The Foolish Brother Also Comes to Paris

On Sunday at noon, just after lunch, Armand brought Joseph to a café near the Bishop's Palace. The Bishop's Palace was the private estate of the great noble, the Duke of Orleans. Duke Charles, the eldest son of the old Duke—who also happened to have "Joseph" in his name—had converted all the land along the palace's long gallery into various shops and cafés. Because these areas were the private property of a great noble, the royal police had no authority to enforce the law here, making it an "extra-legal zone" where ordinary commoners could come and go freely.

In this way, it became the center of all "illegal activities" in Paris, and there was no second place like it. All sorts of smuggling, trade in contraband, and meetings of organizations conspiring against the Church and the King often took place here. This was to become an important gathering spot for the later, famous Jacobins.

The man who provided all of this, Duke Charles himself (who would later inherit his father's title to become the new Duke of Orleans), was a relative of the King and one of the greatest feudal lords in France, yet he was a staunch liberal and a loyal disciple of Jean-Jacques Rousseau. He firmly believed in Enlightenment thought, advocated for the establishment of a democratic, secular, constitutional monarchy in France, and also believed that the feudal fief system and slavery should be abolished. He was good friends with many "conspirators."

Armand and Joseph sat down at a table by the window in the café. At that moment, the afternoon sun was shining through the glass onto a bright red rose placed in the center of the table.

"It seems we arrived a bit earlier than Mr. Thenardier," Armand said with a smile.

A waitress walked over and asked, "What would you two gentlemen like?"

"Two coffees, please," Armand said.

The waitress retreated, and before long, she returned with a tray, placing two cups of coffee in front of them.

"Six sous," the waitress said.

Duke Charles set the rent for these shops quite low, but he had his own requirements: the prices of goods in these shops had to be relatively cheap. Sometimes, the Duke himself would put on trousers, disguise himself as an ordinary person, and wander around these cafés, bars, and other shops.

Armand placed an eight-sou coin onto the waitress's tray. The waitress thanked him and turned to leave.

"Joseph, you can't always stay in your room. When you have time, you should come here often. You can meet all sorts of people and learn more things here," Armand said, taking a sip of his coffee.

Just as Joseph was about to reply, he saw the café door pushed open. A man of about forty, wearing a gray coarse wool jacket, walked in. As soon as he entered, he stretched his neck and peered around in all directions.

Armand raised an arm and waved at him, then said to Joseph, "This is Director Thenardier. He's blinder than a brown bear in the Ardennes Forest; he can't see clearly if things are even a little bit far away."

Thenardier had clearly spotted them, as he strode over, pulled up a chair, and sat down next to them with a laugh. "Armand, my eyes are indeed as blind as a brown bear's, but my ears and nose are just as sharp. I heard everything you said about me. Haha... Hmm, this must be Mr. Bonaparte, right? I am the director of the Dragon and Rose Troupe, Thenardier, Henri Thenardier. You can just call me Henri."

As he spoke, Thenardier reached out a hand toward Joseph.

Joseph reached out and shook his hand. "Joseph Bonaparte. I am Armand's classmate..."

"Best friend," Armand added from the side.

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

"Ah, Joseph, Armand should have already told you why I'm here," Thenardier said. "Actually, for a long time, our troupe has needed a screenwriter who is truly well-educated. I had my eye on Armand before, but this fellow is a lazy one, and he's always busy. If you ask him for a favor, you always have to wait a long time.

"The idea you gave us last time was truly brilliant, especially during the curtain call; the audience's applause nearly blew the roof off. Besides, I've read some of the scripts you've translated, and with Armand's recommendation, Joseph, I think you could completely fill Armand's role. I just don't know if you have any interest in working part-time as a screenwriter for my little troupe."

Just as the group was discussing the terms of their cooperation, the café door was pushed open once again. This was a common occurrence; a café was a place of coming and going, and people entering and leaving was the most normal thing in the world, so much so that no one even bothered to look.

A man in his thirties, wearing a black hat, with green eyes and reddish whiskers, and dressed in trousers, walked in. He looked around, spotted Armand and his companions immediately, and walked straight over. "Armand, I didn't expect to run into you here."

