Shortly after Baron Betula's departure, he sent Lawrence with a hastily drawn up transfer agreement.

Although Baron Betula drew it up hastily, the agreement was generally rigorous, and the bold lettering at the end indicated that all transfer proceedings would not begin until William Pitt returned to England.

At the bottom of the agreement are the signatures of Baron Betula and the seal of the English ambassador to France, which are not enough to give effect to the agreement, but they are a written guarantee from Ambassador Betula to Lawrence.

"Hmm... Basically, there is no problem. ”

The Duke of Choiseul also looked at the agreement, and found no problems for the time being, but said very cautiously:

"But what he said is that it is a bit inappropriate to wait for William Pitt to return to England before starting the transfer, and if William Pitt returns, the British will definitely delay the extension of the transfer process, and the devil knows how long it will take to talk about it."

Lawrence smiled indifferently, carefully folded the agreement and put it in his pocket, shook his head and said:

"It doesn't matter, it's not me going to have to fight the British anyway."

"You..."

The Duke of Choiseul couldn't help laughing, and then shook his head helplessly, knowing that he must be the last person to fight with the British for this St. Kitts Island.

The two chatted in the garden for a while, and it was not until about four o'clock in the afternoon that a royal housekeeper respectfully found them in the garden.

"Your Excellency, Mr. Governor, the time is not early."

The royal housekeeper bowed respectfully to the two of them, and reminded:

"The banquet and ball in the Hall of Mirrors are about to begin, and you two can get ready to enter if you have nothing else to do."

"Hall of Mirrors? It seems that our Majesty the King still values you. ”

When the Duke of Choiseul heard the place of the banquet, he looked at Lawrence with some surprise and said:

"That's a good thing, but not every banquet and dance party can be held in the Hall of Mirrors."

Although Lawrence did not know the tacit rules of the royal banquet, he also understood that the Hall of Mirrors was the most luxurious place in the Palace of Versailles, and it was fully worthy of the treasure of the palace called the Palace of Versailles.

It was not only a place for the Bourbon royal family to receive envoys from various countries, but also for the founding of the German Empire and the signing of the Treaty of Versailles.

In the hands of King Louis, who was obsessed with the life of the corrupt court, the Hall of Mirrors was also an excellent place for balls, and every aristocratic lady fantasized about one day becoming the glorious protagonist of the Hall of Mirrors.

Even Louis XV's last official mistress, Madame de Pompadour, met Louis XV at a masquerade ball in the Hall of Mirrors; Madame de Pompadour disguised herself as a shepherdess, while Louis XV disguised herself as a tree.

"It's not too early, let's go change clothes."

The Duke of Choiseul took out his pocket watch and looked at it, then looked at Lawrence's old-fashioned dress with some disgust, and joked:

"Surely you don't want to appear in front of the king and all the celebrities of Versailles in this rag and rags, do you?"

Lawrence tugged at his shirt and looked at it, nodding helplessly, this dress was still from his brother Carlo when he first arrived in Corsica.

Although Lawrence felt that the dress was quite appropriate, Parisians who prided themselves on fashion trends would certainly look down on these backward Corsican designs.

......

It was five o'clock in the afternoon, and although the sun was already a little dim, in the Hall of Mirrors of the Palace of Versailles, it was a bright and golden light.

Seventeen floor-to-ceiling crystal windows introduce the sunlight outside the window into the hall, and at the same time introduce the summer scene of the back garden of the mirror hall facing it, in the reflection of nearly 500 mirrors, even if you stand in the hall, you will feel like you are in the back garden of all the flowers.

Although the banquet has not officially begun, the corridor of more than 70 meters is already slightly crowded:

Elaborately groomed ladies carefully carry their silk dresses through the Hall of Mirrors to greet others and avoid bumping into the people who come and go with large silver plates.

Graceful men gather in groups of three or five, sipping white wines from the royal family, and chatting happily.

King Louis and his mistress, Madame du Barry, were not yet present, as were Crown Prince Louis and Crown Princess Marie, as well as Crown Prince Louis's two younger brothers, and as members of the royal family, they were only allowed to attend the banquet when it officially began.

