CHAPTER 598: CHAPTER 589 KNOCKING ON CAVOUR

The initially startled Mr. Cavour, upon being called by Princess Mathilde, immediately realized that Princess Mathilde must have something specific to discuss with him!

Could there be news from His Majesty’s side? Cavour mused.

"Mr. Cavour! Mr. Cavour!" The voice of Princess Mathilde reached Cavour’s ears, and regaining his composure, he first apologized to the gentlemen sitting around, and then left the room with Princess Mathilde.

When Cavour and Princess Mathilde reached the corridor, Mathilde pointed at the maid beside her and said to Cavour: "Mr. Cavour, she will take you to meet my brother. (Princess Mathilde did not like to call Jerome Bonaparte ’Emperor’, and Jerome Bonaparte was also happy with this arrangement.) I will not see you off!"

Mathilde paused and pointed to the original room.

"Your Highness, thank you very much for your generous hospitality!" Cavour responded to Princess Mathilde with a slight hint of humility, and then bowed to the maid beside him, saying, "Then, I’ll trouble you!"

"Mr. Earl, please follow me!" the maid responded to Cavour.

Under the guidance of the maid, Cavour quickly arrived at the door of a room on the first floor.

"His Majesty is inside!" the maid said, pointing at the room to Cavour.

His Majesty actually came in person!

Cavour was slightly surprised by the personal visit of Jerome Bonaparte, but when he thought of the reviews he heard about the Emperor from the Parisian aristocrats he had met, his surprise vanished without a trace.

"Many thanks!" Cavour once again expressed his gratitude to the maid and gave her a small trinket of little value (for Cavour himself).

"Your Lordship, this is too precious!" the maid shook her head, refusing Cavour’s gift.

"Madam, this item is not valuable!" Cavour emphasized, and then, acting the part of a wealthy patron, said, "If you think it’s overly precious, you can give it to Princess Mathilde. Once my possessions are given away, they are never meant to be taken back!"

The maid glanced at the gold coin Cavour handed her and, after a few seconds of hesitation, accepted Cavour’s gift. She also "considerately" informed Cavour about Jerome Bonaparte’s current mood.

Upon hearing the maid’s response, Cavour became more convinced that small expenditures could accomplish great matters.

Sometimes, a little favor can divulge information that would otherwise cost a fortune to uncover.

After parting from the maid, Cavour gently knocked on the door.

"The door’s unlocked, come in!" Jerome Bonaparte’s voice came from within the room.

Cavour hurriedly entered the room, where Jerome Bonaparte was sitting on the sofa, enjoying freshly brewed green tea.

Cavour’s arrival prompted Jerome Bonaparte to put down his teacup and rise to greet him.

"Your Majesty, please sit!" Cavour hastily responded to Jerome Bonaparte.

Then, as they sat on the sofa, Jerome Bonaparte poured a cup of tea for Cavour while asking, "Mr. Cavour, do you know about the tea ceremony?"

Cavour shook his head; dealing with innumerable affairs, he could not possibly know about the tea ceremony.

"This is a tea-tasting method inherited from an ancient Oriental empire, emphasizing the word ’taste’!" Jerome Bonaparte placed the brewed tea in front of Cavour: "During the brewing phase before tasting, the tea should be filtered first... don’t be too hasty... when tasting, you must savor it carefully; don’t haphazardly drink it all at once! Not only will you get burned, but you also won’t be able to enjoy the unique aroma that the tea leaves emit."

Jerome Bonaparte once again picked up the purple clay teacup in his hand, took a small sip, then closed his eyes to quietly savor it.

Sitting beside Jerome Bonaparte, Cavour mimicked his posture when tasting the tea, but he did not experience the unique aroma Jerome Bonaparte mentioned.

"See! I told you not to rush, not to rush! Why are you always in such a hurry? Is time really that precious to you?" Jerome Bonaparte remarked to Cavour, implying something deeper.

Prime Minister Cavour, politically astute, immediately understood Jerome Bonaparte’s implication and hastily apologized to Jerome Bonaparte: "Your Majesty, I indeed was too impatient! Could I taste it again?"

Jerome Bonaparte displayed a "teachable youth" expression and poured another cup of tea for Cavour.

This time, Cavour finally tasted the unique aroma in the tea—a flavor imbued with bitterness and helplessness, and only Cavour himself could understand these feelings best.

"Do you feel it?" Jerome Bonaparte’s voice reached Cavour’s ears.

Prime Minister Cavour nodded and responded to Jerome Bonaparte: "I felt it!"

"Mr. Cavour, you have begun to understand the Way of Tea!" Jerome Bonaparte seemed to applaud Cavour’s rapid comprehension of the "Way of Tea."

