Daming 1805

Zhu Jingyuan quickly adjusted his mentality and directly changed the topic:
"I'm going to say hello to everyone first, and then I'll take you to your residence..."

Charles still had a smile on his face, and at the same time said with full expectation:

"Okay, okay, let's talk by candlelight that night, and then go to sleep, just like ancient friends in China..."

Zhu Jingyuan's expression froze again, he smiled and went to greet the others.

Mainly his direct subordinate, Chu Yuqiang, the shopkeeper of Dashi Clothing Firm, and several senior executives of the firm around him.

"You have worked hard for the past three years, so let's relax when you come to Xintianfu this time.

"Everyone is tired all the way, go to rest first, and we will talk slowly later."

Chu Yuqiang bowed and agreed, took his subordinates, and followed the reception staff to leave first.

Then there were the French and British foreign ministers, whose reception was under the charge of Lin Zexu and Niu Jian.

But since Zhu Jingyuan came, he always wanted to say hello, so he cupped his hands and said welcome.

Finally, a group of architectural designers and senior craftsmen from France.

Zhu Jingyuan wanted to build an "overseas garden" in his own garden.

It is expected that there will be four main divisions of Tianzhu, Dashi, Taixi, and Yinzhou, and Taixi can be regarded as a relatively important part.

France is the current cultural center of Taixi, and it happens that the French crown prince is his best friend.

It is also a matter of course to mention it in daily correspondence with him, and to ask him for help in hiring designers and craftsmen.

Zhu Jingyuan was quite polite to these craftsmen, and said with a smile:

"It's been hard work for all of you who have traveled so far, let's go to Huangzhuang with the attendants to rest for a few days.

"In a few days, I will take you all personally to inspect the predetermined location."

The status of designers and craftsmen in Taixi is relatively high, but no matter how high they are, they cannot be as high as a Ming prince like Zhu Jingyuan.

Moreover, as a designer and craftsman of Taixi, it is definitely an honor to be able to design and build the palace for the Prince of Ming Dynasty.

A group of craftsmen were very nervous, and quickly returned the salute very respectfully:
"It is our honor to serve His Highness..."

Zhu Jingyuan handed over the craftsmen to the reception staff of the Ministry of Industry, and went back to deal with his best friend, Prince Charles.

Zhu Jingyuan sent Shire to the opposite of the amusement park, where Frederick and other male guests lived.

When they arrived at the small courtyard specially reserved for Charles, the two sat down and chatted directly in the main hall after entering the door.

Zhu Jingyuan took a bottle of men's deodorant from his entourage, and casually threw it to Charles beside him:

"My new invention, a little gift..."

Charles quickly caught it:
"Thank you... what is this... deodorant?"

When Charles saw the label on the bottle, his expression suddenly became a little ugly:

"You...you despise me..."

Zhu Jingyuan was immediately speechless:

"What does it mean to dislike you, I'm showing you my new invention.

"I want you to take it for a try, and by the way, analyze whether there is a market in the Taixi aristocratic circle.

"If you weren't my friend, I wouldn't throw things at you without any hesitation.

"I will definitely find a way to cover it up, and I will definitely try to be as tactful as possible.

"But we are friends, and when we are together, we don't need to worry about cumbersome aristocratic etiquette and vanity.

"Do you mean to tell me that you Tessi don't sweat?
"Aren't you lying to my friend?

"True best friends should be able to point out each other's problems in private and enthusiastically help each other solve their problems.

"Instead of finding out that the other party has a problem, taking into account the other party's face and avoiding talking about it.

"That would actually make the other party lose face in front of outsiders.

"It's nothing to be rude in front of friends, but it's shameful to be rude in front of outsiders.

"A man who cannot point out a friend's problem is not a true friend."

Prince Charles' expression quickly recovered, and even turned directly to the other extreme. He was very happy and even a little excited and said:
"Yes, dear friend, you are right. A true friend should talk about everything, and there is no need to worry about image and etiquette.

"I'm going to the bathroom right now to take a shower and try it on the smelly parts of my body."

Zhu Jingyuan was a little surprised now:
"You don't have to be so anxious..."

Charles immediately said:
"I want to see the effect as soon as possible.

"I've tried antiperspirants before, but none of them worked and were uncomfortable.

"A bosom friend's invention should be very effective.

