[Count of Monte Cristo] Love and hatred

r022

Mei Tess was sitting on the carriage to Aix, clutching a box of gold coins tightly in her hand.That city is only [-] kilometers away from Marseille, but in her view, it is extremely long, as if it will never end.

Several women in the same car were chatting about Napoleon's exile in St. Helena, but she just turned her face and looked out the window.

The sparse bushes receded quickly, and the dark sky was exposed between the trees, just like her mood at this time.

It has been a year since she entered the Château d'If alone, but the heartbreaking scene of meeting Edmund in the dark cell is still vivid in her memory. She still remembers that when she visited Edmund, he was so haggard. , like a ghost crawling out of hell.

Suddenly recalling his appearance at the wedding for the first time, thinking of those eyes as clear as the spring water of Mount Sainte-Victor, and that smile as pure as Raphael's icon, Mei Tess only felt that things were people. No.

It's not that she never thought of trying to rescue Edmund, but now that the Bourbon dynasty has been restored again, this matter is beyond her capabilities and needs to be considered in the long term.

Plum Tess looked down again at the rings they had hastily exchanged in prison.She didn't notice the difference during the wedding, but after leaving the dungeon, she found that the lines on the ring were sharper than her own, like a circle of ancient Egyptian runes branded with burning flames.

Two rings, one engraved with the sea and the other with fire.She didn't understand the meaning, but from the moment she exchanged rings with Edmund, everything seemed different.

She was not his lover, but she gave him a promise.Maybe her original intention was just to bring some comfort to Edmund in prison, but after leaving Chateau d'If, she thought for a long time and finally found that waiting was not a good choice.

This is a special era. The storm of the French Revolution shook the world, but it did not affect the family system much, and the status of women was still unimaginably low. The "Civil Law" born in 1804 stipulates that "women, children, and servants have no penny property, because they themselves are a kind of property." All social behaviors of wives must be approved by their husbands, such as accepting inheritance, giving gifts during their lifetime, and acquiring property. , transfer property, mortgage property, engage in a profession, testify on official documents, sign artistic contracts, obtain official certificates, etc.This situation did not change after Louis XVIII came to power.

At the same time, there was also a famous female social activist from the bottom of society, Flora Tristan. She had a famous saying that summed up the status of French women in the family very brilliantly. "The most oppressed man can oppress a person." , that is his wife. She is the proletarian of the proletariat."

Mei Tess is unwilling to be a vassal of any man, so in this era, she has no illusions about marriage.And now that she has the title of Edmund's fiancée, she can marry anyone she doesn't love without being pressured by society.

On the other hand, she and Edmund have experienced so many storms, and a bond has gradually developed between them.From the beginning of this era, she became his fiancée inexplicably, and their fates were tightly bound together.And in the process of pursuing the truth later, she also kept getting to know him and knew him.To her, Edmund was no longer a stranger.

Sometimes she also wondered, if Edmund was born in modern times, or if she had just met Edmund when she traveled to the imperial era, would there be a beautiful story between them?

Because of this, that promise held an inexplicable weight in Mei Tess's heart.

Regardless of the outcome, she will wait for his return.

She originally planned to live with the old Dantes who treated her like a father, and now she was lucky enough to find the money left by Edmund, in case they couldn't wait for him... Although she was extremely unhappy Willing to think so... that money is enough for her to take care of his father.

But what if Edmund came back?

At that time, she had fulfilled her promise to him.Maybe she will leave Marseille, and then find her own place under the sky of 200 years ago.

Or maybe...

Perhaps because the wheels hit a stone, the carriage jerked violently.Plum Tess came back to her senses, clutching the box tightly in her hand.

Locked in the chest were a hundred louis d'or.Most of the money left by Edmund was in it after spending a fortune when he entered the Château d'If.

Maize Tess had offered to buy a house with the money, and to have old Dantès removed from his cramped room in Merlin Lane, so that he might be better cared for.But the old man didn't agree, he insisted on waiting for his son there.

