Chapter 128 My Life Is Like Walking on Thin Ice (Asking for Monthly Votes)

After more than forty minutes, the leading painter looked at the newly decorated farmhouse, nodded with satisfaction, and asked his men to leave.

The soldier guarding the house did not notice that he had an extra paint bucket in his hand, and his long-handled brush was missing.

The paint bucket naturally contained the military uniforms of Odoric's two "little brothers" and the craftsman's clothes of three people, while the "long-handled brush" was left in the attic.

When the painters left the area, an officer of the French Guard stopped them again, checked their documents, and counted the number of people.

There were 8 people when they came, and there were still 8 people when they left, no problem at all.

The officer nodded and asked his men to let them go. Even if he checked carefully, he could not check the situation of the painters with the soldiers guarding every farmhouse.

The next morning, the sun shone obliquely on the wide avenue outside Paris, and the temperature was so warm that it didn't seem like winter at all.

Several well-made white carriages, surrounded by more than a dozen cavalrymen, slowly drove from the south.

In the middle carriage, the beautiful eyes of Princess Louisa Maria of the Two Sicilies looked out the window nervously.

Before they even arrived in Paris, she was deeply shocked - the "Royal Avenue" was ridiculously spacious, and the houses on both sides of the road were more exquisite and beautiful than each other. It seemed that all the people living around Paris were nobles. [Note 1]

However, what made her most nervous was the French Crown Prince who was called "the Son of God" who was about to meet.

It was said that he was only fourteen years old this year, one year younger than herself, but he had completed the courses of the University of Paris, successfully presided over the reform of the Paris police, and now even served as the assistant to the Minister of Finance of France.

This was simply beyond the description of genius! She was also studying university mathematics, and knew how difficult those things were, and she also knew how troublesome state affairs were. How did he do it? !

Moreover, it was said that the Crown Prince inherited his mother's appearance and was very handsome, with slightly curly blonde hair, star-like blue eyes and a face with perfect proportions like an ancient Greek statue. The girls in the Palace of Versailles would be excited for several months if they could talk to him.

When Princess Maria thought that such an excellent prince might become her fiancé, her heart suddenly "beat" wildly.

Just as she was thinking about it, the carriage suddenly stopped slowly. Timothy, the ambassador of the Two Sicilies to France, who was sitting opposite her, hurriedly reminded in a low voice: "Your Highness, it should be the Crown Prince who came to greet you."

Princess Maria hurriedly gathered her thoughts, lowered her head to check her clothes, and then straightened her back, showing a polite and dignified smile.

Timothy got out of the car first and opened the door.

Maria got off the carriage along the wooden steps and walked among the respectful attendants. When she looked up, she suddenly saw a handsome boy in a dark blue thick velvet coat, white trousers, and a tricorn hat, smiling at her.

The elegant curves on his face and the fascinating eyes made her mind blank for half a second. She dared to swear that the person who described the appearance of the crown prince to her could not even say one tenth of his handsomeness.

Maria walked forward a little dizzy, not daring to look directly at the crown prince. She hurriedly lifted the hem of her skirt, knelt down seriously, and said in a low voice: "It's a pleasure to meet you, Your Highness. I feel very honored that you can come so far to pick me up."

Joseph smiled and touched his chest in return: "This is what I should do, beautiful princess. Welcome to Paris."

He hugged the princess face to face according to traditional etiquette. Well, the waist is very thin, the skin is delicate and smooth, and the chest...

Ahem! Joseph interrupted his thoughts in his heart. She is only a 15-year-old girl. What is he thinking?

After the ceremony, he stepped back two steps and gestured to the princess's carriage: "Your Highness, I will lead the way for you. The King and Queen have already held a banquet in the Palace of Versailles and are waiting for you."

After being polite for a while, Joseph turned back to his car and ordered the team to return to the Palace of Versailles.

Maria felt a little disappointed when she saw that he did not invite her to ride in the same car. Suddenly she remembered that she had a competitor - Clementine, the Grand Duchess of Tuscany.

The drums and trumpets sounded all around, which was the signal for the team to set off. She hurriedly got on her carriage, feeling melancholy: Could it be that His Royal Highness the Crown Prince liked Clementine more? I didn't know if I could compete with her.

…

In a farmhouse one mile away from where Joseph met Princess Maria, Odoric vaguely heard the sound of the trombone and immediately rubbed his sore arms and legs - he and his two "little brothers" stayed here for a whole night.

