Until the renovation plans for the Tuileries Palace were completed, Jerome Bonaparte only then considered following his ministers’ advice to move back to the Tuileries Palace from the Fontainebleau Palace.

However, Jerome Bonaparte did not choose to proactively return to Paris.

Because Jerome Bonaparte believed that the Emperor returning to Paris on his own initiative would give Parisians the impression that the Emperor could not do without Paris, thus fueling the "arrogance" of the Parisians. (In fact, every ruler could not do without Paris)

Therefore, Jerome Bonaparte had to create an atmosphere in which all Parisians eagerly anticipated the Emperor’s return to Paris, just as they once eagerly awaited Emperor Napoleon’s return to Paris.

When Jerome Bonaparte conveyed his intentions via telegraph to the Tuileries Palace, the Minister of the Seal, Mornay, who was responsible for guarding the Tuileries Palace and handling orders from Fontainebleau Palace, was the first to receive the telegraph.

After reading the contents of the telegraph, Mornay immediately summoned the Vice Speaker of the Legislative Corps, Bijou, the Minister of Justice, Rue, and the Minister of Finance, Fuld, to the Elysee Palace.

[During Jerome Bonaparte’s absence from the Tuileries Palace, all political consultations in Paris took place at the Elysee Palace.]

During Jerome Bonaparte’s absence from Paris, all political affairs were delegated to the three present to manage.

The three did not disappoint Jerome Bonaparte’s expectations and managed the whole of Paris in an orderly manner.

Upon arriving at the Elysee Palace, Mornay said to those present, "His Majesty has sent a telegraph saying he will return to Paris shortly!"

Upon hearing the news that Jerome Bonaparte would soon return to Paris, the three of them immediately broke into long-awaited smiles.

During the Emperor’s absence, although Paris maintained stable development with the joint efforts of the three, their control was far less than when the Emperor was in Paris, especially for governmental affairs that required the Emperor’s prestige to operate smoothly.

Each time they encountered such affairs, they had to travel to the Fontainebleau Palace, and only after obtaining the Emperor’s approval could they implement policies by leveraging his prestige.

This back-and-forth travel left everyone feeling exhausted, both physically and mentally.

Therefore, no one hoped more than them for the Emperor to return from Fontainebleau Palace to the Tuileries Palace.

To encourage the Emperor’s return to Paris, each of them had advised him on the benefits of presiding in Paris and governing the nation.

Yet, the Emperor seemed to be at odds with Paris, stubbornly refusing to return.

Now, the fact that the Emperor wished to return to Paris voluntarily filled them with excitement and anticipation.

"When will His Majesty leave for Paris?" Vice Speaker Bijou was the first to inquire from Mornay.

Mornay did not answer Bijou’s inquiry; instead, he handed the telegraph to Bijou, "This is the telegraph sent by His Majesty from Fontainebleau Palace!"

Bijou accepted the telegraph from Mornay and carefully read its contents.

Sitting to Bijou’s sides, both Rue and Fuld leaned in to read the telegraph contents together with Bijou.

After a moment, Bijou placed the telegraph on the table, took a deep breath, and said to Mornay, "I’ve read the telegraph, and if I’m not mistaken, His Majesty means he will not return to Paris voluntarily!

Instead, he wants us to form a welcoming delegation to escort him back to Paris!

Am I right?"

With that said, Bijou directed his eyes towards Mornay.

"That’s correct!" Mornay nodded slightly in response to Bijou, "I believe His Majesty means exactly that!"

At this point, Mornay suddenly recalled the scene during the Great Revolution when Louis XVI was escorted back to Paris by the Parisians from Versailles.

Jerome Bonaparte’s request is remarkably similar, except that the former (Louis XVI) was passively returned to Paris, while the latter (Jerome Bonaparte) actively requested the Parisians to escort him back.

Your Majesty, you do enjoy emulating history!

Mornay couldn’t help but silently remark in his heart, yet, since the Emperor had already given this order, Mornay and the others had to comply with it whether they wanted to or not!

"Whom should we send as the representative of the delegation to welcome the Emperor?" Bijou asked Mornay and the others again.

Mornay, Rue, and Fuld said nothing but fixed their gazes intently on Bijou.

Clearly, the three present unanimously thought no one was more suitable than Bijou to serve as the representative to welcome the Emperor.

After all, it was Bijou who presided over the Emperor’s enthronement ceremony.

Nonetheless, Bijou realized that the three present intended to place the burden of welcoming the Emperor upon him, and he immediately wanted to refuse.

"Mr. Bijou, no one is more suited to this task than you!" Mornay sincerely said to Bijou, "You are the Vice Speaker of the Legislative Corps and also presided over His Majesty the Emperor’s enthronement ceremony!

If you lead the representatives of the Legislative Corps to the Fontainebleau Palace to welcome the Emperor, it will undoubtedly be twice as effective with half the effort!"

