Just as Princess Maria, who was full of hatred, and Prince Charles, who wanted to climb up, secretly began to collude while talking and laughing with each other, in another corner of the palace, Queen Theresa, whom they were secretly targeting, was also receiving her.
own guests.
However, compared to the hypocritical atmosphere between the first two people, Theresa was much more relaxed and happy.
Because, Her Majesty the Queen is entertaining a young and lovely lady at this time.
According to the agreement signed with the intervention of the Aigron couple, the feud between the Count of Monte Cristo and Prosecutor Villefort came to an end.
The prosecutor saved his life, but under the condition that he resigned and retired, and in the future he would marry his daughter Miss Valentine to the Count of Monte Cristo as "compensation" to settle the grudge.
Now that the grudge has been settled, all the secrets of when Villefort framed Edmond Dantès, and when Dantès became the Count of Monte Cristo and took revenge, will be buried in the fragments of history and become the secrets of several parties involved.
The secret will never be mentioned to outsiders again.
The news released by the palace to the outside world is a carefully modified and beautified version:
Seeing that the Marquis of Noirtier, an elderly court official and Speaker of the Parliament, was getting old, he wanted to find the most suitable son-in-law for his granddaughter. He fell in love with His Majesty's confidant and favorite, the Count of Monte Cristo.
Then, through His Majesty's help, the two families hit it off and decided to get married.
As for Prosecutor Villefort, because he had been involved in many major cases in the past few years, he was physically and mentally exhausted, so he decided to resign and go home to recuperate.
After careful control and at the right time, news of the marriage spread to the social world, and it immediately aroused heated discussion.
However, people were not much surprised about the marriage itself.
Children of aristocrats in this era tended to be relatively precocious, and it was not uncommon to get married at the age of fifteen or sixteen (Queen Theresa is a typical example). Considering the Marquis' advanced age, it was understandable that he would betrothed his granddaughter so early.
As for the huge age gap between the two people... Hey buddy, what do you think of Emperor Napoleon marrying Queen Louisa, who was 22 years younger than him?
The general opinion is that the powerful Marquis Noirtier is a purely political animal. He will only consider issues based on political interests and party interests. It is normal for him to do such a thing, and there is nothing strange about it.
place.
And he was able to find a rising star in the political arena, who seemed destined to become a minister or even the Prime Minister's favorite, and get married. It was really good luck to find a treasure.
However, many people were surprised that the power-hungry and swaying prosecutor Villefort would resign on his own initiative and whispered. They believed that prosecutor Villefort had presided over the purge of the Bonaparte Party as a lackey of the Bourbon family.
, has "political stains" that are difficult to clean up, so under pressure from others, he had to choose to resign.
And this may be the reason why his father, the Marquis Noirtier, was eager to find a backer for the family.
No matter what, in the treacherous and turbulent political situation, Prosecutor Villefort has landed safely.
In the eyes of the outside world, if he resigns with dignity now instead of being imprisoned by His Majesty, it means that his political life is not over yet. He is just "sheltering from the limelight". In the future, as long as he has a high-ranking son-in-law to take care of him
, there will definitely be hope for recovery.
Because of this, although Villefort made many enemies during his twenty-year career as a prosecutor, he was quite calm when he went out, and few people even came out to add insult to injury.
This calm environment also made Valentine, who had been worried about her father, feel relieved.
Although she already knew her father's true identity, the bond between father and daughter that they had cultivated since childhood made her not want her father to end up miserable, even though she had to pay her own life as a "price" to save her father.
, but she was willing.
When the marriage came to an end, Valentine also got an unexpected surprise - she was appreciated by Queen Teresa, who personally told her that she could come to the palace to receive education and cultivate her talents in the future.
Teresa did this, on the one hand, to pity Valentine's situation and hope to compensate her in her own way; on the other hand, she also wanted to help the count take care of the young fiancée, so that she could grow up healthily and avoid contamination.
Nowadays, aristocratic girls have all kinds of wanton and wanton "bad habits" - she feels that since her husband and wife relied on their power to marry the earl, they should take responsibility and give a healthy, virtuous and talented wife to them.
Their favorite.
Therefore, since then, Valentine came to the court regularly to meet Theresa and receive music education.
This is by no means a hard job, but an honor that many people of the same age dream of. Valentine also knows in her heart that this is the grace she received from her grandfather and fiancé, so she cherishes this opportunity very much and works hard in front of Teresa every time.
performance, and expressed gratitude to Her Majesty the Queen from time to time with the most grateful attitude.
And her intelligence and respectful attitude also easily won Teresa's favor, and the two people got along very happily.
After becoming queen, although Teresa had many servants who were obedient to her, she had no friends with whom she could chat about everyday topics. Valentine, who was well-behaved, sensible and kind-hearted, happened to be the one.
Inadvertently, she compensated for her lack, and quietly, the two of them formed a relationship of master, servant, and friend. Teresa even specially ordered that Valentine can come to see her at any time.
Today Valentine came to Fontainebleau, and Teresa took her to her piano room, and then chatted with Valentine easily while playing the piano.
As usual, when she was in a good mood, Teresa usually played Schubert's improvisations.
This Austrian composition genius who died young was one of the musicians Teresa, who was born in Austria, admired most, so she often played it when she practiced playing every day.
Amidst the brisk music, Teresa's mood became extremely comfortable.
She stopped, then raised her head and looked at Valentine, who was standing respectfully beside her.
"Valentine! How are you lately?"
"Thanks to your favor, our family is doing well." Valentine replied, curtsying to Teresa. "Good day, Your Majesty the Queen."
