"Hey...it looks like he might not be able to survive this time."
Agnes became anxious when she heard this, "Then why don't you ask him to return the money to us quickly? Since he is short of money now, he will definitely owe a lot of people money. If we don't hurry up, God knows what else will happen.
Can’t take it back…”
"That's true, but the more anxious we are, the less we can show it..." The Duke sighed and his face became extremely ugly, "Agnes, we are celebrities and dignitaries, many people are staring at us, now
Rumors about Tangglar Bank have spread in the market, and people everywhere are floating. If we use drastic measures to urge or force Tanglar Bank to repay the money, it will definitely cause panic in the market, and Tangglar Bank will definitely face
The unbearable run... Tanglar will go bankrupt by then, and we won't be able to get our money back."
After her father's explanation, Agnes realized that it was not that her father had not thought of it or that he was not in a hurry, but that he had stepped into a quicksand trap. She knew that she was in deep danger, but she did not dare to move for fear that she would be violent.
Struggling results in sinking faster.
When her family faced a crisis, she could not move. This feeling made Agnes very depressed. Although she was equipped with a force beyond the reach of ordinary people, in the mud and snare of reality, this force seemed so...
Pale and helpless.
"Then we can't just watch things get worse and do nothing, right?" she asked unconvinced.
"Of course not." The Duke immediately shook his head, "I have already hinted to Danglars that if he repays our money, then even if he cannot repay other people's money and becomes bankrupt, I will
Give him a few good words, and maybe he can leave some capital for a comeback; if he dares to cause our family to suffer losses, no matter how small the losses are, I will let him bear my anger! Although he is brave
, but he knows the importance and the choice.”
After saying the cruel words, a trace of fierceness appeared on the Duke's face, "In the past few days, I have deployed manpower to monitor near his home. If he has any intention of transferring assets or even absconding with money, then I will
Know him immediately and stop him.
In addition, if he really can't hold on anymore, at least I can plead with His Majesty as soon as possible, and then seize his real estate and other assets by imperial order to make up for our possible losses."
After hearing her father's coping methods, Agnes finally relaxed a little, but she also knew that in the current situation she was facing, all these methods might be better than nothing.
Why did things become like this? She didn't know. Normally, she didn't care about this kind of thing at all. It wasn't until today that she learned that she would encounter such trouble, so she was inevitably a little at a loss.
After a moment, she suddenly became confused as to why her father would tell her when she was obviously unable to help.
Since my father didn’t tell me about this kind of thing before, why did he tell me specifically this time?
Could it be that his father has some expectations for him?
"Dad, is there anything you need me to do..." So she asked in a low voice. "I don't know how I can help you, but in this difficult time, if you need me to be of any use, please just tell me.
Come on! I will definitely do it with all my strength."
The father did not answer immediately, but looked at Agnes, his eyes full of love and pity.
"Hey..." After a long time, he sighed.
"Dad?" Her father's behavior made Agnes even more panicked, and she shouted again tremblingly.
"Agnes, I don't know how the situation will develop now. Maybe all this is just us disturbing ourselves. Danglars will get through it and we won't suffer any losses. In that case, everything we said today is unnecessary.
Keep it in mind, just do what you love to do. But..." The Duke's face darkened, "If God no longer bless us and everything becomes very bad, then... then it may be very difficult for us.
I’ve gathered together your dowry.”
In this day and age, if a noble family wants to conclude a well-matched marriage, they must prepare a large dowry for their daughter, which must at least match their family status. And the "wife's dowry" is also what many young nobles plan to use for their daughters.
A starting capital for your own rapid rise.
In other words, if they cannot collect a generous enough dowry, no matter how outstanding the partner is, children from well-known families will naturally be discouraged because marrying a poor girl with an empty title will only become a drag on them and hinder their ability to climb the social ladder.
speed.
Famous nobles who cannot afford dowries either choose not to marry their daughters at all or send their daughters to a monastery to serve God to avoid making others laugh; or they simply marry their daughters off to those who do not want dowries, such as upstarts in the financial or industrial circles.
As for the nouveau riche, who have money but do not have a prominent family background, in order to raise their family status and squeeze into a higher level of society, they also have needs.
After the two parties hit it off, the famous family does not have to pay a dowry, and may even be able to receive a sum of money as "comfort", which can be regarded as the best of both worlds.
This kind of marriage had already begun to appear before the Great Revolution. France's once strict hierarchy was also crumbling under the money offensive of the bourgeoisie. After the Great Revolution, the aristocracy suffered heavy losses. After returning from exile for many years, it was in urgent need of rebuilding its own society.
family property, so they were even more willing to put down their dignity and exchange their daughters for family capital. As a result, there were more and more such marriages. In this way, the ancient aristocracy and the emerging bourgeoisie also quietly merged and became the new ruling class of the country.
class.
The marriage of Tanglar and Beauvain, two prominent civilian bankers, is a typical example of this.
It is precisely because she knows today's social customs that Agnes can understand the seriousness of her father's understatement.
Marriage was an issue she had never considered. However, as she grew older, it inevitably became a concern for people around her. In just one day, she heard from her sister and father at the same time something even more unfortunate.
The thing is, what I got from both of them seemed to be negative news.
If you are a girl who is already thinking about life-long events, you will inevitably feel extremely painful when you hear such bad news, lamenting that your life may be a dead end; however, Agnes's character is much stronger, and she does not care about it.
I had no idea whether I would get married, so I felt much calmer.
