I Am the Crown Prince in France

"Ah, Virgin Mary! Why did such a terrible thing happen..."

The Princess of the Two Sicilies covered her mouth and wanted to check the situation outside the window, but she was too scared to raise her head. She just huddled in the corner of the seat and kept crying: "Your Highness, the Crown Prince, came to pick me up. Those who were attacked all blamed me... wu wu... it's all my fault..."

Ambassador Timothy glanced out the window warily, pulled down the curtains with a swish, then handed the handkerchief to the princess, and whispered anxiously: "Your Highness, calm down, this matter has nothing to do with you.

With a handkerchief to wipe away her tears, Maria cried harder: "What should I do if something happens to His Royal Highness the Crown Prince?"

"No, it won't be." Timothy hurriedly advised, "I heard that the gunfire was very far away. Even if it hit the crown prince, it shouldn't be fatal."

"Really?" Maria recalled the physics knowledge she had learned, nodded slightly, and her cry gradually turned into sobs, "May God bless the crown prince..."

Then another thought popped up in her head - she had just arrived in Paris and caused the Crown Prince to be attacked. Would this make him have a bad impression of her? Will Her Majesty the Queen be angry with herself for this? Maybe he will be immediately driven back to the Two Sicilies...

Thinking of this, she suddenly started sobbing again.

At this time, two to three hundred people gathered around Joseph's carriage. The shouts of people, the neighing of horses, and the sound of gunfire from time to time turned the scene into a mess.

Since the court physician did not come with him - no one expected that a doctor would be needed to welcome a "blind date" - the French Guards doctor was brought over on horseback by an officer.

The officer threw the doctor off his horse, pointed at the Crown Prince's carriage and shouted anxiously: "That's the one, hurry!"

The military doctor hurriedly got into the car, looked at Emang and asked, "Where is the injury?"

"I don't know." The latter looked panicked.

The military doctor is already praying in his heart, but he must not let His Royal Highness the Crown Prince die in his own hands...

Outside the carriage, Bessonval also urged his horse to come over. Looking at the chaotic scene around him, he wanted the Crown Prince's carriage to turn around to avoid danger, but he was also worried that it would delay his healing. He was so anxious that he didn't know what to do.

In the farmhouse not far away, a lieutenant officer of the French Guard rushed up to the attic first, but only saw two bodies on the ground.

He immediately ordered his men to disperse and search.

Soon, the soldiers returned and reported finding no one else.

The lieutenant confirmed it personally before reporting the situation to Adrian who was waiting outside. The latter hurriedly ordered the herald to summon him, saying that the attacker had been killed.

As a trumpet sound with a unique rhythm sounded, the French Guards gradually stopped blindly shooting and began to form a team under the command of the officer.

When Besonval learned that the attacker had been caught, he quickly ordered the carriage of the Crown Prince and Princess to return to the Palace of Versailles immediately.

He himself led more than 200 cavalrymen, escorting them all the way with a solemn expression.

…

In the Palace of Versailles, Queen Mary, who was all dressed up, was humming a tune and admiring the newly made wig on her head in front of the mirror, when she saw Countess de Berninac trotting in with a pale face.

Queen Mary was about to ask the maid why she was so rude today, but she heard the latter say urgently: "Your Majesty, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince's motorcade was attacked halfway! It is said... His Highness was injured!"

Queen Mary stared, stunned for a second, then suddenly tilted her body and fainted.

After a long time, the queen was finally awakened by the foul smell of the smelling salts in the doctor's hands.

She pushed the doctor's hand away hard and looked for Debeninac among the servants around her: "Where is Joseph? How is he?"

The maid hurriedly came over to support her and said softly: "Your Majesty, the latest news is that His Highness's life is not in danger. The military doctor of the Guard has treated his wound. He should arrive at the Palace of Versailles in two hours."

"Are you sure? It's not life-threatening?" Queen Mary ignored the crooked wig on her head and grabbed the maid's hand, staring at her without blinking.

"Yes."

"God bless! Amen!" The queen made the sign of the cross on her chest, took a few deep breaths, then struggled to stand up, supported by others, and walked towards the square of the Palace of Versailles on her legs and feet, and at the same time shouted loudly, " Let Dr. Gruset go to Paris quickly and treat the Crown Prince on the way..."

