Chapter 54:

It is not a simple matter for nobles to go out, especially to attend the queen's birthday party. It is not only necessary to arrange the size of the territory to be suitable, but also to arrange a team to travel, not only to protect safety but also to reflect the noble style. To put it bluntly, it is ostentation.

Of course, the most important thing is to prepare a birthday present for the queen.

In the past, on the birthdays of the king and queen, even if they did not have the qualifications to attend the banquet, nobles from all over the country needed to prepare gifts for them. The Williams family was not very prominent in the empire, although it could be regarded as a marriage relationship with the royal family, but because of the relationship It's not intimate. Every year, the king and queen will not invite their family to their birthday parties, and the standard etiquette will not be used.

But this year is different. Felix himself has been appreciated by the king at the knight stage. Coupled with the recent period of brilliance, it is very natural for the king to think of inviting him.

However, the gifts that people don't give to people before and the gifts that are given to parties at the banquet are definitely different.

If it was the king's birthday party, Felix knew how to choose gifts. When he served the king, he still knew this person's preferences very well, but Felix had little contact with the queen and was not impressed by her. I didn't want to think about preparing gifts for Wei Wei's unexpected woman, so I pushed this task to Wei Wei in an upright manner.

Wei Wei wanted to postpone, because she also needed to arrange a lot of things. Among them, the problem of wintering the plants in the garden was a headache. They left in November and came back at the end of December. Two months are exactly one year. In the coldest time of the year, if Felix hadn't indicated that they were already a fiancée, she would have to be present in the face of the king's invitation, and Wei Wei would have preferred to stay and take care of her experimental field.Moreover, if the gift is not chosen properly, it will affect the reputation of the Williams family. If it is too good, it will easily attract others' coveting. If it is sent on a business trip, it will be said to be disrespectful to the royal family. No matter how you look at it, it is a troublesome errand.However, Felix, on the grounds that she is the (future) hostess of the castle, said that the task of giving gifts should be her responsibility. "And you see that I have so many things to do, I can't find time at all. Besides, do you want to see me carefully selecting gifts for other women?"

Wei Wei was really not happy.

Seeing that Felix was really busy, Wei Wei had to agree.

She called Butler Patton and Mrs. Nancy and asked them what gifts the Williams family would prepare in the past.

The housekeeper and his wife are very familiar with this matter, because they have experienced it before: "It's basically jewelry, some are specially made and some are handed down from the Williams family."

In fact, most ordinary nobles give gifts like this. , the difference is only in the preciousness of the jewelry.

Mrs. Nancy told Wei Wei, "Do you want Miss Wei Wei to go to the countess' jewelry store?"

Wei Wei shook her head. Recently, every move in Sardinson County has been watched by the outside world. Jewelry, unless you send precious jewelry that can be used as family heirlooms, not only will you not please the king and his wife, but you will probably be bad-mouthed.

After all, everyone can see that their business makes money, and there are not a few who are jealous.

But if you really want to give a very precious gift, not only will she be missed, but she will also feel distressed.

Watching the housekeeper couple leave, Wei Wei took a sip of warm herbal tea, adjusted her posture to make herself more comfortable, and then began to think about what would be more suitable for her.

About the queen, Wei Wei had inquired about it when she asked Felix to send perfume.

The queen, Mirabelle Bordeaux, is the princess of the neighboring country Bordeaux. She is the second wife of the king. She is twenty-six years old this year, fifteen years younger than the king. She has already married King Prady. For four years, there has been no children. If it wasn't for the former queen who left two princes so that everyone would not have to worry about the uninherited throne, I am afraid that the queen would have been forced to divorce long ago.

As for why the princess became queen at the age of twenty-two, the story is even more complicated.

In fact, both the king and queen are second marriages. Mirabelle was sent to Prady by the king of Berdeau at the age of sixteen. Her father sent her to Prady to marry, and she married Prady's cousin, the In order to inherit his father's title of duke, his cousin entered the army to obtain military merit - the title of duke is different from other titles. On the one hand, it is a title that can only be held by the king's younger brother. Very few will be conferred the title of commander of the army with outstanding military achievements. In order to inherit the title of duke, one must have sufficient military exploits or make a great contribution to the country. If this is not possible, he will be downgraded to an earl (in the 13th century, the ranks of the nobility were only duke, earl, and baron.) - the result is unfortunate died on the battlefield.

