"Oh? I see that Governor Bonaparte is obviously very interested in the art of painting? ”

The Duke of Richelieu smiled and said to Lawrence, who was still on his cane, but there was no one else to support him, and he and Lawrence were the only ones in this small area.

Lawrence turned half of his body, picked up a glass of wine from the waiter passing by, slowly took a sip of wine into his mouth, rubbed his throat and said:

"I'm just a layman from Corsica, and I don't have much talent for art, so I won't bother you to waste my tongue."

As soon as he finished speaking, Lawrence put the glass back on the waiter's tray and prepared to leave.

The Duke of Richelieu immediately called out to Lawrence, and said with a little smile:

"Actually, I'm not interested in art, so let's talk about what we're all good at."

"For example?"

Lawrence said, frowning at the Duke of Richelieu's expression, his smile that made it seem as if he really was a kind elder.

"Politics, for example."

The Duke of Richelieu took two steps forward with his cane, and with great difficulty he walked towards Lawrence, and then said in a low voice:

"The last time we met was at the Paris Comédie Theatre, when you said you would give serious consideration to my proposal. I guess that's a long enough time, you should think about it, right? ”

Lawrence's brow furrowed even tighter, and for a moment he didn't find out what the Duke of Richelieu meant.

It is impossible for the Duke of Richelieu not to know that Lawrence has completely fallen to the Duke of Choiseul, not to mention that Lawrence directly beat the grandson of the Duke of Richelieu into a eunuch in a duel a few days ago.

No matter how you look at it, the two sides are already incompatible, and it is really incomprehensible that the Duke of Richelieu deliberately asked Lawrence about the result of his consideration at this moment.

Considering the Duke of Richelieu's unusual behavior, Lawrence did not directly refuse, but opened his mouth tentatively:

"Oh, that's it, I thought you were going to mention your grandson, I haven't heard from him since the duel, how is he lately? How's the injury going? ”

Duke Richelieu's smile froze immediately, and even his peaceful gaze suddenly showed an imperceptible ferocity.

However, the Duke of Richelieu's concentration is also beyond ordinary people, and after hearing Lawrence deliberately not open which pot to mention, he only showed a momentary strangeness, and then quickly regained his kind expression, and said calmly:

"Are you Falcone, he is still recuperating from his injuries, and I am not a doctor so I don't know the specific situation, I will convey your concern to him."

And when the Duke of Richelieu spoke, Lawrence was constantly observing the changes in his expression, and his change of face, which lasted less than half a second, was also clearly captured by Lawrence.

"Hmph... Sure enough, he still cares about his own grandson very much, although I don't know why he used such a kind attitude towards me, but he obviously can't let go of his hatred for me. ”

After capturing the Duke of Richelieu's instantaneous change of face, Lawrence could have made a conclusion in his mind.

On the surface, Lawrence still made a sad look, clutched his chest and sighed and said:

"That's good, that's good, Count Falcone's injuries really worry me, we shouldn't have to fight each other. I hope he will recover soon and devote himself to the field he loves again. ”

When the Duke of Richelieu heard this, his beard trembled twice with anger, but he still suppressed his anger and said with a forced smile:

"Let's put Falcone's affairs aside, although he is my own grandson, you defeated him in a fair duel after all, I won't say anything. What did you think about the proposal you just talked about? ”

Lawrence did not rush to reply, and carefully looked at the expression of the Duke of Richelieu before saying slowly:

"I told you at the time that your conditions didn't seem to be very sincere, so I had no choice but to refuse."

The Duke of Richelieu was not surprised to hear this, but instead smiled with a smile that he was in control, and said in a low voice:

"You can actually think about it again, the terms that the Duke of Choiseul and you have drawn up may soon be thrown into the garbage."

Lawrence glanced at the Duke of Richelieu without changing his face, and said in a deep voice:

"I don't know what you're talking about."

The Duke of Richelieu did not explain, but shook his head with a smile and dropped an inexplicable sentence:

"You'll find out soon, and hopefully you'll make the right choice."

Soon to know?

