Joseph followed Armand into the courtyard of his house and walked up the steps. He noticed that the small building of the Armand family was typical of the Rococo style. The walls are decorated with carvings of various shapes, decorated with gold lacquer and various other colors of paint. Such a small building must have been full of pompous ostentations in the past, but now, the gold and other colors of paint have weathered and peeled, and the entire wall is mottled.

Armand noticed that Joseph was looking at the wall, and said, "This house is some years old, and it should have been renovated a long time ago, but my father, like me, is a hopeless playboy, and he doesn't care about it at all." So, get this house...... How to say that? ”

Armand frowned.

"I think that's not bad," Joseph said in a serious aria-like tone, "and it has a special beauty." It's like an open time scroll, filled with the weight of history. When you see it, you see impermanence, you see the ...... destiny"

"Joseph, what do you say...... I'll just take it as a real compliment. "Anyway, you know, one of my greatest strengths is this." In addition......"

Armand paused, raised his head, and looked at the mottled wall carefully: "Joseph, you are right about one thing, this is impermanence, this is fate. The loneliness and despair under the prosperity are the true meaning of Rococo! ”

“O Fortuna，velut Luna statu variabilis，semper crescis aut decrescis; vita detestabilis nunc obdurat et tunc curat ludo mentis aciem，egestatem，potestatem dissolvit ut glaciem.” Joseph whispered to the side. (This is a passage from the Latin poem "The Empress of the World" in the Latin work "The Poems of Bran.") The gist is: Oh fate, as fickle as the moon, alternating between wax and void; The abominable life is a mixture of misery and happiness; Both the poor and the rich melted and died like ice and snow. ）

"Hell! You actually wrote a poem in Latin right away! "You have crushed me in the natural sciences, and now you are ...... You guy, do you want people to live! ”

"I didn't write it." Joseph shook his head and said, "I don't know who wrote it, maybe it was the work of an unknown poet in the eighth century or earlier. Well, I told you that my godfather was a bishop, and this is in a fragment that I saw in his church. ”

"The terrible Middle Ages, I don't know how many talented poets were buried." Armand shook his head and said, "Okay, let's stop standing on the steps and chatting. Let's go in together. ”

The two entered the door, and Joseph looked inside, and there was a crystal chandelier in the living room, on which more than a dozen candles illuminated the hall at nightfall. There are a few chairs on either side of the hall, and in the middle, there is the dance floor. The floors are covered with marble, but because of the passage of time, these marble floors have become dull and have lost their former brilliance.

There was no one on the sofa in the hall, and Armand said to Joseph, "We didn't invite too many people this time, only a limited number of friends, so they were all in the small living room." ”

Follow Armand to the right, and you will arrive at the small living room. As Armand said, people are in the small living room.

Armand walked in with Joseph, and then raised his hand and slapped his slap twice, so that everyone who was talking in the chairs in the small parlor stopped and turned their faces to look this way.

"Gentlemen, allow me to introduce to you my friend, the future great scientist of France, Monsieur Joseph Bonaparte...... An Italian viscount, let's welcome him. ”

"Welcome, Monsieur Bonaparte." A man in his forties stood up and greeted Joseph.

"Joseph, this is my father, Viscount Charles de Lavoisier." Armand said in a serious way.

"Thank you for your hospitality." Joseph also bowed and saluted.

"Come on, Armand, what are you doing so formally?" Viscount Charles shook his head at Armand, "It's just a casual family gathering. ”

Then he turned his head and pointed to a high-backed chair and said to Joseph, "Monsieur Bonaparte, please sit down here." ”

"Thank you." Joseph said, "I'm a friend of Armand, just call me Joseph." ”

Armand continued to introduce the rest of the family.

"This is my mother, Viscountess Lavoisier."

"It's a pleasure to meet you, ma'am." Joseph hurriedly nodded in acknowledgment.

"I love seeing you young people too." "It always reminds me of the good old days when I was younger," replied the Viscountess. ”

"Mom, you're a young man too." Armandau.

"This is my cousin, Samuel de Fermat. He was good at fencing and shooting, and once fought in North America with the Marquis de Lafayette, and was a great fellow. Armand introduced Joseph to another short man who was sitting here. Joseph noticed a long scar under his right ear, which stretched down to his lip. Perhaps to cover up the scar, he deliberately wore a beard in the style of Captain Haddock from later comics, which also makes it difficult to tell his age.

"Hello." Samuel stood up and nodded.