"But in order to be as accurate as possible, my friend, you should go to the bathroom with me and guide me how to use it?"

When Zhu Jingyuan heard the final invitation, he directly thanked Bumin and shook his head and said:

"If you were a princess, I would guide you enthusiastically.

"It's a pity you're not, I'm not interested in men's bodies.

"As you said yourself, just rub it on the smelly place.

"Men don't need special instruction."

Charles couldn't hold back anymore:

"Haha...then I'll go..."

Charles instructed the boat to dock today, so he took a bath on the boat today.

Now it's time to rinse again, and it will be done soon. After drying the body, apply antiperspirant.

After Charles got dressed and came out, he had to rush to Zhu Jingyuan to join him:

"Best friend, come and smell it..."

Zhu Jingyuan pushed him away helplessly:
"How could there be a smell after you just washed it? Let's talk about it after you have been active for half a day."

Charlton immediately reacted:

"That's right, then let's have a good time drinking tonight, and then sleep together..."

Zhu Jingyuan said casually:

"It's okay to have a good time with wine, and that's exactly what I mean, there will be a simple dinner tonight.

"But it's fine if you sleep together, it's not good for both of us, and it's not popular in Daming anymore.

"Besides, I'll be comfortable sleeping with my little wife when I go back. What's the fun with a stinky man like you?"

Charlton immediately shrank his head back and said exaggeratedly:

"I understand. This is to value sex over friends. I came all the way from Europa to see you, but you don't even want to sleep together."

Zhu Jingyuan ignored his flirtatious words:
"I'm going back first, you should also have a good rest, I'll send someone to invite you to a banquet in the evening."

That night, Zhu Jingyuan arranged a banquet in the garden where Charles, Frederick and other men lived.

Charlotte, Frederick, Monroe and others who participated last time received invitations again.

Prince Charles, who arrived today, and diplomats from Britain and France also participated.

There are also Chu Yuqiang and the core staff of Dashi Clothing Firm, as well as architectural designers and craftsmen from France.

The scale of the banquet was several times larger than the previous few days, and the key point was that the ingredients were also very complicated.

There are royal family, nobles, officials, staff, businessmen, artists, and skilled craftsmen.

There are also Ming people, French people, British people, and people from the New World.

Bringing these people together to hold a banquet has never been done in Daming or Taixi.

Because the dining habits of different people, the dining customs in the circle, and personal tastes and styles are very different.

So Zhu Jingyuan tried the buffet, which is the most convenient way to deal with a large number of diners with different identities.

Prepare food of various flavors, put them on the tables on both sides of the venue, and prepare cups and tableware for guests to take by themselves.

It is no longer a table for one person, but four to six seats surround a table, allowing guests to choose their own position.

Of course, this is not a modern society, and the members of the royal family still have a special status.

Zhu Jingyuan still has the largest table and the most comfortable and spacious large ottoman.

Zhu Jingyuan didn't let Irene follow, but arranged Charles by his side.

The three members of the British royal family were also arranged individually at a large table.

The others were all free to assemble, and they sat wherever they wanted.

Invitations were prepared for this banquet, which explained the way of dining, and the servants would repeat it when they entered the door.

As the guest second only to Zhu Jingyuan in status, and also today's host and guest, Charles should have arrived later.

In the end, he was the first one to rush over early, and was led by the servant alone to find Zhu Jingyuan who was resting in the back hall:
"Half a day's absence is like three autumns. I couldn't bear the time before the banquet, so I decided to come and chat with my best friend..."

Zhu Jingyuan was dressed in loose princely casual clothes, leaning on a spacious soft couch, listening to music and flipping through a novel.

Now that there is no mobile phone, the only way to pass the time alone is to read books.

Fortunately, the commercial development of Ming Dynasty is very good, and the market life is far richer than that of the contemporary Qing Dynasty.

So there are countless kinds of traditional novels. Although they are similar to the online novels of later generations, most of them are not interesting.

But after all, the threshold for writing and publishing is much higher than that of online novels, and the proportion of high-quality works is also higher than that of online novels.

Zhu Jingyuan was not used to the writing style of this kind of novel at first, but after reading too much, he gradually got used to it.

After I got used to it, I felt that these traditional novels, especially the martial arts novels in them, were quite interesting.

