"When they grow up, you can do whatever you want. I won't make things difficult for you anymore."
The old father's words were full of helplessness, but they were also full of indulgence towards his son.
Although the Marquis of Treville appears to be very strict with his son, he is actually extremely doting on him. If he was willing to let his son suffer so much, how could Edgar become like this?
When Edgar heard these words, he was extremely moved. In this world, the only person he truly fears and loves is his father.
"Dad, I'm sorry..." He lowered his head, never daring to look directly into his father's eyes again, "I will do what you told me."
Next, Edgar and his father discussed together for a while, and after deciding on the next plan, he returned to his room with the picture album he just got today.
At this time, his wife Alice was teasing their daughter Xia Lu.
Seeing her father come in, Xia Lu immediately giggled, then walked crookedly in front of Edgar and hugged her father's legs.
As soon as Edgar saw his daughter, his originally depressed mood suddenly improved a lot. He put down the picture album in his hand, then took his daughter into his arms and kept rubbing her delicate face, which made Xia
Lu smiled non-stop.
Although he is cold and cold by nature, the relationship between father and son is human nature. In addition, his daughter is so beautiful and cute, which greatly satisfies Edgar's vanity. Therefore, he is very close to Xia Lu and plays with his daughter from time to time.
, the relationship between father and daughter was easily cultivated.
Alice was also very happy to see the father and daughter so close. She asked her husband in a low voice, "Did your father call you over just now to explain something?"
"Well, he gave me a task." Edgar did not intend to hide this from his wife, but honestly admitted it.
Then, he picked up the picture album from the side and handed it to his wife.
"This is what His Majesty gave me."
Alice, who was puzzled, took the picture album, then flipped through it while listening to Edgar's explanation.
"Your Majesty is really quite creative!" After reading it, she was greatly impressed. "This is indeed a way to win people's hearts..."
Although she did not have much social experience, she could also see that if His Majesty wanted to win the support of the people, it no longer made much sense to simply recite the past glory of the empire. It was inevitable to move closer to religion.
In addition, like the Marquis of Treville, she was also sincerely happy that her husband could be valued by His Majesty.
"Edgar, since His Majesty has entrusted you with such an important task, you should do it well... It is a rare opportunity to show off your talents, so don't let Your Majesty down."
"Of course I can do this. My father has already told me that I am not allowed to go out until I complete this task. I must try my best to live up to His Majesty's expectations."
At this point, Edgar changed the subject again, "But, Alice, there is another mystery to this picture album that you may not have noticed yet."
"Is there another mystery?" Alice was puzzled. She took the picture album and flipped through it again, checking carefully to see if there was any interlayer, but found nothing.
Just when she was about to ask her husband again, her eyes quietly focused on the face of "Joan of Arc" in the painting.
It suddenly dawned on her.
"Agnes! This is Agnes!" She exclaimed the same as Edgar just now.
"Yes, I think so too..." Edgar nodded, "It is conceivable that when His Majesty asked people to make these paintings, he used Agnes as the prototype of the character."
Alice's face became a little strange, and she didn't know how to evaluate it for a moment.
Speaking of which, it is definitely not appropriate, but when I think about it carefully, it seems to be a great honor to compare Agnes to the real Joan of Arc.
Besides, with her current status, it is absolutely inappropriate to make irresponsible remarks about His Majesty's actions.
"Your Majesty can praise Agnes so highly. I think it is also a compliment to Agnes. But if... it would be better if Agnes could be informed in advance, right?" In the end, she could only use this euphemism.
expressed his dissent.
"Your Majesty is just doing it out of curiosity. After thinking about it, from what he has seen and heard, no one is more suitable for Joan of Arc's temperament than Agnes, so he uses Agnes as a template..." Edgar endured
Feeling embarrassed in his heart, he answered his wife solemnly, "I think he has always been thinking about Agnes in his heart."
Alice's expression was a little confused.
"What a pity! When I was in Switzerland, I had thought that the two of them would be a perfect match, but fate likes to play tricks on people, so what can be done? Now that he has a wife and children, what's the point of talking about it anymore?
?”
Edgar knew that advocating in front of Alice that "Agnes is absolutely suitable to be His Majesty's lover" would definitely arouse Alice's anger and backlash, so he was not in a hurry, but followed the predetermined plan to induce her step by step.
The wife fell into a trap.
"It's a pity. I have always felt that Agnes is more in line with His Majesty's preferences than His Majesty Theresa. It's a pity that the royal family still prefers to marry the royal family after all, and this marriage can only come to nothing in the end...
..." He sighed deliberately, and then changed the subject, "However, even so, I think the two of them can still become good friends who appreciate each other, and their friendship will also be of great help to us and Xia Lu.
.”
Alice felt sorry for this, so she nodded.
"Agnes is not interested in politics at all, but she also respects His Majesty. I think they will become friends."
Friends? That's it? That's not enough... Edgar sneered in his heart.
But on the surface, Edgar still looked solemn, "Alice, I think His Majesty not only intends to entertain the general public with paintings, he will definitely want to do it in a more intuitive and grand way.
Restore the scene to the real world, so Agnes may be more important to His Majesty than we imagined."
Looking at her husband's appearance, Alice suddenly understood.
"You mean, His Majesty wants to really launch a parade in the future? Let Agnes...let Agnes play the role of Joan of Arc?"
"Isn't this nice?" Edgar asked.
"This is not good!" Alice shook her head subconsciously, rejecting her husband's opinion. "I just said that Agnes doesn't care about politics, and she doesn't like to choose sides publicly."
"This is not about choosing a side, it's just about playing a role." Edgar disagreed. "She can still maintain her noble character. No one will force her to do anything."
