Fox of France

Old Shire's words made Fanny's footsteps flutter, and she almost tripped over her own feet.

"Don't worry about it. Since the revolution, my father has been a bit confused and likes to talk nonsense. Don't take it to heart." Fanny blushed and said to Joseph.

"I can understand." Somehow, Joseph said such a sentence. Then he began to mutter in his head, how should he understand his own words? Is it understood as "I understand, your father is a psychopath", or is it understood as "I know what he means and hopes that I can chase you and marry you quickly"?

Then he looked at Fanny again in a strange way. Fanny noticed that Joseph was staring at her. She was a little bit shy, but she didn't turn her head away, and of course she didn't play the trick commonly used by some women in the upper class in the past - fainting directly.

In this era, most aristocratic women had the habit of corseting their waists. This is a perverted trick that can be compared to the bound feet of the eastern countries. In terms of physical damage, this practice is even more harmful than bound feet.

Binding women's feet will cause deformity of the feet, seriously impairing women's walking ability, and some women even lose the ability to walk because of this, becoming the so-called "Miss Hug". (Unable to move by itself, must be held by someone to move)

But no matter how the feet are bound, it is generally not easy to cause death. But the European girdle is much more cruel, because if it is not done well, it will really kill people!

Just as the oriental foot binding originated from the court, so the European habit of girdling (supposedly invented by Empress Li) is also said to have originated from the court, and it is said to have originated from the court of France.

Whether this rumor is true or not is untestable, but the intensification of corsets did begin during the reign of Louis XV. It is said that a French woman discovered that tightening the waist can make the breasts stand out. In addition, a slender waist has always been a symbol of beauty. Until today, some people are keen to play games such as touching the belly button with the backhand.

However, the backhand of later generations can touch the waist of the navel. In this era of Europe, it is definitely considered a bucket waist or even a water tank waist. And in that era, what was the waistline standard for European beauties? Well, according to the standard of the French court, it is fourteen inches, which is 35.56 centimeters. If we simplify the model and simplify the section of the woman's waist at that time into a standard circle, then the diameter of this circle is only a little over 11 centimeters.

It is conceivable that when the waist is restrained to such an extent, it is impossible for the internal organs of a woman to shrink within the small space with a diameter of 11 centimeters, and they are forced to shift positions, which brings about various physical problems. All kinds of dizziness, fainting and death are common phenomena. In many classical dramas in Europe, the ladies would faint when they get a little excited. This is not a hypocritical exaggeration, but a common occurrence. small means.

However, Fanny's waist is not quite up to standard, or far from it. It may be because her parents loved her too much when she was a child, and they were reluctant to tie her waist tightly, so that her waist circumference is probably more than 20 inches now. This is definitely a small waist for future generations, but in this era, But it is a serious body problem. Fanny has not yet been able to marry, which may also have something to do with it. Although Amon always liked to boast that his younger sister was beautiful, Fanny was really not considered beautiful in that era. In addition, the problem of the waist being too thick also brought about another problem, that is, Fanny was not likely to faint at the right time. It lacked a feminine beauty that some men of this era so admired.

But this is precisely a huge advantage in Joseph's eyes. Joseph, who came from later generations, really couldn't appreciate this kind of perverted beauty. Every time he met women in high society and saw their waists that were so thin that a gust of wind could blow them off, he would always feel very uncoordinated, even disgusted. fear. This is probably also a major reason why Joseph has been living a celibate life, although he does not lack opportunities.

"Ah...Miss Fanny, I mean..." said Joseph, "oh yes. You're going to..."

Joseph closed his mouth, he was worried that the rest of the words would be heard by Old Shire. So the two of them continued to walk forward in silence until they walked out of the front hall. Only then did Joseph ask:

"Miss Fanny, did you forge Amon's letter?"

"Yes," replied Fanny, "I used to help my brother write something, and I knew his handwriting and his manner of diction, so I could try to imitate it. My father and mother were not in very good health. My father You saw the situation just now. Mother is even more ill, completely out of bed, and unable to see guests. It has been like this since the last time she knew that uncle was sent to the guillotine. I dare not let them know about my brother .”

