“Ten, ten,” the Earl, who was seated at the head, played first.
Otto took the juice handed to him by a nearby servant, smiled and nodded in thanks to the other party, then looked at the cards in his hand and shook his head, saying, “No.”
He then glanced at the pile of gold and silver coins on the table. In this era, except for a small portion of paper money issued by England, most countries still used gold and silver coins for transactions. The cabinet minister on the opposite side, who was casually spending gold coins, subconsciously reminded Otto of the Bavarian Royal Family's difficult financial situation.
The country's financial difficulties did not mean that the nobility and the Royal Family had no money. It was important to remember that not long ago, he had received a ‘small sponsorship’ of a full fifty thousand pounds from Ludwig I, which was a huge sum in this era.
The Bavarian Royal Family had a large amount of assets throughout Germany. If they were truly willing to invest this money in the country's development, it would be entirely possible for the Kingdom to achieve initial industrialization.
Thinking of this, Otto shook his head with a bitter smile. As far as he knew, the Prussia Royal Family, during decades of reform, had invested a lot of their own money in areas like the military and education. Perhaps this was also why Bavaria was annexed by Prussia, and not the other way around.
Otto’s mind wasn’t really on the card table, and his card-playing skills were generally mediocre, but unexpectedly, after losing several hands consecutively in the middle, his ‘luck’ quickly turned around.
After that, Otto won every hand he played. In one hand, his highest card was only a Queen, and it was almost entirely single cards, yet he still won.
By the time this hand was over, Otto had accumulated a small pile of gold coins beside him. He then looked at the nobles and ministers who were chatting and playing cards as if nothing had happened, and then thought of his mother, who also had very good ‘card luck’. He couldn't help but sigh to himself: This is power.
According to court tradition, one could not intentionally lose when gambling, but how could such a tradition truly be enforced in the face of power? These people came to participate in the palace entertainment activities precisely to build closer relationships with the Royal Family, so it was naturally impossible for them to put the cart before the horse.
In his previous life, he was an ordinary person, starting as a new employee and gradually climbing to middle management in a company over twenty years of hard work. In this process, he naturally did many things to curry favor with his superiors. Such things are understandable with a little empathy.
Although Otto had guessed some of the situation, he couldn't be foolish enough to point it out. Besides, winning cards always felt good, but his desire for power unconsciously increased.
Unbeknownst to him, he played until past eleven at night. He checked the time, and although he felt quite energetic, he remembered that he had important business tomorrow. He stood up to bid farewell, collected his winnings, and returned to his bedchamber.
Walking through the palace corridor, Otto subconsciously thought of Greece. The relationships between countries are actually similar to the relationships between people, especially in this era where the law of the jungle is more stark. Weaker countries must try every means to curry favor with the great powers; if they accidentally offend a great power, they may face utter destruction.
“So, even if I become King in the future, to live well, I still need to develop Greece, implement reforms, continuously expand, and complete industrialization—none of these can be omitted. And all of these require sufficient funds.”
With these thoughts, Otto lay on the bed in his bedchamber and fell asleep at some point.
For the next period, Otto was once again busy, which caused some dissatisfaction from his mother, Queen Therese. One day, she caught Otto just as he returned home from work.
“Otto, why are you running around? Didn’t you see me?” Queen Therese’s tone held some displeasure.
“Ah, it’s my dear mother! What can I do for you?” Otto scurried to his mother’s side, a smile on his face.
“It's just that department store, whatever it is. You can leave it to your subordinates. Are you that busy? I haven't seen you for months, and you missed several important banquets.” Queen Therese glared at Otto as she spoke.
“Mother, you know I don’t have many reliable people around me. I don’t really trust them to handle things. Not long ago, I even dealt with a few guys who dared to embezzle large sums during the period of financial chaos.”
Otto explained, “It will be fine after this busy period. I will definitely attend the next banquet. Oh, by the way, I have something good to give to Mother.”
“I’d like to see what good thing you have!” With her favorite son wanting to give her a gift, Queen Therese’s anger dissipated considerably. She followed Otto to his study and watched him take out a beautifully carved small wooden box from the desk drawer.
“Is it some kind of jewelry?” Queen Therese took it and asked.
“It’s not jewelry for decoration, but something that can make you even more beautiful,” Otto said mysteriously.
“Make me more beautiful?!” Queen Therese’s eyes lit up.
A woman's pursuit of beauty is endless. Hearing this, she immediately became interested. She opened the wooden box and saw a glass bottle containing a pinkish-purple paste.
This was actually the first cosmetic Otto had arranged for people to produce. Thanks to his wife's popular science knowledge in his previous life, Otto had some understanding of making cosmetics from salicylic acid.
“This is how you use it…”
Otto said, leaning close to Queen Therese, opening the cork on the glass, scraping out a small amount with his finger, and evenly spreading it on Queen Therese's hand:
“It can nourish the skin, making it more supple and radiant.”
The touch was smooth and moist, with a floral scent, very comfortable. Queen Therese observed it for a while and felt that the skin on her hand became more hydrated and radiant.
“This is usually applied to the face. Used daily, it can make the skin smooth, more tender and radiant, and it also has a certain effect in removing acne…”
As soon as Otto finished speaking, Queen Therese summoned her attendant. Using the mirror the attendant brought, she mimicked Otto's earlier actions and applied some to her face.
She looked in the mirror for a long time, confirming that her skin felt very good and the effect was obvious. Queen Therese's mood immediately brightened.
“It seems you haven't forgotten me, your mother. It feels very smooth. I like this very much. Do you have more?”
Looking at the small glass bottle, Queen Therese felt the product was very good, but it seemed a bit insufficient. She didn't plan on just applying it to her face.
“This is something I had people research for a long time to create. Currently, there is only this one sample bottle. However, if Mother needs it, I will have them produce a batch immediately and send it to you,” Otto said opportunely.
“Very good. Remember to tell them to be quick.” Queen Therese nodded with satisfaction, then added, “Also, for the ball in two days, you absolutely cannot be absent again.”
“Don’t worry, Mother, I won’t forget. Also, if anyone asks about the change in your skin, you just need to tell them that you are using this moisturizing lotion I gave you.”
Looking at the satisfied Queen Therese, Otto increasingly felt that the cosmetics business had potential. He even thought about inviting Royal Family members and great nobles from various countries to try and endorse it, thereby promoting it quickly.
Thus, although he found such balls mostly boring, they were also a part of aristocratic social life in that era, and at the same time, it was a good opportunity to promote the beauty products he had painstakingly developed.
Then Otto thought of his family's very strong network. His deceased grandfather and his second wife had five daughters, most of whom married into very prominent families.
The current Crown Princess of Prussia, the Crown Princess of Saxony, and the Princess of Austria, by generation, were all his aunts. It seemed very reasonable for him to send some gifts to these elders.
Once they used them and saw the tangible results, the noble ladies and young women in those places would surely want to have such products. In this way, wouldn't the sales open up?