"Edgar! Don't deceive yourself, okay?" After all, sisters are connected, Alice rarely got angry at her husband, "She performs for the Bonaparte family, that is, she chooses sides! My parents will not allow her to do this.
She did it! She wouldn’t want to do it herself!”
Facing his wife's anger, Edgar was at a loss for a moment. He didn't expect that his wife, who was usually so gentle and amiable, would be so aggressive. If his father hadn't put more pressure on him, he would have retreated immediately.
.
After a while, he regained his composure and then clarified his thoughts.
"Alice, don't worry, I just said it casually, nothing happened, right?" He forced a smile, and then hugged his wife in a flattering manner, "Everything will be decided by Agnes herself, no one can
No, no one can force her to do anything."
"Sorry, Edgar, I lost my temper... I just didn't want to ruin the relationship between our sisters." Seeing her husband relent, Alice's anger subsided, and her tone instantly softened, "Agnes doesn't like it.
If she gets involved, I will also be careful to avoid getting her involved. I have caused enough trouble for her, and I really don’t want her to be involved with me anymore.”
"Look at what you said, do I have any bad thoughts towards her? Does playing Joan of Arc humiliate her?" Edgar frowned, with a look of displeasure on his face, "I only have some bad thoughts towards Agnes.
Good intentions, I want to help her."
"Help her?" Alice was immediately confused. "What to help her?"
And her asking this also means that she has fallen into the trap of her husband and father-in-law.
"Hey... I guess you know the rumors in the society even if I don't tell you?" Edgar sighed sadly, "Agnes offended the Duchess of Berry and suffered a heavy blow in the society.
, because of my wife’s relationship, she is now greeted coldly everywhere... Although the door will not be closed to her, the young men from those aristocratic families may have weighed the cost in their hearts and backed down before considering getting married to her. "
Alice was immediately speechless.
After marrying into the Treville family, she had been semi-publicly expelled from the social circle, but even so, she still had some information channels, and it was through these channels that she found out what Agnes had done last year.
News that offended Madame at a palace dinner hosted by the Duchess of Berry.
In order not to make her sister sad, she did not ask her sister in person what happened, but thinking about it, for a young girl, this was indeed a devastating blow in the social world.
What Alice didn't know was that the reason why Agnes suffered such a severe setback was actually because her husband secretly instigated his mistress, Princess Kadiyan, and deliberately fueled the flames around his wife, fanning the flames and creating a conflict.
.
She felt heartbroken for what happened to her sister, but now she was alone and had no way to help her sister. Even though she was worried, there was nothing she could do. Now that her husband mentioned it to her face, it made her heart aching even more.
"My wife is petty and jealous of Agnes, so much so that she takes action to suppress her. This is my fault, not Agnes's fault." After hesitating for a moment, Alice replied in a low voice, "Besides, you and I both know that social interaction
There is dirt and evil in the field, so it’s not a bad thing to be kept away from it. Aren’t I living a good life now?”
"That's what I say, but Agnes is an unmarried girl after all. If she is excluded from social circles, how can she find an ideal husband in the future?" Seeing that his wife's momentum has weakened, Edgar asked confidently.
, "She is not too young now. She is about to turn twenty. How long can she delay? If she is a princess but fails to get married, she will probably become a laughing stock for herself and the Duke, right?
Do you really have the heart to watch her become a nun?"
Although Edgar is actually most afraid of which young man Agnes will get engaged to, this does not prevent him from deliberately pretending to care about Agnes, and his heart-wrenching questions are like a slap in the face.
One heavy punch made Alice look miserable.
She cared most about this sister, so how could she endure Agnes ending up like this?
"So you mean she should do it?" After another long silence, she asked her husband in a hissing voice.
"Yes, my personal opinion is that if she can be called a modern saint, even if it is just a joke among foolish men and women, it will bring her incomparable brilliance and easily wash away her previous social problems.
The shame and stain suffered on the court." Seeing his wife wavering, Edgar immediately made the final decision, "Alice, I won't hide it from you. From my position, I really hope to please Your Majesty, because this is our Trey
The future foundation of the Weir family. However, from an objective point of view, this is indeed very beneficial to Agnes, isn't it? If she can get a little bit of the glory of the saint, then what if she gets a little bit of political dirt?
What does it matter? Don’t you think Agnes is worthy of people’s admiration and praise?”
Alice bit her lip.
Even from an objective perspective, these words seem to be correct.
"What does father think?" she asked quietly.
In this confusing situation, she instinctively hoped to get some "authoritative opinions" as a reference, and in her mind, the Marquis of Treville was a figure that she truly admired and respected.
"My father was very supportive, that's what he thought." Edgar gave the final blow.
Then, he struck while the iron was hot, "Alice, I said, no one will force Agnes to do anything, it will all be her own choice. We are just letting her choose."
That's what he said, but Edgar knew in his heart that as long as it was Alice's wish, Agnes would definitely do it, no matter what.
So, just let Alice waver.
Alice lowered her head, her eyes flashing with light, obviously caught in a trade-off.
"What are you going to let her choose?" After a long time, she asked in a very thin voice.
"After finishing this matter, my father wants to send me to Switzerland to ask for an audience with His Majesty. It can be regarded as showing my face in front of him. After all, when His Majesty returns to the country, it will not be easy to ask for an audience with him..." Edgar continued
He continued, "I'm going to take you and Xia Lu over. Our daughter is so cute and will definitely make His Majesty and his wife happy. She also needs to leave an impression in their hearts early. This is very important to her."
.”
"Yeah." Alice nodded.
"If Agnes wants to go with you, then take her there," Edgar said. "That's when it's time for her to make a choice. No matter how she chooses, we respect her opinion. We are also doing it for her own good.
She will understand us."
"Hmm..." Alice hesitated, but finally nodded again.