From Corsica to the Fourth Rome

After instructing the old butler to handle the visiting letters and having breakfast, Lawrence was still not ready to stay at home and wait for the Duke of Choiseul's notification.

There is still about a week left before Louis XV's banquet, and Lawrence also wants to use this time to find out the situation in Paris as soon as possible.

Although he still roughly remembers various statistics about Paris during this period, these cold numbers obviously cannot give Lawrence a comprehensive understanding of this giant city.

Since it was his first trip, Lawrence only took Grosso and Lund with him. As for the precision shooters who were bodyguards, Lawrence ordered them to stay at the mansion in order not to appear too ostentatious.

As for Ya'an and Anna, after Lawrence learned that the mansion was even equipped with a private tutor, he asked them to stay at home and start learning French with the tutor.

After all, as Lawrence's confidants, they may stay in France for a long time in the future, so it is still necessary to master the most basic language.

Grosso, on the other hand, could speak, read, and write some simple French. In addition, he was indeed not the type to sit down and study, so Lawrence had no choice but to take him with him.

"Phew, this damn scarf is killing me."

As soon as Grosso left the house, he complained about his baroque-style formal suit with three layers inside and three layers outside. As an old sailor, pragmatism was what suited Grosso best.

But when Grosso stood on the scenic Champs Elysées, he soon didn't care about the uncomfortable clothes.

After the three of them wandered along the Seine River for a while, Lund turned to Lawrence and Grosso and asked:

"So, gentlemen, where are you going today?"

Lund also knew that Lawrence and Grosso had a dark eye on Paris, so he took the initiative to act as a guide. Coupled with his status as an aide to the Duke of Choiseul, it would also make it much easier for the two of them to walk in Paris. .

Lawrence was just out for a casual stroll without any purpose, so he looked directly at Grosso for his opinion.

Before Lawrence could look at him, Grosso had already begun to rub his palms together excitedly, then licked his lips and said excitedly but somewhat cryptically:

"Ahem, Lawrence, don't you want to know Paris as soon as possible? I tell you with many years of experience, you only need to go to two places."

After hearing this, Lawrence knew what Grosso was talking about and couldn't help but roll his eyes at him.

Lund didn't react yet and asked with great interest:

"Oh? Mr. Grosso, I would like to hear the details. This is the first time I have heard such a statement."

Grosso lowered his voice, smiled obscenely and said:

"Borthels and casinos."

Lawrence sighed helplessly, and even found that Grosso's pronunciation of these two words was much more standard than other French words.

However, he also knew that Grosso might have been holding back in Ajaccio for too long. After all, there were no high-end occasions in Ajaccio for Grosso to indulge in.

But what Lawrence had to admit was that what Grosso said did make sense. These two places were indeed places where news circulated very frequently.

"Well"

Lund smiled awkwardly, as if he felt that it was not elegant to say such words in a place like the Champs Elysées, but seeing that Lawrence had no objection, he could only keep smiling and said:

"Actually, we don't call them directly. It doesn't matter. If you two are willing, where do you want to go?"

Lawrence glanced at Grosso who was eager to get on, and said directly:

"Then please take us to a casino."

After all, Lawrence didn't want to contract any weird disease.

Since gambling is an activity that is enjoyed by everyone from poor beggars to King Louis, there are also a lot of casinos in Paris.

Although Lund had followed Duke Choiseul to many top casinos as an aide, of course he was not qualified to enter today due to his own status, so he had to arrange for Lawrence to find a middle-class and small nobleman who would often go there. of casino.

After deciding on the destination, Lund skillfully waved to the coachman on the roadside. After thinking for a moment, he ordered the coachman:

"Go to the Casino du Barry, the one on the rue Montguil."

After a bumpy ride in the carriage, the three of them arrived at the Du Barry Casino that Lund said.

The signboard of the casino is large, with eye-catching red floral letters saying:

"Du Barry Casino No. 4."

"Du Barry is fourth, what does this mean? Is there more than one casino here?"

Grosso glanced at the sign and asked a little strangely.

Lund smiled and explained:

"Of course, this casino is the property of a gentleman named Du Barry, and he has several casinos under his name."

Lawrence nodded slightly, but he felt that the surname Du Barry was vaguely familiar to him because it matched the name of the casino.

Grosso didn't think much about it at all, and happily walked in first, and Lawrence and Lund had to follow closely.

The guard could tell from the clothes of the three that their status was high, so they did not stop them.

The casino is very large, and half of the area is even used as a tavern and coffee shop.

There was no bustling crowd inside as Lawrence had imagined. The intervals between the card tables were very wide. Many people seemed not to come here to gamble, but to stand in groups holding coffee. Chat and treat this as a social place.

Of course, the casino here would not recognize the Corsican coins Grosso had on him, but fortunately Lawrence also carried some Venetian gold coins with him, which were seized in Sheephorn Bay two years ago.

The Venetian Dhaka gold coin, which is almost equivalent to gold, is a hard currency throughout Europe, and this casino is no exception.

"Oh my God, is this a Dhaka gold coin? This is the first time I have received one."

The waiter at the casino took the small bag of gold coins handed over by Lawrence, took out a few coins, looked at them for a moment, and said with some excitement:

"But, no offense, sir, I cannot confirm the authenticity of these precious gold coins. I think I will have to find the manager."

"Well, as soon as possible." Lawrence shrugged nonchalantly.

After a while, a man wearing culottes and a shirt came out. After checking the gold coins in the wallet, he bowed his head and said to Lawrence:

"Excuse me for waiting, sir. There is basically nothing wrong with your gold coins, but I have to know where you got these gold coins to be completely at ease, unless you have time for us to examine these gold coins more carefully."

Lawrence frowned slightly and looked at the manager. Of course he didn't want to spend hours letting the casino people check the gold coins completely, but Lawrence also tried his best not to expose his identity.

Seeing this, Lunde stepped forward to help Lawrence before he could stop him and said:

"I am Rucci Lund, the aide-de-camp to the Duke of Choiseul. We won't bring counterfeit money to the casino, right?"

"The Duc de Choiseul's?"

The manager was stunned for a moment when he heard Lunde introduce himself, but there was no reverence or timidity in his eyes, and there was just pure surprise in his eyes.

Immediately afterwards, he secretly looked at Lawrence a few more times, and showed the same expression.

Lawrence's frown deepened. Of course, the manager's little moves did not escape his observation, and this series of moves always made Lawrence feel a little weird.

"Ah, of course, I believe you, Mr. Lund."

The manager quickly stopped looking at Lawrence, then accepted Lawrence's gold coins as if nothing happened, and handed the corresponding chips to Lawrence.

"Thank you for the rescue, Mr. Lund."

Lawrence secretly glanced at the manager who was walking outside the casino, and said expressionlessly:

"But I think it's better not to reveal our identities, as we might cause unnecessary trouble."

"Oh, M. Bonaparte, this is your first time in Paris to think so."

Lund waved his hand nonchalantly and said:

"We are from the Duke of Choiseul. As long as we don't cause trouble for others, who will cause trouble for us?"

"I hope so."

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