Perhaps because he had been so busy lately that he was physically and mentally exhausted, it was not until the third day of the day that Charles finally woke up from his sleep the next day. Pen, fun, and www.biquge.info

Mary had already woken up, but she had been careful not to disturb him, so she left lightly, and when Charles woke up, she returned to her room in high spirits.

"Good morning, sir. Let's drink a little first, you really drank too much yesterday......" Mary sat down at the head of the bed, and brought the tea for the decanter to Charles's lips, "Come, drink some first." ”

At this time, she was wearing a thin pink velvet pajamas, with a loose neckline revealing a large area of skin, this lazy but attentive look, like a newly married wife.

Charles lifted up from her embrace, half-sat on the head of the bed, and then lowered her head and drank the tea from the cup, feeling much better at once.

Then, he let out a long sigh of relief, then stretched, "Thank you, Mary." ”

Then he staggered out of bed, and Mary took his coat from the bedside table and carefully helped him put it on.

It seems that she is very satisfied with Charles's reply and assurances yesterday, so she is much more attentive and obedient today than usual, and she is bent on making Charles not regret her decision, and in her deliberate service, the two of them seem to have really become husband and wife in a trance.

However, both of them knew that all this was just an illusion in this poor country, and that when they returned to Paris, this illusion would be shattered by reality. But, even so, they can at least enjoy the sweetness of this illusion for now.

After helping Charles put on her coat, Mary also changed her clothes, and then Mary took Charles's hand and walked out, and the two of them suddenly returned to their usual well-dressed and calm appearance, as if everything was under control.

When they reached the reception room, the people who had been waiting there stood up and motioned to Charles, and Philippe de Treville, the leader, swept Mary with a look of hidden worry and disgust, and then walked directly in front of Charles, and held out his hands.

"Good morning, Charles! It's been a long time since I've seen you, and I miss you so much. ”

"Philip, long time no see." Charles smiled and nodded at him, then reached out his right hand and took his hand.

Among the people present, he was the only one who could communicate with His Excellency the Minister in such an unrestrained manner, after all, he was the cousin and brother-in-law of His Excellency the Minister.

After the two of them exchanged pleasantries for a while, Charles led Philip and the others to the rooftop on the second floor, and Mary followed Charles, and finally sat down next to him.

At this time, the servant in the mansion brought the coffee to the table.

"Philip, I called you over this time, I have something to explain to you." Charles picked up his coffee and took a sip, "There are many telegrams coming from the front, and they have been declaring that supplies are insufficient and that there is a lack of all kinds of urgently needed supplies, which means that the supply situation has not been very satisfactory. ”

Since the beginning of the war, Philip has been assigned by Charles to supervise the production of armaments in various places, so when the front complains about the lack of supply, he must have to bear some responsibility, and if it were not for Charles who withstood many doubts about him, I am afraid that he would have been greeted with more than just questioning.

Philip didn't expect Charles to be so serious with him as soon as he came up, so he was a little uneasy all of a sudden, and after a moment of awkward silence, he had to answer stiffly, "This problem is really troublesome, and we are also trying to solve it." Although the enterprises and workers in the rear are already working overtime to meet the government's orders, the ...... This will take some time to resolve. ”

"The front line doesn't give us much time, and we can't do it as an ordinary thing." Charles shook his head, clearly disagreeing with Philip's claim. "Also, the government has given you power, so you should use it well and live up to everyone's expectations, right? You must know that the whole country is now watching the war on the front line, and if there is a slight mistake, not only you, but even I cannot bear the responsibility. ”

"Yes, yes, I understand." Philip waved his hand repeatedly, and then he began to explain to himself, "Although the situation is still not satisfactory, but the production of armaments is now on the right track, and the output of various materials is increasing day by day, as long as this trend continues, we will soon be able to meet the needs of the front." In addition, I think that the problem is more difficult to deal with, because the raw materials and finished products needed by each factory need to be transported, and it is still necessary to transport materials from the mainland to the front line...... If the efficiency of transportation is not high enough, then even if we try harder, the supply at the front line will not be guaranteed. ”

Although Philip was clearly shirking his responsibility, his words made sense, so Charles fell into a deep groan.