"You are good at everything, but you are too formal. You are obviously a child, but why are you so mature..." Although Teresa was complaining, the smile on her face was extremely kind, "You have to act like a child."
Just be lively."
"Okay, Your Majesty... I will try my best." Valentine seemed a little embarrassed, "However, I have had this serious character since I was a child... Besides, you are Her Majesty the Queen and the benefactor of our family. I
You must be treated with the utmost respect."
"Okay, okay, so be it." Teresa sighed.
Then, she stood up and gave up her seat.
"Now, let me see your progress -"
This was not the first time, so Valentine did not refuse, but sat in front of the piano and put her hands on the keys.
Then, she took a deep breath, and her slender white fingers began to slide slowly on the keys. Then, a series of low and soft sounds slowly poured into the piano room.
As a noble lady, she also practiced music under the training of her father since she was a child. However, her talent was not very high, so she did not study seriously at the time. But now, after receiving the favor of Her Majesty the Queen, she began to
As he practiced hard, his level gradually improved by leaps and bounds - of course, he still only stayed in the realm of "very good among ordinary people".
Since she was in a good mood, she would certainly do what she liked, so she also played Schubert's Impromptu, and specially selected fast-paced excerpts to make Her Majesty the Queen feel happier.
Teresa stood nearby and listened quietly to Valentine's performance.
With her level of appreciation, she could easily tell the slightest improvement in Valentine's progress.
Amidst the melodious and bright music, she nodded gently.
It wasn't because of how high Valentine's playing level was, but because she really felt the effort that Valentine put into it.
She is really a serious and good child...she really deserves a better destiny.
"Papa pa pa"
She clapped softly.
"Valentina, you are really attentive. Your level has improved a lot compared to before. I think you must have practiced hard when you went home... Well, it's very good." She nodded in approval. "I think.
, it won’t be long before you are qualified to perform on behalf of the court.”
"Huh?!" These sudden words shocked Valentine, so much so that her hands trembled, and she produced a discordant note, and the performance was interrupted.
"Performing on behalf of the court?" she repeated subconsciously.
"Yeah, is there something wrong?" Teresa asked.
Then, she explained to Valentine with a smile, "Your Majesty and I have discussed that the current social atmosphere is unhealthy, everyone is indulging in pleasure, culture and virtue are ignored, even ridiculed, and discarded like a piece of shit... And
We have the responsibility to clarify the social atmosphere and guide people to engage in healthy cultural entertainment, so we plan to form a palace girl orchestra and perform regularly to the outside world as an example to guide the younger generation to improve their cultural accomplishment..."
The more high-sounding Teresa spoke, the more frightened Valentine became. It was not that she dared to oppose Her Majesty the Queen's idea, but that she was worried that she did not have the ability.
"Your Majesty, I think your idea is correct. Our court should set an example for society... I just think that I may not have that talent. If the outside world ridicules my performance, it will be a discredit to you."
"Oh, do you think everyone has the heart to criticize a cute little girl too much?" Teresa couldn't help laughing, and then gently caressed Valentine's face, "In my eyes, you are
Don't worry, I can see that your level will be enough to perform in front of people if you improve a little. It is true that you do not have the talent of a famous artist, but you have that admirable freshness, integrity and beauty.
These are the things we hope to show to society... In this day and age, our country does not lack money or flashy pleasures, but this is what we lack."
Then, she stopped smiling again, and then looked at the child in front of her seriously, "Valentina, I have been observing for a long time, and I think you are very suitable to be the leader of this band. Maybe you will not be the highest level among them.
But you are definitely the most suitable to be a leader because you have dedication and willpower to withstand pressure, which are more valuable than anything else——"
Although she was only twenty years old, she unexpectedly assumed the attitude of an elder teaching the younger ones in front of Valentine, and Valentine took it for granted.
Since Her Majesty the Queen said so, Valentine, who had no doubts about her, accepted her words. Even though she was still a little uneasy in her heart, she still couldn't bear to live up to Her Majesty the Queen's expectations.
She knew that the so-called "band leader" was not a well-established palace official, but just a gimmick to accompany Her Majesty the Queen to have fun. But since this was what Her Majesty the Queen expected of her, she had to bear it no matter how difficult it was.
Take this responsibility.
So, she looked at Theresa, and then nodded solemnly, "Your Majesty the Queen, although I am full of anxiety, but since you have given me such expectations, I will do my best to improve myself and fulfill your wishes, because I will never
Don’t allow yourself to let you down…”
What a lovely child, so touchingly loyal. It would be great if everyone was like her. Teresa thought to herself, suddenly feeling a little more sour in her heart.
But she quickly put aside her distracting thoughts.
"Of course, before that, you still need some guidance from a famous teacher. Although I have taught you some, I am not a good teacher, so I specially found a powerful famous teacher for your band. He is a Polish refugee.
The name is Chopin..."
At this time, Chopin's name was not as famous as it was in history, so Valentine didn't know how powerful he was, let alone how "lucky" she was.
However, since he can be favored by Queen Teresa, who is extremely artistic, he must be a talented musician. I will definitely benefit a lot from him.
Of course, this is not the most important thing.
Because Valentine is only ten years old now, her engagement can only be fulfilled in the next few years, but Valentine already regards herself as the count's fiancée in her heart.
For Valentine, it didn't matter whether she could learn many musical skills in the palace. "Pleasing the queen" was her main task.
This is not only related to the status of her grandfather and her husband, but also the vital interests of her future husband, which must not be taken lightly.
Therefore, she must do her best to complete her "mission".
This is the most important thing she can do now for her own family and her future husband's family.