"Nice to meet you." Joseph also responded.

Armand then introduced Joseph to a few more people, most of whom were relatives of their family. Eventually, Armand brought Joseph to a girl in a pale yellow dress.

"This is the most precious pearl in our family, my sister Fanny." Armandau.

"Nice to meet you." Joseph hurriedly said.

"Me too." The girl bowed her head slightly, holding the corners of her skirt with both hands and bending her knees slightly in response. Then he raised his head again, opened his big turquoise eyes and gave Joseph a quick look, then lowered his eyelids and said, "I have heard a lot about you from my brother, and I have heard that your paper has won the prize of the Academy of Sciences. Not only that, my uncle said, you have a lot of important creations in mathematics. And you've been referred to get a teaching position at the Paris Military Academy in no time. You're probably not even twenty years old today to get such a recommendation, which is amazing! ”

"Miss, it's not as hard as you think." Joseph smiled and replied, "I'm just lucky." ”

"My brother said that luck only belongs to those who are ready." Fanny smiled and whispered.

"Alright, everyone sit down. Don't stand up and talk. Viscount Charles de Lavoisier said.

So Joseph sat down in a chair beside Armand. A servant brought a cup of tea and placed it on the small coffee table beside Joseph.

The conversation continued.

"What were you all talking about?" Joseph asked.

"Before I went out, we were talking about The Marriage of Figaro, which was staged not long ago." Armand replied.

The Marriage of Figaro is a work by Beaumarchais. However, for later generations, they are more familiar with the musician Mozart's version of the opera. However, the opera "The Marriage of Figaro" will not be completed until 1786, and the most recent performance is not the more familiar opera "The Marriage of Figaro", but the play "The Marriage of Figaro".

"Monsieur Beaumarchais's sarcasm in this play is too scathing, too ironic. It's really rare that he has such guts. Armand said.

"If you want me to say, Monsieur Beaumarchais, the talents of the comedy troupe are really bold, and they even changed the plot to satirize Her Majesty. That's the real daring! Baron Lavoisier said.

"Isn't it?" Fanny smiled and whispered, "They actually let Count Almaviva say something like that." It's very bold. Wouldn't they be worried about the Queen, for she would not have felt that she was being sarcastic, and perhaps she would have felt that the words of the Count of Almaviva were a compliment to her! Armand smiled with disdain.

Queen Marie Antoinette lived a luxurious life and liked to spend money indiscriminately, countless expensive gems and fashions gathered into her palace, and the luxurious fashion atmosphere swept the aristocratic life circle of France under her leadership. She was happiest when she invited the nobles with whom she was well placed to an all-night of gambling, revelry, and balls.

Folklore has it that whenever a whimsical new idea of spending money comes to her, she spoils like a child, cries and makes a fuss, forcing her husband to do it for her. As a result, the royal family spent more and more, and the fiscal deficit became more and more serious. And among the people, Queen Mary also has the nickname of "Queen of Deficits".

"Armand, what did the Count of Almaviva say?" Joseph asked.

"The Count said, 'What is the money?' Even if you have a deficit and you have to go around asking Jews for borrowing, that's fine. You must know that since ancient times, how many kings have been able to abandon even the country for the sake of a smile for a beauty, and in order to make their wife wear those sparkling gems she likes, even if the husband is bankrupt, he should be. Armand replied.

"So? Armand, you underestimate the queen too much. In any case, the queen was also from the Habsburg family and must have been well educated. She could understand this simple metaphor perfectly. So it really takes courage for those screenwriters of the comedy troupe to make such changes. But let's be honest, the risk they took wasn't as big as they thought. Because even if they saw these sarcasms, the king and queen probably didn't care. Joseph said.

"Someone is accusing them in public, how can they not care?" Samuel interjected.

"Ah, that's a question. Let me give you an analogy, well, you fought in North America. I heard that some of the Indians in North America at that time were standing with the British against you. It is said that the Indians will curse you with their witchcraft. So Mr. Fermat, do you care about their curses? Joseph asked rhetorically with a smile.

"Of course I don't care, because I know that their superstitions are useless. You know, there's nothing witchcraft that can't be solved with a bullet. Samuel replied.

"If one can't be solved, then another one." Joseph laughed.

"You're right, Monsieur Bonaparte." Mussel laughed too, "But generally, against the Indians, only one bullet is needed. ”

In the eyes of the king and queen, such accusations were no different from the curse of the Indians. They don't care. ”