Eagle's Glory

This is my own mother, so familiar but very strange.

Aigron opened his mouth, and there seemed to be a lot to say, but he seemed unable to say anything.

And Louisa also seemed a little distracted, and also stared at him without saying a word.

Both Teresa and Earl Nepeg knew about the grievances and grievances between the mother and son, so they kept silent, waiting for the mother and son to adjust their emotions.

The silence made the atmosphere in the room suddenly tense. After an unknown amount of time, Luisa sighed secretly and spoke first.

"It's an unexpected reunion, isn't it?"

Although her voice was not loud, it was like a stone thrown into a pool of stagnant water, causing ripples and making time swim again.

"Yes, ma'am." Eggron nodded slightly, "I thought I would never see you again."

"That's true." Madam smiled, seemingly disapproving, "Although you boldly chose your own path, I will not yell at you. There are still so many years to come, how can I see you?" Why don't we meet?"

"No, for me, the moment I leave, I bid farewell to my previous ten years of life - if I succeed, I will not seek you, because it will only remind me that I want Bury the resentment; if I fail, I will even more shamelessly run to you and beg for shelter, it is better for me to disappear silently."

Aigron's tone was calm, but there was a sense of indifference and alienation.

Luisa frowned slightly, obviously stung, but she quickly covered it up.

"Surprisingly frank and decisive, your backbone is stronger than many people."

"This is one of my few strengths." Aigron replied, "Madame, I am very glad that you forgive me for my audacity. I came here to ask you to see you today, which means that all our previous grievances have disappeared. . . . You are my mother, I admit it and will always remember it, and I wish you a long and healthy life."

Although he said so, Aigron still couldn't find any love for his mother in his heart-he just wanted Teresa to feel at ease, after all, she had always hoped that Aigron would reconcile with his mother.

In fact, Eggron's opinion of Louisa was not because she abandoned Napoleon. It was just a grievance from the previous generation and it was justifiable. He didn't have much qualification to criticize.

Emperor Napoleon was born in 1769, and Louisa was born in 1791, which means that Emperor Napoleon was 22 years older than her, a generation behind—under normal circumstances, this age gap is enough to make both husband and wife lose too much. many common languages.

What's more, Napoleon was also a bitter enemy to Austria at that time-the emperor entered Vienna twice in 1805 and 1809, forcing the imperial royal family to flee twice. It is conceivable that Louisa's Her girlhood was spent cursing Napoleon.

Fate made an interesting joke. After being repeatedly defeated by Napoleon, Emperor Franz wanted to reconcile with the French Empire, so he thought of marriage, and Princess Louisa was naturally the best candidate for marriage—as for Louisa My own thoughts are not important at all. According to Metternich, "Emperors gave birth to princesses to do this job."

So Louisa married France and became another French mother from Habsburg.

When Napoleon was an emperor, she could naturally forget these grievances, enjoy the honor of the imperial queen with peace of mind, and maintain the due harmony between husband and wife, and even Napoleon thought this marriage was very suitable; After falling from the seat and no longer owning an empire, the grudges in her heart surfaced again, and prompted her to quickly forget about her husband.

After being brought back to Austria by her father in 1814, she quickly found a new love, and made Count Nepeg, who escorted her all the way back to the country, her lover; and after the news of Napoleon's death finally reached the European continent in 1821, Soon got his wish and married the earl.

The past married life, as well as the experience of the Empress of the Empire, were thrown away by her like a nightmare.

What Aigron really resented was his mother's indifference and indifference in his childhood.

After Napoleon had been forgotten by her, she seemed to regard herself and Napoleon's son as an accidental tease of fate, and she hardly cared about his growth. She had returned to Schönbrunn Palace to visit him very few times in the past ten years Few, even a short and indifferent ritualized greeting when meeting each other.

In this case, Aigron naturally did not have a good impression of his mother.

And even now, he doesn't have what his mother did—after all, as the eldest daughter of the emperor of the empire, no one asked her to be so indifferent to herself, she chose to be so.

Even though he saw his mother today under Teresa's persuasion, he still couldn't find a trace of respect and love for his mother in his heart. All he could do was not to say the most hurtful cynicism in person.

