Under Yu Li's guidance, I opened the metal box and carefully held the parchment scroll. Despite the ten-hour flight and thousands of kilometers traveled, the parchment was unharmed. I was about to unfold it with my hands, but the professor stopped me and had already put on a pair of special gloves.
Yu Li explained to me, "Hands have sweat and bacteria that can damage artifacts, and ancient bacteria may also be present in artifacts. So, try not to touch them with your hands."
In Orleans, the professor held a magnifying glass and carefully opened the parchment himself. He was very cautious, following the standard procedures of an archaeologist. He checked the outside of the parchment with a magnifying glass, then slowly lifted a corner, checked again with the magnifying glass, and only then slowly unfolded the parchment.
Finally, the text on the parchment was revealed. In the soft light that wouldn't harm the artifact, the professor scrutinized it carefully with a magnifying glass, and Yu Li leaned in as well. They only read a small section before I reminded them, "I'm sorry, please study it carefully after we finish the formalities tomorrow."
After hearing Yu Li's translation, the professor reluctantly nodded and carefully rolled up the parchment again, placing it back into the metal box. He then instructed me to keep the parchment safe tonight and to avoid any mishaps.
Yu Li then took me to my lodgings. When we arrived at the stairwell, he didn't go down but instead took me up another floor. I immediately became nervous and thought to myself, "Yu Li, you're not going to have me stay in this building, are you?"
"Sorry, the visiting scholar dormitories are all full, but there are a few vacant rooms on the top floor of the history department," he explained.
While I was thinking about it, Yu Li had already taken me to the top floor. In a long corridor, several ghostly lights shone, and the wooden floor creaked beneath our feet, as if we had gone back in time to Paris or London a hundred years ago.
Yu Li looked embarrassed, apologizing to me several times. But I thought to myself, since I'm already on a free trip to Europe, I might as well stay in a cheap hotel room for free; it's not a bad deal.
At the end of the corridor, Yu Li took out the key and opened a door, handing me the key and asking, "What do you think, is it okay?"
After the room was lit up, I realized that it was quite spacious, at least 30 square meters. Apart from the large bed and table and chairs, there were no other furnishings, but there was a bathroom with a shower. The room was very clean, out of step with the outside environment; it must have been recently tidied up.
"Do you know that many famous people have stayed in the rooms on this top floor? They say that when the young Maupassant first arrived in Paris, he stayed in this room," Yu Li told me.
I laughed at myself, "Looks like when I get back home, I'll have to write an article called 'Living with Maupassant.'"
"The room is all set. You should rest now, and I'll come find you tomorrow morning," said Yu Li before bidding farewell. Alone in the spacious room, I looked out the window to see the Parisian night. The night at Voltaire University was eerily quiet, with hardly any lights visible, just the outlines of a few buildings lurking in the darkness.
It must be early morning on the 11th in Beijing now. I hurriedly called my family in Shanghai and then collapsed onto the bed. Good night, Maupassant.
As midnight arrived in Paris, thousands of kilometers away in Shanghai, it was already morning. The dawn light seeped through the window and shone on Lin Hai's eyelids, making him open his eyes groggily. It took him several minutes to fully wake up and realize that he was lying on the small attic bed in the old house.
Suddenly, Lin Hai remembered what happened last night. In the darkness of the Western Art Museum, he saw Marguerite walking out of the oil painting, and then a ghost named Nochadamas was coming to get them. He brought Marguerite out of the museum and took her to this old house.
Was she downstairs in the attic now?
No, Lin Hai shook his head vigorously. How could that be true? How could characters from a painting come to life? How could there be ghosts in the museum? He pinched his thigh hard and convinced himself that it was all just a dream, a nightmare he had while sleeping on the attic bed.
Only this explanation made sense. Marguerite didn't exist, or at least only existed in France more than four hundred years ago.
Finally, Lin Hai let out a long breath and relaxed his tense body, then slowly climbed down the attic stairs. "Bonjour!"
A soft female voice sounded from behind him, it was a French word meaning "hello". Lin Hai was so startled that he almost jumped up, and quickly turned around to see a pair of translucent emerald eyes.
This was a real dream.
Margaret was smiling at him, her hair draped over one side of her body, shining black like silk. The velvet shawl had been removed, revealing smooth skin under her dress.
Looking into her eyes, Lin Hai could no longer deceive himself. Reality was so cruel, everything that happened last night was real, and the living Margaret was standing right in front of him.
He stood there foolishly for a moment, and finally managed to squeeze out a sentence in French: "Did you sleep well last night?"
"Thank you, I slept very well."
Lin Hai thought to himself, so she really needs to sleep, maybe there's a distinction between day and night in the painting too. He didn't know what else to say, the Margaret in front of him was really charming and captivating, she wasn't something from this world...that's right, she wasn't from this world, she was a beautiful ghost created by the painter's brush four hundred years ago. Perhaps the real Margaret in history wasn't as beautiful as in many famous oil paintings. Many figures in famous paintings actually have elements of "re-creation" by the painters.
