His Excellency the Count of Grandet

Back to Charles.Michel sought him out for an honest and simple reason—there were two painters waiting for him to entertain him!

"You're so busy," Michel teased Charles as soon as he showed his head, "I haven't seen you since I got in the car!"

"Then you've seen it too—" Charles spread his hands slightly, "I wish I could divide myself into several for use! Although this can only exist in my imagination, don't you just help me relieve this pressure? ? I would like to express my sincere gratitude to you for your generosity..."

"Ah, I knew that once you open your mouth, I won't be able to get angry!" Michelle said helplessly. "Fortunately, you still gave us some time." Then he introduced Delacroix to Charles.

Unlike Gellicot's quiet and shy image, although Delacroix is ​​young, his curly short dark hair already hints at his unrestrained personality, and he is relatively more cheerful. "Ah, dear Monsieur Grandet!" He warmly greeted Charles, "I often hear Monsieur Michel mention you! In his mouth, your image is so glorious that it is almost on par with a god. !"

"Did you say that as soon as you opened your mouth, hoping that Charles would be scared away by your straightforward praise?" Michelle said this deliberately.

"I'm just flattered." Charles laughed.Perhaps Michel had indeed been praising him all the time, but Delacroix's words were definitely pure praise without any other meaning in it.

"You see, it's not my fault." Delacroix made a slightly exaggerated shrug, "Mr. Grandet is much easier to deal with than you!"

"I have to agree to that too." Jericho added at this time, looking at them with a smile all the time.

"Well, I have become a bad guy who destroys the friendship of gentlemen, right?" Michelle was even more helpless. "To be honest, who would have thought that the introducer would be forgotten as soon as you meet?"

The tone of the words was sluggish and sad, and it really looked like that with the expression, which made several people laugh.

The atmosphere is relaxed and things are naturally easy to talk about.Needless to say, Gellicot, Delacroix said that it would be easier for him to get inspiration after he got the real thing and drank the real thing. "Art comes from life! Art reflects life!" he said.

Charles agreed with him.Then they had some discussion about what kind of paintings would be easier to print, and the two painters went out for a walk together.

"Let's get Gero back!" said Jellicoe, "and there's just time for a deep discussion of Rubens—are you right, my dear Eugene?"

Charles, who knew next to nothing about the Dutch painter Rubens, firmly supported them.And when they left, he and Michelle were left in the single compartment of the carriage.

"This is a good time," Michelle said, with his trademark smile still on his face, "I still have something to talk to you about."

"Please speak." Charles moved his body across from him, trying to make himself more comfortable.

"Count Artois, seems to have found you?" Michel asked, his tone full of carelessness.

But this can never be true!Charles felt his spine stiffen, but didn't show it. "Nothing," he said lightly, "if you mean the Christmas dinner, we just exchanged a few words."

Michelle looked carefully at Charles' expression.Don't say believe it, don't say you don't believe it. "Isn't it, I really don't care. Anyway, as smart as you, you always know what to do and what not to do. On this point, I have complete trust in you."

"Huh?" Charles expressed his doubts with a nasal voice.If Michel really didn't care, it would be impossible to know this—just kidding, few people around heard what Count Artois said at that time!

"I'm telling you so directly, isn't it a sign of trust?" Michelle spread her hands slightly. "So, when the time is right, I expect you to show the same level of trust. We are partners after all, right?"

Charles didn't answer for a moment.He thinks Michele is definitely insinuating, for what he and Victor have planned—

Secretly creating public opinion, let Louis XVIII remove Count Artois from the list of heirs to the throne.Of course, this is the best situation; the worst thing is to force the count of Artois, and the two of them will see the truth under the guns!

This was a big deal, and it was understandable for Michelle to want to know.But the problem is that the bigger the thing, the fewer people know the better, so as to increase the probability of success!

"I understand." Charles finally replied. "If there is such a time, I will definitely inform you in advance." However, he reckoned that, given Victor's deep-rooted dislike for Michelle, there might be no hope for this matter.

"It's very kind of you to say that." Michelle said, there was no "great" meaning in her tone, and she must have known where the problem was. "Anyway, I don't want anything to happen to our winery."

"Of course, no one would wish that much." Charles affirmed.In fact, the interest chain of half of the wineries is not too close, but it looks good on the surface; but Michelle said so... Could it be that they are expecting further cooperation and binding? "As you said, we are indeed a partnership; personally, I would very much like to see the closeness of this relationship."