"In other words, do you think the work of the transportation department is not satisfactory at the moment? Can't meet your requirements? Finally he asked.

"I don't think it's that serious...... It's just a little bit of an impact now. After shirking the responsibility, in order not to offend anyone, Philip immediately lowered the tone of criticism again, so as not to offend the bureaucrats in the ministry, "I believe that this is only a small problem that will inevitably arise at the beginning, as long as the next run-in for a period of time, I believe that the existing difficulties will be overcome!" ”

"It's been a few months since the war, and it can't be said to be a matter of running-in." Charles shook his head, not quite agreeing with his statement, "Anyway, next I will organize a committee in the ministry to deal with the coordination between the transportation department and the quartermaster department, you will be one of the committee members, if there is anything to solve with the other committee members, if you can't solve it, I will come and ask it myself." ”

"Okay, Charles." Philip immediately agreed, feeling that this was a sign that he was one step higher, after all, the more resources and power he could wield, the more he could grab from it.

Just as he was secretly rejoicing, Charles suddenly let out a long sigh and patted him on the shoulder.

"Philip, do it seriously, I've already given you everything that should be given to you, don't make trouble for everyone anymore...... Also, Marshal Tréville is in poor health, and we can't trouble him anymore......"

Charles's sudden words made Philip stunned for a moment.

Although he said it very vaguely, Philip could certainly hear that it was Charles telling him not to stretch his hands too much. And expanding one's power is a kind of compensation.

Is this woman's complaint?

He lowered his gaze, then stole a glance to the side, and Mary next to him only narrowed his eyes slightly, and gave him a polite smile back,

This woman, you will always have a down-and-out day, wait for me...... Philip hated even more in his heart, and couldn't help but scold again.

Philip, of course, would not reveal what he was thinking, he suppressed the depression and anger in his heart, and still reported to Charles, and Charles, after beating him, did not embarrass him anymore, and soon let his return work be over.

Before dinner, the two cousins decided to hunt in the woods, and they both mounted their horses and went into the woods with their shotguns.

Charles has been hunting here for the last few days, so he has become much more proficient in marksmanship, so since he entered the deep forest, he has been like a fish in water, loading, aiming, and firing in one go, and has shot a lot of prey for himself. Philip, on the other hand, was only with his cousin without a ride, and did not shoot much, and there were few prey.

He has a deeper purpose.

After the two men reached the depths of the forest, Philip grabbed the horse's head and crept up to his cousin's side.

"Shire ......"

"What's the matter?" Charles, who had just fired a shot, lowered the still smoking muzzle of the gun and turned to look at Philip.

"Did Mary say a lot of bad things about me lately?" Philip cautiously asked, "We are cousins, you can't hurt our feelings because of a few words from outsiders!" ”

"Mary didn't say much about you." Charles shook his head. "You don't need her to ask questions."

"She likes to meddle in everything!" Philip was a little anxious. "Don't look at her in front of you like a bird, she can be arrogant outside, she has never had a good face to us, and she likes to support others at will."

"Really?" Charles' expression remained unchanged.

In fact, he was not surprised at all, or rather, what he needed was such an effect, Mary offended people outside, he didn't have to offend people, but could be an arbiter, so that everyone would not obey him and obey his assignment.

"Yes, you can ask yourself, I'm not exaggerating!" Philip hurriedly replied, "Now there are people out there who are secretly laughing at you, saying that you have been deceived by a woman like her!" ”

"Really......" Charles lengthened.

"Look, you have women in this world to find, and there are more beautiful than her, why should you be held hostage by someone like her!" Perhaps because Charles's expression was too calm, Philip felt that he had received some kind of encouraging suggestion, so he decided to increase his persuasiveness, "Think about it, she is so arrogant and domineering now, pulling your banner everywhere to make enemies, so what about in the future?" It's going to be even more amazing! When the time comes, it will only damage your reputation even more...... So, Charles, you can throw her away, and I can introduce you to some prettier and more sensible girls......"