Twenty-one-year-old Mirabelle became a widow in this way. It was even more unfortunate that her husband had not obtained enough merits before her death to inherit the title of duke. Children, her husband's count and fief can only be handed over to others, so Princess Mirabelle not only failed to become a duchess, but even the title of countess is just a useless and false name.This level of decline is really thorough, and Mirabelle, who has a huge gap, is of course not reconciled, so she turned her head and hooked up with King Prady by her beauty.At that time, the former queen had been sick for many years, and everyone knew that she would not live long. Originally, the ministers had already begun to discuss the candidate for the next queen. Mirabelle hooked up with the king, occupying her own identity and pillow style, and finally let the king Promised to marry the former queen after her death.I don't know if the former queen was already running out of oil, or she was angry at the news. A few months after the rumors about the relationship between Princess Mirabelle and the king, the former queen died of illness, and then it passed. Within half a year, Mirabelle successfully became the new queen.The period after the wedding was definitely the most beautiful time for Mirabelle, but the good times didn't last long. Mirabelle was still not pregnant after marrying King Prady, which reminded people of her previous marriage to King Hall. The younger brother was also childless, and soon the news about the queen's infertility began to circulate in the court and eventually became a well-known secret among the royal capital's aristocracy.

And King Prady is a person who likes the new and hates the old. After a few years of marriage, after the novelty disappears, his feelings for Mirabelle are not as good as before, and Mirabelle has never been pregnant, so in the past two years There are rumors that the king seems to have plans for another queen.

Although I don't know if this news is true or not, since such rumors can spread, I am afraid that the current situation of the queen is not very good.

And Wei Wei heard very early that this Queen Mirabelle is very concerned about her appearance, not only because she loves beauty, but also because only beautiful appearance can make her retain the king's heart.

After clapping her hands, Wei Wei thought about what gift to give.

For a woman who loves beauty, what is more suitable than giving her a set of effective cosmetics.

Wei Wei got up, strode out of the room, and went to Felix to discuss the decision.

"Giving cosmetics? Wouldn't it be too common? I'm afraid the queen will not be short of these things, right?"

If you really want to send something that can be bought anywhere as a birthday gift, I'm afraid it will anger the person who is not very good-tempered. Queen Mirabelle.

He thought that Wei Wei couldn't think of any good ideas, so he said he wanted to send this, and persuaded: "It's really not possible, let's send jewelry, plus a whole set of essential oils, I think Her Royal Highness will like it when you come."

"Of course .It's not the toxic cosmetics sold outside that are bad for your health." Wei Wei rolled his eyes at him, and didn't expect him to understand the importance of cosmetics to women - it's okay to understand - but asked him a question: "The last prom When, did you see my makeup?"

Speaking of the last dance, Felix immediately thought of Wei Wei's stunning outfit.

But when it comes to makeup, Felix's mind only has the whitened faces and red lips of other noble ladies, and Wei Wei seemed to be no different at that time, except that she looked a little more charming than usual, right?

In the end, he could only be uncertain: "Do you mean the flower on your forehead? It's beautifully drawn."

"No, I wore makeup at that time, but it was light makeup, you can't tell." Wei Wei murmured to herself that Felix was probably a straight male aesthetic, and explained: "My makeup is all made by myself, I promise. Natural and unique, the effect is many times better than those lead powders. Since Queen Mirabelle loves beauty so much, it is impossible not to dislike it."

"However, what if the things you sent in the past are regarded as ordinary cosmetics by her? What should I do? Those things should look similar, right? If she didn't find the benefits of those things, she might get angry because of this. Although it can be explained later, it is easy to make her jealous if she is not careful. The queen's temper is not very good. Alright."

That's possible, Wei Wei thought.

Felix went on to say: "Why don't you add something and send it together, I think the essential oil is very good."

"The essential oil is too common, and that is our product. If we can send a different variety, it will be easily attacked. We are not sincere."

Wei Wei pondered for a while, then suddenly asked him, "How is the queen's usual clothing taste? Does she like to wear something simple or gorgeous?"

Felix thought for a while and said, "Gorgeous, queen The colours of her clothes are always bright and extravagant. Her country advocates colourful matching, which is much fancier than ours."

Wei Wei nodded and asked again: "Then what do you think, if I give her Would she like a skirt like Dolores?"

Dolores's was the one she wore to Wei Wei before, but Felix thought it was a child wearing adult clothes.