"Your Majesty, I have a question I would like to ask you!" Cavour respectfully said to Jerome Bonaparte.

"Ask! You can ask anything! There are no questions you cannot ask!" Jerome Bonaparte replied to Cavour.

"Your Majesty, I would like to ask how long this pot of tea needs to steep before it can be tasted?" Cavour asked Jerome Bonaparte.

Jerome Bonaparte’s smile gradually faded, and his expression turned serious.

Seeing Jerome Bonaparte’s rapidly changing expression, Cavour couldn’t help but feel a sense of unease in his heart.

"At least 3 to 4 years, at most 6 to 7 years, or even more than ten years, it is uncertain!" Jerome Bonaparte said slowly: "After all, the time is not yet ripe! (The issue of the Apennine Peninsula is not mature!) Rushing to increase the heat will only turn the whole pot of tea into waste! (Rushing to stir up the Apennine Peninsula’s conflict will only destroy the relative peace maintained during the Crimean War.)"

"But I heard about the situation between you and the Austrian Empire..." Cavour couldn’t resist mentioning to Jerome Bonaparte.

"Mr. Cavour, whether the Empire is at odds or at peace with the Austrian Empire, it doesn’t seem to need the consent of the Sardinian Kingdom!" Jerome Bonaparte snorted coldly and asked Cavour, "All countries in the world (recognized by France) enjoy independent sovereignty and diplomacy, no country is allowed to interfere!"

"Your Majesty, that’s not what I meant!" Cavour’s face showed a slight change, and he quickly pleaded with Jerome Bonaparte: "I understand that the diplomatic engagement with the Austrian Empire is for the purpose of war..."

Cavour’s words defending Jerome Bonaparte’s actions made Jerome Bonaparte feel satisfied.

Only poor Cavour would not anticipate that the unification of Italy under the Sardinian Kingdom would only exist in his dreams.

After all, in Jerome Bonaparte’s script, Sardinia existed merely as a thorn to threaten the Pope State and the Austrian Empire, and he didn’t want this thorn to pierce his own hand.

Occasionally using Austria’s diplomatic intimidation on Sardinia to make them feel a sense of tension is the only way they can tightly rely on the French Empire.

"Mr. Cavour, I can understand your desire to free the Apennine Peninsula from Austrian control and achieve unification like the German Confederation!" Jerome Bonaparte consoled Cavour.

"Exactly!" Cavour, who in his heart hoped to establish a Sardinian Kingdom-led nation, outwardly agreed with Jerome Bonaparte: "We, the Italian Nation, have been divided for many years, and many wish to establish a confederate system!"

"Just earlier, I discussed the issue of the Apennine Peninsula with Prince Albert as well!" Jerome Bonaparte continued to Cavour: "Although Prince Albert, like me, hopes to establish an Italian Federation modeled after the German Confederation, he also believes that under the current situation, we must maintain a certain relationship with the Austrian Empire.

Thus, some issues on the Apennine Peninsula can only be considered after the war ends.

However, rest assured, we will not forget your contributions made during this war.

If you have time tonight, I would like to invite you to attend a ball at the Louvre!"

"Of course!" Cavour nodded and quickly responded to Jerome Bonaparte.

"Very good! Mr. Cavour, it seems we have reached a consensus!" Jerome Bonaparte once again smiled and responded to Cavour.

"Your Majesty, I apologize for troubling you with such a small issue!" Cavour once again apologized to Jerome Bonaparte, "I hope my visit did not disturb your mood!"

"It’s nothing!" Jerome Bonaparte shook his head, "In fact, I quite enjoy open conversations with people like you, talking with Franz Joseph makes me feel like I’m conversing with a monarch from the 18th century."

"Your Majesty, that’s the usual style of the Habsburgs!" Cavour seized the opportunity to disparage the Habsburgs: "Ancient and decayed!"

"Well said!" Jerome Bonaparte laughed and agreed with Cavour’s view.

Subsequently, Cavour bid farewell to Jerome Bonaparte, and Jerome Bonaparte also quietly left Princess Mathilde’s residence.

Jerome Bonaparte, after leaving Madam Tilde’s Mansion, did not return to the Tuileries Palace but went to Ossai Pier to meet with De Ruyi.

"Go tell the envoy from the Pope State that Cavour once again sought me out to discuss the Apennine Peninsula issue! I also agreed with Cavour’s views!" Jerome Bonaparte said to De Ruyi.

"Your Majesty, this might cause panic in the Pope State!" De Ruyi reminded Jerome Bonaparte.

"If it doesn’t cause panic in Pope Pius IX, how else will Pope Pius IX submit to us?"