His Excellency the Count of Grandet

The two biggest troubles are that I am extremely jealous when they meet in a narrow way, which is really a good thing to worry about.

After spending some time lamenting veiledly with His Majesty about his troubled brother, Charles could spend his time wandering among the various small salons, trying to keep his passengers in a good mood.

It was not difficult, especially when Shire had prepared all kinds of thoughtful services in a very good way.Furthermore, this novel experience can be used as a kind of bragging rights to others in the future, and it is 100% in line with the psychology of a typical Parisian.

As for the few people who don't care about enjoyment, they have something more to care about - painters are happy to deal with more people, because it can help them stimulate inspiration; as for scientists, they are all concerned about cylinder efficiency, gear matching and so on more practical questions.

During such a time, the Emily Grandet traveled all the way through the beautiful idyllic scenery of the plains of Western Europe, and crossed the Loire River in Orleans.And after driving through the fertile and fertile land of the Loire Plain, the terrain is getting lower and lower, and there are more and more white foggy weather in the morning, indicating that the basin is ahead——

Bordeaux is almost here.

This morning, Charles confirmed from the conductor that the train would arrive at its destination in a day's time.This is definitely amazing news, because they didn't have any major accidents on the way, and the overall time spent was less than one-third of the traditional post station, not to mention that the train was much smoother and more comfortable than the horse-drawn carriage!

"This is amazing!"

"More eye-opening than steamboat to America!"

"You are a miracle! The miracle of France!"

Charles reservedly accepted the first two compliments.However, he did not admit the last point: "I believe that what you say is sincere, but miracles are not worthy of the name-I firmly believe that things within one's power are by no means miracles! Besides, this is not due to me alone!"

In today's world where exaggeration is the norm, people like Charles are so rare that they can almost be called weird.Usually mavericks are easy targets, especially at this time when the power of the royalists has not yet declined, but he has successfully avoided those obvious and huge risks——

Therefore, after this trip, more and more people believed that the young Earl Grandet was not only capable, but also humble and polite.From the fact that the Earl of Artois is unwilling to trouble Charles, it can be seen that this young man's future is doomed!

Obviously, the future of the threshold of the Grandet mansion in Paris is worrying-it is destined to be trampled down!

Victor should have been very jealous of this matter, but he was contacting candidates to reorganize the cabinet—a strong cabinet on their side, so as to gain an advantage on the Crown Prince issue—plus his own job, there is really no need to focus on other things.Moreover, even he has to admit that his biggest and only rival in love, he probably won't be able to surpass him in his life——

Work or something, it is impossible to finish it in this life!

Since there is no issue of cheating or anything, I can only... forget about it...

That night, while Charles was turning on the lights to deal with matters related to the vineyard, there were two knocks on the door outside.

Charles was a little puzzled.Because he has a lot of things to do, he always sleeps late.At this time, most people have already fallen asleep.Even Victor has already returned to his compartment, and his servant Antoine has been sent to rest by him. Who else will come to him?

"Char." As if sensing Charles' hesitation, the people outside made a voice.

"Your Excellency the Duke?" Charles, who heard the voice, was even more puzzled, and quickly stood up to open the door.

Outside the door, Ferdinand was wearing a low-key black coat and very light and thin boots. "Can I take a moment of your time?" he said after entering the carriage and waiting for Charles to close the door.

"Please sit down first." Charles still didn't recover.It was dead of night at this time, and what Ferdinand wanted to tell him must not be said in front of everyone during the day.And what is this sensitive topic?

Ferdinand picked up an armchair across from the mountain of papers in Charles.

It was not long before spring came, and the night was cold and tidal.He seemed to look around casually, but rubbed his hands gently.The fine cotton surface of the glove made a very slight rustling sound, not much different from the crackling sound of a burning candle wick.

Charles noticed Ferdinand's action, and thought that the other party might not even realize that he was nervous. "It's getting late, I'm sorry I don't have coffee for you."

Ferdinand nodded, but did not answer.But this sentence may have reminded him of his unconscious little actions.In order to cover it logically, he leaned forward indistinctly, and at the same time moved the hand that was on his knee to the side. "You must have guessed something about my uninvited visit? You've always been clever, haven't you?"

Charles looked back with the same gaze, until the other party's dark pupils.Neither of them dodged, they just kept looking at each other like this.

Ferdinand's behavior can be described as sneaky, and it really shouldn't be something a noble duke should do.Moreover, it is also a very high challenge for the nobles to get rid of the servants around them.

