Chapter 25 Chapter Twenty-Four The Testator's Strategies

For ten days, Remonenke has been playing the role of God, which makes the God of Justice very annoying, because God considers himself the only representative of justice.Remonenke wanted to get rid of the obstacles that stood in the way of his happiness at all costs.For him, the so-called happiness is to be able to marry a seductive concierge home and triple his capital.Therefore, when he saw the little tailor drinking the decoction, he had an evil idea to turn the little tailor's minor illness into a terminal illness, and he traded in scrap metal, which happened to provide him with convenience.

One morning, he was leaning against the door frame of the small shop, smoking a pipe, and dreaming of the magnificent shop on the Rue de la Madeleine, where the beautifully dressed Mrs. Sibo was sitting in the shop. At this time, his eyes fell On a badly oxidized round copper plate.Immediately, an idea popped up in his mind, wanting to wash the small copper pieces in Qian Bo's decoction with the simplest method.The round copper piece was about the size of a hundred-sou coin, and Remonenke tied a thin thread on it. Every day when Mrs. Sibo was taking care of her two gentlemen, she would come to ask about the condition of her tailor friend. After visiting for three to five minutes, I dipped the copper piece into the decoction, and when I left, I lifted the thin wire to retrieve the copper piece.These oxidized copper components, commonly known as verdigris, although the amount is very small, quietly bring toxins into the healthful decoction, and over time it has an immeasurable destructive effect.This evil device has indeed produced evil results.From the third day, poor Xibo began to lose her hair, her teeth became loose, and the regulation functions of various body tissues were destroyed by this tiny toxin.Dr. Brown, seeing the effect of the decoction, racked his brains to find out why. He was quite learned, and he knew that there must be some destructive factor at work.While everyone was not paying attention, he took the decoction home and tested it himself; but he found nothing abnormal.It turned out that on that day, Leimonanke was also afraid of the consequences of his own actions, and it happened that he did not put that deadly piece of copper in the soup.Dr. Brown finally explained to himself, and to science, that the tailor never went out, but stayed in the damp porterhouse, facing the barred window, slumped on the table, lack of exercise, and smelling all day long. The various smells from the stinking ditch may have changed his blood quality.Rue Normandie is one of the few old streets in Paris that have not yet installed taps. sludge.

Mrs. Siebe was always on the move, but her husband, who worked so hard, sat at the little window like a fakir.Both knee joints of the tailor had become stiff, and the blood was concentrated on the upper body; the thin, bent legs were almost useless.Therefore, Sibo's copper-like complexion has long been considered a sickness.To the doctor, the health of the wife and the sickness of the husband are the natural consequences. "What's wrong with my poor Sibyl?" the porter asked Dr. Brown. "My dear Mrs. Siebel," replied the doctor, "he has porter's disease. . . . His whole body is dry, which means that his blood is going bad, and the disease is beyond hope."

To attack people without purpose, without the slightest benefit, without any stake, finally dispelled the initial doubts in Brown's mind.Who could possibly murder Sybo?His wife?When she added sugar to Cibo's decoction, the doctor clearly saw that many murders she had tasted and escaped the punishment of society were generally similar to this one, and there was no evidence of terrible violence, such as bleeding blood. , marks of strangulation or blows, in short, no evidence of those clumsy methods; but the majority of such murders involved no apparent interest, and occurred among the lower classes.The exposure of a murder case always has its precursors, such as hatred, or obvious greed, which cannot escape the eyes of the people around it.But the situation of the little tailor, Remonenke, and Mrs. Qianbo was different. Except for the doctor, no one was interested in investigating the cause of death.This bronze-faced, ill-ridden concierge, whose wife treats him very well, has neither property nor mortal enemies.And the murderous intent and infatuation of the antique dealer are hidden in the dark, just like Mrs. Qianbo's windfall.The doctor knew very well the character and heart of the concierge, and he knew that Mrs. Siable had done something to torture Bangs, but she had neither the profit nor the energy to commit a crime: besides, every time the doctor came Here, when she feeds the decoction to her husband, she always eats a spoonful first.Brown, the only one who could get to the bottom of it, believed that disease has a certain contingency, a certain astonishing exception, which makes the profession of medicine so adventurous.Indeed, unfortunately, the little tailor was in such a poor state of health from long-term malnutrition that such an insignificant amount of copper oxide would have killed him.As for the neighbors and those gossiping women, they thought it was not surprising that Sibo died suddenly, and this attitude also exonerated Remonenke.

