I'll Care for Your Parents

Old Charles's words made Fanny stumble, and she almost tripped over her own foot.

"Please don't mind him. My father's mind has been a bit muddled since the revolution, and he likes to talk nonsense. Please don't take it to heart," Fanny said to Joseph, blushing.

"I understand." For some reason, Joseph blurted out this. Then his mind started racing, wondering how to interpret his words. Did it mean, "I know your dad is crazy," or "I know he wants me to pursue you and marry you off quickly"?

Then, almost as if possessed, he glanced at Fanny again. Fanny noticed Joseph watching her, and she felt a little shy, but she didn't turn away, much less resort to the trick some women in high society used to do—fainting.

In this era, most aristocratic women had the habit of wearing corsets. This was a perverted practice comparable to foot binding in the Eastern Great Eater Nation, and in terms of the harm to the body, this practice was even more serious than foot binding.

Foot binding caused foot deformities in women, severely impairing their ability to walk. Some women even lost the ability to walk altogether, becoming so-called "carrying ladies" (unable to move on their own and requiring someone to carry them).

However, no matter how the feet were bound, it was generally not easy to cause death. But the corsets in Europe were much more brutal, because if not done properly, people could really die!

Just as foot binding in the East originated from the imperial court (said to have been invented by Li Yu, the last emperor of the Southern Tang dynasty), the Europe custom of corseting is also said to have originated from the imperial court, and specifically from the France court.

Whether this rumor is true or not is impossible to verify, but the intensification of corsets did begin during the reign of Louis XV. It is said that a France woman discovered that tightening the waist could make the breasts appear more prominent. In addition, a slender waist has always been a symbol of beauty, and even today, people are still keen on playing games like touching their belly button with their hand behind their back.

However, the waist that one can touch their navel with their hand behind their back in later generations would definitely be considered a barrel waist or even a water tank waist in Europe at that time. And what was the standard waist circumference for Europe beauties at that time? Well, according to the France court standard, it was fourteen inches, or 35.56 centimeters. If we simplify the model and reduce the cross-section of a woman's waist at that time to a standard circle, then the diameter of this circle is only a little over 11 centimeters.

One can imagine that when the waist is bound to such an extent, a woman's internal organs cannot possibly be contained within that small 11-centimeter diameter space. They are forced to relocate, leading to various physical problems. From dizziness and fainting to death, these are all common occurrences. In many classical Europe dramas, the ladies would faint at the slightest excitement. This is not an exaggerated or affected portrayal, but rather a common occurrence—of course, intentionally fainting in the arms of one's beloved is also a common tactic used by some girls.

However, Fanny's waistline doesn't quite meet the standard, or rather, it's far from it. Perhaps because her parents spoiled her too much as a child, reluctant to properly bind her waist, her waistline is now probably over twenty inches. In later generations, this would be considered a slim waist, but in this era, it's a serious body shape issue. Fanny's current unmarried status might also be related to this. Although Armand always liked to boast about his sister's beauty, Fanny wasn't really considered beautiful in that era. Furthermore, her thick waist also brought another problem: Fanny rarely fainted at the right time. She lacked the delicate beauty that some men of that era particularly admired in women.

However, this was precisely a huge advantage in Joseph's eyes. Joseph, from a later era, simply could not appreciate this kind of abnormal beauty. Whenever he encountered women from high society and saw their waists so thin that they seemed as if a gust of wind could break them, he would always feel very incongruous, even disgusted and terrified. This is probably a major reason Joseph, despite not lacking opportunities, has always lived a single life.

"Ah... Miss Fanny, I mean..." Joseph said, "Oh, right. You intend to..."

Joseph shut his mouth, worried that old Charles might overhear what he was about to say. So the two continued walking in silence, until they reached the front hall, at which point Joseph asked:

"Miss Fanny, did you forge Armand's letter?"

"Yes," Fanny replied. "I used to help my brother with his writing, so I'm familiar with his handwriting and word choice, and I can manage to imitate it. My parents aren't in good health. You just saw my father's condition. My mother is even worse; she's completely bedridden and can't see guests. She's been like this ever since she found out that my uncle was sent to the guillotine. I can't let them know about my brother."

