His Excellency the Count of Grandet

In this way, Charles sent someone to pass a greeting card to Victor.The reply came quickly, and it was fixed at [-]:[-] pm the next day at Victor's mansion.Charles wasn't particularly impressed by the time, but since Victor had time then, he didn't want to procrastinate any longer, so of course he went.

The Lafitte family is very popular in Paris, with more than a dozen properties in it.Among them, because of work, Victor's most frequent residence is at the corner of Frilière Road, very close to the Bank of France, and it is also very convenient to go to the exchange and other places.

Shire passed by this house before, and his only thought at that time was: Sure enough, the taste of local tyrants!I was able to go in this time, and I had to condense my impressions into two words: Fuck!

If nothing else, because the decoration of the place clearly imitates the Hall of Mirrors at Versailles—

There are many large mirrors, crystal chandeliers everywhere, exquisitely carved gold and silver vessels, extremely complicated decorative patterns... Even the spare walls are inlaid with brown transparent amber, which is full.Because everything reflects light, lighting up a candle is already very bright, and lighting up all of them is an eye-catching rhythm!

Such a rococo house, it’s okay to appreciate it as an architectural sample, but if you really live in it, you will be blinded by titanium alloy dogs in minutes!

Just two seconds after sitting down in such a living room, Charles felt a little dazzled.While rejoicing that his home decoration has not yet reached this level, on the other hand he has to wonder if this is a new type of negotiation method—first attack with light waves to paralyze people's thinking, and then it will be easy to talk about it later?

Facts have proved that even if this conjecture is true, Victor did not intend to use it on Charles.Because the servant led the person to the living room to wait for a while as usual, but Victor asked Charles to go directly to him.

Charles could tell from the servant's unconcealed astonishment that this was not normal, or unusual.But on the one hand, he felt that it was unlikely that Victor would force him as soon as he came up; on the other hand, for safety, he always carried his pistol with him.So he said nothing, just followed upstairs, and finally stopped in front of a door.

The servant leading the way knocked lightly on the door, but there was no response from inside.She was not too surprised, and told Charles, "Master may not have heard, you can go in by yourself. I will bring your coffee later." Then she bowed and left.

Charles turned his head to see her disappearing at the stairs, and then tentatively twisted the handle.Sure enough, it wasn't locked, so he raised his leg and walked in.

Inside is a quite empty hall, the walls are full of large oil paintings, and only two chairs are placed directly opposite the door.There was a small door on each side, both of which were open.According to the normal situation, one side is the study room and the other side is the bedroom.There was no sound in the air, as if there was no one at all.

Charles pondered, and walked a little closer.Then, he smelled a familiar scent of cedar and cocoa, and immediately guessed what Victor was doing without saying a word——

"You are really in a good mood." Relying on this smell, Charles walked to the door of the study accurately.

Sure enough, behind a high-backed chair that was also in Rococo style, a wisp of light blue smoke was slowly floating upwards.Victor is smoking, or more accurately, enjoying a cigar.

In the process of slowly inhaling it into his mouth and then slowly exhaling it, the smoke made the surroundings hazy and quiet, gently stimulated his nerves, and helped him think.The arrival of Charles can't interrupt this feeling, the ash at the end of the cigar is still steady.

Charles had also smoked a cigar and knew that there was no need to rush it, so he patiently waited until the puff of smoke cleared before continuing. "Your 25 francs," he said, stepping forward, and placing the bill of exchange on the table, "you can take it at any time."

"You're such a disappointment." Victor stood up from his chair, holding an extinguished cigarette in his hand. "Shouldn't the most appropriate way to say hello at this time be to have a stick together?" Although he said something disappointing, the content and tone were completely different.

Charles glanced at the cedar wooden box on the table, revealing long and short cigarettes inside. "I think these are all your personal collections." The implication was that he didn't have such a big face.

"I don't mind sharing my collection with people who know the goods." Victor replied.But he knew, and Charles knew, that it was impossible to continue smoking cigars at this moment.So he put the cigar in his hand away, and his eyes happened to pass over the money order.With just one glance, his brows raised.

Not because the above amount is 26 francs, but because there is no bank stamp on this money order.For others, it is no different from waste paper; but it is an exception for those who already have chapters in their hands.

"Your new account?" Victor picked up the money order and looked at it.

"Don't tell me you didn't think of it." Charles pouted.

He is an adult, and it is only natural to open an account for his own capital turnover.The gold, of course, must be kept in a reliable bank, and the most reliable bank is the Pergo Silver Bank in Victor's name.His account was right under his nose, and Victor wanted to check it every minute.

Victor stared at Charles, and laughed softly. "To be honest, you surprise me every time." It's one thing to know that you can't hide, but it's another thing to actually put all the accounts in his hands.And I have to say, with Charles being so full, he really didn't want to check anymore.

Charles figured out Victor's true meaning from this subtle tone.They're actually the kind of people who think things aren't fun when they're done bluntly.For example, now, he generously let Victor see it, but Victor would never want to see it again.

But then again, why is Victor so normal today?Could it be that during these days, Victor has been insisting on treatment and not giving up?

Victor didn't notice this kind of mental activity in Charles, he just said: "That's good." He put the money order back on the table and pushed it back towards Charles.

Charles raised his eyebrows. "What do you mean?" He would not naively think that Victor would send him a sum of money for no reason, so there must be something else.

