CHAPTER 342: CHAPTER 337: MISSION TO CONSTANTINOPLE

"Can you tell me what reasons prompted you to make this decision?"

Jerome Bonaparte looked in surprise at the future socialite who had regained her composure before him, admitting that he had indeed underestimated the resilience of this child.

Asking a thirteen-year-old child to bear the entire hope of Italian unification was indeed somewhat demanding.

Therefore, when Cavour decided to use the "beauty trap" on him, Jerome Bonaparte indeed had some disdain for Cavour, even extending to a somewhat unfriendly attitude towards Vilnius.

"Your Majesty!" Vilnius, with eyes like emeralds, gazed passionately at Jerome Bonaparte and said, "When I was very young, my grandfather told me the story of Your Majesty! He often felt proud of being able to serve the Bonaparte Clan, which is why I volunteered to come to the Tuileries Palace. It was in the hope that you could, like the previous Emperor, rescue the Italian nation... I admit I came here with such an intention! As for why I stay here, I want to personally witness the rise of another Great Man! To follow in the footsteps of a Great Man, I feel extremely honored!"

Jerome Bonaparte gazed into Vilnius’s enchanting eyes and saw sincerity and passion in them.

After dismissing the possibility that Vilnius was a "thousand-year-old fox," Jerome Bonaparte believed that about 90% of what she said was trustworthy.

Unless Jerome Bonaparte was truly mistaken.

"Your relationship with Cavour..." Jerome Bonaparte asked Vilnius once more.

"Cavour is my cousin!" Vilnius responded decisively.

Jerome Bonaparte feigned surprise, glancing at Vilnius incredulously and asking, "No way! Cavour is almost old enough to be your father!"

"A distant cousin! Actually, we can only trace our shared bloodline back three generations!" Vilnius decided to lay bare her connection to Cavour.

"Cavour’s purpose in sending you here is to spy on French politics!" Though Jerome Bonaparte’s tone was plain and composed, his micro-expressions exuded an aura of authority.

The courage that thirteen-year-old Vilnius had just mustered instantly dissipated, and she shook her head like a rattle drum, saying, "No... no! Cousin Cavour just hoped I could stay by your side to let you feel the Italian nation’s passion for the unification cause. We have no intention of spying on French politics!"

Though Vilnius sometimes indeed had a simpler mind, she dared not be careless on crucial matters.

Once she provoked the person in front of her, the Sardinian Kingdom might face a catastrophe.

Thinking of this, Vilnius couldn’t help but tremble, regretting her actions somewhat.

I will become a sinner!

Just as Vilnius thought she and the Sardinian Kingdom were doomed, Jerome Bonaparte strode to Vilnius’s side, reached out his right hand, and thumped her forehead: "From now on, you will be my personal secretary!"

"Huh? Ah!" Vilnius was so astonished she couldn’t close her mouth, unable to comprehend why Jerome Bonaparte appointed her as his personal secretary.

"Mornay, being the Minister of the Seal while also serving as the Secretary General, and then as my personal secretary, is rather exhausting, so let’s just have him coordinate with the department!" Jerome Bonaparte decided to reorganize the Secretariat.

The Secretary General, originally serving as the liaison between the Commander’s Secretariat and the Cabinet, was somewhat underutilized solely serving Jerome Bonaparte.

Fourteen years old is fourteen years old; as long as no salary is paid, it doesn’t count as employing child labor.

"Me? Personal secretary?" Vilnius looked at Jerome Bonaparte in shock, scarcely believing her ears.

When did women become able to hold positions in government departments? (Except for the position of King)

"From now on, you are the first female official!" Jerome Bonaparte patted Vilnius on the shoulder and said, "Before serving as a secretary, you must undergo systematic study!"

"Study!" Upon hearing the word "study," Vilnius felt dizzy; those were the two words she most disliked.

Although her aptitude for learning was quite good, she chose to take it easy.

"Besides learning imperial law, you will also need to learn how to draft documents..." Jerome Bonaparte listed a plethora of things she needed to learn, including but not limited to social etiquette, piano, German, law...

"After learning these, you will become a person truly useful to society, rather than being vulgar and relying only on beauty! Once you understand everything, take another look at the Apennine situation you love; believe me, you’ll have a whole new perspective!" Jerome Bonaparte encouraged Vilnius.

