Lobsters have been on the French table for some years. Pen × fun × Pavilion www. ｂｉｑｕｇｅ。 infoBut lobster plays a special role in French cuisine, it is a symbol of auspiciousness and festivity, so it is only on special occasions that the French will eat lobster. So, if you see a lobster on a French table, needless to say, it must mean that it was a good day, or that the host has good news to announce to the guests.

"My dear Chen, you should stay for a while when you return to France this time." Napoleon III asked.

"Yes, Dad." Chen Hong replied, turning his head and looking at Cecilia gently, "I will fulfill the obligations and responsibilities of a child's father in France. ”

"That's great." When Napoleon III saw his daughter's happy face, he couldn't help but feel a sense of guilt in his heart when he thought of Mrs. Howard, who had become an old man, "I think Cecilia's mother would be very happy to hear you say that." ”

Had it not been for Madame Howard's help when he was in despair, he would not have been able to ascend to the throne of the French Emperor.

Unfortunately, the trick of fate made him destined not to let his beloved lover go to the throne of the imperial empress. Even if he made Mrs. Howard a countess and gave her a fief, it would not erase the wounds on her soul. After leaving her with these lovely children, she married an equestrian instructor in frustration and died of depression at the age of 42.

Because he always felt guilty about Mrs. Howard, he took special care of his illegitimate children, giving his son Martin the title of "Count of Brechet", and letting his daughter Cecilia inherit her mother's title.

And the daughter fell in love with the Chinese because of an unexpected encounter and insisted on marrying him, Napoleon III was opposed at first, but by then Mrs. Howard was already critically ill, and she hoped that her daughter could make up for her regrets and marry her beloved. In order to give Mrs. Howard peace of mind, he agreed to his daughter's marriage against his will.

Although Cecilia was his illegitimate daughter, even so, Napoleon III could not have wronged her, and he not only gave her a manor, but also gave her a large wealth of jewels as a dowry. In his eyes, Chen Hong is just a poor Chinese boy who collects protection money at the wharf, and pursues Cecilia only for money. But what he never expected was that Chen Hong's family background was extremely prominent.

For the dowry given by Napoleon III, Chen Hong left all the dowry to Cecilia, and after the two got married in a low-key manner, Chen Hong invited Napoleon III to come as a guest at the Coastal Castle in Dunkirk, their love nest.

Napoleon III still remembers that although the castle bought by the Chinese is very ordinary in appearance, the decoration inside is extremely rich and elegant, and it is not worse than his villa in the palace.

And at that banquet, those delicacies that were difficult to see in the royal palace were even more eye-opening for Napoleon III.

Since then, he has been impressed by this Chinese and the Chinese family behind him.

"I propose, for the sake of our father's health, a toast." Chen Hong got up to toast Napoleon III, interrupting Napoleon III's thoughts.

The Chinese in front of him, every move he showed, was already completely European.

Napoleon III raised his glass, sat down again, and began to dine – Martin, who had no interest in politics, was only focused on sipping the salt-baked snails and Basque chicken on his plate with his knife and fork, and occasionally sipping the Bordeaux wine in his glass. Cecilia didn't eat much, and her attention was completely on Chen Hong, which was understandable, and getting together was a huge luxury for their "husband and wife".

After eating quietly for more than ten minutes, Napoleon III broke the silence: "My dear child, you must have brought me some good news from England this time, right?" ”

"Yes, Dad, my father was elected president of the Chinese Chamber of Commerce in Europe two weeks ago." Chen Hong said with a smile, as if he knew that Napoleon III would ask this question.

"Oh—what a great joy to celebrate, my child. Your father is such a wonderful man, and it seems that I have to do something to congratulate my in-laws. After a moment's thought, Napoleon III raised his glass again and solemnly announced: "In order to celebrate the ascension of my in-laws, I have decided to grant citizenship to Chinese merchants in the French Empire." Tomorrow I will leave this subject to discussion in Parliament, and I don't think my fellow MPs will object to it. ”

"You are wonderful, Your Majesty." Chen Hong did not expect Napoleon III to make such a promise, which is undoubtedly the biggest gain of his trip to France, "On behalf of the Chinese merchants in the French Empire, I thank you for giving us such a favor." May God bless you, the great man of France! ”

Although his mouth was full of words of ecstatic gratitude, at this moment, Chen Hong's heart was still very calm.

Of course, he understood that why Napoleon III would give such care to Chinese merchants (note, not Chinese) was not because of his son-in-law, but because of the Chinese Chamber of Commerce, led by the Thirteen Merchants who symbolized wealth!

