Eagle's Glory

"Madam, considering the general's current physical condition is really bad, it is inconvenient for us to make too many inquiries—but, after all, we have a responsibility and we cannot neglect it, so..." After thinking for a while, the sheriff made the final decision Decided, "I will leave an investigation document, I hope you and your husband will fill it out truthfully, and explain clearly the whereabouts of your family recently. After the general wakes up, he will also need to explain his current political stance, and publicly declare that he is not involved into any action detrimental to the dynastic government—”

Although his tone was still bad, Alice was relieved after hearing this.

Allowing the general to stay at home means that the general has escaped the recent storm. He only needs to keep a low profile for the next period of time to ensure that nothing happens.

"I will." Alice replied sternly.

The sheriff didn't say anything more, he saluted his wife again, and then left with his men.

Alice watched their backs as they walked out of the house, and finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Married at a young age, did she ever think that one day she would summon up the courage to face the dynasty's iron fist in order to protect the dynasty's rebellion?

It's not a bad feeling, though.

Of course, she also knew in her heart that the reason why she drove people away so easily was definitely not because she was so powerful and could scare the sheriff. The real reason was just because of the surnames of her natal family and husband's family.

"Even if there is a rebellion these days, there must be someone in the court..." She smiled wryly, expressing emotion in a low voice.

Just as Alice saw off the uninvited guest, the Marquis de Treville, who had fainted temporarily, gradually opened his eyes again on the bed in the bedroom.

"Father..." Edgar who was accompanying him almost cried with joy, "Are you all right?"

Seeing the tears in the corner of his son's eyes, the Marquis de Treville, who was extremely disappointed in his son, couldn't help feeling a little warmer in his heart.

Although this kid is ineffective, he still has a bit of filial piety.

"It's hard, but I can't die." He opened his mouth, and then spoke a short answer with difficulty, then he frowned again, and coughed violently, "This medicine is really powerful!"

Seeing his father coughing, Edgar quickly stroked his father's back, trying to help him breathe.

After all, the general has developed a strong physique during his years of military service. He stopped coughing quickly, and then looked at his son with gray and dull eyes, "You have to be calm, don't be surprised. Suddenly, although I was in a daze just now, I can still feel that Alice is much calmer and calmer than you! You should learn from it."

"When my father was in a coma, I would rather not have such a hard heart..." Edgar disagreed.

Then he changed the subject again, "Father... Now that you have woken up, I feel at ease. You are weak now, so take a good rest first, and we will take care of the rest."

After speaking, he got up and was about to leave.

However, at this moment, the Marquis of Treville suddenly reached out and grabbed his son's wrist.

In all fairness, the general's strength is less than one-tenth of what it used to be because of his current weakness. Edgar can easily push him away, but his father's prestige is too deep in his heart. Although he is surprised, he dare not resist.

"Is there anything else you want to say?" he asked tremblingly.

"Tell me, during the time I've been out, have you wandered out again—especially with Princess Cadia?" Although the voice of the Marquis de Treville was weak, his eyes were still as sharp as usual, Edgar trembled with fear.

"No..." he replied subconsciously, and then, frightened by his father's stern gaze, he immediately changed his words, "Actually, it was only once or twice, after all, I need to relax occasionally... Don't worry, I covered it up very well. Alice didn't know it at all, besides, I followed your orders and never made her unhappy..."

He originally thought that he would be scolded by his father like a storm, and he was already prepared for it in his heart, but to his surprise, his father didn't scold him this time, but just sighed helplessly.

"It's really unworthy! Our ancestors of all ages just regarded seeking flowers and willows as an embellishment of life, but you regard it as life itself! Alas, you will be ruined by this sooner or later."

After sighing, he changed his tone again, "Forget it, I don't want to say anything about you now, you should cut off all other lovers first, and concentrate on pleasing Princess Kadiyang—"

"What?" Edgar never thought that such words would come out of his father's mouth.

Then, he was overjoyed—after all, this was the first time his father had acknowledged his love affair.

