"Good! This matter will be entrusted to..." Princess Mathilde paused, glancing at Bijou and Valerovsky, with a smile tugging at her lips as she pointed to Valerovsky, "This matter will be entrusted to Minister Valerovsky!"

"Yes, Your Highness!" Valerovsky had a wry smile on his face, knowing that Princess Mathilde’s attitude towards him had not changed.

Then, Princess Mathilde subtly threatened Valerovsky, stating she needed to see the news on tomorrow’s paper, or Valerovsky should be ready to pack his things and leave.

Valerovsky reluctantly agreed to Princess Mathilde and promised her that he would stay up all night overseeing the process at the printing house.

"Well, it’s troubling you, Minister Valerovsky!" Princess Mathilde replied to Valerovsky in a slightly mocking tone.

Afterward, Valerovsky and Bijou left Princess Mathilde’s residence together.

In the carriage ride they shared, Speaker Bijou advised Valerovsky not to take the recent incident to heart.

"It’s nothing!" Valerovsky shook his head, replying.

The carriage halted when it arrived at the entrance of the national printing house.

Valerovsky alighted from the carriage and walked into the printing house.

For Valerovsky, tonight was destined to be a sleepless night.

...

As the first light of dawn quietly peeked over the horizon, many newsboys had already begun their day’s work of selling papers, weaving through the streets of Paris, bringing the latest news to France.

"Newspapers for sale! Newspapers for sale! Get the latest papers while they’re hot!"

"Newspapers for sale! Newspapers for sale! Latest news: The French Army has annihilated over 60,000 troops of the Russian Empire, come and read the papers!"

Under the enthusiastic cries of the newsboys, the gentlemen on the streets of Paris were immediately drawn to the "annihilation of 60,000 troops" mentioned by the newsboys.

They hurriedly stopped the newsboys, bought the latest newspapers from them, and stayed in place to read them.

"...According to our newspaper (Bonaparte Newspaper) correspondent in the Sevastopol area, this campaign was a great war personally orchestrated and commanded by the Emperor of the French Empire!

Under the command of the wise leader, His Majesty Emperor Jerome Bonaparte, all 60,000 troops the Russian Empire had deployed at Inkman Mountain were completely wiped out!

...Reactionary Russia will surely face harsh sanctions, and democracy and peace will inevitably return to the European Continent.

...The facts show that only by uniting under the leadership of Emperor Jerome Bonaparte of the French Empire can our nation, our country truly unleash its full potential.

The two-generation Bourbon rule of over thirty years brought us nothing but endless humiliation..."

The vast majority of gentlemen, upon finishing reading the Bonaparte Newspaper’s provocative words, were stirred into a fervor, with an unprecedented sense of national pride surging in their hearts.

In their minds, only the French Nation could achieve such glorious feats, and they somewhat agreed with the notion that only under the leadership of the House of Bonaparte could France enjoy lasting peace and stability.

After all, the Napoleonic Empire era had passed almost 40 years ago.

Those who lived in the Napoleonic era among the older generation had long succumbed to death or injury.

Amidst the incessant propaganda of the Imperial Government, the decades of the Napoleonic Empire were swiftly being idealized as a utopian age.

As for why the Napoleonic Utopia collapsed, it was naturally because His Majesty the Emperor was deceived, and everything beneath the Emperor was the doing of treacherous individuals acting under Napoleon’s banner.

It was precisely because there were too many treacherous individuals in the Empire back then that the Emperor failed under dual pressures from both inside and out.

Returning to the topic, the intelligence of annihilating 60,000 Russian Imperial troops at Inkman Mountain led to Jerome Bonaparte’s reputation soaring once more.

Some people no longer saw the Emperor as the "Emperor’s" nephew but as the "rightful" heir to Napoleon’s military prowess.

Yet, a small minority continued to criticize Jerome Bonaparte’s actions.

However, this time, the enthusiasm of the French people was evidently not as intense as before.

The nearly half-year-long war left the Parisians feeling somewhat weary, though not yet war-weary!

Meanwhile, in a bedroom within the Tuileries Palace.

An expectantly smiling Empress Augusta, with her rounded belly, sat on the sofa, looking at Princess Mathilde seated opposite her.

"The Emperor is really too much!" Princess Mathilde grumbled, a bit upset: "It’s been so long since he left, yet he’s only sent a few telegrams back.

And most of those telegrams are inquiring about politics, which is absolutely improper!"

Facing Princess Mathilde’s reproach, Empress Augusta smiled and responded, "His Majesty is not indifferent to us! Isn’t he now fighting hard for our children?"