In the silence of the woods, Philip told his brother-in-law with a kind face that he would introduce the woman to him, and did not feel that his words were excessive.

After Philip finished speaking, he immediately looked at Charles, trying to read his thoughts from his expression, but to his surprise, Charles never reacted.

"Charles......?" After a moment of silence, he couldn't help but ask. "What do you think of what I said?"

"Philip, don't say that in the future." It was a few more moments before Charles spoke.

"How?" Philip was surprised by this answer, so his eyes widened.

"Mary is pregnant." Charles whispered, "So, I can't leave her behind." ”

Damn it! This goblin! Philip cursed in his heart.

All of a sudden he knew that he had made a mistake, and that Mary, who had been very favored by Charles, was now pregnant, and that Charles would obviously cherish her even more - and that he was now saying so many bad things about Mary in front of Charles, which might only have the opposite effect, but would make his situation difficult.

"You...... Do you really want to have an illegitimate child? After hesitating for a moment, Philip hesitated and asked, "Charles, it's one thing to play, but it's different when you give birth to a child, and there are a lot of problems involved!" ”

In fact, in this era, it is not very unusual for the nobles of the upper class to get an unexpected product after cheating, but most people's choice is to ignore the child and simply treat it as if it did not exist. If Charles did the same, Philip wouldn't care at all, but judging from Charles's attitude, Philip knew that things wouldn't be so simple, so he was so surprised.

"Yes, it's because there are so many issues involved, so I need to arrange it in advance." Charles nodded, "Anyway, since Mary wants to give birth, then I have to keep this child." ”

Looks like I'm really fascinated by that goblin...... Philip couldn't help but sigh in his heart, and at the same time wondered what kind of ability that young lady had to make Charles so fascinated.

"Philip, I'm just telling you about this now, and I hope you can help me......" As Philip brooding, Charles turned to look at his cousin. There's a lot of things out of Mary's time since she got pregnant, so I'd like you to take care of them. ”

Philip finally understood the reason for his cousin's promotion, and he was a smart man, and of course he knew that Charles must have other purposes in doing this.

"If you need me to keep it a secret for you, I will." He hesitated for a moment before saying. "But I still think it's too much trouble, you need to think about it."

"There's nothing to think about, I'll take care of Mary's baby." Charles replied without hesitation. "What else would Mary do? There was no one left to take care of her and the child. ”

"And what do you want me to do?" Philip sighed. "What are you going to do with Charlotte?"

Charles looked up into the distance, not answering for a moment.

"Philip, you're actually scared of Charlotte messing around, aren't you?" After a long time, he suddenly asked. "You're afraid that she will point you to a family business with no money."

"Uh......" Philip was momentarily speechless.

He was really scared.

Before, when he was in a catastrophe and his future was blocked, in order to let the Charles couple help him out of trouble, he had to agree to some harsh conditions for Charlotte, one of which was that Charlotte could give him a marriage.

He wasn't worried about Charlotte's indiscriminate marriage, but he was worried that Charlotte was too aggressive.

According to Charlotte's worldview and style of acting, she will definitely find a daughter of a noble family for Philip, but now it is a big family, and most people have to leave the center of state power and wealth because of previous political changes, either living in seclusion in the countryside or having to barely support it, even a small number of prosperous and powerful families may not look down on Philip, and it is no wonder that Philip is worried about this.

It is precisely for these reasons that Philip actually has a lot of opinions about Charlotte now, in his opinion, the property of his grandfather, who was supposed to be inherited by him, was taken away by Charlotte, and as a result, he fell into the embarrassing situation of having to rely on his sister's breath; What's even more worrying is that his sister may also point him to a young lady from a family with no blood but no marriage to speak of - and there is a high probability that this will be the case.

Philip had already been devastated, and had no hope of inheriting the family business, and if he had to enter into a marriage without dowry and property, it would be an unbearable result for him, he had long been accustomed to a life of spending all day and wine, where could he endure this future life?

