"Brother, there are so many people here! I'm so nervous! ”

In the candlelight, which was as bright as day, Fran couldn't help but shudder as she looked at the people standing in the hall. To resist the chill, she gently took her brother's hand.

It was not only the winter wind of 1848 that chilled her, but also the solemn atmosphere.

Yes, solemnly.

The Élysée Palace, long since the assassination of the Duke of Berry, has been abandoned for a long time, but now it has been renovated, and the desolation of the past can no longer be seen. The walls decorated with gilded marques and the tapestries of velvet tassels reflect the light of the chandeliers on the ceiling, as if to make everyone remember this scene forever.

Fran and her brother were the guests invited to the event, and the two siblings, along with the other guests, stood on either side of the hall and watched the protagonists of the event from afar.

She looked into the middle of the hall, and surrounded by a large crowd, the benefactor of her family, Monsieur Louis Bonaparte, the new President of the French Republic, was standing solemnly in a black gown. On his chest he wore the Grand Cross of the Order of Honor for the head of state of France, and in the middle of the medal, in a dark blue enamel ring, was adorned with the head of his uncle, the old icon of the Emperor Napoleon, as if the Bonaparte dynasty had returned.

He looked at everyone in the hall, but remained silent, the medal and this solemn look gave him a certain subtle sense of majesty, at least for the moment. He already has the courage of the president of the country.

And her grandfather, the former Imperial General Marquis of Treville, was one of the people who gathered around the president. He put on his old military uniform, his snow-white hair was neatly combed, and his chest was covered with his past medals, several of which were even awarded to him by the Emperor Napoleon himself. He swept away his previous decadence, his spirit was extremely vigorous, as if he had suddenly become a teenager younger, and his expression was equally solemn, as if he was participating in a grand meeting of the old court.

A large crowd of old men in military or ceremonial uniforms gathered around Louis Bonaparte. These people are the remnants of the Napoleonic era, the remnants of the old days of the empire, and one of the most essential precipitations. These old people get together. As if to use this way to tell the world that after more than 30 years of turmoil, everything in France has returned to its rightful track.

Although the empire has not yet returned. But victory was in sight—at least the remnants of the empire believed so.

Today is December 15, 1848. After Louis Bonaparte was elected on December 10, he held his first banquet at the Élysée Palace, his presidential residence, and the political significance of this was self-evident.

The Élysée Palace, which had been abandoned for many years, is now the presidential residence of France. Although it would not be a few years before Louis Bonaparte would be crowned emperor and move the residence to the Tuileries, if the chronological order remains the same, it will be the residence of the President of the French Republic from 1871 onwards of the Third Republic until the 21st century.

I don't know for what reason. The parliament of the French Second Republic designated the presidential residence as the Élysée Palace rather than the former royal palace, the Tuileries Palace.

However, unexpectedly. It was this place that gave Louis Bonaparte a perfect symbolic meaning – everyone present knew that it was here that the Emperor Napoleon abdicated in the catastrophic year of 1815 and then walked to the island of St. Helena, the end of the world, until the end of his life.

Isn't the end of the Bonaparte rule in France, and the beginning of it now, proof that God has rekindled this family in Corsica? Isn't this some kind of foreshadowing of destiny?

Even Fran, who is not very familiar with politics, can understand the moral of this scene - under the influence of the turbulent and changing situation, her family has followed the descendants of the Bonaparte family, and has climbed back to the highest peak of the country's political scene, even higher than it was back - after all, Napoleon's princes and dukes are gone, and few have been loyal to the emperor longer than her grandfather.

As a member of the glory, she is now in a very complicated mood.

Excited? Nervous? Confused?

She had all these emotions, she was fascinated by the new position of her family, what girl was not fascinated by the splendor of the spectacle?

However, deep down, she was just as anxious, even a little scared, and a little overwhelmed. The girl's heart can not only feel the brilliance, but also the hidden waves under it: is all this really guaranteed? Isn't this really some bustling but destined to be shattered? After being pushed to the top by the current situation, will my family be pushed down by the current situation one day?

