The banquet in the Hall of Mirrors had already passed three rounds of drinking, and most of the guests had a faint flush on their faces like King Louis.

The maid in the back garden lit the coal lamps in the garden with a ladder, and the flowers and leaves swaying in the evening breeze under the orange light also reflected in the mirror hall with the lights, making the guests feel as if they were in the back garden.

Of course, at this moment, it is estimated that not many people in the Hall of Mirrors can calm down and enjoy this wonder, and they are all shocked by King Louis's generous reward for Lawrence.

The faces of the Duke of Richelieu and Lord Mopp were even more ugly, and both of them knew very well that with the blessing of the two identities of the royal tax collector and the first attendant of the crown prince, the Bonaparte was no longer the object of their calculations.

Although Lawrence's power and background are still very small compared to the Duke of Richelieu, the Duke of Richelieu also admits that this kid must be taken seriously in the future.

"Then again..."

Lord Mopp pursed his lips and whispered with a little apprehension:

"This shouldn't have any impact on the plans for a while, right?"

The Duke of Richelieu secretly observed Louis XV's face, then shook his head slightly and said:

"Probably not, and if that Bonaparte boy had met, he might still be able to use both of these identities."

"I hope so." Justice Mopp nodded lightly.

...

"You've really made a good deal, it's much more useful than a fictitious earl."

On the other side, the Duke of Choiseul also whispered to Lawrence with a smile.

Now, the relationship between the two men was not as simple as negotiating a treaty of Corsica's submission to France, but the close relationship between Lawrence and the royal family alone was enough to make the Duke of Choiseul take him seriously.

"To be honest, I didn't expect King Louis to be so generous." Lawrence said, shaking his head twice.

"I don't think it's just because of Kang, the king, although he doesn't know how to govern, is not ignorant of politics."

The Duke of Choiseul tightened his smile and said solemnly:

"I am afraid that he really took a fancy to your talent and loyalty, and hoped that you would become the right and left hand of the future king, so he specially appointed you as the first attendant to the crown prince. You must know that there are many official positions at the same level, and the king must have an ulterior motive in choosing this position. ”

Lawrence nodded approvingly in agreement with the Duke of Choiseul.

After all, Louis XV must have known that he didn't have many years left, and the current crown prince was only sixteen years old, which was already the time for those who were ambitious monarchs to start to emerge, but the current crown prince was obviously not that kind of monarch, and he had not shown any special talent.

Louis XV should also be relieved of this grandson with weak political roots, and wanted to take advantage of his reign to finalize a set of auxiliary left teams for him.

And although Lawrence was very close to the Duke of Choiseul, in the eyes of Louis XV, Lawrence had only just come to France, and he was not like the Duke of Choiseul and the Duke of Richelieu, who had already formed a huge interest group, so it was safe to put such a person next to the crown prince.

"Then wouldn't I become the future minister of Tuogu."

Lawrence smiled wryly and joked with the Duke of Choiseul.

"That's not a long way off." The Duke of Choiseul laughed twice and said:

"The king probably just wants you to stay as a close attendant to the crown prince, after all, your act of sacrificing your life to save the crown prince has proven your loyalty."

Lawrence smiled and shrugged, but did not reply, just silently said in his heart:

"Then I'm afraid I'm going to disappoint the old king..."

...

The singing and dancing in the Hall of Mirrors continues.

Although the dishes at the Royal Banquet are very rich and delicious, no one should be here for the food.

The same was true of King Louis, who did not pay attention to the feast on the table, but always smiled and chatted with the guests at the long table.

Soon, after finishing his chat with the Duke of Richelieu, King Louis turned his soft gaze to the Lord Mopp next to him.

This staunch defender of royal power made a deep impression on King Louis, and his actions were supported and praised by Louis XV.

"By the way, Marquis of Mopp, I don't see you very often at the Palace of Versailles."

Louis XV asked with a smile:

"Why did you suddenly want to come to the banquet today?"

Justice Mopp nodded, and was not in a hurry to reply, but first took out a handkerchief and wiped his oil-stained mouth before he spoke respectfully:

"On weekdays, I am busy with official business, so I don't have many opportunities to come at the invitation of His Majesty. This time, because he was going to leave Paris for a while, he took the opportunity to come and bid farewell to His Majesty. ”

As soon as Lord Mapp finished speaking, Lawrence and Duke Choiseul on the other side glanced at each other with alarm.

