Make France Great Again-Chapter 750 - 741 The Embarrassed Holy Father

After visiting the Franco-Papal formations and cannon array, Pope Pius IX was once again dragged onto the carriage by Jerome Bonaparte, somewhat dazed.

"Holy Father, how do you feel about the performance of my soldiers?" Jerome Bonaparte asked Pope Pius IX with an undisguised smugness on his face.

"A majestic army!" Pope Pius IX dryly replied, not yet having fully recovered.

"How do they compare to my uncle’s army of the past?" Jerome Bonaparte asked Pope Pius IX once more, curious about how he compared to the uncle he had never met.

"Your Majesty, that would be very difficult to compare!" Pope Pius IX tactfully responded to Jerome Bonaparte.

"I understand!" Jerome Bonaparte’s face showed a hint of disappointment.

Then, Jerome Bonaparte and Pope Pius IX drove westward and soon arrived at the Tuileries Palace.

"Holy Father, shall we get off?" Jerome Bonaparte opened the carriage door and assisted Pope Pius IX down, then accompanied him step by step into the hall of the Tuileries Palace.

At that time, the hall of the Tuileries Palace was already full of guests. Under everyone’s gaze, Jerome Bonaparte and Pope Pius IX appeared before them.

The guests greeted Pope Pius IX and Jerome Bonaparte one after another, and Jerome Bonaparte and Pope Pius IX responded to each of the people present.

Subsequently, Jerome Bonaparte addressed the assembled audience: "Today I am honored to invite the Pope from the Papal State, the Holy Father (all monarchs addressed Pope Pius IX as Holy Father) His Holiness Pope Pius IX, to the Tuileries Palace to baptize my son Friedrich Bonaparte!

France and the Holy See have always been two nations with a long-standing friendship. Throughout the years, we have supported and assisted each other..."

Upon hearing this, the guests present displayed expressions restrained with humor, and Pope Pius IX’s face also bore a hint of awkwardness.

Who doesn’t know about the scandalous incidents between France and the Holy See?

The Avignon Palace was specifically set up by France, the "dutiful son," for the Pope.

Many Popes have resided in the Avignon Palace, with one of the most recent being Pope Pius VII.

"...Decades ago, my uncle invited Pope Pius VII to visit Paris, and it was during that visit that the French Empire and the Holy See established indelible ties.

Decades later, His Holiness Pope Pius IX has also been invited by me to visit Paris.

...I believe that this exchange will make the relationship between the Holy See and the French Empire even closer!"

After Jerome Bonaparte’s lengthy speech, everyone present, except for himself, found it hard to maintain their composure, especially Pope Pius IX.

He even wondered if Jerome Bonaparte invited him just to baptize his child or to deliberately humiliate him.

"Holy Father, do you have anything to say?" Jerome Bonaparte asked Pope Pius IX with an attitude of respect for the elderly and care for the young.

After a long silence, Pope Pius IX finally spoke, "I hope this visit will promote deeper exchanges between the French Empire and the Holy See!"

As soon as Pope Pius IX spoke, Empress Augusta appeared before him, holding Friedrich Bonaparte.

"Holy Father!" Empress Augusta, holding Friedrich, respectfully bowed to Pope Pius IX with a devout expression.

Seeing the attitude of the Empress, who had been indoctrinated by the Church since childhood, Pope Pius IX’s mood improved somewhat.

Though the Church couldn’t influence the "unfilial and unruly" Jerome Bonaparte, it sufficed to sway Empress Augusta and the future Crown Prince Friedrich towards the Church.

"Your Majesty!" Pope Pius IX also returned the bow to Empress Augusta.

"Holy Father, this is Friedrich!" Empress Augusta held Friedrich before Pope Pius IX.

Pope Pius IX gently accepted his godchild. In his arms, Friedrich cooed, his chubby little face breaking into a joyful smile.

"My child, you are born into a prominent family! Your father is the Monarch of all of France, with everything of France within his grasp, and your mother is the most beautiful, elegant, and devout Empress in the world! From the moment you were born, you were destined to receive God’s grace and attention!" Pope Pius IX said to Friedrich in a unique solemn tone, while also not forgetting to praise Jerome Bonaparte and Empress Augusta, "...May God’s love ceaselessly flow to you, and may God’s grace rush like tides to bestow upon you."

Having said this, Pope Pius IX returned Friedrich Bonaparte to Empress Augusta.