On the side, Countess Debeninac said: "Your Majesty, the doctors have already gone."

"Okay, that's good..."

Two hours later, a large group of cavalry drove into the Palace of Versailles with two carriages.

The nobles who were originally waiting here to welcome the Princess of the Two Sicilies were now concerned about the condition of the Crown Prince. There were even many young girls who were so worried that something happened to their Highness that they kept wiping tears.

Queen Mary, who had taken off her wig, shook off Countess de Berninac's supporting hand and ran towards the carriage. Louis XVI also followed behind with a heavy expression.

The cavalry immediately moved out of the way. The queen saw the bullet holes in the car door through the gap between the soldiers, and her heart immediately tightened.

When she opened the car door, she suddenly felt dizzy - the car was in a mess, with sawdust and blood everywhere. The son was leaning on the seat, his body covered in blood, especially his right arm. Although he had been briefly bandaged, his entire arm was almost soaked in blood.

Of course, she couldn't possibly know that most of the food here was chicken blood.

"About..." As soon as her trembling lips uttered a word, tears flowed out.

Behind her, Louis XVI stared at his son, his eyes also red.

Dr. Grusset got out of the car first, bowed to the queen and king, and then comforted: "Your Majesty, please don't worry. Your Highness is only injured and his life is not in danger. He should be frightened now and needs to rest as soon as possible. .”

"Rest? Oh, okay, okay," the queen nodded subconsciously and told Countess de Berninac, "Quickly, send the crown prince back to rest."

Joseph was "weakly" helped out of the car, then lay on a stretcher and returned to his palace.

The king, queen, and all the nobles immediately followed.

Joseph lay on the bed, looking very weak, closing his eyes and pretending to sleep. The queen sat on the edge of the bed, lowered her head, and rubbed the thick hemostatic bandage on her son's arm - it was the military doctor who wrapped it on him for more than a dozen layers at Joseph's repeated request.

She wiped away her tears, adjusted her breathing, and turned to look at the group of people around her. Her voice was full of chill: "Who can explain to me why things turned out like this?"

Kesode immediately looked at Besonval, who was standing at the door of the palace with a pale face. Following his lead, the others also looked at the French Guard Commander.

Under the gaze of everyone, Besonval moved to the middle of the room with difficulty, saluted the king and queen, and said stumblingly: "Your Majesty, it was... someone shot and attacked in the middle..."

Queen Mary glanced at him: "How did the attacker get close?"

"I don't know yet..."

"Not sure?!" The Queen frowned, "How many people in the French Guard are on guard duty?"

"Three thousand people, Your Majesty."

Queen Mary stood up suddenly, stared at Besonval, her eyes full of anger, and shouted: "Three thousand people! What on earth are you doing! Didn't you find anyone attacking?!"

"Yes, yes..." Besonval's head almost dropped to his crotch, and he muttered, "It was my negligence..."

Louis XVI stood up and gently patted his wife on the shoulder.

Queen Mary glared at Besonval and ignored him. She looked at the doctor to confirm her son's condition again, and then turned to look at the officials who came to visit: "Count Robert, Baron Vermorel, Please start investigating immediately. I want to know what happened today!"

"Yes, Your Majesty!"

The head of the secret police and the second captain of the queen's personal guard bowed to take orders at the same time.

For the next time, Louis XVI and Queen Marie stayed at the Dauphin's bedside and did not even eat lunch.

It was not until dusk that Joseph finally "wake up slowly."

The queen immediately grabbed her son's left hand and said softly: "My dear, you finally woke up! How do you feel?"

"God bless!" Louis XVI also looked at his son with extremely concerned eyes.

Joseph showed the panic and helplessness that a fourteen-year-old boy should have at the right time. He looked at his parents pitifully and frowned: "I feel very weak. The wound hurts so much..."

The queen almost cried out of distress again, and quickly comforted her softly: "The Lord will bless you, my dear! You will be fine."

Louis XVI looked at the doctor aside with searching eyes.

The latter came over helplessly and said: "Your Majesty, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince's wound has been carefully treated, and now he can only rest. As for the pain, perhaps His Highness can take some Dover powder."

