After the Russian minister, Count Litvinsky, left the Charles reception room with a satisfied mood, and Charles remained in the reception room, recording the various talking points of his day with the ambassador. Pen, fun, pavilion www. biquge。 info

And that's certainly not his main business today.

As he scribbled on the paper, the door to the reception room was opened again, and soft footsteps rang out from far and near.

Charles stopped, then raised his head slightly, looked at the comer, and then looked back at him.

"Well, it's coming so soon." Since he had summoned it himself, he was not surprised by the comer. "Sit down."

"Good morning, sir." The visitor immediately greeted him, and her tone sounded lively and full of energy.

"Good morning, Mary." Charles greeted her without looking up.

Today's Mary, wearing a thick gray robe, has a relaxed and happy smile on her face, and her mood is not affected at all by the cold wind along the way, which makes people feel like a spring breeze.

She's really proud of herself now, because Lola has had a lot of bad luck lately.

Lola's bad luck makes her happy, but the pleasure doesn't just come from psychology.

After Lola was detained, in order to avoid suspicion, Baron de Beauwin kept everything his daughter had done secret, and instead ordered those present that day to keep their mouths shut.

And that led to a problem, because Lola no longer had the means to do the same things she had done before.

On the day that she learned the news, Fran asked her close friend Mary to take over Lola's temporary responsibilities, especially in the Railroad Federation, in order to repay her friend's loyalty and help.

Considering that Mary would be able to keep her and the Beauvang's shady deal alive in the dark if she took over, Charles agreed to this condition after thinking about it.

Then, at Charles' request, Baron de Beauvang agreed to make Marie his temporary delegate to replace his newly-born (in fact, imprisoned) daughter, Lola, in her previous role here—which, regardless of his considerations, undoubtedly increased Charles' influence in this civil institution.

And the one who benefited the most was naturally Mary, who took advantage of this opportunity to fall from the sky and became an influential figure. In order to prevent herself from becoming a puppet, she has been working hard to collect the materials and information left by Lola recently, hoping to get the work in hand on the right track as soon as possible, which can be described as very diligent.

However, although it was a spring breeze, Mary's mind was not yet diluted, she understood that everything she got now was due to the favor and care of the Trevill family, her foundation was very weak, and there were no cronies and pawns to use, so if she wanted to maintain her current position, she must continue to follow the Trevil family loyally.

She even needs to be more loyal, because her current position is likely to provoke suspicion of defection to the De-Beauwang family in the hearts of those who have a heart.

Thus, in spite of her busy work, Mary continued to serve the Marshal as "Marshal Tréville's Private Secretary," and she also visited Charles from time to time, in the name of reporting on her work, but in fact to show her loyalty—and by the way, to show that she had won the trust and importance of His Excellency the Chancellor, and to increase her deterrent power.

Although it was unreasonable for Mary to be so cautious, Charles was still glad that she was obedient - after all, who doesn't like someone who is loyal to them?

"Sir, it took me a lot of effort to come here today, and I almost couldn't get out!" Because there was a fireplace burning in the reception room, Mary took off her coat and put it on the hanger next to her, while complaining to her benefactor, "Well, it's not easy to clean up Lola's mess!" ”

Lola has an arrogant personality, and has been raised to be domineering since she was a child, even when she came out to help her father did not change her personality, so she repeatedly provoked the dissatisfaction of others in the association, when she was there, these people could only dare to be angry because of her family background, but now after she temporarily retired because of childbirth, these people began to intentionally or unintentionally take revenge on the grievances they had received before, thus causing Mary a lot of trouble.

"Lola's personality is a little problematic, but she is still very serious and rigorous, so she shouldn't make any big mistakes." Charles said as he finished writing his notes, then carefully sealed them. "So, if anyone tries to use this opportunity to cause you unnecessary trouble, just tell me, and I'll make them understand."

"You're usually so busy, how dare I bother you to come forward in person...... As long as you have this word, things will be much easier! I'm going to beat them up with your instructions, so that they don't dare to ignore you. Seeing that her plan had been realized, Mary's smile deepened, "In addition, Lola did a good job of recording documents and data, and it was carefully archived, and many things were written in special records, so I was able to figure out the situation quickly......"

Although she was ridiculing Lola just now, because Charles was now helping Lola speak, she immediately changed her words and remembered Lola's benefits.

She has always been a very smart person, so even if Fran didn't reveal the whole situation to her, she quickly guessed a rough idea of what happened after Lola gave birth, and naturally understood that Lola, who had now given birth to a daughter for Charles, had a different status in Charles's mind.

However, because of this, she also felt a little more jealous of Lola in her heart. Whether it is for her own interests or emotionally, she only hopes that Lola will continue to be locked up by her father in the dark.

"It would be nice if you could get started as soon as possible, now that we have a lot of business, we really can't afford to make any mistakes." After Charles finished his morning's work, he also breathed a sigh of relief, "By the way, have you been to the Baron these days?" Have you ever talked about the incident I recently told you? ”

"I've been there a few times, and of course I've talked to him about that." Mary nodded, and then immediately explained, because she was afraid of Charles's misunderstanding, "But we didn't talk about it in detail, and we didn't talk too much about work, because ...... Because I'm still responsible for you, I can't tell anyone else what you want. ”

"Hey, no need to be like this, Mary. I've always seen your loyalty, don't worry, I'm not a narrow-minded person. Charles couldn't help but laugh, "Since you are taking Lola's place, then you should do what she was supposed to do, what her father wants to ask you, you should know everything within the scope of your duties, we will not be suspicious of you, otherwise we will not let you replace her." ”

Then, he paused again, and then continued, "However, the current situation is really very difficult for you, and besides, you can't keep Lola's position all the time...... Well, as long as you do your job well now, then I'll let you regain your rightful place as an independent person in the future, Mary. ”

"Thank you!" After receiving Charles's personal promise, Mary was overjoyed, and could almost be said to be grateful. "Sir...... Don't worry, as long as you explain anything to me, I will resolutely implement it without hesitation, and no one else will have an impact on me. ”

She is now taking the place of Lola, although it is a momentary glory, but she still feels unreliable in her heart, and the dual identity involved in the two families of Beauwang and Tréville is also a little embarrassing, and it also makes her understand that this will definitely not last, because the replacement is just a replacement after all.