For the French Empire, it was a true mountain of gold.

Cecilia was also pleasantly surprised when she heard her father's promise to Chen Hong, and she couldn't help but get up and run away from the table to Napoleon III's chair and put her arms around her father's neck, "I love you, Dad." ”

Looking at Cecilia, who was immersed in happiness, Chen Hong couldn't help but think of the past.

It was the year Cecilia's mother, Lady Howard, was dying in Port Rosyth, England......

On the wharf, some strangely dressed French people were surrounding the wharf, shouting and insulting at the pier that had just arrived on the jetty. At the other end of the pier, a young female passenger surrounded by maids seemed frightened and hesitated.

The Frenchmen wore the typical French royalist costumes, but they did not have the lily motif of the French Bourbon dynasty.

"Down with the Second Empire!"

"Down with the Bonaparte clown!"

"Descendants of usurpers, species of vipers, go to hell!"

Chen Hong, who was patrolling the dock, couldn't help frowning when he heard the shouts of these Frenchmen from afar.

From their shouts, he could already tell that these people should be supporters of the French "July Dynasty" in exile in England.

"What are these French going to do? Robbery? One of Chen Hong's attendants muttered quietly beside him.

The gang shouted and cursed as they pushed and shoved the sailors who had lowered the trestle and tried to rush onto the trestle, but several sailors tried to stop them, but they pushed them off the trestle one after another and fell into the water.

Seeing the sailor who had fallen into the water, several maids could not help but exclaim, and at this time several of the July Dynasty party members rushed up and tore the maids away, and some even drew their pistols, and the young girl among the maids screamed in fright when she saw the pistol and the bright spikes under the barrel, and retreated.

"Give it all to me!" Chen Hong, who couldn't see the bully, had a gloomy face and shouted loudly.

"Young owner?!"

"What are you doing in a daze? Watch the show! Don't give it to me yet! Chen Hong said angrily.

Seeing that the young owner was not joking, a retinue around him immediately blew a long whistle, which was a signal circulated among the Chinese workers at the docks: "Copy the guy, do the war!" ”

"The young owner has spoken! Hear me! Brethren! Copy the guys! Hearing this whistle, the dock workers, who had long been aware of the atrocities of the Jurists, put down their work one after another, grabbed tools such as hammers and screwdrivers, and rushed towards the group of Julberists.

Before the French thugs could understand what was happening, they were instantly overwhelmed by a large crowd of Chinese workers. The dock was in chaos for a while, and large clouds of smoke and dust rose up, obscuring people's vision. Accompanied by the swaying figures in the smoke and dust, there were bursts of tearing and screaming, as well as painful moans.

Chen Hong looked at this scene, frowned, and waved his hand in front of him, dispersing the smoke and dust floating in front of him.

After a while, when the moaning gradually subsided, Chen Hong spoke again: "It's okay." ”

Again, the attendant whistled vigorously, one short and one long, and the large crowd of Chinese workers dispersed at great speed, leaving only a dozen Julianists on the docks, either clutching their stomachs or their heads and groaning. In the distance, a sharp whistle sounded—

"Let's go, Mr. Rogers (Chief of Roseth Police) will take care of the rest." As he spoke, he led a group of followers to the port gate.

"May God bless these Chinese, it is they who save us." A maid spoke, her voice full of sincere gratitude.

Several sailors who had just been thrown into the water by the French thugs had already been pulled ashore by the Chinese workers and jumped onto the trestle covered in water. And bowed to Chen Hong who rescued them, they knew what those whistles meant.

When Chen Hong led people to pass the trestle, he glanced at the side of the boat, and just met the girl's gaze, and the girl turned her head in a little panic. Chen Hong saw that the girl was safe and sound, and he was relieved. He didn't look back, and disappeared into the crowd with his retinue.

The girl standing on the boat looked at his back stupidly, watching him leave.

The girl who was scolded by the July Dynasty party as a "descendant of a usurper" was Cecilia.

"Who is this venerable Chinese gentleman?" Until Chen Hong's figure disappeared completely, Cecilia turned around and inquired about one of the crew members.

"This man is a great man." The crew obviously knew the life story of this Chinese gentleman, and they had also experienced the shocking moment just now, so they talked to Cecilia in detail,

Since this unexpected encounter, Chen Hong's image has been engraved in Cecilia's heart and can never be erased.

—————— Dividing Line——————

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