I Am the Crown Prince in France

Joseph glanced at Kalona's expression and immediately "added more fuel":

"This time, the Impartial Investigation Department and the secret police have more than 60 people in charge of this case. It is expected that everyone and everything related to this case will be carefully investigated.

"Viscount Carlona, ​​during this process, there is no guarantee that they will not uncover some things about you that you don't want others to know."

Kalona could no longer remain calm and said in an almost begging tone:

“Your Highness, I can swear to God that I had nothing to do with the death of that investigator!

"Look, can you please stop letting those people disturb my already miserable life in exile..."

Joseph stared at him and said:

"Viscount Carlona, ​​I really want to help you, but the first step is to establish mutual trust.

"As long as you are honest with me, I can guarantee that no matter what happens, I can keep you safe."

Kalona shakily took out a handkerchief and wiped it on his forehead. He believed in his heart that the young crown prince in front of him must have been sent by Her Majesty the Queen, which meant that he represented her will, and it was obvious that the Queen already knew a lot about herself.

However, he also knew that his problem was too big, and he was not sure whether the queen would really be able to forgive him after he was exposed.

Seeing his hesitation, Joseph immediately stood up and pretended to leave:

"Since you choose not to trust me, then face the secret police and investigators yourself. I am going back to Paris."

Kalona panicked, took a few steps forward, and pulled his arm hard. Then he was shocked and realized that he was disrespectful. He hurriedly retracted his hand, lowered his head, and breathed quickly:

"I'm sorry, Your Highness, I'm really sorry, I didn't mean to offend...

"Well, uh, can you really help me? I mean, if I did something wrong, could you ask Her Majesty the Queen to forgive me?"

"It depends on your performance." Joseph sat back on the chair and changed his expression to a friendly one. "I said that the royal family has great trust and respect for you."

He said and put the pardon letter on the table:

"You see, when I left the Palace of Versailles, Her Majesty the Queen had already decided to pardon you."

Kalona picked up the pardon letter and opened it in surprise. His eyes turned red with excitement. It turned out that Her Majesty the Queen had been thinking about him all along. She pardoned herself not long after the tax bill incident!

He thought again of what the Crown Prince had said just now. Perhaps Her Majesty the Queen already knew what he was doing and sent her Highness to give him a chance?

Joseph duly added:

"Viscount Carlona, ​​now our common enemy is Necker. As for you, you have always been a loyal minister to His Majesty the King."

Carlona looked at the Crown Prince cautiously and murmured:

"Your Highness, if I tell you about Necker, what kind of punishment will I receive later?"

Joseph smiled: "Why don't you tell me about yourself first."

Kalona's face turned a little pale, but he thought that even if he didn't say it, the queen might know it. Even if he didn't know it, when the secret police investigated him, they would find some problems. After weighing it again and again, he finally gritted his teeth and said:

"Your Highness, actually, I... made some money for myself when I was the Minister of Finance..."

When he saw Joseph nodding calmly, he became more convinced that his affair had been exposed, and immediately spoke more eloquently:

"Four years ago, the Duke of Poix and I worked together on the project to widen the Grandoc Royal Canal..."

He rambled on about some of the dirty things he had done, and Joseph interrupted him impatiently:

"Viscount Carlona, ​​just tell me the number."

"ah?"

“Just all things considered, how much money did you make?”

"This...probably..." Kalona hesitated, lowered his head, and whispered, "Probably close to 5 million livres."

Oops——

Good guy! At this time, Joseph just wanted to say, "Good guy!"

This guy has been the finance minister for more than 4 years and made 5 million? !

No wonder he was so scared - some small provinces only have so much fiscal revenue in a year. If he were sent directly to trial, even if he wasn't immediately punished, he would at least be in prison for a lifetime.

Unexpectedly, he had to deal with Necker, but he deceived a big fish here first.

If Necker were on the same level as Carona, they alone could give France more than 10 million in financial subsidies.

This is more profitable than running your own fashion week! Joseph was so angry that his teeth itched.

He tried hard to suppress the anger in his heart, and now he had to make Kalona take credit for his crime. So, he took a deep breath and said in as calm a tone as possible:

"Since you are so honest, I also promise you on behalf of the royal family that as long as you return the money you should not have taken, these things will be treated as if they did not happen.

"And if you can help me deal with Necker, you can even get some rewards."

"Really?" Carlona originally thought that the Crown Prince would at least punish him, but he didn't expect to expose it directly. He was so excited that he almost knelt on the ground and kissed Joseph's boots, "Thank you, Your Highness, thank the Queen. Your Majesty! You are so kind! May God be with you!"

After his affairs were settled, he suddenly felt relieved and a hideous smile flashed across his face - Necker, you have been at odds with me for so many years and have been cheating on me behind my back! Now I will make you fall into hell!

He turned around and moved the table away, and when he touched the floor in the corner, he heard a slight "click" sound.

Then, he came to get the chair and took out a stack of documents from the small hole in the roof.

"Your Highness, these are the evidence of Necker's corruption crimes that I found when I was the finance minister." Kalona handed the documents to Joseph respectfully, "He also knew something about me at the time, so I didn't dare to expose him. And now, please bring him to justice!"

Joseph took the documents and opened them. The first ones were copies of several receipts. Judging from the descriptions behind them, it was Necker's additional allocation to build an irrigation system in the south. In the end, the money fell into the hands of several local people. In the hands of the great nobles, Necker received 350,000 livres in return.

Then Necker borrowed 3 million livres from a bank, but the money never entered the national treasury, and the French finance had to pay 20% interest every year. It was not until Necker was dismissed five years later that the money was credited to the treasury. One-third of the annual interest went into Necker's pocket.

The third copy...

Joseph looked over page after page, his face turned livid, he slapped the document on the table and looked at Kalona:

"How much money did he make in total?"

The latter's eyes flashed with satisfaction:

"Your Highness, the total is 7.22 million livres."

Joseph secretly took a breath, this guy is even greedier than Carlona!

Unexpectedly, Kalona continued:

"Your Highness, this is just the evidence I have. As far as I know, what he has done is much more than this, especially some of his transactions with the banking industry. Because they were done very secretly, I only guessed some traces."

Joseph took a deep breath: "How many are there?"

"Probably more than ten million livres."

Thanks to: Little Studying Abroad Dog, Living Outside Time, Honey Mountain, Heart Like Floating Leaves, Sugar and Grease Don’t Come Near several big guys for generously tipping this book! The young author is grateful and will love you forever! mwah!