Miss Eugenie Grandet

When Eugenie came back, the rest of the people in the drawing room had left, except the terrified and excited president who was still waiting for her.

"Mademoiselle Eugenie!"

He addressed her with a trembling voice, and his tone was respectful.

"Thank you for waiting for me," Eugenie smiled at him, "Please sit down, I have something to tell you."

After Eugenie sat down, the presiding judge finally followed suit.

The firewood in the fireplace hadn't burned out yet, and it was still beeping and beeping.While the flames were jumping, the judge anxiously waited for her to speak.

Of course, he is definitely not the "idiot" that old Grandet said. The Saumurs seem to be naturally shrewd.The president of the court has long seen that the two strangers who came suddenly in the past two days are obviously his strong rivals in love.Moreover, although he was very unwilling, he still had to admit in frustration that, no matter in terms of property, status, or appearance, dress, and behavior, he was compared by these two suitors of Grandet as if he was a living bird. Groundhog.Just when he was feeling discouraged and even a little bit jealous, suddenly, things took such a turn.

Although I don't know why.But he vaguely knew that it must be because there seemed to be some problems between Miss Grandet and those two suitors—especially the younger Duke, which gave him an opportunity to take advantage of it.

He was excited for such an opportunity, and kept praying that his guess would come true.

After sitting down, she didn't speak at first.When he watched her secretly, he could only see her side face—her gaze fell on the dancing fire in the fireplace, as if she was in some kind of contemplation.

Although the chief judge was anxious, he didn't dare to urge her, lest she would change her mind if she was not careful.

Finally, she turned her head and smiled at him again.

This was the first time in more than a year that he saw her showing such a gentle expression to him, and he was agitated.

"Mr. Crochet."

She finally spoke again.

Hearing her call her own surname, the chief judge couldn't help being a little disappointed, but he didn't show it at all, and still showed his concentration and respect.

"Will you marry me?"

When the words, which had been dreamed up for thousands of times, came out of the heiress' mouth, the president's eyes lit up.

He stood up from the chair abruptly, threw himself directly at her feet, knelt down, trembling all over.

"I will be your most loyal servant!"

He looked up at her and exclaimed excitedly.

Eugenie let him sit back first.After the chief judge finally calmed down a little bit from his great surprise at the first news, the smile on her face disappeared, and she looked into his eyes, returning to her usual indifference.

"Mr. Crochet, I am willing to marry you. But there are conditions. I have drafted a document outlining the general content. You can have a look at it. If you can agree, then I can get married."

She took out a pre-written document from her skirt pocket and placed it on the table.

The judge hurriedly took it over and leaned in front of the candlelight so that he could see it more clearly.

He finished it in no time.Because of his profession, there is no problem for him to read and understand these provisions.Without any hesitation, he immediately raised his head and said excitedly, "I totally accept it!"

"Have you seen it clearly? If there are no children in the future, then the property of both you and me, including movable and immovable properties, will be combined in the form of mutual gifts. After one party dies, the remaining party will fully receive the mutual gift. property……"

"I fully agree with this clause of yours! I also fully respect any wishes of yours! No reservations! Willing!"

The President's eyes sparkled.

This is the dream of happiness!

Married to Mademoiselle Eugenie Grandet, he needs no heir, not at all!Under such terms, children became a kind of damage to him.Because once there are children, if Miss Grandet dies, all her property will have to fall on the children.On the contrary, if they have never had children, when she dies, all her huge property will belong to her.At that time, if there is a need, it will not be too late for him to marry a wife and have children...

Like all fanciful seekers of fortune, Mr. Crochet had before his eyes a magnificent and alluring prospect.He is even now beginning to picture a bright future for himself after his wife's death.He seemed to see himself sitting on the golden throne and soaring upwards, and he was deeply fascinated by it.He is so wishful thinking, but he just doesn't think about it, he is ten years older than the lady in front of him, why must she die first, instead of being called by God first?

Eugenie gazed at the gentleman in front of her, who seemed restless in the bliss of great happiness.

"Mr. Crochet, you don't have to agree so quickly, maybe you need to think more carefully. I don't need your reply urgently."

"No, no, I've thought it all through!" he said with greater determination.

Eugenie smiled.

"After we get married, I hope that we can maintain our own private space and not interfere with each other. In return, I will fully support you as a member of Congress."

"I totally agree! Thank you very much for your generosity and selflessness!" exclaimed the President excitedly.

"Mr. Crochet, I ask you again, have you really thought about accepting such a marriage? If you die before me, you will not be able to get any of my property."

"Totally clear!"

Eugenie stood up, "Then you can go back, take this document and show it to your uncle. He is a notary, and he should be more experienced in drafting and wording documents in this area than I am. Of course, I will also formally hire a lawyer to act as my attorney. After a week, please come back with him, and we can make final confirmation and sign on the content of the official document.”

"Follow your arrangement completely."

Clutching the paper firmly in his hand, the presiding judge stood up cheerfully from his chair, bowed deeply to the heiress, then turned and walked out—his two uncles, who were probably anxiously awaiting his return, Nice to hear what the heiress had to say about keeping him.

----

Saumur's richest heiress chose to marry another big local household, President Crochet. The next day, with the return of Crochet's uncle and nephew, the news immediately spread back to Saumur from Floavon.

