Chapter 32: Chapter 32 Big Shopping Spree (Seeking Investment)
Queen Mary curiously pulled out the cork from the glass bottle and cautiously smeared a bit of the pastel purple cream on her hand.
“Hmm, quite smooth, not bad,” she said with a pleasant smile looking at her son, “Dear Joseph, you always bring me surprises. Where did you buy this?”
Joseph launched into sales mode:
“I devised it myself; I call it ‘Angel Water.’ It can soften the skin and is particularly effective at removing acne.”
Upon hearing this, Queen Mary immediately waved over a maid standing at the door:
“Morgana, you could try this out.”
Only then did Joseph notice that the maid had several pimples on her forehead, not quite hidden by makeup. Many of these maidservants were only seventeen or eighteen years old, precisely the age prone to acne.
Seeing Morgana quickly approaching, Queen Mary took out a box from the nine wooden ones in front of her and handed it to her, upon which she bent her knee in surprised gratitude:
“Thank you so much, Your Majesty.”
Joseph, smiling broadly, said to the Queen:
“All you need to do is to mention it in front of the ladies, saying you are using it.”
Queen Mary affectionately stroked his hair but feigned upset:
“You charge a fee for giving me a few bottles of skincare product?”
Joseph immediately straightened up and put on a hurt expression:
“I spent so much effort and conducted many experiments to develop the ‘Angel Water.’ Today, as soon as I succeeded, I thought of you and immediately brought it to you. And now, you won’t even do this small favor for me…”
The Queen was amused and picked up a biscuit from the table to feed him, consoling:
“Alright, alright, I will mention it to them, happy now?”
As it turned out, Joseph need not have worried about promoting the “Angel Water.”
The ladies of the Palace of Versailles, who spent their days as if they couldn’t wait to examine the Queen with a microscope, immediately followed suit like they had been shot with chicken blood the moment they discovered something new.
That afternoon, whilst the Duchess of Broglie, who had come to chat and listen to music with the Queen, instantly noticed the exquisite wooden box on the dressing table, she turned to the nearby maid and asked:
“What’s in that wooden box? Which shop sent it?”
The maid hurriedly whispered:
“It is skincare product called ‘Angel Water,’ given by the Crown Prince. It is said to be personally developed by His Highness.”
“‘Angel Water’? That’s a rather unique name.” The Duchess of Broglie didn’t pay much attention to the claim of “personally developed by the Crown Prince,” speculating it might just be a skincare workshop using the Crown Prince’s name for promotion.
When Queen Mary heard her, she immediately ordered a servant to bring a box of “Angel Water” and generously gifted it to the Duchess:
“This product is quite good, especially at eliminating acne.”
The Duchess of Broglie was overjoyed but made a show of demurring:
“How can I take something of Yours?”
“I have plenty more, take it.”
“Yes, then I’ll take it. Thank you so much, Your Majesty!”
The several ladies chatting nearby instantly looked over, their eyes filled with envy, cursing themselves for not having discovered the Queen’s new “equipment” sooner.
Queen Mary noticed the uneasy atmosphere and smilingly had her close maid Debreninac distribute a box to each person present, and the ladies finally rejoiced.
Soon, the news of the Queen using the trendy skincare product “Angel Water” spread across the Palace of Versailles like ink dropped in water.
By twilight, almost all the noblewomen were inquiring where they could buy “Angel Water,” especially the young girls who were frenzied, naturally because they heard that “Angel Water” was personally developed by the Crown Prince.
If they didn’t buy a bottle immediately, they would later be embarrassed to say the Crown Prince was their dream lover!
Finally, someone tracked down the original source of “Angel Water”—it was a gift from the Crown Prince to Queen Mary.
Subsequently, after someone paid a benefit fee of 50 livres, they obtained information from the Crown Prince’s personal beautician that 40 bottles of “Angel Water” had been consigned to a luxury store in Paris that afternoon.
By then, it was completely dark, and young noble ladies could not step out; hence countless girls stayed up all night, eagerly waiting for dawn.
Only the assistant to the Crown Prince’s personal beautician, indignantly staring at the 50 silver coins, thought, why didn’t anyone come to ask me?
He couldn’t help but recall the afternoon’s errand, carrying a bag of “Angel Water” and visiting luxury stores one by one in his carriage.
Especially at that “Silver Knight” perfume store located on the Champs-Elysees closest to the Old Palace, where he painstakingly negotiated with the manager for a long time, yet the manager insisted on a consignment fee of 100 livres a month, citing store policy.
Even when he mentioned the Crown Prince’s name, the manager remained unmoved.
Although this was one of Paris’ most famous shops, he dared not casually commit to this cost on behalf of His Highness.
In the end, he had no choice but to leave in frustration.
Fortunately, the manager of the slightly smaller “Source of Elegance” perfume and cosmetic store across the street was more amenable, so he left all five bottles of “Angel Water” originally intended for the “Silver Knight” there.
By the time he completed the consignment task and returned to the Palace of Versailles, it was already twilight, but surprisingly no one offered 50 livres to ask about the consignment of “Angel Water”!
The next morning, who knows how many carriages hurriedly left Versailles heading for Paris.
In the magnificent high-end jewelry store next to the Louvre, a lady’s maid spotted a small wooden box embossed with “Angel Water” in the showcase and immediately exclaimed with joy:
“Madam, there it is!”
By coincidence, two seventeen or eighteen-year-old noble missies entered the store and, hearing this, rushed to the showcase without regard for etiquette, their voices shrill with urgency:
“Quick! That’s it, I’m buying it!”
The lady, taken aback, stepped forward without hesitation and grabbed the clerk, asserting resolutely:
“I want some too, 10 bottles!”
The clerk apologized profusely:
“Madam, our store only has 5 bottles of this ‘Angel Water’.”
“I’ll take them all!” the young noble lady replied quickly.
“No, I was here first, give it to me! How much?”
The clerk carefully extracted himself from between the two groups and said:
“Each bottle is 15 livres, for a total of 75 livres.”
The noble lady immediately said:
“I’ll offer 80 livres, now, give it to me.”
The lady looked down on the two girls with disdain, thinking, scared of bidding against you two young ladies over money? She calmly asserted:
“90 livres, I’m taking them.”
“100 livres!”
“120 livres!”
In the end, it was the lady, who had deeper pockets, who acquired the 5 bottles of “Angel Water” for 150 livres. She walked out of the store with a victor’s smile, looking triumphant past the two young girls.
Meanwhile, batches of noble young ladies entered the Silver Knight perfume store on the Champs-Elysees one after another, asking if “Angel Water” was available for sale, as this was one of Paris’ most famous luxury perfume stores and the likelihood of “Angel Water” being sold there was very high.
However, the manager of Silver Knight could only bear a pained expression as he saw them leave disappointed, cursively berating himself repeatedly for his decision the previous afternoon.
Before long, a ferocious battle for possession had already commenced within the “Source of Elegance” store…