After hearing this, Lawrence was immediately alerted to the Duke of Richelieu's words, combined with the Duke of Richelieu's special banquet and the arrival of Justice Mopp, Lawrence gradually had a bad premonition in his heart:

"Sure enough, they came for me and the Duke of Choiseul... Judging by his tone, he should have acted as soon as the banquet officially began. It's too late to prepare for this, so let's wait and see. ”

After silently making up his mind, Lawrence didn't want to entangle with the Duke of Richelieu anymore, anyway, he would definitely not be able to get any valuable information from the mouth of this old fox, so he directly said in a cold voice:

"If that's all you want to say, then forgive me for missing out."

With that, Lawrence ignored the Duke of Richelieu and walked away.

...

Shortly after Lawrence left, he saw Justice Mapp slowly approaching, and he had obviously been observing for a long time.

Justice Mopp stood beside the Duke of Richelieu, stared at Lawrence not far away, and looked at it for a long time before he spoke:

"So you told him? What's his attitude? ”

The smile on Duke Richelieu's face gradually faded, and then he shook his head and said coldly:

"He seems determined to follow Schwartle, but it doesn't matter, after tonight, he'll think about who he should turn to. I'm going to have to trouble dealing with him later. ”

Justice Mopp nodded slightly, stared at Lawrence for a long time, shook the red robe on his body, and said:

"I should be able to deal with such a young man, but I don't know why you think so highly of him."

The Duke of Richelieu waved his hand with some disdain and said:

"This Bonaparte itself is not important at all, the important thing is that he somehow climbed into the relationship between the crown prince and the crown princess. Although I know that there must have been Choiseul's contribution to this, the relationship between Bonaparte and the crown prince has also progressed too quickly. ”

With that, the Duke of Richelieu glanced at Lawrence, and said with a gloomy face:

"To be honest, if I had known that he could be so close to the crown prince, I should have given him a better condition. But it doesn't matter, from tomorrow onwards, if he still wants to be on Choiseul's side, then he and his little Corsica are ready to get out of the way of France. ”

......

"Hmm... That's what that old bastard Richelieu told you? ”

After finishing his conversation with the Duke of Richelieu, Lawrence went directly to the Duke of Choiseul and retold him the contents of the conversation.

"It's really weird..."

The Duke of Choiseul also shook his head a little uncertainly, and tried to analyze:

"His tone is clearly trying to recruit you again, and normally, unless his brain is broken, he wouldn't say such stupid things."

Lawrence also approvingly added:

"But now there is a variable, and that is what the Duke of Richelieu called tonight's banquet."

"Yes, and listen to him..."

The Duke of Choiseul touched his chin, looked at Lawrence meaningfully, and said slowly:

"It seems to be determined that you're going to be on his side again, which means ... The goal he's about to attack must be closely related to your core interests. ”

Lawrence also nodded his head twice in understanding, and understood that this was the Duke of Choiseul asking him to show his loyalty, so he shook his head directly and said:

"But I can't be on Richelieu's side, the Duke of Richelieu's affairs with Count Falcone can't be completely put down, even if he temporarily settles his old suspicions with me for political interests, but in the end, if the Duke of Richelieu is in power, I will definitely not be able to escape the reckoning.

When the Duke of Choiseul heard this, he looked satisfied, took Lawrence's hand and said:

"Your political consciousness and sense of smell are truly outstanding, Governor Bonaparte, and as long as you stand firmly by my side, I will stand firmly by your side, no matter what tricks Richelieu may play."

"Thank you for your trust, Your Excellency." Lawrence said with a soft chin of his head.

"Then again, whatever that old bastard wants to do, it's going to revolve around King Louis."

As he spoke, the Duke of Choiseul took out his pocket watch and looked at the time, and said to Lawrence:

"The time is almost up, King Louis is coming soon, and I would like to see what tricks Richelieu wants to play."

Sure enough, within a few seconds of Duke Choiseul's words, he heard the accompanying music in the Hall of Mirrors suddenly changed his style.

The melodious waltz played by violins and orchestral instruments is transformed into a magnificent epic music dominated by horns and small drums, which sounds majestic and exciting.