"Ah!" One of them said loudly, "I told you a long time ago that Mr. Qian Bo must die." "He's so tired, man," replied another, "He boiled all his blood dry." "He doesn't want to listen to me." A neighbor said, "I advised him to go out on Sunday and rest on Monday. Two days a week to relax is not too much." The gossip in the street often served as an informer, and the judiciary always listened through the ears of the superintendent of the police station, the king of the lower classes.However, Brown always looked pensive and looked sad, which disturbed Lemonenke; so when he saw the doctor approaching, he couldn't wait to ask Schmuck to send him to Frye. That Monsieur Trognon that Zie knew.

"I'll be back when I make my will." Frazier leaned into Mrs. Siebel's ear and said, "Although you are in pain, you must keep your eyes on what you are about to get." The little attorney walked softly like a shadow, passing his doctor friend on the way. "Hi! Brown," he said, "everything is all right. We're saved! . . . I'll talk to you more tonight! See what's right for you, and you'll get it! As for me, I want Magistrate! Tabalo will never again refuse to marry his daughter to me... You, let me arrange the marriage of Miss Vidal, the granddaughter of our magistrate."

This insane speech stunned Brown, and Frazier let him stand there, and galloped down the street like a bullet; he beckoned into a great modern stagecoach, and got out ten minutes later, Came to the Rue de Choiseul.It was about four o'clock, and Frazier knew that the President's wife must be alone, since the judges never left the court before five o'clock. Mrs. de Merville received Frazier with special courtesy, which shows that Mr. Le Boeuf has fulfilled his promise to Mrs. Vatnard and has spoken well for the attorney who was originally at Mount.Amelie was almost effeminate to Frasier, as the Duchess of Montbancier was to Jacques Clement; for this little attorney was Amelie's knife.When Frazier took out the letter jointly written by Eli Magus and Remonenke stating that he was willing to pay 900,000 cash for the entire collection of Bunce, the president's wife threw a bunch of unusual shots at the lawyer. The big number seemed to flash in his eyes.It was a torrent of greed that nearly drowned the attorneys-at-law.

"Monsieur President asked me to invite you to dinner tomorrow," she said to Frazier. Mr. Berdier, my son-in-law and my daughter... After dinner, according to your previous request, you, I, and the notary and attorney, we will have a small talk, and I will All our powers are entrusted to you. The two gentlemen must obey your orders, do things according to your ideas, and ensure that everything can be done. As for de Maville's power of attorney, you can give it to you when you need it... " "On the day the client dies, I will use..." "Be sure to be ready when the time comes."

"Madam President, I ask for a power of attorney to prevent your attorney ad litem, not for myself, but mainly for your benefit... As long as I invest, I will devote 100% to it. Therefore, madam, I also ask my patron to show the same trust and devotion to you—I dare not say my client. You may think that I do this to get business; no, no, Madame, in case something goes wrong...because everyone is involved in the handling of inheritance...especially when it involves an inheritance as important as 900,000 francs...At that time, you can't make things difficult for Lawyer Godekard , he is a very honest man; but you can put all the responsibility on a wicked little lawyer..."

The president's wife looked at Frasier with admiration. "You're a man of heaven and earth," she said, "and I'd be in your place without looking at the magistrate's pension, and I'd be a prosecutor . . . to Mount! To fly to the top." "Let me do it, ma'am! The magistrate's position is a poor horse to Mr. Vidal, but I can make it a war-horse." In this way, the president's wife was pulled to tell Frazier the most intimate words. "It seems to me that you are absolutely concerned with our interests," she said, "and it is necessary for me to share with you our difficulties and hopes. When considering the marriage of my daughter to a conspirator who is now a banker, The president wanted to buy several pastures that were sold at that time, and expand Marvell's estate. Later, in order to fulfill our daughter's marriage, we gave up that beautiful farm, as you know; but I am the only daughter, I I really want to buy the few remaining pastures. It is a beautiful pasture, and part of it has been sold. The owner of the pasture is an Englishman who has lived there for twenty years. Now he is going back to England; There was a very charming villa, in elegant surroundings, with Merville Gardens on one side, and pastures on the other, which were originally part of the Grange. The Englishman bought back some cottages, groves and Small garden. This country house and its auxiliaries are as beautiful as a building in a landscape painting, separated from my daughter's garden by a wall. The pasture and villa can be bought for perhaps seven hundred thousand francs, because the annual net income of the pasture 20,000 francs. . . But if Mr. Waldman knew we were going to buy it, he would have asked for two or three hundred thousand francs more, because if the buildings are nothing according to the usual way of buying and selling land in the country, then he would have lost..."

