Make France Great Again-Chapter 802 - 793: Replacing the Chief Steward

"Mr. Patterson, thank you very much for accompanying me on my twentieth birthday!"

After lunch, Marguerite bowed respectfully to Jerome Bonaparte, expressing her gratitude.

"Miss Marguerite, it’s I who should be thanking you! You’ve solved a troublesome problem for me!" Jerome Bonaparte smiled and nodded in response to Marguerite.

"Then Your Ma... Mr. Patterson," Marguerite’s face flushed as she seemed to muster the courage to say to Jerome Bonaparte, "Could you give me a hug upon parting?"

Jerome Bonaparte was stunned for a few seconds, then opened his arms to gently embrace Marguerite, "Miss Marguerite, is this alright?"

"Thank you!" Marguerite whispered a reply to Jerome Bonaparte.

The two embraced for about half a minute before Jerome Bonaparte released Marguerite. He took out his pocket watch, glanced at the time, and said to Marguerite, "I must be going! Miss Marguerite!"

"Sir, thank you very much!" Marguerite once again expressed her gratitude to Jerome Bonaparte.

With Marguerite seeing him off, Jerome Bonaparte left the room and thoughtfully closed the door for her.

The old woman, who hadn’t spoken since the start of lunch, suddenly questioned, "Marguerite, my dear! Tell me, who exactly is he?"

"Just an ordinary friend!" Marguerite tried to brush off the old woman.

"Really?" The old woman looked at Marguerite with skepticism. Having lived in Paris for decades, she had developed a keen eye; she did not believe the gentleman was an ordinary person.

Moreover, the gentleman gave her a very familiar feeling; she felt as though she had seen him somewhere before.

"You don’t need to worry!" Marguerite responded to the old woman, with a hint of annoyance.

"Alright, alright! I won’t worry, I won’t worry!" the old woman said with self-pity, "After all, I’m old now and won’t live much longer! Miss, do whatever you want!"

"How can you say that!" Marguerite quickly comforted the old woman, "Aunt Mary (an affectionate term for a servant), it’s not that I don’t want to tell you, but Mr. Patterson’s identity is too special!"

"Special!" The old woman immediately thought of the name "Jerome Patterson" and quickly asked, "Could it be someone important from the Bonaparte Clan?"

If I don’t acknowledge His Majesty as being from the Bonaparte family, Aunt Mary will certainly dig deeper! Marguerite thought to herself.

She hesitated for a moment, then nodded in response to the old woman, "Yes! He’s from the Bonaparte family! However, he’s not a Prince!"

"That makes sense!" the old woman quietly murmured.

"What’s wrong?" Marguerite curiously asked the old woman.

The old woman told Marguerite that before she returned, Jerome Bonaparte had asked her some questions.

Marguerite quickly inquired about what questions Jerome Bonaparte had asked her.

The old woman recounted the questions Jerome Bonaparte asked her, in detail to Marguerite.

"Ah!" Marguerite looked at the old woman in surprise, "Aunt Mary, it’s fortunate you didn’t say anything wrong! Otherwise, I really wouldn’t know what to do!"

The old woman also patted her chest in relief that she hadn’t said anything inappropriate in front of the Bonaparte family.

"Miss, the next time you invite friends over, can you please inform me of their identities in advance! So I can be prepared!" the old woman complained to Marguerite.

"Aunt Mary, I’ll certainly inform you in advance next time!" Marguerite quickly promised the old woman.

After a while, the door was knocked on once more.

Marguerite and the old woman were both startled, then the old woman looked at Marguerite with her eyes, as if asking who the guest outside was!

Marguerite shook her head, seemingly bewildered. Today, apart from inviting His Majesty the Emperor, she hadn’t invited anyone else!

"Who is it?" the old woman asked towards the door.

"I’m Leopold, a friend of Miss Marguerite!" Crown Prince Leopold’s voice was heard inside.

Marguerite’s heart jumped to her throat; if His Majesty the Emperor hadn’t left earlier, it would be difficult to handle now.

"Your Highness, why have you come!" Marguerite hurriedly asked the Crown Prince.

"I heard from others that today is your birthday!" Crown Prince Leopold responded politely to Marguerite.

"That’s right!" Marguerite gave the old woman a signal to quickly clear away the previous traces, while using a surprised tone to speak to Crown Prince Leopold outside the door, "I didn’t expect you to know my birthday, Your Highness!"

"Of course!" Standing at the door, Leopold was unaware that Marguerite was deliberately delaying; he felt a spontaneous pleasure, believing that Marguerite would certainly be moved by his actions.

