Eugenie with money [Grandet]

"No, Miss Eugenie." Nucingen interrupted Eugenie: "Everything is not as simple as you think. Now is the critical moment to save the market, and Earl Niegeland is very concerned about the progress of the rescue. For this reason , He personally asks about the situation of the railway bond market every day. But after the market closed yesterday, he has not contacted me, I suspect..."

Eugenie looked at the worried Nucingen: "No matter what you are worried about, the affairs of the royal family are not something you can participate in, can you, Mr. Nucingen?"

That's why Nucingen was worried.As a banker, it is impossible to develop in Paris without finding a backer.But finding a backer is tantamount to being tied to other people's interests. For example, the Nucingen Bank sided with the King of France because it took refuge in Earl Negeran.Liede Bank, as we all know, is on the side of the crown prince.

Now that his backing is not stable, how can Nucingen, who has already participated in it, not be in a hurry, he said helplessly to Eugenie: "But I have already participated, if Earl Negeran loses power and the king is really seriously ill, Nucingen The Qingen Bank is also in danger. Miss Eugenie, you are a partner of the Nucingen Bank, and if there is a problem with the Nucingen Bank, your investment in the Nucingen Bank will also be in danger."

It seemed that his investment in Nucingen Bank was very safe before.Eugenie looked at Nucingen calmly: "Mr. Earl, I don't know that you are just a banker. In order to ensure the stability of the public bond market, you are willing to do your part for the royal family. How can you become involved in royal affairs?"

Don't put gold on your face, if you put too much gold on your face, others will miss the gold on your face.This is what Eugenie told Nucingen.Nucingen was silent for a while after listening, and the more she thought about it, the more she felt that what Eugenie said made sense: "Do you think we should continue to save the market?"

What are you thinking.Eugenie looked at Nucingen speechlessly: "Is it necessary to continue to save the market? We have to wait for the next step of the royal family's instructions. After all, no matter whether you are in charge of the king or the crown prince or queen, everyone hopes to have a stable public bond market." Then they It is good to cut leeks one by one.

Nucingen felt that Eugenie was simply his guiding light, but he still asked cautiously: "Then will you still go to the bond exchange?"

Eugenie could not answer this question right away. Anyway, she still had 40 francs in the joint fund, and yesterday sold 15 shares of public bonds at a price of [-] francs, leaving a quarter of the public bonds in her hand. , the cost has already been doubled, and the price rise and fall again has little impact on her.

Nucingen, who did not get an answer, bid farewell to Eugenie somewhat embarrassedly.Even though he knew that he was going to face the crown prince's questioning, Nucingen had to go back to the bank to avoid any unpredictable problems.

Eugenie continued to ask the coachman to watch in front of the palace gate, and if the gathered people tended to disperse, she would come back and inform herself.At the cook's place, Eugenie also asked her to purchase as much food as possible and store it up—she was just a weak woman alone in Paris, and it was normal to plan for the worst when encountering things.

The coachman didn't come back so fast, and Eugenie's time became leisurely, which made her feel a little idle.Just about to do some entertainment, Elemi knocked on the door with a strange expression: "Miss, the chief lady is here to visit you."

It was really unexpected, and Eugenie quickly rearranged her makeup with the help of Elemi, and walked all the way thinking about the purpose of the chief lady's visit, and bowed her knees before meeting: "Master chief lady, thank you Your presence."

The Duchess still had a serious expression on her face, looking at Eugenie with a strong sense of inquiry: "Miss Eugenie, we meet again."

"Yes." Eugenie waited until the Duchess sat down before taking her seat, still unable to guess the purpose of the chief lady's visit.

The Duchess sipped the coffee Elemi brought, obviously not wanting to reveal the answer right away.Eugenie drank coffee with her, well, Elemi finally knew how to add a few pieces of sugar to herself today, and she could give her some rewards after the lady officer left.

Seeing Eugenie's appearance of just drinking coffee with herself, the chief lady officer had to praise in her heart, thinking that it was not without reason that Eugenie could be invincible in the public bond market.

"Miss Eugenie," she tried to make her tone sound gentle: "I heard that you have made great efforts to save the city these days, and you were frightened by the gathered civilians yesterday. The queen thinks your character , it is worth me to visit you on her behalf."

Eugenie stood up flattered, her cheeks were flushed, and her hands twisted together anxiously: "Thank you kind queen, thank you chief lady."

