I was a god in the 18th century

Chapter 434: Palace Ball (Part )

In the crowded palace hall, the central dance floor was already heating up. The opening dance was initiated by the Prince of Wales, the eldest son of King George III and also the crown prince. What surprised Xia Qingdai was that the dancer invited by the other party was herself.

Although she was very surprised, Xia Qingdai still accepted the invitation from the Prince of Wales. After all, he was the landlord of the palace, and as a guest, she had to give him some face.

Because Xia Qingdai was invited away by the Prince of Wales, Owen was given a bye for the first dance.

Xia Qingdai looked at the crown prince in front of her who was just over thirty years old and already had a big belly, and shook her head at the appearance of the British royal family.

Although Xia Qingdai is face-blind to foreigners, she can still recognize them if they have distinctive looks.

The Prince of Wales in front of us is ugly in a distinctive way. His high red nose, fat neck, and frivolous dance steps make him look like a dandy.

From the perspective of traditional Chinese medicine, Xia Qingdai believed that the Prince of Wales was weak from head to toe, especially in his kidneys!
She had no previous contact with the Prince of Wales. She didn't have many friends in London, and only had some interactions with a few noble girls near her home. How could she know the Prince of Wales from a different circle?

But after the opening dance, Xia Qingdai remembered the prince's frivolous appearance.

The other party had been taking advantage of the opportunity of close contact during dancing to jokingly ask Xia Qingdai about the Owen family's patron saint.

Xia Qingdai was well versed in the essence of language, and dealt with the other party with a mixture of 70% truth and 30% falsehood until the opening dance ended.

After the dance, Xia Qingdai politely bent her knees to the other party, then walked away silently.

There is an interesting piece of gossip about this crown prince, who is in his early thirties, and that is that he is still secretly married.

The woman Wales loved was Maria, a young woman who had been married twice and was six years older than him. However, their love was not recognized by the king, and even though they secretly held a wedding ceremony in the church, their marriage was legally invalid.

Because the British civil law at that time stipulated that the marriage of royal children must be approved by the king. The Prince of Wales's private marriage naturally did not receive his father's blessing, let alone approval and permission.

It’s not that King George III was particularly picky about family background and had to find a wife of equal status for his son.

The real reason is simply because of the conflict in religious beliefs between the two sides, and ultimately it is a conflict of power.

This was because the woman the Prince of Wales liked, Maria, was a Catholic.

If the farce of the Prince of Wales and Maria's marriage was approved and became effective, his position as crown prince would immediately be lost due to the law prohibiting Catholics and Catholic spouses from becoming monarchs.

Under such circumstances, how could King George III approve their marriage?

In order to correct his son's rebellious behavior, George III always kept a tight grip on the Prince of Wales' purse.

This prince was rebellious, but he had no ability to establish his own family. He was also a luxury hedonist who indulged in wine and women, so he was often in financial difficulties.

Although Xia Qingdai was not familiar with the Prince of Wales himself, she was very familiar with him in historical records. After all, she had just searched for relevant papers before attending the ball. She knew that the Prince of Wales would compromise with his father and marry his cousin Caroline Elizabeth two years later due to financial problems.

This was a pair of resentful couples. After giving birth to an only daughter, they separated completely and never reconciled again.

Even when the Prince of Wales was crowned King more than twenty years later, Caroline Elizabeth was forbidden to appear as Queen.

But if you say that he didn't like the queen appointed by his parents because he loved the illegitimate "wife" he chose, that's not entirely true. In addition to Maria, who lived with him in name only, the Prince of Wales had many other mistresses.

In addition, even at the beginning of his honeymoon of "illegal marriage" with Maria, the Prince of Wales chose to conceal their relationship and did not dare to make it public because of his own finances and reputation among the people.

This matter is an unspoken secret among the upper class in London. Only the common people at the bottom don't know it.

Living in the information-rich 21st century, Xia Qingdai knows all about the emotional affairs of the royal family members. So when facing the Prince of Wales, her expression is always a little strange, which arouses his curiosity.

After the dance was over and the two sides separated, Xia Qingdai left the hall and went to the rest area specially prepared for everyone, where she sat down to drink tea and eat snacks.

Around her were a group of noble ladies from the neighborhood, who were whispering about the prince's scandal. Xia Qingdai, who knew all about this and even knew all the future gossip, did not join in the conversation.

Her main purpose of attending the dance today was not to eat melons, but to understand current trends and compare them with the historical knowledge she knew to determine the truth.

By the way, get to know some of the main members of the diplomatic envoys that will be visiting the Qing Dynasty and find out their background.

Owen is now a member of the delegation, so today he will introduce the two parties. Owen understands Xia Qingdai's interest in the delegation, after all, his goddess is an oriental person.

"Cousin, have you ever been to the East?"

It is really difficult for Xia Qingdai to answer this question. She had never been to the East in the 18th century, but she had never been to the West in the 21st century.

So she could only smile without saying anything, and signaled Owen with her eyes not to ask any questions and just introduce him to her.

Thanks to Owen's efforts, Xia Qingdai recognized all the main members of the future diplomatic envoy to Qing Dynasty headed by Macartney in one night, including Sir John Staunton, the diplomatic translator who was very important in Sino-British relations.

There is also Mr. Banks, an explorer and naturalist during the British Enlightenment, as well as a scientific adviser to King George III, the Admiralty and the East India Company... a man who possesses many different identities.

When Banks learned that the king was going to send an ambassador to the mysterious Eastern country in the name of congratulations on the Eastern Emperor's birthday, he immediately contacted Sir Staunton and helped them complete the preparatory work free of charge.

Xia Qingdai looked at the 18th-century scholar in front of her with both curiosity and scrutiny.

Through historical data, Xia Qingdai knew that the British mission to the Qing Dynasty would fail in both political and military missions. However, Banks, who was obsessed with oriental flora and fauna, brought back tea trees for cultivation, which brought British tea culture to a new level.

When Xia Qingdai heard Owen introduce Banks, she looked a little surprised.