After three days of travel by ship, Charles safely arrived in Philadelphia. Instead of going to his own home, Charles secretly went to Franklin's house, holding the child and accompanied by his subordinates.
Franklin, who happened to be home, immediately came out to greet Charles upon hearing of his visit.
Seeing Charles, who looked dusty and clearly just returned from out of town, Franklin immediately greeted him with concern:
"Charles! Did you just return from Pittsburgh? Although I specifically sent someone to find you, there's no need to rush to see me. You could have gone home and rested a bit!"
He then looked at the child in Charles' arms, and an questioning expression immediately appeared on his face.
"Sir President, I did just return from Pittsburgh, and I haven't been home yet. As for rushing to see you, it's not for official business."
Thinking of the trouble he had caused by finding a mistress, which now required his superior's help to resolve, Charles felt a bit embarrassed. But considering the predicament he was in, he still confessed without hesitation.
"It's truly because this matter is very tricky, and I need the guidance and advice of a seasoned and wise person like you to help me handle it!"
"Oh! What is it, tell me?" Franklin looked at the child in Charles' arms and somewhat guessed his intention.
Charles gently lifted the veil covering Lottie's head, revealing her adorable little face to Franklin.
Little Lüdi had been cared for by Charles recently and was already familiar with his embrace. She didn't fuss at all in his arms and even blew bubbles in front of Franklin, making the old sir laugh and praise her sincerely:
"What a lovely child!"
"Haha! Indeed!" As a father, Charles couldn't help but show a hint of pride on his face.
But then his expression darkened. He continued helplessly:
"Benjamin, my dear friend, this is actually my daughter from Pittsburgh. But now I want to bring her home to be raised by Diana and me personally. I just don't know how to tell Diana! What do you think I should do? How should I approach Diana?"
Charles no longer needed to say it explicitly; Franklin naturally understood Charles' meaning.
This adorable child was Charles' illegitimate daughter with his mistress, and now he wanted to bring his illegitimate daughter to meet his wife. This was, of course, a huge problem. Franklin also clearly understood why Charles would come to him for advice. Wasn't it because his own eldest son, William, was also an illegitimate child, whom he had brought home to be raised by his wife and himself, and was even one of the family's formal heirs? Charles was looking for experience, even if it wasn't glorious experience.
"Alas! Charles. If this was trouble you caused before marriage, then you just need to sincerely promise Diana that such a thing will not happen again in the future, and I believe she will definitely accept your apology and accept this child. But now that you already have two children at home, how can you possibly bring another child home?" Franklin was a bit troubled.
Franklin's son, William, was his eldest son. It could be explained as a romantic entanglement inadvertently left before marriage. As long as he promised not to seek out mistresses again, he could obtain his wife's forgiveness. After all, divorce was rare at this time and somewhat stigmatized; most women would rather accept the child and believe their husband's promise than choose the path of divorce. It was based on such a guarantee that Franklin successfully resolved William's problem. Currently, the only method he could think of was naturally this.
But Charles' situation was clearly about having a mistress outside behind his wife's back, so he couldn't use the same trick Franklin had once used. Franklin could already foresee that this would be a very difficult matter to handle.
"Respected sir President, no matter what, you are a wise man with extensive knowledge. I have now lost my rational judgment over this matter. What do you think I should do? Can you give me some advice?" Charles had grown increasingly agitated these past few days, feeling irritable and completely at a loss as to what to do.
"Hmm..." Franklin pondered for a moment. "I think it's best to explain everything clearly to Diana. She is a sensible girl. As long as you promise that such a thing won't happen again, I believe she should accept your apology. Although there will inevitably be some arguments, the child is innocent, and I believe she should also accept this child. If you truly want Diana to accept this child, then quickly confess to her. Finding a few more people to intercede isn't an insurmountable difficulty!"
"This... Is there no other way?" Charles felt this was not a good solution at all, and there was no sign of relaxation on his face.
"Alas! Charles! I believe this is the best solution. Don't worry, I will personally speak on your behalf then. For such matters, only honesty can lead to forgiveness; deception will benefit neither you nor Diana." Franklin consoled him.