Joseph's eyelids twitched when he heard this - "Dover's Powder" is a commonly used analgesic made from corn millet. It is not a good thing.

He quickly changed the subject and said to the queen in horror: "Mother, that bullet flew between me and Count Eman. If it had been half a foot away, it would have hit my heart..."

The queen and Shiliu were both frightened when they heard this, and they comforted their son again and again.

Emman added another "kill" from the side: "Your Majesty, although the bullet did not hit His Highness at that time, the wood fragments flying from the car were also very dangerous. You see, His Highness's wound was caused by the wood fragments fired.

"Fortunately, God has blessed us. Otherwise, if a piece of wood had hit His Highness's eyes, the consequences would have been terrible!"

Joseph's master and servant looked at each other without leaving any trace, and praised each other's acting skills.

It was not until late at night that Queen Marie and Louis XVI left the Dauphin's palace, still in shock.

At ten o'clock the next morning, all cabinet ministers were summoned to the conference hall. I saw several sketches placed in front of the queen. Count Robert was telling her about the investigation of yesterday's attack.

"That was a British-made 1742-style flintlock bullet," Robert pointed to the sketch of the interior of the carriage. "It entered through the door and was finally blocked by the pillar on the other side of the carriage. Judging from the power of penetration, It should have been shot from somewhere farther away.”

Anyone who investigates will definitely come to this conclusion.

Because the marks on the carriage were shot by Kersoud himself with a 1742 flintlock gun. In order to make the power more suitable, he carefully adjusted the amount of gunpowder.

Subsequently, the damaged areas in the door and compartment were sealed with wax and painted so that they were difficult to see from the outside. When the "attacker's" gunfire rang out, Joseph peeled off the wax seal and put the bullets and pieces of wood he had collected before, restoring the scene of the shooting.

"What is the identity of the perpetrator?" Brian asked with a frown.

"They are two gangsters." Robert gestured towards the sketch of the murderer's body. "It's called the Blood Knife Gang. They have committed many crimes recently, blocking roads and robbing, and killing seven or eight people."

Baron Wemorell, captain of the queen's guard, added at the side: "Your Majesty, we have compared the wanted posters in detail and asked the police in the town of Moretrowan to identify him. We are sure that he is a gangster."

Baron Breteuil, the Minister of Justice, was very puzzled: "How did they get close to the convoy?"

Robert pointed at the map and said: "He should have slipped over from the farmland to the east, and then took advantage of the French Guard soldiers' negligence and ran into the farmhouse."

He and Vermorel were confused before. The farmland was more than three hundred steps away from the farmhouse, and there were at least ten French Guards soldiers around who could see there.

They talked for a long time, and in the end they could only attribute it to Besonval's negligence, such as loopholes in the patrol arrangement, or lax control, and the soldiers were lazy and slept.

No one would have thought that the attacker was the one who was brought to the scene by someone who was the biggest victim.

Robert continued to report the results of the investigation: "Then the two men killed the soldiers guarding the farmhouse and hid in the attic. When the motorcade passed by, they shot His Highness the Crown Prince with guns.

"The French Guards heard the shots and opened fire on the attic, killing the attackers on the spot."

Baron Vermorel continued: "We have compared the gun bullets, and the conclusion is completely consistent."

The Minister of Justice thought: "Why do these two guys want to assassinate His Highness?"

"Hmph, someone must have paid a lot of money to hire them." Monod snorted coldly, "There are too many conspirators who want to ruin the future of France."

Brian pondered: "Or, they wanted to assassinate Princess Maria, but the distance was too far and the bullets missed."

If it is true as he said, then the murderer's purpose is to provoke a war between the two countries. But no matter what, the consequences of this attack are extremely serious.

Queen Mary closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and said, "It seems that what happened is very clear. Count Robert, please continue to investigate the person behind the scenes."

She looked at Breteuil again: "I want to know now, as the French Guards responsible for protecting the Dauphin's motorcade, especially Besonval, what kind of punishment will they receive?"

Breteuil thought for a while and said after careful consideration: "Your Majesty, I think General Besonval has committed serious dereliction of duty and should be dismissed and exiled."

Thanks to: ATPX-4869 guy for generously tipping this book! The young author is grateful!