Ever since she married into the Treville family, Alice has always had great respect for her father-in-law, General Treville. On the one hand, it was because of his status, but more importantly, the general's calm and resolute demeanor impressed her very much.
If it weren't for what Edgar did, Alice would have always respected the general so much.
However, as she became increasingly disillusioned with her husband, Alice could not help but feel resentment toward her father-in-law, whom she had always respected.
The general's failure to control Edgar was second to none. After all, Edgar was already an adult and he had no control over it; but in this situation, he had to urge the couple to have a son as soon as possible, which made Alice feel that she was being held hostage.
The general was treated as a tool.
Why is the general so anxious?
Alice didn't quite understand it at first, because the couple were still very young, and their fertility had been proven to be fine. There would eventually be children in the future, and at worst, they would just have to wait.
However, one day she had an idea and finally understood the Marquis' intention——
He was completely disappointed with Edgar, so he wanted to have a grandson as soon as possible to raise the next generation! That's why he was so anxious, because he was getting older, and he was afraid that he was already old. If the grandson came too late,
There will be no time to train the next generation of successors.
Once she thought about this clearly, the resentment in Alice's heart became even more uncontrollable.
The Marquis knew clearly what kind of behavior his son was. He neither restrained Edgar from his dissolute behavior nor restrained him from cheering up. On the contrary, he doted on him in every possible way. He even helped his son hide it from him and only regarded him as a weak and weak person.
Bullying people.
It's obvious that in his eyes, he is just an accessory to his son. He doesn't need to know anything, and he doesn't need to think about anything for himself.
Once he lost hope in his son, he just wanted to retrain a new generation and refused to correct Edgar at all. He just let it go.
You are certainly a good father who dotes on his son, but what about me? Do I deserve to swallow my anger in this life, and then be deceived by you all my life, and finally go to the grave silently?
This resentment made it difficult for her to remain calm.
Because she had long-standing grudges, her anger became even more uncontrollable after hearing that the Marquis had "brought birth" to her again.
The more you want it, the less I will give it to you.
It's not that she doesn't want any more children, it's just that her resentment towards the Marquis and his son gave her a temporary feeling of anger and revenge, so her rebellious mentality took over.
However, although she was angry in her heart, on the outside she was very calm and even a little apologetic.
"I'm sorry... Dad, I actually want to have another baby, but I'm still a little weak recently and I have a lot of things to do, so I think it's better to wait a little longer for the time being." She whispered to the Marquis.
The Marquis frowned slightly, obviously dissatisfied with this answer.
But in order not to make Alice sad, he put on a loving smile again and said, "Alice, since you are weak, you should take good care of yourself... Don't worry about trivial things, it is a waste of energy."
Then, he encouraged Alice, "Our family is really thin. As an old man, I naturally hope to have more grandchildren to tease. I beg you to understand my feelings..."
"Of course, Dad." Alice replied with a smile, "As a mother, I also hope that I can be surrounded by my children and enjoy family happiness."
Then, she pretended to be casual and asked, "If I gave birth to a son, would you still love Xia Lu as much as you do today?"
"Of course. How could I put aside such a lovely granddaughter? I will love her as always." The Marquis replied without hesitation.
"Then I'm relieved..." Alice looked relieved. "How do you plan to arrange her future?"
"Of course my granddaughter must have the best future! I will let her enjoy all the glory and wealth." In order to reassure Alice, the Marquis deliberately said extravagantly, "When she grows up, I will find a job for her.
The best marriage, and then give her the most generous dowry, so that she can live a life that everyone will envy."
Of course Alice could see that the Marquis was serious.
To be fair, this kind of promise is enough to make many people fall for it.
However, it was still a manipulated life - the Marquis obviously never thought of letting Xia Lu decide her own life freely.
She was saddened by the situation and thought of herself. As the eldest daughter, she chose her husband because she wanted to decide her own destiny. As a result, she was rejected by her father, deceived by her husband, and despised by her father-in-law... and she died.