"I also wish you all the best in the future—" Luisa replied in a low voice, and then she stopped competing with her son, but turned her head to Teresa. "Looks like I don't have to wish you a happy marriage - because you've already done it!"

Then, she nodded lightly, signaling Teresa to walk in front of her.

The fathers of the two of them are brothers, but now Princess Teresa has become her daughter-in-law.

——In the Habsburg family, this kind of marriage of the upper generation marrying the younger generation has occurred many times, and even the uncle married the niece happened several times, so the seniority of Luisa and Teresa is not taken seriously. one thing.

In terms of age, Teresa is more than 20 years younger than Luisa, so in this regard, the relationship between mother-in-law and daughter-in-law is not strange.

"Teresa...you are so beautiful now." Luisa stood up with a smile, and then hugged the girl. "Looking at your radiant face, I think you should be enjoying your life now."

"Yes, Your Highness, I am too satisfied with everything now." Teresa also replied with a smile, "You have a very good son, and he will never disappoint your original expectations. So you don't have to worry at all. My father and I will be dissatisfied with you, and I am so grateful for your efforts to match us up!"

After she finished speaking, she looked at her husband again, and then continued, "To be honest, I have been persuading His Highness and you to abandon the past, because in my opinion, we were originally a family, but because of some The grievances that should have been put down long ago are just resentment, but what's the point of this kind of resentment? The past is over after all, and everyone can cherish each other in the future, isn't that good?"

Aegron frowned slightly.

What he was most afraid of was still coming.

He actually knew what motivated Teresa to promote the reconciliation of mother and child so enthusiastically—Teresa hoped that her relationship with the Habsburg royal family would become harmonious, and everyone would abandon their past, because what she feared most was what would happen between herself and Austria in the future. The conflict left her in a dilemma.

She must hope that if one day she can really ascend to the throne, she will let the two empires maintain peace for a long time.

You know what you know, but it is still a bit difficult for him to satisfy Teresa's selfish desires and forcefully stage a scene where mother and child are harmonious.

Or rather, simply can't do it.

Some things are not meant to be forgotten.

Eggron knew the principle of being able to bend and stretch a man, and he had practiced it many times. He said good things to the Tsar and respected the Pope, because he never had half expectations of these people in his heart, and he could put away his pride temporarily.

But it's different for Luisa, because this is his mother, the mother he once pinned his expectations on.

Back then, I wished she could say a few words to improve my situation a little bit; or at least accompany me a few more times, so that I could feel the warmth in the indifferent palace.

But these expectations have come to nothing, she did not give anything.

It is precisely because of the expectations that I have placed, so when the expectations fail, the resentment will become more and more in my heart.

Why do you leave me aside and ignore me?He never asked this question face to face, but he had asked it angrily many times in his heart.

But now he is too lazy to know the answer, because the facts are right in front of him, no matter how many reasons there are, it is still the truth.

So... Now that everything has happened, everything cannot be undone.

For him, Louisa was just the person who gave him life in this life, not his own mother.

So obviously Teresa's eyes were full of hope, but Aigron just stood there blankly, without giving any response.

He didn't mean to disappoint Teresa, he just couldn't speak.

His performance made the air in the room seem to freeze again. Teresa blinked, as if panicked, and wanted to say something else.

"Okay, Teresa, stop first." At this time, Luisa suddenly smiled and said, "You are very cute and kind... You have an enviable family, harmonious and happy, you Your parents have isolated you from most of the disasters in the world since you were a child, so you grew up kindly, you sincerely believe in perfection, and you also pursue it enthusiastically. This is your advantage, but you cannot put these things together. It's all put on everyone, even your lovely husband, you can't force him anymore... Please understand, he won't be submissive to me, I know. "

After hearing these words, Aigron was slightly relieved, because he finally didn't need to continue to play a filial son.

However, at this moment, he understood another fact—the mother knew the son better than he imagined.

When he realized this fact, he couldn't help being angry again.

You can know what I'm thinking, so why do you treat me like this?

"Since you know me so well, please tell me, how should I face you, my mother?" He couldn't help raising his head, and then faced his mother challengingly.　　

13. Black eat black

"Since you know me so well, please tell me, how should I face you, my mother?"

Aegron simply clarified the question, which surprised Louisa a little, so she froze for a moment.

