Chapter 413: The Prince's Time
Joseph instinctively glanced at Alexandra, who was still on stage, energetically introducing a synthetic wood wine cabinet, and couldn't help but smile and nod:
"She really is a little angel—beautiful, cute, and incredibly dedicated to her work."
Indeed, in the entire cast, it was the Russian little girl's product placements that were the most natural and smooth, so he felt she deserved a bit more praise.
However, Queen Marie heard something else in his words. She subtly gave her husband a triumphant glance, as if to say, "See? I was right; our son really does like the Russian Grand Duchess."
Louis XVI looked at the little girl on stage. To be honest, he wasn't entirely thrilled about her Russian heritage, but hearing his son call her a "little angel" made his heart soften.
Having been influenced by Enlightenment ideas, his expectations for royal marriages were far less rigid than those of his predecessors. In fact, because of his love for Queen Marie, he believed his son should also choose a girl he genuinely liked.
Oh well, if Joseph likes her, that's what matters most, Louis XVI thought to himself. At least she's a real girl, and a princess at that.
Although Joseph had long denied any interest in men to his father, Louis XVI had witnessed countless scandalous affairs within Versailles—such things were quite trendy among the nobility—so he had always worried about his son's preferences. Only now did he truly feel relieved.
Louis XVI exchanged a nod with Queen Marie, indicating his approval of the "Crown Princess" on stage. The two of them then shared a look of contentment, like proud aunts.
After all, the Prince was nearly 16 years old, and it was high time for an engagement to be settled…
Joseph had no idea that his parents had just decided on the future Crown Princess of France in that brief moment. He was watching as Baron Tyron Xiao handed out soda to the esteemed guests on stage when he suddenly frowned slightly. Were there too many product placements? Hmm… a 90-minute play with only 35 minutes of ads should be fine, right?
However, the audience soon began to lose focus due to the flood of advertisements, and the royal family started chatting idly in the VIP box.
"My dear, I truly adore the furniture set you gave me," Queen Marie said with a smile, feeding her son a piece of nut brittle. "It's the best birthday gift I've received this year. Oh, and this gift is wonderful too."
She gestured to her hair accessory:
"Isn't it adorable? Your father made it himself!"
Joseph looked at the slowly rotating birdcage on his mother's head, just as the mechanical nightingale inside flapped its wings and hopped out, chirping cheerfully.
"It can even play a short piece from the 'Ode to Queen Anne's Birthday,'" Louis XVI said proudly.
Joseph blinked and hesitated before asking:
"My dear father, how long did it take you to make this hair accessory?"
"Not long at all," Louis XVI said with great pride. "Only two and a half months, plus some time for design. Mr. Ferraud said that even if he were doing it, he couldn't have done it any better…"
Hearing this, Joseph couldn't help but put his hand to his forehead, thinking, No wonder the development of the new rifled musket has been stalled. It turns out you've been tinkering with birdcages all this time.
Oh well, he sighed quietly, shaking his head. After all, his father didn't take a salary, so he could spend his "work" hours as he pleased. But in the future, Joseph thought he should remind him from time to time…
Queen Marie's birthday celebration concluded with laughter and joy, and soon soda drinks became a hot commodity throughout Paris—even though a single bottle cost as much as 6 livres. A line over a hundred meters long formed outside the "IKEA" furniture store in the Louvre district...
But what Joseph hadn't anticipated was the unfortunate impact his ad placements during the Queen's birthday had triggered.
Parisian theaters, following tradition, began emulating the court theater and inserting product placements into their plays. Naturally, this was also because the ads brought in significant revenue, making it impossible for them to give it up.
On the corner of Rue de Richelieu, the Comédie-Française was staging The Marriage of Figaro.
A couple watched as the actors on stage began mentioning the "Elegance Source Perfume Shop," and they exchanged a glance.
The man whispered:
"It seems it's the Prince's time. We can go grab some coffee."
"Alright, dear."
Yes, the French audiences hated product placements with a passion. And as they traced the trend back to its origin, they learned that it was the Crown Prince who had first introduced the concept.
Thus, "Prince's Time" naturally became the people's euphemism for product placement.
…
Brussels.
In the Parliament House, Charles II glared angrily at the British royal messenger. But when he thought of the letter on the table bearing King George III's signature, he could only sigh.
"Please inform His Majesty that I will soon return with my troops to Hanover."
Although he was the Governor of Hanover, he was more importantly a "tool" of George III, so when the British king commanded him to stop supporting the Southern Netherlands rebels, he had no choice but to comply.
As the messenger departed, Charles II gazed at the distant smoke in the horizon, feeling an inexplicable sense of relief.
Deep down, he had already concluded that defeating the French forces across the field was impossible.
It was only the shame of being captured that had kept him from retreating.
But now, King George's orders had solved that dilemma for him.
"Sigh, out of loyalty to His Majesty, I must endure this humiliation for now," he muttered as he walked toward the door. Waving to his messenger, he ordered, "Tell Maeterlinck to command two regiments to guard the southern line, and have the rest of the troops gather in the northern suburbs of Brussels."
"Yes, Marshal!"
Vandernoot and the Southern Netherlands legislators quickly noticed the unusual movements of the Hanoverian army. Though surprised, they merely went to ask Charles II about the situation.
But by then, Charles II, escorted by his guards, was already fifty miles away from Brussels.
Vandernoot and the others were still unaware that they had just been sold out as bargaining chips. In a panic, they scrambled to organize the Southern Netherlands National Guard to take over the defense of Brussels while sending requests for help to the Prussian army in Liège.
…
Potsdam, Prussia.
Sanssouci Palace.
Wilhelm II frowned and said:
"This means that all our investments in the Southern Netherlands will go up in smoke!"
British Foreign Secretary Lord Grenville gave him an honest smile:
"Your Majesty, with all due respect, the matter you should be most concerned about right now is how to quickly end the Silesian conflict.
"If my information is correct, Prussia's finances must be in dire straits by now."
(End of Chapter)
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