Chapter 155 The Crown Prince and the Illegitimate Son

Mrs. Walsh left her room number at the Tuileries Palace with the clerk at Paris Angel. The latter immediately and respectfully said that it might be tomorrow morning before her purchase could be delivered there.

There was nothing she could do. Although she bought a total of 300 livres worth of cosmetics, the fashion week attracted too many customers, and the delivery boy in the store was too busy working overtime for 18 hours a day. This is the result of the special acceleration given to her as a gold card member.

Later, the Walshes went to the carriage shop and ordered a latest model "Queen's same style" carriage, which cost 800 livres - 600 for the car and 200 for shipping to the British port.

Then, they rushed towards the Louvre Royal Museum.

On the carriage, Mrs. Walsh looked at the clean and tidy streets of Paris, squinted her eyes and took a deep breath. She couldn't help but praise: "It's much cleaner here than London. Even the air is full of sweet smell."

Mr. Walsh nodded with deep understanding: "Yes, there is not even a bit of excrement on the street. Sometimes I have to praise the French people's education in this regard."

Mrs. Walsh soon discovered a strange little square building and pointed there to ask the guide.

The latter introduced with some embarrassment: "Ah, madam, that is a public toilet, a place for the convenience of pedestrians."

Mrs. Walsh immediately felt ashamed that she had not seen the world, and whispered: "No wonder the streets are so clean. When will England learn from others?"

She secretly swore in her heart that she must learn some French when she goes back, otherwise she wouldn't even know how to use the toilet.

Mr. Walsh leaned back on the seat and yawned: "Ah - I don't even want to go back to London. Compared with here, London is like a garbage dump..."

Upon hearing this, the guide's eyes flashed with surprise. He immediately pointed in the direction of the Tuileries Garden and said with a smile: "Mr. Living in Paris. Well, especially during the rainy season in London, a vacation in Paris is definitely a good choice.”

The Tuileries Garden is said to be a garden, but it is actually a million-square-meter open space next to the palace. It is a place where Parisian citizens often go for a walk after meals.

Walsh blinked and asked, "You mean, the large area of ​​houses under construction to the east of the Tuileries Palace?"

"That's right, Mr. Walsh. It will be built in three or four months." The reason why the guide is so attentive is because after his introduction, he will get a commission of 500 livres for every villa sold. . Including the carriage that Walsh bought before, he also got 30 livres as commission.

Walsh was greatly moved because the villa was very close to the Tuileries Palace, and you could clearly see the details of the facial features of the sculptures outside the palace when you opened the window.

He then asked: "Do you know the selling price of the villa there?"

"Ah, the ones next to the Tuileries Palace cost about more than 50,000 livres, which is 2,000 pounds. The ones next to the bus tracks are around 1,900 pounds. The ones further away are 1,500 pounds."

Walsh suddenly took a deep breath. Even though he had a rich family, he was reluctant to spend 2,000 pounds to buy a house in France. A villa of the same quality in London will never cost more than 1,000 pounds.

The guide caught a glimpse of his expression and immediately introduced: "These villas are definitely worth the money, sir. It's not just next to the old palace. You see, an elite school is being built over there. Only those who live in the 'Royal Garden' ''s children can go to school there, and it is said that members of the French Academy of Sciences will teach.

"And over there is the largest hospital in Paris...

"That's a shopping mall...

"There is also a croquet court to the south..."

After all, Walsh still didn't go to see those 50,000 livre villas - he was afraid that if he couldn't bear to buy one, it would make his financial situation a little tight.

After he and his wife visited Paris and returned to the Tuileries Palace, the afternoon fashion show had already begun.

But this time it was Mrs. Walsh alone to enjoy the fashion show. After her husband came back, he went directly to the amusement arcade and started "fighting" excitedly in front of the "slot machine".

Mrs. Walsh looked at the empty chair on her left and said to herself in surprise: "Why didn't Mr. Alvin come?"

Her British journalist friend was in a theater at this time, nervously watching Hunter Xiao on the stage looking for "magic fire" in the magma.

Yes, he has no money to go to the amusement park, let alone shopping everywhere. The newspaper sent him to cover Fashion Week, but they wouldn't give him much money.

However, he could still afford the theater tickets, so he wanted to watch a play to pass the time, but he didn't expect that he couldn't bear it after watching it.

That movie "Refining the Sky" is so attractive! The plot is full of twists and turns, making people excited to watch it.

