I'm the Dauphin in France

Chapter 398 A New Symbol of Paris
The gambling game in the Mars Hall lasted until 1 a.m., and Queen Marie, who was so excited about her win, looked at the pile of gold coins on the table, yawned quietly, then stood up with satisfaction and prepared to return to the Petit Trianon.

According to palace rules, the king and queen had to hold a bedtime ceremony at 10: p.m. - that is, the nobles watched them go to sleep - but because Louis XVI often "worked overtime" in the royal workshop, this rule had long been in name only.

She stretched lazily, looked at the empty seat next to her, turned to Countess de Berninac and asked, "Where is my Petersburg honey?"

The latter hurriedly leaned closer and whispered, "Your Majesty, she went to bed at 10 o'clock."

"Look, I forgot." Queen Mary smiled and patted her forehead. "She is still growing."

She left Mars Hall and hadn't walked far when she heard the voices of several ladies chatting around the corner of the corridor ahead:
"Did you notice the Russian Grand Duchess, too?"

"It's impossible not to notice her recently. I don't know who she followed, but she has been appearing around Her Majesty the Queen recently."

"I think His Majesty likes her very much. I heard His Majesty call her 'Little Honey' several times at night."

"Oh, Her Majesty, the Queen is probably just interested in her for a while. I bet that within the next month at most, Her Majesty will ignore her."

"Most likely. You see she's wearing the latest dress of the season, but it still can't hide her rusticity, just as a coarse-meshed basket can't hide candlelight."

"Haha, that's such a vivid image..."

As several noble ladies were talking, they turned the corner and saw Her Majesty the Queen coming towards them. They were so frightened that they retreated to the side of the corridor, bowed their heads, knelt down and saluted, not daring to breathe.

Queen Mary glared at them unhappily, walked away quickly with her head held high, but her ears were filled with their mocking words. Suddenly she thought of something and began to blame herself secretly.

I was so inconsiderate of Joseph before - it turns out that he was not shy at all, but was worried that choosing a Russian fiancée would cause the royal family to be talked about by the nobles. Alas, he is such a good boy who considers the overall situation!

Queen Marie was well aware of the French sense of superiority - even as a princess of the Habsburg family, she was looked down upon by them, let alone a Russian girl of Tatar descent [Note 1].

She recalled the anguish and bitterness when she was secretly called "Austrian cousin" by the French nobles, and immediately made a decision: she had to work harder to help her son get together with the lovely Russian princess! After all, the rain that had fallen on her should not fall on the children's heads again!

The next morning, Queen Mary was discussing the script with her troupe's foreman when she saw the Crown Prince walking quickly towards her, led by his maid.

After Joseph bowed, she immediately stepped forward and gave her son a hug, saying with a smile: "My dear, you can't always be busy with work. Necessary socializing is also an important part of life. This is especially true for members of the royal family."

Joseph hated dancing and socializing the most. He agreed perfunctorily and then quickly got to the point: "Dear mother, there will be a gas street lamp installation ceremony in Paris next month. If you are free, I hope you can come and attend."

In fact, the gas distillation plant has just begun construction and gas lamps have not yet been put into mass production, but Murdoch has completed the distillation, gas transmission and gas lamp testing.

So Joseph planned to first install a small number of gas street lamps to build momentum for the gas lamp industry. On the basis of attracting private investment, he could also use this hot spot to develop real estate projects. Yes, gas lamps themselves are more inclined to infrastructure construction and cannot bring much direct benefits, but real estate can.

He had bought up all the public land around the Tuileries Gardens, which would become the site of the first gas streetlights.

It can be imagined that after nightfall, the streets of Paris fell into the hazy night, with at most a few oil lamps emitting dim light. However, around the properties in the Tuileries Gardens, there were bright gas street lamps. People could see the luxurious villas there from several streets away and could not help drooling with envy.

Coupled with the supporting systems such as schools, hospitals, and public transportation built during the Paris Fashion Week, the wealthy people in Paris will definitely flock to buy houses here.

Previously, villas in the "Palace Garden" community were sold for 7 livres each, and a house with gas street lights would have to sell for at least 10 livres.

Don’t think it’s expensive. There are thousands of foreign tycoons pouring into Paris nowadays, and this kind of luxury real estate will be snapped up in minutes.

You know, the city of Paris has expanded twice in the past two years, but it still seems to be getting more and more crowded. The excellent environment and public security here have attracted a large number of outsiders to settle down. The population statistics given to Joseph by the Minister of Household Registration last month showed that the current population of Paris has exceeded 70.

But Joseph estimates that there are probably tens of thousands of lower-class people who have not been counted. After all, these people go out to work early and come back late, and it is difficult for household registration officials to "catch" them.

The demand for real estate generated by such a large influx of population is staggering.

After gas street lamps sparked a craze for high-end real estate, his next step was to develop mid-range housing for ordinary aristocrats and have major banks start real estate loan projects to boost capital flows throughout France.

"Gas street lamp?" Queen Marie was a little surprised. "I often hear Count Mirabeau mention this word. But dear, it's just a lamp. Why do our prince and minister of industry attach so much importance to it?"

Joseph smiled and explained to her, "Mother, this is completely different from the oil lamps we have now.

"First, it is very bright, and unlike the dim yellow light of oil lamps, it emits a white light that is closer to the sun. I will ask Mr. Murdoch to send you one in a few days. You will know after you try it. After using it, you will definitely want to throw all the candles and oil lamps in the palace into the trash can.

"Secondly, it uses a gas pipeline to supply fuel, which is much more convenient than candles or oil lamps. As long as you pay the gas bill, you can use it all the time without having to replace new candles or add oil."

Queen Mary showed a very interested expression: "Well, this does sound good."

"Yes, it will bring about a new fashion trend," Joseph said confidently, "and become another symbol of Paris."

【Note 1】Because the Mongols once ruled Russia, in the minds of Europeans, Russians are all descendants of Tatars, which is one of the important reasons why they look down on Russians. In fact, Russians are still mainly of Russian descent, and also mixed with genes from European immigrants, Baltic residents, Tungus, Central Asian nomads, and Turks. In comparison, Tatar genes are not that many.

(End of this chapter)