[Count of Monte Cristo] Love and hatred

r107

Edmund still remembered that he rode all the way to the Dugar Bridge Inn because he wanted to return the crown blue diamond.Busani, who happened to be dressed as a priest, had already followed the shopkeeper into the door. He wanted to follow in, but suddenly heard an extremely familiar voice.

It was his neighbor at the time, the tailor Caderousse.

Edmund distinctly remembers seeing Caderousse sitting with Danglars and Fernando the day before his wedding to Maisette.The other two were undoubtedly his enemies, but he never understood what role Caderousse played in the injustice framed against him.

Edmund looked around and found a hut next to the inn, so he hid in it.He found that the hut and the main room of the inn were only separated by a wall panel, and there happened to be a hole in the wall panel, and he could clearly see everything that happened in the room.

Perhaps because the other party was a "priest," Caderousse began to complain about everything that had happened to him.Since the opening of that hateful canal, where the canal-boats had replaced the coaches, and the horse-drawn barges had replaced the stage-coaches, his inn had had no customers, no income, and the only two servants had to be dismissed.He described these as God's punishment for him.

Busoni was originally impatient with Caderousse's chatter, but when he heard that Caderousse accidentally mentioned a name called "Edmond", he suddenly became interested.

In order to promote his wine, Caderousse told Busoni the whole story of Edmund's arrest.But that's not enough. What Busani wants to know most is who framed his friend.

After a little thought, Busoni took out his only remaining diamond from his pocket, and told Caderousse that Edmund had a friend in need in prison, an English nobleman, although the Englishman Released from prison at the time of the Second Restoration, but before he left, gave Edmund a valuable diamond in return for his brotherly care.When Edmund was dying, he asked himself to sell the diamond, divide it into five, and give it to his relatives and friends.

Caderousse quickly fell into the trap and told the whole story about Danglars and Fernand conspiring to frame Edmund at the Reserve Restaurant, in order to prove that he was Edmond's only remaining friend.

As Caderousse narrated, Busoni became more and more angry.

"Can't you stop this shameless act?" Busani demanded, "or you are also an accomplice."

"No, Monsieur Priest," said Caderousse, shaking his head, "they got me so drunk that I can only remember vaguely what happened around me. As far as a man in that state can I said everything that was said, but they kept telling me they were just joking."

"But where were you when that poor sailor was caught, sir?" Busoni folded his hands. "You saw everything they did, but you still didn't say anything."

"I would have liked to speak out, Monsieur the Priest, but Danglars stopped me. He said that if Edmund had indeed brought a letter to the Napoleonic party in Paris, anyone who spoke for him would be punished for him." I admit that I was a coward and I was too scared to tell the truth. But I swear, I didn’t mean to commit a crime.”

"So, you just let it go?" Busani's blue eyes flickered.

"Yes. But whenever I think of it, I regret it day and night. I swear to you, I have another reason for this repentance, and that is, I believe that my poverty is the result of what I have done." Caderousse bowed his head, expressing his sincere repentance.

"Well, sir," Bussoni sighed softly, "You are very frank, Edmund originally entrusted me to distribute this diamond to his relatives and friends, but now his relatives are all dead, and Danglar Neither Ernest nor Fernand are his real friends. The diamond is yours now."

"Oh, thank you!" cried Caderousse. "Monsieur Priest, you are a messenger of God."

Apart from Edmund, Caderousse's wife, Madam Carconte, who heard this conversation, was blinded by the brilliant light reflected by the diamond.

Busani was originally here to stay, so she hurried down from the stairs and, together with her husband, entertained him very warmly.But as soon as Busani fell asleep, she went back to the living room and stared at the diamond with eyes like hot coals.

After a few minutes, she broke the silence by saying, "It might be worth fifty thousand francs, but it's not a fortune."

"Satisfy." Kadlu shook his head. "This money is probably enough to get us out of poverty."

The Cargunte girl snorted coldly, "Is this what you're after?"

"Then what do you want to do?" Caderousse said dissatisfiedly. "Such good things don't happen every day."

The Cargunte girl suddenly lowered her voice, "Such good things really don't happen every day. But what if this priest wears more than one diamond?"

"What do you mean?"

"Think about it. Because no one knows that Edmund gave him this diamond, he can keep it for himself." The Calgonette girl looked upstairs, "Perhaps Edmund was in prison The rich Englishman who had taken care of him left him several diamonds. When Edmund was dying, he gave them all to Father Busoni, and told him to distribute the diamonds to his friends, one for each. And now , since you told Danglars and Fernand the secret of Edmund's framing, the priest could have swallowed their share of diamonds, and then sent you the smallest one without any resentment. condemnation of conscience."

