After bidding farewell to Sister Agnes, Agron quietly returned to the Palace of Fontainebleau with his entourage just as he had come.
When she returned to Teresa, everything was as usual. Teresa faced Agron calmly, seemingly turning a deaf ear to her husband's "staying away all night."
After experiencing fierce quarrels and frictions, the couple reached a tacit understanding (or Teresa made a compromise out of desperation), and the couple lived together most of the time, except on occasional days.
Here, she allowed her husband to leave her and go to his beloved concubine to squander his "excess" feelings.
There is no doubt that from the perspective of the 21st century, this is an extremely unreasonable approach, but from the perspective of the 19th century and the "French court", this is already Aigron's "self-restraint".
There is also no doubt that Theresa must still have a lot of unwillingness and resentment in her heart, but out of love for her husband and the current position of the two of them, she had to swallow this bitter pill.
Fortunately, Agnes keeps a low profile and is willing to live in seclusion in a manor in the countryside, never appearing in public, so she can still comfort herself with "out of sight, out of mind".
She just hoped that everything would end here and that her husband's inexhaustible "energy" could be completely vented under her tolerance.
Unfortunately, her idea was doomed to fail. She would never have thought that the person who went to Wushan with her husband last night was not Agnes, but someone else.
"Your Highness, is it confirmed that Miss Agnes is pregnant now?" Teresa asked casually after the two met.
"Yes." Aigron replied with a hint of guilt.
"I heard that you plan to give the title Duke of Lechstadt to her child?" Theresa asked again.
When asked by his wife, Aigron felt even more guilty. After all, giving a title to an illegitimate son had precedents since ancient times, but it was indeed not a glorious thing to say it in front of his wife.
However, since he had made a decision before, he could only nod his head bravely. "Yes, to me, that title has no meaning anymore, and I will definitely abandon it in the future. In this case, why not give it a reward?"
Forget about Agnes's child, let this child have some capital in the future..."
"Are you worried that our child will treat him harshly in the future, so you make plans in advance for both mother and child?" Teresa immediately pointed to the point.
Faced with Teresa's direct words, Agron was speechless and could only respond with an awkward smile.
Fortunately, Teresa didn't look very angry, she just sighed lightly and glanced at him with a sad look. "Since you are so thoughtful, why don't you think more about me?
"
"Sorry..." Aigron could only apologize in a low voice.
However, although she complained about Aiglon, Teresa did not mean to use the topic. After all, for her, even if an illegitimate child became a duke, he was just a servant of her and her descendants, and it was not worth paying for.
This tangle.
It's just that "Duke Lechstadt" still has a special meaning to her, so she feels a little dissatisfied.
"The title of Duke of Lechstadt is yours. You can use it however you want. This is true. But it is also a title created by the Austrian royal family. In any case, you have to inform them...
At least let them approve it, otherwise, wouldn’t it be a joke?”
Aigron also knew in his heart that Teresa was right to question, so he nodded repeatedly.
"I will inform them over there. I believe the old emperor and Metternich will not mind such a trivial matter."
Aigron also knew in his heart that when the old emperor gave a "marginal member of the royal family" like himself an empty-headed duke, he didn't even have the title of prince, which was already unreasonable, and they had nothing to say if he held a grudge.
He said that now he has "turned over" and lost the title of dukedom that they donated to his illegitimate son, which can be regarded as a kind of pride.
After the title dispute ended, Teresa turned the topic to Agnes herself. "Your Highness, since Miss Agnes is confirmed to be pregnant, there is no need for her to come on duty during the day during this period...
Ask her to rest well in her manor, and just invite her to attend any important events in the palace."
"This is indeed the case." Aigron agreed.
After saying this, Teresa frowned slightly, as if she had some complaints again.
"Alas... since Mrs. Alice left, I discovered how powerful she is! Now the work in her hands has been divided among three people, but the result is still unsatisfactory, and I have to spend a lot of time every day.
It’s time to personally supervise her. Your Highness, did you see Agnes at her place? How is she now?”
As soon as Theresa mentioned Alice, Aigron immediately came up and said, "Yes, I have seen Mrs. Alice. She has been looking a lot haggard recently and is obviously facing great psychological suffering. Since she was ordered
After leaving the palace, she often sighed and repented endlessly - to tell you the truth, after seeing me yesterday, she even cried and kept apologizing and begging me."
Everything Aigron said was correct, but he didn't say it all. After Teresa's deliberate guidance, she was already quite sympathetic to Alice, and now she felt even more sympathetic.
"Sigh... Although she made a big mistake in a moment of confusion, in the final analysis, she cannot be entirely blamed for this matter." Then, Teresa couldn't help but say good things for Alice, "Of course she was guilty of framed General Treville.
She must be punished, but I think it’s a bit too harsh to dismiss her directly without leaving any room for error.”
In fact, objectively speaking, the crime Alice committed was extremely serious, and it would not be unjust even if she was directly imprisoned or exiled. However, after all, Teresa, as a woman, felt some empathy for what Alice had done, so she subconsciously felt guilty for it.
She excuses herself.
After all, although this era is already a constitutional era, it is not a truly rule-of-law society. As monarchs, they can naturally determine a case at will.
Seeing that Teresa took the initiative to excuse Alice before he even spoke, Agron was relieved - he was worried that if he came forward to intercede for Alice, he would arouse Teresa's suspicion, but now that she has spoken,
Aigron has no worries.
"So are you interceding for her?" he asked deliberately.
"It's not that I'm interceding, I'm just a little sorry..." Teresa answered honestly, "After all, she is the first friend I made after coming to this country, and there are not many people in the palace who can have her."