As soon as they heard the music, the Duke of Choiseul and the other nobles quickly got up from their benches, and carefully arranged their clothes, and many of them took out their little mirrors like ladies and hastily took care of their somewhat messy wigs.

Even the Duke of Richelieu, who had trouble with his legs and feet, immediately stood up with his cane.

The nobles who got up soon consciously and orderly lined up on both sides of the Hall of Mirrors in two long lines, waiting for the approaching arrival.

Although Lawrence was not familiar with the rules of the Palace of Versailles, judging from this battle, it was undoubtedly the arrival of Louis XV and other members of the royal family.

The Duke of Choiseul was not as serious and nervous as the others, but patted Lawrence on the shoulder with a smile and said:

"Take it easy, young man, for this is the first time you have ever met the king."

Lawrence smiled and nodded, and there was no nervousness, after all, Lawrence believed in the idea that the prince and the general would have a kind of thing, and the king was just an ordinary person with authority.

As the drums in the music intensified, a steady stream of footsteps sounded at the entrance of the Hall of Mirrors, followed by a long, loud proclamation with a long tail:

"His Majesty has arrived—"

The nobles who were closer to the door immediately bowed their heads humbly and obediently, and glanced at the door only out of the corner of their eyes, and most of the nobles behind looked at the entrance of the Hall of Mirrors with the same reverence.

At the forefront is an elderly man with pale sideburns but full of energy.

He was wrapped in a heavy blue robe embroidered with golden irises; On his shoulders he wore a bright white cloak of gold thread, and at the front of the cloak was a small cross of pure gold.

His lower body was dressed in thickened white stockings and high heels like the nobles present, but his boots were embroidered with the royal symbol of the iris like his robe.

There is no doubt that no one is qualified to wear this outfit except the current King of France, Louis XV.

At the age of 60, Louis XV still looks alive and seems to be able to rule France for a short time.

Next to Louis XV was a beautiful woman holding his arm, Madame du Barry, the king's official mistress.

Behind Louis XV and Madame du Barry were the Crown Prince Louis and the Crown Princess Marie, who apparently did not get along very well, but walked together with a little embarrassment.

Then there were some ordinary members of the Bourbon royal family, including several of Louis XV's thirty-four-year-old daughters who were still unmarried, and the two younger brothers of Prince Louis, namely Louis XVIII and Charles X.

Of course, the most striking of these royals is undoubtedly His Majesty the King today.

With a pleasant and comfortable smile on his face, Louis XV stood at the doorway and took a satisfied look at the magnificent Hall of Mirrors, and then walked towards his throne with a very steady and slow pace, welcomed by the nobles on both sides.

On this promenade, which is less than 100 meters long, Louis XV also stops and stops, stopping to greet a nobleman on either side of the road after taking two steps.

"Oh! Richelieu, my old friend, it's a pleasure to see you, how are you doing? ”

Louis XV glanced at the Duke of Richelieu in the crowd, excitedly took two steps up and grabbed the Duke of Richelieu's right hand, and greeted with concern.

"Everything is fine, Your Majesty." The Duke of Richelieu smiled profusely and said to Louis XV with a polite salute.

"It's good to hear you say that." Louis XV smiled and nodded, then looked at Lord Mopp beside the Duke of Richelieu and said:

"Ah, Marquis Mopp is here, yes, enjoy this good time."

"Yes, I will, Your Majesty." Justice Mopp bowed his head and said rather deferentially.

Lawrence, who witnessed this scene, frowned slightly, and whispered to the Duke of Schwartle:

"It seems that Justice Mopp is indeed very much respected by the king."

The Duke of Choiseul was not surprised when he said:

"Of course, after all, the Paris High Court has not challenged the royal power once or twice, and Justice Mopp's suppression of the Paris High Court is naturally liked and supported by the king."

"If that's the case..."

Lawrence thought for a moment, but his brows furrowed even tighter, and then he glanced at Justice Mopp, clenched his fists and said in a low voice:

"I should be able to guess what the damned Duke of Richelieu is going to do."

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