It happened that the theater was holding ten consecutive performances, so he bought a pass directly. He had been watching the theater for a whole day, and he even forgot about interviewing the fashion show.

It wasn't until the three shifts of actors had exhausted their energy and the theater had to close that he finally remembered that the work was not done yet.

On the way back to the fashion show, he secretly decided to translate the wonderful play into English and bring it to London to perform!

In the amusement hall of the Tuileries Palace, Mr. Walsh missed ten games in a row. He rubbed his hands in frustration and was about to put in the next silver coin when he heard a young man's wild shout from behind him: " Awesome, haha! Did you see that?!”

He frowned and turned around, and saw behind him a young man with a Russian appearance wearing an exaggerated red coat, monopolizing four "slot machine" machines. At this time, three knight patterns suddenly appeared on one of the "slot machines"!

Walsh knew that it was a grand prize that would be returned 30 times!

He was so jealous that his heart throbbed.

The Russian in red casually put away the silver coins spit out by the machine, and continued to excitedly stuff the money into the coin slots of the four machines one by one. Then he continuously pulled the handle of the machine, and his eyes scanned back and forth on the four rotating drums.

However, when the rollers stopped this time, none of them won. The Russian was not discouraged. He stared at his bloodshot eyes and continued to insert coins and pull the handle.

This time, his luck was overwhelming again. Two machines showed three-in-a-row patterns, and the crackling sound of silver coins falling made him even more excited.

At this moment, Viscount Fleiselle, the chairman of the Fashion Week Committee, came to him with a few people and persuaded him kindly: "Count Bobulinski, you have been playing for a day and a night, and you have not eaten. For your health, I suggest you take a rest..."

"Go away! Go away! Don't block me!"

As soon as the young man finished speaking, several strong men who looked like bodyguards came over and used their bodies to push Fleiselle and others back.

Fleiselle had no choice but to whisper to the security inspector who came with him and left.

Then he led several policemen to guard around Count Bobulinski, preparing to call a doctor for him if the latter fainted or became unwell.

…

Joseph walked out of the south gate of the Tuileries Palace a little tiredly.

Queen Mary agreed to be the ambassador of Fashion Week and would come to Fashion Week to give a speech every two days. Naturally, he had to accompany her.

Fortunately, a wooden track with a length of four miles from east to west has been built in urban Paris. It only takes more than 20 minutes to reach the Tuileries Palace after entering the city, saving the Queen a lot of time.

According to the plan, the wooden track will be laid all the way west, connecting Paris and the Palace of Versailles.

By then, you can take a rail carriage from the Palace of Versailles to downtown Paris in about an hour, saving nearly 70% of the time compared to before.

Although this wooden track is expensive to build, it costs 50,000 livres per league - that is, 4 kilometers. This is the result of the British track-laying technicians hired by Murdoch to use new techniques to reduce costs. Let French craftsmen do the laying, which will cost an additional 10,000.

However, just because the wooden track can make it easier for the nobles from the Palace of Versailles to travel to Paris, it can increase the annual commercial income of Paris by at least one million livres - the time spent on the road is shorter, and the nobles have more time to spend on Shopping and entertainment. In addition, people who were too lazy to go to Paris because it was too far or too bumpy in the past will also increase the number of times they go to Paris to spend money because of the wooden tracks.

Joseph stretched out his arms, and out of the corner of his eye he caught a glimpse of the life-size oil painting "The Son of God" hanging in the front of the hall. Queen Mary was extremely satisfied with this painting. Thinking that many foreign dignitaries would come to the fashion week, she I had someone make a copy and hang it here so that my son can show his face.

Joseph was so embarrassed that he shook his head. Just as he was thinking about whether to let Fouche send someone to steal the painting in the middle of the night, he saw Fleiselle walking towards him with an anxious expression.

The latter almost bumped into the crown prince before he realized what he was doing, stopped hurriedly, and bowed to salute.

Joseph smiled and asked: "Viscount Fleiselle, are you in any trouble?"

Fleiselle hesitated for a moment and said: "Your Highness, the Russian Count Bobulinsky spent a day and a night in the amusement hall without even eating a meal. I tried to persuade him several times to no avail. You know, with his If something happens to my identity, I'm afraid it will..."

"Count Bobulinski?"