Knowing that Franklin had no solution, Charles did not stay long at his house. He merely entrusted him to help persuade Diana, and then immediately hurried by carriage to Washington's home to seek help.
To truly confess to Diana, he had to ask Martha for help. Currently, she was the person who could best influence Diana.
However, when Charles explained the situation, Martha immediately turned hostile and reprimanded Charles, believing that he had wronged Diana, and that even a sincere plea for forgiveness was insufficient to atone for his mistakes.
This was within Charles' expectations, so he humbly accepted Martha's criticism, only finally asking Martha for help, on the grounds that the child was innocent, so that Little Lüdi would not become homeless.
The soft-hearted Martha, upon seeing the angelic Lottie, immediately felt a surge of affection. In the end, she not only agreed to help but also proactively took the child into her care, personally looking after her and ensuring that Diana would at least not neglect Lottie.
However, Martha completely disagreed with Franklin's suggestion that he should fully confess to Diana. She believed that bringing the matter up would not be an honest confession, but rather a torment to Diana'ss happy life. Therefore, she advised Charles not to mention the matter to Diana yet, and to wait until she had taken the child to see Diana and sounded her out.
Charles had lost his composure regarding this matter. Upon hearing Martha's arrangement, he immediately chose to follow her instructions, deciding to completely act according to her wishes.
Washington himself highly valued character, and although such incidents were common, he still felt great regret that it had happened to Charles. Furthermore, he was not a man of many words, so he ultimately declined to come to the earl's castle to help, simply stating that Martha could represent him.
Charles also visited several other familiar and close friends. He subtly entrusted them to speak on his behalf, and only then did he dare to return to the earl's castle in the evening, accompanied by Martha.
Diana was naturally very happy to see Charles and Martha arrive home together. Even with Martha holding an unfamiliar baby girl, she wasn't particularly surprised. After a normal greeting, she looked at Lottie, who was growing increasingly radiant in Martha's arms, and sincerely praised her:
"Whose child is this? She's truly beautiful!"
"Haha! Diana, my dear. Do you want such a beautiful daughter?" Martha interjected with a smile.
"Oh! Is it a girl?" Diana didn't notice the unusual expression on her husband's face beside her and seemed very interested.
"Our two boys at home only cause trouble all day. The younger one is better, he just runs and bites; but the older one, Christian, is simply the devil of the house, disappearing all day long, giving me no peace of mind. Charles doesn't even manage him. I really want a daughter; a quieter girl would be easier to take care of!"
"Haha! That's good, Diana. This girl's name is Lottie, and from now on, she will join your family as your daughter!" Martha said with great sincerity on her face.
"Uh..."
Seeing that Martha did not seem to be joking, Diana'ss face became a little awkward, and she hesitated to ask:
"Dear Martha, are you serious?"
"Of course I'm serious, Diana. Don't you want this child anymore?" Martha deliberately put on a stern face.
"This..." Diana turned her head to Charles in a troubled manner.
Charles, who was nervous nearby, immediately cooperated and said:
"Good! Good! I think this is very good. I also really like this daughter."
Thinking of Martha's previous words, he also agreed with the idea of temporarily concealing the truth.
Although such a truth could not be concealed for long, at least by the time Diana and the child developed an emotional bond, when the truth was revealed, Diana would not vent her anger on the child. As for himself getting a scolding, or even being pinched a few times by Diana, Charles would not mind. As long as Diana was not heartbroken and the child was not harmed, it would be fine.
Seeing her husband's behavior, Diana naturally felt a little unusual, and a hint of suspicion flashed across her face. But she could not have imagined that her husband would conspire with Martha to deceive her, so she only thought that perhaps Charles was dissatisfied that she hadn't given him a daughter, which only strengthened her resolve to take in Lottie as her daughter.
So she immediately turned and agreed to Martha's proposal:
"Dear Martha, if this is truly no problem, I think our family can indeed accept this child, and I promise you that we will treat her as our own daughter!"
"That's good, Diana, quickly hug this poor child. Her parents are not in a formal marital relationship, so their family cannot formally accept her and can only choose to abandon such an angelic child." Martha said, glancing at Charles.
