The servant who received Cavour's letter did not hesitate in the slightest, and immediately sent the news by telegram to the small town of Fontainebleau, more than 100 kilometers away from Paris.

At this time, Princess Mathilde accompanied her close male friend, Monsieur Flaubert, the famous French literary writer, on the street to the Château de Fontainebleau.

The two of them chatted playfully as they walked leisurely, and soon arrived at the main entrance of the Château de Fontainebleau.

The guards in charge of guarding Fontainebleau opened the door for Princess Mathilde and Flaubert as soon as they saw them.

Later, under the guidance of the housekeeper of the Château de Fontainebleau, Princess Mathilde and Flaubert were invited to a guest room.

Since each of the parlors at the Château de Fontainebleau has a fireplace, and each fireplace burns 24 hours a day, the temperature in the room is generally much higher than the outside temperature.

Princess Mathilde and Flaubert, who had just entered the room, immediately felt an unprecedented burning sensation, and they consciously took off the heavy coat that wrapped their bodies.

Seeing this, the butler took the coats of Princess Mathilde and Monsieur Flaubert and placed them on the drying clothes near the fireplace.

After all this, the butler reappeared in front of Princess Mathilde and Flaubert and responded to Princess Mathilde, "Your Highness, please wait a moment!

Your Majesty is still dealing with a batch of urgent documents, and it may take some time!"

After hearing this, Princess Mathilde nodded and said to the butler with a pleasant face, "Yes!"

After the housekeeper left, Princess Mathilde, as if she had become the mistress of the Château de Fontainebleau, warmly invited Flaubert to sit on the sofa and told Flaubert about the past of the Château de Fontainebleau.

Especially in some small things during the imperial period, many people do not know these things.

Princess Mathilde also owes this to Prince Louis Napoleon, who has been deceased for almost 11 years. (Napoleon III)

Of all the second generation of the Bonaparte family, only Louis Napoleon truly lived through the imperial period.

Even the Roman King, the biological son of Emperor Napoleon, is afraid that his experience during the imperial period will also be foreign intervention and flight.

At the beginning, Prince Louis Napoleon wanted to attract the attention of Princess Mathilde, so as to get Princess Mathilde's peace of mind.

deliberately told Princess Mathilde what happened in the Palace of Fontainebleau during the imperial period, and at the same time deliberately created the character of the heir of Emperor Napoleon in front of Princess Mathilde (Louis Napoleon did serve as Napoleon's heir for a period of time, but due to the appearance of the Roman king, Louis Napoleon's heir was automatically stripped away).

Princess Mathilde is also in Louis Napoleon's repeated descriptions, deepening the memory of the imperial period.

However, because Princess Mathilde herself described it to Flaubert as a third person, she was extremely sensitive to language, and Flaubert not only heard Princess Mathilde's words about someone.

When Princess Mathilde finished telling the story of the Château de Fontainebleau, she thought of Louis Napoleon, who had been dead for a long time, and her thoughts immediately turned into an inexplicable sadness.

After a brief period of grief, Princess Mathilde calmly told Flaubert that she wanted to tell Flaubert about these things in the hope that Flaubert would be able to create a short story set against the backdrop of Fontainebleau.

"Monsieur Flaubert, the Empire needs not only guns as shields, but also flowers as decorations!

Literature is undoubtedly the most gorgeous of all flowers!" Mathilde pleaded with Flaubert.

When confronted with Princess Mathilde, who pleaded with him, Flaubert was too embarrassed to refuse.

After all, Flaubert's ability to stand tall in the French literary world was not only due to his own efforts, but also to the help of Princess Mathilde.

If it weren't for the protection of Princess Mathilde, Flaubert's pessimistic rhetoric alone would have been enough to make Flaubert happy to visit the police station.

Under Mathilde's protection, Flaubert wrote with peace of mind, without the slightest opportunity to twist and turn in the literary world.

No scholar dares to challenge the authority of Princess Mathilde!

However, in Flaubert's mind, his attitude towards the empire was still half and half.

Flaubert acknowledged the merits of the Second Empire, but disgusted the extravagant attitude of the bourgeoisie of the Second Empire.

All in all, Flaubert himself did not want to glorify the empire too much, but he also did not want to belittle it too much.

Flaubert's attitude towards the Reich has always been that of moderate critics.