After saying this, Empress Augusta lovingly stroked her belly.

Seeing that Princess Mathilde was still defending Jerome Bonaparte, Mathilde stopped her "verbal attacks" against Jerome Bonaparte and instead praised his feat of annihilating 60,000 Russians at Sevastopol.

"At this rate, he should be able to return soon!" Princess Mathilde said to Empress Augusta.

"I think it might be difficult!" Empress Augusta shook her head in response.

"Hmm?" Princess Mathilde looked at Augusta with some confusion.

"I imagine the Russian commanders will be more cautious after suffering such a great loss! It’s likely to be very difficult to achieve such a decisive battle again!" Empress Augusta, who had some insights into military affairs, answered Mathilde.

"I don’t understand this either! It’s better to consult professionals on such matters!"

With that, Princess Mathilde quickly changed the topic, lowering her voice to inquire about the negotiations regarding Luxembourg.

"I have essentially reached an agreement with the King of the Netherlands through my father!" Empress Augusta replied, "We will purchase land in Luxembourg (40 million francs) from the Kingdom of the Netherlands in a private capacity, and the Austrian Empire will also support our actions!"

"What about Prussia and Britain?" Princess Mathilde followed up with another question.

As a noblewoman, she knew that the Kingdom of Luxembourg involved not only the Kingdom of the Netherlands but also members of the German Confederation and the Kingdom of Britain.

Even the French Empire couldn’t straightforwardly occupy land.

"I’ve already sent Mr. Luyis to negotiate with the Kingdom of Britain!" Empress Augusta replied to Princess Mathilde, "As for the Kingdom of Prussia! Hmph! They currently don’t have the qualification to lecture France!"

After hearing Empress Augusta’s assertive declaration, a look of astonishment appeared on Princess Mathilde’s face.

"Augusta, you’ve changed!" Princess Mathilde’s expression gradually turned respectful as she spoke solemnly to Empress Augusta.

"I’ve changed?" A hint of surprise appeared on Empress Augusta’s face, "How have I changed?"

"You are becoming more like a real Empress!" Princess Mathilde couldn’t help but praise, "Just take what you said earlier; would an ordinary princess dare to disdain the Kingdom of Prussia?"

Empress Augusta couldn’t help but laugh, "Maybe I really have changed!"

"Enough! Let’s stop talking about this! It’s so boring to always talk about politics!" Mathilde changed the subject once more.

Princess Mathilde and Empress Augusta then started to discuss gossip.

...

Meanwhile, while Princess Mathilde and Augusta were discussing, far in Britain, De Luyis was also meeting with Prime Minister Palmerston.

"In what capacity are you conversing with me! As far as I know, you have already stepped down from the position of Minister of Foreign Affairs!" Palmerston, upon meeting, gave De Luyis a show of authority right away.

"I have come on behalf of His Majesty Emperor Jerome Bonaparte!" De Luyis immediately responded to Palmerston.

"Since you represent His Majesty Emperor Jerome Bonaparte, I would like to ask, Mr. Luyis, whether the agreement we made with Emperor Jerome Bonaparte still holds!" Palmerston continued to question De Luyis with an aggressive attitude.

"What agreement?" De Luyis pretended to be clueless as he replied to Palmerston.

"So! Envoy De Luyis, you do not know about the agreement His Majesty the Emperor made with us!" Palmerston asked with a cold smile.

"Palmerston, if it’s an agreement, then there should be evidence, right?" De Luyis smiled innocently.

"It was only a verbal agreement!" Palmerston replied.

After all, at the time of the African colonial expansion, Britain was also taking as much as it could get, not really setting a boundary with France.

Setting a boundary would essentially limit Britain itself.

Who would have thought that in a few years, some places in Africa would change dramatically?

"Since it was a verbal agreement, then could Prime Minister Palmerston tell me what you agreed on with Minister Valerovsky!" De Luyis continued to feign ignorance as he questioned Palmerston.

Through a translator (mainly because he didn’t want to leave any record), Palmerston informed De Luyis that France had agreed not to take action against Nigeria and Egypt.

"Prime Minister Palmerston!" De Luyis responded with a smile, "We have not taken action against Nigeria and Egypt as per the agreement!"

"Then why is the Suez Canal in your hands?" Palmerston asked with an angry tone, "You should understand its importance to us!"

"Prime Minister Palmerston, Suez is also of great importance to us!" De Luyis responded unyieldingly, "Moreover, even though we said we wouldn’t interfere with Egypt, we never said we wouldn’t conduct commercial activities in Egypt! The Suez Canal is essentially a commercial endeavor and does not involve any territorial sovereignty!"