Under the orders of Jerome Bonaparte, Bashirio braved the howling cold wind and arrived at Ossai Pier by carriage.

When Bashirio reached the staircase corner on the floor where De Luyis was located, he met De Luyis’s confidential secretary.

At this moment, the secretary, holding a large stack of documents, also saw Bashirio and hurriedly asked respectfully, "Mr. Bashirio, what brings you here?"

"I have come under the order of Your Majesty to invite Minister Luyis to the Tuileries Palace. Is Minister Luyis still working in the office?" Bashirio decisively inquired of the secretary.

Upon hearing that the minister was invited to the Tuileries Palace, the confidential secretary immediately realized that the Emperor must have important diplomatic intelligence to discuss with him.

Otherwise, the Emperor would not have summoned De Luyis at this time.

"Mr. Bashirio, His Excellency the Minister is currently in the office!" the secretary nodded and said to Bashirio, then added, "Let me take you there!"

Bashirio glanced at the documents in the secretary’s hands, shook his head, and replied, "You should focus on your own tasks.

I know where Minister Luyis’s office is!"

With that said, Bashirio ascended the final step and disappeared from the secretary’s view.

The secretary stood there for a long time, then looked again at the documents in his hands, momentarily at a loss.

These were the documents that Minister Luyis was to distribute to his subordinates in the upcoming full Ministry of Foreign Affairs meeting. 𝒻𝘳ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝒷𝘯ℴ𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝑐ℴ𝑚

However, Bashirio’s sudden visit had made the originally scheduled meeting at nine o’clock full of uncertainties.

Now the secretary was unsure how long the minister might be required to wait at the Tuileries Palace, or whether the full Ministry of Foreign Affairs meeting would continue at all.

After a while, the secretary decided to place the documents in the meeting hall as originally planned.

No matter whether the minister eventually proceeded with the full Ministry meeting, the secretary had a reason for his actions.

Thinking this, the secretary set off towards the meeting hall again.

On the other hand, Bashirio, who knocked on the door of De Luyis’s office, saw De Luyis sitting on the sofa, attentively listening to his subordinates’ reports.

"Minister Luyis, hello!" Bashirio politely greeted De Luyis.

Sitting on the sofa, De Luyis showed a hint of surprise in his eyes when he saw Bashirio; he had been surprised by the speed of his secretary.

Unexpectedly, the visitor was not his confidential secretary but a guest from the Tuileries Palace.

"Mr. Bashirio, what brings you here!!" De Luyis quickly stood up, extending his hand to Bashirio.

Bashirio also extended his hand to shake De Luyis’s hand; after lightly shaking twice, they slowly let go.

Then, De Luyis invited Bashirio to sit down. Bashirio, following the lead, inquired about the middle-aged man who was reporting work to De Luyis: "Who is this?"

(Though described as a middle-aged man, he was actually only in his forties, but for a diplomat, his forties are considered the prime of life.)

The middle-aged man questioned by Bashirio showed a slightly unnatural expression upon hearing the inquiry.

Though the change in the middle-aged man’s expression was subtle, it did not escape Bashirio’s eyes.

Bashirio turned with a smile to De Luyis and half-jokingly said, "Your capable aide seems a bit shy!"

De Luyis naturally understood why his reporting subordinate was hesitant to disclose his name to Bashirio. Out of appreciation for talent, Luyis did not wish him to fall under suspicion from the Tuileries Palace either.

"Mr. Louis Decazes, what is there to be shy about!" De Luyis deliberately chided loudly, "His Majesty the Emperor has long since forgiven your uncle!"

Only then did Bashirio realize that this was Louis Decazes before him.

His uncle was the famous Ellis Decaz—a relatively tolerant member of the Royalist Party. It was thanks to his uncle, Ellis Decazes, replacing the extreme Royalist Minister of Internal Affairs that those living under the Bourbon Dynasty finally enjoyed long-lost peace.

Of course, although Louis Decazes’s uncle was a tolerant Royalist, his political stance always remained steadfastly with the Bourbon Faction.

Back when Jerome Bonaparte served as President, he had sent someone to invite Ellis Decazes to participate in the new government’s construction, but Ellis Decazes had mercilessly declined.

During the December coup, Ellis Decazes even served as one of the leaders opposing the coup.

Once the Empire was established, Ellis Decazes was released from prison by Jerome Bonaparte, "magnanimously," because he was not the mastermind of the counter-coup.