Years of speculation and waiting have paid off.Everyone was not in the mood to do anything, and they were divided into several groups, one group ran to say hello to Crochet's uncle and nephew, another group ran to the banker to express comfort, and let's see Mrs. Grassin's forced smile, and the other group was discussing Zhong eagerly waited for Grandet's father to come back.

Two days later, Father Grandet returned alone, without the Mademoiselle and Madame.But it's a little different from everyone's imagination. The old man's face is covered with a piece of dried cowhide. Whenever someone comes up to say congratulations to him, he will pull his mouth and show his white teeth. , with a smile on his face, so that everyone can't tell at the end, is the old man satisfied with this marriage, or not?

A week later, the scheduled meeting day arrived.

Although it had been a week, Nanon still couldn't understand the choice made by the lady, and felt bitter about her rejection of James and Philip, especially the latter.

"Miss! You have disappointed me so much that my heart is about to break..."

Recalling the lonely back of that lovely young man when he left that night, Nanon was very sad, so now, knowing that the president will come to officially sign the marriage-related documents accompanied by his uncle, a notary, she is more and more sad. sad.What made her even more sad was that Miss Grandet was completely indifferent to this. No matter how she complained or tried to persuade her, at most she just smiled and said nothing.

Madame Grandet had no objection to her daughter's choice.She also thinks the president is pretty good.The only thing she was worried about was that the old man in the family seemed to have broken up with her daughter again because of this matter.The father-daughter relationship that was finally reconciled is now facing crisis again, which troubles her very much.

At ten o'clock in the morning, the appointed time arrived.The lawyer came early.However, on the other side today, no one came for a long time.

"Ah! ah! God forgive me! I hope Mr. Crochet twisted his foot in the road!"

After 15 minutes, seeing that the uncle and nephew Crochet still did not appear, Nanon began to smile, eagerly hoping that her prayer would come true, and at the same time feeling ashamed of her bad heart.

At 10:30, the other party still did not show up.This seems a little unusual.

The lawyer looked at the client beside him who had always been very calm, with some doubts in his eyes.

"It seems that we don't have to wait any longer," said Eugenie, "I'm very sorry to make you run away."

"So, do you need to change the date?"

"Thank you. But there is no need," said Eugenie. "I will still pay you for your expenses for coming here today."

----

In the afternoon, the judge still did not show up, but the notary came.After apologizing for his missed appointment in the morning, he hesitated to explain why he came.It turned out that after careful discussion and careful consideration, they agreed that Mr. Crochet might not be able to bring Miss Grandet a lifetime of happiness. For the sake of Miss Grandet's happiness, they begged her to forgive him for his inconsistency.

"Eugenie, my nephew is really not worthy of you, I have always thought so! I hope you will find real happiness in the future!"

After repeatedly apologizing for his nephew, the notary said with a smile on his face.

Eugenie smiled.

"Understood. Actually, you don't have to come here to apologize to me yourself."

After hearing this sentence, it can be concluded that she has accepted the result.Notary Crochet let out a long sigh.Congratulations for my nephew finally getting out of a very likely debt crisis.

"Then I take my leave. Have a nice day."

His expression appeared more sincere, he declined the master's kindness to let the maid see off the guest, turned and left in a hurry.

After the departure of the guests, Eugenie retired to her room, leaving Nanon in high spirits and her mother in bewilderment.

Standing in front of the window, she looked beyond the rose field in front of the window, looked at the endless vineyards in the distance, and let out a long breath.

----

Mademoiselle Grandet was rejected by President de Bonfon...

No, it should be said to be abandoned!

Just one day before, everyone was still talking about this sensational marriage in the city, and one day later, the news spread quickly.Everyone was terribly curious, wanting to know what was the reason for the judge to make such an unimaginable move.

Soon, everyone's curiosity was satisfied.Because a rumor is quietly spreading.It is said that on the second day after Father returned to Saumur, someone saw him go to Anjou alone, where he signed a contract to sever the father-daughter relationship with his only daughter Eugenie Grandet and cancel The legal document of all her property inheritance rights also designated a certain nephew of Mrs. Grandet as her property heir.More than that, there was another terrible news circulating about Mademoiselle Grandet.It is said that she invested almost all of her own property in Mr. Bernard's locomotive project, but judging from the public experiment that day, the possibility of making a profit for this project is very small.It is even more likely that in the end, the invested money will not only be wasted, but also be in debt because of the failure of the investment. This kind of thing will happen every few days. It is really nothing new.

That is to say, Miss Eugenie Grandet, the former number one heiress of Saumur, in the near future, it is very likely that she will have nothing but a title of duchess and a whole body of debts.

At this point, everyone finally suddenly realized why the president of the judge, who had pursued Miss Grandet for many years and finally got his long-cherished wish at the last moment, would finally make such a decision!

Any sane person with a brain would make such an informed decision.

----

In the evening, Grandet returned to Floafont.

Eugenie did not come down while eating.But this does not prevent him from entertaining himself.Nanon was asked to fetch a bottle of cider, and after drinking two glasses, his face flushed, and he began to hum a song: "No! No! In the Royal Guards of France—I have a good father—a good father— —”

Madame and Nanon glanced at each other.I was horrified at the old man's unusual joy.

"Go and fetch Eugenie!"

After humming the song, the old man yelled, "Coal Heizi is at home, big and small! Dad let her go before! I really want to fight against me, there is no door!"

"Father, you seem to have drunk too much."

As soon as Grandet finished speaking, Eugenie had already entered through the door, glanced at the dancing Grandet, and said with a half-smile.