After he was severely reprimanded by his father last time and was almost whipped by the horsewhip, fear inevitably appeared in his heart, and he had to reduce his contacts with his lovers, and because of going to Greece, he was forced to temporarily cut off his contacts with his lovers. contact.

Is it possible to use it for a long time? Is it safe to use it?/p>

However, after returning to Paris, he was already suffocated and quickly recovered his former state.

While playing the role of a good husband and son at home, he tried his best to "repair the relationship" with his old lovers. Relying on his innate talent, he did a good job in this job.

He told his father that it was only "one or two times", but the actual situation was naturally far more than that, but now the Marquis didn't want to get into it.

Soon Edgar became suspicious again, because he knew that his father had no interest in caring about such things.

Sure enough, my father soon expressed his plan, "I don't care about you and your mistress. I asked you to maintain a good relationship with Princess Kadiyang for the sake of our majesty and ourselves. Now this In troubled times, we need more stable external relations and news channels. I will definitely be closely monitored recently, so I am imprisoned at home, and I must not act rashly. At this time, I can only rely on you——If you It's fine if you have the ability to run the family on your own, but you don't... so I can only rely on you to rely on your old lover's relationship. By the way, don't let Alice know, she may not be able to bear such a blow .”

"I understand..." Edgar concealed the joy in his heart, and then nodded seriously, "Don't worry, father, I know the proportion, and the princess is very dedicated to me, I can easily I get shelter from her, and if I want to know something, she will definitely go to help me."

"Is that child a boy or a girl?" asked the Marquis de Treville in a low voice.

Edgar was almost stunned by this sudden question, and soon he realized what it meant.

"The princess said it was a man, but I haven't seen it yet." He replied in a low voice, "He was not born when I left Paris, and later I temporarily lost contact with the princess. I didn't know until I came back. Fearing that he would be criticized by others, he secretly sent him to a family of small landlords in other provinces who had been favored by her. On the surface, he was treated as an adopted son by them. The princess would look for opportunities to visit him regularly. When we met before, I still wanted to Take me to see him together, but I politely shirk him."

When Edgar mentioned the child, his tone was very contemptuous. After all, although the child's mother was of noble birth, he was just an illegitimate child who couldn't see the light, and he never cared about it in the first place.

No matter in the previous era or in the current era, the nobles and ladies indulged in lust and lust, accidentally obtained the crystallization that was not blessed by God, and most of them would only be sent to the people to live in obscurity. Even most of them never knew who their biological parents were during their entire lives - Edgar certainly wanted to follow such a precedent.

Then he suddenly thought, why did the father suddenly mention this child?

"You...you..." He looked at his father in astonishment, and suddenly thought of something, "You want to recognize him as your grandson?"

"No! I don't want to! I hate this little thing that shouldn't have been born and has never been blessed by anyone more than anyone else." The Marquis de Treville said coldly, "But I must admit that this boy does It already exists, and it flows with your blood, as well as mine."

Then, he looked at his son sternly, "Listen, you and Alice are still very young, as long as you work hard enough, you still have a lot of chances to get heirs - if you have a son in the future, then this little thing will Throwing it aside, I don't even want to take a look, even if he is the queen's son, I don't recognize him."

Although he only spoke half of what he said, as his son, Edgar immediately understood the implication-if his and Alice's "efforts" did not bring about a son, his father would Figured out how to turn this unblessed little thing into a real Treville family member.

As a vagabond, Edgar doesn't care about heirs at all. In his opinion, it doesn't matter even if his legal children are daughters. It is indeed an unbearable consequence to see that he can only be extinct.

Alas, even a hero like Emperor Napoleon cannot escape this kind of thinking, otherwise why would he have to forcibly divorce Queen Josephine at the age of 40 to marry a Habsburg princess who can have a son?

However, Edgar knew that things were not that simple, and he didn't care if such a thing happened, but what would Alice think?

His repeated betrayals have already brought serious disasters to Alice. If her father really wants an illegitimate son to inherit the family business in the future, it will undoubtedly be a heavier knife in her heart. Is it possible for her to accept it? ?

And Xia Lu, my daughter, what will she think then?Would she allow a "brother" whom she had never met to embarrass herself?