Charles' face showed shame, and he turned his head away helplessly.
Diana was busy taking the child and didn't notice.
"How can there be such irresponsible parents! Whose family is this? If it were me, I would never let such a young child bear responsibility, no matter the reason, they should not choose to abandon her!" Diana said, while playing with Lottie, who was not afraid of strangers.
Charles, standing nearby, felt a rush of shame.
This was still Diana assuming that the child's parents might have a good relationship with Martha, and out of respect for Martha, she didn't curse those parents too harshly.
"Do you really think so?" Martha immediately pressed.
"What?" Diana looked up confused, not understanding why Martha was so persistent with this question.
"Do you really think that family made the wrong choice? That they shouldn't have chosen to abandon the child?" Martha's face held a gentle smile.
"Of course, children definitely cannot be used to bear responsibility!" Diana nodded, confirming her viewpoint.
"Diana, since you have such a tolerant mindset, I won't say more. I hope you treat this child well in the future, and remember what you said today!" Martha looked at Diana, who was beaming with excitement over accepting the child, and couldn't bear to reveal that this was actually her husband's illegitimate daughter.
If Diana were to learn of this matter, it would be hard to say how she would handle Lottie, but she herself would definitely be angry because of her husband's actions, and she would certainly be heartbroken for a long time.
This was for Diana'ss own good, to maintain her current happiness, that she would deceive her this one time! Martha comforted herself.
Charles, upon hearing Diana'ss words, was also moved. He walked to Diana'ss side and gently embraced her and the child.
This made Diana, who was too shy to be intimate in front of Martha, blush. She glared at Charles, quickly broke free, and lowered her head to tease Little Lüdi in her arms:
"Good girl! My dear daughter, you'll call me Mama later!"
What Charles had initially considered a major problem was ultimately resolved very simply with the help of Martha, this kind-hearted person.
Lottie integrated into the family very quickly; all the baby equipment that Little George had just started using was readily available.
Charles and Diana specifically bought some new items, so there was no need to specially purchase anything else.
As for the servants, they had long gained experience from taking care of the two little ancestors in the house, so looking after the relatively younger Lottie was an easy task for them.
However, Little Charles, who was already lively and running around, was very interested in his sister Lottie and often Godfreyered at Diana's feet, pestering him to hold his little sister, which always earned him a scolding from Diana.
For his daughter Lottie, Diana indeed fulfilled his promise to Mrs. Martha, raising her completely as his own daughter, even doting on her three times more than his biological son.
Diana, like every mother, enjoyed making clothes for her children.
She had always made boys' clothes for Little Charles and Little George, feeling that it greatly constrained her creative inspiration.
Now that she finally had a daughter, she immediately embraced her love for beauty and created a large number of pretty and fancy clothes.
In fact, various ready-to-wear stores already existed at this time, but they generally only catered to ordinary adults who needed them.
Children's clothes, regardless of the family's wealth, were primarily handmade by family members.
Charles had once considered starting a clothing company, but later found that it was difficult to change the mindset of ordinary people.
Unless they were dual-income earners or those unable to make their own clothes, most people would not be willing to buy clothes from a ready-to-wear store.
Truly wealthy people, on the other hand, preferred to hire specialized tailors for custom-made garments.
Ready-to-wear clothes were only purchased by those who were traveling and urgently needed clothing.
The emergence of some industries and the development of social productivity are greatly intertwined.
It wasn't until the industrial society, when a large number of common people entered factories, that their increasing demand for ready-made clothing spurred the development of the ready-made garment industry.
As for the so-called upper class, supply and demand remained the same, so they still preferred custom-made clothes from tailors.
The traditional concepts passed down among them were truly beyond the comprehension of ordinary people.
With Little Lottie's peaceful integration into the family, Charles, while relieved and gratified, also had to refocus his attention on his work.
First, he visited President Franklin, who had summoned him back.
Although the old President ultimately didn't help, Charles first thanked him for his help yesterday.
"Charles! Since the matter has been resolved this way, let it be!
However, the election is now at a point where we must take full action.
Whether it's the election for the House of Representatives or the Presidential electoral college, the process of campaigning and canvassing is about to begin.