Perhaps it was because she had been trying so hard to hide her brother's death from her family and pretending to be overjoyed to receive his letter that this girl had been suppressing so much sorrow. Now that there was finally someone she could talk to about these unspeakable things, her tears welled up instantly.

But Fanny dared not cry out loud; she could only sob silently. Tears streamed down her face, and her shoulders trembled uncontrollably, like a sapling in a storm.

"A girl like her, if she were in later generations..." Joseph suddenly felt a pang of pity, so he tried to comfort her:

"Miss Fanny ...please don't be too sad...there are some things..." Joseph didn't know what to say. Neither in this life nor in the previous one, he had no experience in comforting a young girl who had lost a loved one.

"Damn it, I have absolutely no idea what to say," Joseph thought to himself. He reached into his pocket, but he didn't usually carry a handkerchief, so naturally he found nothing. He could only helplessly watch Fanny cry. But seeing how hard Fanny was crying, he couldn't resist reaching out and stroking her flaxen hair.

Fanny trembled slightly, but she neither pushed Joseph away nor threw herself into Joseph arms; she simply stood there quietly, sobbing silently.

After a long while, she stopped sobbing and said apologetically, "Sir, I'm sorry, I couldn't control myself..."

"Well, what is it?" Joseph stammered, trying to comfort her, "I'm Armand's friend, so you can treat me like a brother..."

As soon as he finished speaking, Joseph regretted it, realizing he had touched a sore spot again. So he immediately resorted to another tactic he often used: changing the subject.

"Miss Fanny, um... I mean, how do you all make a living these days?" Joseph asked.

"Ah, sir." Fanny wiped her tears with the back of her hand, then composed herself and replied, "Although food prices have risen considerably since the revolution, the reduction in gatherings among the nobility has made it easier to make ends meet, as much of the money that was previously spent on ostentation is now unnecessary. It's just that prices have suddenly skyrocketed recently..."

"Ah, Miss Fanny ..." Joseph said, "I don't know if Armand told you that he has some money with me."

Fanny looked up at Joseph and said, "Sir, what did you say? My brother has money with you? How much?"

"It seems they really are short of money," Joseph thought, and then said, "About a thousand... no, a thousand five hundred Livre."

Fanny shook her head and said, "Mr. Bonaparte, you are such a good man. My brother is so lucky to have a friend like you. But I know my brother; he never has more than two hundred Livre on him at any given time. And certainly not fifteen hundred Livre with you."

"Alright then." Joseph sighed. "Miss Fanny, you know Joseph and I are friends. He helped me when I was in my most difficult time. We Corsica have always believed that if someone gives me a drop of water, I must help them dig a well in return. Besides, Armand gave me was far more than just a drop of water, and what I offered was far more than just a well. Miss Fanny, you must understand that I genuinely want to help Armand's family; I'm not giving them charity."

"I understand, so I'm very grateful to you, but..." Fanny shook her head again.

In this era, it's not easy to find a girl with such a strong sense of self-reliance. Joseph vaguely sensed something familiar from a past life in Fanny. So he sighed and said, "Miss Fanny, you can write, you can create, you must have read quite a few books, right?"

"Well, I haven't read many books..." Fanny said.

"Well, there's a job I'd like to entrust to you..." Joseph said, racking his brains for something he could do for the girl. "Ah... I have some documents that I need someone reliable to help me organize. It's not difficult, but it's very tedious. Uneducated people can't do it, and educated people don't want to. I don't have time to do it myself. Ah, could you help me with this kind of thing? I'll pay you three hundred Livre a month, what do you think?"

"This... sir, I know this salary is really too high. But... to be honest, I really need the money right now because of my parents' illness... I will work hard... but I can't leave home..."

"No problem, I'll have someone send you the things you need to sort and categorize," Joseph said. "I'm leaving Paris for Toulon in a few days. May I write to you?"

"Ah, of course... of course, sir."

"Also, oh Fanny, I don't want to bring up things that would upset you. But do you know where Armand's grave is? If you have some free time these next couple of days, could you take me to see it?"