Pauline's Path

During Joseph's subsequent questioning of Pauline betrayed Lucien without hesitation.

"In this chapter I wrote, there is a description of gambling. I initially wrote it based on my own imagination and the scenes described in other people's books. After I finished writing it, I showed it to Lucien. Lucien read it and said that I had written it all up; real casinos are not like that at all. He also said that I could not write a good novel like that."

I was unconvinced and argued with him. I said, "You've never written one, what do you know?" Lucien said that as the Minister of Ministry of Truth, writing novels was within his jurisdiction, so how could he not understand it? Moreover, if he didn't even understand artistic creation, let alone how to lead the Ministry of Truth, he wouldn't even be able to participate in salons.

Then he told me, "You said that in doing anything, 'you have no right to speak without investigation and research,' and that 'the best way to know what an apple tastes like is to take a bite yourself.' So, I went with him to take a look..."

"Have you left the field yet?" Joseph asked sternly.

"No, Lucien won't allow it." Pauline rarely said anything kind to Lucien.

"Didn't he say that you have to take a bite of the apple yourself to see if it's good or not? Why didn't he let you take a bite?" Joseph said coldly.

"He said, 'This apple is poisonous; it'll kill you. We just need to watch how people die after eating it. Besides, even if I go down to the casino, I won't actually taste it. Everyone there knows him; he brought me there. They definitely won't dare win my money. On the contrary, they'll try every means to lose money to me, as if they're bribing him.'"

Lucien said, "Accepting such a bribe would damage the family's image. Therefore, we can only watch and not participate."

Joseph's anger subsided slightly after hearing the first part—after all, Lucien, that brat, wasn't completely reckless. But when he heard Lucien mention the family's image later on, Joseph's anger flared up again.

"Does that brat even know about the family's image?" Joseph cursed. "Where is that brat? Today I'm going to..."

"He went to Lyon a few days ago," Napoleon said from the side, "But he should be back early tomorrow morning."

"When he comes back..." Joseph said through gritted teeth, "Napoleon, you need to discipline your brother."

"Don't worry, I've had my eye on him for days!" Napoleon said, rubbing his hands together eagerly.

Napoleon was absolutely telling the truth. He was exhausted every day, and so was Joseph. Only his brother, although also exhausted every day, did so entirely because of his dissolute lifestyle! Although Napoleon's ideal was to be like Augustus, not Nero's lifestyle was truly... abhorrent.

To paraphrase Lu Xun, Napoleon's current mindset was. "Probably driven by jealousy; that's almost certain."

However, Lucien was not appointed Minister of Ministry of Truth for nothing. His elder brothers were planning to teach him a lesson, and he actually found out about this confidential matter. Moreover, as soon as he returned to Paris, he immediately rushed to Joseph's place.

"You still dare to come see me?" Joseph said.

"Why wouldn't I dare? I haven't done anything wrong," Lucien replied.

"You haven't done anything wrong? Are you still going to say you've done something meritorious?" Joseph said with a sneer.

"Of course," Lucien said.

"Then tell me your reasoning," Joseph said through gritted teeth.

"Joseph, who do you think is the most respected woman in France?" Lucien asked.

"The most respected woman in France? Needless to say, it's the Virgin Maria," Joseph replied.

"The Virgin Maria ... damn it!" Lucien said. "Well, let's put it another way. The most respected female human being in France —no, that's not quite right, the Virgin Mary was also human—well, who is the most respected female human being in France besides the Virgin Mary?"

"Why don't you just say it's Joan of Arc? Why all the beating around the bush? Do you think I have as much time as you do?"

"Joseph, Joan of Arc was originally just a shepherdess from a peasant family. How did she achieve her current status? Was it because of her piety? Of course, Joan of Arc was indeed pious. But did her status come from piety?"

If Joan of Arc of Arc herself had answered this question, she would have replied without hesitation, "Of course." In her view, all her achievements were gifts from God.

Although Joseph might occasionally utter "Hayelujah" or "Amen," his brothers knew he didn't truly believe in God. While he did mention "God" often, they understood that Joseph's concept of God was likely just a euphemism for the laws of nature. Therefore, Joseph certainly wouldn't attribute Joan of Arc of Arc 'Joseph status to piety.

"That's because of her achievement in saving France," Joseph indeed said.

"Joseph, what is the reputation of our family? Do people think of our family as having high moral character, that we are all saints?" Lucien asked again.

"Wait a minute," Joseph said. "I'm starting to understand what you mean. You mean that, well, our Bonaparte family isn't known for virtue. Our strength lies in our exceptional talent. So, what we need isn't a reputation for conformity, but a reputation for outstanding talent, is that what you mean?"

"Yes, that's right, you're my brother, you understood immediately," Lucien quickly laughed. "I think Pauline herself has that kind of style when she writes novels, and Joseph, you know, people are often much more lenient towards women than men. For example, Pauline's novels, if they were written by a male author, would honestly be just average, but if they are written by a female author, especially a beautiful female author, and a beautiful female author of high status, and also... and if she has a bit of a quirk, then she's even more likely to become famous."

"I understand." Joseph nodded. "You want to make Pauline a famous female writer."

"Not only that," Lucien said. "Nowadays, more and more people think we're poisonous or something, and we're losing our republican and democratic revolutionary spirit. We need to show everyone some revolutionary and liberating spirit, right? Look, the role model for women's liberation is coming from our family, isn't that great?"

"You have a good idea, but is this really a good thing for Pauline?" Joseph asked coldly. "With such a reputation, her future may not be easy."

"Joseph, Pauline's path has never been easy. She knows it herself. Don't underestimate your crazy sister," Lucien replied.