[Masterpiece Les Miserables] Paris Sparks

When Coronne stepped into the house in the early twilight with a smile on her face, Marius was climbing up the cupboard and peeping cautiously through the plastered beams near the ceiling to see what was going on next door.

This behavior made him look sneaky, but in fact he didn't harbor the slightest malice in his heart.It's just that today he got to know Eponine, the eldest daughter of the neighbor's family, because he accidentally picked up the letter, and was shocked by the deep misery she revealed.Marius himself was a well-bred man who managed to maintain dignity even in the face of adversity.What Jondrette did—the misery and crime of putting his daughter at risk, of getting money by defrauding honest and good men—was something he had never seen before.This deeply shocked Marius, and also made him curious about the family he had been supporting.So, out of a simple kindness and sympathy, out of a subtle desire to excuse his father's benefactor that he couldn't explain himself, he climbed to the top of the cupboard, and through the small gap Li looked across.

He saw an ugly, dirty, foul-smelling, dark, filthy ghetto.All the furniture was a straw chair, a rotten table, a few old bottles and cans, and two indescribably broken beds in the corner. All the light came from a skylight with four square panes of glass, covered with cobwebs.The ground was undulating, and all kinds of broken garbage were thrown all over the place.A tall, stout, fat woman was sitting on a bed, and beside her was a thin gray girl with a rag hanging from her body.Her sister, Éponine, whom Marius had just met, leaned against her.She was wrapping something around her sister when Marius looked over.It was a clean, soft black shawl, bordered with very fine gold lace.

The shawl made Marius suddenly forget everything else in the house.He stared at it in shock, as if to make sure it wasn't an illusion in the ghostly light.The appearance of this worn, but obviously high-end shawl in such a junkyard is as eye-catching as a rose blooming in a swamp, or a large diamond resting on a heap of rocks.Seeing it, Marius almost wanted to jump off the ground, rush through the door of the adjoining room, and snatch the shawl from him.

Because he recognized it clearly, it was the shawl of the girl he adored.

That girl used to like to wear black, and this solemn color made her even more pretty.But just because she was wearing simple black and white, the slight embellishments on the clothes were very distinct.It should be known that the sharp eyes of young people in love are not inferior to the most fashionable women.What clothes the girl had worn in the past, which skirt had dark flowers, which glove had lace on it, which jacket had tassels, Marius had a clear memory.He naturally remembered such a shawl with small golden lace. He also remembered that she wore this shawl last autumn. The lace on it matched the golden leaves in the park.

How did her shawl fall into such an ugly place?

Marius had completely forgotten his original intention of spying on the other side, and also forgot his intention to take a look and then leave.He stared closely at the shawl, as if he wanted to see the beautiful figure of the girl from it, as if he wanted to smell the tranquil fragrance of her body through the stinky room.He couldn't see the time, and he didn't know how long it had passed, until the slamming of the opposite door woke him up slightly.He saw the hostess next door come in and slam the door loudly.

Jondrette looks to be in his 60s, with a thin body, stooped back, and a vicious and sinister look on his face.He strode into the room, shouting, "You'll never think who I met today!"

"Who?" asked the fat woman—probably his wife.

"That's the one--"

When he said this, he paused again, looking around like a vulture.Marius held his breath, but Jondrette did not look so high.He said to his two daughters: "Don't stay here, you two little things!"

The two daughters stood up obediently. He walked over, snatched the shawl off, and held it in his hand, but they didn't say anything.When he reached the door, he added another sentence: "06:30, you come back. I have something for you to do."

Eponine nodded, and took her sister out.Marius heard the door knocking, and without being able to explain why, he too looked at his own door, and seeing that it was securely closed and locked, he turned his eyes to the next door.Najondrette went up to his wife, bent down and whispered something to her.The woman jumped up all of a sudden, like a wriggling bug that had completed its evolution and turned into a poisonous bug with teeth and claws.

"It's her?!" She asked in a most vicious and hateful tone.

"It's her!" Jondrette replied affirmatively, "Of course, she has grown up, but the facial features, the figure, and the annoying look are no different from when she was a child. There is a lump on the tip of the left eyebrow. Mole, yes, it must be her."

"Well, it's her!" the fat woman roared. "It's that little short-lived bastard, meddling in other business affairs, who made us leave the inn and wander around, and end up like this! I ask you, what is she looking like now?" Like? Is it poverty, or prosperity and wealth?"

"Obviously a rich lady," Jondrette answered calmly.