"I will never leave this room," said he, "my poor boy loves me more than anything in the world, and if he gets out of prison he will be the first to see me, and if I am not here waiting for him he will What do you think?"

Plum Tess fully understood the old man's feelings, but it was extremely unsafe to leave such a sum of money in the house.Therefore, one of the purposes of her visit to Aix this time was to find a bank to deposit the money, so that they could earn an interest.

After arriving at the medieval city with boulevards, fountains, and mansions, Mei Tess went straight to the famous Via Mirabeau.Avenue Mirabeau is very wide, with lush plane trees on both sides, surrounded by mansions with a history of hundreds of years, but what makes this avenue famous all over the world are the large and small fountains along the road.

However, Plum Tess was not in the mood to appreciate the scenery in front of her, and her eyes were fixed on both sides of the road.There are several banks on her left, and a coffee shop on her right. Since the last century, enjoying this drink imported from South America has become an important part of European life.

After visiting several banks, Maisie Tess chose one that was reliable and allowed her to pay a portion of the interest in advance, so that their financial situation would not be too tight.

She made a deposit in the name of old Dantès, and walked towards the Café Two Boys across the boulevard.

Another purpose of her coming to Aix this time is to find the strange doctor that people said.

Since old Dantes had a fever last time, his illness has been recurring. Mei Tess invited many doctors but nothing worked. After all, the medical skills of this era are still very backward.But that "strange doctor" was different.He was very prescient to use cinchona to extract quinine, which shows that the technology he has mastered is ahead of the times.If you are lucky enough to find him, the old man's condition may be completely cured.

And there is no better place to hear news than a coffee shop.

The "Two Boys Cafe" was founded by two brothers in 1792.She had been there once, and that was 200 years later.At that time, the café was already famous all over the world and favored by literati and artists.What impressed her most was the portraits of the naturalist writer Emile Zola and the impressionist painter Paul Cézanne hanging in the museum. These two celebrities who were born in Aix often visited here.

Now, although the cafe still cannot see the glory of later generations, it is an unexpected gain to be able to see the original founding brothers with their own eyes.

The store is not big, and as soon as she entered the door, Mei Tess could smell the tangy aroma of coffee.Sure enough, there were only two waiters in the store as it said on the door plate. They looked very similar, and both had fluffy brown curly hair.The older one with the mustache is in charge of making the coffee, while the younger one is humming and serving the coffee to the guests.

After ordering a cup of Aurora coffee with half scalding milk, Melissa Tess tipped the young waiter for information about the doctor.

The waiter mistook her for the doctor's suitor, because he couldn't think of any other reason why anyone would be interested in that "strange doctor".Therefore, after collecting the change in surprise, he told Mei Tess everything he knew.

"Miss, I think you are referring to Dr. Avrini, who happens to be a guest of our café. I remember him very well because he always wears a pair of old spectacles with the corners hanging over his ears." .He hasn’t been here for a while, though, because he can’t find anyone to continue funding his research.”

Mei Tess had a bad premonition, "Where should I find him?"

"He has been staying at the Cross Swan Hotel before," the waiter spread his hands apologetically, "but I guess he may have left Aix by now."

After thanking her, Mei Tess reluctantly found the hotel.Unfortunately, as the waiter had said, Avrini's doctor had already paid his bill and left.

Plum Tess walked out of the gate in frustration, and then walked back along the street lined with shops. The hustle and bustle of the market could not fail to attract her attention. She finally came to Aix, at least she should not return empty-handed.

"Lavender is the beautiful clothes of Provence, but wine is the blood of Provence," said a vintner in a leather jacket with a bushy mustache, "Miss, take a bottle back for your lover."

"I don't have a lover," Mei Tess smiled, "but if there is a suitable wine, I would like to bring a bottle back to give to my father."

"How can a beautiful lady like you lack the nourishment of love?" The wine merchant continued to compliment, "No one will be unwilling to satisfy you, as long as you ask."

Mei Tess looked at the name tag on his chest and said, "I don't need any nourishment of love for now, but I may really need you, uh, Mr. Robert, give me some..."

For a moment she couldn't remember how to say that word in French.