"Your Highness, in my heart, you are holy and noble. My cousin is absolutely not worthy of you."
Under Aigron's timely explanation, Maria, who was originally angry, was finally coaxed back, and her face softened.
"So, you want me to help your cousin find a marriage?"
"Yes." Aigron nodded, "And his requirements are not high, as long as it is a famous family with a long history. He just wants to use this to let the outside world recognize our family status."
Since Emperor Napoleon, the Bonaparte family has been trying to integrate into the European monarchy family through marriage. He himself followed suit by marrying a Habsburg princess (previously he tried to propose to the Czar's sister).
Before his death, his wish for the second generation of the family in his will was that they "either marry a princess from the royal family or marry within the family." In short, he must not lose his "family integrity."
The successors of the Great Revolution abandoned the ideas of the Great Revolution with this unabashed attitude.
Of course, from a family perspective, there is nothing wrong with this. Even Maria believes that this is the only way to maintain the interests of the Bonaparte family.
Seeing Aigron's sincere attitude, Maria, who was originally furious, gradually stood on his side again.
However, out of her habit of ridiculing, she deliberately asked Aiglon.
"Oh, shouldn't you bother your wife with this problem? She is a Habsburg princess, so she should be very capable, right?"
"Of course Teresa is also concerned about this. She also entrusted her father, Archduke Carl, to help. However, Archduke Carl has a strong personality and rarely interacts with outsiders, so it is difficult for him to find a suitable candidate in a hurry.
; And if you can help with this matter, not only me, but also my cousin will be very grateful to you——"
Agron deliberately lifted Teresa, which unsurprisingly aroused Maria's inner hostility towards Teresa, which in turn aroused her competitiveness.
If she could help Aigron's cousin find a marriage, it would be tantamount to winning an ally among the royal family. Wouldn't it be more advantageous to play opposite Teresa in the future? She immediately thought of this,
Then there was immediate enthusiasm.
"Well, since you have mentioned this, it would really be unreasonable if I don't help a little bit. After all, you have given me a lot of favors..." So, Maria nodded and reluctantly agreed to this request.
"To be honest, as an old girl, I don't have any princesses to be married to recommend... However, my mother comes from the Baden family, and my maternal grandmother comes from the Hesse-Darmstedt family. These are all great things.
Ye Mao's royal family, if I ask them for help, they will definitely have some suitable candidates to recommend——"
It seems that I have found the right person.
Aiglon thought.
As we all know, Germany is the oldest and most complete "living fossil" of European feudalism. After thousands of years of reproduction, Germany has many families with royal status.
Moreover, as these families multiply, their territories will become thinner and thinner due to inheritance. Now, there are poor princes who only own one county or even one township. Some even have almost nothing except their titles.
.
Being poor means wanting to change. Under the predicament, some ancient royal families came up with the idea of getting married.
After the religious wars, the German princes were divided into two factions: Catholicism and Protestantism. They seemed to be incompatible with each other, but in the face of practical embarrassment, the so-called religious barriers were not important.
The Romanov family of the Russian Czars believes in Orthodox Christianity, which is completely heretical in the eyes of Catholics and Protestants. However, in the past 100 years, the Romanov family has been fighting with Hesse-Darmstadt, Oldenburg, etc.
When the German princes got married, Catherine the Great, who was born in a family of small princes, was naturally one of them.
After several generations of marriage and mixed blood, the Romanov family has now been completely Germanized and has almost no relationship with the Russians, except for believing in the Orthodox Church.
Why are these princes willing to marry heretics in the wilderness? It's just because the Tsar's family is willing to pay.
After all, since ancient times, princes and nobles have not been so "unyielding" in their religious beliefs.
Therefore, even if it is a Protestant prince, as long as Aigron can give him a suitable price, there will still be a down-and-out prince who is willing to marry his daughter to his cousin and become a member of the French royal family.
However, princes and nobles have always paid attention to "respectability". Even if they are selling their daughters, they cannot rush to clearly mark the price. They must follow a set of high-sounding procedures. To appear to be in line with the ancient aristocratic tradition, this requires a suitable middleman.
