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24. Shadow of family

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    The sudden bad news plunged the originally joyful Treville Mansion into gloom and gloom.  Marshal Treville, who was shocked to receive the news of his brother-in-law's death, fell into inexplicable grief and sadness. His expression was painful and confused for a while, and even his speech lost his usual momentum, and his whole person felt much depressed.  Of course, the guests who had gathered could see that the old marshal was haunted, so they all left after a few words of comfort. In this way, today was originally scheduled to be used to greet the Marquis of Saint-Meran, and to reminisce with old friends.  The banquet ended hastily just as it started.  As people left one by one, the bustling hall suddenly became silent and returned to its usual deserted state. Only a few people remained inside to digest the terrible news.  Because Grandpa was in such bad spirits, Charles sent him back to the bedroom to rest, and then walked to the vestibule to say goodbye to the guests who had come from afar.  His mood also became very bad, so he was a little listless. Fortunately, no one would be harsh on him now. The guests comforted him and then left.  Charles just said words of thanks mechanically, his mind had already flown to other places. It was not until the Count of Monte Cristo said goodbye to him that he came back to his senses.  "My friend, I'm really sorry. Who could have imagined that there would be such an accident? It's such a pity" The count looked solemn and patted Charles on the shoulder, "But don't be too sentimental.  After all, there will come a day when no one can escape from this world. What matters is not the time, but the way." "Perhaps because of something he thought of, the Count of Monte Cristo's attitude was quite sincere, and he seemed to be sincerely grieving for Marshal Treville.  And feel sorry.  ¡°If he really has something to do with this matter, his acting skills are too superb.  But does it really matter?  Is everything just a coincidence?  The Marquis de Saint-Meran lived in Marseille, Father Bousanyi appeared in Marseille, Attorney General Villefort was in Marseille, and his butler was imprisoned in Marseille Can all this really be explained by coincidence?  What the hell happened?  !  Ciel roared in his heart.  Because of the anxiety and anger in his heart, his expression was very stiff, but the Count of Monte Cristo didn't think it was strange. He just patted Charles heavily on the shoulder again, then turned around and wanted to leave.  "Wait a minute!" Ciel blurted out.  "What's wrong?" The Earl turned back and looked at Charles with some curiosity.  "I just saw you standing next to Mr. and Mrs. de Villefortdo you already know them?" Charles kept looking at the count with bright eyes.  "Yes." The count nodded slightly, "Thanks to you, I found the opportunity to get to know the two of them. I have to say that Attorney General Villefort is just as I thought, a stern and ruthless person.  "There is a special feeling in talking to him." "I think you seem to be having a good time talkingHave you met him before?" Charles asked pretending to be casual.  "No, we haven't met before. Today is the first time we meet." The Count of Monte Cristo immediately shook his head.  "Maybe it was because we had a rather speculative chat just now, so it gave you this illusion. But it's really a pity that I don't have the honor to know the couple before." "Oh, I understand."  Charles nodded clearly, "Goodbye then, Earl." "Goodbye." The Earl also waved to him, then turned and left.  "Interesting, the count said that he had never met Attorney General Villefort and his wife before, but Valentine said that she had met the Count of Monte Cristo in Italy beforeWho should I believe?  Do you still need to ask?  Ciel answered in his mind.  He shook his head, then turned around and walked back to the mansion.  At this time, the hall was already gloomy and the atmosphere was depressing.  Old Mrs. Saint-Melan sat in her seat dumbfounded, her expression stiff, as if her whole mind had stopped, and the grief of being widowed had overwhelmed her.  Her former son-in-law, Attorney General Villefort, was standing next to her, bending down to speak to her, seeming to be comforting her, while her granddaughter Valentine stood beside her blankly and wept.  Because she had been crying for a long time, she was full of tears, and her eyelashes were stained with teardrops and sparkled.  The deep sadness contained in her tears made her already pale and sickly look even more pitiable. This is probably what the so-called pear blossoms bring rain.  My grandfather was paralyzed, my father ignored him, and now my grandfather has passed awayit's really pitiful when I think about it.    