Zhu Jingyuan put down the book, looked up at Charles in front of him, and found that his clothes had changed back to the Taixi style.

At the same time, he didn't see anyone outside at all, and took off his shoes on the spot without any politeness, and climbed directly onto Zhu Jingyuan's couch:
"My dear friend, what book are you reading?"

Zhu Jingyuan threw him the martial arts novel in his hand:

"Why did you change your clothes back again?"

Charles replied naturally:
"Didn't you change back too?"

One sentence killed Tian, ​​leaving Zhu Jingyuan speechless.

Charles is also a little interested in Daming's martial arts novels, but now he is not here to read the novels, but to chat with Zhu Jingyuan.

So Charles glanced at the title of the book, wrote it down and prepared to go back and buy a copy, and then put the book aside:
"The summer in Xintianfu seems to be significantly hotter than in Paris, so I changed into a pair of thinner pantyhose.

"Now lie there and pin it up, see if you can see the hair on my legs from this distance?"

When Zhu Jingyuan heard this question, he almost lost his temper.

Zhu Jingyuan finally realized what it was like to have a friend who was dressed as a woman by his side.

He also suddenly realized that the conversations he had with Charles in the morning might have broken the only barrier between them.

If you have any problems, you should first ask your "best friend" to help you as a staff member, so as to avoid embarrassing things in front of outsiders.

Can you see the leg hair under the stockings? This kind of stupid question is directly asked by him.

Zhu Jingyuan tried his best to calm down and let himself say as calmly as possible:
"I... can't see it here... Are your legs hairy?"

Charles seemed relieved, and sat cross-legged opposite Zhu Jingyuan:

"It's good if you can't see it, I don't have a lot of hair on my legs, it should be said to be less than the average Europa man.

"By the way, my friend, the new antiperspirant you invented is very effective, and the key is that it doesn't make people feel uncomfortable at all.

"I have used it for most of the day, and there is basically no smell on my body, and my clothes are not stained.

"When I return to Paris, I will bring this product to other nobles, and it will definitely become popular quickly.

"My dear friend, you have solved the problem that has plagued the people of Europa for thousands of years. I am really completely impressed by you."

Zhu Jingyuan listened to Charles' words, watched his movements, and vaguely realized a problem.

Although in his own opinion, Shire is wearing women's clothes of later generations, but he is completely different from men who wear women's clothes of later generations.

Men who wear women's clothes in later generations know that they are wearing women's clothes, and at the same time, their actions and language tend to be feminine.

It should be said that most of those men have a feminine tendency, so they will take the initiative to wear women's clothing.

But a man like Shire, an ordinary Taixi man in this world, doesn't have that kind of cognition in his mind at all.

They took it for granted that the clothes they wore were the most orthodox aristocratic men's clothing.

They think their overall image now is of real men.

They will not imitate women's movements and language styles at all, and even instinctively make differences.

The masculine, majestic, and hearty side that will be deliberately displayed.

After Zhu Jingyuan figured this out, his spirit was obviously relaxed a lot.

Because of the person next to me, he is not the kind of feminine man who might be interested in a man.

After the mentality changed, Zhu Jingyuan realized another problem.

Charles, the Crown Prince of France, might really be his friend.

With my current status, there are really too few people who can be my friends.

Even his brothers are in a competitive relationship with him, the key is that his status is too special.

It is impossible for them to form a familiarity with themselves to the extent that they can talk about everything.

Apart from his brother, let alone the others, they were all subordinates or potential subordinates.

Even if they are amiable, when they are in front of me, they will not really relax like ordinary friends.

When I was eating, I added wine to them, and they were all in a state of trepidation.

It is probably because of Shire's status, the heir to the throne of another country, that he has the opportunity to form a friendship with him.

Of course, his identity is different from his own, but it is not directly competitive, nor will it directly form a superior-subordinate relationship.

It's like a child from a particularly wealthy family, and a child from a relatively wealthy family, their identities are not too far apart.

Especially since he came here to be friends with himself from the very beginning.

In the past three years, the two sides have written letters to each other, often sent telegrams to each other, and gave gifts every now and then, and now they have established a natural friendship mentality.