At a critical stage in the current struggle between Choiseul and Richelieu, neither of them believed that Justice Mup would choose to leave Paris at this juncture.

And the Duke of Choiseul felt that something was wrong, as far as he knew, there was no matter outside Paris that needed to be handled by the Lord Chancellor Mopp himself, and local affairs were naturally settled by the local judiciary.

Louis XV was not aware of these details, but casually asked:

"Is it because of official business? How long will it take? ”

Justice Mopp bowed his head and said:

"Yes, it could be a few months away."

The Duke of Choiseul touched his chin, thought unkindly for a moment, and took the initiative to speak tentatively:

"Oh? Your Excellency, are there any urgent local matters that require you to leave for a few months? The Palais de Justice is gone, and you're in for a mess. ”

I saw that Justice Mopp turned his head to look at the Duke of Choiseul, but his eyes were full of playfulness, and the corners of his mouth were slightly proudly raised, and he said slowly:

"You should know about that incident some time ago, when I expelled all fifteen judges of appeal from the Dijon High Court in Burgundy for all the dereliction of duty they had committed."

"Yes... Of course I do. ”

Duke Choiseul stared at Justice Mopp with fierce eyes in his eyes and nodded heavily.

It had been some time since Lord Möpp dismissed all the appellate judges of the Dijon High Court, and this was done with the acquiescence of the King, so the Duke of Choiseul had no choice but to allow this suppression of the High Court to take place.

"The Dijon High Court has been closed for several months now, and although I don't like the oligarchic judges who are selfish and arrogant and corrupt in their absence, without them the judicial system in Burgundy is really difficult to function."

Lord Mopp looked at King Louis and said in a warm voice:

"So I need to go to Dijon in person, to look at the local judicial environment and write a report, and at the same time personally select a group of qualified appellate judges to take office."

"I see." King Louis nodded in acquiescence, not taking the matter to heart.

The Duke of Choiseul and Lawrence clearly heard something wrong.

The Duke of Richelieu and Lord Mope must have known that the High Court was a loyal ally of the Duke of Choiseul, and that the Duke of Choiseul could tolerate Justice Mopp's suppression of the High Court at the behest of the King, but would never allow Justice Mope to replace all the High Courts of a region with his own people.

Once such a hole is torn open, it will be difficult to clean it up in the future.

Lord Mapp knew that Duke Choiseul would not tolerate such behavior, but he still deliberately said it in front of the king, which could not help but make Lawrence and Duke Choiseul immediately vigilant.

"It's greasy."

Lawrence bumped Duke Choiseul on the thigh and reminded softly.

The Duke of Choiseul also saw this, but he still shook his head and said:

"It should be, but I can't let him ban the members of the Dijon High Court."

So the Duke of Schwarcel looked at Lord Mopp, and soon thought of a brilliant rebuttal, and said aloud:

"With all due respect, Your Excellency, your authority as Justice of France is limited to judicial and legislative matters, and as for the appointment of bureaucrats, it seems to be beyond your competence."

When King Louis heard this, although he knew that what the Duke of Choiseul said was reasonable, he was still a little displeased, after all, Justice Mopp's approach was in the interests of the royal power, so he opened his mouth and signaled the Duke of Choiseul to be accommodating this time:

"Alright, Schwartle, I know that it should be your duty to appoint these judges, but this time after all, you will be away from Paris for a few months, and there are still many things in Paris that you need to deal with, so I think I will let Justice Mopp complete this task."

"Your Majesty! Your Excellency, Lord Chancellor! ”

If it were someone else, he would definitely compromise directly when he heard the king speak like this, but a tough minister like Duke Choiseul had no intention of backing down, and said directly:

"The act of a justice directly appointing an appellate judge of the High Court has no legal basis and is illegal, and if it is spread, it will not make countries laugh at our French judicial system."

Listening to Duke Choiseul's unflinching words, the nobles present also shook their heads in embarrassment, feeling that he was the only one who could talk to the king like this.

Louis XV frowned even more, thinking about how to refute the Duke of Choiseul.