Joseph frowned slightly. On the side, Eman immediately leaned into his ear and whispered: "Your Highness, he is the illegitimate son of the Russian Empress. He has been wandering around Paris for several years, and many nobles know him."

Joseph nodded suddenly: "Is it Alexei?"

"Yes, Your Highness, that is exactly his name."

Joseph couldn't help but narrowed his eyes. It turned out that Catherine's youngest son and the brother of the future Tsar Paul I also came to participate in the fashion week.

He suddenly remembered that in the Russian drama "Ekaterina the Great" he had watched before, it was said that Alexei seemed to have been traveling around the world since he was a child to avoid threatening his brother's throne [Note 1]. However, because he played too crazy, Ekaterina really couldn't stand his ridiculous behavior. She should recall him to Russia soon and then leave him in a remote town to reflect.

France is now planning to unite with Russia in order to launch a North African strategy. This Alexei is very favored by Catherine II. It is just a good opportunity to chat with him, and there may be unexpected gains.

He signaled to Fleiselle: "Please lead the way, I will go and persuade him."

"Oh, thank you very much, Your Highness."

In the amusement hall, Alexey was still flipping coins and pulling levers excitedly when he saw a young man with extraordinary temperament appearing in front of him and looking at him with a smile.

His eyes changed for a moment, but then he turned his attention to "Laba" and murmured in a low voice: "What are you going to do? Please get out of the way."

Seeing him put in a silver coin, Joseph helped him pull off the handle and said with a smile: "I remember that when I was a child, I went to Meudon Castle to recuperate because my health was not good.

"You know, there are no tutors or ceremonial officers there, you can ride horses and climb trees at any time, it's full of freedom and ease.

“Later on, whenever I was upset by various courses, I would pretend to be sick and go there to ‘recuperate’ for a few months.

"Until one time, I wanted to make my 'happy vacation' longer, so I pretended to be seriously ill and was about to die. I thought I could stay at Meudon Castle for a whole year this time.

“But guess what?

"My mother was so anxious that she summoned all the palace doctors to diagnose and treat me. She gave me blood several times, oh, and also gave me enemas and other things, which gave me a lot of torture.

"In the end, I had to end my illness on my own. Later, my mother told me that in order to keep an eye on my health, I would have to stay in the Palace of Versailles and never go to Meudon Castle again.

"Do you think I was too stupid then, haha."

Alexey was stunned for a moment when he heard this, and soon understood what the crown prince meant - when he saw Joseph just now, he immediately remembered the painting "The Son of God" - he wanted to avoid the political struggle in St. Petersburg, and also to let his brother Paul could inherit the throne more smoothly, so he deliberately pretended to be a playboy and had fun all over the world.

But as the Crown Prince said just now, if he pretends to be too much, his mother will be worried and she will have to keep him tightly tied to her side to discipline her.

He took a step back, put away his playful expression, stroked his chest and saluted, and said in pure French: "Thank you for the reminder, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince. I believe you already know my identity. It's an honor to see you here. you."

"Yes, Count Bobulinski." Joseph returned the favor with a smile, "I think you need a dinner and enough sleep now. If you don't agree, I will have to temporarily close this amusement park."

A moment later, as the two were on their way to the restaurant, Joseph continued to greet him: "I have heard some rumors about you."

Alexei felt a little groggy after staying up late. He smiled and said, "It seems that I am quite famous, Your Highness."

"What I want to say is that based on your current behavior, Her Majesty the Queen may order you to return to Russia soon."

Alexei tilted his head indifferently: "Maybe."

In fact, he had already inquired about the news from St. Peter - his mother had asked the ambassador to France several times about his situation and expressed his intention to call him back.

But what can he do? His brother's position has always been unstable. He loved his brother deeply and didn't want to put more pressure on him. Therefore, being a playboy is the only thing he can do for his brother.

He muttered: "After all, this is the only way I can go on."

Kesode led the guards to inspect the restaurant box and nodded to Joseph.

The latter took Alexei in and sat down, looking at the illegitimate son: "What would you like to eat?

"Actually, there are a lot of things you could do. I mean, things that have nothing to do with politics. And that would actually keep you away from St. Petersburg."

[Note 1] Before Paul I, Russia’s tsarist succession method was different from that of most European countries. The successor was designated by the previous tsar. Therefore, although Alexei was an illegitimate son, if he was deeply loved by Catherine II or had great political prestige, he might be able to replace Paul and become the heir apparent.

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