When he heard the news about Agnes and Bianca's visit, Edgar didn't care. He didn't know about Bianca's existence at all, but the Marquis of Treville was shocked. He thought for a moment that Bianca knew about it.
Having discovered his and the earl's plot, he came here to investigate.
But he soon calmed down, and he felt that Bianca was not so well-informed - besides, if she really knew, why would she come over and expose herself?
So he calmed down and calmly ordered his servants to take Agnes and Bianca home.
"Dad, who is that Bianca?" Edgar asked.
"Agnes's master," the Marquis replied.
But he soon came to his senses. In theory, he should be as unaware of the other's existence as his son.
"Okay, this person has nothing to do with you, and you don't want to have anything to do with her. Leave everything to me. Just pretend you don't know anything!"
Edgar still had many doubts in his heart, but he had been accustomed to obeying his father's orders since he was a child, so he did not dare to ask any more questions.
"Okay, father, I will inform Alice to receive them."
Soon, the Marquis and the Edgars came to the living room together.
Compared to the preoccupied father and son, Alice was much more excited. She had not seen Bianca for a long time, and she was already quite worried about it - plus, this was Bianca's first time to visit.
In a sense, her husband's family also gave her face.
"Madam, long time no see!" As soon as she saw Bianca, she gave her a warm hug. "I'm very happy to see that you are still as charming as ever."
"Long time no see, Alice." Compared to Alice's excitement, Bianca was much calmer. She just reached out and hugged Alice calmly. "I heard that you got married and gave birth to a daughter. You have always been
I don’t have time to come over and see you. It’s rare that I’m free today, so I came over to visit. I hope I won’t disturb you.”
"How could it be? It's a great honor for us to have you come to us!" Alice smiled and shook her head.
Then, she turned back to look at her husband and the Marquis, "Edgar, dad, let me introduce to you, this lady is Ms. Bianca, she is Agnes's master and the benefactor of our family in the past.
"
Although they already knew it in their hearts, both Treville and his son pretended to be suddenly enlightened.
"So you are the master!" Marquis Treville bowed and saluted Bianca, "I have always been curious about who Miss Agnes's teacher is, but I didn't expect it to be a graceful lady. It's really disrespectful.
Got it!"
"You don't have to be so polite, General." Bianca responded politely to the Marquis of Treville, "I only know a few tricks. Only someone like you who has commanded thousands of armies can be called a master.
"
Although she has an arrogant personality, Bianca is not a lunatic. She is here to visit Alice today, not to quarrel or put on airs, so even if she looks down on the Marquis of Treville and his son, she will not show it obviously.
After all, if she angered the general, she could turn around and leave, but Alice would be in trouble later.
"That's a thing of the past. Now I'm just an idle retired general. I don't have a single soldier in my hand, so I can only entertain myself by teasing my grandchildren." The Marquis replied with a wry smile.
"Isn't this a kind of happiness?" Bianca also laughed, "To tell you the truth, I have traveled around since I was very young. I have been to many places and met many people. I watched helplessly.
Those celebrities with glorious records will rise, fall, and eventually turn into dust. Compared to them who unfortunately died on the battlefield, isn't it nice that you can enjoy a stable and peaceful retirement life with grandchildren?"
"What you say makes sense." The Marquis nodded, "However, you can also see what kind of retirement life I am living now? The kingdom withheld the annuity I deserved, making our family's life so difficult.
I worry about my family every day... What do you think this means? I fought for France on the battlefield and braved the hail of bullets, but when I got old, I was treated like this. It was difficult to even support my family. This country
Now right and wrong are reversed, and there is no fairness and justice at all!"
The Marquis complained half-truth and half-falsely. On the one hand, he was deliberately showing weakness to Bianca, but on the other hand, he was indeed aggrieved.
According to the regulations of the army, as a general, even after retirement, he will still have a large pension for retirement. However, because of his political stance, the Marquis of Treville was forced to retire after the Restoration, and
Most of the pension was deducted as punishment.