After a while, Odoric, dressed as a farmer, carefully got out of the cupboard and looked down the attic. He immediately saw the soldier guarding the place leaning against the door frame and falling asleep.

He picked up the short stick that had been prepared under the bed, tiptoed down the attic, and hit the soldier's head accurately. The latter fainted immediately.

Odoric then pulled out a short knife, threw it to the bald man who followed him, and made a cutting gesture to the soldier lying on the ground.

The bald man immediately stabbed the soldier to death without hesitation, and then dragged the body into the house - killing people was as easy as drinking a glass of wine for him.

Odoric returned to the attic, took out a long-handled brush from under the bed, and pulled away the cloth wrapped on the brush handle to reveal the gun barrel inside. Then, he removed the bulging brush head, and inside was the wooden butt.

Soon, a British-made Brown Bess 1742 flintlock appeared in his hand.

He found gunpowder and lead bullets from the other end of the brush handle, neatly loaded them into the muzzle, stuffed the musket to the red-haired "man", and ordered: "When the carriage carrying gold comes over, you shoot over there."

"Ah?" The red-haired man looked at the road in the distance and wondered, "Boss, I'm afraid we can't hit it from such a distance..."

"Stupid, we are just spitting information. Letting you shoot is to remind our people that we can start."

Odoric said, leaning over and taking out a French short carbine with a sawed-off stock from under the bed - this was brought in by the painter in a bucket - also loaded with ammunition, and handed it to the bald man: "You also shoot."

"Leave it to us, boss!" The two bandits were very grateful to join the Lakeway Gang when they thought that they could get seven or eight thousand livres by firing two shots at random.

Then, Odoric picked up the Charleville flintlock of the soldier who had just died, searched the body for gunpowder and bullets, and then checked the barrel of the gun, finding that it was already loaded with ammunition. He took the trouble to pour out the gunpowder and reload it.

Next to the window of the farmhouse attic, Odoric saw a white carriage through his telescope. He was familiar with the driver - they were all His Royal Highness the Crown Prince's men, and they often met.

Odoric immediately asked two men to come to the window, and he stepped back a few steps and shouted: "Shoot!"

The two bandits were still immersed in the fantasy that the Lakeville Gang had taken control of the overall situation, and immediately fired at the carriage in the distance without hesitation.

Two roars suddenly broke out in the silent suburbs of Paris, scaring the birds in the nearby forest to fly into the air.

The French Guards nearby, from officers to soldiers, looked around in panic as if they had been slapped in the face, to determine the source of the gunshots.

Bessonval's face turned pale, veins popped on his forehead, and he turned to the herald and shouted at the top of his lungs: "Blow the horn, blow the horn quickly! Turn the prince's convoy around!"

"What are you all standing there for! Protect the prince and the princess! Quick!"

"Balthasar, Chloë, search your men!" As he said that, he also pulled out his pistol and looked back and forth, "Who is so bold?!"

The French Guard officers have begun to command the soldiers to shoot indiscriminately in the direction of the gunshots, trying to suppress the firepower of those who are plotting evil.

In the farmhouse, the bald man heard the gunshots one after another, thinking that it was his own people who started to fight, and hurriedly turned around to ask Odoric in a flattering way: "Boss, do you think this is enough?"

The latter smiled indifferently, pulled him to the middle of the attic, stood in the direction of the window, and the Charleville flintlock in his hand suddenly spurted out flames.

A bloody hole appeared on the chest of the unsuspecting bald man. The whole person was thrown backwards by the huge thrust of the bullet, and he died without even struggling.

Odoric had deliberately reduced the amount of gunpowder before, so the body that was shot was not shattered, and it was difficult to tell that it was shot at close range.

The red-haired man by the window was stunned for a moment by this scene, but Odoric did not hesitate to hit him in the stomach with the butt of the gun, and took the opportunity when he bent over to hit him hard on the back of the head.

Ignoring the crackling gunshots outside, Odoric calmly loaded ammunition for Charleville, then dragged the fainted red-haired man to the pillar of the attic, stepped back a few steps, and shot him in the throat.

After doing this, Odoric looked around the room and found nothing missing. He immediately grabbed the remains of the long-handled brush that he had collected before, stuffed Charleville back to the dead French Guard soldier, and ran out of the farmhouse from the back door.