Thinking of this, he felt a little headache.

"Why, you still have the nerve to put on such an expression for me!" The Marquis de Treville snapped at his son, "If you give me a little credit, why would I bother to think so much? I have already said, as long as you and Alice has a son, and that little bastard can go as far as he wants, I don’t even want to look at it! So, if you feel uncomfortable, you should work hard for me! I’ve been desperate for your generation, and now I’m determined Educating the next generation personally, when the time comes, our Treville family will definitely sweep away the haze of the past few decades and move towards new glory--I only count on you to do this little thing now, if you can't even do this well, then Get out as soon as possible, don't embarrass your father and ancestors again!"

His father's scolding made Edgar's face turn red and turn pale, but he couldn't refute.

Indeed, he failed his father's expectations, but what can he do?If he doesn't like it, he doesn't like it. If he can't do it, he can't do it. He has no intention of living a life like his father's.

"Okay, Dad, I understand..." After hesitating for a moment, he nodded, "I will ask Princess Kadiyang about the whereabouts of this child and the name he is using now. Of course, I will not let him I know your plan. If Alice and I have a son in the future, I will pretend that nothing happened, and that he does not exist."

The father's stern expression softened slightly, "Well, that's it. Edgar, don't let me down again."

Edgar nodded silently, he knew in his heart that this was the last expectation his father gave him.

Whether he likes it or not, he must devote himself to a career he doesn't like, because it is his father's decision.

After a moment of silence, the Marquis de Treville suddenly spoke again.

"How is Agnes doing now?"

Edgar, who was in a heavy heart, was caught off guard by this sudden question.

"She...she's okay. I haven't seen her since I returned to Paris, and she seems to be avoiding me on purpose."

"Oh, this stubborn and proud little girl..." The Marquis de Treville sneered. "It's okay, we still have time. When I talked with His Majesty, I clearly felt that he was quite interested in Agnes—"

"But she is obviously still in conflict with His Majesty." Edgar replied, "When we came all the way back, she almost never mentioned His Majesty once, and she turned a deaf ear when I deliberately mentioned His Majesty."

"Really? This explains a lot of problems—and we won't let her choose." The Marquis de Treville had a calm expression, and then narrowed his eyes slightly.

"Okay, Edgar, I'm going to rest, you go to accompany Alice. Remember, she is not only our reliable helper, but also the key to many problems... In any case, don't make her unhappy. Take out The only skill you are good at, son of a bitch, the rest will be dealt with after my body recovers."　　

57. Sisterhood

The turn of spring and summer is the most vibrant time of the year. In Schönbrunn Palace at this time, although the gardens are still lush and the water in the fountains is as clear as ever, in the huge palace, there is There were not many fresh breaths of life, and even the attendants and maids who hurried past did not have many smiles on their faces, and there was a depressing atmosphere, as dull as the old emperor himself.

This is not surprising. In the era of Queen Teresa, the palace was full of people. The queen gave birth to more than a dozen children in one breath while taking power. The laughter of these children made the surroundings noisy. ——However, more than half a century has passed, and the situation has changed a lot.

Emperor Franz has been on the throne for more than 30 years and has been married four times. Although these queens have given him many children, most of them died unfortunately, and very few survived, and the daughters grew up. He also married when he became an adult, and only two sons remained.

Among the two sons, the eldest son suffers from severe mental illness and has almost no ability to take care of himself, so he can't even talk about getting married; while the younger son is normal, but his mental development is mediocre, and he even has epileptic seizures from time to time. Married to Princess Sophie, the relationship between husband and wife is quite cold.

In their youth they were not brilliant or lively, and when they were grown up they lacked any personal charm which could do anything to improve the dreary atmosphere of the court.

To put it bluntly, the Duke of Reichstedt, who used to live here in seclusion, can almost be said to be the only source of vitality output for this palace. His talent shown during his growth has finally made this palace have An ideal royal grandson.

Perhaps it was for this reason that his grandfather secretly hoped to find him a marriage partner and let him stay here.

However, things backfired, and an accident happened before this fingered marriage became a reality.