"However, madam, in my opinion, that inheritance can be said to belong to you. I am willing to play the role of buyer on your behalf, and get the land at the lowest possible price, and through private transactions. , take the practice of a real estate agent... I will use this capacity to meet the Englishman. I am familiar with this kind of business, and I specialize in this line of work at Mount. The capital of Wattinal & Co. is increased by this method Doubled, because I was working under his name at the time..." "And so you have a relationship with Mademoiselle Wattinal... The notary must be rich by now?" "But Mrs. Wattinal is very good at spending... so be it, ma'am, don't worry, I will let the British obediently use it for you..." "If you can do this, I shall be very grateful to you... Farewell, my dear Monsieur Frazier. See you tomorrow..." Frazier bowed to the president's wife before leaving, but he was not as servile as before. "To-morrow I'm going to dine at the Presidency de Marville's! . Bailiff Staballo, through the magistrate, to be legal counsel to the German. That Tabalo, who refuses to marry me his only daughter, would have given me up if I had been a magistrate. Tabalo Mademoiselle, this girl is tall, red-haired, consumptive, but has a house in Royal Square in her mother's name; I will have my share. When her father dies, she can still An annuity of six thousand pounds. She's not pretty; but, my God! To go from nothing to an annuity of eighteen thousand francs, you can't just stare at the plank! . . . " On the way from Main Street to Normandie Street, he dreamed of golden dreams to his heart's content: he imagined a happy life from now on without worrying about food and clothing; he also thought of marrying Miss Vidal, the justice of the peace's daughter, to his friend Brown.He even thought of himself joining forces with Dr. Brown, one of the emperors of the district, to control all elections, municipal, military, and political.As he walked, he let his ambition run wild, and the street seemed too short. Schmuck went upstairs and returned to his friend Bunce and told him that Sibo was dying, and Remonenke went to find Mr. Tronon, the notary.Pons froze for a moment at the hearing of the name, which Mrs. Sieber had often mentioned to him in her endless nagging, recommending him as Pons's notary, said he was very honest.Since the morning, when the patient's doubts had been absolutely confirmed, an idea flashed into his mind to further supplement his plan. Muck's eyes were completely exposed. The poor German was bewildered by all the news and events, and Bunce took him by the hand and said: "Schmuck, I'm afraid there will be a lot of chaos in the building; if the porter is dying, then we basically Freedom for a while, that is to say, there are no spies spying on us for a while, you know, they have been spying on us! Go out, ask for a carriage, then go to the theater and tell our leading dancer Miss Heloise, I want to see her before I die, and ask her to come to me at ten-thirty after the show. Then you go to your two friends, Schwab and Bruner, and you ask them to come tomorrow morning at nine o'clock. Here, pretend to be passing by here, and go upstairs to see me by the way, and ask about my situation..." The old artist felt that he was going to die, so he made such a plan.He wants to make Schmuck the heir to all his estates and make him a rich man; in order to get Schmuck out of all possible troubles, he is going to speak his will to a notary in front of witnesses, so that he will no longer Thinking that he had lost his mind, the Camusos could no longer find any excuse to attack his final arrangements.Hearing the name of Trognon, he immediately saw that there must be some conspiracy in it, and felt that they must have designed the formal flaws in the will, and as for Mrs. Sibo, she must have already set a trap to betray him.Therefore, he decided to use this Trognon to dictate a self-written will, which he sealed and locked in a drawer of the cabinet.Then, he was going to let Schmuck hide in a large cupboard next to the bed, and see with his own eyes how Mrs. Siebel would steal the will, unseal it, read it, and then seal it.At nine o'clock the next day, he revoked the self-written will and made a formal and indisputable will again in front of the notary.When Mrs. Sibo said that he was crazy and full of hallucinations, he immediately realized the hatred, greed and revenge of Mrs. President.For two months the poor man lay awake, sifting through the events of his life through long hours of solitude. Both ancient and modern sculptors often set up several patron saints holding burning torches on both sides of their tombs.The light of the torch illuminates the way to death for those who are about to die, and at the same time, points out the mistakes and mistakes they have made in their lives.In this regard, sculpture does embody great ideas, and demonstrates a human fact.When people are dying, they will have wisdom.It is often seen that some very ordinary girls, young but with a clear mind like a centenarian, are like prophets, judging their families and not being deceived by any hypocrisy.This is the poetry of death.But it is necessary to point out the curious point that there are two different ways of dying.This prophetic poem, this gift of seeing the past or foretelling the future, belongs only to a man who has been wounded in the body and who has died from the destruction of the vital tissue of the body.Therefore, those who suffer from gangrene like Louis XIV, those who suffer from asthma, those who have high fevers like Bangs, those who have stomach problems like Madame Morthoff, and those who are suddenly injured like soldiers With such a remarkable lucidity of mind, their deaths are strange and