To be honest, Prince J¨¦r?me is not very worthy of the position of Minister of the Interior. It is only because of his status as a royal family member and the emperor's uncle that he was appointed to this position by the palace in order to maintain the royal family's rule over the empire. It's just a job. In other words, what he relies on most is blood relationship. When the two princes Louis and Lucien were expelled from the empire, Prince J¨¦r?me was naturally a rare commodity and became the most active presence in the royal family. But now, His Majesty the Emperor plans to pardon the two princes for their previous sins and allow them to They are back in France. It is conceivable that as long as the people from the two branches return to the country, they will definitely be able to restore their royal status and become competitors of Prince Jerome and his family. Under this situation, the prince's status and influence are not only in jeopardy, but at least greatly affected. Of course he will be very anxious, and the henchmen around him will be even more anxious. As the secretary of His Highness the Prince, Lucien de Bray has been trusted for many years. He was originally considered to be one of the rising stars in the government in the future. However, after this turmoil, I am afraid that his status in people's hearts will decline. A discount. Of course he doesn¡¯t want to see something like this happen. After Charles admitted that the news was true, Debray's eyes were obviously more nervous. "What's the attitude of the two families? When do they plan to return to China?" he asked in a low voice. "How could I know this? Would His Majesty tell me such a thing? You think too much of me." Charles looked away and looked at the flower garden outside the corridor, "But, as for mine Judging from our judgment, now that His Majesty has made a decision, things will develop very quickly - don't forget, who would refuse to return to the country to enjoy the blessings? "It is conceivable that these exiled members of the royal family, As long as he is pardoned by His Majesty and returns to France, he will be able to resume his treatment and enjoy the glory and wealth. According to common sense, few people will refuse this temptation. "I understand" Debray also agreed and nodded meaningfully. "Well, it will be good if we can confirm this news from you. At least we can be prepared. Thank you, Charles." "What does His Highness the Prince think of this?" Charles asked. "How else to look at it?" Debray smiled bitterly, "He can only rely on His Majesty's will." "Then what do you think?" Charles asked, "Sir, I think your loyalty to His Royal Highness is not enough. Are you noble enough to give up all your future? " Based on Charles' understanding of this young man, he is definitely not a principled person. Although he now has the trust of the prince and is loyal to his highness, in the final analysis, this is It was just for his own personal future. If Prince J¨¦r?me fell out of favor and lost his position in the future, and finally lost his position as minister and was forced to live in seclusion, Charles did not believe that he would follow the prince and leave, and he would definitely change his family. And maybe then, he can be used by others. "Who knows, let's talk about it then. At least the situation is not that bad now. The minister is still the minister, isn't he?" This handsome and gentle young man, who was deeply loved by Mrs. Danglars, showed an unpredictable look. smile. Obviously, he has not ruled out the possibility of becoming a pawn of the Treville family, but he has no plans to change his family now. After all, at least for now, Prince Jerome is still on the throne, and His Majesty has not expressed any thoughts about replacing him. He can continue to wait and see, and it will not be too late to consider changing jobs when everything is very clear. Of course Charles can understand the other party's thoughts, so he doesn't push him. For Treville and his grandson, collaborators can always be found, just be patient. "Okay, what do you want us to do for you?" Seeing that he already knew everything he wanted to know, Debray didn't want to delay any more and asked Charles directly, "Don't worry, I am a qualified trader. You Whatever you help me, I will give you something in return. " "My request is quite simple." Charles smiled slightly, "I have a friend who asked me for help. He has a friend who is in debt. He was imprisoned for the dispute. If you don't feel embarrassed, let him go for me." "It's not difficult." Seeing that Charles's request was so simple, Debray breathed a sigh of relief, "The debt dispute is just a small matter. That's it. Not many people will pay attention to it. I just write a note and they will let this um, your friend's friend go. Please tell me his identity. It won't take two days. , he can run up and down the street alive and kicking." Debray said it very easily, but the actual situation was.This is indeed the case - all police and prisons in France are under the control of the Minister of the Interior. As a confidant of the Minister of the Interior, it is really just a matter of words for him to let a criminal who has only committed a misdemeanor go. After receiving the other party¡¯s assurance, Charles secretly breathed a sigh of relief. Charlotte asked him for help, and now it has been completely solved. Presumably the girl will not trouble her anymore. "Is that all you want me to do?" Debray asked again. "I also want you to do something for me" Charles lowered his voice even lower, "Have you ever heard of a man named the Count of Monte Cristo? He just came to Paris." What I expected was that Debray's face became quite ugly when he heard this name. "I know this man. What's your relationship with