"It's my investment." Victor replied without blinking.

Charles narrowed his eyes at him. "several years?"

"You say a few years, just a few years."

Charles couldn't believe it anymore.He crossed his hands, not even looking at the things on the table. "Reason." He thought of something again, and immediately added: "Don't talk about anything." After finally being able to talk normally alone for one time, the atmosphere can no longer be misled.

Victor could see that he really couldn't persuade Charles easily.Although Shire is young, he is no less old than him.At first, he still had a sense of curiosity, but now he feels more and more that he has his eyes on a treasure. "Didn't His Excellency tell you?"

There was more than one duke, but there was only one they talked about, the duke of Orleans. "What should he tell me?" Charles was really confused now.He has only been away from Paris for half a year, and has he already been so bumpy that he can't understand the charades that should have been tacitly understood?

But Victor wasn't about to explain, or not now. "That means now is not the right time." He motioned to the money order with his eyes. "Take it, and I mean, it won't do you any harm. You can do whatever you want with it, including planting oak on stone Or buy a few boatloads of American vines. If there are no accidents, this is just an upfront investment, maybe not even an upfront investment.”

Charles now felt the smell.Victor himself is an investor, and he has a lot of confidantes, so why put all the money on his side?It is obvious that the eggs must be placed in another basket, that is, there is something wrong with the original basket.It's fine if nothing happens, but if something happens, it has to be a major event for the whole country!

"Is there any news from the palace?" Charles held back again and again, but finally he couldn't hold back.Because the news is too big - if there is any change in the throne, the political world will be reshuffled, and the business world will also be the same, and the Grandet family will definitely be affected.And if this is the reason, it would be logical for Victor to ask His Excellency the Duke if he mentioned it, because the Duke of Orleans is absolutely well informed about this.

Victor stared at Charles again.This time it was sharp, although only for a moment. "It's just a rumor," he said. "Not sure yet."

That's bad news, Charles thought.Victor had always been a popular figure in front of Louis XVIII, and if it wasn't necessary, he wouldn't frighten himself like a wild card.That is to say, His Majesty the King may be in danger, and the first in line heir is not so against Victor——

That's right, there are too many people who are at odds with Count Artois!

Even if he hadn't met him in person, Charles didn't like Count Artois.The earl is the king's younger brother, a very radical royalist.As for Shire, who traveled back from the future, he knew that the nobles would become history sooner or later, so of course he would not get close to the royalists.The more important reason is that the Count of Artois advocated restoring the economic order to that before the Napoleonic era.

what does that mean?The most obvious example means that most of the land transactions in the past 30 to [-] years have to be voided!You must know that before the Napoleonic era, only the nobles had large fiefs; after the Great Revolution, many of them were confiscated or sold at auction before they were transferred to other people.

Obviously, everyone who made their fortunes during the Great Revolution would not like the Earl of Artois, and it would not be an exaggeration to say that there is a blood feud——

Just kidding, if you say recovery, it will be restored, what should we do?Wasting all the money and time invested?

After 30 years of hard work, once we return to the pre-liberation period, we will do nothing for anyone else!

Given that he was dressed as a middle-class man, of course Ciel was on the side of his father without a doubt.And Victor's background is similar to him. If the Earl of Artois came to power and became Charles X, he would definitely suffer heavy losses.That's why Victor said it wasn't bad for him...

Charles didn't dislike Victor always thinking from his point of view at this moment.Not only does he not hate it, but he can also treat it as a disguised concern, whether it is or not. "The news is not confirmed, but you have already started..."

"Be prepared." Victor replied succinctly. "And it can't be done anytime soon."

His position is very attractive, so it's not good for him to do something himself.Who is his confidant, most people also know.The best way, of course, is to find someone who has a normal relationship with him in the eyes of others, but is actually reliable to help him transfer assets.Of course, this is only one of the countermeasures, and other plans are also being carried out steadily at the same time.

So we can now know that Victor was waiting for Charles when he decided to adopt this method, and today he finally got it.Although there was no IOU, and he also said that he would not want interest, Charles still returned him 26 francs on time.It is obvious that Shire is shrewd, but also has his own principles: smart enough, repaying favors, and not greedy for petty gains.

So, who better than Shire?

Charles stared at Victor closely, several thoughts flashed through his mind.No wonder the follow-up response to the Duke of Orleans' order was flat, no wonder Victor had no news all Christmas, no wonder...

They were all busy with this!The Duke of Orleans is also on the list of heirs to the throne, still second in line; and Victor belongs to the category of people with a lot of money that may go to waste.No matter who among them, of course they will care after knowing.

Just like Victor said, the news has not been confirmed, so they have enough time to prepare.As for himself...

"Okay." Charles readily agreed, and at the same time put away the money order.

Victor can almost be regarded as the benchmark of their faction. If it really falls, it will not be good for him, their family or the whole environment.At this time, it would be very boring to care about the advantages of the mouth before, of course it is still important!Moreover, even if he took a step back, he also got a very useful inside information!

Victor looked at Charles and smiled. "I knew it wasn't that impossible to get you to agree," he said, "even if I said something before."

Charles gave him a blank look. "You have time to gossip, I think I can leave." After saying this, he really turned around and left the door without looking back.

Looking at his back, Victor smiled slightly.what to do?If Charles knew that he liked him more and more, would he still be willing to help him?