As the Chairman of the Republican Party and also the Speaker of the House, you should quickly step forward to preside over affairs!" Franklin said.
"Of course.
I have now returned to Philadelphia, and I will naturally work according to the procedure.
Regarding the election, as long as everyone cooperates, we should be able to achieve very good results." Charles immediately nodded in confirmation.
Franklin was the President and also a candidate for the next Presidential term, so the election naturally required his cooperation.
"Don't worry about that; there are no problems within the party, and I will cooperate with you unconditionally!" Franklin immediately nodded to express his stance.
"That's good!" Charles smiled.
"However, there's one more thing I must tell you.
News from France indicates that, according to their information, Louis XVI was originally scheduled to convene the Estates-General in July.
This happens to be during the busiest time of our election, and by then, the current members of the House of Representatives will largely need to leave office and suspend their work.
Under such circumstances, how should we handle any potential emergencies?" Franklin asked.
"Haha! Mr. President, I believe this should be the power of the Federal Government.
Neither the Senate nor the House of Representatives of Congress can interfere too much in this matter!" Charles said with a smile, shaking his head.
"Regardless, this still requires authorization from Congress!" Franklin's objective was naturally not truly to make members of the House of Representatives stop campaigning to manage government affairs.
"That shouldn't be a problem.
I will propose and pass an authorization bill before the House of Representatives adjourns, to facilitate the Federal Government's administrative operations in this regard during the congressional recess." Charles didn't see any issue with this.
"Haha! You're so easy to talk to!" Franklin smiled with relief.
If this matter were brought before Jefferson and Adams, it would certainly require a lot of persuasion.
"Personally, I am very curious about the series of actions the Federal Government has taken previously, and I really want to know what preparations we have made to deal with the upcoming events in France!" Charles also had some questions.
After Charles and Jefferson reported the situation in France to the Federal Government, the Federal Government's response was naturally not just passive 대응.
In fact, in addition to passively monitoring the developments in France, the Federal Government also took some proactive measures.
Due to the different powers involved, Charles only understood the situation regarding his invitation of famous French scholars to America; he knew very little about other proactive measures.
Now, Franklin rarely took the initiative to ask for his opinion, so he had the intention of testing the waters.
"Haha! Actually, we haven't done anything special; we just re-established contact with Mr. Thomas Paine!" Franklin smiled very proudly.
This was definitely an unexpected victory.
Thomas Paine, the author of "common sense," whose status in America was not particularly high, became one of the leaders of the French Revolution movement after arriving in France, becoming the first American to, in turn, help the French Revolution.
After the Federal Government contacted him, he did not forget his homeland; on the contrary, he showed great warmth towards these Americans and proactively offered to help when needed.
It was with his help that the Federal Government received a lot of inside information from the French revolutionaries, enabling them to constantly grasp the development of the situation in France.
Charles naturally welcomed such good news.
At the same time, he tried to propose:
"Can Mr. Paine try harder to help us establish formal relations with French revolutionary organizations, to facilitate future contact and communication!"
Charles, who anticipated that the revolutionaries would come to power during the French Revolution, wanted to befriend the eccentric "revolutionary leaders" in advance.
"This is simple; those revolutionaries in France all want to befriend the nascent United States.
They want us, the first country to emerge from a revolution, to help them with their revolution.
However, we are currently also on good terms with the government of Louis XVI, and it is not a good idea to associate with those revolutionaries at this time." Franklin shook his head in disagreement.
Charles smiled slightly.
This was still influenced by traditional thinking, believing that these French revolutionaries were unlikely to succeed completely, and failing to clearly realize how massive the French Revolution would be and how smoothly it would develop!
Actually, to say that the French Revolution succeeded so simply, luck indeed played a significant role.
However, although it was a revolution like America's, France was situated on Europe, surrounded by feudal kingdoms.
Even if the fruits of the revolution were not usurped, they would naturally be immediately extinguished by anti-"revolutionary" feudal forces.
Considering that this revolutionary government would anyway be short-lived and chaotic, since Franklin was unwilling to develop relations with them, Charles didn't care much.
In fact, taking advantage of the situation was what America could and needed to do most right now.
