"The Ace of Spades, the Ace of Spades... Wow! Lao Tzu guessed right. ”

In the Dubari Casino, Grosso at the card table shouted unrestrainedly, almost drowning out the conversations of all the other guests, embarrassing the three gamblers at the same table with him.

Lawrence himself was not very interested in gambling, and the casino that Lund brought them to was actually more social, and the game was almost only one type of card, and Lawrence knew nothing about card play in this era, so he did not participate in it.

He and Lund had ordered two cups of coffee at the café on the other side of the casino and sat down to chat, and Lawrence wanted to take advantage of the opportunity to learn more about the Duke of Scheuiseul and Paris from Lund's mouth.

"Mr. Lund, you have served the Duke of Choiseul for a long time."

Lawrence glanced helplessly at the yelling Grosso, took a sip of his coffee, and asked Lund casually.

A hint of shame appeared on Lund's face, and he shook his head and said:

"Actually, no, although I also worked under the Duke before, I have only been his attendant for three years. And the Duke will not bring me to many important occasions. ”

Lawrence frowned slightly, it seemed that this Mr. Lund did not know much about the Duke of Schwarseul, so he casually comforted:

"I believe that with your talents, you will one day be appreciated by the Duke of Choisel."

"I hope so." Lund sighed softly and said with a wry smile.

The conversation between the two was interrupted for a moment, and Lawrence gave up on finding out about the Duke of Schwarseul from him after learning that Lund did not know him very well.

And what made Lawrence care a lot now was the reaction of the casino manager when he was just exchanging chips.

"The look on his face... Seems to have recognized me from Lund's identity, but how could he, a casino manager, pay attention to such things, and what he wanted to do if he recognized me..."

Lawrence recalled that after Lund declared himself at that time, the manager looked at his suddenly realized expression, and thought a little incomprehensibly.

It stands to reason that a casino manager himself should not be too concerned about political rumors, which means that he is likely to be ordered by his superiors to keep an eye on them.

However, after thinking about it for a while, Lawrence still couldn't come to a conclusion, after all, he now had too little information about Paris and the court of Versailles.

After thinking about it, Lawrence decided to ask Lund for some news about the Dubari casino first.

"By the way, Mr. Lund, I have to say that the environment of this casino you chose is really good."

Lawrence turned his head to look around at the classical-style décor and asked Lund:

"The owner of this casino is called Du Barry, right, do you know him?"

"Mr. Dubarry..."

Lund held his forehead and recalled, and then said apologetically:

"I'm sorry, but I just know that his industry has expanded very quickly, especially in the past two years. There are rumors that he has found some kind of backer, but I don't know. I don't know anything about him personally. ”

"Is this your first time here?" Lawrence asked.

"Yes." Lund touched the back of his head and said:

"I don't go to the casino very often, and this is the first time I've been to a casino under Dubarry's name."

Lawrence glanced at Lund helplessly, it seems that this Mr. Lund is not a particularly reliable person, knowing that it is the first time to come and directly expose his identity.

However, Lund's words were right, they were now the Duke of Choiseul's men, and no one really had bad intentions towards them, but Lawrence was worried that there would be unnecessary trouble.

After learning that Lund knew very little about either of his concerns, Lawrence had to chat with him casually about the gossip in Paris to pass the time.

Time flew by, and the hands on the clock soon pointed to twelve o'clock in the afternoon.

Grosso, who had been battling the tables all morning, finally became exhausted and stopped shouting as loudly as he had started. However, judging from the red light on his face, it is estimated that he has gained a lot at the poker table.

Lawrence, while chatting with Lund, was also listening to the conversations of the guests around him, and he really heard a lot of exaggerated and bizarre gossip and unrealistic court rumors from them.

"Then it's time to leave."

Lawrence said as he glanced up at the clock on the wall, then got up to call Grosso out.

However, just as Lawrence got up, he saw a waiter who had been waiting beside him for a long time hurriedly came up and said sincerely:

"Are you leaving, Sir Bonaparte?"

Lawrence glanced at the waiter, and sighed that they really knew who they were, but they didn't know what they were going to do when they stopped them.

"yes, what's the problem?" Lawrence asked in a cold tone.

The waiter lowered his posture and said:

"There's a gentleman who wants to see you, and he's been waiting at the door for a long time."