Of course, this pension cannot support the huge expenses of the Treville family, and he didn't like it in the first place - but for the Marquis, who cherishes his reputation, this is still a great humiliation, so that he has always been brooding in his heart.
.
The Marquis deliberately said this in front of Bianca, just to make her think that he was a bad old man who only knew how to complain after retirement, and to lower her wariness against him.
After all, he already regards Bianca as an enemy in his heart, and he may fall out at any time in the future, so the more he makes the other party underestimate him now, the easier it will be for him in the future.
"This is how the world is, General, you should relax." Bianca still showed cold politeness, "At least you have such an outstanding son and daughter-in-law, and a beautiful and lovely granddaughter, which is enough to comfort you.
in his old age."
As she spoke, she glanced to the side a few more times.
Although she didn't say it explicitly, the Trevilles and Alice were both experienced people, so why did she need to say it clearly?
Alice suddenly realized, she finally understood why Ms. Bianca came to visit her home.
It turned out that it was not for myself, but for Xia Lu...
She immediately looked at Agnes with some worry, and Agnes nodded with a smile, then clenched her fist and shook it at her sister, saying that she was responsible for everything and there was no need to be afraid.
In just a few seconds, several people completed a tacit communication with their eyes, and Alice was slightly relieved.
"Please wait a moment, I will bring Charlotte over for you to see." Alice said to Bianca, and then walked upstairs.
While she was going upstairs, Bianca's attention was focused on Edgar.
It stands to reason that Edgar is a handsome and seemingly talented young man. He usually cares very much about his appearance. He dresses himself carefully even at home. No one can find fault with his appearance.
However, Bianca had already preconceived ideas and had already looked down upon Alice's husband. She only felt in her heart that "this guy is not a good person at first glance".
And Edgar immediately noticed Bianca's gaze.
He immediately put on his most skilled smile and said, "Madam, I'm sorry that I haven't heard any information about you from Agnes before, so I've neglected you a little. Please don't mind."
"No, of course I don't mind." Bianca remained cold. "I never seek fame, and I don't care about other people's compliments. It doesn't matter if you don't know me."
Edgar could feel the other party's contempt for him, and he felt a little annoyed for a while. However, since she was an elder that Alice respected, and her skills must be very powerful, he did not dare to show it, but still put on a smile.
It seems that he doesn't mind the other party's slightness at all.
Agnes didn't introduce her in detail, but he could tell from the accent of the other party where she was from. "Are you Italian?"
"Yes, that's right." Bianca nodded, "Sister Alice and I met when they were in exile in Italy."
"Italy is really a place where cultures gather together. I have always longed for it!" Edgar immediately exclaimed exaggeratedly. "To tell you the truth, Alice and I went on our honeymoon trip as newlyweds.
As for Italy, as a painter, I have a deep affection for many places there, and I must go and worship them."
Then, he kept to himself and told Bianca about his and Alice's travels in Italy, and from time to time he added a few interesting things he encountered during the trip.
Bianca originally didn't want to pay attention to Edgar, but as a guest, she had to express her feelings to the host, so she chatted all the time. Unexpectedly, because Edgar was very talkative and knowledgeable,
Not long after, Bianca started a serious chat with him and told him a lot of her own suggestions.
She never thought that although this seemed to be a casual conversation, the Marquis of Treville standing next to her had been silently remembering every word she said, trying to deduce her information from clues.
Although Edgar didn't know what his father wanted to do, he had received hints from his father before and wanted to try his best to get a trick out of Bianca, because Bianca was not wary of him - it turned out that the Marquis was really sophisticated, and the truth of the matter was
It developed just as he expected.
The danger was hidden in the polite chat, but Bianca was completely unaware of it. This was the first time she had met Treville and his son, and her impression of them was mediocre. Edgar was just an ordinary person.
He is an aristocratic young man whose family has fallen into ruin. Apart from having a good skin to deceive Alice, he really has no advantages - but he is not a bad person either.
