"Brother, how are you doing now?"

Fran silently thought of her brother in her mind as she carefully painted the opposite figure on the canvas with a paintbrush.

She is now in a castle on the outskirts of Paris, slowly painting with a few of her classmates. And not far from her, in the gazebo of the garden, sat an old woman, she sat upright, her expression very relaxed, the morning sun shining on her, reflecting a golden halo, and behind her was a fountain and a flower garden, forming a rather meaningful scene.

The old woman looked a little weak and pale, but she sat up and sat down in the gazebo, trying to give the maidens time to conceive.

The court attendant next to her saw her tiredness, so she asked in a low voice, "Madam, will you rest first?" ”

"No," replied the old woman in a low voice, "I still want to bask in the sun so much." ”

"But ......"

"It's okay, you can wait a little longer."

The female attendant didn't dare to say more, so she turned her head and hinted at the girls with some stern eyes. Naturally, Fran and the others sped up so that the honorable lady of Adelaide could get an early rest.

After a few more minutes, the girls signaled that they had finished drawing, and the tired ladies finally breathed a sigh of relief.

"Bring all your paintings, I want to see them...... Don't tell me which one drew it...... I'm going to judge for myself. ”

…………

After going through the paintings in detail, Ms. Adelaide pointed to one of them lightly. "Who painted this picture? I am most satisfied with the drawing. ”

Fran lowered her head and whispered, "Ma'am, I painted it." ”

"No wonder. Sure enough, it's you, Miss Treville......" The lady smiled a little relieved, "I guessed it was you......"

The other girls looked at each other for a while, their eyes were a little complicated, with both envy and a little faint jealousy. But it was no surprise that the crown of "Lady Adelaide's Most Satisfactory Painting" had fallen to Fran, except for one person.

"Ma'am." Miss Lola de Beauwon, the daughter of Baron Beauwon, suddenly asked, "What you just said was 'most satisfying to you'. And not 'the most haode', right? ”

Today, Lola is still richly dressed and has an indifferent expression. Even the bun that was curled up high didn't change. Even when she accompanied the king's sister, she did not appear to have any inhibitions, and her attitude was as calm as ever.

Lady Adelaide looked at her with great interest, and the lady-in-waiting officer next to her hurriedly explained the girl's identity to her.

"You're right. Miss Beauwon. It's not the most well-drawn," said Ms. Adelaide with a smile, "but it's also the most satisfying to me, and I have other reasons to be happy with it." ”

"Can you point out which painting is the best?" Lola looked directly at the lady.

The female officer next to her was about to reprimand her for her rudeness, but the lady shook her head lightly and stopped her.

"What a stubborn child." She smiled and sighed, then pointed to another painting next to her, "In terms of technique and layout, this one is the best." Did you draw this? ”

Lola didn't answer the question. Instead, he bowed slightly.

"Xiexie, your justice, ma'am."

Fran lowered her head and didn't speak. I was secretly dissatisfied with my results.

Ms. Adelaide looked up at the sky, then at the girls and said, "It's not early, you guys play first, come back to lunch later, don't suffocate next to the old woman......"

A picnic on the lawn is scheduled for lunch, but there is still some time. The girls cheered quietly and prepared to go to play together.

"Miss Treville, stay for a moment, I have something to ask you."

Only Fran was left alone, Lola glanced at Fran, looking a little strange, but still didn't say anything, and followed someone to the tennis court to play tennis according to the previous agreement.

"Come here, Miss Treville," said Lady Adelaide, who whispered to Fran when all the girls were gone, "Come and sit beside me......

Fran stepped forward with some trepidation and sat down beside her obediently.

"What are you thinking about when you're drawing?" The lady asked softly, "It's absent-minded, it's not the level I saw that day." ”

"I'm sorry, ma'am......" Fran bowed her head, annoyed at her dysfunction, "I'm just ......"

"It's just someone on your mind, right?" The king's sister asked in a low voice.

Fran looked up at the lady in surprise.

"I say that this painting is the most satisfying to me, and it comes from the bottom of my heart." The lady smiled slightly, "Do you know what I like best?" It's these eyes, it's this expression, it's this face full of watch and expectation...... Just like I was back then. Miss Beauwon's paintings are excellent, but that's just the technical excellence, and yours makes me feel the presence of feelings, yes...... Feelings, in the painting, I was ...... at that time"

Fran stared blankly at the lady, not knowing what to answer.

"You certainly can't understand it." Still smiling, the lady said, "How can your generation understand?" So I'm amazed that you were able to draw such a look...... Sure enough, do you have a talent that ordinary people can't match? ”

"I still don't understand ......"

Ms. Adelaide looked up at the sky again.

"As you must know, our family didn't become the Wang family from the beginning, and even when I was a child, I almost never thought that I would be ...... today."