It was only then that he realized he hadn't washed his face yet, but he had already bought a towel from the convenience store last night. He shyly hid in the bathroom and quickly washed up, noticing the signs of use left on the towel.
After finishing up, Lin Hai hurriedly ran out and reminded Margaret to wait for him obediently. He had gone out to buy breakfast, and although Margaret probably didn't eat human food, he bought two servings anyway - milk and cake, according to Western habits.
Back at the old house, Lin Hai brought the breakfast to Margaret and tentatively said, "I don't know if you need these things, if you don't, just tell me."
Margaret looked at the breakfast in front of her and said softly, "I'm not a fairy, you know."
If she wasn't a fairy, then she must be a ghost.
She was born in the 16th century AD. Even if she was still alive now, she would be over 450 years old. Are there really "people" like this in the world?
However, although she is a ghost, once she comes to the human world, she must have the same desires as humans, including appetite.
Margaret slowly picked up the milk and drank it gracefully.
Lin Hai stared at this scene, suddenly thinking of the beautiful female ghosts in "Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio" who came to the human world and hid their true identities to live with their beloved men. Often, foolish men would only discover the truth after many years.
Fortunately, Lin Hai already knew who she was.
Her breakfast manners were very elegant, undoubtedly from the court etiquette of over 400 years ago, which was really out of place in this old house. Finally, Lin Hai couldn't resist anymore and sat across from her to eat breakfast. He thought of how his ancestors had not held any high positions for several generations, and now he was having a meal face-to-face with a princess and queen. He felt like it was still a dream.
After finishing breakfast, Lin Hai realized that it was Monday and he had classes in the morning. What should Margaret do if he left for school now? He couldn't make it back by noon, so Lin Hai ran out again to buy a lot of French baguettes, as well as some essential items and water.
He placed the baguettes on the table and said, "If you want to eat something, you can eat these. I think you won't find them strange. Remember, don't leave here, I'm going to school now, and don't open the door for anyone until I come back."
Margaret nodded quickly and said, "I understand. And, Norsedamus must be looking for us too. How could I dare to run out? What if he catches me again?"
Norsedamus again? He was so frightening in Margaret's mouth. Who exactly was he? Lin Hai didn't have time to think about it and gave her some more instructions before quickly leaving with his backpack.
He ran out of the alley with his head down, and it seemed that no one recognized him. No one would have thought that there was a French queen from over 400 years ago hiding in their house.
An hour later, Lin Hai arrived at school.
The morning class was on French literature, and the teacher was still Mr. Wenger, a French national with his stylish chestnut-colored hair. He stood on the podium and talked, occasionally mixing in a few words in Chinese. It was said that he had been in China for several years.
The class was about Baudelaire's "The Flowers of Evil". When late Linhai entered the classroom, Professor Wenger had already talked about the publication of the "The Flowers of Evil" poetry collection. This collection was controversial at the time of publication and was attacked and defamed, even facing court sanctions.
Wenger slowly said, "The collection is divided into several parts: 'Spleen and Ideal' describes the poet's material poverty and spiritual pain; 'Parisian Scenes' turns the gaze from the inner world to the external, observing Paris's colorful world; 'Wine', the paradise in the wine glass is so illusory; 'The Flowers of Evil' delves into sin to experience pleasure and pain, but only finds despair and self-hatred; 'Revolt', the poet questions God because of disgust for the surrounding world; 'Death' expresses the poet's seeking comfort and liberation in death."
Usually, Linhai would quickly immerse himself in Professor Wenger's lecture, but now his mind was full of Margaret. Even if Baudelaire personally climbed out of the grave to read "The Flowers of Evil," he could not concentrate.
After class, just as Linhai was about to leave, he was stopped by Professor Wenger.
Wenger smiled and said, "Linhai, what's on your mind lately? You seem to have something on your mind."
Ah, he was seen through. Linhai was nervous and couldn't bring himself to tell the truth because he knew no one would believe such a thing and would think he was crazy.
Linhai thought for a while and finally came up with a roundabout topic, "Professor Wenger, I recently watched the movie 'Queen Margot', have you seen it?"
"Of course I have. It's a French movie, and the original novel was written by Alexandre Dumas, and the lead actress was also Isabelle Adjani."
At this point, there were few people left in the classroom, and the last student who said goodbye to Wenger had also left. Linhai nodded and said, "I'm very interested in Queen Margaret, what kind of person was she in history?"
"Margaret is a controversial figure in history. Her father was the king of France, and her mother came from the famous Italian Medici family. Her three older brothers successively inherited the French throne, but they were all short-lived. After all the men in the Valois family died out, Margaret's husband, King Henry of Navarre, inherited the French throne."
"Henry was also the founding monarch of the Bourbon dynasty, right?"
"Yes, he was known as Henry IV in history, and was also a famous monarch in French history. He unified the divided country and issued the 'Edict of Nantes' to guarantee freedom of religion for Protestants. Do you remember Alexandre Dumas' 'The Three Musketeers'? There was a weak king named Louis XIII in it, who was Henry IV's son."
Lin Hai suddenly had some doubts: "Since Margaret was Henry IV's queen, isn't she also the mother of Louis XIII?"