Realizing he could no longer evade the task, Bijou decided to undertake the duty of welcoming the Emperor.

However, he also voiced his concerns to the three people present, "I am willing to go to Fontainebleau Palace to welcome the Emperor, but will the representatives of the Legislative Corps be willing to listen to us and go to Fontainebleau to welcome the Emperor?"

"We don’t need to send all the representatives; we just need to dispatch those willing to cooperate with the Empire." Mornay suggested a solution to Bijou’s concerns, "At least half of the Legislative Corps is willing to listen to the Empire’s representatives!

As long as these people are willing to follow us, it will sufficiently represent the entire Legislative Corps’ welcome to His Majesty the Emperor!"

Bijou thought for a moment and then nodded to Mornay, saying, "That works too! However, I need about a week to persuade some representatives!"

"That’s fine!" Mornay nodded to Bijou, saying, "Use this time to persuade those representatives to agree to go to Paris to welcome His Majesty, and I will use this time to organize a group of Parisians to follow you, while also preparing a welcome ceremony for His Majesty’s return to Paris!"

After speaking, Mornay shifted his gaze to Minister of Finance Fuld.

"Minister Fuld, which department should be responsible for the expenses incurred from welcoming His Majesty?" Mornay asked the Minister of Finance.

After a moment of silence, Fuld replied to Mornay, "I will allocate a special fund from the Ministry of Finance to cover the expenses of welcoming His Majesty’s return!"

"Thank you very much!" Mornay responded with a smile to Fuld, while silently calculating how much benefit he could gain from this return ceremony.

However, Fuld’s next words shattered half of Mornay’s plans.

"But, Mr. Mornay! I hope to see the specific amount for each expense, and I also reserve the right to refuse any unreasonable expenses!

After all, money from the Ministry of Finance doesn’t fall from the sky.

Especially now that France is in an economically bleak period, I must be responsible for every penny!

I hope you can understand!"

After speaking, Minister Fuld rose and bowed to Mornay.

Mornay recognized this as Fuld’s "revenge" for accepting Georges Ossman into his circle.

However, Mornay did not want to fall out with Fuld over this matter at the moment, so he responded with a smile, "You are absolutely right! 𝑓𝘳𝘦𝑒𝑤𝑒𝘣𝘯ℴ𝘷𝘦𝓁.𝑐𝑜𝑚

We are in difficult times now, and we must practice frugality!

Therefore, we welcome oversight and criticism from colleagues at the Ministry of Finance!"

...

After everyone’s discussions, the specific procedure for the welcome ceremony was quickly decided.

Minister of the Seal Mornay immediately stated that he would inform the Emperor of their conversation today in the form of a telegraph, and once the Emperor approved their plan, they would immediately proceed with execution.

No one had any objections to Mornay’s words, and afterwards, everyone left the Elysee Palace one after another.

Riding alone in a carriage returning to the Tuileries Palace, Mornay immediately conveyed the contents of the political consultation meeting to Bashirio, ordering him to transmit the content to the Emperor at Fontainebleau Palace in the form of a telegraph.

Bashirio received the order and went to the telegraph room. Accompanied by the ticking telegraph sounds, the entire discussion at the Elysee Palace was transmitted to Fontainebleau Palace through Morse code and electric signals.

About ten minutes after the telegraph was sent from the Tuileries Palace, it was received at the telegraph room at Fontainebleau Palace, which is over a hundred kilometers away from Paris.

The telegraph personnel translated the Morse code back into French and immediately handed it over to the Emperor’s secretary André von Beichu.

Upon receiving the telegraph, André von Beichu immediately sought out Empress Augusta, who was staying at Fontainebleau Palace, and handed the telegraph to her.

Upon glancing at the telegraph content, Empress Augusta responded calmly, "Alright, I understand!"

Shortly after André von Beichu left, an unexpected visitor arrived at Fontainebleau Palace, and Empress Augusta personally received the guest, promptly sending someone to notify the Emperor at the nearby military camp.

Indeed, at this moment the Emperor was inspecting the Guard Army camp near Fontainebleau Town, accompanied by the Crown Prince in military attire, and bestowing honors on the troops who performed excellently in the recent "Grand Competition."

The officers and soldiers in the camp expressed their enthusiastic welcome upon seeing the Emperor and Crown Prince, with every soldier wishing to display the word "loyalty" on their faces.

In the eyes of these Guard Army officers and soldiers, the Emperor and Crown Prince are their providers, and their favorable treatment is entirely due to the Emperor’s generosity.

(The benefits received by the Guard Army are theoretically the same as those of ordinary French soldiers, but the Emperor frequently gives bonuses to the Guard Army.

Nearly every Guard Army soldier has received a bonus from the Emperor.)

Without the Empire, where would these soldiers find such a generous Monarch!