"Sir? Which gentleman? Lawrence asked, frowning.

The waiter hesitated for a moment, then said:

"Jean Dubarly, owner of this casino."

"Jean Dubarry?"

Lawrence couldn't help but smack his lips, and from the waiter's tone, this Mr. Dubarry must have gotten the news from the manager, and then made a special trip to the casino to see him.

In this case, Lawrence also had to sell some face.

However, what puzzled Lawrence was that this Jean Dubarry, who ran a large number of industries in Paris, and was rumored to have a fairly solid political backing, was different from the petty bourgeoisie who wanted to see him in the morning.

Even if there is no discussion of the de jure status, but only the actual status in Paris, Jean Dubarry should be better than himself.

Why such a person made a special trip to meet with Lawrence really made Lawrence a little puzzled.

Anyway, Lawrence decided to meet with Mr. Dubarry.

Lawrence walked out of the casino under the guidance of the waiter, only to see a black carriage parked at the door of the casino, without any pictures on the carriage, very simple, revealing an elegant charm.

The coachman, wearing white gloves, was standing by the carriage, and when he saw Lawrence come out of the casino, he immediately greeted him and said:

"Sir Bonaparte, Monsieur Dubarry has been waiting for you in the car for a long time."

With that, the coachman walked over to the carriage and politely opened the door for Lawrence.

There was only a slender man in the carriage, leaning against the wall of the carriage with his eyes closed, covered with a pure black woolen trench coat.

The man opened his eyes when he noticed the movement outside, and there was a shrewdness in his eyes, and anyone who saw such a look would subconsciously think that he was a good businessman, and he was.

"Ah, Lord Bonaparte."

Jean Dubarry smiled and put his trench coat aside, and reached out to pull Lawrence into the carriage.

After getting into the carriage and sitting down, Lawrence looked at Dubarry a few times, and then took the lead in asking:

"I heard you want to see me? Mr. Dubarry. ”

"Yes, that's right."

Jean Dubarry squinted and continued to look at Lawrence, as curious as if he were observing a curiosity, and then politely greeted:

"I really didn't expect the Doge of Corsica to come to my casino, it's a great honor, how are you playing in it?"

"Everything is fine."

Lawrence coped casually and asked bluntly:

"You're not just here to do customer satisfaction surveys, right?"

"Ha, you're really good at laughing."

Jean Dubarry smiled and shook his head, moved his muscles a little, and said:

"Actually, I'm here to give you a kind reminder."

"A kind reminder? IMHO, I probably wouldn't take a reminder from a stranger. ”

Lawrence looked at the deceitful Jean Dubarry and couldn't help frowning.

"It's normal that you don't know me, but we've known Governor Bonaparte for a long time."

Jean Dubarry said with a smile:

"Our eyes were on you all the way to Paris."

Lawrence looked at Dubari silently, and from his wording, he should have met with him on behalf of a group.

In addition, Lawrence was well aware that Jean Dubarry was watching his whereabouts, but their focus must have been on the Duke of Choiseul, who was with him.

Thinking about it this way, Jean Du Barry's so-called kind reminder is undoubtedly related to the Duke of Choiseul.

"Your reminder is related to the Duke of Choiseul."

Lawrence didn't plan to go down with the snake and asked in a cold voice.

"Huh? You're really... Witty. ”

Jean Dubarry was stunned for a moment, the smile on his face gradually faded, and he stared at Lawrence seriously for a long time before he said in a deep voice:

"Your Excellency Bonaparte, please stay away from the Duke of Choiseul."

As soon as the words were uttered, a half-minute silence followed, and the atmosphere in the carriage dropped to freezing point in an instant.

Lawrence stared at Jean Dubarry in front of him and did not react to his words.

It wasn't until a long time later that Lawrence raised his head and stared at Jean. Du Barry, said slowly:

"Mr. Dubarry, is this a reminder, or a request, or a threat?"

Jean Dubarry kept a smiling smile and said humbly:

"As I said earlier, this is just a kind reminder."

