After ending their talks with Talleyrand and Soult, the Treville brothers left the basement, boarded the carriage they came from, and then quietly returned to the Marquis's house along the way they came.
The door of the residence.
After the carriage stopped, the two brothers stepped out of the carriage, and then the carriage started again and disappeared into the dark night.
It was almost early in the morning, but due to the continuous snow and wind, there was not a trace of light in the sky. The two Treville brothers quietly walked to the back door, and then gently knocked on the back door according to the agreed rhythm.
The servant who had been waiting here immediately opened the door and let the two brothers in.
After returning to the living room, the Treville brothers invariably approached the fireplace. The heat emitted by the burning dry wood finally drove away the chill on their bodies and made them feel much more comfortable.
Although the two brothers are older, their early years of wandering have tempered their bodies, so their bodies are still strong. After roasting for a while, they quickly returned to their normal state.
In order to avoid suspicion, after the Bourbon dynasty was restored in 1815 and the Duke of Treville returned to Paris with the royal family, the two brothers deliberately kept their contacts private. Therefore, they did not meet many times in the past ten years, but even so, there was a strong relationship between them.
The brotherhood has not lost half of it, on the contrary, it has become more sincere as time goes by.
However, they were not in the mood to talk about this brotherhood at the moment, because it would be dawn soon, and the Duke had to go home before dawn. At this juncture, he could not take risks.
"How do you judge the sincerity of the two of them?" the Duke asked his brother first.
"Although there is no evidence, I think the two of them are serious." The Marquis replied to his brother, "In the past ten years, they have been put aside by the Wang family, and their power has been greatly affected. Now they need to win over us to strengthen their momentum. I
Dare to say, they are not only looking for us, they must also be looking for many other people."
The Duke nodded slightly and agreed with his younger brother's judgment. "I think so too. They are sincere and they need us. Then we will have a chance..."
Recently, the two brothers have also communicated privately. They also judge that the Wang family is in a doomed situation and may collapse at any time, so they are also making preparations secretly.
After thinking for a while, Duke Treville cleared his thoughts and then explained his thoughts to his brother.
"Victor, it is obvious now that His Majesty the King will not be in power for too long, but at least now, he is the legal monarch, so he has his value, and my value is to sell His Majesty the King a good price..."
If others hear such treasonous words, they will definitely be horrified, but it is extremely common among brothers. After all, in their hearts, any monarch is just a tool for them to achieve their goals.
"You have settled on that boy from the Bonaparte family, then I will help the king buy time until he enters the court, and increase his chances of winning."
"That's right." The Marquis of Treville nodded, "You stall for time, and then Soult and Talleyrand will also play the drums. As long as we wait until he catches up with the time, we will have made a great contribution. He will definitely not
This credit will be forgotten.”
"Even if he catches up with the time, it's not certain that he will win." The Duke calmly pointed out the practical problem, "The Orleans family is very powerful, and they still have to fight."
"So what? Am I still afraid of fighting?" The younger brother asked disdainfully, "I am confident that he will win."
The Duke blinked. To be honest, he didn't understand why his brother had so much confidence in that young man. But since it was his brother's decision, he would naturally abide by it to the end.
"What you said makes me want to see him with my own eyes... I guess this wish will come true soon." He smiled bitterly, then shrugged, "Since this is your judgment, I believe me, you have to do everything
Bet, then I will help you, no matter what the cost."
Having said this, the Duke looked up at the ceiling again. At this time, due to the firewood in the fireplace, their shadows were shaking on the wall, like ghosts.
"Our family may have to rely on you to play the leading role in the future." After looking at it for a moment, the Duke sighed, "History is really like a reincarnation."
The Duke's emotion was justified. In 1805, the Marquis de Treville responded to Emperor Napoleon's call to treat the old nobility favorably and returned to France. In the next ten years, he relied on his bravery to rise rapidly in the empire and took the opportunity to rebuild his family business.
However, after 1815, the Marquis lost power with the demise of the Bonaparte family. At this time, the Duke returned to Paris with the royal family and became a favorite of the Restoration Dynasty. He turned to support the family business and protected his younger brother.
