Eagle’s Glory

After learning that the Pope was about to visit his uncle's mansion, Aigron also interrupted the sightseeing trip with his new wife, and instead focused his energy on the next meeting with His Majesty the Pope.

He is not at a loss, but has two good "staff officers" - his grandmother Letizia and his uncle, Cardinal Fish, both used to have close contacts with the top leaders of the church, and Cardinal Fish was even once Appointed by Emperor Napoleon as the representative in Rome, when the empire was at its peak, there was a vague meaning of "the Pope too high". Fortunately, this cardinal is not the kind of villain who is rampant when he is in power, so there is no such thing as Offending too many people, but trying to bridge the relationship between the emperor and the pope, otherwise he would not be able to live safely in the city of Rome now.

The two of them carefully guided Aegron, reminding him of the etiquette and attitude he should pay attention to when meeting the Pope-even if it was only a "personal encounter" in name, but they thought it was all sloppy.

And Teresa was even more attentive to this. The Habsburg family had always claimed to be the most devout believers in Catholicism and the guardians of the Roman Church, so she also received corresponding religious education since she was a child, even though she later read She has read many books and accepted the ideas of Enlightenment and liberalism, but in her mind, the church is still solemn and sacred, and the Pope must also be respected - of course, if the church dares to violate its own interests, that is another matter. .

In this way, the agreed date came soon, and that evening, Aigron, escorted by his own guards, took a carriage to the residence of his uncle Lucien Bonaparte.

This uncle had received the Pope's kindness in those days, so he did not confer the title of Prince Canino, and obtained a small fief on the outskirts of Rome. After his brother failed to restore the empire in 1815, Lucien-Bona Prince Ba took his family to this place to live in seclusion, and never asked about world affairs.

No one is interested in asking about this poor prince, and he is naturally happy to relax.

However, this evening, his leisurely seclusion life was shattered, and Aigron came to visit with his wife and entourage - and soon, His Majesty Pope Leo XII will also arrive.

Although the church has lost much weight on the European political scene over time, if his nephew can really make a big difference in the future, maybe it will be recorded in the history books tonight - and this may also be Prince Lucien-Bonaparte's last chance to appear in the history books.

It is precisely because of this realization in his heart that these days the prince has also swept away the laziness of the past and prepared energetically for tonight's meeting.

He used to be an ambitious conspirator and politician, but after so many storms at this time, he has already wiped out all his heart and only wants to spend his old age with his family in peace, but even so he remembers himself A Bonaparte after all.

This is also the time for him to do his last for his nephew and for his family.

Just after he was about to stop, Aigron and his party came to visit.

Prince Lucien immediately dropped everything at hand and brought his family to welcome his nephew.

The Prince has a large family - he and his two wives have more than a dozen children, most of whom survive.

Having many children naturally means that the time span is very large. His eldest daughters Charlotte and Christina are already married, while the youngest daughters Marie and Constance are not even ten years old.

As for his eldest son, Charles-Lucien Bonaparte, who was born in 1803, married Zenada Bonaparte, the daughter of eldest uncle Joseph in 1822, and lived in the United States for a while before returning to Europe in 1826. , and also lived with Prince Lucien at this time.

In short, this is a big family, even if you remove the married girls, there are enough left.

After Aigron and Teresa entered the living room, Prince Lucien-Bonaparte hugged him immediately, and then introduced his children to him and Teresa one by one.

For Aigron, it was a strange experience—after all, he had never seen a few relatives since he was a child, but now he sees so many cousins ​​at once, and for others, it is also a time. A rare experience - after all, this is the only son of their greatest cousin, and a legend who has recently made a name for himself.

Everyone's eyes were on the boy and the girl, with curiosity and envy in their eyes.

The two brothers Napoleon and Lucien had a falling out, but to the younger generation, the grudges of the previous generation were meaningless. Instead, they admired the career that Aigron had accomplished, as well as the appearance of the couple.

After the introduction of the prince, the first to welcome them were Aigron's cousin Charles-Lucien-Bonaparte and his cousin Zenard-Bonaparte and his wife.

The 25-year-old cousin, an ornithologist, is more interested in nature than politics, but he also admires his cousin and is very friendly to Aigron.

"Aigron, you are really amazing." He said with admiration, "As expected of my uncle's successor, your name is often mentioned in the recent news."

"Yeah, even though we only met for the first time, it's already been a blast to you." Cousin Zenada also helped, "Maybe one day, my father will make a special trip back from the United States to meet this guy and let him Proud nephew!"

The father she was talking about was naturally the Joseph Bonaparte who was first sent by Napoleon to be king of Naples, and then sent to be king of Spain.

After the disaster of 1815, he went to America, lived in seclusion in New York, and bought a large estate and made it into a happy condo.

Aegron didn't quite believe that he would make a special trip to see him, so he replied politely. "I would love to be taught by my uncle."

"I hope we won't make you feel restrained here." Then, with a smile, his cousin Charles-Lucien Bonaparte said, "Please don't treat yourself as a guest, and don't have any scruples because of the age difference, here too Your home, Aegron."

"Of course I won't feel restrained..." Aigron replied with a smile, "I saw a happy family here, and I saw a few loving couples, and I felt very happy."

"You are a loving couple like us." Cousin Zenada Bonaparte also laughed, "and they are much more honorable than us."

Then, she glanced at Teresa again, and nodded solemnly, "God, Teresa is so cute... My cousin, you are lucky, God has given you a match made in heaven!"

