chapter 12 - the foolish brother comes to paris too

　On Sunday noon, just after lunch, Armand took Joseph to a café near the Bishop's Palace. The Bishop's Palace was the private domain of the Duke of Orleans, a great nobleman, and His Royal Highness Duke Charles, the eldest son of the old Duke, who also had "Joseph" in his name, had transformed all the promenades of the Bishop's Palace into various stores and cafes. Since these places were the private territories of the great nobles, the police of the kingdom had no right to enforce the law here, so this place became an "extra-legal place" where ordinary civilians could freely enter and exit.

　　As a result, this place became the center of "illegal activities" in Paris, and there was no other center. All kinds of smuggling, trading of forbidden goods, and meetings of organizations plotting against the Church and the King often took place here. This was an important meeting place for the later famous Jacobins.

　　And the man who provided it all, Duke Charles (who later succeeded his father as the new Duke of Orleans), was himself, although a relative of the king and one of the greatest feudal lords of France, a staunch libertarian and a true believer in Jean-Jacques Rousseau. He was a firm believer in the Enlightenment, advocated the establishment of a democratic, secular, constitutional monarchy in France, believed in the abolition of the feudal systems of cognac and slavery, and was a good friend of many of the "conspirators".

　　Armand took Joseph to a seat by the window in the café. At that moment, the afternoon sun was shining through the window on a bright red rose placed in the center of the table.

　　"It seems we're a little ahead of Mr. Denardi." Amand laughed.

　　A waitress came forward and said, "What would you gentlemen like to order?"

　　"Two coffees, please." Armand said.

　　That waitress retreated and came over with a tray in a short while, placing two cups of coffee in front of each of them.

　　"Six sous." That maid said.

　　Duke Charlie rented out the stores for a fairly low rent, but he also had his own requirements, which was that the prices of the things in these stores had to be relatively cheap. Sometimes, the Duke himself would wear pants and pretend to be an ordinary person, wandering around inside these cafes, bars, and other stores.

　　Amand put eight sous coins into the tray of that waitress. That waitress thanked her and turned to leave.

　　"Joseph, you can't stay in your house all the time, you need to come around here more often when you have time, you can meet all sorts of people and learn more here." Armand said as he took a sip of his coffee.

　　Joseph was about to reply when he saw the door to the café being pushed open and a man in his late forties or so, wearing a short gray tweed top, walked in. As soon as the man entered, he stretched his neck and looked in all directions.

　　Amand then raised one arm and waved it at him. Then he said to Joseph, "This is Chief Denardi, he's blinder than any brown bear in the Ardennes forest, he can't see very well at a little distance."

　　Denardi had obviously seen them, so he walked over with big strides, pulling over a chair with his own hand, and sat down next to the two men and laughed, "Ah Mang, it's true that my eyes are as blind as those of a brown bear, but my ears and nose are as sensitive as those of a brown bear, and I heard all the things that you said about me. Haha ... Well, this is Mr. Bonaparte, right? I am Denardi, Henry Denardi, head of the Dragon and Rose Theater Company. You can directly address me as Henry."

　　While speaking, Denardi first extended his hand to Joseph.

　　Joseph extended his hand and shook it saying, "Joseph Bonaparte. I'm a classmate of Armand's ..."

　　"Deadbeat." Amand added from the side.

　　"You can also just call me Joseph." Joseph said.

　　"Ah, Joseph, I think Amang has already told you about the reason for my visit." Denardi said, "Actually, for a long time now, our troupe has been in need of a truly well-educated screenwriter. I've been hitting on Armand before. But this guy, Armand, is a lazy guy with a lot of things to do, and it always takes a long time to ask him for a favor.

　　The idea you gave us last time was really great, especially during the curtain call when the audience applauded like the roof came off. Also I've read some of the scripts you've translated, and with Armand's recommendation, Joseph, I think you're perfectly suited to fill Armand's role. I just wonder if you'd be interested, at this point, in moonlighting as a screenwriter for my little theater company."

　　Several people were in the middle of a discussion about ways to collaborate when the door to the café was once again pushed open. This was also an unusual thing, the cafe was originally a place where people came and went, people coming in and going out was the most common thing, people didn't even bother to look there.

　　A middle-aged man in his thirties wearing a black hat, with a pair of green eyes and a reddish beard and wearing pants walked in. He looked in all directions and saw Arman and the others at once, so he walked straight over and said, "Arman, I didn't expect to meet you here."