Her grace and wisdom. If she could be given another chance, I think she would change her ways and repay us twice as much. Of course, the premise of all this is that she must be punished enough and repent of her crimes——
So I think it’s most appropriate to let her sit back and think about it for a year or two, and then we can give her a chance again when she has reflected enough.”
A year or two!
That's not possible. Alice is afraid that she will be devastated and miserable, and she will break her promise to her.
Therefore, Aigron pretended to be still angry and continued to say harsh words.
"You are right, Mrs. Alice does deserve sympathy, but this is by no means a reason for her to frame a general at will! Let me ask, if everyone manipulates politics for various reasons like her, then what will happen to us?
Is there any discipline here? Wouldn’t that mean there will never be peace? She must learn a lesson."
"Yes, she must be taught a lesson." Teresa also agreed, "I'm just saying that it's a pity to waste her talents because of this matter..."
"Then let's do this. After Edgar is exiled from the country, I will order her to return to the palace, and then her rank will be lowered and her salary will be halved. Then let her work for you, and then decide whether or not based on her future attitude.
How about restoring the original treatment...?" Aigron suggested. "Presumably, after receiving this lesson, she should also know the appropriateness of doing things, and she will never go too far."
In fact, Aigron was playing a word game. The so-called "downgrade in rank and halving of salary" seemed to be a severe punishment, but in the environment of the "palace", it was actually not painful.
Everything here revolves around the personal will of the monarch. As long as he has the favor of the monarch, a sycophant without any title or official position can be promoted to heaven. What is the meaning of rank and salary?
As long as Alice comes back and continues to receive secret care from the couple, no one will dare to put on airs in front of Alice, and she will have the final say.
But for Teresa, this was enough. She felt that Alice had been punished and she could get another chance to prove herself. She also gave her a hand.
"Okay, let's do it according to His Highness's wishes." So, she nodded immediately and accepted Aigron's opinion. "Presumably, with Madam's intelligence, she will not waste this opportunity."
"When she comes back, I must let her thank you in front of you." Aigron replied with a smile, "Without your intercession, God knows what fate she would have suffered."
"I don't need anyone to say thank you -" Teresa smiled indifferently, "I just hope that her future fate will be better than before. Now she is alone, and she can be with us in the future.
Staying here means she has a destination, otherwise where else could she go?"
Aigron secretly sighed in his heart that Teresa was indeed very kind-hearted. After all, as a queen, it was really not easy for her to be able to think about a "destiny" for the people around her while the stars were shining over her.
"Although Mrs. Alice has been abandoned by her natal family and her husband's family, she is not alone. Not only does she have a younger sister, she also has a daughter by her side -" he replied smoothly, "Miss Xia Lu will always stay with her."
We might as well take care of her a little bit."
"That's right!" Teresa immediately agreed, "I do have an idea for Miss Xia Lu!"
"What's the idea?" Aigron asked.
"Now, we have two children, and they will grow up slowly. Although they are destined to live a comfortable life as royal blood, it would be too lonely if they just stay alone in the palace. Therefore,
We might as well find some playmates of the same age for them in the palace, so that they can enjoy a normal childhood like ordinary children, and Miss Xia Lu can stay with them as one of them... Your Highness, what do you think?
?”
Palace nursery? Aigron suddenly felt a little funny.
However, he also deeply believed in this.
Eggron himself has lived in seclusion in the Austrian court since he was a child. He has no playmates around him, only various strict "teachers" who serve as education and surveillance. He knows the feeling of loneliness better than anyone else, so he
It will develop a cynical, self-centered and rebellious personality later on.
Although this environment has also "trained" him, if possible, he still hopes that his children will not have to undergo this kind of "training" and can grow up in a healthier environment.
Francois, Fonina, he and Theresa already have two children, and there will be more in the future, and even his own illegitimate children. If they can enjoy a normal childhood in the court,
That's certainly a good thing.
"Okay, let's do it this way!" Aigron nodded after thinking for a moment, "Xia Lu is almost three years old now. She will be a little more sensible in two years. By then, let her be responsible for being Funing.
Let’s be Na’s playmate and take care of her by the way.”
"It would be good if we let her play with Funina." Teresa was a little surprised at first, but immediately nodded and agreed with his opinion.
Then, following Aigron's train of thought, she immediately thought of another idea. "Your Highness, since we are bringing young children together, why don't we make the idea a little bigger?"
"How else can they become bigger?" Aiglon was a little curious, "Should we still let them form a boy scout?"
"Of course I didn't mean that..." Teresa couldn't help laughing. "What I meant was that these children should be taken care of by older children when they were young, and at the same time set an example.
"
"Teresa, what do you mean?" Aigron became more and more curious.
"Have you not met Miss Valentine before? She is well-read in poetry and books, and is proficient in literature and art. She is a child that we all admire... In the future, if we can let a few children like her show their talents, they will be able to show their talents to princes and princesses.
If they set an example, it will surely be a great influence for them." Teresa seemed to be more energetic and continued talking at once, "There is also Miss Eugenie, the adopted daughter of the Count of Monte Cristo. It is said that she
She is about the same age as Valentine and is good at singing? We can also let her be a little teacher... Wouldn't that be great? "
Agron was a little surprised by Teresa's sudden idea, but he thought it was pretty good, so he agreed.
"Those, these are all arranged by you. Maybe we can also form an idol group here."
"Idol group?" Teresa asked, "What is this?"
"You can think of it as something like a choir." Aigron spread his hands.