"Ah... Mr. Philippe." Armand's words faltered noticeably after seeing this Mr. Philippe.

"Well, aren't you going to introduce me to your two friends?" the man asked.

"Ah... Mr. Philippe," Armand seemed a bit flustered. He hurriedly stood up to introduce the other two. "This is my classmate, Joseph, Joseph Bonaparte. And this is... this is Mr. Thenardier, director of the Dragon and Rose Troupe..."

Seeing Armand's reaction, Joseph and Thenardier both knew that this Mr. Philippe's identity was certainly not ordinary, so they both stood up and greeted him.

"No need for such formalities, everyone sit down," Mr. Philippe said. "Let me introduce myself. I am a friend of your uncle, Mr. Lavoisier, which is how I know Armand. I had nothing to do today, so I came here to sit for a while, and I happened to see Armand, so I came over to take a look. Hmm, what are you all talking about?"

"Mr. Thenardier is the director of the Dragon and Rose Troupe and a friend of mine. He needs a screenwriter with a high level of artistic appreciation. My classmate Joseph fits his requirements perfectly, so I introduced them to meet here," Armand replied hurriedly.

"The Dragon and Rose Troupe?" Philippe laughed. "Ah, the one that performed The Governor of the Island, right? Hmm, it was performed well; I went to see it. Especially during the final curtain call, when your Sancho suddenly stood up straight—he was actually the tallest among the actors—it was truly interesting. But the best part was your theme: noble people are not necessarily wise or upright, and lowly people can also be sublime. The script is good! Who wrote it?"

Although Thenardier did not know who this Mr. Philippe was, he judged from Armand's attitude and the fact that Philippe claimed to be a friend of Armand's uncle, Lavoisier, that this man was not as ordinary as his attire suggested. He was likely a person of high status, or even... a guess suddenly popped into Thenardier's mind.

So, he replied respectfully, "Mr. Philippe, the draft of the script was my own, but after Armand helped me revise it, it became completely different. As for the idea of using a tall man to play Sancho, that was Mr. Bonaparte's creative touch."

"Ah, Armand, I'm so glad to hear you've done something truly meaningful," Philippe laughed. "Mr. Thenardier, and hmm, Joseph—since you are Armand's classmate, I will call you Joseph as well. Theater is a great art that can influence and educate many people. I hope to see more of your good work in the future."

Having said this, he stood up and tipped his hat slightly. "I see a friend of mine has arrived. Please excuse me."

With that, he left their table and walked toward the other side.

Seeing Philippe walk away, Thenardier lowered his voice and asked, "Armand, this Mr. Philippe..."

Armand also lowered his voice and said, "He is the master of this place, His Highness Louis Philippe Joseph, Duke Charles. I really didn't expect to run into him here."

"This is Duke Charles?" Joseph was also taken aback. "He doesn't look like a great noble at all."

"His Highness is a noble who is quite different; he and the Queen are two extremes," Armand whispered.

Joseph had not studied history in his previous life. Regarding the revolution that would soon begin, he only knew some rough details and did not know the key role this Duke, later known as "Philippe Égalité," would play. The only figures he could remember were the so-called "Big Three of the Jacobins": Robespierre, Marat, and Danton.

However, Joseph did not want to have too deep a connection with these people at this time. For a period after the revolution began, the situation was too chaotic; today John would cut off Luke's head, and tomorrow Matthew would cut off John's. Being too close to anyone was dangerous and could lead to the guillotine. Joseph even planned to find an excuse to hide back in Corsica before the revolution started.

The three of them finished discussing the terms of cooperation and the remuneration, then bid each other farewell.

Upon returning to his residence, he saw Father Jean-Jacques walking over with a letter. "Ah, Joseph, you're back? Hmm, your brother sent you a letter."

Joseph hurriedly took the letter, thanked Father Jean-Jacques, and returned to his room. He sat down at the table by his small window, picked up the small table knife, slit the envelope, and took out the letter to read.

The content of the letter was actually something Joseph already knew: Napoleon had successfully obtained the recommendation, and in about a month—around November 20th—he would be able to set off for Paris.