After tasting the taste of power and wealth, how many people are willing to give up? So what she is most anxious about now is how to curry favor with Charles, so that her "surrogate" position can be turned into a regular position, and she will have the current power and influence for a long time - and in this matter, Charles's promise just now is tantamount to giving her a reassurance, and he has made it clear that as long as she remains loyal to the Treville family, then she will be able to get what she wants, as she has always been.

However, from Charles's words, Mary also heard something else.

"Do you think Lola will come out in the near future?" Even though she knew it wasn't a good question, she couldn't help but ask.

"It's probably unlikely in the near future, but ...... I don't think this will always be the case, although the baron is still angry, but maybe not in the future. Charles groaned slightly, "I'll persuade the baron after a while, maybe he will change his mind......"

In other words, Lola still has a day to come out?

What a pity.

Mary sighed with a slight disappointment, but remained calm on the surface.

"You've told me everything?" Charles changed the subject again, "And what does the Baron mean?" ”

"He's not particularly against it......" Mary became serious again, "but he doesn't support it directly, I think he wants to see what the time comes." ”

"It is enough to have an ambiguous attitude, and Baron de Beauvang has a high prestige, and I don't think many people will stand up against me if he does not explicitly oppose it - and even if he does, I can easily settle it." Charles sneered slightly, "I'm going to have a showdown with them today, I hope they are sensible." ”

"But...... Most people won't be that sane. Mary is not as optimistic as Charles, "In my opinion, there should be quite a few who would disagree...... After all, the action is so big, and the interests of too many people are involved. ”

That's right, Charles is really ready to make a big move.

The empire is about to be thrown into war, which will naturally cost countless money, and the empire has spent a lot of money in the previous years because of the construction, especially the construction of the railway led by the Charles, which can be said to be heavily indebted, if nothing is done, the railway debt plus a large amount of war expenses can be said to make the empire's finances fall into a crisis, and even have a precarious risk.

Therefore, from the moment the war broke out, Charles decided to suspend the repayment of all due railway bonds, and only pay the interest due, and other repayment matters "to be discussed after the war is over."

It is conceivable that this will naturally cause great repercussions, but Charles is not afraid.

"We don't allow them to object, and the Empire doesn't need them!" Charles replied without hesitation, "The current empire is different from the previous dynasty, you know, we are the elected emperor and government!" The people elected His Majesty, so we represent the people! Who would dare to oppose the people? If anyone does this, then he is a sinner of the Empire. ”

"Maybe someone will take a case to court." Mary was not as optimistic as Charles. "If it gets into legal matters, it's troublesome...... Don't forget, none of these things can be publicized to the outside world. ”

"Don't think the law is a shield for them." Charles didn't have any worries about this, "Today, in the Empire, Your Majesty is the law!" And in my ministry, it's Wang Fa! I have carefully constructed this system to carry out my own will, isn't it for the sake of today? If anyone dares to oppose me in this matter, then he will suffer from it, and you can tell those people that they will understand the matter. ”

Mary was watching him the whole time as he said this proudly, and that was what she liked to see Charles.

"Poof......" she couldn't help laughing at the end, "sir, you're always attractive at times like these. ”

"I have it sometime else." Charles couldn't help but joke with her.

"By the way, who was that old man I saw when I came in just now?" Mary asked suddenly.

"It's the Russian minister, and he's here to show me goodwill." Charles replied very calmly, "He hopes that our two countries will forget the previous unpleasantness and embark on the broad road of cooperation." ”

"So you're sure to turn him down?" Mary frowned. "After all, you're already doing this......"

"No...... I was very pleased to tell him that I loved Russia and hoped for his friendship. Charles laughed, "I also plan to introduce him to His Majesty and make relations between the two countries friendly......

Mary's eyes widened, she looked at Charles, and then understood in an instant.

"You're really ......," she said halfway through.

"What is it?" Charles couldn't help but ask.

"It's so bad that it makes people feel good!" Mary's face suddenly turned red.

Then, abruptly, she stood up, then leaned on her desk and looked at Charles face to face, "Sir...... Do you remember what you promised me? Now, that promise hasn't been fulfilled yet......"

Charles immediately remembered what she was referring to.

Then he was a little embarrassed.

"If Lola can have it, can't I have it?" Mary's face turned even redder, and her voice began to become soft. "Sir, do you want to repay your loyalty in this way?"

It's not that she's so innocent, it's just that she knows that Charles eats this very much.

"I ...... I remember......" Under the gaze of her eyes, Charles was a little incoherent, and there was no longer the arrogance of the previous moment.

Because, he really eats this set.

"But, you know...... I'm so busy, and ...... Damn, this is my home......"

"Won't you be home all the time? Aren't we going out later......" Mary deliberately brought a little charm, and her voice was so sweet that it was a little difficult to hold back.

In fact, she didn't really want to have a child now - now that she had just been given such an important position, what would she do if she suddenly became pregnant? Everything that was hard to get is in vain.

It's just that playing with Charles is really fun for her.

For Charles, it's not so interesting.

Because, just then, the door suddenly opened again.

"Charles......" Charlotte's greeting was immediately interrupted. (To be continued.) )