At that time, Dolores' skirt was really ugly, but Wei Wei asked a blacksmith to make three iron rings of different sizes, which were thin and not easily deformed, and then sewed them with fine linen, and then put a layer of the same material on the outside. The thin skirt was finally made into a fishbone brace similar to what the modern LO girl likes to wear, and she put a set into the skirt for the little girl, and the clothes that looked like they were wearing the wrong before became very fit and good-looking.

Even Felix couldn't say that such a skirt he had never seen before was not good. On the contrary, after the skirt was propped up, the little girl looked more elegant.

"It should be. It is always known that the queen loves beauty, but we are going to leave soon, is there enough time?"

"If it is too late, I can do it before departure with the help of the maids, but it is the blacksmith. I'm afraid I have to ask them to make the iron ring for the skirt support first."

Felix had no idea about the skirt support but nodded: "This is no problem, let a few blacksmiths take turns to make one, it won't cost much. Time."

"Then do you remember the queen's size?"

Felix didn't have much contact with Queen Mirabelle, but he still remembered her approximate size. He called a few maids and put the height among them. The one with the most similar body shape is pointed to Wei Wei.

Although there is no guarantee of a 100% fit, it is almost the same as the approximate model, especially now that I have to wear winter clothes. To keep warm, I have to add clothes inside. It is better to make it bigger. Wei Wei has already started preparing for winter clothes. Rather than letting the tailor do it, she prefers to do it herself. First, she can make it according to her preferences, and secondly, she can save a lot of production costs. So she bought a lot of woollen and cashmere woollen fabrics and variously treated furs early in the morning, but because of personal preferences, both the fabrics and the furs are relatively plain colours, and the only red fabric is still ready. The pattern is ready to be cut, and the rest is not in line with Queen Mirabelle's preferences. Of course, in addition to fabrics, there are many things to prepare for making cosmetics, so although she doesn't like them very much, she still has to go out to buy them once. After writing down everything to buy, Wei Wei called Dolores and her two maids and went out. It has been several months since she last went to Dingle, and it has become very lively here. In addition to the people from this town, there are more caravans from all over the world and people from other villages and towns who come to work and sell things. The roads in the town have become congested, and there are more shops on the side of the road than before, and there are many stalls directly on the side of the road.

When the carriage belonging to the Felix family entered the town, it naturally attracted everyone's attention. Whether it was the style of the carriage or the family crest on it, they all told them that there was probably something they had always wanted to see but never saw. Castle owner.

But those foreign businessmen did not catch up and try to sell themselves immediately, because the one sitting in the carriage at the moment may be the earl, but it may also be his family. unnecessary trouble.

They followed silently, and when they saw the carriage parked in front of the tailor's shop, they had a bottom line.

Sure enough, there were only a few female relatives who got off the carriage. The first one that came out was two maids, and the other one, one big and one small. Although they couldn't see their faces, they could tell they were noble ladies just by looking at their clothes.

After the girls entered the tailor's shop, the manservant sitting next to the coachman stood guard at the door, and by looking at his posture, he knew that no one else was allowed to enter at this time.

A subordinate of a noble who just came here asked the local townsman: "Who are those two ladies? Isn't it said that Earl Williams is not married yet?

" Have you seen the taller lady? She is the fiancee of Lord Earl. I was fortunate enough to meet her before. She is a very beautiful beauty. I heard that the wedding is being prepared."

"This news is true ."

Of course, the castle's servants are making big purchases for this these last few days. Many merchants sent their things to the castle and sold them at a good price. The lady must come here to order a wedding. Dress up."

"That's a pity."

The noble subordinate from out of town shook his head regretfully. His master had previously revealed the idea of marrying the Williams family, and before sending him here, he repeatedly told him to do it. Knowing the preferences of Earl Williams, I didn't expect that the other party was already engaged.

