Chapter 1335: The Power Couple
On the second floor of the Palace of Versailles.
Eman bowed slightly and said, "Your Highness, Archbishop Beaumont, Archbishop Boissy, Archbishop Asseline, and others request an audience."
"I thought they would hold out a little longer," Joseph remarked, glancing out the window at the lavish church carriages parked in the Marble Courtyard. He gestured to Eman, "Please inform the Crown Princess to prepare for her 'entrance'."
"Yes, Your Highness."
Before long, Beaumont arrived at the Crown Prince's reception room with six high-ranking clerics.
After they had offered their respects, Joseph looked at Archbishop Beaumont and stated calmly, "If you are here to intercede on behalf of certain individuals, I believe it would be..."
"Your Highness, this incident is a disgrace to the Church!" Beaumont, however, suddenly burst into tears, pointing emphatically at Archbishop Boissy and the others. "I have already instructed them to submit letters of repentance to the Holy See."
He stealthily glanced at the unperturbed Crown Prince, then hastily raised his voice: "Of course, this is far from enough!
"They, including the entire Church hierarchy, must receive the severest punishment!"
"All embezzled funds must be immediately returned to the Church, and a fine of double the amount must be paid to the Royal Chapel.
"The Church will establish an 'Auditing Committee' to collaborate with the Bureau of Impartial Investigation and audit the accounts of all abbeys and churches in the shortest possible time. Any irregularities found will be penalized in the same manner as described above."
Seeing that the Crown Prince still hadn't spoken, Beaumont gritted his teeth and continued, "Furthermore, the Church will provide two million francs to improve conditions in welfare homes across the nation and will dispatch personnel for regular inspections to prevent any further abuse.
"And also..."
To be honest, Joseph truly hadn't expected the Church to come admitting their wrongdoing, and with such a sincere attitude at that.
Marat had already uncovered embezzled funds amounting to 1.64 million francs. Not only would the Church have to return all of it, but it also had to pay a fine of 3.28 million francs to the Royal Chapel—which was an internal chapel of the Palace of Versailles, effectively meaning the funds went to the royal family.
Furthermore, the subsequent audits of abbeys and similar institutions nationwide wouldn't be conducted internally by the Church, but in collaboration with the Bureau of Impartial Investigation.
Even if local churches immediately began destroying evidence, with Marat's capabilities, countless irregularities were bound to be uncovered.
This was a clear intention to thoroughly cleanse the Church of corruption.
However, this turn of events left Joseph somewhat at a loss. His original plan was to wait for the Church to quibble, resist, or even cause a major stir, at which point his extensive arsenal of countermeasures would come into play.
With the entire Church in a state of extreme panic and fear, he could then seize the opportunity to push for Church reforms, ensuring minimal resistance from all quarters.
But now, with the Church adopting an attitude of admitting fault and accepting punishment, he couldn't very well refuse them a chance at redemption, could he?
As he pondered how to handle the current situation, Alexandra, clad in a dark red gown and with an eagle feather adorning her hair, pushed open the door and entered.
"Your Highness, what do you think of my new gown?"
The Crown Princess curtsied to Joseph, then feigned surprise at noticing the archbishops in the room. Her gaze swept over them, finally resting on Archbishop Boissy. "Oh, esteemed Archbishop Boissy, have you come to demonstrate your miracles to His Highness?"
"Miracles?" The latter was taken aback.
"Why, your educational miracles, of course! Without decades of investing heavily in teacher salaries, school building repairs, and library enrichment, you can win the national mathematics competition with a mere three thousand francs. Such an efficient and low-cost method of nurturing talent is undoubtedly the greatest miracle in this world."
Beaumont's face instantly flushed crimson. He cleared his throat twice and said awkwardly, "Your Royal Highness, regarding that incident, the Oratorian Order merely believed they had discovered a prodigy and were unaware he had received his education at the New Primary Schools..."
Alexandra shot him a sideways glance. "'Discovered a prodigy'? Ha! The Oratorian Order, established for four hundred years, couldn't produce a single student who excelled in a mathematics competition, and instead had to 'try their luck' outside?
"Oh, I understand. You must be strictly adhering to the traditions of the Holy See."
Beaumont was also taken aback. He instinctively asked, "What tradition?"
"Have you forgotten? The Holy See once listed Newton's *Philosophiæ Naturalis Principia Mathematica* as forbidden reading. It seems students of the Oratorian Order are still not permitted to study it. Archbishop Boissy even had to 'sacrifice' three thousand francs for this ancient tradition.
"Oh, but you also have your own unique curriculum: Miracle Mathematics. Chapter one is the method for solving all mathematical problems—simply unfasten your purse strings, and the problem solves itself."
Joseph stifled a laugh, silently commending his wife. 'Her tongue is truly sharp,' he thought.
Beaumont and the others, meanwhile, had faces that had turned a sickly purplish-red. However, having been caught red-handed in a competition overseen by the Crown Princess, they could only grit their teeth and dare not retort.
'Indeed, if they dared to retort, they would likely meet an even uglier fate.'
Joseph immediately capitalized on the momentum Alexandra had generated, turning to Archbishop Boissy. "By the way, you once promised me that you would secure a top-three finish in this mathematics competition."
Archbishop Boissy felt a bitter taste in his mouth. 'You were the one who demanded I achieve a top-three finish; how did that become *my* promise?' he thought.
But at this moment, he wouldn't dare raise an objection, merely standing with his head bowed.
Joseph continued, "Indeed, you failed to deliver, and even caused such a major scandal.
"The Oratorian Order invests between ten thousand and thirteen thousand francs annually into each of its Church schools, whereas the New Primary Schools established by that young noble only require seven thousand francs per school.
"Yet your students are clearly inferior to the children from the New Primary Schools in every regard."
Perceiving the Crown Prince's displeasure, Beaumont hastily said, "Your Highness, we are deeply ashamed of this, and we will certainly find ways to improve in the future..."
"Wait," Joseph interrupted him. "Let's put aside the matter of Church schools for now, Archbishop Beaumont. Do you recall how important I told you public kindergartens were?"
"I... I remember, Your Highness."
Joseph's voice turned cold. "Something so important, and after all this time—you and the other archbishops were all present that day, weren't you?—only two kindergartens have been established so far?
"Frankly, I am extremely disappointed."
"This, this..."
Joseph stood up, patted his arm, and his tone softened slightly. "It's quite clear that the Church is finding it difficult to manage the entirely new educational system we have today.
"Perhaps, it's time to let others try their hand at these matters."
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