Since then, Ellis Decazes had stayed at home, not meddling in political affairs.

The detectives originally deployed near Ellis Decazes’s home were also withdrawn by Jerome Bonaparte, as Ellis Decazes no longer involved himself in any state matters.

Unexpectedly, Louis Decazes, the nephew of Ellis Decaz, actually worked at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and it seemed he was a valued subordinate of De Luyis.

"Mr. Louis, it’s an honor to meet you!" Bashirio said with a smile, extending his hand to Louis Decazes.

Receiving the handshake invitation from Bashirio, Louis Decazes hurriedly extended his hand and replied to Bashirio, "Mr. Bashirio, it’s an honor to meet you too!"

Immediately after, Louis Decazes took his leave from De Luyis and Bashirio.

De Luyis understood that Bashirio was likely here to invite him to the Tuileries Palace, and he nodded to Louis Decazes, allowing him to leave.

After Louis Decazes closed the door, De Luyis finally spoke to Bashirio, "Mr. Bashirio, what does His Majesty command?"

Bashirio informed De Luyis that he was invited to the Tuileries Palace by order of the Emperor.

"Do you know why His Majesty is asking me to come over?" De Luyis asked Bashirio again.

"I really don’t know!" Bashirio shook his head, then added, "However, His Majesty only commanded me to invite you to the Tuileries Palace after receiving a telegram from the telegraph office!"

De Luyis had a roughly clear idea in his mind; presumably, the Emperor had received intelligence from one of the embassies, which prompted the urgent invitation.

"Alright! I’ll go over with you right now!" De Luyis nodded and replied to Bashirio.

Having said that, De Luyis got up and left the office with Bashirio.

When they arrived at the staircase, Bashirio suddenly remembered the administrative secretary he had met at the staircase.

Hence, Bashirio asked De Luyis if he had any pressing work left unfinished.

If De Luyis still had urgent matters to attend to, Bashirio could first report back to the Emperor.

And once De Luyis completed his work at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, it wouldn’t be too late for him to proceed to the Tuileries Palace.

De Luyis thought for a moment and assumed that his meeting with the Emperor shouldn’t be too lengthy, so he could certainly convene a meeting with the departmental members of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs afterwards.

"Nothing urgent!" De Luyis responded with a smile to Bashirio.

"Hmm! That’s good to hear!" Bashirio replied calmly.

Subsequently, Bashirio and De Luyis boarded a carriage together to head for the Tuileries Palace.

The chilly wind swayed the carriage lamps hanging at the rear, causing a rustling sound.

The bustling streets had turned quite deserted due to the sudden drop in temperature.

The shops along the roadsides were also half-closed, seemingly silently protesting against the Parisian winter.

Sitting inside the carriage, Bashirio and De Luyis felt the bitter cold seeping through the cracks, while anxiously hoping to reach the Tuileries Palace soon.

After approximately over ten minutes, the carriage finally arrived at the Tuileries Palace.

As they stepped out of the carriage, Bashirio and De Luyis did not immediately enter but stomped their almost numb feet, then rubbed their hands vigorously.

After a brief bit of exercise, their bodies started warming up. Only then did Bashirio and De Luyis enter the Tuileries Palace.

Then, guided by Bashirio, De Luyis quickly reached the study.

Upon pushing open the room door, a warm wave greeted De Luyis.

To prevent the room’s warmth from escaping, De Luyis hastily entered the study and closed the door again.

At that moment, Jerome Bonaparte was enjoying the warmth by placing his hands near the fireplace. De Luyis’ arrival prompted Jerome Bonaparte to lower his hands and invite De Luyis to sit by his side.

Following suit, De Luyis sat across from Jerome Bonaparte, relishing the warmth from the fireplace.

After about a minute, with De Luyis’ body nearly recuperated, Jerome Bonaparte extended his hand to pass a telegram resting on the sofa over to De Luyis.

"This is a telegram from Ambassador Percy, have a look!"

After taking the telegram and reading it carefully, De Luyis’ expression resembled that of the Emperor’s first glance at the message.

After pondering for a moment, De Luyis cautiously rephrased his words to Jerome Bonaparte, "Your Majesty,

if Ambassador Percy’s intelligence is correct, then I think Cavour might be preparing for a major move in the near future!"