flower and sword and france

Chapter 5: Blue Stockings

When Charles got up, it was already bright.

After grooming, he called his servant (one of the few remaining in the Marquis' house) to prepare the carriage and went straight to breakfast.

Breakfast at Treville's is fairly simple, just white bread and water.

Fran had already sat at the table and ate bread quietly. When she saw her brother coming to the dining room, she didn't say hello, but just gave a look of "Do you remember what you promised me?"

Charles smiled and nodded. "give it to me."

Joy climbed onto the girl's face, causing a blush to appear on her slightly pale face.

Then, Fran got into her carriage and went to her teacher's studio to continue today's lesson.

She entrusted everything to her brother.

When the simple breakfast was over, Ciel walked out of the house into the courtyard and stepped into the carriage that had been prepared.

"Go to Mademoiselle Perriette," he ordered briefly.

Since he had been there many times, the servant did not ask any further questions, and went straight to the sixteenth district in the west.

After a period of bumping, the carriage finally stopped at the gate of a mansion outside the Bois de Boulogne.

This mansion covers a vast area, and its appearance is extremely delicate, and it is worth a lot of money at first sight. When the doorman of the other party saw that it was Ciel's carriage, he opened the door and let Ciel and others in.

This is the mansion where the famous Miss Caterina de Périette lived.

In the literary circles of Paris, Miss Perriette has always been known for her hospitality. Like her nickname of "Blue Stockings", she likes to entertain poets and writers in her mansion and listen to everyone talking about the history and newness of French literature. trend of thought. Over time, this salon has become one of the top salons in the literary and publishing circles in Paris, where many depressed young writers and poets began their journey to fame.

[In the 18th and 19th centuries, some young women often organized gatherings to chat with each other about their ideals in life, or to discuss the articles and poems of well-known writers and poets. Goethe and Byron were both idols of this literary salon and attracted a large number of female fans. The French dubbed this literary young woman the blue stockings. 】

Yes, Mademoiselle Caterina de Périette was a young woman of letters.

However, in Shire's eyes, she is not an ordinary young literary woman, for two main reasons:

First, she's got brains -- enough to differentiate her from 90 percent of young women in literature.

Second, she was rich - enough to distinguish her from 99.99 percent of young women in literature.

A young literary woman with a net worth of several million is no longer a young literary woman, but a well-known literary critic, patron of the arts, patron goddess of France's splendid literary treasures - at least that's what the publishers say .

And today, Ciel came to ask for this guardian goddess.

When he walked into the living room of the mansion, Katerina, who was sitting on the sofa in a loose dress and chatting with the guests, turned her head, and then her eyes showed a kind and slightly playful look.

"Oh, our Turtle Napa believer is here, but be careful not to let him turn this place into a battlefield!" Then he gestured for Charles to come to sit on the sofa here as well. Her banter made the guests laugh.

[The diehard royalists in Normandy, Brittany and other places in northwestern France often add a letter u to Bonaparte and deliberately pronounce it as buonaparte to show contempt. The blue stockings are borrowed here to tease and make fun of Charles, who is a "Napoleonist". 】

Katerina has a rather delicate and slender face, her brown eyes and chestnut hair match very well, and she looks like a traditional delicate lady. However, the straight and straight eyebrows occasionally reveal the master's strong and determined essence inadvertently.

"I didn't come today to burn this place down, miss." Charles also replied deliberately and solemnly.

"Oh, what's that for?" Katarina smiled, "Is it for having fun?"

"I hope so too, but it's a pity..." Ciel shook his head, hinting that the other party was serious now.

"Oh, that's a pity." Caterina understood Ciel's look, and she smiled apologetically at the guests, who quickly got up and said goodbye.

After the guests had all left, she ordered her servant to bring two cups of coffee on the coffee table, and then made a gesture for the servant to step back.

Katerina's smile grew thicker, she picked up a cup of coffee and brought it to her lips, her eyes staring at Ciel playfully.

"My dear friend, is it time to say what you are here for?"

"I'm here to inquire with you." Ciel replied succinctly.

That's right, under the seemingly harmless disguise of a young literary woman, Katerina is an extremely well-informed person. Whether it is in the political and business world or in other areas, she can know some things that ordinary people don't know.

In an extremely accidental situation, Ciel discovered the true face of this young lady, and then Ciel asked her for information many times, and sold some information to the other party. So far, it is a pleasant cooperation.

