There were only 3 days left before the day of the party. The countess De Noailles, the 1st lady-in-waiting whom Li Lianying nicknamed "the leader" before knowing her proper name and rank, had been taking care of all the preparations. Li Lianying just spent her days dilly-dallying with Marie Louise De Lamballe while exploring the huge gardens of Versailles. She shocked many people when she started talking joyfully and politely to the countess Du Barry, the young mistress of the king. Indeed, the real Marie-Antoinette had hated her with a passion for being a commoner, and even worse, a prostitute in the court of Versailles. Li Lianying, on the other hand, saw her as a pretty girl who fought hard and did what she could to surpass anyone else despite her low birth. And, truth to be told, Li Lianying had a weakness for blondes!
The transmigrated crown princess sighed while playing with Marie-Louise's hair, and whispered :
"I really wonder how I can make everyone happy! On one side, Lady Adélaïde and her sisters have been pestering me and accusing me of treason for talking to the countess Du Barry, but on the other side, the king has been pushing me to acknowledge his lover and had been very upset because I ignored her for so many years."
"You could maybe try to be more discreet? Acknowledge the countess Du Barry without behaving too enthusiastically?"
"It won't be enough for the 'Mesdames', the King's daughters. They want me to treat the countess like a complete outcast. If they can't kick her out of their father's bed, they want her to endure a living hell in this palace. Since they can't directly abuse the poor woman, they decided to bully her by denying her existence, pretending that she doesn't exist, and showing her that she is nothing, and that she doesn't belong here, among the nobles. Even if I talk to her coldly, it will still mean that I am acknowledging her existence, that I am considering her as a living human with whom I can talk. This is what Lady Adélaïde doesn't want. She wants everyone to pretend that the girl doesn't exist. Like in the manga 'Another'..."
"What is this?" Marie-Louise asked, her eyes sparkling with curiosity.
"What? Manga?"
"Yes. What is that? Is it food? I remember that there is an exotic fruit called something similar…"
Li Lianying laughed and replied : "No, the name of the fruit is 'mango', 'manga' is something else. Something that comes from the faraway land of Japan."
"I have never heard of it", whispered Marie-Louise. "Do you know much about Japan?"
"Not really, but I know a lot about China."
"Really? It is said that the emperor there has many beautiful wives, and that they have palaces made of porcelain!"
Li Lianying had a nervous laugh. Those European authors and their weird imagination striked again! The polygamy part was true, but she was pretty sure that no one would ever want to build a porcelain palace -
"Louis 14th built a porcelain palace too! Sadly, it didn't stand the test of time."
And wrong, Li Lianying was wrong. So someone did build a porcelain palace! Just not in China.
"Where was it?" Asked the crown princess.
"Just here, in Versailles. At the Trianon. Our current marble Trianon is a reconstruction, the original one was made of porcelain", Marie-Louise answered.
Her curiosity piqued, Li Lianying scheduled a visit to the Trianon for the afternoon.
When time came, the crown princess and Marie-Louise went to the Grand Trianon Palace, and marveled at the cute pink marble under their eyes. Marie-Louise told her where the old porcelain palace used to stand, and they caressed the columns of the new one that now stood at the same location. Li Lianying hugged an Ionic column and tried to climb it like a school kid, claiming that she was Mulan climbing the pole in her military camp. Marie-Louise laughed and told her that she was unladylike ; in the end, both women had an awesome time, and walked towards another smaller compound : the Petit Trianon. This palace was built by the current king Louis 15th for the love of his life, the Marchioness De Pompadour. She lived there, pampered and loved, until her death. After that tragic event, the king was inconsolable. He became depressed and joyless. The mere act of living became a chore for him. It was only when a penniless prostitute revived the flame of life in his heart that he regained some of his previous vitality. The count Du Barry, understanding that the best way to control a king was to control his heart and his "pillar", immediately married the prostitute. The prostitute was now the countess Du Barry, and Li Lianying intended to befriend her.
In the evening, when Li Lianying got back to the main palace of Versailles, she went to greet the king for his bedtime ceremony. And, like she had been doing for weeks, tried to strike up a conversation with her husband, the crown prince. She was again met with a cold wall of silence and a few strange gazes.
Pissed off, she pulled away her brother-in-law and started questioning him.
"Don't worry, sister. He's just shy and awkward. You know that he is a man of few words. And he is not very at ease with people, especially not girls."
"But he is the future king! He should be able to talk to his courtiers and produce an heir! How can he have kids if he's not even disposed to simply talk with me!"
"Time will come… I guess? Haha… don't ask me please, I'm just a kid, I don't know about adult stuff."
"You say you're a kid, but you're getting married next year!" Li Lianying answered. "If you can't even talk about this now, then you'd end up like your brother after you get married!"
The young count of Artois smiled playfully, and whispered : "Don't worry about me, I already have a girlfriend."
Li Lianying's heart skipped a beat in shock. "But you're only 15!"
"I'm only 15, sure, but my grandfather, the King, got married at 15."
Li Lianying wanted to facepalm. Those 18th century people were too precocious!
Suddenly, the count whispered : "I can help you pass a message to him, if you want. He's shy around people, but he can be very passionate when he talks about his hobbies. Try inviting him to a salon frequently visited by scientists and engineers. It's an excellent excuse for the two of you to have a night out undercover, and share some intimacy without the crowd and the lack of privacy in Versailles."
Li Lianying remembered that she had read about Louis 16th passion for engineering, mathematics, horology and locksmithing. If she could try and attract the attention of this unsociable crown prince by learning about his hobbies, it definitely was worth it!
"Thank you, it will take some time, though. I first have to start learning about these subjects. I'll also look for a suitable salon, then you could invite him to go there with me."
"Perfect. I love match-making"
The young boy winked, bowed playfully while swinging his hat, and walked away like he had achieved the greatest deed in the world.