Lawrence and Duke Choiseul had already dressed up and were walking briskly to the Hall of Mirrors.

"Hey, seriously, you're really a lot more energetic when you dress up like this, I think those girls can't do without you tonight."

The Duke of Choiseul, who was walking on the road, did not forget to turn his head to look at Lawrence a few times, looking at his neat silver wig and handsome face, and couldn't help but sigh with emotion.

Lawrence scratched his wig a little uncomfortably, looked at the silver powder stuck to his hand, and said helplessly:

"This stuff makes my scalp itch, and I don't know why the French call it fashionable."

By the end of the eighteenth century in Paris, the wearing of wigs had become a symbol of culture and fashion, and was also very common among the common people, even the average craftsman of the era would wear a silver curly hair on formal occasions.

In Paris alone, there were 1,200 wig shops and more than 6,000 associates working there.

Men even put aside the tradition of wearing hats in order to catch up with the wig bandwagon, as wearing hats messes up their well-groomed wigs.

Thus it was more common in Paris at this time to see gentlemen wearing neat silver hair and a large tricorn hat with feathers and golden tassels tucked under their armpits, but they almost never wore it, but only as a pendant.

"I don't understand what fashion is, it's a lot harder than politics and diplomacy."

The Duke of Choiseul shrugged his shoulders and said that as a traditional nobleman, he was obviously not interested in these emerging trends, and it was only because the king was fascinated by them that he also changed into the most fashionable clothes for himself.

"It's ridiculous to say that 80 percent of fashion is hyped up by second-rate artists, who deliberately make crazy and weird designs, and at the same time dismiss everyone who doesn't agree with them as ordinary people, and we have to use taxes to fund those art academies to create these deformed designs."

The Duke of Choiseul said dissatisfied.

Lawrence chuckled and nodded his head to indicate that the Duke of Choiseul was right.

The two laughed all the way to the Hall of Mirrors, and at the entrance of the Hall of Mirrors, they saw the daughter of the Duke of Choiseul, Miss Elvie, who had obviously been waiting here for a long time.

Although in Paris of this era, women had conquered men with their charms and had become more and more important, but in form they were still the appendages of men, which is why Mademoiselle Elvie waited until the arrival of the Duke of Choiseul to enter the banquet.

"So, the government doesn't need any subsidies for artists at all, people will pay their own money to support the artists they like, and we should really stop those subsidies and spend the money on the army..."

Until he reached the gate, the Duke of Choiseul ignored the strange stares of the people around him, and spoke loudly about his criticism of the art world.

"Father!"

Miss Elvi stepped forward with some grumbling, put her arms around the Duke of Choiseul and said:

"You're talking bad about those artists again, I should really take you to a few more art exhibitions and clothing exhibitions, so that you can cultivate well."

"Oh, my little Elvie, you're a woman, and a woman is not a politician or a soldier, how can you understand my thoughts, I'm talking about things at the national level."

The Duke of Choiseul shook his head at his daughter, and though his tone was very doting, it was clear that he did not take Miss Elvie's words seriously.

There is no doubt that Duke Choiseul's discriminatory words immediately attracted the eyes of the women around her, and Miss Elvie pouted in displeasure, and then looked at Lawrence behind her and said:

"I am glad that you are here, Monsieur Bonaparte, and although I have asked my father to thank you for the last incident concerning the Count of Falcone, I must thank you again personally, for you have saved me not only but my sisters a great deal of trouble. Yes, do you have any truth in my father's words? ”

Lawrence was slightly appreciative at first to hear Miss Elvie's thanks, but as soon as she threw her words to herself, Lawrence couldn't help but twitch the corners of his mouth, and glanced at the ladies around him who had pricked up their ears and waited for his answer.

Seeing this, Lawrence had no choice but to spread his hands and say:

"I must say that His Excellency the Duke certainly has his point, but we do have many illustrious women, Jeanne d'Arc from Orleans and the Marquise de Pompadour."