"Hey... this is probably my fate." After a while, Luisa let out a sigh, "I can't carry your fate, and I can't give you the protection you deserve. Whenever I think of you, I will think about it." Thinking of my failed life, I don't know how to face you, I don't even want to face it, I just want to forget all the nightmares I have experienced."

"I'm really glad I did this for you." Aigron gritted his teeth secretly, and then laughed mockingly, "You choose to forget about me, enjoy your new life and new family with peace of mind and enjoy yourself, Then of course those nightmares should be borne by me alone. Who made me your son? I am glad that I have done my filial piety. good."

Aggron's tone was aggressive, but Louisa didn't take it seriously. She just smiled and replied to her son, "You can hate me, my son, because you have a reason to do so. I admit that I snubbed you, Even intentionally excluded you from my life, this is all my mother's fault, since I was wrong, then it is only natural that I am hated by you—"

"Thank you for being so sensible, ma'am." Eggron replied sternly, "but considering the current situation, I readily renounce the right you have given me to hate you, because I have made up my mind that I will have no further relationship with you." Hatred—”

Of course, there is no family relationship anymore - he secretly added in his heart.

"Then I really want to thank you." Luisa replied calmly, "But judging from your cynicism to me all the time, I don't feel your generosity, maybe you should go back to Schönbrunn Palace to learn from the teacher Rhetoric?"

"Based on what you have done to me, if you don't even allow me to complain, it would be too greedy. In fact, I have tried my best to restrain myself—" Aigron sneered, "If You are not satisfied with this attitude, so please bear with it."

Louisa frowned. It had been many, many years since no one had offended her like this, but this person was her own son, so she had to be patient.

"You seem to really feel that you can be presumptuous in front of me." She couldn't help complaining, "Has a little success made you dizzy?"

"Then what attitude do you use to give orders to me?" Aigron asked back, "You seem to have forgotten that you are not the queen now, but the Grand Duke of Parma and the Countess of Nepeg."

"But you are not the emperor of the empire now, but the Duke of Reichstedt. You have no place in Paris and can only be a guest in my country. Besides, my father gave you this little thing. I Poor Franz!" The mother also sneered. "I don't expect you to be grateful for this little thing, but you also have to think about your current situation, it's not enough to make you defiant!"

Eggron stopped talking.

It's not that he was rendered speechless by his mother, in fact, with his eloquence, he had a way to make his mother even more angry, but he still had reason, and he remembered that he didn't come to quarrel with his mother today——

Now that the situation can still end, if he continues to sneer, he will be driven away by his furious mother immediately. He doesn't care, but it's too embarrassing for Teresa.

So he stopped there.

Although both of them spoke calmly, their words were already tense, full of sharp knives stabbing each other.

But that's how the two of them get along—perhaps only then can they feel the bond of mother and son.

Their mocking each other made the faces of the two people beside them turn pale. They wanted to intervene but they didn't dare to intensify the conflict, so they could only watch helplessly.

Seeing that the quarrel had calmed down a bit, Teresa finally found a gap to intervene.

"Okay, let's end the greetings here. I'm a little hungry. Shall we have lunch first?"

With the steps to go down, Luisa's shortness of breath gradually subsided, and she regained her usual calmness.

"Of course, I have already prepared a sumptuous lunch for you." She smiled at Teresa, "Please come with me."

The quarrel came to an end, and the two couples came to the spacious restaurant of the palace together. Sure enough, a very sumptuous lunch had already been prepared here.

After a tiring journey, Aigron was already hungry, and he had to stop talking, so he took the initiative to put all his energy on the dining table.

As a small state, Parma is really inconspicuous, and there are no famous products, only ham is famous far and wide. In the spirit of tasting specialties, Egron deliberately cut off slices of ham with a dining knife and ate it. .

Luisa sat next to Teresa, and the two chatted and laughed happily, bringing the atmosphere back to harmony again. Their topics were quite treaty, from anecdotes about the Vienna court to Teresa's life in Greece. Experience, and then to the local customs of Palma, etc., and Aigron was also happy to be silent, concentrating on destroying the food, only thinking that today's visit would end as soon as possible.

When it came to Greece, Teresa specifically thanked Luisa for her previous help.

"Your Highness, thank you for your help. Without your help, we would not have been able to raise the funds we need so quickly and easily. This is your great contribution to our cause, and Aigron and I will always remember it .”

