Chapter 396 Small Town Stories

Bavaria, near the Alps.

Madame Sophie took Maria to Possenhofen, a castle far away from the hustle and bustle. But it was more like a farm than a castle.

Madame Sophie's sister Ludovica lived here. At first, she hated this poor and remote place and her incompetent brother-in-law.

Of course, Madame Sophie did not come here to find a future wife for Franz. After all, in her eyes, the girls born by Ludovica were as stupid as her, and they were of no help to Franz at all. And most importantly, their status was too low, and they were not equal to Franz at all.

But Madame Sophie came more often than in history, mainly because Franz did a lot of things she should do, and did it better.

Madame Sophie had nothing to do, so naturally there were only two ways: showing off her baby and visiting relatives. Although Franz also found some things for her to do, such as makeup and fashion design, it was still not enough to kill her time and energy.

Compared with her four sons, Madame Sophie preferred her daughter Maria.

So, poor Maria had to follow Madame Sophie to fight all day long.

Of course, little Maria actually liked to be with girls of the same age. Although Nana (Princess Helen) was only one year older than her, she was like a sister and always took care of her.

As for Sissi, although she was two years younger than her, she was more naughty than her.

This was the first time Maria knew what naughty meant. After all, being naughty was her privilege in Schönbrunn Palace.

But Maria still liked her cousin very much. She would share any good things with the two sisters.

For example, toothpaste, lollipops, small skirts, small toys, and jewelry. Among them, Franz asked her to bring toothpaste, after all, he didn't want to see Princess Sissi with two rows of small yellow teeth like in history.

In fact, as early as the 18th century, the British industrialized the production of tooth powder, but the market response was not good. People still don't like this kind of tooth care products that are cumbersome to use and inconvenient to carry.

Historically, the French invented the metal hose in 1840, but it was not until 1893 that the Austrians put toothpaste into the hose to make the first modern toothpaste.

In this life, Franz invented the metal hose in 1837 to improve the steam turbine.

The use of metal hoses to make modern toothpaste is just a by-product, but it is also from then on that toothpaste has really begun to enter the public eye and gradually become a daily necessity.

From the invention of the metal hose, to the invention of toothpaste with chalk as a friction agent, soap as a detergent, and glycerin as a moisturizer, and finally put it into the metal hose. Franz just brought this process forward by fifty years.

Ludovica still admired her sister very much. After all, although she was the king's daughter, she married a collateral family member.

And Mrs. Sophie married the Habsburg family, the second heir to the throne of the Austrian Empire, and even her son might inherit the ancient and huge empire in the future.

Although there were rumors in the early years that Archduke Franz Karl was an idiot, over the years this Archduke not only won the smartest doctor in Vienna in a park debate, but also proposed many major events that changed the fate of the country. People like to call him "Silent Franz Karl."

(In this era, people often think that doctors are the smartest people, because it was very difficult to obtain a doctor's license at that time, and it was a highly respected job, although most of them only knew how to bleed and feed people opium)

Although Ludovica's own husband has the title of a civilian duke, this is not a compliment, but a kind of irony. As a duke, he has no position in the court, does not abide by the rules and etiquette, and hangs out with civilians all day long, calling each other brothers and sisters, which is simply a shame for the family.

The lakes and mountains on the shores of Lake Starnberg are indeed beautiful, but Ludovica would rather live in the city and live a glorious life.

Many people have commented that Ludovica is a peasant woman without any ambition, but this is not the case. Just the fact that she did not give her children to servants according to the customs of the aristocracy of this era, but educated them herself, shows that she is very dissatisfied with the status quo.

But meeting a husband like Duke Maxi is enough to make any housewife despair. Duke Maxi, the father of Nanai and Princess Sissi, is an all-round player who can climb mountains, ride horses, fish, play music, and recite a few limericks.

But Duke Maxi is not a good nobleman. His accounts are a mess. He only cares about pleasure and criticism every day and does not take any responsibility. He has children with many lovers and often brings them home.

This makes Ludovica and her husband have a very bad relationship. Of course, no woman would be willing to accept such an embarrassing situation.

So Ludovica puts all her hopes on the next generation. She hopes that her daughters can marry into a good family.

Nanai is okay, but Sissi is too naughty. It is probably difficult for her to marry into a good family. Marie (born in 1841) is still too young.

Of course, Ludovica is actually very self-aware. She does not think that her daughters have the hope of marrying her sister Sophie's eldest son, but fortunately her sister has many sons. Maximilian, Ludwig, and Victor Jr. are the targets of her daughters.

Although Lady Sophie understood the intentions of her poor sister, her children were the family's political assets, and their marriage was bound to be a political transaction.

But perhaps out of sympathy for her sisters' misfortunes, she promised Ludwika that one of her sons would marry into their family.

Every time Mrs. Sophie came to Posenhofen, she would bring some food and clothing to the Ludovica family, of course not just Maria's toys, but also some skirts and clothes designed by the former.

As well as underwear, cosmetics, perfumes and other things designed by Franz, Ludovica couldn't put it down.

Because they have been married for so many years, her husband has never bought her a skirt.

It's just that she can't accept the fact that Franz can design underwear and cosmetics. It was hard for Ludovica to imagine that a boy would be interested in such things, but after thinking about the history of his family and the Habsburg family, it seemed that it was not impossible.

On the other hand, a big event happened on the European continent. The Netherlands announced that it would join the German Customs Union.

Although this incident had long been expected by all parties, it still caused an uproar when the news came out.

After all, this means that the German Customs Union will become the largest economic entity after the United Kingdom and France, and its growth rate will far exceed that of the United Kingdom and France.

This matter was strongly opposed by Britain and France, but King William II of the Netherlands was very resolute this time, and he only joined the German Customs Union, not the German Confederation.

So the French made concessions, and the British, who did not want to be isolated anymore, also chose to make concessions. What was unexpected was that the biggest obstacle to the Netherlands joining the German Customs Union was Prussia.