"You seem to have a point in saying that..." Caderousse said hesitantly, "but how can we prove it?"

The Calgonette woman gestured at her neck with her hand.

Caderousse turned pale with fright, "You will offend God!"

"If he really existed, why did a good man like Edmund die, while a villain like Danglars and Fernand could flourish?" asked the Cargontes.

The scene caught Edmund's eyes, and a part of him wished that Caderousse would refuse this dreadful offer.

But he didn't.

Seeing the two of them going up to the attic with a knife, Edmund ran into the next room with all his might.The plank fell down at once, he hurried upstairs, and shot the proprietress who was about to strike, because she was too focused on her own thoughts, she didn't hear the huge movement downstairs.

Caderousse, who witnessed this scene, immediately turned and fled, and fell heavily down the stairs in a panic.

When Edmund walked down the stairs step by step, Caderousse struggled to get up from the pool of blood, and kept begging for mercy, "Sir, help me, remember that I didn't kill that priest, it was the Cargontes." !"

"Look who I am!" Edmund moved the wall lamp hanging on the wall closer to his face.

"I haven't seen you..."

"Think again, that was when you were at Marseilles," said Edmund, with a magic power that revived the poor wretch's weakened mind.

"Yes," murmured Caderousse, "I seem to have seen you, and I know you."

"Yes, you said in front of that priest just now, you are my good friend." Edmund's blue eyes flashed with anger.

"You're... no, that's not possible..."

Edmund noticed that the other party was very close to death.Knowing that it was a flashback, he approached the dying man, stooped down with a calm and melancholy look on his face, and said softly, "I am—"

From his almost closed mouth whispered a name, in a voice so low that he seemed afraid to hear it himself.

At that moment, Caderousse's eyes widened, and he looked at the tall man in front of him with a look of awe and fear.He exhausted all his strength and stretched his hands to the sky tremblingly, "Oh, yes, you are him, you are the messenger of God! God, forgive me for doubting your existence just now! Accept me, my God !"

He closed his eyes tightly, let out a sound between a moan and a sigh, and fell down.

Edmund watched this scene in silence, with mixed emotions surging in his heart.At this moment, Busani, who had recovered from the shock, also came down from upstairs and stood beside him.

"It's the diamond," murmured Edmund.

"Yes, I shouldn't have given him that diamond," Busani held his head in pain. "He has already repented! It was that diamond that lured him astray."

"No!" Edmund took out the crown blue diamond from his bosom, "I'm talking about it. When you got it, it put you in prison for more than ten years. When you took it on board the Nemesis, the ship was The Duke of Buckingham is sunk. Now, I've brought it here...the diamond is cursed and we should seal it up."

"I listen to you," Busani nodded, and followed Edmund out of the inn.He suddenly realized that he was kicked out by Edmund.

Edmund, however, had no intention of driving him away.Now, Busani already knew all his secrets, and he also knew everything about Busani.And everything that happened in the inn made him realize that Busani is a kind and simple person, just like him back then.Maybe Busani wouldn't live long anywhere without himself, especially if he had an older brother like the Duke of Buckingham.

So he acquiesced to Busani to follow him.

They walked out of the desert in silence all the way, crossed the Mediterranean Sea together, and arrived in Turkey.Now in Rome, they are already tacit partners.

After a brief silence, Busani spoke, "You know, I'm not afraid of the Duke of Buckingham, because I have friends like you by my side, supporting me..."

"Don't forget that I helped you back then because I wanted to get rid of the Duke of Buckingham, for the Nemesis!" Edmund clasped his hands.

"For Mel too?"

Edmund didn't deny it.

"But he belongs to the Duke of Buckingham," Busani frowned.

"Busani, I know you have been hurt by the dark stars, so I hate them." Edmund pondered for a while, "Ke Mel is not Jupiter."

Busoni tightened his lips, as Mel himself had said to him.

"What's more, if she is really Salome, she has told me the whole truth. She has already betrayed the Duke of Buckingham," Edmund murmured.

"It doesn't make sense," Bushani narrowed his eyes slightly. "According to my informant, the bandits captured Shamera's three men and then caught her. Salome was not in the carriage. Maybe they just deliberately Show us, maybe Mera let her go on the way..."

Edmund walked to the window, it was already dusk, everything in the world was shrouded in a mysterious and illusory atmosphere, only the bright star Venus was shining dazzlingly above the Pantheon.

"I don't care. I lost her once, and now I've lost her a second time, and I'm going to stay in Rome until I find her."

"No, Edmund, if a person does not want you to find her, then you will never find her." Busoni pondered slightly, "If she is willing to meet you, I think you know where to wait for her .”

Edmund did know where to wait for her.

Monte Cristo Island.