Act as an introducer and make connections.
This intermediary must have a certain seniority and prestige in the circle, and gain the trust of both parties. Only in this way can the money transaction turn into a tender love and marriage.
Therefore, if Maria asked her mother to connect with her grandmother, things would be much easier to handle.
Of course, in order to make such a marriage come true, in addition to giving a generous "betrothal gift" like the Czar, Aigron also needs to make the outside world believe that his rule is stable and that the Bonaparte family will occupy the throne of France for a long time.
, has always served as one of the most powerful ruling families in Europe.
If the Bonaparte family were to rise and fall like last time, no prince would be willing to marry, no matter how much money they had to spare.
As a child who grew up in Schönbrunn Palace, Aigron is also well aware of the various joints involved. Now that Maria is willing to help, he naturally hopes that this matter can be accomplished.
This is not only "rewarding" his cousin, but also increasing his family's power and status.
However, he also smelled something strange in Maria's sudden burst of enthusiasm, but as long as she could fulfill her wish, he could let her go regardless of her selfish motives.
After agreeing to this request, Maria also casually changed the topic.
"Your Majesty, do you remember the playground plan you told me last time?"
"Well, of course I remember." Aigron nodded.
"I'm very impressed by your idea." Maria became interested again, "When are you going to actually start implementing it?"
"Let's officially start this autumn. At that time, the construction of the Austerlitz train station next to it will also start, and the two sides will start construction at the same time." Aiglon replied.
In other words, in a few months? Maria silently remembered it in her heart.
For Aigron, this is just an unintentional conversation between him and his friends, but for many others, this is a business opportunity worth tens of thousands of dollars - and she can become the "porter" between the conversation and the tens of thousands of dollars.
”, and get your own share of benefits by the way.
"It sounds like you are planning to carry out large-scale construction projects..." Maria asked tentatively. "I assume you won't just show your strength in the suburbs of Paris? Don't you want to leave your mark on Paris?"
"Of course!" When this topic was brought up, Aigron suddenly became more interested. "In my long-term plan, when the government's finances are a little better, Paris will have to be rebuilt! I can guarantee you that by then
By then it will become even more radiant, and none of you will be able to recognize its original appearance."
"Oh? As far as I'm concerned, Paris is already radiant. If it can be even more dazzling... what a treasure it will be..." Maria raised her eyebrows and looked at Aiglon with interest, "
How exactly do you plan to go about it?”
Maria was obviously lying, but at this moment, Aigron had no hidden plans.
After all, he is still a young man who has a mysterious obsession with "changing the world" with his own hands; he also has a mysterious obsession with showing off in front of the girl he likes.
But now, he can organically combine the two obsessions and vent them out, so why does he need to hide them?
He almost felt as if he had met a "close friend".
So, just like last time, he kept talking, using various things as props in his study, and sketched out his gradual transformation plan for Paris in the future. The streets should be widened and more regular, and more crossings should be built.
The beautiful bridges over the Seine and the apartment houses in various streets also need to be renovated according to aesthetic and hygienic principles.
In a word, he copied the original reconstruction plan of Paris by Napoleon III and Baron Haussmann on the historical line, but made some modifications in some small places based on his own personal aesthetic preferences.
He took away the glory that originally belonged to his cousin without any psychological guilt. Anyway, this was a "gift" left to France by the Bonaparte family. What is the difference between what his cousin gave it and what he gave it to?
When he was so excited, he even drew a simple sketch on the paper with a pencil to signal to Maria.
And Maria was also fascinated by his endless and passionate explanation.
In her opinion, this energetic and handsome young man was more charming than usual.
In essence, women are easily attracted to those conquerors who carry out grand undertakings, and are obsessed with that kind of leadership charisma. They also subconsciously hope that they can become the person who can control this "charm of leadership".
She listened carefully and asked a few questions from time to time, and Aigron also explained in detail.
Unknowingly, time passed quietly and it was time for dinner, and at this time, Aigron finally ended the conversation with regret.
"Sorry, Your Highness, I have to go back to the palace to have dinner with Teresa."