"Please wait a moment!" Miss Marguerite replied to Crown Prince Leopold, "I just got up and need to put on some makeup!"

"Alright!" Leopold stood at the door, quietly waiting for Marguerite to open it.

About 15 minutes later, Marguerite opened the door, "Sorry to keep you waiting!"

Looking at the slightly alluring Marguerite in front of him, Leopold subconsciously swallowed.

"Please come in!" Marguerite invited Leopold inside.

Once Leopold sat down, Marguerite responded to him with a regrettable expression, "I didn’t know Your Highness would visit today, so I didn’t prepare in advance!"

"No need to prepare! Let’s go out to eat!" Leopold hurriedly replied to Marguerite, then handed the flowers in his hand to her.

"Alright!" Marguerite agreed to go out to eat with Leopold.

However, she wasn’t sure if she could eat anything.

After all, she had eaten quite a lot before.

...

Meanwhile, as Jerome Bonaparte walked back from Marguerite’s home to the Tuileries Palace, he kept pondering over the elderly woman’s previous words.

The current state of the Empire is akin to the structure of a department store, except this structure is an inverted department store.

Those atop the Pyramid are the guests of the first and second floors of the department store, led by Bonaparte’s three pillars (the army, bankers, official writers).

The next level of the Pyramid is for those with a little fame, like Marguerite. It doesn’t only refer to her, as some renowned lawyers and journalists are also included. Theoretically, they are the closest to the upper class, yet only a few can truly enter high society, while most spend their lives merely observing its scenery.

The level below Marguerite’s is for provincial students and junior accountants who come to Paris with dreams. Compared to those outwardly higher-class people, their numbers are larger, yet few can genuinely rise to a higher level.

Only upheaval allows them to complete their class leap (some nouveau riches during the July Monarchy rose through turmoil), so some among them long for chaos, while others fear it most.

The bottom layer, also the foundation of the entire Pyramid, occupies the fifth and sixth levels with textile and construction workers. They are the most numerous in Paris and the most prone to unrest.

The entire Pyramid links in chains; any part withdrawn affects Jerome Bonaparte’s upper echelons of power.

Hence, Jerome Bonaparte realized he should conduct a survey to check the conditions of Paris’s lower-tier workers.

Consequently, upon returning to Tuileries Palace, Jerome Bonaparte summoned Bashirio.

"Your Majesty!" Bashirio respectfully responded to Jerome Bonaparte.

"Bashirio, are you interested in serving as Chief Steward of Tuileries Palace?" Jerome Bonaparte inquired Bashirio.

A hint of excitement flashed across Bashirio’s face; the status of Royal Chief Steward far exceeded that of the Northern Industrial Group’s general manager.

However, Bashirio worried about Chief Steward Mo Ka’er, gently saying, "Your Majesty, don’t you already have Chief Steward Mo Ka’er? There’s no need to appoint another Chief Steward."

"I’m planning to give Mo Ka’er a bit of experience soon!" Jerome Bonaparte nonchalantly replied to Bashirio.

Bashirio immediately grasped Jerome Bonaparte’s underlying message.

His Majesty the Emperor wasn’t intending to train Chief Steward Mo Ka’er; he wanted to send Mo Ka’er away. It’s unclear what exactly Mo Ka’er did to offend the Emperor!

Bashirio couldn’t help but feel schadenfreude.

Seeing Mo Ka’er as destined to falter, Bashirio certainly didn’t mind taking his place.

"Your Majesty, if I replace Mo Ka’er as Chief Steward, what will happen to the Northern Industrial Group?" Bashirio pretended to inquire about his duties when asking Jerome Bonaparte.

"As for the Northern Industrial Group!" Jerome Bonaparte contemplated for a moment, then replied, "I’ll find someone to take your place at that time!"

"Understood!" Bashirio respectfully replied to Jerome Bonaparte.

"However, before you take Mo Ka’er’s position, I need you to do something for me!" Jerome Bonaparte responded to Bashirio again.

"Your Majesty, please tell me!" Bashirio quickly asked Jerome Bonaparte.

"I need you to help conduct a comprehensive survey, to check the wage conditions of workers in Paris, Lyon, Strasbourg, Normandy, Marseille, and Nancy!" Jerome Bonaparte quietly instructed Bashirio, "You must keep this matter confidential and not let the local mayors find out! Do you understand?"

Jerome Bonaparte feared that if his actions were discovered, the local officials might provide him with inflated data on wage issues.

Inflated data, after all, is characteristic of every country.