Michelle smiled and wagged another finger. "If I don't have anything left in my hand, I wouldn't dare to cooperate with anyone rashly." He raised one corner of his mouth, "Especially those who are very likely to cross the river and tear down the bridge."

This is supposed to be referring to Earl Artois, because only Earl Artois is worthy of the possibility of "crossing the river and tearing down the bridge".But there was no need to say such words to him...

Charles frowned.He vaguely felt that Michel still had some hole cards, or handles; the things that made Michel successfully get rid of Count Artois in the past, and now these things that might go wrong belonged to him. "You're right. Although it sounds cruel, it's the best way for yourself." He said with a pun.

"Who says no?" Michelle laughed out loud this time. "Just like I like to talk to smart people whenever I can." He nodded his knees and held out a hand to Charles. "I wish our cooperation more pleasant!"

After the two shook hands, Charles got up first to say goodbye.And Michelle sat there, thinking about things for a while.Then he opened the window to let the spring breeze with a little dampness blow in.

Although Shire doesn't mind others entering the industry he expanded, no one can affect Shire's status - because no one can hold many secret key technologies in his hands like Shire.

Or to put it another way, it is precisely because he knows that his position is unassailable that Charles does not mind people rushing to mount.

Michel asked himself, if he had the resources of Shire, he would be more stingy than Shire.Not to mention welcoming others, wouldn't it be more profitable for him to be a monopoly industry?

Therefore, although Charles always said that he was a businessman, in Michelle's opinion, Charles hadn't reached the ultimate level—Charles was not selfish enough, nor ruthless enough.Such a person is always too gentle, and it is easy for others to take advantage of the opportunity.

If Charles must suffer, why not teach him a lesson first!

As for Charles, he walked towards his box while thinking about Michelle's words.

Michelle has one advantage, that is, he can talk to others in a friendly manner at any time; but there is also a disadvantage, that is, when he really wants to do something, his expression is still very reserved and requires various considerations.

For example, now, Charles doesn't quite understand whether he is overthinking or Michelle just means that.

But having said that, the only handle he has is his relationship with Victor; both of them are very careful because they are aware of the danger, so how could Michelle know?Or, in other words, Michelle deliberately ambiguous, intending to make him think more, and then strive for greater initiative in future cooperation?He still remembers the expression on Michelle's face when he saw him in Victor's office...

While Ciel was thinking about this, a person walked across the corridor.He didn't pay attention, and reflexively planned to let the other party pass first.But the man stopped and said to him, "Monsieur Grandet?"

This voice is slightly familiar... Charles looked at it carefully, and suddenly cried out in his heart.How come every time he doesn't pay attention, the top quality jumps out? "Good morning, Monsieur de Aubrion."

That's right, this is exactly the down-and-out aristocrat that Shire met in Charleston in the southern United States last year.As Mr. de Aubrion, Charles naturally would not send him an invitation.So there is no doubt that he was brought into the car by Count Artois as an attendant.

Fortunately, this means that Mrs. Wonderful is definitely not here!Charles breathed a sigh of relief, with a smile on his face.

Mr. de Aubrion has never been able to look at people, otherwise he would not be able to get into the present situation.Seeing Charles smile at this time, he didn't recognize the relief in it at all, but felt that it must be that the other party was concerned that he was a marquis.

At this time, we must emphasize that he will never get the title of Marquis in his life.

But this delusion undoubtedly gave M. de Aubrion great satisfaction.On the one hand, he thought complacently that even though Charles is rich and still an earl, he is still a new nobleman after all, and he still has to flatter him; His daughter is gone.

But just when he wanted to put on an appearance of being considerate to the little nobleman, and generously allowed Charles to enter and exit the Aubrion mansion, another group of people approached.And when they saw Shire, their feet instantly accelerated two levels of speed, with a clear goal to surround Shire——

"We have found you, my lord Earl!"

"That's right! If we don't see you again, we will all go to His Majesty's box to find out!"

"I want to boldly say that even His Majesty can't monopolize your company all the time, right?"

Charles didn't know what Mr. de Aubrion was planning to say to him, but he didn't feel the need to chase after him.He answered the other party's sentence purely out of politeness, the others... Who cares about him!

Looking at the dense circle of people and listening to words like "Your Majesty" and "Respect", the face of Viscount de Aubrion, who was completely ignored, turned red and then white and then blue.Finally, he stomped his foot in resentment, turned his head and walked away.