A rift among the Jacobins

Looking at the Crown Prince's calm and collected expression, Dibore seemed to understand something and nodded hesitantly.

"Yes, yes, Your Highness, the trial of Baron Asturno's embezzlement case is scheduled for 3 o'clock..."

"Then... I won't have any tea. I... I need to go back to the High Court first."

"Please see Dean Dibore out for me." Joseph gestured to Eman, then smiled at Dibore and said, "Oh, please don't forget what I told you before: the Earl of Norfolk and the others should be given lenient sentences, after all, they did expose wrongdoing."

Dibore was taken aback. He had thought that the Crown Prince was making an exception for the Nobility as was customary, but now it seemed that His Highness probably already knew that corrupt officials would expose them in court.

Cold sweat broke out on his forehead again; he seemed to have learned something terrible.

"Yes, Your Highness, I will certainly deliver a fair judgment." His mind raced, and he quickly added,

"Furthermore... I only had lunch after the court hearing and did not go anywhere else."

Joseph nodded in satisfaction. Dibore's words implied that he hadn't been there, meaning he wouldn't associate Joseph with the whistleblowing on corrupt officials. He was clearly a man well-versed in political rules.

In the afternoon, the High Court hearings continued, but the judges presiding over the corruption cases against officials like Dibore were not as flustered as they had been in the morning.

Faced with the officials' eloquent accusations, they merely instructed the clerk to carefully copy them down before announcing a further postponement of the trial.

In a Cafe across the street from the High Court, Marat looked out at the agitated crowd of citizens, tapped the newspaper on the table, and remarked, "Although I don't know how His Crown Prince discovered those officials' corruption, it's clear he was right."

He looked at Desmoulins across from him, smiled and shook his head, "The number of corrupt officials he uncovered alone exceeded the workload of the Investigation Bureau in a year. At this rate, it won't be long before he takes down all those corrupt officials."

"I must admit, in the fight against corruption, he is the true guardian of the French People."

Desmoulins was surprised that Mr. Marat, who had always been hostile to the Royal House, could have such an opinion of the Crown Prince, and immediately nodded in agreement.

In fact, shortly after joining the Fair Investigation Department, he had come to greatly admire the Crown Prince, but he never showed it because Marat disliked the Royal House.

"His Highness the Crown Prince is indeed very different from those vampires," he said excitedly.

"I... I heard that the abolition of Nobility privileges and the forced redemption of land by peasants were all orchestrated by him behind the scenes."

He grabbed the newspaper that published a large list of exposed officials, his eyes gleaming. "Now, now he's targeting officials and bureaucrats again."

"Or perhaps we should, should, fully support him!"

"At least what my eyes have seen, he has made France more just and prosperous, and the people are better off than before..."

Marat sighed and interrupted him, saying, "We cannot betray our faith! Although he has done many good things, he could also turn into Tyrant at any time!"

"Like Louis XIV, in the later years of his reign, didn't all his previous glorious achievements ultimately turn into heavy suffering for the people?"

He said, enunciating each word clearly, "Only a government authorized by the people can guarantee lasting justice and fairness. We need Constitution, we need human rights, we need freedom! Not to wait for the charity of King or his son!"

Upon hearing this, Desmoulins stood up excitedly and exclaimed, "Why must we break a perfect situation just because of certain theories?!"

"The United Kingdom have Constitution and Parliament, yet their officials are still corrupt, ordinary people are still oppressed by the lords, they are not even allowed to be homeless, and the Police will not hesitate to throw them into prison!"

"I dare say that if the British Parliament were to manage France, it would not do a better job than the current Royal House."

"At least, most of their land was bought up by Nobility and wealthy merchants, while France peasants owned far more arable Farmland than United Kingdom peasants!"

Marat stared wide-eyed at his old friend, sensing that he had betrayed Mr. Rousseau's ideas and been misled by the Royal House —a very ominous sign.

He suddenly noticed something else and said to Desmoulins in surprise, "Your stutter seems to have improved!"

"Is that so?" Desmoulins's previous state of "selflessness" vanished instantly. "I... I just wanted to discuss with you the future of France..."

Time will tell.

Marat, surprisingly, didn't want to continue the topic and turned to the window, gesturing, "We're probably going to be quite busy lately. Look, another hundred corrupt officials have been implicated."

Desmoulins simply nodded silently. In that instant, a barely perceptible rift had appeared between the two Jacobin "Flag Bearer."

Versailles Palace.

In the Reception Room of the Crown Prince's Palace, more than a dozen pale-faced officials stood, their heads almost touching their feet, too nervous to even breathe.

Joseph calmly held his teacup, his gaze sweeping over the crowd, and said, "As you can see, the citizens outside have been marching for two days, demanding that all those involved in corruption be hanged."

The officials inside the room trembled even more violently.

They were all implicated in court by Norfolk and others. They had previously sought help from the Minister of Justice and Brienne, but were told that the matter was serious and probably difficult to resolve.

Finally, Brienne hinted that their only chance of survival was to seek out His Crown Prince, so they went there, only to hear about "hanging."

"Your Highness," the leading old man said in a trembling voice, "We... we have always been loyal to His King. For God's sake, we beg you to plead with His Majesty on our behalf..."

Joseph glanced at his watch, feeling he had intimidated you enough, and then slowly said, "However, it's also possible that the Earl of Norfolk, facing a severe sentence, fabricated these accusations to exonerate himself."

The officials immediately nodded vigorously, "Yes, yes! That's it!"

"Your Highness truly lives up to his reputation as the ' Child of Divine Grace,' seeing through their lies at a glance!"

"We have all been framed. Please, Your Highness, help us clear our name."

"Thank you, Your Highness, you are as just as God!"

Joseph glanced at them again and said, "I will have a fair investigation conducted to clear your names. Of course, this will take some time."

"During this period, I believe you should be temporarily suspended from your duties to demonstrate your stance to His Majesty the King and the people."