Windfall Profits (Seeking Investment)

"Envoy Colbert," Dandels said with a sigh after glancing at several senior Patriot Party members beside him, "following a vote in the States-General, we have officially decided to cease hostilities with the Orange Party and enter peace talks. The negotiations will be held the day after tomorrow."

The Orange Party he spoke of was the Royalist Party that supported the former Dutch Stadtholder, William V. It was named after William V's title, Prince of Orange.

Colbert frowned, rose to his feet, and said in a ringing voice:

"Mr. Speaker, the French Cabinet's position is this: no peace talks, no compromise!

"You and your troops need only repel the enemy head-on once and hold out for at least five days. Great France will handle the rest for you. In the end, Prince of Orange's counterattack will surely be crushed!"

Dandels' face flushed crimson as he clenched his fists. "Envoy, we do not wish to yield either! But you know that bitch Wilhelmina, that traitor—she brought in the Prussian Army and spread word everywhere that we kidnapped her..."

Colbert gave a light cough and looked away, saying as though in passing, "In my personal opinion, the Princess of Orange merely did what she ought to have done. That can hardly be called treason."

Dandels froze, only then remembering that the envoy before him represented French King Louis XVI.

He suddenly found it rather ironic. The one helping the Dutch people resist a dictator was another dictator.

Perhaps that was the sorrow and helplessness of small nations.

Dandels did not dwell on that minor episode and continued, "More than twenty thousand Prussian troops are now at the gates of Amsterdam, demanding that we release Wilhelmina. God, she is not in our hands at all!

"And our army has only seven thousand soldiers, with equipment far inferior to that of the Prussians."

This was Wilhelmina's plan to help her husband regain the throne—she had made a conspicuous appearance in The Hague, Netherlands, luring the rebels into arresting her. Naturally, the rebels, wary of her status as a Prussian princess, released her soon afterward. Yet she publicly claimed that she was still being held by the Patriot Party and begged Prussia to send troops to rescue her, while in reality she had quietly slipped away to hide in the border city of Nijmegen.

Colbert nodded. "I have not asked you to defeat the Prussian Army. You need only make them realize that they will meet fierce resistance.

"Besides, I have heard that three hundred French lads, sympathetic to your plight, have volunteered to help you fight. They brought over two thousand muskets, and apparently some Cannon as well."

"Two thousand guns, and Cannon?" Dandels no longer looked quite so dejected. "That is exactly what we need! Where did you transport the Cannon from? Still, are three hundred men not a little too few?"

Colbert immediately denied it. "The Cannon may have been stolen by certain people from French warships. Please note that France has provided you with six hundred thousand Livre, but has never deployed troops.

"Oh, do not think three hundred is too few. Most of them are Artillery. You should know that a single excellent artilleryman can turn the tide of an entire battle. Remember, this may be your only chance to preserve your regime!"

Dandels exchanged glances with the men beside him before saying to Colbert, "Envoy, we need to discuss this further."

"By all means."

Only an hour later, the Patriot Party voted to suspend the peace talks, hold Amsterdam, and fight a decisive battle against the Prussian Army.

Two days later, more than a dozen people disguised as merchants, craftsmen, and even beggars entered the eastern Dutch border city of Nijmegen through different Channels and soon made contact with two French spies.

Inside a small house on the outskirts of Nijmegen, the group gathered in a circle. Second Lieutenant Fovatu, who was in charge of the operation, pointed to the eastern side of a map of Nijmegen on the table and said:

"Wilhelmina should be hiding at Countess of Lippe's estate. She rarely goes out.

"For the next few days, familiarize yourselves with the city's roads and surroundings. We will act when she goes to Church this Sunday."

Versailles Palace.

Joseph sat in a reclining chair and let out a long yawn in the winter afternoon sunlight.

The Tax Law was still going through the High Court, there was no news from the Netherlands for the time being, and the police work had only just begun, with no developments whatsoever...

Since coming to this world, he had finally found a rare moment of leisure.

But Dr. Lamark seemed afraid that he would grow too bored, so he delivered the refined Salicin Joseph had requested last time.

Joseph hurriedly told him that he would send someone to collect it in the future, so there was no need for him to make the long trip all the way from Paris.

After seeing Lamark off, Joseph picked up the large bottle of nearly pure white powder. He opened the cap and smelled it. There was not the slightest scent of Alcohol; it was exceptionally pure.

He opened a chest in his study. Inside were Glycerin, Rose Essential Oil, and other auxiliary ingredients he had prepared long ago, along with several measuring tools.

He carefully measured out one thousand grams of Glycerin, sixty grams of Rose Essential Oil, and twenty-two grams of Salicin, mixing them together in an enormous Glass flask.

By then, the solution had completely turned a pale purple, giving off the fragrance of essential oils. There was not the faintest trace of Salicin visible.

Then, following the ratio of one part mixed solution to three parts water, Joseph produced the first batch of Angel Water.

He frowned at the large bottle of thin liquid. As Cosmetics, its appearance was far too ordinary.

After some thought, he decided to add a thickening agent. He immediately grabbed the Candlestick from the table and pulled off one of its candles, made of high-grade beeswax.

The candle powder dissolved into the Glycerin. As Joseph continued stirring, the solution quickly became thick and opaque.

Now this looked a little more like a skincare product. He nodded in satisfaction, scraped out a small amount of Angel Water with his finger, and spread it evenly across the back of his hand. It felt smooth and moisturizing, carried a floral fragrance, and was extremely pleasant.

After waiting half an hour and seeing no adverse reactions such as allergies or irritation, Joseph summoned his beautician and applied some to his face as well.

Then the beautician and his assistant were press-ganged into service. Under Joseph's direction, they filled the thick pale-purple gel into flat, round seven-ounce Glass bottles, then placed the bottles inside exquisite wooden boxes stamped with Angel Water.

Although both men were deft with their hands, they worked until three in the afternoon before they finally finished filling just over fifty bottles.

Once Joseph confirmed that the beautician's skin felt fine, he instructed Eman to send forty of the bottles to several well-known Luxury Goods stores in Paris for consignment, priced at fifteen Livre per bottle.

He took the remaining ten bottles to Queen Mary himself. When it came to Cosmetics, who could possibly be more suitable as a spokesperson than her? And a free spokesperson at that.

In the corridor, Joseph did a quick calculation. One bottle of Angel Water cost a little over one Livre to make—in this era, Glycerin was refined from Olive Oil and was expensive, accounting for ninety percent of the cost. The main active ingredient, Salicin, was instead the cheapest component.

Yet each bottle sold for fifteen Livre. After deducting transportation and sales expenses, he could still earn at least twelve Livre and ten Sou!

He could not help but sigh. As expected, women's money was the easiest to earn!

Boss Ma had not deceived him!