The Duke of Choiseul nodded helplessly when he heard these two names.

The significance of Joan of Arc to the French is self-evident, and the Duke of Choiseul certainly cannot deny it.

As for Madame de Pompadour, although she was only the official mistress of Louis XV, she also had a strong influence on French politics during her lifetime.

She was also a skilled military officer, and during the Seven Years' War, French commanders on the front lines even occasionally received battle plans drawn by Madame de Pompadour from Versailles with an eyebrow pencil.

Even after she lost her physical attraction to the king in old age and decay, she maintained a close friendship with Louis XV with her artistic prowess and erudition.

After her death, Voltaire, who was sponsored by her, wrote a letter in earnest to express his grief over the death of this remarkable woman.

The Duke of Choiseul was once a core member of Madame de Pompadour's faction, and it can be said that if it were not for Madame de Pompadour's premature death, the Duke of Choiseul's position in France would have been almost unshakable, and there would have been no chance for the Duke of Richelieu and Madame du Barry.

Of course, the Duke of Choiseul could not say anything bad about such a woman, so he had to wave his hand and say:

"Governor Bonaparte, you are so clever, forget it, let's go in quickly."

Miss Elvie was very satisfied with Lawrence's answer, and winked at Lawrence very playfully, and then took the Duke of Choiseul by the arm and walked into the Hall of Mirrors.

The servant who greeted the guest at the door of the Hall of Mirrors saw that it was the Duke of Choiseul who came, and he quickly cleared his throat and raised his voice.

The servants who were able to serve as a greeter in the royal family were also very experienced.

For ordinary guests, such as petty bourgeois merchants or petty aristocrats, they will name them in a voice that only the visitors themselves can hear, so as not to disturb the guests who are talking inside.

Further up, such as a bishop or an earl, they raise their voices so that guests can be informed of their arrival without being disturbed.

As for the present, in the face of such a powerful minister as the Duke of Choiseul, they will stand up straight and respectful, raise their throats, and shout out in a hymn-like tone, lest anyone will not hear:

"War Chancellor, Your Excellency Duke Choiseul! and her daughter, Miss Elvie! ”

The sound of the newspaper reached the ears of everyone in the room, and most of them, except for the nobles of Madame du Barry's family, interrupted their conversation and raised their glasses to the Duke of Choiseul at the door in his greetings.

The servant didn't catch his breath after shouting, and then looked at Lawrence behind the Duke of Choiseul, and then couldn't help but show a hesitant expression.

But seeing that Lawrence was about to step into the Hall of Mirrors, the servant didn't have time to think about it, so he directly raised his throat and shouted in a voice that was slightly weaker than Fang Cai:

"Governor of the Republic of Corsica, His Excellency Lawrence Bonaparte!"

The slightly narrow Hall of Mirrors instantly echoed with the loud voice of the announcer, and people also stood on tiptoe to look at the entrance, vying to see the protagonist of tonight's banquet.

Lawrence smiled wryly and glanced at the servant who was reporting the customer, then waved at the nobles and ladies who were looking at him.

Although Lawrence was not proficient in those cumbersome royal rules, he also knew that the volume of this newsman was obviously adjusted according to the status of the comer, and according to the voice of this servant just now, he was probably putting himself and some old dukes on the same level.

"I don't know if it's because of my status as the head of a country, or because of my relationship with the Duke of Choiseul..."

Lawrence thought about it a little helplessly, but he didn't take it seriously.

After waving to everyone, Lawrence looked at the Hall of Mirrors in front of him, and it was indeed as luxurious and resplendent as he had in his impression, although the width was only about ten meters, but the hundreds of mirrors in it greatly enhanced the sense of space, making people feel the slightest crowd and oppression when they were in it.

And just as Lawrence was about to take a closer look at this world-famous monument, he heard that the poor newspaper guest at the door had not had time to rest for a moment, and shouted again:

"Duke Richelieu! and, Ambassador of the Kingdom of Britain to France, Baron Betura! ”

See from Corsica to the Fourth Rome.