"Charles, I recently heard that you have a young lady living in your house?"

Although Charlotte was gently leaning behind Charles, selflessly giving him a burst of warmth, after hearing this question, Charles still couldn't help but feel a chill drifting through his heart. Because Charlotte's tone is very unkind, if there is a difference, give him a kind of "If the answer does not satisfy her, it will be the end of the day!" "It's a bad feeling.

He gently broke free of Charlotte's embrace, then turned around slightly stiffly and looked at his cousin closely.

Perhaps because of her homely presence, Charlotte was dressed casually, wearing an open-breasted blue velvet gown with white lace sleeves. Her blonde hair was combed in the style of the eighteenth century, and a few laurel flowers were cleverly hidden in her loose and drooping blonde hair, giving off a faint fragrance.

She was looking at Charles with a smile, waiting for his answer, and the small piece of white greasy on her chest shook for a moment that made Charles a little distracted.

"What's wrong? Don't you dare answer me, Mr. Treville? Charlotte's smile deepened, but the bad feeling it brought to Charles became stronger and stronger, and the experience of growing up with her made Charles know that this was a precursor to her anger, and if she didn't answer properly, the next consequences would be unimaginable.

Fortunately, Charles has nothing to say about this matter.

"Yes, that's right." "And you may know her," he replied calmly, "that she is Mademoiselle de léoltran, a good friend of Fran, and now wants to be Fran's maiden companion, so she has come to live in my house......"

"Is that the Marquis you helped with?" Charlotte asked rhetorically.

"Yes. That's right. Charles nodded.

"Shouldn't I congratulate you on having another good friend?" Charlotte was still smiling, her azure pupils staring at Charles.

If you don't choose a good answer in this choice, I'm afraid that the next step will be a dagger that was suddenly pulled out......

Such a terrifying thought suddenly flashed through Charles's mind.

"You guessed it wrong. She's not my friend, and I haven't even met her a few times. I've helped her before, but I just think of her as a good friend of Fran's, that's all! He hurriedly explained with some eagerness, but he didn't understand why he was so nervous.

As he answered, Charlotte kept looking at Charles, as if to judge if he was lying.

Maybe it was because Charles's answer satisfied her. After staring for a moment, Charlotte finally looked away, a smile on her face. The unsettling element is slowly subsiding.

Charles breathed a heavy sigh of relief in his heart.

Then, suddenly, she reached out and took Charles' hand. Thin, white and soft fingers rested on Charles's hand. Then he directly pulled Charles and walked forward.

The two men walked hand in hand through the Duke's mansion.

Along. Of course, the two of them were not walking with their heads down, but were talking as before.

"I just wanted to find you, but I didn't expect you to come directly today." Charlotte chuckled, as if she was in a good mood, "What is the matter with your coming to my grandfather today?" Is there any young lady who needs you to save? ”

"Why don't you forget that?" Charles protested with some dissatisfaction, "I said, I just helped her once by the way, and I didn't expect anything!" And. After all, you didn't make that thing? Don't forget that she's almost going to be your sister-in-law......"

After hearing Charles's most ridiculous teaser, Charlotte unsurprisingly pinched his hand heavily.

"You haven't forgotten it! Didn't I tell you it was just a joke? ”

"Even if it's just a joke. It was just a poor and shoddy joke, not funny at all. Charles replied calmly, "Do you know what I thought when I heard the news?" It's just—frightened, is this poor girl mad because she's separated from me? What a sin I have! ”

The pinching was getting harder and harder, and the nails on Charlotte's fingers had almost completely sunk into Charles's arm, stabbing him straight to the pain.

"Do you think you can hide something by saying something like that? It's you who are the one who is broken......"

The two of them walked all the way forward, ignoring the servants in the duke's palace.

And under the dual effect of the rules of the Duke's house and the prestige of the eldest lady, everyone who passed by the two of them on the road also pretended not to see anything, and continued to do their work without squinting, without even talking—although within a few minutes after the two men left, gossip would spread among the servants throughout the mansion.

Eventually, they reached the door of a room, and Charlotte pushed it open with her other hand, dragging Charles inside.

Although it had been a long, long time since he had been to the Duke's Palace, Charles knew that this was Charlotte's bedroom.

The room was full of beautiful things, arranged everywhere according to Charlotte's preferences, and there were some landscape paintings hanging on the walls, although they were carefully framed, but in fact, they were all scribbled by the two of them when they were children, and Charlotte kept them. Next to the bed is a large glass window, and below the large glass window, a large number of makeup utensils are placed on the luxurious dressing table, and a mirror in the middle reflects both of them. The dresser, which was painted gold, was reflecting the sunlight at this time, adding a layer of blurry light to the bedroom.

Charlotte pulled Charles to the edge of the bed, and the two of them sat directly on her bed. The soft touch of the purple velvet sheets made Charles feel comfortable, so he simply half-lay down on the bed.

"Your etiquette is to go to someone's room and lie on it regardless of it?" Charlotte sat down next to him and whispered a taunt.