A trace of pity flashed through Charles's heart unconsciously.  "Don't cry, Valentine." He walked to Valentine's side, and then carefully handed his handkerchief to her.  Valentine ignored him and was still crying. Tears kept pouring out of her eyes and she was sobbing silently. Her great grief left her too busy to care about him.  Ciel sighed and moved closer.  "Valentina, I know you are very sad now, but being sad is not enough now. There are still many things that need you to deal with, and your grandmother still needs you." He whispered advice to the girl's side, "She  It's sad enough. If you collapse now, wouldn't she be even more sad?" Charles's persuasion finally worked. Valentine finally stopped her tears slightly, and then raised her hazy eyes to look at it.  he.  "Grandpamy grandpa really loves me" she said to Charles in a trembling voice, "he came here this timejustto see me! Buthe ended up never seeing me again."  Ohhe must be so sorry" When she thought of this, she couldn't help crying again, and her shoulders twitched.  However, she still took Charles's handkerchief to wipe her tears, and it seemed that she was already controlling her emotions.  Charles stood quietly, waiting for her to regain her senses. As time passed, Valentine slowly wiped away her tears, and then raised her head to look at Charles.  "Thank you for your comfort." "It's okay. How could I not comfort you when something like this happened?" Charles smiled bitterly, "Actually, my grandfather was also very sad. When I just sent him back, he couldn't say a word.  He didn¡¯t say anything, and everyone seemed confused. I was really worried about him. " "Oh God Why did God make such a big joke on us?" Valentine sighed, "I  ¡­I haven¡¯t even seen my grandpa for the last time!¡± She is obviously a young and beautiful girl, but she has been tortured by life and has become a bit old-fashioned. It is indeed not easy to live.  Ciel couldn't help but sigh secretly.  "Just because you lost your grandpa, you can't be crushed, because there are other people who need you, and your grandpa now needs you to take care of him even more" "Yes grandpa!" Valentine raised her head suddenly  He started and then looked around, "Oh! My mind was so fuzzy just now that I actually forgot about grandpa!" "There was a chaos just now. When the guests left, I was afraid that someone would bump into your grandpa, so I asked someone to take him there.  Rest in the lounge." Charles replied, "Come, let me take you there." "Thank you, Charles!" Valentine looked at him with gratitude, "You are so thoughtful  "I'm very grateful to you." "Isn't it a bit too harsh to say thank you at this time?" Charles shrugged coolly, "We are cousins, so we should help each other." "Yeah!  Yesit should be." Although there were still tears in the corners of Valentine's eyes, she smiled slightly and seemed to be full of joy. "Let's go over." As she said this, she put the handkerchief Charles gave her.  In the arms.  Charles quickly took her to the lounge.  And the Marquis of Noirtier was still slumped in his wheelchair at this time, staring blankly at the ceiling, seeming to be thinking about something.  There is no doubt that this sudden death made him as sad as Marshal Treville. After all, the deceased was also his former father-in-law.  But besides sadness, there must be something else in his mind.  As we all know, the Marquis of Noirtier is a staunch supporter of the emperor and has devoted himself to serving the empire for many years. However, the Marquis of Saint-Meran is different. He is a loyal orthodox and fanatical supporter of the Bourbon family. People on both sides  Although they are in-laws, they are also opponents with completely different political stances.  Back then, the two of them almost never interacted with each other because of their clearly divided positions, and they had no relationship. After the death of their daughter-in-law, they completely severed contact with each other.  But, at this twilight years, what is the meaning of the so-called stance?  Now there are two old guys, one has been paralyzed for many years, almost a living dead, and the other suddenly died suddenly on the way to Paris, never having the chance to reminisce with his old friends.  So his mood is very complicated. I don¡¯t know whether he is remembering every bit of the past, or thinking about how long he can live.  "Grandpa!" As soon as she saw the old man lying in the wheelchair, Valentine walked over directly, trying to wake up the old man who was meditating.  "Valentina?" Charles?? suddenly stopped her.  "What's the matter?" Valentine stopped and looked at him curiously.  "Well I have something I want to confirm with you" Charles hesitated a little, but still closed the door behind his back, "Although it may be a bit well, a bit unreasonable to say this now, but can I take the liberty to ask  You answer me first?" "Why are you so serious?" Valentine became even more curious.  "You just said that you met the Count of Monte Cristo in Italy. What happened? I didn't have time to ask clearly just now, but now I want you to tell me in detail" Charles said with some embarrassment.  "Although this may take up some of your time, and it may be inappropriate in this situation, I still ask you to do me a favor." Valentine is indeed a little angry. Now that her grandfather is dead, her grandfather still has nothing to do.  He knew what to do, but his cousin came to ask an unrelated Italian. However, Charles' seriousness in the matter just showed that he took this matter very seriously.  "Is this important to you?" she asked in a low voice.  "Indeed it's quite important." Charles nodded, "I must find out some facts now, so that I can avoid some worse things from happening. Valentine, in fact, helping me is helping yourself. You  You should understand this. ""Helping you means helping myself" Valentine repeated this sentence, and then her face suddenly turned red.  "Wellsince you said so, let me help you recall it." She sighed, and then led her to a corner of the room.  "That was about two or three years ago. My stepmother and I went on a trip to Italy. I was sick at that time - of course, my health has never been very good - so the doctor was afraid that my lungs were not good, so he prescribed  We traveled south to breathe the fresh air of Naples. During our journey, we passed through Bologne, Birusha and Rome. I met him in the Hotel Posti in Birusha"  Valentine slightly blinked her tearful eyes, immersed in memories.  "I was deeply impressed because it was really hot that day, much hotter than Paris in the north. At that time, my stepmother was waiting for a carriage, but because it was a festival, the carriage came late, and I  It would actually be more comfortable to spread out under the shade of the trees in the garden - and my brother is catching birds everywhere, as naughty as he usually is." Then, there was a strange feeling in Valentine's tone.  , obviously still very impressed by the scene that day.  "My stepmother was waiting under a pavilion made of grape vines. She was sitting on a stone bench. When I was tired from walking and was enjoying the shade in a corner of the garden, I saw her chatting with me.  A person chatted for a long time That person, that person wearing a woolen cloak, all black, but his skin was horribly pale, like a messenger running out of hell, his eyes were beating  The light shines like a will-o'-the-wisp Yes, God, it's him! I think of him all!" Valentine suddenly trembled, and it was obvious that the memory did not make her happy.  "Valentine, calm down!" Charles quickly held her arm and helped her calm down. "We are in France now, not Italy. No one can hurt you." "Yes,  Now we are in France." Valentine smiled happily, then took a few deep breaths to calm down again, "That man, we originally thought he was a doctor, he had stayed in that hotel for two years.  week, during which time he cured his personal attendant's fever and the hotel owner's illness Everyone called the disease jaundice, and I don't know what it was. In short, everyone called him a wonderful rejuvenator.  I originally thought this was the doctor. It wasn¡¯t until I saw him today that I realized he was the famous Count of Monte Cristo. But God testifies, he really wants to be a ghost in hell.¡± ¡°Whether he is from hell or not!  , In short, he is very rich now. Parisians only care about whether a person has money and don't care where he comes from. As long as he is rich, then he will be treated like a guest here." Charles replied calmly and meanly, "Okay.  "Okay, what happened next?" "They seemed to be just passing the time, so they talked about a lot of things, and the topic jumped a lot, and I was quite far away at the time.  It's impossible to hear clearly." Valentine frowned slightly, obviously thinking hard, "They discussed dramas, painters, local customs, yes and some some botany and medicine.  Something. I don¡¯t have a systemI have studied Latin, so I only heard a general idea, but there must be similar topics.  " "Botanypharmaceuticals" Charles frowned, "Is your stepmother also interested in these topics?  " "My stepmother is very knowledgeable.  "Valentine was a little reluctant, but she still praised her stepmother truthfully, "She was born in a family of scholars and received a very rigorous education since she was a child. She studied astronomy, geography, mineralogy, botany and  Pharmacology is certainly no exception.  She said several times that she regretted that she was not a man, otherwise she might have become an alchemist like Freimir" "I didn't know that she was so powerful!  "Char was secretly stunned, "I didn't expect that a woman who has lived in seclusion in a house all year round actually knows so many things.  " "You underestimate people!  We girls are not stupid either.  "Valentina couldn't help but roll her eyes at him, and then continued, "Anyway, later they turned the topic to pharmacology. I remember they mentioned Tovena Poison Water,  Are there any other poisons? By the way, what is Tophna Poison Water?  " "In the seventeenth century, a woman named Toffona murdered a local lord in Italy. The potion she used was said to be colorless, tasteless, odorless, and extremely deadly, so she was named Toffona.  poisonous water.  "As Charles explained, his face gradually darkened. "Doesn't that mean" Suddenly, both of them felt something was wrong. Valentine stopped, and then the two looked at each other. In Italy, Monte Cristo  The Count and Madame de Villefort met, and then they talked about poison Is this a normal topic in chat? "I finally understand why you are so afraid of him.  Charles blinked, "Valentine, is there anything else?"  " "No moreI really can't think of anything else.  Valentine thought for a while, then shook her head, "I didn't hear it clearly at the time, and I can only recall it so far. I'm sorry, I may not be able to help you."  " "No, it's good enough. I feel that I have received a lot of help.  "Charles smiled, and then looked at Valentine seriously again, "Well, if you don't mind, I have one last question - why are you so concerned about your stepmother's conversation with a stranger?  ?  Although you said you overheard it, I don¡¯t think anyone would accidentally walk to a specific location and listen to a conversation for so long.  " Valentine was stunned for a moment and did not answer Charles's question. For a moment, she seemed to be back to the way she was when they met at her home last time and was squeezed by Charles. " You found her talking to other strange men at that time.  After so long, he began to suspect her, so he decided to eavesdrop, hoping to catch her?  "Although Charles was asking a question, he unintentionally expressed his own conclusion. Valentine did not speak, and Charles stopped pressing questions and just looked at him quietly. After a while, Valentine  His face turned red and white, his breathing became slightly rapid, and his chest kept rising and falling. It was obvious that he felt uncomfortable being exposed by Ciel. "You you are always so insightful, and always so cruel"  After a while, she finally smiled bitterly, "You're right, that's what I thought at the time."  I my relationship with her was too bad, so I thought that if, if I could really catch something against her, I might be able to stop my father from being so biased towards her, or at least make her have some scruples.  Don't bully me like that again.  But I was wrong. This was no excuse. They just chatted and had nothing to do with each other in the future.  " Next, tears filled the corners of her eyes again, "You see, I am also a very despicable person.  I am as mean as society is.  " "Don't be like this, Valentine, it is true that you are not an angel, but no one expects you to be one.  At the end of the day, we're all human, aren't we?  We all have our own likes and dislikes, and we are all working hard for ourselves. No one can blame you for what you did to protect yourself, and you didn't do anything bad.  " Charles comforted his cousin, "I want to thank you. You are selfish for me. This shows that you are sparing no effort to help me. I feel that I can be treated so honestly by you. It's really great.  My pleasure.  " Then, he smiled again, "Now, we understand each other very well.  You and other people hate each other and are wary of each other, but we don¡¯t need to do that. We arewell, we are allies with family ties. We help each other, protect ourselves, and protect others.  Valentine, you don't need to feel any guilt. Although you are not a saint, you are a good person. I can make this judgment clearly.  If you believe me, then?Show me.  " Valentine was a little moved by Charles's words, but she couldn't laugh or cry at the same time. But in the end, she smiled. "You really like to tease others too much. God knows how you are so good at seeing into other people's hearts!  You just said that we understand each other, which is wrong. You unilaterally pried open my head and saw through my thoughts and personality, but what about me?  It's so unfair that you don't know much!  " "There is still a lot of time, you can figure it out slowly.  Charles laughed dumbly. "You will find out then that although I am not a good person, I have no ill intentions towards you."  " "I hope so!  Valentine rolled her eyes again, "Okay, I'm going to take care of grandpa."  " At this time, although she has experienced the bad news of her grandfather's death, her mental state is much better than the weak, pale, and melancholy state not long ago. After being helped by Charles, her dark blue eyes can indeed see the right things.  Hope for the future. Charles didn¡¯t intend to disturb Valentine anymore from taking care of his grandfather. He exited the room, closed the door quietly, and walked back from the corridor to the hall, ready to clean up the last mess of the night.  , at the end of the corridor, he was stopped by a person. Mrs. Heloise de Villefort was standing in front of him. This was a woman with a slightly sharp face, and her smart eyes were looking at him.  She was assessing the abilities of the heiress of the Treville family; her long chestnut hair was tied back in a blonde bun encrusted with gems. She was wearing a gray skirt and was holding a hand with gloves.  Holding a folding fan, there is a faint smile on her beautiful face. She looks beautiful and full of mysterious charm. She is the second wife of the prosecutor general, so she is not too old.  She was a few years older than Charles, and she was still in her twenties, which is when a woman is most youthful and beautiful. While looking at her, Charles stopped and smiled very kindly. "  Madam, do you have any instructions?  " "I'm sorry, Mr. Treville.  "The smiling lady spoke, "Today our family completely ruined your grandfather's good mood. What happened is really regrettable.  " "This is something that is beyond your control, so don't take it to heart.  "Charles shook his head and said there was no need to apologize. "Although Mr. Saint-Meran is not my father, he was also my husband's father-in-law after all, so I am deeply saddened by the death of this gentleman.  "The lady blinked slightly, seeming a little sad, but not much real grief, "However, precisely because of this sad moment, our family should unite together, so that we can overcome the grief and restore the harmony of the past.  .  " "I also very much hope that your family can restore harmony as soon as possible.  " Charles emphasized the word harmony with a hint of sarcasm. Of course Madam could hear the sarcasm. Her eyes sank slightly, and then she sighed softly. "You you go and help me.  Call me Valentine. My husband is going to take her back with her grandfather and Madame Saint-Meran. On this disastrous day, we need to go back and have a good rest to resolve our grief.  It would be better for me not to go there alone, lest it upset Valentine and her grandfather. It's already bad enough for everyone.  "    "OK.  " Charles nodded, turned around and prepared to go back to inform Valentine. "Hey I know Valentine doesn't like me. She may maybe said something in front of you that doesn't make you have any feelings for me.  If I like her, I actually understand her. After all, stepmothers are not liked by others.  "At this moment, the lady smiled bitterly, "However, I think I am still qualified to defend myself. Since I married into this family, I have always treated his children with caution. Over the years, I have never been materialistic.  I have deprived her of the treatment she deserves, and I have helped her get a complete and rigorous education. Valentine may hate me for not loving her enough, but by the standards of a stepmother, I have done enough.  " "I am an outsider and cannot comment on your family affairs.  Charles shook his head regretfully, "But if you want to get along well with Valentine, why don't you tell her face to face?"  " "It's already this time, how much effect will it have if we talk to each other face to face?  "The lady continued with a wry smile, "I just hope that everything can continue to be maintained and not get worse. This is enough. After all, Valentine has grown up and will leave this family sooner or later. I sincerely hope that she can live a good life.  You have to be better than me and build a happy family¡ª¡ª" Then, she looked at Charles meaningfully, the folding fan in her hand swayed slightly,?If a child as handsome, intelligent, and spirited as you comes to take her away, surely that must be the best and most ideal outcome.  " "Thank you for saying that.  " Charles didn't understand the intention of her words, so he could only nodded first. "By the way, I want to ask I saw you and the Count of Monte Cristo were talking just now, and they were quite happy. You guys  Did you know each other before?  "Char asked pretending to be casual. "No, we don't know each other.  "Mrs. de Villefort immediately shook her head, with almost no hesitation. "Yes, of course you have to say that. Both the Count of Monte Cristo and you deny that they have ever met, but Valentine insists on having met. " Then  , who should I believe? This bloody bastard!
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