As the eldest daughter, Xia Lu, can she afford the price of her choice?
Alice never wants her baby daughter to repeat her own life. As the eldest daughter, Xia Lu is another version of herself. She hopes to see a better and happier version of herself.
"And I will let her have the freedom of choice. She can live any life she wants, whether she is with a trafficker or a servant, or marries a prince and grandson. As long as she wants, I will do it for her." In an excited mood.
Below, Alice whispered to the Marquis, "I will shelter her, shield her from the heavy rain, so that she does not have to face the strong wind and thunder. She will have room to make any mistakes, because I will pay all the costs for her...
…She will live a happier and more comfortable life than me.”
The Marquis was a little confused after hearing Alice's words. He could not see the hostility hidden in Alice's heart towards him, so he naturally did not expect that this was a secret challenge to him.
"What an admirable maternal love!" He couldn't help but sigh, "Oh, Edgar and I both lost our mothers early. The third generation should be lucky."
"I love all my children, and they will grow up healthily under my care." Alice nodded.
She had already made up her mind. She would continue to delay until the Marquis was old, and then she would give birth to the child herself. After giving birth, she would raise the child herself. This was not only for revenge, but also so that the child would not be affected by the father and son.
, and he is a stranger to himself.
Perhaps because he remembered the past, the Marquis was a little sad at this moment, and he couldn't bear to urge Alice to have sex anymore, so he changed the subject again.
"There seems to be some movement on your father's side recently."
"What's the noise?" Alice asked quickly.
"According to the information I got, it seems that he got the money from somewhere. His financial situation has improved greatly, and his original debts have begun to be paid off normally." The Marquis said the information he had obtained, "It seems that he should have already
He's out of the crisis, I'm really glad for him."
Although he seemed to be happy about the news, to be honest, the Marquis felt quite regretful. After all, he had followed the Count of Monte Cristo and the others, which had seriously damaged the Duke's family. He even wished that his father-in-law would go bankrupt soon.
Now that I see them getting money and getting back on their feet again, it is impossible not to feel regretful or regretful.
"My father has many connections and has a certain status in the court, so it's not surprising that he can find friends who are willing to donate money." Alice knew the situation clearly in her heart, but she still pretended to be surprised and happy, "This can be regarded as
His luck."
"Yes, a famous family is a famous family after all, and they can always survive from adversity - just like us." Marquis Treville shrugged, "But then again, Alice, aren't you curious? Who gave them the money?
So much money? This is definitely not a small amount."
This question immediately made Alice nervous.
She didn't want the general to know what she was doing in private - after all, she was accumulating resources for herself, and she didn't want the cunning general to get involved.
"I'm not very curious." So, she shook her head secretly, "Besides, even if I asked, my father would never tell me. He is a stranger to me."
"Oh, that's because he is short-sighted!" the general laughed sarcastically. After all, the Duke did not look down on his own daughter. In essence, he still looked down on the Marquis of Treville and his son. This made the general always aggrieved.
A general with a very strong self-esteem, every time he thought about this matter, he wanted to take action himself and make his dear family members suffer from disaster.
"He borrowed the money from Bowen." So, in a cold tone, he revealed the answer to his daughter-in-law. "Mr. Bowen from Poncena Bank."
Naturally, Alice already knew the answer, but she still pretended to have just learned it. "So it's him? I heard that he is a very famous banker."
"More than just famous!" The Marquis smiled, "I should say famous. Everyone says he is smart and capable. After Mr. Poncena retires completely, this bank will probably become Bowen Bank - but
, Alice, you shouldn’t be a complete stranger to him. Haven’t you been to Poncena Bank often recently? Haven’t you seen him before?”
Alice's heart suddenly beat violently.
Only then did she remember that every time she left home to go to Poncena Bank, she always took the family carriage, and the servants naturally knew her movements. Even if she didn't know who she was going to see, someone must have tipped her off to the general.
