On the Île de la Cité, in the heart of Paris, stands a tall Gothic church.

Like other buildings of the same type, it is square, towering above the skyline, with a towering tower in the middle. The glow of autumn fell on it, adding a sudden brightness to the otherwise dull yellow building, and the quietly flowing Seine River passed in front of it, playing a beautiful music for her in a low voice.

The church, known as Notre-Dame, has long been regarded as one of the finest Catholic churches in Europe. You can feel the breath of history everywhere. As you walk through it, its altars, cloisters, doors and windows are full of intricate carvings and paintings, which look so delicate and so ordinary that when you are in the middle of it, you will forget what a precious treasure you are in.

Usually it is a very quiet place, lonely and lonely looking at the bustling world on the other side of the Seine, only three or three tourists walk through it to relieve her loneliness.

Today, however, it has suddenly become a sea of costumes.

From early in the morning, groups of Royal Guards in conspicuous uniforms began to gather here, and then sealed off the entire Île de la Cité, heavily guarded, but courteous to everyone, showing that what had happened today was not bad news, but a great event for the country.

And as the morning sun rises over the horizon, horse-drawn carriages follow the streets and bridges leading to the Île de la Cité, all lavishly looking and decorated for today's day. And beyond these streets and Notre-Dame, there are flowers in full bloom everywhere, and countless citizens are lined with them, curiously looking at everything today.

As the carriage stopped in front of Notre-Dame, men and women dressed in fine clothes stepped out of the carriage and headed for Notre-Dame with the guards. Among these people, there were politicians, wealthy businessmen, nobles and foreign ministers, and almost the entire upper class of Paris was financially prosperous.

Yes, they came today, not for any ordinary religious event, but for the wedding ceremony of Emperor Napoleon III of the French Empire.

After many months of preparation, His Majesty the Emperor and Her Royal Highness Karona von Holstein Gottep, Princess of Vasa, finally took the wedding ceremony on August 18, 1852.

His Majesty's marriage was naturally a great event for the entire empire, and it would also be an excellent opportunity for the Bonapartes to declare and show off their dominance in France, so from the very beginning, Emperor Napoleon III asked his subordinates not to be stingy with their budgets, and to make this wedding a spectacular spectacle.

Naturally, his men understood it, and a large number of flowers and decorations were ordered locally, and then arranged in advance of the wedding celebrations, turning the Île de la Cité and the whole of Paris into a garden, and all the members of high society who could attend were given invitations.

At the same time, in order to increase the joyful atmosphere, the government also issued an executive order to make the whole country a holiday on this day, so as to achieve the effect of national celebration.

As the sun grew brighter and brighter, the joy grew stronger, and at nine o'clock in the morning, a group of men came out of the Tuileries Palace, the Palais Royal, escorted by heavily armed cavalry.

The group, all dressed in crisp new dresses and with colourful medals and ribbons pinned to their chests, looked pretentious and arrogant because they had been carefully dressed, and they also deliberately showed their current superiority by traveling on horseback. This group of people is the current ruling center of the entire empire.

The leader of them was of course His Majesty Emperor Napoleon III, who rode first, enjoying the gaze of all men, looking ahead with a determined and pretentious look.

When the emperor walked out of the palace, the people next to him cheered almost at the same time, and the cheers of "Long live the emperor" were endless, while the emperor himself waved to the people from time to time with a reserved smile, provoking even greater cheers.

The modern royal family must be fond of showing off and pandering to the public's preferences, putting on spectacular operas in order to be loved and embraced by the whole nation - and Louis Bonaparte himself was very adept at this, and he also wanted to make his marriage the focus of the whole country, so that a foreign princess could grace his royal family.

Just after this group of people came out, several carriages, surrounded by cavalry, suddenly flashed out of the palace gate. These carriages are pulled by high-headed horses of solid color, and not only the carriages themselves are luxuriously decorated, but even the horses have sapphire pendants on their bodies, which shine in the sun.

The cheers on both sides of the street became louder when they saw these carriages, for it was known that one of the passengers of these carriages was the future queen of the French Empire. The French have always been very tolerant of women, so even if some people are resentful of the Bonapartes, they are still happy to cheer the future Empress Maze.

In the midst of cheers and flowers, the most powerful and highest-ranking people in the empire walked down the streets towards Notre Dame. This will undoubtedly be one of the most glorious moments of the entire Empire.

As Reich Chancellor and one of the close confidants of His Majesty Napoleon III, Charles de Treville was, of course, among the crowd on horseback towards Notre-Dame.

Although he was not very good at riding, he could handle it well because the horses were carefully selected and easy to handle, and the speed of the horse was not very fast. And next to him was his grandfather, Marshal Trevier.

Although the marshal was old, he was more relaxed than Charles because of his skill in horsemanship. His face, however, was slightly tired, as if untouched by the frenzied atmosphere of the day in Paris.

"Grandpa, are you not well? Do you want to take a break? Seeing his grandfather behave like this, Charles was a little worried about him.

"No, I'm fine, Charles." Marshal Trevier's eyes were still half-open, but his voice was full of breath. "I'm just a little tired of it, and I can't keep it up."

"Can't you still be uplifted by such a scene?" Charles asked, half-jokingly, "You see the whole city is boiling." ”

"You don't see many such scenes, but I saw a lot of them back then, when there were celebrations and military parades from time to time, and the people of the Bonaparte family loved to do this." Marshal Tréville said lightly, not knowing whether he was remembering or ridiculing, "When the emperor married Louisa, the scene was even bigger than today, and I was also there...... Unexpectedly, forty years have passed all of a sudden...... The emperor was smiling so happily at that time, who would have thought of what happened later? ”

At this point, he let out a long sigh, incredulous at the passage of time.