Thinking of this, Zhu Jingyuan sat up from Ge You's paralyzed state, stretched his arms around Charles' shoulders:

"Thank you, my best friend Charles, you have acted as my image spokesperson in France and even Europe, and you have made great efforts for the development and promotion of Dashi Clothing Company. If you need my help in your life in the future, just ask me ..."

Charles, who was hugged by Zhu Jingyuan on the shoulder, was obviously taken aback.

Except when I was very young, I was hugged by my parents like this, but when I grew up, it never happened again.

Charles' feeling of lack of friends is much deeper than Zhu Jingyuan's.

Zhu Jingyuan still has the life experience of his previous life, but Shire only lives as a prince in this life.

That's why Shire subconsciously wanted to make friends with Zhu Jingyuan at the beginning.

Now that he is hooked up like an ordinary person, Shire's mood becomes comfortable and particularly excited.

Almost diametrically opposed sentiments emerged at the same time.

Charles waved his hand with a very happy smile and said:
"Don't worry about it, those things are just a matter of effort.

"Also, since Big Food came to Paris, my expenses have plummeted.

"My clothes for all seasons are made by the business for free, and the car I make for travel is also given by you.

"Besides, my royal father now wears the clothes of the trading company, which saves a lot of money on clothes compared to before.

"Because the living expenses of our father and son have been reduced, the expenses of the French royal family have also been greatly reduced."

Zhu Jingyuan was taken aback when he heard this.

Then I realized that it seemed to be the case.

The three core members of the French royal family, the Louis XVI couple and Charles.

Among the three of them, Zhu Jingyuan contracted Prince Shire's clothing and travel tools.

Prince Shire doesn't need to make clothes, and he doesn't need to raise horses, carriages, and grooms. This is a huge expense.

Louis XVI also wore clothes from the Dashi Clothing Company. Although his clothes were to be bought, they were worth two thousand silver bills a set.

The purchasing power of two thousand silver notes is equivalent to 20 yuan in modern times, but this is nothing to a head of state of a large Thai and Western country.

The clothes are both formal and casual, ready to wear at any time, not out of date, which is great value for money for them.

The most important thing is that luxury clothes like Dashi Clothing Company are expensive, but the clearly marked price is the same for everyone.

For a king like Louis XVI, the prices of his previous clothes and accessories were not fixed at all.

Wearing clothes from the Dashi Clothing Company is equivalent to capping the cost of clothing for top nobles like them.

This choice just fits the way of life of the new generation of bourgeoisie.

Zhu Jingyuan unknowingly helped the French royal family save money.

However, in Zhu Jingyuan's impression, the expenses of the French royal family should be mainly on the head of Queen Mary, right?

So, Zhu Jingyuan asked a confirmation question:

"Can the expenses of your father and son compare with that of your mother?"

Zhu Jingyuan thought that this question did not need to be considered.

The mother of Charles, Queen of Louis XVI, Marie Antoinette, is a disaster of praise Si level in history.

The Americans made a movie "Peerless Cleopatra" with her mother as the main character.

As a result, Charles now considered it seriously:
"Not as good as my mother, but not too bad.

"I know, many people have heard, the legend of my mother's luxury.

"But that should have happened a long time ago, and I've only heard the rumors.

"As far as I can remember, I haven't found her to be more extravagant than ordinary French aristocratic wives..."

Zhu Jingyuan fell into deep thought when he heard these words.

After all, including Queen Mary, the French nobles are all extravagant, so Charles doesn't think his mother is "specially" extravagant.

Or did she change as Shire grew up?
As far as Charles can remember, the French Revolution in history has already begun.

There is no French Revolution in this world, but Charles' brother and sister also died in the past two years.

Could it be that the death of the child affected her?
Or is she just like those beauties in the history of China, just a beautiful woman who was pushed out to take the blame for incompetent monarchs and officials when the country's situation was corrupt?
But whether she is as extravagant as other French nobles, or not so extravagant for other reasons, or just an unlucky woman with a blame, it has little to do with Zhu Jingyuan.

What Zhu Jingyuan cared about was that the queen would not drag down the French finances by herself because she was too extravagant.

Without the influence of such factors that are difficult to effectively control, France's finances can be relatively controllable.

It is worthy of my own efforts to help Louis XVI and his son stabilize the situation.

Otherwise, if Queen Mary used the loan to the French to repair the garden, then it would be better to wait for their husband and wife to disappear and help Charles directly.