When the empire was at its height, Napoleon arranged noble marriages for his unmarried brothers, but with the destruction of the empire, few of these cousins ​​had the chance to marry another princess.

As for the future... God knows what will happen, if this cousin can really get what he wants, maybe the situation will turn around again.

"It's too embarrassing for you to say that." Theresa naturally became humble. "It is God's blessing that I am fortunate enough to marry His Royal Highness."

"Your story has already spread to us." Zenada-Bonaparte still smiled, "The prince was imprisoned but had great ambitions, and escaped from the cage and achieved a great achievement; while Her Royal Highness The Princess is loyal and uncompromising. Under the pressure of all parties, he insisted on his love, and finally let the emperor open up, and the lovers finally got married... God, this story is so legendary and so touching, it would not be surprising if it was brought to the stage one day. We hear it with envy."

Teresa blushed slightly, but she felt a little complacent and couldn't help but sneak a glance at her husband.

And what girl doesn't want to be the protagonist of a legendary story?

Although this version of the story has actually gone through a lot of beautification, and has even become a bit unrecognizable, she would love to see this story become real history.

As for those sorrows, those sorrows and those sufferings, let them be buried in the ashes of time.

She just looked forward to the days to come to be as sweet as their wedding.

In this way, in the chat and laughter of the younger generation, Aigron and Teresa were amicably accepted into the family, and the atmosphere became extremely harmonious.

The Lucian family didn't expect much benefit from Aegron, but after all, they were a family, and they naturally hoped that Aegron could fulfill their wishes, and they were proud of themselves.

Moreover, the people of this family have different thoughts, and some people hope to follow Aegron to achieve great things in the future, so they are more attentive to him.

In this way, these cousins ​​surrounded Aegron and Teresa, chatting and laughing, and in a trance, Aegron felt as if he had really come to a family reunion.

While Teresa was happy that the Lucien family treated her with such respect, she was thinking that she might have the opportunity to recruit one or two of these cousins ​​in the future.

Although Prince Lucien himself has no political enthusiasm, and his eldest son seems satisfied with the research of ornithologists, the younger sons (Louis, Antoine, Pierre) are not necessarily without a little dedication Family business in mind.

She is bent on consolidating her position in the family, so that those who hate her will never dare to exclude her, and now is a good opportunity.

If there is a branch in the Bonaparte family (and the most prosperous branch) on his side, then he can rest easy - from their performance today, this goal is not difficult to achieve.

Of course, this is just an idea. It is not easy to implement it, but Teresa is not in a hurry. Anyway, for her, it doesn't matter if she can be the best or not.

The previous generation only wanted to retire and live a stable life, but the younger generation is different. They also have the blood of the Bonaparte family in their bodies, and they also have the blood of young people. They may not be willing to live in obscurity like this. lifetime.

With this thought in mind, Teresa calmly chatted and laughed with the young people, and easily won their favor, but she deliberately revealed a little tone, implying that Her Royal Highness and her career need help from relatives, she Obviously I can feel it, and the sight around my husband and wife is a bit more intense——

In particular, Pierre Bonaparte, who was born in 1815 and is still only thirteen years old, is even more excited. He has been surrounded by Aigron and Theresa, boasting how brave he is. The majesty of the brother, I am afraid that he will offer to serve his cousin on the spot.

Of course, Teresa did not know that this Pierre Bonaparte did leave a name in history-his temperament was violent, he participated in conspiracies and duels many times, and even killed people with his own hands. After the restoration, he followed his cousin and became the prince of the Second Empire, but even so, he did not stop, causing troubles again and again.

At the end of the empire, his quarrels with several republican-leaning newspapers intensified, culminating in Prince Pierre-Bonaparte proposing a duel to the newspaper bosses. Then on December 10, 1870, two guests came to his home, claiming to be witnesses to the duel, but before the duel began, these men suddenly broke out into a violent quarrel over political and personal matters, and in fury Pierre took out his pistol and killed one of the men.

In order to cover up the royal family, Prince Pierre Bonaparte was not arrested, but the emperor still exiled him out of anger, and at this time the empire had few days to live, and finally the prince lived in Brussels, Belgium, and in Died in 1881 in the midst of his own debauchery.

Teresa did not know these "futures", and at this time, she could not see the violence and cruelty among the young people in front of her, but Pierre Bonaparte still left a deep impression on her.

Maybe in the future we can turn him into a subordinate—the girl thought.

The thought didn't leave many marks in her mind, and it quickly disappeared with the wind.

And the happy family chat was soon over—the servants came to report that His Majesty the Pope was at the residence of Prince Canino.

The atmosphere in the living room suddenly became tense, and then, under the leadership of Prince Lucien, everyone walked out of the living room to meet the generals of His Majesty the Pope.

"Aigron, you must remember to restrain yourself." Lucian whispered to his nephew.

Naturally, he was afraid that the young nephew would collide with the Pope, and not only let all his original plans fail, but even himself, who kindly helped, was also involved.

However, Prince Lucien was worried in vain. Aigron had already cultivated the ability to be indifferent to emotions and anger in the confinement life, and he knew the truth that a man can bend and stretch. Since the two sides have reached an agreement on the issue of principle, he Of course, he will no longer be complacent, but will try to treat the Pope as politely as possible.

After all, the Pope and the Church are things that he can use in the future.

"Don't worry." Aegron replied with a smile, "I always know what I should do."