The girl couldn't give an answer. In this turbulent era, even if she only lived for 16 years, she has seen and heard a lot about this kind of thing.

In the terrible sixty years of France, splendor and darkness are always intertwined, almost every ten or twenty years to turn the world upside down, even a young girl, can not help but have the Oriental "joys and sorrows are separated from the impermanence of the world, glory and wealth are empty in a blink of an eye".

Isn't this palace a living witness? Its old owner, the Duchess of Bourbon, fled the Revolution and left behind the palace she had bought for 1.3 million livres; Murat bought it, and he was shot by the Austrians at the end of the day; Murat gave him to Napoleon, who abdicated here and never returned to France; After the Restoration, Louis XVIII gifted the palace to his nephew, the Duke of Berry, who was shot by the republicans in 1820!

Hasn't even she experienced it before? She had been to the palace to meet the king, only to have fled the country in panic just a few months later!

Will my family also face such a crisis? Knowing that the road was dangerous, the girl couldn't help but think so. Because of this, she felt that chill that penetrated deep into her bone marrow.

This country and this nation are so fickle, and God knows how long Louis Bonaparte will shine in this country? And her family has been firmly tied to this person, and everything is so palpitating.

At this moment, a voice sounded in his ears, full of eagerness and love.

"What are you thinking? Mademoiselle de Treville? ”

She turned her head slightly, looking at her brother's gaze, feeling his unreserved doting.

"It's nothing, sir, I'm just a little cold......"

Of course, she didn't want to say these inappropriate thoughts of herself, and ruin her brother's interest.

Although she didn't expect any dazzling glory and wealth, she just wanted her family to be safe, but her family never seemed to think so. Both grandparents and grandchildren are ambitious and want to do something big, maybe this is the eternal pursuit of men.

In this case, she can only follow closely, who calls her also part of this family?

"Well, it's really cold today." Charles whispered to comfort Fran while smiling and quipping, "I said before, although it's important to dress up nicely, there's no need to sacrifice warmth for this?" The main function of clothes is to keep warm from the cold, not just to dress up......"

"Sir, I'm not cold now!" Fran glanced at her brother arrogantly, knowing that he was trying to amuse her.

The brother in the dress is really good-looking.

She couldn't help but clutch tighter.

Whether he is rich or down, he is always by my side, wouldn't it be good?

The girl smiled slightly.

Just as Charles was about to make another joke, Louis Bonaparte suddenly spoke, and he quickly stopped his mouth for a moment and listened quietly to the declaration of the contemporary president.

"Compatriots, I am at the behest of the French people to serve as the supreme administrator of the country, and on this occasion of the assembly of my compatriots, I would like to thank you all for the love and help you have always placed on me.

At the same time, I am deeply aware of the magnitude of my responsibility, and in this position I am not thinking of its glory, but of its obligation. Today, we are gathered here to overcome conflict and division with unity. We must protect this great country and nation, carry forward those precious and noble ideas, and pass them on from generation to generation. This is both my mission and the desire of all of us.

I will do my best to defend the people, to defend the country, to defend the constitution and constitutionalism of the republic! The motto of freedom, equality and fraternity will be preserved and passed on by us with great cherishment, and the efforts of our generation will create the best tomorrow for the future generation! Long live the Republic! ”

He raised his hand and spoke again.

"Long live the Republic!"

As soon as he finished speaking, a large crowd applauded at the same time and shouted out in agreement.

For a time, the entire golden hall was constantly resounding with the tide of "Long live the Republic!" Cheers.

However, if one listens closely, one will find that this cheer is more of a reflection of the occasion than the passion and impulse of the heart.

What are they really trying to shout?

"Long live the Empire!" of course! "Long live the Emperor!" Finish.

But Louis Bonaparte and his supporters in the room understood that the time was not yet ripe.

Like liberty, equality, and fraternity, there are three words on the road to the land of their dreams: infantry, cavalry, and artillery. They have not yet fully grasped these three words, so they can only secretly hide them in their hearts for the first time.

However, they have been waiting for thirty years, and they do not lack the patience to continue waiting.

The empire, after all, is at hand. (To be continued......)