Now, more than ten years have passed, the situation has changed, and it is now my brother's turn to take charge of the family business.
The Duke was quite tolerant of this. Anyway, he was used to the unpredictable situation in his life and would not feel sad. Moreover, he was relieved to have his younger brother to support the family.
However, as a man who has experienced many ups and downs, he has to think more carefully about the problem.
"Victor, we must consider the worst case scenario. For you and me, whether the Bourbon family is on stage or the Bonaparte family is on stage, we can accept it. There is always someone between us who can rise to the top and protect him.
family. But if God unfortunately plays a joke on us, and the Orleans family laughs last, then the situation will be the worst. Because that means that both you and I will lose power together... Our family business will also inevitably
If you are damaged by it, you may even lose your family.”
The Marquis knew that his brother's words were true, so he gritted his teeth. "Don't worry, I won't let this happen. Even if I risk my life, I have to let the Bonaparte family ascend the throne!"
"Don't be desperate in everything. How many times can you risk your life? Moreover, if you lose your life and I lose power, who will protect our descendants next?" The Duke frowned slightly.
Then, he expressed his thoughts, "Next, I will make complete preparations. I will replace our family property as much as possible into cash and jewelry, and then store it in a reliable place. If everything goes well for us, then
It's best; if the Orleans family really comes to power, then we all go our separate ways, and you take half of it to support your family."
"How is this possible..." the Marquis objected.
"Stop talking, this is my decision!" The Duke interrupted his brother categorically, "You have a family who have lived in poverty for more than ten years. Now that the play is almost over, you are in trouble.
That's all you have to do, why bother making things difficult for them? Don't forget your granddaughter..."
As soon as he heard his brother mention Xia Lu, the Marquis was speechless.
Indeed, as a soldier, the Marquis himself was never afraid of hardship, but as an elder, who would be willing to let his granddaughter's pearl fall into dust.
The sight convinced his brother, and the Duke continued to explain his plans.
"When acting, you have to perform well. I have played a loyal minister all my life, and I should continue to act. After the fall of the royal family, I cannot jump ship immediately. If my prediction is correct, the king may be exiled. At that time, I will follow them and work together.
Go into voluntary exile. If you gain power in France at this time, then everything will depend on you, and I believe you can do a good job."
The reason why the Duke decided to go into exile with the royal family was, on the one hand, to maintain his "loyal minister" persona, and on the other hand, it was also to prevent any sudden miraculous changes - such as the sudden convulsion of the great powers and their decision to use force to form an alliance, and once again rely on
The bayonet sent the royal family back to France to achieve the third restoration, so that he could regain power and continue to protect his family.
So his plan was to follow the royal family in exile for a few years to see which direction the situation would turn. If the situation stabilized and the Marquis de Treville gained power in France, then he would let him quietly bring his brother and his family back to the country, and no one would see him again at that time.
Blame the Duke.
The entire calculation was shrewd, appropriate, and well thought out. It can be seen that he came to the conclusion after careful consideration.
Since his brother had already spoken to this extent, Marquis Treville naturally had no way to refute. He could only look at his brother with tears in his eyes with gratitude and emotion.
"I understand...you must take care of yourself when the time comes, and I will get you back."
"There is no need to be sad, Victor. We have been separated many times so far. No matter how long the separation is, it will not damage our family ties." The Duke also felt a little sad, but he still cheered up and patted his brother gently.
"Our personal honors and disgraces are irrelevant. As long as our family continues to prosper, that is enough."
The Marquis naturally agreed with his brother's words.
He has been working hard for the fate of his family. He used to rely on his brother to protect him from the wind and rain, but now this important task is about to fall on him, and he is full of pride.
Seeing that his brother's exile had become settled, he no longer felt sad about it, but instead considered the next issue.
"How do you plan to organize your family?"
"Once the royal family leaves the country, my son and grandson will be exiled with me." Duke Treville has obviously considered this issue, "But my granddaughter Charlotte...she is still so old now."
Xiao, there is no need to endure this hardship. I have entrusted her to you for the time being. You have to take good care of her and take her back when I return to China."
