The Shadow of Great Britain-Chapter 938 - 34 Paris Black Category 7_2

Balzac heard this and couldn’t help but mockingly say: "If I did something wrong, I probably wouldn’t dare to admit it as straightforwardly as you two do."

Victor heard this, did not argue, but squinted and smiled: "Dear, that’s because you are still young. Young people always like to resist a little, to account for their conscience, and find an excuse for their future misconduct. If young people do something wrong, they often don’t dare to look in the mirror of conscience, while adults dare to face it. This is the gap between the two stages of life."

Victor’s words seemed to sting deep into Balzac’s heart, and the young man with a naive and straightforward character was about to argue.

Unexpectedly, Arthur raised his teacup and lightly clinked it with him, his eyes, which glowed with a slight red light, seemed to be smiling, containing a thousand words and perhaps some reflections on the experiences of recent years: "Mr. Balzac, society is a quagmire, we must stand high. Because, if a person wants to dream about Heaven, he must aim well at God."

Upon hearing this, the anger Balzac had just felt in his chest also subsided, and he simply asked: "Are those covered in mud and riding in carriages honorable men, while those walking covered in mud are villains and rogues? Mr. Victor once told me: ’Law and morality have no power over the wealthy, property is the golden rule.’ Do you think these statements are true?"

Arthur smiled and nodded slightly: "Whether they are true, I don’t know, but both statements are facts. However, just like France, in Britain many of my compatriots do not understand the truth. I sincerely hope that you can enlighten the public of England, Scotland, Wales, and Ireland, whether it is you, Mr. Hugo, or Mr. Dumas. The ’British’ welcome all who are committed to spreading the truth to submit their work to us."

Victor sipped his coffee lightly, and the old detective couldn’t help but look at him in a new light.

He thought to himself: "As expected of a Diplomat, he can lie without blushing or missing a beat, as if he truly believes in what he says. He knows exactly what these literary folks need, and no one wielding a pen can resist this many accolades, especially when there’s a check attached under the brim of the hat."

As expected, Balzac, upon hearing this, took the initiative to shake Arthur’s hand, removed his hat, and apologized: "Sorry, Sir, it seems I misunderstood you earlier. You are neither the cold and ruthless policeman nor a naive fool like Alexander. I think we might be able to be friends."

Arthur heard Balzac ridicule Great Dumas, he couldn’t help but smile and blink: "Why do you think Alexander is a fool?"

Balzac made no attempt to hide his contempt for Great Dumas and said directly: "Because he is a guy who boasts about never changing his opinion. In my view, such a person is actually setting a rule for himself to always walk in a straight line, believing he is always right. But from my experiences and the stories I’ve heard, there are no principles in this world, only events. There are no laws, only circumstances. Therefore, wise people usually adapt to events and go with the circumstances, so as to take advantage of the situation for their own use.

Alexander, apart from shouting some noble slogans to numb himself, can do nothing. His works sell well, indeed, but he rarely reflects the thoughts that should be expressed in his works. The dramas and novels he has worked on reveal nothing but superficiality and emptiness. His greatest contribution to France was turning himself into an exile in Britain."

Arthur took advantage of Balzac’s grand discourse to pick up the draft of the new novel, politely asked: "I heard earlier that your new novel seems to have a character based on Senate President Thiers."

Balzac, hearing this from the great publisher from London, suddenly felt like a box was opened, and he drank his coffee in one gulp, talking excitedly about his ideas.

"To be honest, I actually have a grand plan. I found that allowing each novel to exist independently is really too dull. Therefore, I plan to connect them all together. And Lastinier, who is based on Mr. Thiers, will be one of the keys to linking these independent novels, and characters in these books will not only appear in one novel."

Arthur raised an eyebrow upon hearing this: "You mean, you want to create a Balzac universe?"

"A Balzac universe?"

Balzac was first taken aback, then immediately slapped his thigh and said: "That’s right, that’s exactly what I’m talking about! The way you describe it is very apt! And previously I was already unconsciously doing this, Lastinier, based on Thiers, has already appeared more than once in my stories. I don’t know if you’ve read my ’Study of Women’?

It tells the story of Thiers delivering the love letter to the wrong person, resulting in unexpectedly getting involved with a Marchioness, illustrating how Thiers becomes the lover of Talleyrand’s niece. The Lastinier in ’The Wild Ass’s Skin’ talks about the stories of recent years, where he is completely intoxicated by the splendor of Paris, indulging in pleasure everywhere and degrading himself.

This time, the Lastinier in ’Father Goriot’ tells Thiers’ story just arriving in Paris, how he fell from a young man with a conscience to the capricious bastard he is today. It mentions how Lastinier’s father earned 3200 Francs annually, yet he spent 2800 Francs living in a boarding house in Paris attending university, which truly happened in Thiers’ life."

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