Chapter 31: Huge Profits (Seeking Investment)

“Mr. Colbert, the envoy,” Dandels glanced at several senior members of the Patriot Party by his side and sighed, “following the vote by the Provincial Congress, we have officially decided to cease hostilities and enter armistice negotiations with the Orange Order. The negotiation meeting will be held the day after tomorrow.”

The “Orange Order” he referred to was the Royalist Party supporting the original Dutch Stadtholder, William V, named after William’s title as the Prince of Orange.

Colbert furrowed his brow, stood up, and in a high-pitched tone, said:

“Mr. President, the intent of the French Cabinet is clear, no compromise without negotiations!

“You and your army need only repel the enemy frontally once and hold out for at least five days. The rest will be handled by great France, who will definitely crush the Prince of Orange’s counterattack!”

Dandels’s face turned red, and he clenched his fists:

“Mr. Envoy, we do not wish to submit either! But you know, that wretch Wilhelmina, the traitor, she has brought the Prussian Army here, and she is spreading rumors everywhere, saying we have kidnapped her…”

Colbert gave a light cough, looked away, and said as if offhandedly:

“In my personal opinion, the Princess of Orange did all she could for what she believes is her duty, and should not be considered a traitor.”

Dandels paused, then remembered that the envoy before him represented King Louis XVI of France.

He suddenly felt a hint of irony; the Dutch people’s ally in their fight against a dictator was another dictator.

Perhaps this was the sorrow and helplessness of a small nation.

Dandels did not dwell on this digression and continued:

“Currently, over twenty thousand Prussian troops are threatening Amsterdam, demanding the release of Wilhelmina. God, she is not even in our custody!

“And our army has only 7,000 soldiers, nowhere near as well-equipped as the Prussians.”

This was Wilhelmina’s plan to help her husband regain power—making a high-profile appearance in The Hague in Holland to provoke the Rebel Army into arresting her. Of course, the Rebel Army, wary of her Prussian princess status, quickly released her. However, she claimed to be still detained by the Patriot Party, begging Prussia to send troops to rescue her, while quietly escaping to the border city of Nijmegen to hide.

Colbert nodded:

“I did not ask you to defeat the Prussian Army, only to make them realize they will face fierce resistance.

“Moreover, I have heard that 300 young Frenchmen, sympathetic to your plight, have volunteered to help you in battle. They come with over 2,000 firearms, it seems there are also cannons.”

“2,000 guns, and cannons?” Dandels felt less defeated, “That’s exactly what we need! Where did you get the cannons from? But, isn’t 300 too few?”

Colbert immediately denied:

“The cannons might have been stolen by someone from French warships. Mind you, France has aided you with 600,000 livres, but never sent troops.

“Oh, don’t think 300 men are too few; the majority of them are artillerymen, and you should know an excellent artilleryman can potentially turn the tide of an entire battle. Remember, this might be your only chance to preserve your government!”

Dandels and those beside him exchanged glances, then said to Colbert:

“Mr. Envoy, we need to discuss this further.”

“As you wish.”

After just one hour, the Patriot Party, after a vote, decided to break off negotiations, defend the City of Amsterdam, and engage in a decisive battle with the Prussian Army.

Two days later, more than a dozen people dressed as merchants, artisans, and even beggars entered the eastern Dutch border city of Nijmegen through different channels and quickly made contact with two French spies.

In a small cottage on the outskirts of Nijmegen, the group formed a circle around the lieutenant in charge of the mission, Lieutenant Favart, who pointed to the east side of the Nijmegen map on the table and said:

“Wilhelmina should be hiding in the Countess of Lippe’s estate and seldom goes out.

“You should familiarize yourselves with the streets and environment of the town in the next few days. We’ll make our move when she goes to church this Sunday.”

…

Palace of Versailles.

Joseph sat in a lounge chair, basking in the afternoon sun of winter, and let out a long yawn.

The tax bill was still going through the High Court, and there was temporarily no news from the Netherlands. The police affairs had just begun, and there was no information yet…

Since his arrival in this world, he finally had some rare free time.

However, Dr. Lamark seemed to be afraid that he would get too bored, so he delivered the refined salicin he had requested last time.

Joseph hurriedly instructed him that in the future, he would send someone to collect it and that there was no need for him to make the long trip from Paris.

After seeing off Lamark, Joseph picked up that large bottle of powder that had almost been purified to white, opened the cap, and sniffed it—there was no hint of alcohol smell, very pure.

He opened a chest in his study, inside which were glycerin, rose essential oil, and other auxiliary materials, as well as some measuring instruments that had been prepared earlier.

He precisely measured out 1000 grams of glycerin, 60 grams of rose essential oil, and 22 grams of salicin, and mixed them together in a large glass flask.

By now, the solution had completely turned a pale purple and was emitting the fragrance of the essential oil, showing no trace of salicin.

Then, following a ratio of one part mixture to three parts water, he produced the first batch of “Angel Water.”

He frowned at the large bottle of thin liquid; as a cosmetic product, its appearance was rather plain.

After some thought, he decided to add a thickener and immediately grabbed a candlestick from the desk, pulling off a high-quality beeswax candle.

The candle powder blended into the glycerin, and as Joseph kept stirring, the solution quickly became thick and opaque.

“Now it starts to feel like a skincare product,” he said with satisfaction, taking a small dab of “Angel Water” with his finger and applying it evenly on the back of his hand. It felt smooth, moist, and floral, very pleasant.

After waiting half an hour without any signs of allergic or irritating reactions, Joseph summoned his beautician and applied some to his face.

Afterward, the beautician and his assistant were conscripted into service, and under Joseph’s direction, they filled small, flat, round 7-ounce glass bottles with the thick, pale purple gel. Then they placed the glass bottles into exquisite wooden boxes embossed with “Angel Water.”

Even with their very nimble hands, they were busy until 3 o’clock in the afternoon before they finally finished bottling about 50 bottles.

Once Joseph confirmed the beautician’s skin felt good, he instructed Eman to have someone deliver 40 bottles to the more famous luxury goods stores in Paris on consignment, with each bottle priced at 15 livres.

He himself took the remaining 10 bottles to Queen Mary. Speaking of cosmetics, who could be more suitable as a spokesperson than her? And it was a free endorsement.

Walking down the corridor, Joseph did a quick calculation: the cost of one bottle of Angel Water was slightly more than one livre—the glycerin of this era was made from olive oil and expensive, accounting for ninety percent of the cost. The main active ingredient, salicin, was the cheapest.

With a selling price of 15 livres per bottle, after deducting transport and sales costs, there would be at least a profit of 12 livres and 10 sous!

He couldn’t help but sigh: Indeed, women’s money is the easiest to make!

Mr. Ma did not deceive me!