The initially startled Mr. Cavour, upon being called by Princess Mathilde, imdiately realized that Princess Mathilde must have sothing 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 gentlen 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 et my brother. (Princess Mathilde did not like to call Jero Bonaparte ’Emperor’, and Jero Bonaparte was also happy with this arrangent.) 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 !" 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 ca in person!
Cavour was slightly surprised by the personal visit of Jero Bonaparte, but when he thought of the reviews he heard about the Emperor from the Parisian aristocrats he had t, 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 ant 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" inford Cavour about Jero Bonaparte’s current mood.
Upon hearing the maid’s response, Cavour beca more convinced that small expenditures could accomplish great matters.
Sotis, 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, co in!" Jero Bonaparte’s voice ca from within the room.
Cavour hurriedly entered the room, where Jero Bonaparte was sitting on the sofa, enjoying freshly brewed green tea.
Cavour’s arrival prompted Jero Bonaparte to put down his teacup and rise to greet him.
"Your Majesty, please sit!" Cavour hastily responded to Jero Bonaparte.
Then, as they sat on the sofa, Jero 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 innurable affairs, he could not possibly know about the tea ceremony.
"This is a tea-tasting thod inherited from an ancient Oriental empire, emphasizing the word ’taste’!" Jero 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."
Jero 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 Jero Bonaparte, Cavour mimicked his posture when tasting the tea, but he did not experience the unique aroma Jero Bonaparte ntioned.
"See! I told you not to rush, not to rush! Why are you always in such a hurry? Is ti really that precious to you?" Jero Bonaparte remarked to Cavour, implying sothing deeper.
Pri Minister Cavour, politically astute, imdiately understood Jero Bonaparte’s implication and hastily apologized to Jero Bonaparte: "Your Majesty, I indeed was too impatient! Could I taste it again?"
Jero Bonaparte displayed a "teachable youth" expression and poured another cup of tea for Cavour.
This ti, 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?" Jero Bonaparte’s voice reached Cavour’s ears.
Pri Minister Cavour nodded and responded to Jero Bonaparte: "I felt it!"
"Mr. Cavour, you have begun to understand the Way of Tea!" Jero Bonaparte seed 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 Jero Bonaparte.
"Ask! You can ask anything! There are no questions you cannot ask!" Jero 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 Jero Bonaparte.
Jero Bonaparte’s smile gradually faded, and his expression turned serious.
Seeing Jero 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!" Jero Bonaparte said slowly: "After all, the ti 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 Crian War.)"
"But I heard about the situation between you and the Austrian Empire..." Cavour couldn’t resist ntioning to Jero 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!" Jero 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 ant!" Cavour’s face showed a slight change, and he quickly pleaded with Jero Bonaparte: "I understand that the diplomatic engagent with the Austrian Empire is for the purpose of war..."
Cavour’s words defending Jero Bonaparte’s actions made Jero 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 Jero Bonaparte’s script, Sardinia existed rely 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!" Jero Bonaparte consoled Cavour.
"Exactly!" Cavour, who in his heart hoped to establish a Sardinian Kingdom-led nation, outwardly agreed with Jero 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!" Jero Bonaparte continued to Cavour: "Although Prince Albert, like , 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, so 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 ti tonight, I would like to invite you to attend a ball at the Louvre!"
"Of course!" Cavour nodded and quickly responded to Jero Bonaparte.
"Very good! Mr. Cavour, it seems we have reached a consensus!" Jero 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 Jero Bonaparte, "I hope my visit did not disturb your mood!"
"It’s nothing!" Jero Bonaparte shook his head, "In fact, I quite enjoy open conversations with people like you, talking with Franz Joseph makes 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!" Jero Bonaparte laughed and agreed with Cavour’s view.
Subsequently, Cavour bid farewell to Jero Bonaparte, and Jero Bonaparte also quietly left Princess Mathilde’s residence.
Jero Bonaparte, after leaving Madam Tilde’s Mansion, did not return to the Tuileries Palace but went to Ossai Pier to et with De Ruyi.
"Go tell the envoy from the Pope State that Cavour once again sought out to discuss the Apennine Peninsula issue! I also agreed with Cavour’s views!" Jero Bonaparte said to De Ruyi.
"Your Majesty, this might cause panic in the Pope State!" De Ruyi reminded Jero Bonaparte.
"If it doesn’t cause panic in Pope Pius IX, how else will Pope Pius IX submit to us?"
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