"Will I be Foreign Secretary in three days..."

After a sumptuous dinner with His Excellency Bonaparte and a long time of chatter, it was almost nine o'clock in the evening that the Count of Vergeg took his leave.

Standing outside the door of 10 Champs-Élysées, the slightly chilly spring evening breeze cleared his champagne-drunk brain a little.

At this moment, what lingered in the mind of Count Vergegon was Lawrence's seemingly casual and solemn promise.

During his months in the strange and indifferent city of Paris, the Count of Vergegue thought that his political career had been condemned to death.

He never imagined that there would be such a surprise waiting for him at the Corsican Embassy today, and the Count of Vergegue knew very well that this was a natural favor that he would need to repay with his life.

At the moment when the Duke of Choiseul was in charge of the government, the Count of Vergeg had no idea that he would one day become a cabinet minister in charge of the entire Foreign Office.

However, before the celebration began, the Count of Vergeg had one last concern in his heart:

"Can Your Excellency Bonaparte really do such a thing... Caesar Gabriel, the cousin of the Duke of Choiseul."

With these mixed thoughts in mind, the Count of Vergegon turned his head to look at the courtyard of the splendid mansion, and at any rate, he could foresee that he would be a regular visitor to it in the future.

And after the departure of the Count of Vergeg, Lawrence was alone in the drawing room and pondered for a long time.

He then took pen and ink and wrote down two secret letters, called the old butler and instructed:

"Please send these two letters out now, as last time, make sure that they are burned immediately after reading, and do not leave any documentary evidence."

Although the old butler had previously served the Duke of Choiseul, Lawrence had confirmed the loyalty of the competent butler to the owner of the mansion rather than to a specific person.

As a result, Lawrence can rest assured that these covert tasks will be carried out by the other party.

The old butler solemnly accepted the envelope, and simply wrote down the receipt above

...

At midnight, the Palace of Versailles.

In the bedroom of a splendid and extravagant palace that could be called a small palace, the crown princess Marie Antoinette lay quietly and comfortably on a warm and fluffy nanmu bed, and seemed to have fallen asleep.

At this time, a personal maid cautiously walked into the bedroom, looked at the sleeping Royal Highness the Crown Princess, and after hesitating for a while, she still pushed her awake and reported:

"Your Highness, Your Highness..."

Crown Princess Mary, who suddenly woke up from her sleep, rubbed her sleepy eyes a little dazedly, glanced at the table clock in the room by the moonlight, and immediately reprimanded angrily:

"Oh my God, what the hell are you doing, it's a fire? Or is it an earthquake? Or did the assassins come in? Why are you waking me up at this time?"

"I'm sorry, Your Highness, but a messenger has come to ask to see...", the personal maid lowered her eyebrows and reported pleasantly.

"The Courier? What fool sent a messenger so late!"

Crown Princess Mary was even more angry, she didn't want to get up so late to change her clothes, and then go to great lengths to dress up and go to the foolish messenger who couldn't even read the time on her pocket watch:

"Let that guy, really, France is such a fool, all of them, I see more dementia in one day in Paris than I see in Vienna in a year..."

"But—" The valet carefully interrupted Crown Princess Mary's chattering complaints:

"It should be the messenger of Lord Bonaparte."

As soon as the words fell, Crown Princess Mary's complaint stopped abruptly, she was stunned for a moment, and the corners of her mouth couldn't help but float a sweet smile, and then she covered her mouth with a smile and smiled:

"Ah, Monsieur Bonaparte? Why didn't you say it earlier, help me up and change my clothes, let's

The Mr. Courier waits a moment."

After simply changing into a long dress, Crown Princess Mary met the old butler in the living room outside the bedroom.

The old butler handed the secret letter to the Crown Princess by hand, and ensured that Crown Princess Mary burned the letter on the spot, as ordered by Lawrence.

"I didn't expect..."

Crown Princess Mary smiled lightly and recalled the contents of the letter, and smiled a little proudly and playfully:

"Monsieur Bonaparte also needs my help."

The old butler asked earnestly, "What is your reply to Lord Bonaparte...?"

"I don't quite understand what Monsieur Bonaparte is going to do, but please rest assured." Crown Princess Mary smiled and nodded:

"Many times before, thanks to Monsieur Bonaparte, I should have reciprocated."