him? You came with him today, and you seem to have a good relationship." "Actually, I've only known him for a few days, and this gentleman is now talking to me. It's still a mystery." Charles smiled and replied, "It seems that you are also interested in him?" "To tell you the truth, Charles In fact, we started paying attention to this guy just after he set foot on French territory. "After struggling for a while, Debray decided to tell the truth to Charles, "If you think about it, his whereabouts are mysterious, he has such a grand appearance, and he has so much money, it would be strange not to attract the attention of the spies." "I think so. ." Charles nodded. "Then what did your spies find out?" The "secrets" Debray refers to are the secret police under the Ministry of the Interior. This is a special type of police detective who is engaged in secret surveillance work. During the Great Revolution, The Era was founded by the famous Fouche. After the development of the Emperor Napoleon, it has become a huge institution. In the era of His Majesty Napoleon II, in order to maintain the rule of the empire, he increased investment in the secret police agency. After years of cultivation by two generations of emperors, they have now built a nationwide surveillance network. Every person in the empire has A city and a village are under the watchful eye of police detectives. It is normal for a weirdo like the Count of Monte Cristo to be targeted as soon as he sets foot on French soil. "Before we had time to find out what was going on, the superiors stopped this matter. This is the will of the palace, and we can only obey it." Debray sighed, and then looked at Charles, "So, regardless of this Who is the Count of Monte Cristo? In short, it is certain that he has a backer in the palace. This kind of person is not something we can easily provoke, Charles. "Of course Charles knows that the count has a backer in the palace, and he also knows that the backer is him. His Majesty the Emperor himself, but he would not tell Debray, as this would frighten him. "But I just want to provoke him now." Charles looked at the other party calmly and made his request, "Sir, I hope you can find a few capable subordinates from your department to deal with this The count conducts comprehensive surveillance, not only himself, but all his contacts must be monitored, and no matter what the situation is, Debray was a little surprised by this sudden request, and he looked at it with wide eyes. Shire. "Why? Only against the enemies of the country do we need to go to such great lengths." After a moment, he asked slightly hesitantly. "What happened?" "He is not an enemy of the country, but he is an interesting enough person, and can even be said to be very dangerous." Charles answered seriously, "I hope to know his details. Lucien, is it possible? Don¡¯t you want to know? This mysterious rich man has turned Paris society upside down in just a few days. Aren¡¯t you curious about who he is?¡± Charles¡¯s question stopped Debray. To be fair, Debray was very interested in finding out the details of the Count of Monte Cristo, whether it was out of human instinctive curiosity or the desire for knowledge from the secret police of the Ministry of Interior to monitor everything. Pressure interrupts this curiosity. "But what should the court do?" After hesitating for a moment, Debray finally made his move. "I can be responsible for this. If someone from the palace really comes to ask you, just say that I asked you to investigate this foreign rich man of unknown origin." Charles replied decisively. This is not to say that he is arrogant. His Majesty the Emperor has given him the task of comprehensively monitoring the Count of Monte Cristo. It makes perfect sense for him to build relationships and call the secret police to monitor him. Even if he is caught, it is at most just overstepping his authority. No one will hold him accountable for the favor in front of His Majesty. Debray began to ponder again. He knew that the blond boy opposite was a popular figure in the palace and was very popular with His Majesty, but?After all, he is just a teenager and has no real position or power. However, this young man is the grandson of Marshal Treville, so this is a different situation. Marshal Treville is such an heir. No matter what happens, he will obviously protect his grandson, and he is not afraid if Marshal Treville is a guarantee. Since you don¡¯t have to take risks and you can satisfy your curiosity, what¡¯s the reason not to do it? Maybe you can get some benefits from this mysterious foreign rich man "Okay, I will deploy capable personnel to monitor him as soon as possible. I will ensure that no trouble around him can escape your eyes." After that, he finally made up his mind. "However, this is just a private action. Our department will not record it. You can keep all the reports yourself, and His Highness the Prince and I will not bear any responsibility for this." "Very good." Charles bowed slightly. "Thank you for your help, Mr. Debray." After leaving Tangglars' mansion, it was already afternoon. After getting on the carriage, Charles did not go home, but went straight to another mansion a few blocks away from Danglars' mansion. This area is a gathering place for the rich and nobles. There are mansions everywhere, vying for the best, and Charles is currently staying in one of the rather ordinary mansions. Compared with other nearby mansions, its furnishings are much simpler, which directly reveals the owner's character of advocating simplicity. Moreover, the air inside is cold and damp, which makes people feel depressed. The servants inside also have straight faces, with a sense of simplicity. A serious and depressing atmosphere. The owner of this mansion is Mr. de