"The French Empire has drafted a plan to invite the Kingdom of Sardinia to participate in the war against the Russian Empire! It won't be long before Sardinian soldiers appear on the battlefields of the Near East!"

Prince Metternich spoke solemnly but in a voice even quieter than before to the chief steward.

Clearly, he did not want more people to know about this matter.

The chief steward of Mei Quan Palace immediately understood Prince Metternich's intention. Since Sardinian soldiers could appear in the Near East, then French soldiers could also appear in Lombardy and Venice.

Especially now, when it has been less than three years since the Austrian Empire fully suppressed the rebellion, and the Austrian Empire's rule over Lombardy and Venice is limited to superficial compliance by the cities, while the vast rural areas attached to the cities have not yet fully submitted to Austrian rule.

Once the armies of France and Sardinia march into Lombardy, the regions originally obedient to Austrian rule will inevitably face another rebellion, and the Austrian Empire could easily find itself in a predicament similar to the time of the Great Revolution.

Thinking of this, the face of the chief steward turned pale immediately; he knew that it indeed was a critical moment for the Austrian Empire.

By now, it no longer mattered whether they would disturb the Emperor's mood during his outing.

"Your Highness, please follow me!" The chief steward decisively responded to Prince Metternich.

The chief steward and Metternich walked out of Mei Quan Palace one after the other. The coachman waiting near the fountain at Mei Quan Palace, upon seeing Prince Metternich walk out, believed he was ready to leave after concluding his business there, and quickly drove the carriage to Prince Metternich's side.

"Your Highness, is this your carriage?" The chief steward pointed to Prince Metternich's vehicle and inquired.

"Indeed!" Prince Metternich nodded in confirmation.

"May I borrow your carriage?" The chief steward asked Prince Metternich once more.

"Get in!" Prince Metternich immediately invited the chief steward to board the carriage.

The chief steward first instructed the coachman on the destination, then entered the carriage with Prince Metternich.

The carriage set off again, this time heading to a location near a forest in the northeast of Vienna, where Emperor Franz Joseph and Empress Dowager Sophie were currently situated.

At the urging of the chief steward, the carriage sped along the way and soon reached a spot less than a kilometer from the forest.

A gently flowing river blocked the carriage's path. The river twisted like a snake, with no straight flow, stretching to the distant, barely visible hills. On either side of the river were embankments, vegetable gardens, farmlands, and a watermill; this river and the forest ahead were the areas they needed to search.

The carriage followed the direction of the river's flow until they finally found a wooden bridge that allowed passage. Crossing the bridge to the other side of the river, the carriage continued its search for Emperor Franz Joseph's whereabouts.

Along the way, they inquired from the owner of a mill, who informed them about a group of noblemen who passed by in an indescribably luxurious carriage, surrounded by a retinue of knights, heading downstream. Prince Metternich immediately realized the noble mentioned by the mill owner must be the Emperor.

Prince Metternich and the chief steward pressed on past the existing search by the river, and finally discovered the presence of the Cuirassiers accompanying the Austrian Emperor beside a waterwheel.

Upon spotting the Cuirassiers, Prince Metternich realized the Emperor was nearby, and promptly ordered the coachman to stop.

He then opened the door and, together with the chief steward, walked over to the Cuirassiers.

At this moment, the Cuirassiers, dressed in grey uniforms and with sabers strapped to their sides, were standing together in small groups, leading their horses, smoking subpar cigarettes produced by a Viennese cigarette factory, and engaging in conversation in coarse German dialect.

It wasn't until one of the Cuirassiers noticed Prince Metternich that all conversation stopped, and they dispersed.

When Prince Metternich reached the Cuirassiers, he inquired, "Where is His Majesty?"

The leading Cuirassier Major pointed to five small black dots in the distance and responded to Prince Metternich, "His Majesty and Her Highness Sophie, along with the two princesses, are over there!"

Having finally pinpointed his target, Prince Metternich and the chief steward began to head towards the direction indicated by the Major, but were stopped by him.

"His Majesty does not wish to be disturbed!" The Major shook his head and said to Metternich.

"Even if the French Empire is about to attack the Austrian Empire?" Prince Metternich asked in return.

The face of the Cuirassier Major changed dramatically upon hearing this; he quickly made way for Metternich.

The chief steward remained standing quietly where he was, waiting for Metternich. As Metternich advanced, the five tiny black dots gradually became distinguishable shapes, causing Metternich to quicken his pace.