The woman cursed a string of obscenities, her fists clenched tightly, her eyes widened.Marius was on the point of closing his eyes and covering his ears.After a while, she vented for a while, and sat back on the bed again.Jondrette, who had been pacing the room for a while, turned to her.

"One more thing to tell you," he said. "I've found out where she lives."

The woman looked up at him, not understanding what he was trying to say.He continued: "Damn, I've had enough of this poor crime! I suffer, and others suffer too! That little/bitch/ person can eat and clothe himself warmly, whoever lives in a big luxurious house will pay him/ Mom bring a garden! Fuck it, I'm tired, I'm done with God. I want to eat enough, drink enough! Be full, sleep enough, do nothing! It's my turn to be happy Yes! I'm going to live like a millionaire until I'm in the coffin!"

"What do you mean by that?" the woman asked, raising her voice.

"Keep your voice down!" said Jondrette softly, "so that no one can hear you."

"Who will hear?" the woman asked nonchalantly.

Jondrette beckoned her to be quiet, and went quietly out the door.Marius stood on the closet, not daring to move.A moment later Jondrette slipped back and shut the door tightly. "It's okay! I looked at the crack in the door next door, and there was no light. The man must have not come back yet."

It was dark now.Because Marius had to read, study, and do translation work, he always lit the lamp as soon as it got dark.Even in the worst of times, he could withhold money for his own bread, but he could never save money for lamp oil and candles.This time it was only because he was looking at Cosette's shawl, forgot the time, and did not go down to light the lamp.

He then congratulated himself on this lucky coincidence.Because he clearly heard Jondrette say softly: "Tell you, I have everything planned! She lives in the Boulevard Saint-Germain. I have asked, and there are only two old men in the house besides the women. Said She doesn't like servants, she doesn't have a man of prime age, and the concierge is too old to walk. Boulevard Saint-Germain! There are rich people who live there. There are many policemen, but there are always loopholes. Wait for my appointment. A few people, this vote is sure to win. A room full of women can be knocked down with a stick in their sleep, and they can't make a sound. We'll save that little girl until the end. She will give in."

"What if she doesn't give in?"

"Just like everyone else, with a club," said Jondrette, with a grim sneer that made Marius' hairs shudder.Then he picked up the soft black shawl and threw it over his shoulders.

"I'm going to get rid of this thing and buy myself a coat. By the way, ask about 31 Boulevard Saint-Germain. Wait, I'm going to be very rich!"

He closed the door and went out.Holding his breath, Marius listened to his steps go away, and then he jumped down from the cupboard lightly and without making a sound.

If he had heard only the last sentence, perhaps he would have rushed out the door without hesitation, stopped Jondrette, and asked to buy the girl's shawl.But after hearing such a conspiracy in its entirety, the shawl could no longer occupy the main place in his heart.Although Marius is completely seized by the power of love now, before falling in love, he was first of all an upright young man with a conscience, which is the most fundamental.Although he didn't know the family at 31 Boulevard Saint-Germain, and he didn't understand why the Jondrettes hated her so much, but knowing this, he couldn't just stand by and let an innocent family be murdered.

He dressed, tied his scarf, and slipped out quietly.He asked people on the street for the direction of the nearest police station, and then walked straight to the police post at No. 14, Pontoise Street.

When Marius told Detective Javert what had happened and was walking back with a pistol in his pocket, Eponine ran to the back door of 31 Boulevard Saint-Germain.

The Boulevard Saint-Germain was farther away, it was already dark, and there were patrols around, and Eponine had to be careful to avoid them, so although she slipped out before Marius, she arrived at her goal later than him.She aimed a piece of object in her hand at a lighted window, and threw it vigorously.After a crisp snap, the kitchen glass shattered.The crackling sound of broken glass and the woman's scream sounded at the same time, and Eponine arched her back and fled across the road in a hurry.

When Corona hurried down from the upstairs studio, Jean Valjean had already gone outside to inspect.There was no one on the street outside the back door.Toussaint, the kitchen maid, carefully unfolded the thing that broke the glass.

It was a big dirty, greasy old newspaper with a stone wrapped in it, and a piece of scorched and smelly letter paper.On the letter paper, a line of large characters was written crookedly with a pencil:

【Thenardier is following you.He wants revenge. 】

The author has something to say: a reminder for those who have forgotten the original work: Jondrette is a pseudonym used by Thenardier.

There are a few descriptions in this chapter that quote the original description, about a hundred words or so.

Resume every other day from today.Happy National Day everyone~

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