The escape of the Duke of Reichstedt not only greatly angered His Majesty the Emperor, but also further reduced the population of the palace, and more seriously, it seemed to have drained its remaining vitality. Since a year ago, , the place began to be so dull that even the most staid servants felt bored, it was as silent as a pool of stagnant water, and even in the foreseeable future, there would not be much change.

Although the palace will still hold celebrations and balls as usual, and His Majesty the Emperor can also show his due majesty, such routine activities have no other meaning except to further reveal the dullness of the old emperor. The guests also acted mechanically in accordance with social etiquette, hoping to end this boring suffering as soon as possible.

This country, like the emperor, seems to be drowsy and old, people of all walks of life consume their remaining vitality in lazy balls and chats in cafes, and bureaucrats indulge in the inertia of routine, The whole country is also slipping into the abyss of weakness step by step in the dull, all the accumulated problems are only perfunctory and procrastinated, and there seems to be no hope of change.

Today, the palace calmly welcomed a guest from afar. Out of her honorable status, the palace gave her a corresponding standard of reception according to the usual rules, but there was absolutely no extra enthusiasm, everything was just a routine .

This guest is naturally Princess Maria who came from Bavaria to visit Schönbrunn Palace.

In the previous meeting with Aigron, she took the initiative to say that she would help her sister, and now it is time for her to fulfill her promise.

The energetic Princess Maria came to Schönbrunn Palace for the first time in her life. Like most first-time visitors, she was overwhelmed by the exquisite architecture and scenery here; A depressing feeling of dullness—those rigid faces with almost no laughter or laughter, although their appearances were different, she only felt that their souls seemed to have been assimilated, imprinted with a boring mark.

"There is everything here, but there is no humanity. No wonder she is so desperate to fall in love with that guy." Maria thought to herself. "If I don't do this, I'm afraid I'll go crazy a long time ago—ah, of course, if I do this, I'm going crazy, and it looks like the consequences will be even worse, but at least I've been happy, it's better than the soul slowly drying up in the boring waiting..."

Not long after, she was brought to the drawing room of His Majesty the Emperor.

Although she had never seen His Majesty the Emperor in person before, after seeing the old man sitting behind the desk, even if she didn't pay attention to the dress he was wearing, just by the dull and gloomy temperament, Maria knew that she would never There will be no mistake.

After glancing at the old emperor, Maria immediately felt a sense of disgust in her heart, but she buried this feeling of disgust well in her heart, and then saluted him with a respectful attitude.

"Your Majesty, I am very honored to have the opportunity to meet you. Your kindness and achievements are familiar to me even in a foreign country, and I am full of admiration for you."

"Oh, is that so?" His Majesty the Emperor didn't show any joy, but just nodded indifferently.

Like Maria, the old emperor didn't have a good impression of Maria at first sight—after all, Princess Maria looked exactly like her sister and the emperor's daughter-in-law, so he naturally and generously transplanted a portion of that disgust to her .

Compared with Maria, the emperor didn't need to be hypocritical and polite to people he hated, so he acted quite coldly, "I thought you wouldn't like me too much——"

Although His Majesty the Emperor did not say it clearly, Maria naturally understood what the other party was referring to—after Emperor Napoleon began to rise, Bavaria fell to the French Empire for its own benefit, and eventually became an ally of the other party, following France and Austria many times. , as one of Napoleon's mortal enemies, Emperor Franz naturally never forgave these "German traitors" in his heart.

"Your country and our country are friendly allies. For many generations, our two great families have intermarried with each other. Through matrilineal inheritance, we also have the blood of the Habsburg family in our bodies, and you are exactly this great family. How could we not admire you, patriarch?" Maria replied with a smile, "In fact, we are all grateful that Germany has such a benevolent and deserving leader as you, who restored and defended us all. peace, for which we are eternally grateful.”

Although she has always spoken harshly, and even dared to ridicule her own brother, she still has reason and knows how to behave properly. She naturally knows that it is not a joke to offend His Majesty the Emperor at this time—especially when the emperor is still in the middle of the night. In the case of asking for this old guy.