"I can't talk about any help, it's just a little effort." Luisa replied indifferently, "But I'm a little curious, where did you get so many jewels? Did you dig some ancient tombs of Roman emperors in Italy?"

Compared with those around Aigron, Louisa was born in the royal family since she was a child, so her vision is naturally extraordinary, and besides, there are a large number of jewelers as consultants around her.

Teresa wrote to her for help before, hoping to quickly realize the jewelry in her name in order to maintain Aigron's financial needs. After thinking about it, Luisa agreed, and after receiving the jewelry sent by Teresa, she appraised it. After some research—then she found that these jewels were genuine and valuable cultural relics, covering the era from ancient Rome to the Renaissance, and judging from the style and craftsmanship of the jewels, they should be mainly concentrated in central Italy.

How could her son be so rich suddenly?

She naturally wondered "did it come out of grave digging?"

But even though she judged so in her heart, she didn't say anything, and continued to silently assist Teresa in distributing those jewels, and even left a few favorites for her own use.

Now she is just asking casually.

And Teresa couldn't answer this question, so Aigron had no choice but to speak up.

"Emperor Napoleon used to plunder property in Italy. Someone found some ancient tombs and dug up the treasure." He stopped eating, and then repeated his rhetoric about fooling Chanel and the others. "After the empire was destroyed, they left these treasures behind. After I escaped, someone found me and gave me these treasures as my father's legacy. They thought I was the only one worthy of using it. "

He has told this set of lies many times, and he is already very proficient. He didn't expect to be able to fool his mother. Anyway, as long as he killed himself, it would be the truth, and she would have no way to prove it false.

However, to his surprise, instead of showing any expression of disbelief, his mother had an expression that was expected.

"So that's how it is... Earl Narosh and the others should be the ones who told you the whereabouts of the treasure? I thought they would break up with the money after the empire was destroyed, but I didn't expect that there were still people sticking to their loyalty , They really have a heart."

Queen Louisa just sighed calmly, and she never thought that her words would stir up a storm in Eggron's heart.

I rely on!Is there really such a treasure?

He didn't expect that the story he made up casually actually had its prototype.

For a moment, his expression was a little weird, and he managed to control himself, and lowered his head to eat to cover up the past.

"How do you know the existence of this person?" After calming down, he asked as calmly as possible.

"You seem to have forgotten that I was once the real ruler of the empire, although for a very short time." Luisa replied indifferently.

It was only then that Egron remembered that during Napoleon's expedition to Russia, his mother had been the queen regent of France for more than a year, and she had really participated in political affairs-so it seemed quite normal to know some secrets of the empire.

However, from the few words of his mother, there are really not many clues left for him.

"To be honest, I really don't know what his identity was before." He seemed a little ashamed and said, "But I have promised them that when I succeed in my career in the future, I will definitely reward them heavily. "

Because he didn't care about it at all, Aigron's temptation succeeded easily, and his mother replied to him indifferently, "At that time, someone reported to me that there was a secret team under the direct jurisdiction of the Imperial Ministry of the Interior. A lot of art treasures were unearthed in Italy to enrich the collections of the imperial family, so I asked about it, only to find out that what they did was such an obscene business—bah, after knowing these things, I didn’t ask any more questions, I Your family will never do such a thing! However, as far as I know, the person headed by them is Earl Narosh, yes, this guy is said to be elusive, and I don’t know if this is his real name. In short, he helps you Father got a lot of money, dirty money."

The speaker was unintentional, but the listener was intentional. Aigron firmly remembered every word his mother said.

In other words, under Napoleon's command, there really was such a group of people who secretly excavated wealth from the ancient families and tombs in Italy.

From a historical point of view, Napoleon did a good job - he snatched tens of thousands of art treasures to Paris, enriching the collections of the royal family and imperial nobles.

If there were such a group, who, under the protection of the emperor's army, went about digging up treasures from the tombs of Italy, why did they all disappear without leaving a trace?And after raising the flag, why is there still no movement?

No one who had been involved in the incident told Eggron this information, and it was not until the mother's casual chat that Aggron was slightly exposed to the shady scene.

There are many possibilities, maybe they all died fighting for the Empire or some other reason.