"It's okay, I have benefited a lot." Maria looked at Aigron with eyes full of admiration, "What you said today shocked me again. I think I will never forget your grace just now...
"
Being praised like this by Maria, Aigron was even more elated.
"This is just rhetoric on paper and nothing. It will be interesting when I turn these things into reality! Then we can travel together again. You will definitely be fascinated by this new Paris.
.”
"Well, I hope I'm not old by then~" Maria replied with a smile. "Don't break the appointment..."
"It's a deal." Aigron immediately made a promise.
The two said goodbye happily, and before Maria left, she stuffed the sketch that Aiglon had just drawn into her sleeve.
Aigron returned to his bedroom and had dinner with Teresa.
"Theresa, I just received a protest from Her Royal Highness Maria..." After finding a good opportunity, he said to Theresa, "She thinks that as a princess of a friendly country, she should not be on the important occasion of returning the coffin of the late emperor.
I think she has a point."
"Your Highness, do you want her to be there?" Teresa was not angry, but asked calmly, "I didn't invite her, not because I deliberately alienated her, but because of her usual behavior, I had no choice but to do it. Could it be that I didn't invite her?
Aren’t you afraid that she will lose her temper and act out? Then you will become the laughingstock of the ages..."
"She promised me that she would never lose her composure when the time comes." Aiglon defended in a low voice, "Although she is usually a bit willful, she still knows the importance of things, and she will not lose her composure on such a major occasion; besides, even if
No matter how bold she is, she should know the consequences. Not only can I not spare her, but neither can the Wittelsbach family. So, I think we don’t need to worry about this."
"Well, since Your Highness is not afraid, what else can I say?" Teresa did not argue anymore, but nodded, "Then I will make up for the invitation. Anyway, she is indeed qualified.
Attend."
Huh? That’s it?
Teresa nodded so easily, but Aigron, who had been mentally prepared, was suddenly confused.
Did her temper suddenly become better? Aigron was a little confused for a moment.
However, since Theresa was so easy to talk to, he naturally didn't want to dwell too much on it, so he ignored the topic and continued to have dinner with Theresa. The atmosphere between the couple was harmonious.
How did he know that Teresa had expected all this?
From the beginning, she deliberately excluded Maria from the celebration, knowing that Maria would definitely complain to her husband. She also knew that Maria could come up with "reasonable" reasons to push against Aiglon and make her husband change his decision.
But she still did this in order to focus Maria's attention on the conflict of emotions.
In the final analysis, this is just a cover-up.
Simply not letting Maria attend the important ceremony, although it is quite a slap in the face, it does no real harm to Maria. Since Teresa decided to take action against Maria, naturally she will not be such a "little fight" and must inflict fatal damage.
Just fine.
==================================
Maria, who was invited again, was naturally beaming with joy and even a little arrogant.
After bidding farewell to Aiglon, as soon as she returned home, while her memory was still there, she wrote down in detail the details of the urban reconstruction plan that Aiglon had discussed with her, and the sketches written by Aiglon were also used by her.
Caught in it.
It looks like this is just an inconspicuous piece of paper, but in fact it is a mountain of gold.
Just sell it to the right person.
So, on the next day, in the name of "wanting to visit Paris," Maria took only her personal maid, lightly dressed and left Fontainebleau for Paris.
When she arrived in Paris, she happily got off the carriage and prepared to go shopping while going to Beauvain's bank.
However, before she could take a few steps, she was stopped by several people wearing palace guard uniforms.
"Your Highness Maria, you are suspected of stealing our country's national secrets and making profits from it. Please come with us -" the tall man in the lead said to her.
What are you doing? Arrest me? Ridiculous!
At this moment, Maria was so shocked that she couldn't speak, and even her thinking was almost short-circuited.
After a moment, humiliation and anger made her cheeks turn red, and then she protested loudly.
"I'm here to relax, what do you want to do?"
"I'm sorry, Your Highness." The people on the opposite side were unmoved and forcibly clamped her, pulled her into a carriage, and returned to Fontainebleau.