Chapter 484 - 397: The New Symbol of Paris

Chapter 484: Chapter 397: The New Symbol of Paris

The gambling in Mars Hall continued until 1 a.m.; Queen Mary, elated with her win, eyed the small mountain of Gold Coins on the table, yawned quietly, and then rose contentedly, ready to return to Petit Trianon Palace.

According to court etiquette, the royal couple were supposed to hold a bedtime ceremony at 10:30 p.m.—which meant that the nobles would watch them go to bed—but since Louis XVI often “worked overtime” at the Royal Workshop, this rule had become a mere formality.

She stretched lazily, looking at the empty chair next to her, and turned to ask Countess Debreninac:

“Where’s my little honey from Saint Petersburg?”

The latter hurriedly leaned in and whispered:

“Your Majesty, she went to bed at 10.”

“Look, I had forgotten,” Queen Mary said with a laugh, tapping her forehead, “She’s still growing.”

She left Mars Hall, and had not gone far when she heard the voices of several noblewomen chatting at the corner of the corridor ahead:

“Have you also noticed that Russian Grand Duchess?”

“Lately, it’s been impossible not to notice her. I don’t know whose favor she curried, but she has been appearing frequently beside Her Majesty the Queen.”

“I actually think Her Majesty quite likes her; I’ve heard Her Majesty call her ‘little honey’ several times in the evening.”

“Heh, it’s probably just a novelty for Her Majesty. I bet that by next month, she will no longer pay her any attention.”

“Most likely. You see, even though she wears the most fashionable dresses of the season, she can’t hide that rustic air about her, like a candle flame that can’t be covered by a coarse basket.”

“Haha, that is so apt…”

The noblewomen, continuing their talk, turned the corner and were suddenly face-to-face with the approaching Queen, which scared them into retreating to the side of the corridor, bowing their heads and bending their knees in a curtsy, not daring to breathe heavily.

Queen Mary gave them a displeased glare, walked past with head held high, but the mocking words echoed in her ears. Suddenly, she felt self-reproach. She had indeed been inconsiderate of Joseph—it turned out he was not shy but worried that choosing a Russian fiancée would subject the Royal Family to the nobility’s gossip. Ah, he was indeed a thoughtful child, considering the bigger picture!

Queen Mary was acutely aware of the French people’s sense of superiority—they thought they were better than others. Having been princess of the Habsburg family, she was still looked down upon by them, let alone a Russian girl with Tartar bloodline[Note 1].

She remembered her own frustration and bitterness when being secretly referred to as “the Austrian mare” by those French nobles, and made up her mind on the spot: she had to work even harder to help form a bond between her son and the lovely Russian Grand Duchess! After all, she couldn’t let her children be rained on by the same showers she had endured!

The next morning, Queen Mary was discussing a script with her theater troupe’s leader, when she saw the Crown Prince coming quickly with a maid leading the way.

Once Joseph had bowed, she immediately went up to give her son a hug and smiled:

“Dear, you can’t always be busy with work; necessary social interaction is also an important part of life. This is especially true for members of the Royal Family.”

Joseph’s least favorite thing was the tedious obligation of attending balls, and after perfunctorily agreeing to a few, he swiftly moved onto the main topic:

“Dear Mother, next month Paris is going to hold a ceremonial installation for the gas street lamps. If you’re available, I hope you can attend.”

In reality, the construction of the coal gas distillation factory had just begun, and the gas lamps weren’t yet produced on a large scale, but Murdock had already completed the testing work for distillation, gas transmission, and the gas lamps.

Thus, Joseph planned to set up a few gas street lamps to boost the industry. On top of attracting civilian investments, this hot topic could also facilitate real estate projects.

Yes, the gas lamps themselves leaned more towards infrastructure development and wouldn’t bring much direct profit, but real estate could.

He had already purchased all of the public land around the Tuileries Palace garden, which would also become the trial site for the first batch of gas street lamps.

One could imagine, once night fell and the streets of Paris sank into a hazy twilight with only a few dim oil lamps flickering, the properties around the Tuileries Palace garden would be illuminated by bright gas street lamps, visible from several streets away. People gazed upon the luxurious villas and couldn’t help but drool with envy.

Together with the schools, hospitals, and public transportation systems built during Paris Fashion Week, the city’s wealthy would definitely scramble to buy property here.

The villas in the “Royal Palace Gardens” district had already sold for 70,000 livres each, and with the addition of gas street lamps, the properties ought to fetch at least 100,000 livres.

Don’t think it’s expensive; right now, Paris alone was seeing an influx of thousands of foreign tycoons—such luxury estates could be snapped up in minutes.

Keep in mind, in the past two years, Paris City had expanded twice and yet seemed more and more crowded. The excellent environment and public safety here had attracted a large number of people from elsewhere to settle—last month’s population statistics for Joseph from the Minister of Civil Status indicated that the population of Paris had already surpassed 700,000.

But Joseph estimated that there must be several tens of thousands of lower-class people not accounted for, as these individuals were hard at work from dawn until dusk, making it difficult for the civil officers to “catch” them.

This massive influx of newcomers gave rise to a tremendous demand for real estate.

After the gas street lamps caused a boom in high-end property, he then planned to develop mid-range housing aimed at ordinary nobility and get major banks to start real estate loan projects, stimulating the entire flow of capital in France.

“Gas street lamps?” Queen Mary looked somewhat surprised, “I’ve heard Count Mirabeau mention this term quite often. But, my dear, it’s just a lamp, why would both our Crown Prince and the Minister of Industry take it so seriously?”

Joseph explained with a smile, “Mother, it’s nothing like the oil lamps we have now.

“Firstly, it’s extremely bright, and unlike the yellow glow of oil lamps, it emits a white light more similar to that of the sun. In a couple of days, I’ll have Mr. Murdock send one over to you. Once you try it, you’ll understand. After using it, you will certainly want to throw away all the candles and oil lamps in the palace into the trash.

“Secondly, it’s fueled by a coal gas pipeline, which is much more convenient than candles or oil lamps—you can use it continuously as long as you pay the gas bill, without needing to replace candles or add oil.”

Queen Mary’s expression showed great interest: “Hmm, that does sound quite remarkable.”

“Indeed, it will create a new fashion trend,” Joseph confidently said, “and become another symbol of Paris.”

[Note 1]Because the Mongolians once ruled Russia, Europeans regarded Russians as descendants of the Tartars, which was one of the significant reasons for their disdain for the Russians. In fact, the primary lineage in Russia is still that of the Rus people, with a mix of genes from European immigrants, Baltic residents, Tungusic peoples, Central Asian nomads, and Turks. Compared to these, Tartar genes don’t amount to much.