Margaret's Secret

Chapter 8 The Mysterious Sheepskin (6)
Just now I saw the picture you sent me - Middle French on those parchments.I don't know where you got these pictures, but it really shocked me, because I think these words on the parchment may be related to an important secret in French history.

You must be very surprised, right?If this parchment book was not forged by later generations, it is indeed a cultural relic from the [-]th century based on the text seen in the photo.I learned Middle French two years ago, and I can roughly decipher the words in the parchment.The beginning of the parchment book states the identity of the author, who is the French king Louis IX in the thirteenth century.At this time I was already stunned, because the manuscripts of the French kings in the Middle Ages have almost never been found.What followed surprised me even more, because in this roll of parchment, it actually wrote about the experience of Louis IX leading the Crusades!
Louis IX was born in 1214 A.D. He led the Crusades twice and landed in Egypt for the first time in 1249. However, he suffered a disastrous defeat when he marched into Alexandria. He himself was captured by the Muslim army and imprisoned in Egypt. After many years, he returned to China in 1254.The second time was in 1270, when he led an army to land in Tunisia, North Africa, where he died of illness in August of the same year.

The life of Louis IX is full of legends, but the most interesting thing is the so-called "Louis IX Mystery" - it is said that when he was captured in Egypt, he discovered a major secret. As for what the secret is, With his sudden death in Tunisia, he was buried forever in the desert. No one has known about it for 700 years, and it has become an eternal mystery in history.

In this roll of parchment, Louis IX wrote about his own experience of being captured in Egypt, and these contents are likely to be related to the "mystery of Louis IX"!For hundreds of years, people have speculated about the "Mystery of Louis IX", saying that this secret may be of great importance. Along with this secret, many mysterious events have occurred, and there are many scholars and explorers. He died unexpectedly because of the secret, and so far no one has been able to decipher it.

As you know, I am currently studying for a Ph.D. in history at the University of Voltaire in Paris. My supervisor, Professor Orléans, is a well-known scholar in the study of French medieval history. He has always been very interested in the "Mystery of Louis IX".I will show the pictures of the parchments to Professor Orleans as soon as possible, and he will definitely make a more accurate judgment.

Is your phone always on?I will call you anytime.

your friend Yu Li
After reading this E-mail from Paris, my desire to explore immediately boiled again. It was the Crusades and the "Mystery of Louis IX". It seems that there is really a big secret waiting for me?
This parchment is so important, but how could it be found in Lin Hai's old house?And what Lin Hai told me, the ghost haunting him, is it his imagination?

Now the story has just begun, and the clues at hand are still a mess, I don't know what else to do.I have been thinking about this for a whole day, lying in front of the computer and searching a lot of information about Louis IX, which is roughly the same as what Yu Li said in the E-mail.

As for my relationship with Yu Li, that's a long story.

I have known Yu Li for more than five years. At that time, I just started surfing the Internet. I was basically a novice, and I was often smashed on the BBS.

I once met Yu Li in the "Under the Banyan Tree" community. At that time, his online name was "Tamonas Urianshida", which was the name of the most famous magician in Europe in the [-]th century. It is said that he Proficient in all kinds of witchcraft, but also immortal.The reason why Yu Li used this screen name is because he once taught himself witchcraft, of course it is not known whether it is true or not.At first, Yu Li and I smashed bricks with each other in the forum, and later became friends who boasted to each other. What's more, we were in the same city, so we often went out to eat together.Yu Li was three years older than me. At that time, he was still a master student in the university, majoring in ancient European history.

Because we are already bosom friends on the BBS, and we both have the same interests and hobbies, so we have become friends who can talk about everything.Later Yu Li went to study in France, and I was the one who saw him off at the airport before leaving.After he arrived in France, he sent me an E-mail almost every week. We kept in touch all the time. Except that we couldn't meet for dinner, it felt no different from being in China.Every year when Yu Li returns to China during the winter and summer vacations, he would come to play with me. He is not as shabby as other foreign students, and he has always spent a lot of money, which makes us brothers in China very envious.

Thinking about it, it's already night, the time difference between China and France is seven hours, it should be afternoon in Paris now, I don't know what Yu Li is doing.Suddenly my phone rang, and Yu Li was displayed on the screen. I immediately picked up the phone and heard a voice from tens of thousands of kilometers away.

Sure enough, it was Yu Li's voice, still with that hoarse voice, and he said excitedly on the phone: "Brother, I have shown the picture of the parchment to Professor Orleans, and he is also very interested, thinking it is a rare treasure. It is worthy of in-depth study. The professor also invites you to come to France and bring the original parchment along with him. He will authenticate the parchment and decipher the rest of the text."