Fran didn't dare to talk, even as a young girl, understood that this kind of topic was highly politically sensitive, and it was not something she could easily express her opinions on.

Without waiting for her to speak, the lady spoke again, in an old and warm tone, as if she were reading a history book.

"I have three brothers, but I am the only daughter of my parents - I was born as a twin with my sister, but my sister died at birth - so they doted on me from a young age, and I lived my carefree childhood. Who would have thought of the storm that followed? ”

"yes......" Fran sighed.

"In 1792, just a few months before Louis XVI went to the guillotine, a year before my father went to the guillotine. My nanny fled with me out of France, and we went around in a panic, first to Belgium, then to Switzerland, then to Bavaria. And my mother, she ran south. She ran away to Spain...... Nine years, exactly nine years later, I came to Barcelona to meet her. From fifteen to twenty-four, time flies. When I called her, she almost didn't recognize me, and it took a while to hold me and cry ....... ”

Her father, the Duke of Orleans. At that time, in order to seize power, he actively speculated on the revolution. He participated in the National Assembly and voted in favor of the death sentence of Louis XVI, as described above. 】

When talking about the ups and downs of girlhood, she didn't have a trace of ups and downs, as if she was telling someone else's story. Many of the nobles who survived that era seemed to have little strength to hate their children and grandchildren when they told their children and grandchildren about their experiences, and they were just glad that they had survived.

After saying this. Ms. Adelaide seemed to be in some energy again, and her face was gradually flushed.

Fran sat next to her and listened quietly. There was no interruption to her narration.

"I'm sorry, it's such a haode day, but I told you this kind of thing......"

"No, ma'am, I can understand the suffering you have been through......"

The lady shook her head.

"I'm not telling you about the pain of the past, maybe it was a kind of suffering, but the suffering is history, and my life today is enough to make up for it. I am telling you this just to tell you that the pain of the past has also given us the courage to rely on each other......"

"Courage?"

"My elder brother, now King Bixia, also fled France the following year and came to Switzerland to meet me and live with me in Schaffhausen. At that time, we had almost nothing but the lives that we barely picked up, and we didn't have time to carry our possessions. And because of my father, the nobles who were still loyal to the Bourbon family refused to associate with us...... In order to fill his stomach, my brother once sold his zuihou an old horse and then went to teach mathematics to others as a tutor, what about me? I knew how to embroider, and then I learned to sew, and I made clothes for my neighbors everywhere, and I still remember the ecstasy I felt when I first earned money, and I counted the dozen or so coppers several times, for fear of missing a ......," and when she said this, she suddenly laughed, "Do you know what I was thinking? ”

"What?"

"I was thinking that if I worked a little harder and earned a little more money, my brother would be able to work a little less harder...... Could have come back early. Ms. Adelaide suddenly laughed again, "Fifteen or sixteen-year-olds are always a little silly. ”

"No...... No...... Ma'am, it's not stupid......" Fran suddenly felt a little sour in her eyes.

"At that time, I never imagined that one day I would be able to return to France alive and resume my old rich life...... One day she could become the sister of the King of France, and the world is so unpredictable......" She shook her head slightly, "However, if this was the case from the beginning, maybe my brother and I would not have the relationship we have now." I wouldn't be stupid enough to say something stupid like 'we were happier at that time,' but ......," Ms. Adelaide closed her eyes slightly, as if she was recalling something, and a slight smile appeared on her face, "it is indeed worth remembering." ”

Fran listened quietly, tears glistening in her eyes.

"Later, when my brother said he was going to do something of his own, he left me and arranged for me to go to Bavaria to join my grandmother, Madame Prince Conti, and he went everywhere himself...... At that time, I prayed for him every day, hoping that God would bless him, fearing for his life, and hoping that he would come back safely soon......"

Then she said as if jokingly, "Now it seems that the wish has been granted, isn't it?" ”

"Yes, it did." Fran lowered her head, and there was a whimper in her tone, "It will definitely happen......"

Looking at the girl who was already crying, the lady felt a little sorry in her heart.

"I'm really sorry, I let you accompany an old man to listen to so many old things, and sure enough, people talk a lot when they get old?"

"No, I really like to listen to it, I really like it."

"Xiexie, you really are a good boy," the lady patted her head gently, "I'm running out of time, I'll help you more during this time and make you famous." ”

"Don't say that!" Fran hurriedly looked up.

The lady shook her head.

"Doctors only say good things when I'm in front of me, but isn't it me who knows me best? Don't comfort me, I'm seventy years old and can stand anything, but you're still young, you have to live well. Then she seemed to remember something, "I heard that you seem to have an older brother, right?" ”

"Yes...... Yes......" Fran cried again, "I have an older brother. ”

"No wonder." There was some relief in the lady's smile, "No wonder. (To be continued......)

PS: Please forget the jokes in the morning.........

That's just a joke~~~~(>_