Miss Eugenie Grandet

Stepping into this old and dark house from the sunny outside, the attendant's eyes were a little blurry for a while, until after a while, after adapting to the light inside, he could see the person on the opposite side clearly.In addition to the big woman who led him in and stared at him blankly at the moment, there were three other people in the room.

An old man, dusty from head to toe like a gopher, stared straight at himself with a guarded and serious expression.

Next to her was a lady with a panicked and uneasy expression, and next to her was a young lady standing behind her mother, looking at herself calmly.

"Mademoiselle Eugenie Grandet?"

The aide-de-camp tried to greet her.

"Yes."

He was relieved to hear the young lady's answer.Regardless of the surprise and perplexity brought to him by what he saw after stepping into this house, he took off his hat, bowed to salute her, and said respectfully, "I am Mirel, the attendant of His Majesty the Emperor. I have been ordered by the Emperor, please follow me to Paris."

"what's up?"

"I'm sorry, madam, I don't know. I'm just asking you to go to Paris."

Mirell's expression was even more respectful.

"Holy Virgin Mary! My daughter is not against the Emperor, why are you taking her to Paris?"

For the first time in her life, Madame Grandet saw such a gorgeously dressed court figure, she was terribly frightened, she didn't pay attention to the attitude of the other party, and stood in front of Eugenie in a panic, as if she was ready to stop her at any time.

"Don't worry, Mom. He didn't mean any harm."

Eugenie whispered in Madame Grandet's ear, and after calming her mother down, she asked, "Can I refuse?"

"Of course you can refuse," the attendant said cautiously, "but I think it's better for you to go at the invitation. If you don't go this time, I think His Majesty will send another person here soon after."

"It seems that I have no choice." Eugenie shrugged her shoulders, looked at Grandet and her mother, "Father, mother, I will follow this lord to Paris. You don't have to worry, everything will be fine with me." good."

"Thank you very much, Mademoiselle Grandet. If you don't mind, I should like to be able to leave at once."

Although the attendant's tone was still calm, if you discern carefully, it's not hard to hear that there is a hint of urging.

"Eugenie, come with me!"

Father Grandet, who had been acting as the background all along, suddenly said something in a low voice, then turned his head and went out—this was also the first time he spoke to his daughter since the cold war with Eugenie.

Eugenie signaled the attendant to wait a moment, and followed her father to another room.

"Eugenie, you must tell me the truth." The old cooper stared closely at his daughter, his flickering eyes showed his strong suspicion and dissatisfaction at the moment.

"The Corsican! Naerpoleon—" he rolled his tongue and uttered the derogatory name with difficulty, "how could he send his valet to invite you to Paris without any reason? What are you hiding from me?"

Eugenie hesitated for a while, and finally briefly mentioned the accidental encounter with Napoleon when she was in Floisphonn in the first half of the year.But there was no mention of her saving Philip earlier.

After she finished speaking, the old man's expression seemed to be touched by a magic wand. After he froze for a while, a sentence suddenly popped out between his teeth: "Hiding such a dangerous person in the vineyard! How dare you do such a daring thing?" thing!"

"It's really too reckless, I admit. It's okay to get through it safely."

After a few seconds of silence, the old man walked up and down the room, looking very restless.When he stopped suddenly, he looked at his daughter sharply.

Eugenie noticed that there seemed to be a golden light in his eyes again.

"My little darling!" He lowered his voice, as if trying to control his emotions, but it was obviously not successful, and his voice seemed a little trembling.

"That is to say, you made a great deal by accident! Now that Corsican once again drove away the king and became emperor, does he want to reward you, my Eugenie? A small principality A castle connected to a large piece of land? If you don’t have any of these, you can tell him that it’s okay to give you the piece of land connected to Floavon…”

Eugenie interrupted the wishful fantasy of the old cooper.

"Father, you are thinking too far. But I have to interrupt you. Before you fantasize about these rewards, you should pray that he will not be killed by the British, Russians and Austrians in the next few months." The combined armies of the

"Idiot! Useless!"

The old cooper had completely forgotten how he hated the emperor at the beginning, he clenched his fist and waved it excitedly in front of him, "If he doesn't beat me this time, then he really deserves to go to hell!" wait--"

He suddenly seemed to remember something, "I remember! So that means, the little boy who was almost beaten to death by me last time in Floavon, he is the Emperor's man?"

It did not occur to Eugenie that he remembered it.I had no choice but to nod, "He is the son of Generalissimo Lana. He came to say goodbye to me at that time."

"Okay, then you go with that courtier dressed like an Easter turkey. Go see what they're up to..." he muttered, the tumor on his nose twitching, "want me Said, if you don’t repay your savior well, can you still be called an upright person? If so, he deserves to be defeated again! But you have to remember, after you go, if there is another rumor If there is any bad news, such as Napoleon's army being defeated again, you should hurry back."