As she spoke, Crown Princess Mary casually wrote down a location on a piece of paper and handed it to the old butler:

"Let's meet here tomorrow with Monsieur Bonaparte."

The old butler nodded meticulously, solemnly accepted the note, then tightened his coat, got up and said goodbye:

"I'll tell you the truth, then, I leave Your Highness, and I'm sorry to disturb your rest."

After the other party left, Crown Princess Mary sat down on her chin and thought for a while, her expression was very puzzled, and she didn't seem to understand what Lawrence's intentions were.

But in the end, Her Royal Highness the Crown Princess had to shake her head and sigh, giving up thinking about those pestering politics and conspiracies, which were not something that this pampered girl could understand.

Either way, she's agreed to Lawrence's request, and she just has to do it.

Crown Princess Mary summoned the lady-in-waiting and commanded her:

"You're going to invite Prince Neo early tomorrow morning, and I'm going to meet with him."

The personal maid frowned slightly, and reminded in a somewhat old-fashioned manner:

"Prince Neo... Do you mean the Austrian ambassador, but with all due respect, it may not be appropriate for you as the Crown Princess to have a private meeting with the ambassador, politically..."

Crown Princess Mary interrupted unhappily:

"Don't forget, Neo Joseph-Diane von Habsburg-Lorraine, who was first my own uncle and then the Austrian ambassador to France, can't I meet my uncle and catch up with him?"

Seeing this, the personal maid had no choice but to suppress the worries in her heart, bowed her head and admitted:

"Yes, Your Highness."

...

And hours later in the middle of the night, in Paris, in a single-family villa in the Saint-Germain district.

Lord Melly, the chairman of the Paris Stock Exchange, was also awakened by a sudden knock on the door.

Although his wife, who was also woken up, complained that it must have been a mischievous boy in the block, Lord Merry, apparently reassured, went downstairs with a coat himself, and was astonished to find that it was an emissary of Lord Bonaparte.

"Good evening, Monsieur Merry, here is a letter from His Excellency Bonaparte."

The old butler ignored the stunned and panicked Lord Merry, and directly handed the secret letter into his hand, and whispered:

"Please remember it now, and turn this letter to ashes."

Lord Melly couldn't help but shudder, and the sleepiness of the night was swept away, and he hurriedly opened the envelope in his hand and looked at it carefully by the candlelight.

Although it had been almost a year since Lord Merry had last made contact with Lawrence, the bond of the Corsican National Silver Company had bound the chairman of the stock exchange firmly to Lawrence.

After all, he has participated in all the processes of the fraudulent listing of the National Silver Company, a shell company, and once something goes wrong with the National Silver Company, the blow to the Paris stock market will undoubtedly be devastating, and he, the chairman of the stock exchange, will be responsible for it at that time.

Lord Melly, who knew this, knew that he had only one way to go, and that was to stand firmly with Lawrence Bonaparte

Only in this way can he protect himself in the financial turmoil that will inevitably break out in the future.

Still, even though he had already made up his mind, Lord Merry was startled and hesitated when he saw the contents of the letter.

Not to mention the seriousness of the falsification of evidence itself, the mere thought that the target of this forgery was His Majesty's cabinet ministers made Lord Melly feel extremely embarrassed for a moment.

The old butler seemed to see the other party's hesitation, and a trace of sharpness suddenly increased in his originally kind eyes, and he asked in an unhurried and slow voice:

"What is your reply to Lord Bonaparte?"

At this point, Lord Merry knew that he had read the secret letter, and there was no room for refusal.

A fine bead of sweat appeared on his forehead, and then he gritted his teeth, put the letter on the candle flame and lit it, and threw it into the fireplace beside him:

"Your Excellency Bonaparte's request, I have indeed received it, please tell your Excellency, I will not let him down."

"I'll tell you the truth."

The old butler nodded slightly, and then went straight away, and soon disappeared into the quiet of the Parisian night, as if he had never visited this place, leaving no trace.

...

Two days passed, May 19

The regular royal council, presided over by the Duke of Orleans, was held at the Palace of Versailles, and Lawrence drove to the Palace of Versailles early in the morning with a small entourage of escorts.

Before the official start of the meeting, the ministers who arrived in advance gathered in the Venus Hall outside the Apollo Room, where they chatted over a delicious snack or played a few games of billiards to exchange information and expand their contacts.

And when Lawrence arrived in Venus Hall, he briefly became the center of attention among the ministers.