If Agnes told her all her previous experiences, she might come to a different conclusion. However, in order to prevent her secret from spreading, Agnes kept it secret from the teacher.
Ka made a judgment that doomed her to eternal doom.
While the two were chatting, Alice came back holding Xia Lu.
This just one-year-old child, with golden hair as smooth and shiny as silk, watery blue eyes, and skin as delicate as porcelain, immediately attracted all of Bianca's attention.
Bianca rudely interrupted the conversation with Edgar, then walked directly in front of Alice and stared at Xia Lu.
Xia Lu also refused to accept life. Although the expression of Bianca in front of her was stern, she was not afraid or crying. Instead, she smiled and narrowed her eyes, which made her look even more cute.
"Alice, you did give birth to a good child." Bianca stretched out her hand, touched Xia Lu, her slightly rough hand, and rubbed her smooth and delicate face, "She will definitely become a great beauty in the future.
.”
"Yes, teacher, I have always said this, but you still don't believe it!" Agnes also walked up to her sister at this time, and answered with a smile.
"Such a cute child will definitely be very successful in the future." Bianca said while caressing Xia Lu, "Alice, if she needs my help with anything in the future, just tell me and I will
Trying to help her—does she have a godmother?”
Alice was half happy and half worried. She was happy that her daughter would have such a strong protector in the future, and she would definitely have smooth sailing in the future. But she was worried that Bianca wanted to replicate Agnes's life experience again and make her daughter deviate from being a noble lady.
trail of.
Although she has no objection to her sister's hobbies, she does not want her daughter to go hunting.
"It is her honor that you are willing to be her godmother, of course." She agreed at first, and then changed the topic, "However, madam, Xia Lu is relatively weak and may not be suitable for learning swordsmanship in the future..."
"How could it not be suitable? With such beauty, she must be suitable." Bianca stated her fallacy categorically, "But don't worry, your sister has volunteered to be her teacher, so I won't interfere for the time being.
If she fails to teach her well in the future, then I will take over."
Isn't there no difference at all... Alice suddenly became anxious and quickly asked her father-in-law for help.
Then the Marquis of Treville did not pay attention to his daughter-in-law's request. Instead, he sighed deeply as if he was touched by something.
"Hey, what a beautiful picture... Three such beautiful ladies, as well as my granddaughter, are distributed according to their ages, representing the most beautiful stages of a lady's life... Edgar, don't you think it's interesting?
?"
"Dad?" Instead of finding it interesting, Edgar was stunned, as if he had heard some ghost story.
It's not that his father's words are wrong, but it's so unlike what his father said - in his mind, his father has basically no interest in any art, and it's even more impossible for him to say such a thing out of sadness.
.
The Marquis of Treville glared at Edgar secretly, and then continued to look full of emotion, "Madam, I made you laugh... Hey, once people get older, they can't help it anymore.
I have a lot of feelings, I am really deeply moved when I see you all like this.”
Although it was a bit embarrassing, sisters Bianca and Alice couldn't help but feel a little proud of being praised like this by the general.
"Edgar, aren't you a painter? Paint a picture and make this scene a family heirloom." Marquis Treville ordered to his son. "Jesus is waiting for the three wise men. I
My granddaughter is surrounded by three ladies... Well, this is really a great fate. When Xia Lu grows up, I will show it off to her."
Of course, he did not do it out of sadness, but to confirm with His Majesty.
Although the person who attacked His Majesty claimed to be Bianca, what if someone deliberately gave a false name? Then wouldn't His Majesty seek revenge against the wrong person? It would be a waste of resources.
So he wanted Edgar to draw a portrait for His Majesty, so that His Majesty could confirm that this Bianca was the "Bianca" who assassinated him.
He observed the situation calmly, and finally made this request in the name of "commemorating this moment."
He believed that Bianca would agree - since she liked Xia Lu so much, how could she have the nerve to refuse a grandfather's request?