From its inception, that revolutionary government had been jointly suppressed by various European powers.
Truly befriending the revolutionary government would not bring America and Charles much practical benefit.
On the contrary, taking advantage of the European kingdoms being busy suppressing this revolutionary government to seize their territories in America was the most pragmatic approach.
If it were Napoleon's government, Charles would certainly fully encourage and ally with him, and then reap as many benefits as possible from Napoleon's European war.
But Napoleon would not come to power for another decade or so, and Napoleon himself was just a young man, so it was a bit too early to talk about these things.
So, when Franklin disagreed, Charles gave up.
"Mr. President, regarding the Presidential election, as the Republican Party's candidate, how are your preparations coming along?" Charles changed the subject, returning to the election.
"Haha! As the Republican Party's candidate, I still stand by what I just said: I am willing to fully cooperate with the Republican Party Chairman's action plan in the campaign!" Franklin looked at Charles with a smile.
"Uh..." Charles shook his head helplessly.
The main reason was that in the last Presidential election, he had come up with so many strategies and action plans that Franklin and the others had pushed the responsibility of electing the President onto him.
In reality, he only had a few tricks up his sleeve, and once they were used, he had no new ideas, so how could he come up with many new ones?
However, it was fortunate that the election method had been revised this year, and some tactics that could not be used in the last election could now be employed.
So Charles did not decline but patiently discussed his opinions on this election with Franklin.
In every election, no one can claim a sure victory.
All sorts of unexpected events can happen at any time.
Although Charles possessed election methods beyond his era, and the Republican Party was far stronger than other political parties, Charles never thought that this election would be 100% successful.
Even with a nine-out-of-ten chance, that single unstable factor could lead to complete failure.
Therefore, in this election, he still gave his all.
A seasoned and steady person like Franklin naturally also worried about unexpected outcomes, so he likewise hoped that Charles could use all his strategies.
"Charles! If you have any good ideas or thoughts, you can absolutely go ahead with them.
Although I am the Presidential candidate, I completely trust you when it comes to the election!" Franklin said with a smile.
He certainly had his own campaign methods, but Charles, as the Chairman of the Republican Party, controlled the party's machinery, making it naturally more convenient to use that power.
Moreover, this election also involved a re-election for the Federal Congress' House of Representatives, which also required Charles, as the party chairman, to provide overall leadership.
Franklin's statement now merely avoided multiple leaders in the election, truly entrusting the entire election power to Charles.
"Actually, I've always had an idea that I wanted to implement, but I felt the time wasn't ripe.
However, now that we are only a few months away from the opportune moment, I believe I can propose it!
Since Mr. President trusts me so much, I will do my utmost!" Charles said, full of anticipation.
"Oh!" Franklin's voice carried a hint of doubt, but he didn't actually voice his question.
Having just said he would give Charles full authority, it would naturally be awkward to ask a skeptical question now.
Charles also didn't say much; after bidding farewell to Franklin, he naturally went to arrange election matters.
In fact, the main things that could be done for the election were still the old routine: overwhelming advertising campaigns, continuous propaganda speeches, mass rallies, promoting Franklin and the Republican Party, and so on.
This time, there wasn't much new in terms of methods; everyone had already witnessed them in the last Presidential election, and even during last year's senatorial re-election, the Democratic Party and the Federalist Party had already copied these election methods.
Now, the debates between various political parties in newspapers before each election were also the biggest selling point of every newspaper.
Charles' slightly innovative approach was that his propaganda concept this time was more advanced and avant-garde.
He specifically applied the famous quote, "America for Americans," claiming it as the mission of the Republican Party.
Of course, it wasn't the right time to truly say this phrase yet, so Charles claimed it was the voice of an ordinary American, merely quoted by him.
But this very sentence caused a huge stir during the propaganda process.
Everyone inherently possesses a sense of collective honor and national honor.
"America for Americans," this powerful voice full of self-esteem, naturally garnered support from many people, but it also drew refutations from many conservatives and pacifists.
In fact, the phrase "America for Americans" itself could be understood as either "the Americas for Americans" or "the United States for Americans," and these different interpretations naturally led to different debates.