In full view of the public, Maria and Teresa, who had always had a grudge, had a direct confrontation just after they met again. Although both of them were smiling and talking in a gentle manner, in fact, they were already at war with each other and were incompatible with each other.
However, overall, Teresa still has the upper hand. This is not because her eloquence is much better than Maria, but because she now has an extremely advantageous position.
As mentioned before, no matter in terms of title, age, or children in the family, she has surpassed Maria, which can be said to be a "complete victory". Because of this advantage, her mentality is naturally more calm.
Anyway, she is the queen and the hostess here. She can put the other party aside at any time, and she can also mobilize the people around her to isolate Maria. Even if Maria is a "distinguished guest" who cannot be bullied openly, there are many ways to deal with it coldly.
After just a few minutes of greetings, Maria was furious, Teresa was secretly furious, the atmosphere became extremely solemn and strange, and as the nearest audience member, Aigron was on pins and needles.
If he had a choice, he would rather hide in his bedroom and let these two people have a good fight before they talk, but unfortunately this is an occasion that he can't avoid.
Not only could he not hide away, he also had to stand up and stop their quarrel to prevent the situation from getting out of control and causing a big joke.
Just imagine, what a sensational scandal it would be if the Queen and the Princess couldn't control their emotions and started scolding or even screaming and scratching in front of everyone.
Because he was worried about this, Aigron could only hold Teresa's hand and intervene forcefully.
"It seems that both of them are very interested in reminiscing about the past. They really have a close friendship...ah haha. However, it's late now and Princess Theodland hasn't rested yet. We can't let everyone wait hungrily.
Looking after us, right? So, how about we all go have lunch together first?"
Eggron's proposal interrupted the hostile stares between the two people, and finally softened the atmosphere that had been tense to the breaking point.
Teresa felt the strength of her husband's arm, and she became more confident. She also held her husband's hand, and then looked at Maria with a pretending smile, "Your Highness, I have been preparing for a long time to welcome you and your group.
, now the royal chefs have made many carefully prepared dishes and snacks, you can have a good taste, after all, food is also a part of this country's great culture..."
There is indeed no dispute on this point. In other aspects, the Germans may not be very convinced of the French, but they can only lag behind in terms of cooking skills. Compared to France who is good at enjoying life and loves food, Germany is simply inferior in this aspect.
It can only be regarded as a barren land.
Because of this, since modern times, German princes who like to enjoy themselves have often hired famous French chefs with high salaries, or at least some local chefs who have "trained" in France, to satisfy their appetites.
After Maria secretly came to France, in addition to enjoying various entertainments, she also enjoyed delicious food everywhere. Whether it was delicacies from famous restaurants or elegant cooking by country chefs, she was full of praise.
After all these were enjoyed, what was left was the palace dishes, and since she had now resumed her status as a princess, she could naturally enjoy them.
As soon as she said this, she became interested, and she also knew that she could not embarrass her family in public, so she put aside the quarrel just now and turned to look at Aiglon.
"Your Majesty, I have no doubt about the hospitality of you and your wife. I only hope that I can have the opportunity to repay your enthusiasm in the future, otherwise I will be very embarrassed."
"Your Highness, it's very simple to repay us." Aiglon replied with a sneer, "You can just be a guest and enjoy the friendship between the two countries. Apart from that, there is absolutely no need to do anything else -"
Of course Maria could hear that Aigron was warning her not to make small moves that would cause trouble, but she had already made up her mind, so how could she change it just because of Aigron's words?
She stopped arguing and just rolled her eyes at him, as if she was mocking him, "Just pretend."
But Aigron turned a deaf ear to this.
In his opinion, satisfying Maria's wish to be treated as a guest of honor in broad daylight was tantamount to "reaching an agreement". He did not say that he would satisfy all of her wishes, and he had no interest in breaking up with his wife because of her.
.
Teresa is his wife and the queen of the empire. No matter what he does in private, he must stand with his wife in public. Moreover, logically and logically, he already owes Teresa this much.
She has so many things, she should always protect her last remaining face.
Titles, children, these are just details. What she cares about most is whether her husband is on her side.
She knew that Maria's appearance here must have been something her husband secretly did, but since all this had happened, she could only deal with it calmly. And since her husband was still willing to stand on her side, it meant that he still valued it in his heart.
Husband and wife love.
So, she also smiled and looked at her husband, "Okay, don't make the atmosphere so serious... Her Royal Highness Maria is not only a foreign princess, she is also more or less our half relative. We should treat her like a relative.
Whatever she wants to do, I'll be happy to accompany her—"
Although she said this, she immediately turned away, unwilling to say another word to Maria.
At this time, Princess Theodlande had also ended her conversation with her brothers and returned to a few people.
This young girl didn't know much about the ways of the world, so naturally she was not aware of the subtle atmosphere. She only thought that when she was not around just now, her aunt exchanged a few words with His Majesty and his wife on her behalf.
So, she once again treated the Agrons respectfully as her niece.
Amidst the sound of palace drums, this procession, which was shining brightly and surrounded by stars, slowly poured into the grand palace, announcing the end of the marriage plan of Princess Theodland.
The grand banquet that had been prepared for a long time also began. At the long dining table, the Aegrons naturally took the main seats, while Princess Theodland and her two brothers, as well as Maria, and other royal families
The members sat next to the couple according to their own rank.