The Duchess looked at Eugenie in surprise, is this the end?The queen personally sent herself here, and this Eugenie just thanked her for a few words?Seeing Eugenie's reserved attitude, the Duchess calmed down the anger that had arisen from not getting enough attention, and did not get up and leave directly.

"Please sit down, Miss Eugenie." Compared to the master Eugenie, the chief female officer acted more calmly: "The queen has always been kind and wise, didn't you already know that?"

"Yes, Duchess." Eugenie answered honestly, without saying a word, and looked no different from girls who are usually reserved when they meet important people.

The Duchess scolded the little fox in her heart, but the expression on her face was a little relaxed: "Miss Eugenie, since you worked for the Empire in the public bond market, the Queen has been paying attention to you and asked you to operate her own funds. It is the Queen's greatest trust in you."

Queen's funds?Eugenie remembered the 500 million francs that were forced to give her, and the 25 shares of public bonds she sold to the queen for [-] francs, and a smile appeared on her face: "It is my duty to be loyal to the queen."

Seeing that Eugenie just refused to ask herself why she came to find her, the Duchess was in no mood to go around with her again: "I don't know if you read today's news, Miss Eugenie."

"I have read it," Eugenie replied honestly: "The Les Françaises reported the news that people gathered in front of the palace yesterday. Duchess, you don't know, when I came out of the exchange yesterday, I happened to meet The gathering of those people was terrifying."

The Duchess resumed her serious expression: "Don't you read the "Saint France" newspaper?"

Eugenie's smile was a little embarrassed: "Some reports in the "Holy France" are too sensational, I dare not use the so-called news on it..."

"Miss Eugenie," the Duchess said a little displeased, ""Holy France" has its own news channel, and the news published on it is not sensational."

Eugenie opened her mouth in surprise, and it took a while before she found her own voice: "You mean, Duchess, is it true that the news about the king's illness is true? My God, this is so surprising. .The king is such a kind and wise monarch.”

Regarding the poor vocabulary of girls from other provinces, the Duchess has given up hope, and quickly brought the topic back: "The king is indeed sick, so the queen needs some funds. The last time you put the funds with you to help the queen invest, you still have to pay for it." Didn't invest in it?"

Such shameless words, but the old woman said it so righteously, Eugenie had to stammer to defend herself: "Duchess, you said at the time that the queen asked me to guarantee 30.00% of my annual income. Profit, my profit this year, this year has been all, all delivered to you, isn't it?"

The Duchess nodded lightly, expressing that she had indeed received the profit from Eugenie, but she forgot that it was only July, and there were still nearly six months before the end of the year.

"Duchess," Eugenie was about to cry, "You know, I only trade public bonds. In order to ensure the queen's profits, those funds have already been invested in the public bond market."

"Impossible." The duchess changed her face all of a sudden, the queen is spending money now, and Eugenie actually invested all the money in the public bond market?She looked at Eugenie coldly: "Miss Eugenie, the public bond market is not stable. You actually invested all the Queen's funds there. Do you want the Queen's funds to be swallowed up by the public bond market?"

Eugenie shook her head again and again: "Please believe me, Duchess, I have strong confidence in the bond market. As you can see, I went to the bond market for two days, and the price of railway bonds has risen from fifteen francs to twenty francs. .”

The Duchess's livid face finally calmed down a bit: "Then I may ask, how much money did you invest for the Queen?"

Eugenie said with some embarrassment: "To boost confidence, I bought a total of 25 shares yesterday."

"all?"

"All." Eugenie counted the public debt in her hand, and after taking out the 25 shares, she was left with less than [-] shares, and she couldn't help feeling a little regretful.

The face of the Duchess darkened again, and her eyes were very sharp, as if she wanted to expose Eugenie's lie: "But Miss Eugenie, as far as I know, you only bought nineteen francs and fifty centimes yesterday. to 30 francs in public debt."

Eugenie smiled, and realized that her smile was inappropriate in the face of the Duchess's anger, so she quickly put it away: "Duchess, you know, two days ago, I had never personally set foot in the public bond market. Even so, when I arrived at the Bourse yesterday, the price of the railway bond was nineteen francs, and when I bought it, it was nineteen and fifty centimes."

The Duchess understood the meaning of Eugenie's words, that is, if Eugenie bought a large amount of public bonds, the price of public bonds would rise uncontrollably, and once the news that she was going to sell was released...