Eugenie smiled. "Okay. Father."

In this way, under the gaze of almost all Saumur people, Eugenie boarded the carriage, left Saumur, and galloped towards Paris.

This tiring journey ended two days later. After the carriage drove through the Square of the Guards and entered the Tuileries Palace, Eugenie was taken into a large room that looked like a living room.

The Tuileries Palace is not as luxurious and luxurious as Versailles before it was destroyed.Both Napoleon and the restored Louis XVIII chose to use this place as a palace, mainly to show that they wanted to draw a line from extravagance and extravagance.Even so, it was an imperial palace after all, and its grandeur and luxury were rare to see.On the contrary, Eugenie noticed that many places had been damaged when they came all the way in—it must have been left by the king when he fled.But Napoleon, who once again became the owner, should not have the heart to repair these now, so he left them as they were.

The large room she was in seemed not to have been robbed, and everything seemed to have remained the same.The huge room is magnificent, with huge oil paintings and tapestries with delicate textures adorning the walls, and exquisite Baroque furniture from the 78th and [-]th centuries can be seen everywhere.Looking through the arched window, there is a garden on the opposite side. Among the green bushes carefully pruned by the gardener, there are many bronze sculptures of various shapes, and the scenery is too beautiful to behold.

----

"...Gentlemen, I have to shatter your wishful thinking. Stop daydreaming about trying to make peace with the enemy! The anti-French alliance army has regrouped. Peace cannot consolidate this empire, the only one that can dominate the right to speak , is war, a war capable of knocking out the enemy's ability to fight back! Isn't the nightmare that befell this country just four years ago enough to deafen the deaf? Anyone who tries to pray to those who have been enemies of France The idea of ​​friendship is ridiculous and stupid! The only thing that needs to be done is to throw away all illusions, make a clean break with the enemy, and start a new era with a complete victory that can dominate everything!"

In one of the palace's conference halls, Philippe Lanner was giving an impromptu speech at a military council where the emperor was not present, berating those conservatives who still imagined that peace could be overcome.

"But general, if we fight, if we are defeated again, how will we deal with it then? How will Your Majesty deal with himself?"

An old military officer who had experienced the Battle of Waterloo asked cautiously.

"Let me tell you, it's different from four years ago. This time, His Majesty the Emperor has made all preparations for the battle. Marshal Davout is coming back soon, and Marshal Soult is also on his way back. I believe my father I swear to you that there is only one battle needed! Because of the defeat of Waterloo, the doom that befell this great country will be completely rewritten! Three days later, His Majesty the Emperor will address his The subjects issued an oath to serve this great country. The horn of battle has already sounded. What you have to do is to closely follow the footsteps of His Majesty the Emperor, completely abandon the idea of ​​seeking peace, and firmly control your mouth and feet, and then, You can share the glory of the final victory with His Majesty the Emperor!"

After a moment of silence during the meeting, people began to whisper to each other.

Grand Marshal Davout, regarded as the soul of the army, was exiled to Louviers under supervision after being stripped of his title of nobility a few years ago.And Soult, also exiled to Selldorf.Unexpectedly, so soon, these big figures in the army who were once the souls of the imperial army have been rescued and are on their way back home.

"Long live the Emperor!"

Someone suddenly stood up and shouted loudly.Immediately afterwards, the rest of the people also stood up and shouted. The loud and orderly voice echoed in this huge space, echoing bursts of echoes.

Slogans are often hollow.But in many cases, it is a wonderful panacea that can inspire people's hearts and make people excited.

A court attendant appeared outside the half-open door of the conference hall.Philip immediately went out.

"General Lannes, Mademoiselle Grandet has arrived and is currently in the Athena Hall on the second floor."

Mirell said respectfully.

Philip's eyes lit up slightly, but he didn't show much emotion.

"Understood. You're doing well, Mirell."

Everyone knew that the young Duke of Montebello, the son of the late Marshal Lana in military uniform, was the most trusted person in front of the emperor.The rescue, the choice of the landing site, and the route to attack Paris are all inseparable from his manipulation—except for these things that can be seen, for this day, who knows what secret and invisible things he did behind the scenes?

It can be foreseen that if the empire can successfully overcome the next difficulties, there is no doubt that he will make great contributions and become powerful.

Although I still don't understand why the Duke sent himself to a rural place like Saumur to invite a young lady who looked like a poor family, but to be praised by such a person, the attendant was excited.

"My honour, Your Excellency General. I will be ready to serve you as long as the need arises."

Philip smiled, looked back at the many military generals who were still discussing in the conference room, and walked quickly along the corridor to the second floor.

The author has something to say: What will happen if Lana finds our Eugenie~~