Perhaps it was because she had been trying her best to conceal the news of her brother's death at home, and she had to pretend to be happy after getting her brother's letter in front of her family. This girl suppressed too much sorrow in her heart. Now that there is finally someone who can directly talk to her about these unspeakable things, tears welled up in her eyes.

But Fanny dared not cry, she could only sob silently. Tears kept rolling down from her eyes, and her shoulders kept shaking, like a sapling in a storm.

"A girl like her, if in later life..." Joseph felt compassion for some reason, so he tried to comfort her:

"Miss Fanny...don't be too sad...some things..." Joseph didn't know what to say, neither in this life nor in the previous life, he had no experience in comforting a little aunt who lost a loved one.

"Damn it, I have absolutely no idea what to say," Joseph thought to himself. He reached out his hand to feel in his pocket, but he didn't have the habit of carrying a handkerchief, so naturally he didn't find anything. So he had no choice but to watch Fanny cry. But he could not help reaching out his hand to Fanny's flaxen hair when he saw Fanny weeping terribly.

Fanny trembled slightly, but she didn't push Joseph away, nor threw herself into Joseph's arms, but just stood there silently sobbing.

After a while, she stopped sobbing, and said very embarrassedly: "Sir, I'm sorry, I couldn't control myself..."

"So what?" Joseph tried to comfort her clumsily, "I'm Amon's friend, so you can treat me as your brother..."

After saying this, Joseph immediately regretted it, and the words seemed to be touching someone else's sad matter again. So he immediately adopted another common method, which was to change the subject.

"Miss Fanny, um...I mean, how do you sustain your life now?" Joseph asked.

"Ah, sir." Fanny wiped her tears with the back of her hand, then calmed down, and replied, "Although food prices have risen a lot after the revolution, but because there are fewer gatherings among the nobles, many of them used to have to pay for ostentation. You don’t need to spend any money, on the contrary, it’s easier to support. It’s just that prices have suddenly risen sharply recently…”

"Ah, Miss Fanny..." Joseph said, "I don't know if Armand has told you that he has a sum of money with me."

After hearing this, Fanny raised her head to look at Joseph and said, "Sir, what are you talking about? Brother, do you have any money? How much?"

"It seems that they are really short of money," thought Joseph, and said: "A thousand... no, fifteen hundred livres."

Fanny shook her head and said, "Mr. Bonaparte, you are really a good man. My brother is very lucky to have a friend like you. But I know my brother, at any time, he will never have more than two hundred A livre. Of course, it is impossible to have fifteen hundred livres with you."

"Okay then." Joseph sighed, "Miss Fanny, you know that Joseph and I are friends. He helped me in my most difficult time. We Corsicans have always believed that who gave me a drop of water Drink, I must help him dig a well to repay him. What's more, what Amon gave me was not just a drop of water, and what I took out was far from a well. Miss Fanny, you know, I just sincerely Those who want to help Amon's family are not giving anything."

"I understand, so I am very grateful to you, but..." Fanny still shook her head.

In such an era, it is not easy to meet such a girl who is a bit "self-reliant and self-improving". Joseph faintly felt something familiar from his previous life in Fanny. So he sighed and said, "Miss Fanny, you can write and create, have you read many books?"

"Well, I haven't read much..." said Fanny.

"Then, there is a job that I want to entrust to you..." Joseph said, thinking about what he could do for this girl, "Ah... I have some documents there, and I need to find a reliable person Help me sort it out. It's not difficult, but it's cumbersome. Uneducated people can't do it, and educated people don't want to do it. I don't have time to do it myself. Ah, can you help me with this kind of thing What do you think I'll pay you three hundred livres a month?"

"This...sir, I know this salary is a bit too high. But...I will tell you, because of my parents' illness, I really need money...I will work hard...but I can't leave home……"

"No problem, I'll have the things you need sorted out delivered to you," Joseph said. "I'm leaving Paris for Toulon in a few days. May I write to you?"

"Oh, of course... of course, sir."

"Besides, ah, Fanny, I don't want to mention things that make you sad. But do you know where Amon's tomb is? If you are free these two days, can you take me to see him?"