Villefort, the current Attorney General. After Charles came to the living room of the mansion, Mr. de Villefort, who was tall and wearing a black coat, came to the living room and simply nodded to Charles. He has a square face, and his skin has the special paleness of someone who has been working at a desk for a long time in an office. His eyes are sunken, his sight is very sharp, and his steps are regular. He is obviously a meticulous person. It can also be seen from his haggard face and wrinkled eyes that he was once a handsome man, but now time passes, and what stands now is just a serious and rigid middle-aged man, as if he is the incarnation of the law. "Nice to meet you, Mr. de Villefort." Charles saluted the middle-aged man. "I came here to visit on my grandfather's order. He received a letter two days ago. It was written to him by the Marquis of Saint-Meran. The old man said that he would arrive in Paris in the next few days, so my grandfather is now preparing to Let's entertain him and organize a dinner with some of our former friends. What do you think is the right time? " "The Marquis also wrote to me. He said he will come to Paris in about a week," Inspector de Villefort said in his unique way. , replied in a cold tone without warmth, "When the time comes, he will come to stay at our house. Marshal Treville can party with him at any time, as long as he is willing." "That's great, I will go back and tell Grandpa." Ciel looked relieved. "Are you free then? My grandpa also wants to invite your family to attend the banquet After all, this may make the two old people happy." "Generally speaking, I don't like attending banquets, but, considering The Marquis de Saint-Meran is old I will go." After thinking for a moment, the Attorney General agreed to Charles's invitation. Mr. de Villefort, the prosecutor general, was married twice. In his first marriage, he married the daughter of the Marquis de Saint-Meran. ¡°The woman that Grandpa Charles married when he was in exile was the sister of the Marquis de Saint-Meran, so because of this relationship, the two families could be considered somewhat related. But this time, the Marquis de Saint-Meran personally wrote a letter saying that he was rushing from Marseille to Paris. It is conceivable that this old man who was about to die and had lived in seclusion for many years must have come here just to meet his old friends. They are just old acquaintances, especially his granddaughter. Of course, the equally old Marquis de Treville is not willing to miss this opportunity to meet his old relatives, and for them, this is also a good excuse to get close to the Villefort family. "Thank you for your compliment." Charles smiled and then asked again. "So can the Marquis of Noirtier also attend?" This question made the prosecutor-general a little stunned. "Father? Father his health is really bad now. He has been paralyzed in bed and has difficulty moving. I'm afraid it's better to forget it" "Of course my grandpa also knows your father's current situation, but this is a special situation. After all, there is such a situation. ?There was a gathering of many old friends, and he couldn't bear to have your father absent. Charles did not give up his efforts to persuade, "I think that old man must also hope to attend. Why don't you ask him?" " Villefort hesitated a little. In fact, he had a very bad relationship with his father, and there were deep conflicts and grievances between father and son. However, as a veteran Bonapartist, the Marquis of Noirtier has always been deeply loved by two generations of emperors. Trust can be said to be a trump card for his future. With the country now being ruled by the Bonaparte family, no matter what, he must serve his father carefully and keep this amulet. He has been doing so since his father suffered a stroke and became paralyzed. Taking good care of him can be regarded as fulfilling his duty as a son. Based on his understanding of his father, after hearing the marshal's invitation, he would definitely want to attend - even though his physical condition was so bad, his father's mind was still burning. "Then why don't you go ask him. After hesitating for a moment, he directly became the shopkeeper and said, "If he wants to go, then as my son, I have no right to stop him." " "thank you! " Charles was very happy, and then Villefort led the way directly, and the two of them walked into the mansion together. Together they came to a room near the garden. Villefort opened the door directly, and then Charles saw There was an old man lying on a rocking chair in the room. Next to the old man stood a young girl, who seemed to be taking care of him. He soon saw clearly that this young girl was his distant cousin, Valentine de Vere. Miss Fu. She has shiny brown hair, dark blue eyes, and a slightly thin pale face. On her face, there is a delicate and melancholy look. She has white and slender fingers, but the more she looks at them, the more she looks She was weak, her eyes were wandering, as if she was avoiding something, and she was nervous. She looked very beautiful, but she looked frail, with that kind of unhealthy frail beauty. However, she seemed to be hiding under her frail appearance. There was a hint of excitement, which seemed to be the desire for life, or the desire for love? I heard that Valentine had a very bad life under the discipline of her stepmother. Judging from her current complexion, I am afraid that this rumor is It¡¯s true. But what if it¡¯s true? No one can take care of other people¡¯s family affairs. There are too many unhappy people in the world, and Valentine is not that miserable. After the door opened, the girl's shocked eyes drifted towards the two people, and Charles waved to her with a smile on his face, "Good afternoon, Valentine!" "