When Prince Metternich was less than 300 meters from Emperor Franz Joseph, his presence was noticed by a young girl in a voluminous court dress, with fair skin and a hint of sly charm between her brows. Next to her stood Franz Joseph and her slightly tomboyish sister.

At that moment, Franz Joseph was attentively gazing at a painting being completed, following his mother's instructions, and the one painting was Helen, soon to be his wife.

Franz Joseph did not like his fiancée. He didn't see a hint of passion in her; she was like another version of himself.

Compared to Helen, Franz Joseph preferred the spirited Elizabeth, but was his mother truly willing to let Elizabeth enter the court?

Thinking of this, Franz Joseph couldn't help but frown slightly, and his thoughts involuntarily drifted afar.

"Your Majesty, someone is coming!"

The sudden shout from the young girl pulled Franz Joseph back to reality. Coming to his senses, he turned his head to look in the direction of the cuirassiers.

Prince Metternich was walking towards Franz Joseph with steps unfitting for his age.

Franz Joseph furrowed his brows tightly, a trace of annoyance in his eyes.

He had already informed the chief steward at Mei Quan Palace that he was going on an excursion, so how did Prince Metternich manage to find him here?

When Prince Metternich arrived in front of Franz Joseph, Franz Joseph coldly said, "Prince Metternich, what happened that made you so eager to meet with me?"

Hearing Franz Joseph's words, Prince Metternich knew that if he couldn't give a suitable reason, it might be hard for him to maintain his standing in the Habsburg Court.

Thus, Prince Metternich handed the letter originally intended for Minister Bao'Er to Franz Joseph.

Taking the envelope, Franz Joseph looked at the unopened envelope and Richard Metternich's signature, and his expression revealed surprise.

"Your Majesty, open it, and you'll know!" Prince Metternich said to Franz Joseph.

Franz Joseph tore open the envelope and unfolded the letter, reading it line by line.

As Franz Joseph read further, his expression grew increasingly gloomy.

After finishing the last line, he looked up, asking heavily, "Who else has seen this letter?"

"Only you, Your Majesty!" Prince Metternich replied immediately.

"So how do you know what's in the letter?" Franz Joseph's tone was slightly aggressive.

Prince Metternich unhesitatingly handed over the letter Richard Metternich wrote to him, and after Franz Joseph compared the contents of both letters, he found that the letter Richard Metternich intended for him (actually for Minister Bao'Er) was more detailed than the one for Metternich.

"What do you think?" Franz Joseph handed the letter back to Metternich and asked thoughtfully.

"Your Majesty, it depends on what you intend to do," Prince Metternich replied to Franz Joseph. "If you think aligning with the interests of the Russian Empire is more beneficial than with Britain and France, then the Austrian Empire needs to cooperate with the Russian Empire to defeat the Ottoman Empire. If you think the Russian Empire threatens the security of the Austrian Empire, then we might as well join the French camp."

"Advisor Metternich, which side do you think we should stand on?" Franz Joseph asked Prince Metternich once again.

"I believe this question is best decided after joint discussion between the military and government departments," Prince Metternich responded to Franz Joseph. He didn't want the same thing to happen as last time — after painstaking efforts with his son to establish a quasi-alliance between France and Austria, a single word from the military led to total failure.

Since the Austrian military believed that the French Empire posed a threat to the Austrian Empire, now that the threat of French war indeed approached, it was up to the Austrian military to decide how to respond.

Franz Joseph glanced at Prince Metternich. Having studied alongside Schwarzenberg for some time, he somewhat understood Prince Metternich's intentions.

Franz Joseph was not particularly angry at Metternich's current act of shirking responsibility.

"I understand your point! However, I must first explain the situation to my mother!" Franz Joseph said to Prince Metternich.

Franz Joseph first apologized to Helen and Elizabeth, and after gaining their understanding, he headed to a small cabin a hundred meters away.

Inside the cabin were his mother, Empress Dowager Sophie, and his future mother-in-law, Princess Mary.

Upon entering the cabin, Franz Joseph first greeted his mother and Princess Mary, and then explained his purpose to Empress Dowager Sophie and Princess Mary.

"That Metternich, he's not likable at all! He was such a spoilsport in the past!" Empress Dowager Sophie frowned and said sullenly.

"Sister!" Princess Mary held Empress Dowager Sophie's hand and said earnestly, "Prince Metternich is also doing this for the country!"

She then turned to Franz Joseph, saying, "The affairs of the state are more important!"

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