What is particularly different from usual is that His Royal Highness Crown Prince François, who is almost three years old, also has a small seat next to Aigron. He sits obediently next to his father, looking at the lively scene with curious eyes.
, as well as several new guests, while the maid behind him chopped the food into pieces for him and mixed it with milk for him to eat.
The reason why he is allowed to attend is also to allow foreign friends who come from afar to see the heir to the empire.
Then, in this lively atmosphere, exquisite meals were served one after another.
First, delicious cod soup, oyster soup and pan-fried foie gras were served as appetizers, followed by carefully cooked venison steaks and young quails, as well as a variety of cold cuts, at each meal
In between, there are cheese or various snacks as decorations, and even ice cream made from ice taken from the ice cellar is available to enjoy.
Next to these exquisite meals, there are wine glasses filled with bright red wine. These are the best red wines in the palace, and may even be older than Aigron's father.
Then, under the gaze of everyone, Aigron picked up the wine glass and addressed everyone as the master of the palace.
"Today is a day of celebration. My niece, Princess Théodlande, has finally returned to her motherland. Her father, Prince Eugene, is a well-known sage. His gentleness and kindness were
He was once praised by everyone in the imperial court, but because of some painful events, he had to regretfully sleep in Germany;
But even though he died abroad, his noble soul will always be with us. At this moment, he must be looking at me and his outstanding daughter with joy. We will inherit his legacy and give it to us.
The hard-won empire has entered a new era of prosperity, and Princess Théodland will also use her young shoulders to shoulder the important task of being the mother of a country, allowing another new country to move towards glory together with the French Empire... Let
We drink to Prince Eugène, to friendship and prosperity!"
After Aigron's speech, everyone picked up their wine glasses and drank together.
Princess Théoderande also had mixed feelings after hearing this. Although her father unfortunately passed away when she was young and she did not have time to see her adopted brother lead the Bonaparte family to turn around, she must have been his spirit in heaven.
Will be ecstatic about this.
My father is from France, and it was because of Emperor Napoleon that he became a prince and the son-in-law of the King of Bavaria; and now, because of Emperor Napoleon II, he became the queen of the Kingdom of Belgium... The Beauharnais family prospered because of the Bonaparte family.
, and will also share weal and woe with the Bonaparte family and share the same spirit.
God, father, I hope you can bless me and enable me to complete my mission... She prayed silently in her heart, and then took a sip of dry wine.
Soon, as exquisite dishes were served one after another, the banquet entered a stage of high enthusiasm.
Aiglon is not a gourmet, and he is not keen on food and drink. However, since he has become His Majesty the Emperor, this kind of luxurious life has become his daily life, and of course he does not need to take the initiative to refuse.
So while enjoying the food, he chatted with Teresa and teased his son next to him from time to time. At the same time, he also watched Maria from the corner of his eye, wary of her suddenly causing any unpleasantness.
things to come.
Fortunately, Maria seems to be more interested in food now. She tastes every dish carefully, and only occasionally chats with the niece beside her, without causing any trouble.
After observing for a while, Aigron finally felt relieved.
She still knows how to measure after all...
Under Teresa's careful preparation, the lunch was indeed sumptuous and delicious, and everyone present enjoyed it.
After the meal, this grand welcome ceremony finally officially came to an end.
The guests who attended either dispersed or returned to their jobs, while the guests who came from afar would be taken to the accommodation arranged for them to settle down.
According to the plan of Aigron and the British, the wedding of the princess and the king will be held in a year. In other words, this group of people will live there for at least a year. However, the Palace of Fontainebleau is so grand that there is no shortage of talents.
Teresa had already divided the rooms into a place where people would live, and she would never treat these distinguished guests badly.
Just when they were about to be taken to rest, Aigron sent his guard captain, quietly called Maria, and took her to a room.
Of course, Aigron didn't intend to do anything under Theresa's nose, but had other plans.
Maria was brought over quickly, and then she looked at Aiglon with a smile.
"Your Majesty, you specifically asked me to come here. Do you have any orders?"
"You are a distinguished guest, how could I give you orders?" Aigron replied with a smile, "I just made some preparations for you to make your stay more comfortable."
Then, he made a gesture.
At this time, a female official who was silent in the room walked up to the two people with silent steps.
She has a very beautiful appearance, but she is wearing a black skirt and a black gauze tied in the back of her hair. She looks extremely serious and upright.
"Please allow me to introduce to you, this is Ms. Mercedes, a countess." Aigron introduced to Maria according to the plan, "She will be fully responsible for your daily life and your itinerary."
"Your Highness, I am honored to be ordered to serve you. Next, I will do my best to solve your problems so that you can live comfortably here." After Aigron's introduction, Mercedes saluted Maria respectfully.
"What? You found a nun to look after me?" Maria sneered, and then asked Aiglon.
This question really hits home, because this is what Aigron planned.
He knew very well what Maria was like and how easily she offended others. Because of this, he was very worried about her being unscrupulous during this period and causing a bad impact (especially on Theresa), so he accepted
Andre's suggestion was to arrange a 24-hour monitor around her.
Of course Mercedes knew that this was a hard job, but she had always been a principled person. Since she was working for His Majesty, she couldn't be picky, so she directly accepted the job.
Maria insinuated that Mercedes was too serious and rigid, like a clergyman, but she ignored her.
"Your Highness, please come with me...I will take you to your room."