Chapter 32: Grand Shopping Spree
Queen Mary removed the cork from the glass bottle with interest, carefully took out some pinkish-purple paste, and spread it on the back of her hand.
"Hmm, it's quite smooth, and pleasant," she said, smiling at her son. "My dear Joseph, you always manage to surprise me. Where did you buy this?"
Joseph switched into sales mode:
"I developed it myself," he announced. "I call it 'Angel Water'. It can soften skin, and it's especially effective at getting rid of acne."
Hearing this, Queen Mary immediately beckoned to the palace maid standing by the door:
"Morgana, you can try this."
Only then did Joseph notice that the maid had several pimples on her forehead that even powder couldn't conceal. Many of these palace maids were only seventeen or eighteen, an age prone to breakouts.
Seeing Morgana approach quickly, Queen Mary took one of the nine wooden boxes in front of her and handed it to the maid, who immediately curtsied in surprise and gratitude:
"Thank you so much, Your Majesty."
"You only need to mention it to the ladies of the court, that you're using it."
Queen Mary affectionately ruffled his hair, yet feigned annoyance:
"You're charging me a fee for a few bottles of skincare?"
Joseph immediately stood up straight, playing along with a put-upon expression:
"I've poured so much effort and conducted countless experiments to develop 'Angel Water'," he lamented. "I only just perfected it today, and you were the first person I thought of, so I rushed it over to you. And now, you won't even help me with this small favor..."
The Queen was amused by him. She picked up a biscuit from the table, fed it to him, and soothed:
"Alright, alright, I'll talk to them for you, how about that?"
As it turned out, Joseph had no need to worry about the promotion of 'Angel Water' at all.
The Queen didn't even need to advertise it for him. The noblewomen of Versailles were practically using microscopes to observe the Queen daily, and as soon as they discovered anything new, they would jump on the bandwagon as if injected with stimulants.
That very afternoon, the Duchesse de Broglie, who had come to chat and listen to music with the Queen, immediately spotted the exquisite wooden box on the dressing table. She turned her head and asked the attendant beside her:
"What's in that wooden box? Which shop sent it?"
The attendant quickly whispered:
"It's a skincare product sent by His Royal Highness, the Crown Prince. It's called 'Angel Water', and they say His Highness developed it himself."
"'Angel Water'? That's a unique name," the Duchesse de Broglie remarked. She didn't pay much attention to the claim that "the Crown Prince developed it himself," guessing it was probably just a skincare workshop promoting itself under the Crown Prince's name.
Hearing her words, Queen Mary immediately ordered a servant to bring a box of 'Angel Water' and generously presented it to her:
"This stuff is quite good, especially for clearing up acne."
The Duchesse de Broglie was overjoyed but pretended to decline:
"How could I possibly accept something from you?"
"I have plenty more; just take it."
"Very well, then I shall take it. Thank you, Your Majesty!"
Several noblewomen who had been chatting nearby immediately looked over, their eyes filled with envy and jealousy. They regretted not having discovered the Queen's new "acquisition" first.
Queen Mary sensed the shift in atmosphere. She smiled and had her personal attendant, Deborninac, distribute a box to everyone present, at which point all the noblewomen were greatly pleased.
Soon, the news that the Queen was using the trendy new skincare product, 'Angel Water', spread through the Palace of Versailles like ink dropped into water.
By dusk, nearly all noblewomen were inquiring everywhere about where to buy 'Angel Water'. Young girls, especially, were utterly frantic, the reason being, of course, that they had heard 'Angel Water' was personally developed by His Royal Highness, the Crown Prince.
If they didn't immediately buy a bottle, they wouldn't dare claim the Crown Prince as their dream lover ever again!
Finally, someone traced 'Angel Water' back to its original source—a gift from His Royal Highness, the Crown Prince, to the Queen.
Immediately afterward, someone else, after paying a 50 Livre gratuity, received information from the Crown Prince's personal beautician: 40 bottles of 'Angel Water' had been sent to luxury shops in Paris for consignment that afternoon.
By then, it was completely dark, and the noble young ladies couldn't go out. Consequently, countless girls spent the entire night wide awake, anxiously waiting for dawn.
Only the Crown Prince's personal beautician's assistant stared resentfully at the 50 Livre silver coin, wondering, 'Why didn't that person come to ask me?'
He couldn't help but recall that afternoon, when he carried a bag of 'Angel Water' and visited luxury shops door-to-door by carriage.
He particularly remembered the Silver Knight Perfumery on the Champs-Élysées, located closest to the old royal palace. He had tried to persuade the manager for a long time, but the manager insisted on charging a 100 Livre monthly consignment fee, claiming it was store policy.
Even when he invoked the Crown Prince's name, the manager remained unmoved.
Although it was one of the most renowned shops in Paris, he dared not commit His Highness to such an expense without permission.
In the end, he had no choice but to depart dejectedly.
Fortunately, the manager of "Source of Elegance," a slightly smaller perfume and cosmetics shop not far across the street, was more amenable. He left the five bottles of 'Angel Water' that were originally intended for Silver Knight Perfumery here instead.
By the time he completed his consignment task and returned to Versailles, it was already dusk. Yet, no one had offered him 50 Livre to inquire about the 'Angel Water' consignment!
The next morning, countless carriages hurried out of the Palace of Versailles, racing towards Paris.
Inside a lavish high-end jewelry store next to the Louvre Palace, a noblewoman's maid immediately spotted a small wooden box embossed with the words 'Angel Water' in the display window and instantly cried out in delight:
"Madam, it's over there!"
Just then, two noble young ladies, seventeen or eighteen years old, entered the shop. Hearing the exclamation, they disregarded all etiquette, rushed to the display window in a few steps, and shrieked:
"Quick! That's it, I'll take it!"
The noblewoman froze for a moment, then without allowing for argument, she stepped forward, grabbed the shop assistant, and declared unequivocally:
"I want it too, 10 bottles!"
The shop assistant said apologetically:
"Madam, this shop only has five bottles of 'Angel Water'."
"I'll take them all!" the noble young lady retorted swiftly.
"No, I was here first! Give them to me! How much?"
The shop assistant carefully extricated himself from between the two groups and said:
"Each bottle is 15 Livre, so 75 Livre in total."
The noble young lady immediately said:
"I'll pay 80 Livre, hand them over quickly."
The noblewoman cast a scornful glance at the two. 'Do these young girls truly think I'd be intimidated by them when it comes to money?' she thought, then calmly declared:
"90 Livre, I'll buy them."
"100 Livre!"
"120 Livre!"
Ultimately, the noblewoman, with her more substantial wealth, secured all five bottles of 'Angel Water' for 150 Livre. She walked out of the shop, past the two young girls, with a triumphant smile.
Meanwhile, five or six groups of noble young ladies successively entered the Silver Knight Perfumery on the Champs-Élysées, inquiring if 'Angel Water' was for sale. As it was Paris's most renowned luxury perfumery, there was a strong possibility 'Angel Water' would be sold there.
However, the manager of Silver Knight could only watch with a bitter expression as they left in disappointment, inwardly cursing himself repeatedly for his decision yesterday afternoon.
Before long, an extremely fierce bidding war had erupted at the "Source of Elegance" shop...
Comments