"Dad, you don't have to feel guilty. I don't care about this problem at all." She comforted her father instead, "Looking back on the life we lived more than ten years ago, what does this difficulty mean now? At that time, you must have
I never thought that I would have the chance to become the Duchess of so-and-so or the Prince and Lady of so-and-so, right? So the worst now is just the same as back then, so what will I lose?
If I can't get married, then I will be an old aunt at home for the rest of my life and take care of my brother's descendants. I am very happy about this. At least I can use your last name until the day I die... I will use this
Be proud of it.”
The daughter's words were so reasonable and full of affection, which made the father feel even more guilty after hearing it, and even burst into tears. "Agnes, I'm sorry... we are sorry for you. However, things are not that bad now, and maybe there is still room for recovery."
chance, at least... at least we can try to recover some losses from it. No matter what, dad will find a way to save a good dowry for you. This is my responsibility. Your sister has made me a laughing stock. I can't
I won’t let you make the same mistake again!”
In fact, Agnes knew that when her sister Alice got married, her father was furious because he was dissatisfied with her sister for choosing the son of an old Bonapartist, and even considered refusing to pay the dowry; but considering that the Marquis of Treville was also
Coming from a famous family, it would be too embarrassing if word spread, so he reluctantly paid half of the dowry. Fortunately, neither the Marquis of Treville nor his son were money-loving bastards, so they did not abuse his sister because of this.
The grudges between them became a little more intense, and there was no feeling between the in-laws.
For this matter, Agnes had complained about her father in her heart, but now that her father would actually apologize to her, most of her grudges were instantly eliminated.
"Dad, these are all my personal thoughts. Why do you need to apologize? It's not like I haven't seen the behavior of those princes and grandsons. From my perspective, none of them look the same. They are all good at living and drinking, but I don't think so.
I think there is no hope for them to make achievements... I am such a person, and I actually bring a large sum of money to beg to be his wife. Isn't that ridiculous? Bah, touch my hand and I will
I feel it is an insult! If someone marries me just for a dowry, I will not feel honored, I will only despise such a bastard who is so blind!" Agnes held her father's hand, and then comforted him gently, "
Our family's assets cannot be lost, so you should do your best to maintain them, and I am naturally responsible for it, but you must not think that this is my dowry, just use it according to the needs of our family."
Agnes's words were sincere, and the Duke was naturally very moved.
It’s just that he disagrees with it in his heart. After all, this is a historical custom for thousands of years, and his ancestors have been doing this for generations (in other words, each generation of his ancestors also received dowries from their maternal ancestors). Agnes
No matter how powerful you are, you are just alone, so how can you fight against social customs?
Not to mention the society's perception, even he himself could not accept his daughter marrying a commoner, which would only be a disgrace to the family.
At this time, the Duke had shrewdly forgotten his twenty years of exile. At that time, he worked hard and only thought about how to support his family. He had no time to think about "family status". He was only worried about wanting his daughter to marry.
Not even wealthy businessmen can get in.
Human nature is like this. After losing it, you have to face reality, but once it is lost again, you will cherish this hard-won social status even more, and you will never be willing to give it up.
The accountant and tailor's wife, who were self-reliant in Naples, are now the most traditional and conservative nobles.
We must keep the family's social status from falling and prevent our descendants from suffering the pain of displacement. No matter how high the price is, it is worth it.
And Alice and Agnes, even though they are his beloved daughters, even though he has poured countless efforts and expectations into them, they are still among the "prices" because they will ultimately inherit his title and his bloodline.
His direct descendants.
However, this kind of trade-off is now just a vague concept in the Duke's mind. He himself has not thought that the harsh reality has not yet forced him to face the torture and choice in his heart.
In this way, the communication between father and daughter was full of emotions, but also like a chicken talking to a duck, and finally ended in tears.
The Duke was already overwhelmed by the news that Danglars Bank was suddenly in operating difficulties. He could no longer care about the actions of his two daughters, so he happily agreed to Agnes's request to go out, but only told her not to do it again this time.
Make trouble.
He had given up on Alice and ignored her at all, but Agnes's reminder gave him another thought. If the Bonaparte family gained power, Alice might indeed be able to become the one who could maintain his family.
amulet.
Although the restoration of the Bonaparte family still seems unimaginable, in such troubled times, what's wrong with leaving an extra path for your family?
He even hoped that Alice would have a close relationship with Duke Leichstadt, in order to make this road more solid and reliable. Anyway, he had given up on this daughter, and he didn't care if there was a little more dirt on her body.
Therefore, he would rather wisely choose to ignore it.
As for Agnes, she was also full of worries.
Her family is now in crisis, and although she has no power, she can't help at all. This feeling makes her extremely depressed.
However, given her character, she was naturally not willing to just sit back and watch.
She carefully recalled all the information she knew about Tanglar, desperately trying to find something that could help her father.
And the only thing she could think of was Mr. Count of Monte Cristo.
She was the one who took the count to meet Tanglar at the beginning, and she could clearly feel that the count had a very deep hatred for Tanglar.
If there is anyone in the world who hopes that the Bank of Tanglar will go bankrupt and everything will go bankrupt, then the Count of Monte Cristo is definitely one of them.
So... was the Earl involved? She suddenly became suspicious.
As an agent of the Bonaparte family, he definitely has the energy to take revenge on Danglars.
Agnes also knew that this suspicion was groundless and even some malicious speculation, but like a drowning person trying to grab a life-saving straw, this was the best she could find in her narrow social experience.
Valuable information.
No matter what, I must at least give it a try, even if I let Mr. Earl think of a way...
Finally, she made a decision and went to visit the count.