Even Cavour couldn’t have imagined that the beauty he painstakingly prepared for Jerome Bonaparte would be ordered to study by him.

On the Apennine Peninsula, countless princes, nobles, diplomats, and consuls hoped Vilnius would grow up quickly, then marvel at her beauty.

Vilnius, who originally had the opportunity to take it easy, began her forced path of self-improvement.

In the following days, with the help of Mathilde Bonaparte, Jerome Bonaparte finally found teachers for all of Vilnius’s courses.

All the teachers are mostly women, and the etiquette lessons are personally taught by Mathilde Bonaparte.

From then on, Vilnius lived a life of involuntary overwork, and Jerome Bonaparte also faced Mathilde Bonaparte’s "mockery," saying: He was being redundant!

Jerome Bonaparte immediately retorted that he preferred women who were knowledgeable and well-educated, preferably nurtured by himself.

The entire March was a continuous busy period for both Jerome Bonaparte and Vilnius.

Jerome Bonaparte was busy handling various domestic and international affairs. Domestically, he implemented limited economic reforms, while externally, he continuously probed the attitudes of Austria and Prussia.

Vilnius, on the other hand, was accelerating her overwork, internally cursing Jerome Bonaparte countless times.

At the beginning of April, the temperature in Paris remained almost the same as it was in March.

However, compared to the warm and mild March, April’s weather had a certain lingering quality.

The light rain pattered against the windows of the study, creating a ticking sound. Looking outside through the rain-streaked glass, it seemed as if the whole of Paris was shrouded in a misty rain.

"Tomb-sweeping season with rain drizzles ceaselessly..." Jerome Bonaparte recited Du Mu’s poem again in the deserted surroundings, sighing softly.

It had been several years since he had traveled to this time, and he still didn’t know how things were on the other side!

Jerome Bonaparte’s only hope was that his parents wouldn’t be saddened by him.

...

After a brief moment of sadness, Jerome Bonaparte returned to his seat, immersing himself in new plans once again.

After reviewing the pardon list submitted by the Police Department, Jerome Bonaparte casually marked a few names before closing it.

The majority of those on the pardon list submitted by the Police Department were included due to political crimes.

Since the coup d’état in December 1850, Jerome Bonaparte had been releasing a portion of the political prisoners every few months.

Release here did not mean allowing them to return to their hometowns but rather expelling them from France.

Whether it was to Belgium or England, it didn’t matter.

These political prisoners could do basically anything except return to their homeland.

As far as Jerome Bonaparte was aware, his "old rival" Victor Hugo was recklessly engaging in "combat" against him in France.

Jerome Bonaparte didn’t pay much attention to those exiled overseas.

Having gained control over the newspapers within France, Jerome Bonaparte had completely isolated the channel of information exchange with the outside world.

Any contraband had to be inspected before entering France, and telegraphs and other convenient communication tools were also under Jerome Bonaparte’s control.

It could be said that Paris’s ears and eyes had been completely blocked by Jerome Bonaparte.

After releasing the political prisoners, Jerome Bonaparte set aside the Police Department’s documents and turned to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ appointments list.

Since a special envoy was an important position in itself, it was impossible for it to be solely selected and appointed by the Minister of Foreign Affairs.

Almost all diplomatic ambassador appointments required Jerome Bonaparte’s second approval before they could be truly executed. Jerome Bonaparte flipped through them and found that most ambassador positions hadn’t changed, except for the appointment of the French envoy to Constantinople, which surprised him.

"De Luis actually suggested appointing Vallette as the special envoy to Constantinople?" Jerome Bonaparte was somewhat incredulous.

Logically, De Luis, who innately valued order, wouldn’t appoint Vallette as an envoy — only someone who loved war would want to appoint him.

The reason being Vallette himself held an extreme Catholic stance, advocating for a tough attitude towards the Ottoman Empire and the Russian Empire, ensuring the rights of the Latin Church weren’t eroded.

This tough stance could very well lead to a war between the Russian Empire and the French Empire.

"What on earth is De Luis thinking? Allowing a member of Ossai Pier to take on such an important position!" Jerome Bonaparte muttered to himself.

The so-called "Ossai Pier" referred to a large faction of priest lobbyists within the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, who were most adept at linking the affairs of the Holy Land with the fate of France, thus achieving the purpose of stirring people’s emotions.