"Can you guarantee the public debt back to twenty-five francs?" the Duchess wanted Eugenie to give a guarantee.

Eugenie shook her head, with bitterness on her face: "No, Duchess, I have no way to guarantee that the public debt will return to 25 francs. Even if my judgment is not wrong, [-] francs will be the recent high point of public debt. If the Queen really needs funds urgently, I suggest that you immediately take back the bonds and sell them as quickly as possible."

Seeing that the Duchess opened her mouth to speak, Eugenie knew what she wanted to ask, and explained to her kindly: "If it is only because the common people gather to petition the cabinet, the public bond market will not fluctuate too much. News of a serious illness will have a fatal impact on the bond market."

Speaking of this, Eugenie sighed: "After all, it is well known that the king is optimistic about the construction of railways and is committed to building railways in the colonies."

The Duchess was a little surprised: "How long will it be affected?"

Eugenie couldn't make a judgment, because no one knew how long the king would be sick with this illness.The duchess had originally come with the order to bring back all the funds, and hearing Eugenie's judgment that the bond market would fall, she was even more eager to get the bonds back, so she could sell them earlier to avoid losses.

The bond certificates that Eugenie presented to the Duchess this time were scattered and thickly packed.She also explained to the Duchess: "You know, the purchases are spread out so that the price will not fluctuate sharply. This is also convenient for selling."

The Duchess gave Eugenie a receipt, proving that the agency investment relationship between Eugenie and the Queen had terminated, and she was very satisfied that Eugenie never asked the Queen what she needed funds for.So she praised Eugenie verbally, and left with a thick bond certificate.

Sending off the solemn Duchess, Eugenie came to Grandet's former secret room, opened the box containing francs, and had to be aware of the funds on hand: Pablo sold 25 shares in the past two days A total of 480 francs were obtained from public bonds, and according to Eugenie's arrangement, [-] kilograms of gold had been purchased and secretly transported to Eugenie's unknown small apartment.

The 25 bond certificates taken by the Duchess were subscribed by Eugenie before the issuance of the railway bond, and it was the only bond of seven francs left in her hand.Now it was sold at twenty francs a share. Although it did not meet Eugenie's long-held expectations, she had to give it.

Knowing that the next King of France has a close relationship with the current queen, Eugenie certainly would not choose to oppose the queen now.It's just that Eugenie hasn't had no expenditures at all recently. The queen's 500 million francs are now only 400 million.

Eugenie was very thankful that all she gave to Madame Taicourt or Bono was public debt recently, which slowed down the decrease in the francs in her hand.

The 40 francs brought by Nucingen are still quietly lying in the box, waiting for Eugenie to use them to stabilize the public bond market.The 40 bond certificates purchased for two consecutive days were put together with [-] francs as the result of Eugenie's hard work.

After closing the box and carefully locking the heavy iron door of the secret room, Eugenie thought bitterly that Grandet's habit of building secret rooms everywhere had his merits.

Just when Eugenie counted the assets she could use, there was a huge wave of selling in the public bond market, which caught many people who were still optimistic about public bonds by surprise.By the time everyone realized it, the price of government bonds had already been pushed down by two francs and fifty centimes.

And Miss Eugenie, the genius of public debt that everyone was looking forward to, did not appear on the exchange for a long time, which also made speculators even less confident. There was a follow-up market. When the market closed in the morning, the price had dropped by three francs from the previous day.

Nucingen did not receive specific instructions. Although he invested some funds to support the market, it was a drop in the bucket. Facing strong selling orders, he watched the losses on his books.With more and more losses, Nucingen did not dare to invest any more money—this time the joint fund was able to raise money, which was obtained by the banks selling their respective deposits.If they all lose, the banks will be tight, and Nuqingen can't even think about the consequences.

According to Eugenie's instructions, the queen, who sold the public bonds at twenty francs, was satisfied that her investment had not suffered a loss, and said to the chief lady: "Duchess, you have worked hard this time. Miss Eugenie's The eyesight is really good."

When the chief female officer heard the price of public bonds before the market closed in the morning, she was also a little scared: "Indeed, if you don't sell it in time, the Queen's funds will suffer a loss of 75 yuan."

The two people who were rejoicing, when they heard the news of the arrival of the crown prince, showed a clear expression, thinking that after the crown prince got the money, he could use it to pay part of the army's needs, so as to get the support of the army. Said to the queen: "Your Royal Highness, if the crown prince can successfully ascend the throne, I will thank you."