"What kind of news?" Katerina asked calmly.

"The matter of the Marquis Leoran's family," Charles replied directly, "I heard that their youngest daughter was recently sent to the convent. Although this kind of thing is not uncommon these days, but... It's not very common to be sent to a monastery when you are only fifteen years old, there must be some reasons..."

"Hehehehe" Katarina suddenly laughed.

"What's wrong?" Charles was a little confused.

"My friend, when did you actually fall in love with another girl? This is an anecdote." Katerina put the cup back on the saucer.

"It's not what you thought." Ciel denied the other party's guess. "But looking at you, it seems that you really know something?"

Ciel looked at the coffee in his hand on the surface, but out of the corner of his eye he kept staring at the other party's reaction.

Katerina still had that half-smiling, unfathomable expression on her face.

"You should know better than me about this, my friend."

"Huh?" Charles was a little surprised.

Katarina stood up and walked slowly to the window, looking at the forest in the distance.

"Isn't the Marquis Leoran going to be your relative? Monsieur Count."

[The legal heirs of French nobility, before inheriting the title, people use the title of aristocrat one level lower than the title to be inherited. For example, the son of a duke will be called a marquis, and the son of an earl will be called a viscount]

Charles was taken aback again. "What's the meaning?"

Katerina turned around slowly and looked at Ciel with the utmost kindness.

"Comte Leoran, the eldest son of the Marquis Leoran, will soon marry your cousin, Mademoiselle Charlotte-de-Treville, the granddaughter of the Duke of Treville. So you see, their family will soon be yours. relatives..."

After hearing this news, Ciel's eyes widened suddenly, but after a while, he controlled his emotions. "So it is." Then he smiled apologetically at the other party, "As you know, although my grandfather and the duke are brothers, they have a very bad relationship with each other, and there is very little communication between the two. I just got the news..."

Katarina obviously knew this information for a long time, so she just smiled again as a response.

Ciel picked up the cup again and took a sip. The slightly bitter coffee stayed in his mouth for a moment and then flowed into his throat, leaving only a jerky edge on his lips.

Things are a bit more difficult to do, but it's getting more and more interesting.

The blue stockings had already walked back to their seat, and also took a sip of coffee.

"It is said that the marriage of the two families has been finalized, and an announcement will be issued in the near future. However, I cannot know more details for the time being. As for whether poor Miss Leoran was sent to the convent because of this matter, I'm not so sure either."

[According to the French marriage custom at that time, men and women should post a notice in front of the church before marriage, and the surrounding residents can hold the wedding without objection within ten days. 】

"It seems to be very related." Ciel expressed his judgment.

However, the specific countermeasures have not come up with the slightest clue. After a while, Ciel decided to ask for help.

"Caterina, my friend, I will not hide it from you: I have been entrusted to fight the injustice and bring this poor Miss Leoran out of the convent..."

"must?"

"Yes, it must be done." Charles replied firmly. "So, I need your help to find out what is the connection between the 'Leoran family's marriage with the Duke of Treville' and 'Miss Leoran was sent to the convent'..."

"My pay is not low..." Katarina looked at Ciel with a half-smile.

"Of course I will do my best to repay you, but..." Charles frowned, "I have no money now..."

Katarina suddenly burst out laughing and waved her hand in a majestic gesture. "Dear friend, I only want money for others, but for you, what I want is more precious than money. Yes, I need your wisdom, please finish the manuscript and hand it over to me as soon as possible, I have been looking forward to it for a long time. Now, how Madame de Pompadour defeated another new enemy of hers..."

Charles was a little embarrassed.

Although it has been relatively frugal, the expenses of the Marquis's family are still not small, and the income is very small. In recent years, it has become more and more difficult to make ends meet.

Although he is a glorious transmigrator, Ciel found that he has no skills, and what he has learned is completely useless in today's France. So in desperation, he embarked on the road of writers in the 19th century, and wrote some novels that catered to the trend for newspapers.

With the gradual stabilization of the times, the glorious and rotten court life of Versailles in the eras of Louis XIV and Louis XV has again aroused people's memories and attention. Among female readers, the plots of the favored concubines and mistresses in the palaces of two generations of emperors are particularly sought after - so French ** novels have also flourished and are often sold.

[This is historical fact, not fiction. 】