The townspeople who heard his words rolled their eyes in a corner he couldn't see, saying what a pity, everyone in Sardinson County vaguely knew that the recent changes in the county were more or less related to the foreign lady, Earl Everyone couldn't be happier that the adults could marry her. After Wei Wei entered the tailor's shop, she found that there were still several guests there, but after seeing Wei Wei, the old tailor came over as soon as possible: "Welcome, Miss Weiwei, Miss Dolores, the two of you are actually in person. I'm here, I don't know what I can do for you?" The old tailor didn't expect them to come back, he used to go to the castle for any needs."Good afternoon, sir." Wei Wei said hello to him: "I need to buy some fabrics, just ask the apprentice to show me."She looked at the few guests who seemed a little restrained because of their arrival and looked at the clothes they were dressed in. Not an aristocrat, but to be able to come to the tailor's shop to make clothes, the family should have some assets. She smiled at them and then motioned to the old tailor to go over and do her work. The old tailor who had dealt with her several times nodded clearly, called two apprentices, and went back again. Wei Wei said to the apprentice: "I need some relatively high-grade, brightly-coloured fabrics and animal skins. You can help me find them ."Yes, there is not one in the store, the apprentice has to go to the warehouse at the back to find it. Wei Wei thought for a while, then turned around and took out the folded paper and a few silver coins from the purse hanging around her waist and handed it to Dolores' maid: "You help me find the things on this, and see if you can buy them all. Now."Okay, lady." The two maids bent their knees, took the shopping list and the money, hid the money, and left with the shopping list. After that, Wei Wei, who was waiting for the apprentice to come out, took Dolores around the store and asked her if she liked anything."The fabrics in this store are very good and the prices are affordable. You can buy more if you like."

Compared to Wei Wei, Dolores went out only a handful of times, not to mention coming to Dingle. She grabbed Wei Wei curiously and timidly and stared at the containers in the store with her beautiful blue eyes. the fabric, and occasionally glanced at the ladies on the other side who were taking measurements.

There was also a young girl who was going to make a dress over there. She seemed to be only a year or two older than Dolores, but Dolores could vaguely hear them saying that this time she was here to make a wedding dress for that little girl.

She nervously held Wei Wei tighter.

Wei Wei heard it too. She patted the little girl's head soothingly and laughed softly: "Don't worry, we Dolores are still young. If you want to get married, you must at least be as old as me.

" Wei Wei once promised Dolores that she would not be married so early. At that time, she said that Felix would not do that, but now, she can honestly say that she does not agree.

Compared with her brother, Dolores believed in Wei Wei more. After hearing this, she calmed down, but she still looked to the side from time to time.

Fortunately, the apprentice had already taken out the fabric, and Wei Wei took her to the side.

The apprentice stammered and told Wei Wei that these high-grade fabrics were purchased last year, and only from other more prosperous counties, so no matter the colour or style, they were not very popular.

If it were someone else, they would still dare to brag that this is a new style from the royal capital, but they are the ones who came, so they would not dare. This is the earl's family. If it is found that it does not match the facts, their heads will not be enough to cut. Wei Wei didn't understand the popularity of Prady Capital either. She just looked through all the fabrics and saw a bright red woollen fabric and a fine linen fabric with golden patterns. The apprentice introduced on the side: "This fast wool is woven with the finest cashmere dyed and woven, which is very comfortable and warm, and the patterns on this fine linen cloth are all woven with gold wires drawn from gold, to ensure that the goods are genuine at a reasonable price. ."

The colour of the wool is very pure red, and the dense gold thread pattern on the fine linen completely covers the colour of the fabric itself, and the existence of the fine linen is almost invisible. Those patterns are not embroidered but woven with gold thread mixed with fine linen, so the fabric is not as soft as ordinary linen, but very stiff, and the feel is even different.

The two kinds of fabrics are pure and gorgeous in colour, and because of the high cost, they are indeed fabrics that only nobles can use.

It is precious enough to use such a piece of fabric to make clothes for the queen, even if it does not conform to fashion.

Because just buying a piece of fine linen cloth woven with gold thread that can be used to make a skirt, costs six hundred gold coins. If European nobles wear such expensive fabrics, it is no wonder that their clothes are not changed frequently. Even if the precious skirt is damaged, it can continue to be worn for more than ten years.

However, although the price is indeed very expensive, both the workmanship and the pattern are very good, so Wei Wei did not bargain and directly asked the apprentice to wrap the two pieces of cloth. According to the size of the two pieces of cloth, two pieces of cloth can be made completely. In addition to giving away different styles of skirts, she can keep one for herself.

After all, we are going to get married. If nothing else, how can a wedding that is only once in a lifetime be sloppy? Since the wedding dress cannot be made into a pure white bridal wedding dress, then make it a gorgeous Rococo style in "Gone with the Wind". The skirt is also very nice.

——And after using it, it can be disassembled to make other clothes, and it can be matched with other fabrics to make a few more different styles of party dresses.

Wei Wei, who is conscious of being diligent and thrifty at home, nodded her head in satisfaction. She didn't think that it would be unlucky if she took off the wedding dress.

I'm afraid, let alone Felix, no one else would allow her to do this.