Arriving at the grove a few dozen steps away, he put on the uniform of the Crown Prince's Guard as quickly as possible, hurriedly buried the remains of the long-handled brush, and squatted behind a tree, beginning to wait nervously.

At the same time as the first gunshot, Csod reined in the horse, waved his hand and shouted loudly: "Don't panic! Everyone gather around the carriage of the Crown Prince and the Princess, beware of sneak attacks!"

The French Guards were already at a loss, and immediately followed the instructions. More than a hundred people surrounded Joseph and the Princess of the Two Sicilies' carriage in the middle.

When the third gunshot came from the direction of the farmhouse, Csod winked at his officers and shouted: "Clermont, over there! Take people to catch the assassin!"

"Yes!" Clermont pulled the reins and waved his hand, "Team Three, follow me!"

Then, in the shocked and admiring eyes of the French Guards, more than 20 Crown Prince's guards rushed towards the farmhouse in the distance.

On the Bessonval side, it was not until the fourth gunshot was heard in the distance that the attacker's exact location was finally determined. He immediately pointed his pistol at the farmhouse: "There! Adrian, take the men over!"

"Yes!"

Clermont led the three teams and seemed to have lost the direction. He first ran diagonally to the grove not far from the farmhouse. After a small circle, he turned around as if "suddenly realizing" and rushed back to the farmhouse.

And at the moment they passed by the edge of the woods, Odoric rushed over in a few steps, took the flintlock handed over by his teammates, put it on his shoulder, and merged into the team.

In fact, at this time, the wasteland in the suburbs was filled with smoke because of the continuous musket shooting. Even if he ran directly back to Joseph, it was estimated that no one from the French Guards would be able to see him.

Clermont deliberately let his men slow down, and waited for the French Guards to surround the farmhouse first, and then pretended to be in a hurry and followed.

Adrian, an officer of the French Guard, was hesitating whether to rush in directly or suppress the fire first, when he heard Clermont shouting: "Coward! Do you want to wait for them to shoot at His Royal Highness the Crown Prince?! "

Adrian was so excited that he quickly drew out his sword and waved towards the farmhouse: "Charge in! Catch the assassin!"

The French Guards immediately rushed forward and first saw the soldier guarding the farmhouse dead on the ground. Someone nervously fired a shot into the attic and then climbed the stairs cautiously.

On the other side, after Joseph heard the gunshot, he immediately locked the carriage door from the inside - this is very reasonable. If someone is attacked, he must first prevent the assassin from rushing into the carriage.

Then, he and Emman quickly removed the wax seals on the carriage doors, walls, wooden tables, etc., and put all the wax blocks into their pockets.

Eman took out a paper bag from under the seat, threw the wood fragments inside into the car, and finally inserted a flattened lead bullet into the damaged part of the wall on the other side of the carriage.

At this time, the carriage appeared to have two holes, one in the door and the other in the wooden table. There was a lead bullet embedded in the wall of the car on the other side, and splinters of wood were everywhere in the car.

Apparently, a bullet had just hit the carriage.

Then, Joseph stretched out his arm to Emang and gave him a confirming look: "Come on."

The latter drew a dagger from his calf and said solemnly: "Your Highness, I'm sorry."

As he spoke, his sword flashed, and a bloodstain appeared on Joseph's right upper arm. He immediately felt a sharp pain.

Eman put away his sword, picked up a sharp-looking piece of wood in the carriage, took out a sheep tripe filled with chicken blood from his pocket, and stabbed it lightly.

The chicken blood immediately stained the wood splinter, and it looked like the splinter had cut Joseph's arm when it flew apart.

Eman sprinkled some more blood in the carriage, put away the sheep's belly, and then shouted out of the carriage in an extremely anxious tone: "Oh, God! The crown prince has been shot!"

"Doctor! Call the doctor quickly!"

The heartbreaking shouts floated hundreds of meters away. Everyone who heard them was struck by lightning and stood stunned on the spot. Especially Bessonval, who only felt a "buzzing" in his head and almost fell off his horse. Come down.

In the carriage following the princess, Princess Maria heard that the crown prince had been shot. She was so frightened that her face turned pale and tears burst out of her eyes.

[Note 1] King's Avenue: refers to a specially widened road funded by the French government, equivalent to the highway in the 18th century.

Thanks to: Zhenzhi and Qiuzhen Guan Xiaodaotong for their generous rewards for this book! The young author is grateful!