"Celebrations are good, at least we make the people happy, and the French people love vanity." Charles smiled and changed the subject. "I think it's worth it as long as that goal is achieved."

"As soon as they come here to cheer, they get free drinks and gifts, and of course they're very excited." The marshal squinted his eyes and replied, "But when they guillotine us, they still let out the same cheers. ”

"Days like these...... Don't say that......" Charles felt slightly embarrassed.

"Hahaha, young man, it's okay not to listen to bad words." Marshal Trevier burst out laughing, as if rejoicing in teasing his grandson.

Soon the group arrived outside the doors of Notre-Dame Cathedral, dismounted as the soldiers saluted, and then led the monks into the church, which was already crowded with people—social leaders, foreign ministers, government representatives from all over France, and even a few carefully selected Parisian citizens.

After His Majesty walked in, everyone cheered and looked eagerly at His Majesty the Emperor, who was proud of the spring breeze, as if sharing his joy.

On August 18, 1572, Notre-Dame Cathedral also hosted a wedding, and the wedding was also very large. The man was Henry King of Navarre (the future King Henry IV of France) and the woman was Marguerite, a princess of the Valois dynasty and the sister of King Charles IX at the time.

However, it was after this wedding that France suddenly experienced unprecedented chaos.

In the early hours of August 24, 1572, tens of thousands of Catholic militia in Paris, together with police and soldiers, suddenly carried out a bloody massacre of Protestant Huguenots in the city.

They broke into the house according to the white cross drawn in front of the Huguenot's dwelling, killed most of the people who were still asleep, and then threw their bodies into the Seine, a scourge that did not only befede the common people, but also caused the deaths of many nobles and high-ranking officials, and even Henry and the Prince of Condé, who were the party chiefs of the court at the time, were forced to convert to Catholicism under the pressure of the Catholics who stormed the palace.

Following the massacre in Paris, massacres of Huguenots took place in many other French towns. This led to a protracted religious war, which did not cease until 1598, when Henry, who had become king of France, issued a decree proclaiming the pardon of Protestants everywhere.

Of course, this would not have happened in the Bonaparte dynasty today, after centuries of religious wars and decades of revolutions, the religious fervor of the French people has long since faded, not to mention the fact that the future Empress has converted to Catholicism.

After the Emperor and his servants entered the glorious antechamber of Notre-Dame, the atmosphere in the entire antechamber began to become very tense, and everyone looked at the door, waiting for the other protagonist of the day.

did not live up to their expectations, and soon, Princess Carona, dressed in a white wedding dress, appeared from the door. Her wedding dress was ordered by a special craftsman, which set off the originally young and beautiful princess herself, charming, but with a little more majesty of the queen.

The white skirt hung down from behind, and dragged on so long that it had to be carried by the maid behind to move forward.

"What a beautiful queen!" People exchanged glances with each other, full of admiration and admiration, and some had a faint regret.

However, no matter what they thought in their hearts, there was an almost unanimous cheer from the mouths of the people, and for a moment the entire antechamber was boiling, and the most glorious moment of the empire had finally arrived.

However, the cheers of the others did not touch Her Royal Highness the princess, she raised her head proudly, looked ahead as if no one was around, and walked forward step by step. Her steps were steady, and her eyes were like those of a soldier on a doomed journey.

What a strong-willed person, she would not seem to be easily satisfied with the status of a vain queen. Charles thought to himself, pondering what to do.

Behind Her Majesty the Queen was followed by a group of ladies dressed in great costumes, who also wore long and gorgeous dresses, but who cautiously followed the Queen with small steps, providing a foil for the Queen, but in no way obscuring Her Majesty's brilliance.

At the head of the group was Charlotte, who walked ahead with a smile on her face, as if she were really content with her position and the splendor of the Bonaparte family.

Because she has just given birth, she has undergone careful care and has never been tired of social activities, so her skin is round and white, crystal clear under the lights, and her smile looks charming. A waterfall of blonde hair poured down from her long fluffy skirt, and although it had been deliberately concealed, it looked no less than that of Her Majesty the Queen—at least as Charles seemed to be.

"You've got a good queen for us." Just then, Marshal Tréville suddenly said next to Charles, "But be careful, she doesn't look like a good person." ”

"That's why I highly recommend her." Charles replied with a smile. "France and the royal family need a woman with a brain and determination to act as a protector, and luckily I have found the right person."

"Whether it's suitable or not, we have to look backwards." Marshal Trevier shrugged his shoulders, "If you can't have children, no matter how much you have brains, you won't be able to do anything." ”

"There will always be something that should be there, Her Majesty is so young and healthy, she must be able to bring a suitable heir to the empire......" Charles replied casually.

At this moment, as if inadvertently, Her Majesty the future Empress suddenly moved his gaze slightly to him, and then frowned imperceptibly.

No one else noticed the glance, but Charles didn't ignore it, he stopped talking, and bowed slightly to Her Majesty with a smile on his face, and the princess immediately turned away.

"She doesn't seem to have a good impression of you." The marshal asked in a low voice. "What's going on? You're kind to her, aren't you? ”

"It is the prerogative of kings to be ungrateful, grandpa." Charles shrugged. (To be continued.) )