Walking out of the Élysée Palace, facing the three Solonçois who were waiting ahead, Alfonso said:

"I'm going to a dance party at 7 p.m., and now I'm either going to go shopping around the neighborhood or I'm just waiting here, and it won't be long anyway."

"But I've heard that you have to dress up before the prom, and it's better to get a local barber to get your hair done..."

Domingo recalls his previous experience of standing guard outside the ball, trying to dissuade his prince from being so casual.

"And we've walked so much today, and it's still hot in Paris at the end of September, so you must be sweating a lot, Your Highness."

Alfonso chuckled and raised his head, "Do you think I need to dress up, besides, this bit of exercise intensity is not enough to make me sweat." ”

Long Zhang Fengzi, natural nature, this proud smile directly stunned the three men.

"If the nobles had grown up like you, there wouldn't have been so many rebellions in history. Your beauty reminds me of the legendary Son. François came back to his senses and sighed.

"François, would you be interested in helping me with something?" Alfonso was very happy, and he could only be happy if he was praised for his good looks.

"I'm from a poor background, and I barely went to school, what can I do for you?" François was a little afraid of delays.

"Follow me and compliment me on how handsome."

"......" François muttered as he looked into Alfonso's blue eyes, "I do." ”

“？” Alfonso was a little flustered by this "I do", and hurriedly changed his words:

"Just kidding, I think you're a good learner, didn't I tell you that I'm going to open a big shop in the Champs-Élysées.

You can follow along, and maybe someone else will call you François, the big businessman. ”

"Oh... That's right. François was a little disappointed, but responded: "It's a good thing, of course I do." ”

"Alright, you go back now and explain the situation to your companions, pack your things, and come to me in a few days.

Our residence is not yet certain, and if you see someone in the Champs-Elysées decorating it, you can go to the person in charge, or you can come directly to the Elysée Palace to find someone. ”

"Companion... Okay, see you in those days. As if he had made up his mind, François said goodbye and trotted away.

But after a few steps, he turned back again, scratched his head, and said a little embarrassedly: "What, I haven't been given the employment money today, and there is also a copy of the newspaper's money." ”

Alfonso was speechless, he had indeed forgotten such a trivial matter, so he said to Domingo, "Give him a hundred francs." ”

Then he turned to François and declared: "Ten francs of this is your salary, bonuses, and newspaper money, and the other ninety francs are your advance in advance, and you have to pay me back my salary." ”

In fact, a hundred francs is not much, and they had rented a luxurious carriage for seven francs an hour.

The rent of a normal house is two hundred francs a month, and one can only sigh that the wages of low-level workers are too low.

"No problem... No problem, it should be enough to have this money... Your Highness Alfonso, you are a wonderful man. When François saw the hundred francs, his whole body was much more lively, as if he had been relieved of some burden.

Bidding farewell to François, two men and a boy, who were not very interested in shopping, turned to the garden at the back of the Élysée Palace and sat for a while, eating a snack to fill their stomachs.

…

It was soon close to 7 o'clock, and the Élysée Palace had hundreds of rooms, most of which were lit up.

At night, when there are no electric lights, it is the countless candles that make this beautiful picture (oil lamps are vulgar and dangerous).

He said he didn't need to dress up, but Alfonso still changed into a French tuxedo with black velvet shorts, and even if he was only 11 years old, his unstoppable charm was destined to make him the protagonist of the ball.

"The French are really rich!" He was on his way to the ballroom, and when he saw this extravagant scene, he remembered the electric light.

By this time, Joseph Swann of England had almost finished the development of incandescent lamps, but the choice of vacuum extraction technology and filament material always troubled him.

Going back and buying his patent, and then increasing investment in vacuum technology, developing an electric lamp is also a lucrative business.

But it's still too early to say this, even the top powers like Britain and France don't have a single power plant in the country.

This ball was a small private ball for Napoleon III, because it was organized temporarily, not many people were invited to attend, and there was no mandatory dance partner.

However, the emperor prepared a lot of courtesans on the periphery, and there would never be an embarrassing scene without a dance partner.

Having said that, Alfonso is still too early to come of age, and many of the rules of attending the prom don't apply to him, so he can be casual.

Entering the ballroom, he saw Napoleon standing at the entrance, holding the arm of a middle-aged woman and talking to two other men.

If nothing else, the woman is the Empress Eugenie, two men, one is middle-aged and elderly, the other is young, I don't know who it is, but it should not be French.

Several people had smiles on their faces, and it was obvious that the conversation was very pleasant, and there was a little boy listening next to them.

As Alfonso entered, the people who had been chatting quietly turned their eyes one by one.

Even those who had their backs to him gradually turned their heads to look at him because of the strangeness of their companions, and almost in the blink of an eye, the whole venue was silent.

Alfonso is a very confident person, but he also feels uncomfortable in this atmosphere.

It was Napoleon who broke this embarrassment, he came over with a smile, took Alfonso's hand, and said aloud to the curious gaze of everyone:

"This is Alfonso, Alfonso de Bourbon, Crown Prince of Spain, let's welcome him!"

"Papapa" everyone was also very face-saving, and applauded under the leadership of the emperor.

Then he consciously turned his head, anyway, after the ball officially began, there was a chance to get acquainted.

"Alfonso, let me introduce you, this is my wife, Eugenie." Napoleon led Alfonso to the people he had spoken to earlier.

The richly dressed woman smiled and waved her hand.

Then he pointed to the brown-haired young man standing on the left: "This is the Crown Prince of the United Kingdom, His Royal Highness Edward. (The Queen of England has not yet received the Indian crown)"

Edward, who was obviously a lively man by nature, winked at Alfonso and said in an aria-like tone, "Your Highness Alfonso, you are truly an angel......"

“… You're overrated. Although the West does not like to be modest, Alfonso can only say that now, and even he feels a little embarrassed to be called an angel by the person he met for the first time.

"Ahem." Napoleon coughed and interrupted Edward, who was still about to say something.

"These two are the Emperor of Austria... The Foreign Minister of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, Anton, and His Royal Highness the Crown Prince Rudolf. ”

Before the gray-haired Anton could say anything, Rudolph, who looked slightly smaller than Alfonso, said, "Brother, you are so beautiful, Sister Gisela will definitely want to know you." ”

"I'd love to know a Habsburg, too." Alfonso replied with a smile, "I know a lot of historical celebrities today."