermond, Even if the part of the enemy country that still remains today is only a small part of what it was back then, it is really impressive.In order not to make enemies, Caton generously gave up a large part of it. He didn't care about wealth, but worried that he would attract hostility to Corona because of the distribution of benefits.

As a result, what he got in the end was less than one-tenth of Duke Evermond's property back then, and he deliberately concealed at least half of this property from the outside world.But the remaining half of the wealth is enough for the whole social world to hear about the name.Carton had no natural heirs, no legitimate heirs, and such a fortune might have brought disaster on her had he died unmarried.Therefore, even though Caton was unwilling, he had to take her to familiarize herself with the social world in advance, let her see the various rules and scenery in it, and also taught her how to guard against a knife stabbed in the back.He even bought another house on the Boulevard Saint-Germain, and moved there with Coronne, so that the fact that she lived in the Rue Plumet would not be ridiculed.

Although Corona was not interested, she almost never disobeyed her father's wishes.She is no longer obsessed with fancy dress and beauty, but just learns the skills of grooming as if she were learning French, and studies those social expressions and argots as studying mathematics.She is talented and intelligent, and she can learn everything with style. Even if she has never experienced a social scene, she can quickly look like a dignified and generous noble lady, as if she was born in a noble family.

It's just that she prefers to change into men's clothes and wander around the streets and alleys of Paris when she has nothing to do on weekdays.She liked to look at the stone-paved streets, the swans in the fountains in the parks, the sculptures along the roads, the dusty old lampshades of street lamps, the galleries where famous works were exhibited, and the alleys with sewage.Like a seedling, she gradually planted her roots along Paris.

When Caton finally got the amnesty order, Coronne had almost mastered half of Paris.

Of course she got lost a few times, lost her purse a few times, and was tricked by Parisian urchins a few times.However, since she went out in men's clothing, she did not encounter any more difficult problems.Later, Carton saw that she was so interested in exploring Paris, and he told her a name that caught her attention: Fantine.

He didn't say who Fantine was, but Corona immediately realized that this must be another reason why Caton had been paying attention to the French newspapers and visiting France from time to time.She devoted great enthusiasm to this, but looking for an ordinary female worker in Paris is like looking for a grass in the forest.Before she got any information about the name, Jean Valjean's amnesty was obtained, so Corona went to Montreuil with Caton.

It was December, 14. In the fall of 14 years ago, Caton drove to Montreuil and picked up a blond baby from a local orphanage.Now he took the same road again in a carriage, the sky was still cloudy, the wind was still howling, and the sound of the wheels was almost the same as it was 14 years ago.But Corona has grown into a sweet and lovely girl. She has learned how to dress and looks more and more beautiful every day, although at the moment she only wears a simple wine-red coat, black skirt and black dress. The cloak, the collocation of the color and accessories are also all carefully.Carton looked at her, and felt a burst of sweetness in his heart, as if looking at a blooming flower.But it made him think painfully of the lost child, the girl who was supposed to be her sister.If he could have found Fantine [-] years earlier, how much more could he have done for her!

They got off at Montreuil.Caton already knew that Jean Valjean was now aliased as Mr. Madeleine and had become the local mayor.He had corresponded with Jean Valjean over the years, and Jean Valjean had admitted the name in a letter in his own hand.The prosperity of Montreuil since his arrival, Carton had seen in the papers.But after all, the reporter's pen can't replace what he saw with his own eyes.

Therefore, although the amnesty has come into effect, after arriving in Montreuil, Caton concealed his name and did not go to see Madeleine immediately.Pretending to be a traveler, he listened to the conversation, occasionally interjecting a sentence or two to direct the conversation, and to hear what they thought of M. Madeleine.Corona followed him at the beginning, and a day later, seeing that Montreuil was indeed a peaceful and peaceful town, Caton let her wander the streets by herself.

They had walked around the port and the hotel the day before, so Corona chose to go in the opposite direction.She saw a row of apartment buildings and decided to go there-she was always good at currying favor with the old mothers who were the doorkeepers of the apartments and the women who were sitting by the well washing and chatting.However, as she was walking, she was suddenly bumped from behind.She staggered and almost fell, but the person who bumped into her actually fell on the stone road.It was a beautiful but haggard and pale girl, and the fall knocked off her hat, under which her blond hair was cut so short that she was almost bald.She clutched a letter so tightly that her fingers scraped on the flagstones.