It is precisely because of this fear that he has been accumulating wealth for himself by any means necessary, so that there is really no way out in the future. Deep down, he was also very disgusted with Charlotte who had taken everything from him, but he was afraid of Charr and did not dare to show it.

"What do you mean?" He finally asked Charles.

"I didn't mean anything, I just wanted to tell you...... I can help you get rid of such fears if I want to. Charles shrugged, "I can help you find a marriage with millions of family secrets, so that you don't have to worry about the future again." ”

"Huh?" Philip's eyes widened, and although he tried to pretend to be calm, the glint in his eyes revealed what he was thinking, "This...... How so? ”

"You know, I have a good relationship with the Comte de Beauvan, and I have done a lot to become president of the Banque de France." Charles smiled slightly, obviously pleased with Philip's superiority, "And he will be willing to repay me." He has a lot of partners, and most of these partners have made a lot of money, and what these rich people want to pursue most now is the family, and they all want to have a relationship with the famous nobles, and they are willing to spend a lot of money for this......"

"You're saying you're going to introduce me to a relationship with a banker?" Philip finally understood.

At first he seemed a little moved, but after a moment, he shook his head, "But Daddy won't allow it!" Charlotte will not approve of it, how could they let the daughter of an upstart be our daughter-in-law! ”

Inadvertently, he revealed his position - because he did not say that he meant to oppose it.

"If I have my support, you can do it." Charles smiled and reached out and patted him on the shoulder. "Besides, nowadays, even Beauwang can be an earl, so what's so surprising about having another rich man be a baron? Your Majesty is more than happy to knight the nouveau riche, and you will marry a nobleman. ”

While Charlotte and the Duke of Tréville would never accept such a statement, Philip would not have thought so.

Instead, he was greatly moved.

"You have a point...... Isn't that what today's aristocracy is all about? No matter what bloodline family background there is, if you don't have money, you don't have to endure humiliation and steal your life. He whispered to himself, "If we don't have money, no one will ask us." ”

Charles didn't answer, he knew that Philip was just convincing himself.

As a son of a family and the future heir to the duke, Philip did not take the old concept of the family seriously, and the more than twenty years of glitz and opulence in Paris had already transformed his values, and he had already abandoned the old values in modern Babylon like Paris, although Charlotte cherished them.

And that's good for the Charles, too.

"How's it going, brother?" After a few moments, Charles calmly asked, "Is that good enough?" I can help you choose a young lady with a little talent in that group of people, and I won't insult you. ”

"Well, Charles, since you've said it, there's no reason for me to refuse." Philip shrugged his shoulders and replied dryly, "I'll do whatever you say, who told me to be your subordinate now?" ”

"So, if I give you such help, will you be willing to be the protector of Mary's child?" Charles asked suddenly.

"Huh?" Philip was stunned.

Charles watched him silently, waiting for his answer.

The reason why he did this was not only to isolate Charlotte, but also for the sake of his unborn child.

He did worry a little about Mary, a single woman, even with her own support, there were always many things that would be difficult to do in this day and age. According to this assumption, in the future, although their child is only the illegitimate son of a noblewoman, and has no legal father, he will have a duke as his guardian, and he will not be ridiculed.

"This ......," Philip hesitated.

"If you want, I'll do it for you when you get back to Paris." Charles was still staring at him.

"So are you really sure you can do it?" Philip asked in a low voice.

"If I say yes, then I will be able to, you don't have to worry about that." Charles replied without hesitation. "So, if you don't want to refuse, go back later and apologize to Mary, it's her proposal."

"You want me to surrender to a woman like her?" Philip couldn't help but laugh, "This ...... This ......"

"Millions of dowries." Charles grimaced and repeated.

"Alright, Charles." Philip shrugged his shoulders in a dashing manner, "That's it." ”

Between a poor but noble future marriage and a slightly undignified but rich future marriage, the wise Philip certainly knows how to choose.

"Philip, you've always been smart." Charles smiled again.

This time, he didn't say more, picked up the shotgun in his hand again, and aimed it at the wriggling phantom in the distance.

"Bang!"