"Your Highness the Princess!" Flaubert, after a moment of silence, replied to Princess Mathilde, "If I am really fortunate enough to write a play of the imperial period, I can assure you that I am willing to describe it from a relatively fair point of view!"

I will describe its greatness, and I will also speak of the shadows that lurk beneath it!

If you just want an article that celebrates the Empire, then I'm so sorry about it!"

With that, Flaubert bowed deeply to Princess Mathilde, "Thank you for protecting me all these years!"

Looking at Flaubert, who seemed to be about to break with her, Princess Mathilde sighed to herself and said, "Monsieur Flaubert, your character is still as stubborn as ever!"

"Your Highness, this is me, a contradictory individual!" Flaubert replied to Princess Mathilde.

"yes!" Princess Mathilde looked at Flaubert in front of her and sighed, "If your personality is not like this, then your writing will not burst out with such powerful emotions!"

Let's go! I promise you, but I also have one condition!"

Flau met with Princess Mathilde and did not choose to embarrass him. I couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.

Truth be told, if Princess Mathilde had used their emotions to continue to plead with Flaubert, Flaubert probably didn't know if he would be able to continue to hold on to his heart.

However, when Flaubert promised Princess Mathilde, in his heart, the relationship between him and Princess Mathilde would also end with his creation against his own heart.

"Your Highness, you say!" Flaubert said to Princess Mathilde.

"Your manuscript must be reviewed by me before it can be published!

Also, you must join the Faculty of Letters!" Princess Mathilde made a request to Flaubert.

"Your Highness, these are your two requests!" Flaubert said a word to Princess Mathilde.

"I say one, one!" Princess Mathilde replied to Flaubert with confidence.

Flaubert was silent for a moment, and then he spoke to Princess Mathilde, "Your Highness, I can grant you the first request!

As for joining the Faculty of Letters, I hope you will consider it carefully!"

"Gustave Flaubert!" Princess Mathilde directly called Flaubert's full name, and she said to Flaubert excitedly, "Do you know how many people in France are eager to join the Académie Française!

Now that an opportunity has presented itself to you, you want to think about it carefully!

Who do you think you are, and how great are your achievements?"

Flaubert, after listening to Princess Mathilde's remarks, replied with some discretion, "Your Highness, I think that my talents cannot be compared with those of Victor Hugo!

But joining the French Academy of Letters should not ask for my consent!

For a writer like me who has some misanthropic feelings, it's better not to join the Faculty of Letters!"

With that, a helpless smile appeared on Flaubert's lips, and his whole body also exuded a sense of isolation and loneliness.

As Flaubert's confidant, Princess Mathilde naturally understood Flaubert's ambivalence hidden beneath the surface.

He was a romantic, but he tried to turn himself into a realist; It's one

Pessimist, but still with a love for France in his heart.

It is precisely because of this contradictory personality of Flaubert that his characters have a unique charm, and at the same time make Mathilde fall in love with them.

If history had gone in the right direction, Flaubert, having witnessed the Franco-Prussian War, would have turned into a complete nihilist.

Although Flaubert was a pessimist, he still maintained a love for his homeland in his heart.

It was this love that made his attitude towards the Emperor of France not entirely negative.

Otherwise, he would not have acceded to Princess Mathilde's request to meet the Emperor Napoleon.

"Flaubert should be for ***!" Princess Mathilde pleaded with Flaubert again, "All you need to do is put a name on the French Academy!"

Looking at the pitiful Princess Mathilde in front of him, Flaubert was a little soft-hearted for a while, and he also understood the benefits of joining the French Academy of Letters.

"I ......"

Just as Flaubert was about to respond to Princess Mathilde, the door opened, and Jérôme Bonaparte appeared in front of Princess Mathilde and Flaubert.

Jérôme Bonaparte, who entered the room, looked at the two men in the room who were about to stick together, and with an embarrassed smile on his face, he asked slowly, "I...... Isn't it the right time?"

Under the watchful eye of Jérôme Bonaparte, Flaubert and Princess Mathilde hurriedly parted, and then stood up and bowed to Jérôme Bonaparte.

"No need to be polite!"

Jérôme Bonaparte waved his hand and invited Princess Mathilde to sit down with Flaubert.

Subsequently, Jérôme Bonaparte told Princess Mathilde and Flaubert that the reason why he invited Flaubert and Princess Mathilde to visit the Château de Fontainebleau was to invite Flaubert to join the French Academy of Letters through Princess Mathilde.

Free to read.