　　"Ah ... Mr. Philip." Ah Mang's words visibly paused after seeing this Mr. Philip.

　　"What's the matter, don't introduce these two friends of yours to me either." That Mr. Philip asked.

　　"Ah ... Mr. Philip," Amand seemed a bit flustered as he hurriedly stood up to introduce the other two to Mr. Philip, "This is my classmate Joseph, Joseph Bonaparte. This is ... this is Mr. Denardi, head of the Dragon and Rose troupe ..."

　　When Joseph and Denardi saw Amand's performance, they both knew that this Mr. Philip's identity must be extraordinary, so they both followed suit and stood up to greet Mr. Philip.

　　"There is no need to be so polite, everyone sit down." Mr. Philip said, "Let me introduce myself, I'm a friend of Armand's uncle, Mr. Lavoisier, so I recognize Armand. I have nothing to do today, I came here to sit down, and I happened to see Armand, so I came over to take a look. Um, what are you all talking about?"

　　"Mr. Denardi is the director of the Dragon and Rose troupe and a friend of mine. He needs to find a playwright with a high artistic appreciation. And my classmate Joseph fits his requirements, so I introduced them here to meet." Amand hurriedly replied.

　　"The Dragon and Rose Theater Company?" Philip smiled, "Ah, that's the one that performed 'The Island Governor', right? Well, it was well acted, I went to see it. It was especially funny at the final curtain call when that Sancho of yours suddenly stood up straight and was actually the tallest one in the cast. But the best thing was your intention; noble people may not be smart and upright, and humble people can be sublime. The script is good! Who wrote this script?"

　　Although Denardi didn't know what this Mr. Philip was about, he also judged from Amand's attitude, and Philip's claim to be a friend of Amand's uncle Lavoisier, that this Mr. Philip, wasn't as ordinary as he was dressed. He was more than likely a man of great rank, and even ... a conjecture sprang up at once in the mind of Denardi.

　　So he replied respectfully, "Monsieur Philippe, I got the first draft of this play myself, and then Armand helped me to revise it, and it was quite different, and as for the use of the tall man as Sancho at the end, it was the idea of this Monsieur Bonaparte."

　　"Ah, Armand, I'm so glad to hear you've also done something really worthwhile." Philippe laughed, "Mr. Denardi, well, Joseph, you're a classmate of Armand's, so I'll call you Joseph as well. Theater is a great art that can influence and educate many people. I hope to see more great works from you in the future."

　　With that said, he stood up and tipped his hat slightly saying, "I see a friend of mine is here. I'll excuse myself."

　　With these words, he left their table and walked over to the other side.

　　When he saw Philip walk away, Denardi lowered his voice and said, "Amand, this Mr. Philip ..."

　　Amand similarly lowered his voice and said, "He is the owner of this place, His Royal Highness Louis-Philippe Joseph, Duke Charles. What a surprise to meet him here."

　　"This is His Highness Duke Charles?" Joseph was also taken aback, "It's not at all obvious that it's a great nobleman."

　　"His Highness the Duke was originally a different kind of noble, he and the Empress are exactly two extremes." Armand whispered.

　　Joseph did not study history in his last life, and he only knew some rough things about the Revolution that was soon to come, but he did not know the key role that the Duke, who was later called "Philip the Equal", played in the Revolution. The only people he could remember were the so-called "Jacobin Triumvirate" of Robespierre, Marat and Danton.

　　However, Joseph did not want to have too deep a connection with these people at this time, the Revolution began a period of time, the situation is too chaotic, today John chopped off Luke's head, tomorrow Matthew chopped off John's head, no matter who is too close to the relationship is dangerous, there may be on the guillotine. Joseph even planned to make sure to find an excuse to hide back in Corsica before the Revolution began.

　　The three men continued to talk about the manner of cooperation and remuneration, and then took their leave of each other.

　　When they returned to their lodgings, they saw Father Jean-Jacques walking over with a letter and said, "Ah, Joseph, you're back? Well, your brother has sent you a letter."

　　Joseph hurriedly took the letter, thanked Father Jean-Jacques, and went to his room. Sitting down at the table by his small window, he picked up the small table knife that was sitting on the table, cut open the envelope, pulled out the letter and read it.

　　The contents of the letter were actually things Joseph had known for a long time; Napoleon had gotten his recommendation without incident, and in about a month's time, around November 20th, he would be ready to leave for Paris.