admirable; and those who die of mental illness, their troubles lie in the brain, which mediates and fuels the body. nervous system, their death is complete, mental and physical destruction at the same time.The former are incorporeal, and they embody what the Bible calls spirits; the latter are dead bodies. Bunce, the virgin boy, the gluttonous Caton, the almost perfect man, only saw through the poison in the heart of the president's wife very late.He only knew the world when he was about to leave the world.So, for a few hours, he made up his mind very happily, like a happy artist, everything is the material for his attacks and satires.His last ties to life, the ties of passion, the strong bonds that unite connoisseurs and masterpieces of art, were broken in the morning.Finding himself deceived by Mrs. Sibault, Pons said goodbye to the pomp and vanity of art, to his collection, to his friendship with the creator of so many wonderful masterpieces; he thought only of death, of us. The way of our ancestors, who made death a Christian pleasure.Out of love for Schmuck, Bunce tried every means to continue to protect him after he was buried in the coffin.It was this paternal feeling that made Bunce choose to turn to the top dancer to fight back against those treacherous villains, who are now gathered around him, and I am afraid that they will never forgive him in the future and will inherit his entire inheritance people. Heloise was one of those men who pretend to be false without losing their authenticity, who play with their paid admirers, like Janine Cardina and Josepha; but at the same time A good companion who is not afraid of any power in the world, because she has seen through them, they are all weak, and she has long been used to fighting the Paris police at the Marbiel ball and carnival, which are rarely in the countryside. "Since she has encouraged my place to be given to her favorite Garrange, she must feel the more obliged to do me the favor," thought Pons. Schmuck went out, unnoticed by the chaos in the concierge.He hurried home with great speed so as not to leave Bunce alone for too long. Monsieur Trognon arrived at the same time as Schmuck for the will.Although Sibo was about to die, his wife accompanied the notary, led him into Pons' bedroom, and went away, leaving Schmuck, Monsieur Trognon with Pons; But holding a wonderfully crafted little mirror, standing at her door which was not tightly closed.In this way, she could not only hear the speech inside, but also see clearly what was happening in the room at this time, which was very important to her. "Sir," said Pons, "unfortunately, my mind is very clear, and I feel that I am going to die; I am afraid it is God's will, and the pains of death, I cannot escape! . . . This is Shimu Mr. K..." The notary saluted Schmuck. "He is the only friend I have in the world," said Bunce, "and I want to make him heir to my whole estate; please tell me the manner in which my will must be so that this friend of mine shall be the heir to my estate." No objection, he is a German and knows nothing of our laws." "There will always be objections, sir," said the notary. "There is always this trouble with justice in the world. But there are also wills that cannot be refuted." "What kind of will?" asked Bunce. "If a will is made in the presence of notaries and witnesses, if the testator has no wife, children, parents, brothers, those witnesses can testify whether he is sane..." "I have no relatives, and all my affections are given to this dear friend of mine, Schmuck..." Schmuck was crying. "If you really have only distant relatives in the collateral line, then the law allows you to freely dispose of your movable and immovable properties; in addition, the inheritance conditions you propose should not be contrary to morality. I am afraid you have seen that some wills are because The testator put forward strange conditions and encountered objections. In this case, the will made in front of the notary will not be refuted. Because the will was indeed made by himself, and the notary proved his mental state, so it was signed A will would not cause any controversy ... Moreover, a well-worded and formalized self-written will is basically beyond doubt." "For reasons known only to me, I decided to dictate it to you, and I will personally make a will and hand it over to my good friend...Is it okay to do this?..." "Of course!" said the notary. "You will write? I will dictate at once..." "Schmuck, get me that little Boolean pencil case." "Dictation, sir, in a low voice," added Bunce, "someone may be overhearing." "You must first tell me what are your wishes?" asked the notary. Ten minutes later, Mrs. Sieber--Pons saw her in a mirror--saw Schmuck lighting a candle, and the notary, having carefully read the will, sealed it, and Pons delivered it to the Schmuck, let him hide the will in a secret box in the desk.The testator took back the key to the desk, tied it to the corner of the handkerchief, and put the handkerchief under the pillow.Bunce gave the notary, executor, a valuable painting, one of the things the law permitted to give to a notary.The notary went out and met Mrs. Siebel in the drawing room. "Well, sir, has Mr. Bunce thought of me?" "Auntie, you don't expect a notary to divulge the secrets that others tell him." Troignon replied, "The only thing I can tell you now is that many people's greed will be frustrated, and many All human hopes will be dashed. Mr. Bunce made a very good will, reasonable and patriotic, and I am very much in favor of it." No one could imagine how curious Mrs. Qianbo was when she was stimulated by these words.She went downstairs to watch for Sibo, planning to let Miss Lemonenke replace her later, and going to peek at the will between two and three o'clock in the morning.