"It's not a good etiquette to forcibly pull someone into your bedroom as soon as you meet, right?" Charles retorted.

After another fight. Neither of them spoke anymore, but quietly looked out the window at the garden and the blue sky.

"Every time I come, I think you're a nice place." After a good view. Charles couldn't help but sigh again, "It's so comfortable, as soon as you open your eyes, you can see the beautiful ......"

"It's not like you can't come often...... It's just that I don't want to. Charlotte complained in a low voice, and then directly mentioned the previous matter, "It's really strange that you took the initiative to come to my house today, what is it for?" ”

"It's because of the decree. I don't want Monsieur Bonaparte to be unable to return home......" Charles had already figured out how to answer, and besides, it was not a lie. "Come to think of it, you don't want Monsieur de Bourbon to be unable to return home, do you? So you can find a way to cooperate on this issue, right? ”

"......I see," Charlotte thought for a moment. Then he agreed with Charles, "It's not that this matter can't be cooperated, grandpa has already promised you, right?" ”

"Well, yes. Promised. Charles nodded.

After getting the answer you wanted. Charlotte stopped dwelling on it, but brought up another matter. "So Grandpa already told you about it, right? The Grange ......"

"Yes, yes...... It's just that it's not detailed, just that there is something wrong with the grange over there, and I want to ask someone to deal with it. For the rest, he said to call me to ask you. Charles replied truthfully, "Now that you're next to me, I guess I can ask?" What the hell is going on. Need you to be so serious? ”

Charlotte hesitated before answering Charles.

"Actually, it's nothing. It's just some disputes......"

She then spoke in detail about the origin of the Grange.

Before the Revolution, the Treville family had amassed a vast estate through the painstaking management of several generations or more – or rather by the end of the Bourbons, and by the end of the Bourbon dynasty they had become one of the largest landowners in France. After the outbreak of the Revolution, these estates were largely lost due to mob looting and government confiscation.

After the Duke of Treville returned home with the restoration of the Bourbons, the revival of the Treville family began anew. Taking advantage of his high position, the Duke made a lot of money back then, and then took advantage of the Noble Compensation Act to gain a lot of benefits, plus the public property returned from the government, and after decades of painstaking management, the Tréville family regained a large amount of land, although not comparable to the old era, but it was already extremely considerable.

In Giverny, the Treville family had a large grange on their ancestral home, but it was confiscated by the government during the Revolution. Later, by dredging with the king, the Duke of Treville regained ownership of the grange.

However, although the ownership of the land had theoretically returned to the family, a part of the land was usurped by the peasants during the Revolution, and it was the most fertile part. What's more, the woodland inside is often stolen by them to collect firewood, causing a big loss of income.

After negotiations failed, the Duke originally wanted to deal with them directly with forceful means, but the sudden collapse of the Bourbon dynasty disrupted his actions. During the July Dynasty, the old aristocracy had been suppressed, and in this political atmosphere that was very unfavorable to him, the Duke had to continue to be patient, lest he make a big deal and be seized by his political enemies or enemies.

So, this problem has been left behind.

Now, however, the July Dynasty, which had bound the hands of the Tréville family, no longer exists.

For better or worse, the July Dynasty at least provided some kind of order, and the powerful could not love whatever they wanted. Now, however, with the old order overthrown and the new order yet to be established, the Duke of Treville was free to do whatever he pleased, with his wealth and the law.

"So, we're going to tell them again as soon as possible, if it doesn't work...... Then we have to use the last resort. Charlotte's narrative ends with the following sentence, "After all these years, it's time to settle the reckoning with these lawless hooligans!" Of course, this matter is best only if someone from the family presides over it in person, because my father is too busy, so I can only come forward...... Then, I recommended you to my grandfather......"

She didn't say anything about the last resort, but Charles certainly understood.

After listening to it, Charles couldn't help but feel a little emotional.

This is the core of the aristocracy's pursuit.

Land, land!

Dissecting the so-called bloodline, etiquette, upbringing and other false decorations, the essence of the aristocracy is that it is a landlord and a large landowner.

This longing and attachment to the land is deeply engraved in the heart of every nobleman, from the Middle Ages to the 19th century.

From the beginning to the end, the nobles' greatest desire was to expand their domains or granges in order to obtain land rent and agricultural income. Even the elite of the aristocracy such as the Duke of Treville, after returning to French power, the first thing they thought of was to amass wealth or use state weapons to restore their ancestral property by all means.

As long as the conditions are right, they will do everything they can to expand the land.

As for the livelihood of those people, the nobles did not bother to care.

In Charlotte's tone, it was reasonable and legal to clean up these people, because the land ownership was already in their hands. It's like just cleaning the kitchen and getting rid of some unsightly clutter. There's nothing pretentious, and I don't even think there's anything strange about it.

What do you mean by that?

An aristocrat is an aristocracy.

"Charles, grandpa also said that the grange will be my dowry ...... in the future" (to be continued......)