"Your Highness the Queen." After the Crown Prince politely saluted the Queen, his face was not excited about receiving the money, but asked a little gloomyly: "I heard that you sold a large amount of public debt this morning?"

The queen nodded: "Yes, because you need money urgently. If you don't sell the public debt, how can you raise it all?"

The crown prince's face became even more difficult to look at: "Your Highness, who gave you the idea to let you sell the public bonds now? Do you know that the public bond market has finally stabilized for two days, because you sold a large amount, and there are signs of collapse again Towards."

The queen didn't expect such consequences from selling the public debt, so she couldn't help but look at the chief lady.

The chief female officer calmed down: "Prince, maybe it is not as serious as you think, or it may be because the news of the king's illness was released, which caused some people to worry. After all, everyone knows that the king is optimistic about railway bonds. If The king fell ill, and investors worried that the railway construction would not continue to receive the support of the royal family, so they reduced their holdings of public debt."

The crown prince was so angry that he couldn't even sit still: "He is sick, and it will cause turmoil in the public bond market?" How can that idiot.

"There are also reasons for those common people to gather to petition." The duchess recalled the conversation with Eugenie, and offered a message to the queen and the crown prince: "Everyone doesn't know when the petition will end, whether it will cause a fire, or whether Wait and see with money.”

"It makes sense." The crown prince nodded heavily: "Then let's start by quelling the petition."

There was a smile on the Queen's face again: "Indeed, the La Saunière family is so arrogant that they have no scruples at all. Are they going to empty out the treasury?"

The crown prince nodded to the queen, picked up a small box handed over by the chief lady, and went out. His attendant took the box and took back his residence for the crown prince, and then it was divided into different amounts and secretly sent to some people hands.

Several important members of the cabinet were waiting to be summoned by the crown prince, and the crown prince took the opportunity to ask everyone the issue of a comprehensive review of Earl Lassonniere's finances.

No one disagrees with the Crown Prince's opinion - the longer the civilian population gathers, the longer the city is shut down, and the harder it is to recover.If the king is still handling the affairs of the empire properly, the crown prince's opinion needs to be considered.But now that the king has fallen ill, and the attendant has been ordered by the crown prince to go back to the mansion for self-reflection, who would speak for Count Lassonniere.

Announcing to the civilians outside the palace that the Earl of La Saunière will be censored was done by the Crown Prince himself.He solemnly assured the people that if La Saunière really misappropriated and embezzled military expenses, then what awaits him will be the most severe trial: "The empire doesn't need such moths!" The crown prince's words were loud and loud.

The gathered crowd looked eagerly at the crown prince standing on the stage, and someone began to shout "Long live the crown prince." It caused a tsunami-like response. His Majesty, you can hear me clearly.

"Nie Rilang, what's going on, who is leading the people rebelliously?" The French king habitually called the attendant's name, but only one maid beside him answered him: "Your Majesty, Earl Nie Rilang's reflection is not over yet. .”

That's right, now I don't have Nie Rilang by my side, only the trembling maid.The Fawang looked at the maid with resentment: "Go, pass on my order and let Nie Rilang come to see her right away."

The maid shook her head: "The queen has an order. Without the queen's consent, people in the palace can't come in and out at will?"

"What?" His Holiness wanted to sit up angrily, but was hit by sudden dizziness and fell heavily onto the bed.The maid timidly called the king a few times, but when she got no answer, she called the doctor loudly.

The queen, who received the news that the king was in a coma again, personally took the chief female officer to guard outside the palace of the king, and did not allow cabinet members to visit, because this would affect the king's mood and would not be conducive to his recovery.

It is said that Countess La Saunière tried to visit the king in the palace and asked him to withdraw the censorship of her father.But the attendants who flattered her in the past stopped the countess who tried to keep calm and did not let her approach the gate of the palace because the crown prince did not allow it.

No one knew whether Countess La Saunière was desperate, and Eugenie would not care about a noble lady who had once been hostile to her.She felt that it was a pity that this time, the gathering of civilians to petition ended too quickly, and no beautiful scenery was built on the streets of Paris.

But Eugenie was in no hurry.The sun at dusk in summer was no longer so glaring. Eugenie told Elemi to open the window, and sat on the wicker chair with soft cushions, and opened a book leisurely, even if the content in the book was not to her. The speech was a bit obscure, but I read it slowly and fell asleep quickly.