"No, Margaret never truly loved her husband. In fact, she looked down on Henry after their marriage and they had been separated for a long time. They were already estranged and never had children. After Henry IV succeeded to the French throne, Margaret was abandoned by her husband. She lost her position as the Queen of France and practiced with a golden reliquary in Notre Dame. She finally died of illness in Notre Dame."
Now Lin Hai understood that Margaret always loved La Mole, she never left any children, and her later life was lonely and miserable - she was a remarkable woman who came to the world with great momentum, but left the world quietly and unknown.
"After abandoning Margaret, did Henry IV remarry?"
"Yes, but what is puzzling is that Henry IV's second wife was Mary de' Medici, a member of his enemy, the Medici family. However, Margaret also had Medici blood. Henry IV and his new queen had a son, who later inherited the throne as Louis XIII. However, like his political opponents, Henry IV did not have a good ending. He was assassinated in 1610 at the age of 57."
When talking to students, Mr. Wenger always tried to speak slowly so that they could hear his pronunciation clearly. However, Lin Hai's French level was quite good, so he had no problem understanding even if he spoke fast. He thought for a moment and said, "This history is too complicated. I'm afraid even the French themselves would find it difficult to understand, right?"
"Yes. But I think the most pitiful person among all these people is Margaret's mother, Catherine de' Medici. Although she was a cruel and ruthless woman, she watched her sons die one by one. The most dramatic example was when she wanted to use a poisoned book to kill Margaret's husband, but King Charles IX took the book to read and, as a result, her son-in-law was not poisoned but her own son died from it. The final outcome is extremely ironic: when all of Catherine's sons were dead, the throne of France could only fall into the hands of her enemy and son-in-law, Margaret's husband Henry."
"Mr. Wenger, can you talk more about Margaret? Why is she such a controversial figure in history? Is she really like the one portrayed in movies?"
At this point, Lin Hai thought of Margaret in the old house. What kind of woman was she?
Mr. Wenger smiled mysteriously and said, "You mean her promiscuous life when she was young? That's just a legend that people talk about. The history books of the past were written by men who preferred to believe that Margaret was a loose woman. The Margaret we see today is actually the one portrayed in novels and movies, and may not be the real historical Margaret."
"But at least her story with La Mole is true."
Wenger shrugged noncommittally. "Who knows? Unless she crawls out of her grave and tells you herself."
Hearing this, Lin Hai couldn't help but shudder - she had already crawled out, not from her grave, but from the oil painting in the old house.
He smiled bitterly to himself, suddenly reminded of Sadako crawling out of the television set. "Wenger, then you don't know her either?"
"That's right, in fact, no one really knows Margaret, even in her own time she was a very mysterious woman, and even her husband may not have truly understood her."
"A very mysterious woman? What do you mean?"
"Yes, Margaret was said to be the most beautiful woman in all of France, and even all of Europe at that time. Many people whispered that her beauty came from her mother's witchcraft."
"You mean her mother, Queen Catherine?"
Wenger nodded slightly. "Yes, Queen Catherine was from the powerful and ancient Medici family of Italy, which wielded great influence in European politics at the time. It is said that she was fascinated by witchcraft and secretly associated with gypsy witches or Arab magicians, and even learned some kind of mysterious magic to eliminate her political enemies."
"Witches? Magicians?" Lin Hai suddenly thought of the ghost from last night... could it have been him? So he blurted out, "Is there someone called Nostradamus?"
"Nostradamus?" Wenger nodded with interest. "He's too famous, haven't you heard of the book Les Propheties? It's a famous book of prophecies, somewhat like Liu Bowen's 'Song of the Cake'."
Of course, Wenger had no idea who Liu Bowen was, but he nodded vaguely. "Yes, Nostradamus was a sixteenth-century Frenchman who was said to be able to accurately predict political events in France. More importantly, he also predicted the life and death of members of the royal family, which caught the attention of Queen Catherine, who summoned him to Paris and secretly studied prophecy and various forms of magic from him."
"So Margaret must have known Nostradamus too?"
"It seems so. According to legend, Nostradamus visited the court many times in his later years, and at that time Margaret was still a princess of France." Wenger suddenly looked at his watch and patted Lin Hai's shoulder. "Any more questions?"
Lin Hai felt embarrassed and answered with his head down. "I'm sorry, Wenger, for taking up so much of your time."
After Wenger left the classroom, Lin Hai sat alone for a long time. The ghost named "Nostradamus" from last night was actually the author of the extraordinary book Les Propheties, a world-famous prophet. How could an ordinary college student like him contend with Nostradamus?
He spent the rest of the afternoon at school, feeling as if every day was dragging on endlessly. He couldn't stop thinking about last night and Margaret in the old house, wondering what she was doing right now.
Before four o'clock, Lin Hai ran out of school and went to KFC across the street, buying two combo meals plus breakfast for tomorrow.
The bus back to the old house was the latest model, equipped with a mobile TV screen. Lin Hai managed to grab a seat right in front of the screen facing the back door.