The Marquis naturally acceded to his brother's entrustment in every possible way.
"No problem! Don't worry, I will definitely take good care of Charlotte, just like my own granddaughter. She is the same age as my granddaughter, and the two cousins happen to have a playmate...I too
I hope they can build a deep relationship, and the bond of our family should be passed down from generation to generation, united forever."
At this point, he felt a little regretful, "Oh! Although I am quite satisfied with Charlotte, but it would be great if Alice gave birth to a son! Then I can let him marry Charlotte, and we don't have to
I’m worried that my children and grandchildren will be separated.”
The Marquis' words made the Duke laugh. "This is God's arrangement, you should accept it. Besides, you will also have many opportunities to have more descendants in the future."
Although he had the comfort of his brother, the Marquis of Treville still felt a little sad.
His brother, like him, has an only son, but now he has two grandchildren, Philip and Charlotte, so he doesn't have to worry about the heir. However, he only has one legitimate granddaughter, Xia Lu, under his knees, which is really a bit thin.
If you don't have an heir, even if you become powerful in the future, what's the point?
Moreover, since the birth of her granddaughter Xialu, her daughter-in-law Alice has never seen any movement. Even Marquis Treville vaguely felt that Alice was not in a hurry to help the Treville family at all.
Bring an heir.
The Marquis didn't know Alice's reason, but this reality already made him a little troubled.
It's not surprising that he was anxious. Although Alice was still young and still had more than ten years of golden age, the Marquis himself was already old.
The Marquis knew that his son was useless, so if he wanted his descendants to be able to support the family business in the future, he would have to educate and promote them himself.
Time waits for no one. If Alice had to wait several years to give birth to a son, then thirty years would have passed by the time the child grew up. Now that she was nearly sixty, she could live another twenty years or even more.
Thirty years? He doesn't have such confidence.
If I can't bring out a qualified heir before I die of old age, then my life's efforts may be in vain.
It is precisely because of this time gap that the Marquis, who has always kept his emotions secret, is so anxious - for the future of his family, he simply cannot afford to delay it.
Out of personal preference, he did not blame his son for his incompetence, but instead became angry at Alice who refused to cooperate.
If we all negotiate terms calmly, we are all one family; but if you rely on your own cleverness to play tricks, don't blame your father-in-law for leaving a backup plan.
When he thought of this, the Marquis had an idea in his mind.
"I have something and I want to ask you for a favor."
"What's the matter?" the Duke asked casually.
"Actually... I already have another grandson," the Marquis said.
"Huh?" The Duke looked at his brother in surprise.
"He is the illegitimate son of Edgar, but his bloodline is not ambiguous. His mother is not a dancer but a princess." The Marquis forcefully defended his son, "When you are in exile, please help me take him out.
Then he claimed to be a distant relative of our family and asked him to use the surname de Treville."
The more the Marquis spoke, the more surprised the Duke became, and even he, who had always been calm, became a little unsteady. "Why do you do this, Victor?"
"It's just for insurance." The Marquis shrugged, "You take this illegitimate child with you and give him a corresponding education. If Alice has a son in the short term, then you don't have to worry about him; but if Alice doesn't, then you
After returning to the country, I will bring him back with me...I will train this child to be my heir."
The Marquis of Treville is prepared with both hands. First, he will find a way to give the illegitimate son a legal identity and let him be included in the Treville family's family tree. This is equivalent to having a "household registration" and becoming a "backup". If Alice never has a son
, he called this illegitimate child into his family as a distant relative, and then quietly transferred the family property to this child, allowing him to inherit his family in disguise.
He believed that with his merits, His Majesty would turn a blind eye to this.
After hearing the Marquis's plan, the Duke didn't know what to say for a moment.
Finally, he sighed, "Well, I don't want to talk too much about your family affairs. Since you insist, then I will do it. Anyway, this child is also a bloodline of our Treville family... However, I still feel that you are like this
It hurts Alice so much."
"I've given her a chance." The Marquis curled his lips, "If she doesn't succeed, you can't blame me for being ruthless, right? If she's sensible, she should know how to do it!"