However, when Lord Justice Mopp heard the Duke of Choiseul's reprimand, he did not feel a trace of displeasure, and the smile on his lips became even stronger, and he said before Louis XV:

"It's a bit inappropriate, but... Your Excellency, I also consider that the burden on your shoulders is too heavy, and I want to share some of it for you. ”

"Hmph." The Duke of Choiseul snorted coldly unappreciatively, knowing that Justice Mopp was just a sycophant, so he said bluntly:

"Thank you for your kindness, but I can handle it."

Lord Mopp did not look surprised, but made a smug eye with the Duke of Richelieu.

This feeling of being calculated made the Duke of Schwarcel very uncomfortable, but he did not yet know what Justice Mapp was doing, and why he deliberately proposed a plan that would surely be rejected by himself.

Lawrence next to him looked at Justice Mopp without saying a word, although he had vaguely guessed the other party's intentions, but at this moment there was no way to counter Justice Mopp.

After a few seconds of silence, Lord Mope suddenly looked at King Louis and said sincerely:

"Your Majesty, although I believe that the Duke of Choiseul will be able to cope with these matters with his ability, his burden is indeed too heavy, especially if he were to go to Dijon in my place, and many things would be delayed, such as..."

"For example?" Louis XV asked with a frown.

Justice Mopp cleared his throat twice, glanced at Lawrence with deep meaning, and said in a deep voice:

"For example, the treaty that His Excellency the Duke and the Doge of Bonaparte are negotiating will be delayed."

"You—" The Duke of Choiseul realized that Justice Mup's purpose was not to go to the Dijon High Court.

As soon as the Duke of Choiseul had taken over the investigation of Burgundy and the appointment of the judges of the High Court of Dijon, his negotiations with Lawrence would have to be suspended, at least for the time he was away.

And King Louis naturally did not want to see this.

"Hmm... That's right. ”

Louis XV rubbed the corners of his mouth, showed a slight smile, did not know what he was thinking, and then said:

"I don't want this to be delayed for too long, I'm sure Governor Bonaparte thinks so, right?"

Lawrence nodded expressionlessly and said, "Of course, Your Majesty." ”

Both Lord Mope and the Duke of Richelieu could not help but show a hint of triumph, and Lord Mope went on to say:

"I will gladly share this part of the matter for the Duke of Choiseul if the need arises. As a chancellor, I consider myself to be no inferior to the Duke of Schwarcel in the codification of legal treaties. ”

King Louis also smiled, apparently favoring the side of Lord Mopp, and said:

"Of course, of course, your abilities are obvious to all. So, what do you think, Choiseul, that the matter of negotiating a treaty with Governor Bonaparte will be left to Justice Mopp. ”

The Duke of Choiseul could not help biting his lip tightly, and King Louis apparently had only given himself two choices, either to acquiesce to Lord Mopp to insert his hand into the High Court, or to transfer to him the matter of negotiating a treaty with Lawrence.

Seeing that the Duke of Choiseul was still hesitating, Lord Mapp mocked:

"What's the matter, Your Excellency the Duke, it's your exclusive right not to negotiate with the Governor of Corsica, right?"

The Duke of Choiseul glanced at Lord Mopp with a cold eye, then sighed in a low voice and said to Lawrence:

"I'm sorry, Governor Bonaparte, the High Court is an ally I cannot afford to lose."

"I understand." Lawrence nodded unsurprised.

The Duke of Choiseul took a deep breath, nodded to King Louis and said:

"I see, Your Majesty, I will send someone to connect the existing consultation process with Justice Mopp."

"Good, good."

Louis XV said with a satisfied look on his face.

The Duke of Richelieu and Lord Mopp also had smiles on their faces, and the confrontation was a great victory in the struggle between the two factions.

Not only did they completely cut off the possibility of Duke Choiseul using the Corsican conversional incident to increase the king's trust, but they also took Lawrence, a rising political star, into their own hands.

Now that they have taken over negotiations with Lawrence, it is only natural that the two of them have taken Lawrence's fate into their hands.

Lawrence, as the person concerned, sat there without saying a word, as if their confrontation had nothing to do with him.

"Louis XV... It seems that the king, who has been on the throne for fifty-five years, is certainly not a fool, and this is a really good calculation..."

Lawrence glanced at the smiling Louis XV and slowly muttered to himself.