"Thank you, Holy Father!" Empress Augusta once again respectfully bowed to Pope Pius IX.

Then, under Jerome Bonaparte’s personal hospitality, Pope Pius IX was arranged into a room.

After settling Pope Pius IX, Jerome Bonaparte invited the remaining guests to join him for lunch in the dining room.

The entire lunch lasted nearly two hours, and after satisfying his hunger and thirst, Jerome Bonaparte saw the guests off.

Once everything was over, Jerome Bonaparte returned to Augusta’s room.

At that moment, Empress Augusta was nursing Friedrich, and Jerome Bonaparte’s sudden appearance startled her. She quietly scolded Jerome Bonaparte for not knocking before entering.

Jerome Bonaparte confidently said to Empress Augusta, "This is my room, why should I knock!"

Empress Augusta shook her head and smiled. Sitting beside Empress Augusta, Jerome Bonaparte mischievously reached out his hand to Friedrich’s face, gently pinching his tender cheek, and "blamed" him, "You’re much luckier than I was as a child!"

Friedrich, whose face was pinched by Jerome Bonaparte, cooed in apparent protest against Jerome Bonaparte’s "violence."

Empress Augusta rolled her eyes at Jerome Bonaparte and then slapped the back of his hand hard, saying, "How old are you now!"

"Hehe!" Jerome Bonaparte withdrew his hand, giving a silly laugh to Empress Augusta.

"By the way, was your speech in the hall earlier intentionally targeting the Holy Father!" Empress Augusta asked Jerome Bonaparte in a reproachful tone.

"How could that be! Pope Pius IX is the person I respect the most!" Jerome Bonaparte shook his head and replied to Empress Augusta.

"Hmph!" Empress Augusta gave a light snort; she didn’t believe Jerome Bonaparte’s words at all.

"Alright!" Jerome Bonaparte shrugged his shoulders, reluctantly responding to Empress Augusta, "I admit, I do have some opinions about that old guy Pius IX!"

"Hmm! I remember this is your first meeting, right!" Empress Augusta looked at Jerome Bonaparte with curiosity.

"That was before I became President..." Jerome Bonaparte began to recount to Empress Augusta what he did before becoming President in order to gain Pope Pius IX’s support.

Back then, he worked hard to win the support of Pope Pius IX. Now that the tables have turned, he couldn’t help but "entertain" Pius IX a little.

After listening to Jerome Bonaparte’s words, which sounded like a villain’s triumph, Empress Augusta really didn’t know what to say.

"Don’t worry! Pius IX isn’t an unreasonable person!" Jerome Bonaparte responded to Empress Augusta with confidence: "Even if I insulted him like my uncle did to Pope Pius VII, he’d still have to endure the humiliation!"

Jerome Bonaparte’s arrogant statement shocked Empress Augusta. Although she herself wasn’t particularly respectful of the Holy Father, she knew that if conflict arose between the Bonaparte Clan and the Church, only the Bourbons and Orleans would benefit.

Empress Augusta hurriedly reminded Jerome Bonaparte, "Jerome, you mustn’t act impulsively!"

"Don’t worry!" Jerome Bonaparte immediately replied, "I won’t do anything to Pius IX; he is an indispensable tool for our rule over France! I just want Pius IX to understand that the safety of the entire Pope State depends on me, not them!"

"Hmm!" Empress Augusta nodded in agreement with Jerome Bonaparte’s words; Pius IX indeed needed to hold the Bonaparte Clan in reverence.

Soon after, Empress Augusta asked again about Marchioness Aile, "Have you gone to see Marquis Alet yet?"

"No!" Jerome Bonaparte shook his head with a touch of embarrassment.

"Then why don’t you go quickly!" Empress Augusta scolded him.

"Alright then, I’ll go now!" Jerome Bonaparte said to Empress Augusta.

"Go quickly!" Empress Augusta urged him once more.

After Jerome Bonaparte left, tears streamed down Empress Augusta’s face.

On the other hand, Jerome Bonaparte, who took a carriage from Tuileries Palace, soon arrived at the residence of Marquis Alet and knocked on the door of the Marquis’s home.

"Your Majesty!" The maid responsible for opening the door looked at Jerome Bonaparte in surprise.

"Is the Lady at home?" Jerome Bonaparte asked quietly.

"She is, Your Majesty!" The maid nodded and quickly led Jerome Bonaparte to Marchioness Aile’s room.

In the room, he saw Marchioness Aile and the infant she was holding in her arms.