The Press Guild

Joseph picked up the * Citizen Daily * again. The gist of the front-page article was: the new Tax Law had not undergone rigorous review and was merely a product of former Minister of Finance Calonne's impulsive decision-making. If implemented, it would have unpredictable consequences for France.

The following newspapers all conveyed similar sentiments, essentially dodging the issue and attacking the Tax Law with various absurd reasons.

Joseph couldn't help but think of those unscrupulous self-media outlets of later generations—you try to reason with them, they talk about history. You talk about history, and they try to evoke your emotions.

In short, they come up with all sorts of fallacies and arguments, but never directly address the issue at hand.

He looked around for a long time, and only one newspaper, "Paris News," was still publishing analyses and explanations of the Tax Law.

He turned to the author's name and saw it was signed "Jean- Paul Marat".

Joseph found it amusing; if this Marat was indeed one of the core leaders of the Jacobin during the Great Revolution period, it was truly a brilliant irony.

The only one to speak out in support of the Royal House Tax Law was, ironically, the Jacobin leader who would later be the most ruthless and merciless towards the Royal House.

By the time Joseph had finished flipping through the newspapers on the table, his face was ashen.

Overnight, articles introducing the Tax Law disappeared, and the entire Newspaper Industry adopted a unified stance, launching a frenzied attack on the Tax Law.

There must be someone manipulating things behind this.

Openly opposing the Royal House.

Arrogant! Utterly arrogant!

Joseph stared at the newspapers, clenching his fists tightly. They were just some Newspaper Office; since they dared to act so arrogantly, he would let them taste how hard the hammer of Royal Power was!

His attention was entirely focused on the Tax Law, and he didn't even notice the article in the corner of the Citizen Daily —ostensibly describing the lives of the Versailles Palace Nobility, but subtly hinting that a "Duke Schwarz of Prussia" might be Queen Mary's lover.

The newspapers that Joseph had access to, which had relatively large circulations, were more disciplined. Some tabloids had already published numerous articles alluding to Queen Mary or Princess Thales and their "Prussia lovers" scandals.

Even more explicit Pamphlets appeared in large numbers throughout the streets and alleys of Paris.

The so-called "Pamphlets" is a unique type of publication that is usually circulated privately to avoid regulation.

The Pamphlets were poorly printed, cheap, and contained vulgar content, so they had a very wide audience and sold far more than newspapers.

Joseph had intended to go directly to Robert to discuss punishing the unscrupulous Newspaper Office, but when he returned to the Versailles Palace it was already past nine o'clock at night, so he had to suppress his anger and wait until tomorrow.

At the Newspaper Office of the Paris News newspaper, a middle-aged man with disheveled hair and deep nasolabial folds rushed into the editor-in-chief's office, clutching a newly printed sample copy. "Mr. Darmanin, why wasn't my article analyzing the relationship between the Tax Law and the public published?"

The editor-in-chief, wearing silver-rimmed glasses, looked up with an apologetic smile, "Mr. Marat, this is a request from the Press Guild. They said that publishing too many bill provisions might subject the courts to too much external interference."

Marat exclaimed, "But that's tax money paid by the France people! The people have the right to know the details!"

The editor-in-chief shrugged. "I'm sorry, I really can't do anything about it. I have to abide by the Press Guild's regulations."

Marat argued his case for a long time, but seeing the editor's resolute attitude, he had no choice but to leave in anger. "Goodbye, Mr. Darmanin. Surely a newspaper will be willing to publish my article!"

The editor-in-chief watched his retreating figure helplessly, shaking his head and saying, "That's impossible..."

The next day.

After a quick breakfast, Joseph set off for the office of the head of the Secret Police.

He had just reached the door when he heard a young girl's angry voice coming from inside, "These despicable, disgusting, and vile bastards! How could they make up such a shameless lie?!"

When the Guard at the gate saw that it was the Crown Prince, they quickly bowed their heads and opened the gate for him.

Joseph walked into the office and saw a girl slightly older than himself standing with her hands on her hips, looking at Count Robert with a face full of anger.

The girl was not tall, wearing a white, wide-skirted dress. Her face was slightly chubby, her skin was as white and delicate as Porcelain, and her Gem -like eyes were pure and bright.

Her name immediately came to Joseph's mind— Mary Therese, the eldest daughter of Louis XVI, a France princess, and his own sister.

Joseph remembered that she had been recuperating at Château de Meudon, where the environment was more suitable, because of her poor health. Why did she suddenly return to the Versailles Palace?

Hearing footsteps, Therese turned around and saw Joseph. She quickly curtsied and then immediately smiled warmly. "Joseph, my dear brother, it's so good to see you. It's been three months since we last met, hasn't it?"

Joseph returned the greeting with a hand on his chest. "It has been a long time, dear sister. What brings you back? Are you feeling better?"

"How could I not come back?" Therese said, her face hardening again. "It's all because of those awful rumors that I'm suffering every single moment!"

"A rumor?" Joseph looked at Robert beside him in surprise.

"Those tabloids like * Paris Courier * and * the Spectator *, and their Pamphlets."

Seeing Joseph shake his head, Robert pulled two newspapers from the table beside him, flipped them to one side, glanced carefully at Therese, and then handed them to Joseph.

Joseph took the newspaper and quickly scanned it, then immediately frowned.

Several articles alluded to or implied that Prussia Nobility had recently arrived in Paris and had an affair with the Queen and the Princess. One article even mentioned that he had an affair with a brown-skinned female slave.

Therese said angrily, "These shameless things have been appearing in the newspapers since the afternoon before yesterday! I had no choice but to rush back immediately."

She looked again at the head of the Secret Police: "Count Robert, you just heard what Her Majesty the Queen said—that those who spread rumors must be severely punished!"

It turned out that she had already complained to Queen Mary.

Robert nodded immediately. "Yes, Your Highness, I actually sent someone to handle it yesterday."

"Oh? Those Newspaper Office were shut down?"

Robert hurriedly said, "No, Your Highness, that's impossible."

"However, we confiscated the printing plates of several newspapers, including * Paris Courier *, and imposed hefty fines. Oh, and we also arrested the editor of * Happy Man *, who is currently being interrogated."

Therese was furious. "They insulted the Royal House, and this is the only lenient punishment they received?"

The head of the Secret Police said with a sigh, "Your Highness, actually, there were no words in their document that insulted the Royal House."

"I know the content was full of innuendo and could easily be misunderstood, but the court certainly won't find the Newspaper Office at fault because of that."

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(End of this chapter)