Now Ferdinand did both.And he did a third thing: almost directly throwing out the key question!

"All I know is that you are always well-informed." Charles smiled slightly.He was already sure why the other party came: they were preparing to remove Count Artois from the position of crown prince, and then the problem came——

Who will be the new crown prince?

Ferdinand moved his body and put his hands back on his knees. "And all I know is that we both understand what the other is saying," he said, lowering his voice a bit. "Sooner or later that's where it's going, isn't it?"

Charles stared at Ferdinand, whose face was uncertain under the swaying flames.

The window was not closed properly, and a gust of wind swirled in through the gap, bringing the unique cold breath of night rain—it started to rain outside, and the misty rain had already touched the windowpane.

Of course he knew where it was headed sooner or later—it was them and the royalists who would always be on the same page.The existence of such an opponent is a huge stumbling block in his career.To put it bluntly, either you die or I die.

This process is naturally difficult, but they have the confidence to win.However, even so, they still have to consider the candidate who will hold the throne of the king in the end-if someone crosses the river and demolishes the bridge, wouldn't there be no place to cry?

In fact, if Charles barely trusted Ferdinand, he didn't quite trust the Duke of Orleans either.Because the Duke of Orleans avoids expressing his opinions too often, not at all to the extent of confiding in his heart——

It must be added that according to the usual practice, Louis XVIII has no heirs, and the crown prince is his younger brother, the Count of Artois; the next heir in line is Louis, the only remaining son of the Count of Artois.Since Louis XVIII and the Count of Artois' common elder brother, Louis XVI, had become extinct, Louis was the last of their line to inherit the throne.

In other words, if the Duke of Orleans wants to come to power, he must be ranked behind Louis, and the two heirs must be resolved in the middle.Since the Earl of Artois was the hardest idea, they usually omitted Louis—anyway, if the Earl of Artois was dealt with, his son Louis would definitely be out of luck.

"Excuse me," Charles said softly, euphemistically addressing the most critical question: "The conclusions of the two of us alone cannot convince other people." Such a big event needs to be discussed by a group of people!

Ferdinand suddenly burst out laughing. "Do you think Victor is asleep now?"

"Then I would also like to ask you, has His Excellency the Duke of Orleans rested?" Charles sharply asked.Not only did he read the message "The Duke of Orleans is talking about the same thing with Victor" from this sentence, but he also read something else. "Do you want to know, are we trustworthy? Especially if we work together?" Just ask him and Victor the same question separately, and you can see if they are of one mind from their respective answers!

The corner of Ferdinand's mouth raised an arc of approval. "So I've always liked talking to you."

The Duke of Orleans is his father, if his father can be king, then it will be his turn, what's wrong with that?The standard story is that he didn't think the aristocracy was any good before; but after the trip to America, he changed his mind--

Whether the status of the nobility is high or low, the right to choose is actually in the hands of the nobility themselves.He can do many things if he wants to; he can change France, and even the world!

But it's enough for him to know about this turning point. Others just need to know that he and his father are absolutely united front!

As for Shire and Victor, there seems to be no problem on the surface, but what about the reality?When doing big things, it is always good to keep two eyes open.

Charles also thinks so, so he still smiles naturally now. "Honestly, so do I." Compared to the Duke of Orleans, he was more optimistic about Ferdinand becoming king-would he easily tell others about this?

Ferdinand smiled sincerely. "Your strength is beyond doubt." He affirmed, "This is not my conclusion alone."

"You just believe that we will succeed in the end?" Charles asked.But this cannot actually be a question; because both of them are the type to think twice before doing things, and they will never act without more than [-]% certainty of success.

Ferdinand nodded. "Actually, I just have one question," he said, tapping his fingers lightly on the armrest. "He still has a son."

This "he" is naturally Count Artois.According to the natural growth law of human beings, Louis, who is now more than 30 and a half years old, will have no problem living another [-] to [-] years, and none of them can wait until then.

"There's only one," Charles replied.

"'Only'?" Ferdinand raised his eyebrows with doubts. "What do you mean by that?"

"Of course it means..." Charles leaned down and whispered his answer to Ferdinand.

"This—!" Ferdinand almost yelled because he was too shocked.

Charles stepped back half a step, not feeling that he had dropped a depth charge. "Whether what I told you is the truth, you can think again. As for whether you want to tell your father the truth, His Excellency the Duke of Orleans, it all depends on you."

Ferdinand's lips were drawn into a straight line.He dared to put his hand on their family crest and swear that everyone had been deceived by Charle's gentle and harmless appearance before!