Many of the upper echelons had vaguely heard of the Golden Irises faction, knowing that His Majesty was putting a secret faction under the leadership of the young Prime Minister Bonaparte.

However, as for the specific situation of this mysterious faction, it is information that only a very small number of ministers close to the king are qualified to know.

Many of the attendees enthusiastically greeted Lawrence and tried to extract some information from him, but Lawrence rejected these clumsy words.

And just as Lawrence was politely dealing with the attendees, he saw a middle-aged man dressed in gold and purple, who was indescribably expensive, and walked over gently.

The rest of the attendees also dispersed with great interest, leaving Lawrence and the man a private space.

"You are Lawrence Bonaparte, and you are a young man." The man put down the sherry glass in his hand and looked at Lawrence with a smile.

Although Lawrence did not know him, based on the other party's clothing, temperament and French accent, Lawrence immediately guessed the identity of the other party, shook hands and hugged warmly:

"It is truly an honor to be praised by His Royal Highness the Prince."

This was none other than Crown Princess Mary's own uncle, Prince Neo of Habsburg, Austrian Ambassador Plenipotentiary to France, a name Lawrence had heard many times before, and even the Duke of Schwarcel praised him as an unfathomable man.

Prince Neo's smile was a little more playful, and he pulled Lawrence to slowly pace outside the Venus Hall, stopped in a remote corner of the corridor, and said:

"Your request has been told to me by Mary, and I have to say that it is really beyond my expectation that His Excellency Bonaparte, who was supported by the Duke of Choiseul, would strike back at this time."

"I can't help myself, the situation is forcing me." Lawrence didn't explain too much and asked directly:

"And Your Highness, you're going to lend a hand, right?"

Prince Neo's playfulness became even stronger, and he asked with a smile:

"Schwarcel is a good friend of mine, he is also a good friend of Austria, and he is a key figure in the stability of the Franco-Austrian alliance, why do you think I will be on your side?"

Lawrence glanced at Prince Neo without changing his face, in his heart

I understand that this prince is just testing himself, and if the other party really wants to stay out of the matter, he will not come to Versailles in person today.

"In the future, the Franco-Austrian alliance will not be maintained by Choiseul, Your Royal Highness, you should know very well."

Lawrence said slowly:

"The marriage of His Royal Highness the Crown Prince and His Royal Highness the Crown Princess is the strongest link between the two great nations, and even if Choiseul does fall, this alliance will not change as a result, I can assure you in the name of my lord."

Lawrence's meaning is also obvious, although the Duke of Choiseul is a meritorious figure in the creation of the Franco-Austrian alliance, his fall will not mean the breakdown of the alliance between the two countries, which Prince Neo can not worry.

"Hmm... That's right." Prince Neo rubbed his chin and nodded in agreement:

"Whoever succeeds Choiseul in directing France's foreign policy in the future will not change France's diplomatic stance in the near future."

Lawrence looked at Prince Neo's face and continued to analyze:

"In addition, if Austria wants Her Royal Highness the Crown Princess to exert more influence in the court, the Duke of Choisel may also be a huge obstacle in the future."

"You..."

Prince Neo's eyes showed a hint of surprise, and he quickly returned to his usual playfulness, and couldn't help but applaud and laugh:

"You're really perceptive, no wonder the king is so fond of you."

For Austria, if Marie Antoinette could have a political place in the French court, it would undoubtedly increase Austrian influence in France.

Historically, Austria has been quite successful in this move, and Queen Marie Antoinette was able to influence Louis XVI's decision-making to a large extent, and even directly influenced the appointment of cabinet ministers.

However, if the Duke of Choiseul had been able to maintain his position in the ascendancy of the new king, it would have been very unlikely that Marie Antoinette would have retained control of the court, since even His Majesty himself would have to be subject to Schouiseul.

Naturally, neither Prince Neo nor Austria wanted that to happen, and the ideal scenario was that France would be under absolute control by the royal family, and the royal family would be under the absolute control of the queen.

"My faction and I are loyal to the royal family, and we are loyal to the crown princess."

Lawrence reached out:

"We are on one side, Your Highness."

"Is it loyalty or ambition... Well, I can't take care of it."

Prince Neo shook Lawrence's right hand hard, shook it twice, nodded and smiled:

"Then it is a pleasure to cooperate, Your Excellency Bonaparte, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of France, as my greeting gift to you."