Want me to go to France?I almost thought I heard it wrong: "Can you say it again?"

"I'm not joking. Professor Orléans really invited you to come to France and bring the parchment with you. This is very important to the professor. He has been studying the 'Mystery of Louis IX' all his life, and now he finally has such an opportunity. Maybe It will change the fate of many people, so he will do whatever it takes."

"Change the fate of many people? What do you mean?"

Yu Li's hoarse voice trembled suddenly: "Don't ask, you will know when you arrive in France."

At this time, I didn't care about the international long-distance phone bill: "I would like to ask you the most important question. If I come to France, who will pay for it?"

"You don't have to worry about this. Professor Orleans has already stated that all your expenses for coming to France, including air tickets, board and lodging, will be borne by our University of Voltaire. He has a large amount of special research funding, which has been submitted to the school board for approval. Yes. Our school will send you a formal invitation, and the visa and air ticket will be processed through the Sino-French Cultural Exchange Center. Professor Orleans is very anxious and hopes to see you as soon as possible.”

No matter who hears these words, they will be tempted, although I am still not at ease, because this incident happened so suddenly, I was completely unprepared.However, thinking of the great opportunity of a free European tour, it would be super stupid not to go, so I said: "Yu Li, I can promise you this matter. But the parchment book does not belong to me, I have to wait until I get it The parchment will answer you."

"Okay, anyway, the invitation has been sent out, and the visa will be processed soon. I believe we will meet again at Charles de Gaulle Airport." The long long-distance call finally ended, and I put down the phone and let out a long breath.

If Yu Li said that yesterday, I would have thought it was an April Fool's Day joke, but today I have to believe it.I used to think that Paris was very far away, but now it is almost in front of me. I opened the pictures stored in the computer, and there was a picture in it that Yu Li sent to me from France. the gloomy skies of Paris.

What secrets are hidden under that distant sky?

Pudong International Airport.

At 10:35 in the morning, I got on the Air France flight, and I could see the sunlit tarmac through the porthole of the Airbus cabin.I felt the plane moving slowly, and the marking line on the apron was also slowly receding. After turning two long circles, the acceleration of the Airbus was getting bigger and bigger, and it left the ground almost instantly.Although my ears are very uncomfortable, my eyes are still staring out of the window. The wings have passed the ground high, leaving the huge airport behind.

Whenever at this moment, I think of Dick Cowboy's "Thirty Thousand Feet": "Climb, speed pushes me to the back of the chair, blurred city, slowly flying out of my sight..."

Looking at the increasingly smaller Jiangnan land under the plane, I suddenly thought of the night of April Fool's Day ten days ago. Fate is so strange, and a few accidents can change a lot.

At this moment, the tin box is being hidden in my travel bag, and the parchment is lying quietly inside.A week ago, after receiving an invitation from the University of Voltaire in Paris, I immediately asked Lin Hai out and explained the situation to him, hoping that he would hand over the parchment to me and take it to France for identification and research. Perhaps it can help him solve many mysteries and free him from the fear he currently encounters.

But Lin Hai didn't agree immediately, he also knew the value of this parchment, not to mention that it was found in his old house, maybe it was passed down from his ancestors.I also understand Lin Hai's worry. After all, he just met me. What if I take the parchment for myself?So I proposed the second plan, that is, I gave Lin Hai the opportunity to go to Paris and asked him to bring the parchment for identification.But Lin Hai immediately vetoed this plan. He said that the ghosts were always around him and could kill him at any time. Now he dare not go out easily, let alone go to France, which is thousands of miles away.

In the end, the two of us came to an agreement. Let’s go to the notary office for notarization to prove that Lin Hai lent me the parchment. I must return the parchment to him within one month.After the notarization was done and the photos were taken and saved for file, Lin Hai finally handed over the parchment to me, but he was still a little worried, and told me that no accidents would happen, otherwise he would be sorry for his ancestors.Of course I understand his good intentions, and I swear to God that I will use my life to protect this scroll of parchment.

At the same time, with the help of the University of Voltaire in Paris and the help of the Sino-French Cultural Exchange Center in Beijing, my visa was completed in the fastest time, and all other procedures were also very smooth, even the air ticket was helped by them. I ordered it.

Incredibly, in less than ten days, I was on a flight to France.I looked at the seat next to me. A big fat foreigner was dozing off, and a beautiful Air France stewardess was pushing a small cart.At this moment, there are clouds outside the porthole, and the Airbus is roaring westward. In more than ten hours, Paris will be trampled under my feet!
As for that ancient secret, let fate unravel it.

(End of this chapter)