Seeing her devastated look and seeing her thin and worn clothes in the cold winter, Coronna immediately stopped being angry.She hastily produced her linen handkerchief, and wiped her wounds.As soon as I held her hand, I was startled: it was such a cold day, such shabby clothes, but the girl's hand was hot. "Sister, are you okay?" she asked with concern.

"Do you know what scarlet fever is?" the girl asked without answering.

Corona was puzzled by the question.She raised her head to grasp the girl's dazed expression, and replied, "It's a disease."

"Will children get this disease too?"

"It will."

"Will you die if you get this disease?"

Corona looked at her: "Is your child suffering from this disease?"

"My child! Yes, little Cosette, my child has this disease. They asked me for forty francs, ha ha ha, forty francs! These peasants are very interesting. Where can I find four What about ten francs?"

"Why, I heard that the mayor of Madeleine donated money to repair the hospital here." Corona asked in surprise, "The mayor is said to be a good man, can he help you?"

The trance on the girl's face suddenly turned into resentment.

"Monsieur Mayor! If he hadn't driven me out, if he hadn't driven me out of the factory, I wouldn't have suffered these things, and I wouldn't have lost sight of my Cosette. My child, now She's sick, she might be dying!"

While she said this bitterly, she shed tears again.Corona handed her the handkerchief, and the girl held the handkerchief together with her little hand in the palm of her hand. "Ah, forgive me, I shouldn't have said this to you." She was weeping as she spoke, and looked at Corona with extremely gentle eyes, as if looking at her own child, "I didn't mean it! Forgot Say everything I've told you, you're a good boy and a good girl, God bless you!"

It's not Corona's temperament to just give up like this. "Why were you driven out of the factory by the mayor? Can't you go and beg him to take you back?"

"If I ask him, never! That hard-hearted man, if he is really as good as people say, so worthy of respect, he will not be cruel to drive me out. I have respected him! But he Well, he doesn't care about my child's life at all!"

This was completely different from the reputation of M. Madeleine which they had inquired about for a few days.Coronna blinked suspiciously, and decided to write down the matter, and then ask questions, or tell her father. "And what are you going to do?" she asked again. "Where are you going to get the forty francs?"

The girl was out of her mind for a while. "Are you coming from the square?" she asked.

Corona nodded, she had indeed passed through the square.

"That strange car, that dentist, is he still there?" the girl asked again.

When Corona passed by, she also heard the doctor chasing another neat female worker, asking her if she would like to have her teeth pulled.She understood immediately, and couldn't help but gasp in horror. "No! Absolutely not, this is too scary!"

"Tell me, what else can I do?" asked the young mother.The kind of sadness she exuded made even a hard-hearted man soften his heart.Corona hesitated for a moment, looked around for no one, then reached into her pocket and took out a small handful of coins.This small handful of odds and ends amounted to eleven francs and fifteen sous.She found another corner with her back to the street, pulled the girl to stand in front of her, and took out two Napoleon gold coins from the small internal pocket of her underwear.

She wrapped the little pile of money in a handkerchief and handed it to the fair-haired girl. "I have nothing else to do." She said a little worriedly and a little embarrassed, "—take it! The money is not a big deal to me. Please use the extra money to see a doctor. Your hands are terribly hot!"

The girl was stunned.She opened the handkerchief with trembling hands, looked at the pile of money again and again, counted and counted, and suddenly cried out, took Corona's hand, and kissed it with tears. "Thank you, thank you! You are sent by God, you must be! You saved my Cosette, and I also saved me! I will pray to God every day, and thank you ?k every day. My child will not die Already!"

To Corona, these 51 francs are actually nothing more than her pocket money.She was startled by such warm gratitude, and felt ashamed, so she refused to tell the girl her name no matter what, and said goodbye to her.She ran around the building and came back again, secretly watching the girl enter a nearby building.