The husband was indifferent and ignorant about everything, but that didn't mean that the general didn't really know anything.
For a moment, she couldn't help but panic, and her originally calm face became extremely ugly.
Although she is confidential and cautious enough, she has no experience in some things after all, and it is normal for her to leave loopholes due to her immaturity.
"Alice, don't be nervous." The Marquis smiled and waved his hand, "Everyone can have their own secrets, and you are no exception, so even if you do something in private, it is your freedom, as long as it does not damage us
The overall interests of the family are irrelevant, and I have no right to interfere with your every move. I just hope that you will not make up poor excuses to deceive me in a hurry. That would not only insult me, but also
You're insulting yourself."
Then, he looked at Alice with a half-smile, his eyes showing both teasing and encouragement.
Alice gradually calmed down, and now she wanted to understand that the Marquis had already noticed her recent actions, but had never interfered. Today, he deliberately came back to find her. It was obviously not a temporary move, but an ulterior motive.
After all... I am still not as good as him. She sighed in her heart.
For a moment, her heart was filled with annoyance, shame, fear, and even a little vague admiration.
That was the player's admiration for the player. Alice faced the Marquis at this time purely with the mentality of a chess player who had "lost a game".
After hesitating for a moment, she took a deep breath and then looked at the Marquis calmly.
"As you know, I did go to the Bank of Poncena several times and met Mr. Beauvin... My purpose was to intercede with him and let him lend money to my father. Although my father ignored me
, but I still can’t let go of my father after all.”
"But why does a banker's plea actually work? Bowen is a hard-hearted man, and the tears of a noble lady have no effect on him." The Marquis asked with interest, "Let me guess.
Let’s take a guess... Could it be that you followed His Majesty’s orders?”
"Nothing can be hidden from you..." Alice sighed, and then nodded. "Sorry, Dad, I know you have a bad relationship with my father, so I don't want to tell you, so as not to make you angry..."
The Marquis had already guessed this before. After all, one of the purposes of his and the Earl's previous actions was to force Duke Nordlien to bow to His Majesty for help, so it was not surprising that Alice was able to obtain His Majesty's instructions to save her family.
And Alice's reason was reasonable and just what he had expected.
Precisely because he had guessed this, the Marquis did not take it seriously after receiving the servant's tip, nor did he stop Alice's actions. They passed on without any explanation.
However, although he is shrewd, cunning and sophisticated, he is not omniscient and omnipotent after all, so he did not expect that there were so many hidden secrets in it, and he did not expect that Alice actually intervened on her own initiative, intending to seize all the resources to herself.
.
If he knew all these secrets, he would probably be like Aigron, applauding his daughter-in-law in person and congratulating her...
"It seems that you were very successful. Your father escaped from danger." The Marquis smiled and nodded, "I feel lucky for him. After all, he gave birth to two good daughters, who were able to save his own life at the critical moment!"
Why did the Marquis say they were "two" good daughters? Naturally, the Marquis had a little hidden sarcasm.
It's just that Alice is not in the mood to figure out that kind of subtlety at the moment. She is now annoyed by her own frustration - and more importantly, she wants to solve this omission.
In the final analysis, he still has no one he can trust, so no matter what he does, he is easily exposed under the eyes of others.
So no matter what, you must train your own subordinates... Alice came to a painful conclusion.
"We are just trying to show our filial piety. After all, we can't really let him suffer misfortune..." Alice replied with a wry smile.
"Now that the storm has subsided, you can work less hard." The Marquis shrugged, "I have estimated that your father's account is almost settled, and all the creditors outside are about to get their money, and no one will pay anymore.
Spread his gossip... Your father visited Bowang a few days ago, probably to discuss the final settlement of accounts. Take my advice and call it a day. There is no need to work hard for your useless father anymore. You should focus your energy on it.
Let’s get back to family.”
The Marquis's original intention was to induce pregnancy to his daughter-in-law, but he did not expect that his casual words would trigger an explosion in Alice's mind.