Lawrence looked Jean Dubarry up and down, remembering Lund's statement that Dubarry might have found a reliable political backer in recent years, so he said tentatively:

"So this reminder... Is it your own meaning, or the meaning of someone behind you. ”

Jean Dubarry couldn't help but be stunned for a moment, a little unexpectedly Lawrence's reaction was so fast, and in a few words he guessed that he was also acting on orders, so he chuckled and said:

"You're really smart, that's right, how can a civilian like me be qualified to remind Governor Bonaparte, I'm just here to give you a message."

However, Lawrence's eyes never took his eyes off Jean Dubarry, and after a moment of silent thought, Lawrence suddenly spoke:

"The person behind you is a woman."

"What?! You...! ”

Jean Dubarry shrank his hole, the chuckle on his face suddenly disappeared, and his originally wanton relaxed sitting posture immediately became nervous, and he said incoherently:

"You, how do you know..."

Lawrence looked at Jean Dubarry's panicked appearance quietly, and thought to himself:

"Sure enough, it's that woman..."

Now Lawrence can already be sure that Jean Dubarry's patron, or rather, in his hands, is Louis XV's official mistress, the Countess du Barry, Jeanne Bequé.

Jeanne began as a good-looking florist and was later taken into account by Jean Dubarry, who took her as his mistress.

And the Jean Dubarry in front of him also quickly sensed Jeanne's charm and thought that she had the potential to develop into high society, so he ordered Jeanne to marry his brother Count Dubarry, and forged a noble birth for Jeanne.

Jeanne, who became the Countess of Dubarry, with the help of Jean Dubarry, soon became famous in Parisian high society with her charisma and attracted the attention of the Duke of Richelieu.

After becoming the mistress of the Duke of Richelieu, Jeanne entered the court of Versailles with the help of the Duke of Richelieu, and finally captured the heart of Louis XV.

At this time, Jeanne had become Louis XV's favorite mistress after Madame de Pompadour; The circle of nobility centered around her was quite influential in the court of Versailles.

Even in history, the fall of the Duke of Choisel was fueled by the Countess du Barry and her aristocratic circle.

After sorting out these relations, Lawrence also understood that the Duke of Choiseul and the Countess du Barry had always been at odds, and that they had not reached a reconciliation even after Louis XV's personal persuasion.

In this way, it seems that this reminder brought by Jean Dubarry to himself is very likely to be the meaning of the Duke of Richelieu, after all, Madame du Barry herself is not interested in political struggles, and her power in the court is basically controlled by the Duke of Richelieu.

And the Duke of Richelieu, like Madame du Barry, had a great hatred for the Duke of Choiseul.

Thinking of this, Lawrence couldn't help but let out a long sigh, in the eyes of ordinary people, he was on the thigh of Duke Choiseul, but Lawrence himself knew very well that he was caught in the center of a storm of political struggle.

Moreover, the Duke of Choiseul was undoubtedly at a disadvantage in the present situation, for Louis XV became more and more fed up with his arbitrariness, and if he was allowed to continue in this way, the Duke of Choiseul would soon be demoted and downed in 1770, as in history.

However, for Lawrence, he now has three choices: first, as Jean Dubarry said, stay away from the Duke of Choisel in order to protect himself; the second is to turn to the Duke of Choiseul's faction to help him save the situation; The third was to join Madame du Barry on the side of the Duke of Choiseul and push everyone on the wall.

"Whew..."

After sorting through his memories, Lawrence rubbed his dazed head and turned his attention back to Jean Dubarry.

Mr. Dubarry, who had just recovered from the shock, had not yet let go of his frowning brow, and looked at Lawrence with jealousy, not knowing how he had learned of the secrets.

"By the way, Mr. Dubarry."

Lawrence suddenly thought of something, and was the first to speak:

"If I'm not mistaken, the Duke of Richelieu must have brought it to me, right?"

"You... Didn't you have a spy on the Duke of Richelieu's side? Jean Dubarry glared again and nodded incredulously.

"And since you've come to me at such short notice, it means you've just stayed with the Duke of Richelieu?" Lawrence was speculating, but his tone was as if he were telling the truth.

"Yes..."

Jean Dubarry nodded weakly, beginning to wonder if Lawrence had a magic mirror in his hand that could peer into the world.

Lawrence chuckled and shook his head, leaned directly on the seat relaxed, reached out and knocked on the carriage, and said slowly:

"I want to see the Duke of Richelieu."