Of course, there are still some thorns hidden in her words-the old emperor's 30 years of rule can never be called benevolent and generous, with outstanding achievements, quite the opposite.

Then, she continued respectfully and continued, "I came here this time, and I also brought letters written by my mother and brother Wang to express my respect for you."

Emperor Franz still had a cold attitude, just nodded lightly, motioning for Maria to present the letter to him - of course he knew that they didn't write the letter to express their "respect" to him.

After obtaining permission, Maria enshrined the two letters. His Majesty the Emperor opened the letter, glanced at it out of courtesy, and then quickly put it aside.

In order not to offend the emperor, the wording of the two letters has been carefully considered. The front part is full of clichés and nonsense. At the end, he slightly mentioned his concern for Sophie, saying that he would not receive Sophie's letter for a long time. , As a family member, I am very worried and hope to get definite news.

Of course, the content of the letter did not exceed the expectations of the old emperor. Those clichés full of compliments did not make him happy, but the anger in his heart rose again.

The reason why this woman dared to be so lawless was not because she felt that her natal family had a noble status, so she was confident!

Emperor Franz was not afraid of Bavaria, and he didn't think that the King of Bavaria would really make trouble with him because of a married princess, but he was also a royal family, so he had to respond.

"Sophie is feeling a little unwell right now. Although there is no danger to her life, the doctor thinks that it is best to rest, so she temporarily stopped communicating with the outside world. I am sorry to make you so worried."

"Then can you let me go and see her?" Maria immediately asked, "Since she is sick, as a younger sister, I should visit her—besides, I have to blame her, and it's fine if I don't communicate with the outside world. , She didn’t even say a few words to our mother, it’s too much, even if she is sick in bed, don’t she even have the leisure to say a few words to the people around her! There is no reason to worry us so much, do you think she is so talkative? ?”

His Majesty the Emperor was in a bad mood when he saw this woman who looked the same as his daughter-in-law, and now he was even more annoyed after hearing this sarcasm question.

Sure enough, she came out of a mother's womb, so arrogant and mean...

But on the surface, there seemed to be nothing wrong with Maria's words. Even if he wanted to get angry, he had nowhere to vent his anger. As the emperor, he couldn't lower himself to quarrel with a woman, so he could only wave his hand impatiently.

"Of course, our place is not a prison, how can we not let my sister visit my sister? Someone will take you there later—"

He wasn't afraid that Maria would learn of Sophie's current situation - so what if she knew?I can't even take revenge on myself.

"Thank you for your generosity!" Maria immediately saluted the old emperor again.

Just as she was about to leave with the court attendants, the old emperor suddenly asked, "Duke Reichstedt has been in your country for a while, how do you get along?"

Maria had already guessed that the emperor might ask a similar question, so she wasn't surprised and just answered him calmly,

"It's a pity that I rarely meet him. After all, he came to our country for some important events, not to visit relatives and friends; however, judging from the limited contacts, I think His Highness is not only outstanding in appearance, but also elegant in manner and wealthy. Personal appeal, I think he is indeed worthy of being the best of the generation - this is also the result of your careful nurturing of him, without you, God knows where he would be!"

"Hmph, if he understands this truth, why is he here?" the emperor said angrily.

"I think he understands this truth." Maria replied with a smile. "During our conversation, the Duke was very grateful to you, and he also felt very sorry for what he did before. From the facts, you not only Raising him, and carefully choosing such a wife for him, can be described as a mountain of kindness, so I think, if his ambition for fame and fame is a little weaker, he may really be willing to be by your side and be your filial grandson ..."

Normally, when she seems to be praising, she is actually doing bad things, but at this moment she seems to be doing bad things, but she is actually praising—after all, Duke Reichstedt did reject her "send grandfather to serve God in advance "'s proposal, no matter what the motivation is, this is filial piety.

Of course, the emperor couldn't tell the difference between the slander and the truth, he just felt that he was stabbed secretly by the other party again - of course the truth was similar.

He only felt that his blood pressure was soaring, but it was difficult to attack, and he felt even more disgusted with this Princess Maria in his heart.