Flowers, Swords and France

When the rolling train finally stopped slowly amidst the roar of the whistle, Fran and Mary walked out of the carriage together in the bleak autumn wind, and then came to Tsarskoe Selo on the outskirts of Petersburg.

However, the cold wind blowing everywhere did not dissipate the lively atmosphere that lingered here. When they walked out of the small station and came to the trees on the edge of Royal Village, they found that there were already many well-dressed gentlemen and ladies here. While walking around, there were many guards and servants patrolling around, which not only made the surrounding area heavily guarded, but also made this originally lonely place a little more lively.

Ever since Peter the Great finally won Petersburg, the window to Europe, from Sweden after years of arduous wars, he turned it into his summer retreat. In the hands of his daughter, the equally accomplished Queen Elizabeth I, it had become the largest palace owned by the Russian tsar. After more than a century of evolution, Tsarskoye Selo can be said to have become a representative landmark of the Romanov Dynasty. Like the Winter Palace in Petersburg, it has become the main activity location of the palace.

Like Windsor Castle and Fontainebleau, Tsarskoye Selo is nestled in the greenery. Emperors and nobles who were tired of the hustle and bustle of the city regarded it as a rare social place and a place for the imperial family to show off their wealth and authority. Best in Show.

After Catherine the Great came to the throne, she liked this place as much as her predecessors, and she personally designed and reconstructed the palace. She transformed the original geometric layout of the garden that imitated the French style into the fashionable English garden of the time. The original straight tree-lined roads were replaced with winding paths, and the surrounding neatly manicured lawns turned into thick and lush grass. Then in these green shades, she built a large number of palaces - as the entire Russian Empire As a ruler, she thought she was meritorious enough to enjoy these things, and that was almost certainly the case.

Under the leadership of the attendants, Fran and Mary strolled among the paths of these gardens and walked towards the palace deep in the shade of the trees. After the death of Catherine the Great, the czars who succeeded her career not only inherited her unlimited desire for power and expansion, but also continued her love for this palace.

Tsar Alexander I, who finally put an end to Napoleon, erected a series of Gothic spiers and chapels and a series of imitating medieval Central European buildings in his newly built gardens. The open grassland blends harmoniously into one, and is embellished with several ponds, forming a landscape full of romanticism.

It's a pity that it's late autumn now, and the trees and ponds are already gloomy, so they can't feel the vigorous vitality among the green grass. But even so, the two of them can still feel the unique beauty.

However, Fran still felt a little regretful - this place was too much like Europe, similar to the palaces she had seen in other parts of Europe, and it could not let her feel the true beauty of Russia.

Just when they were about to arrive at the Catherine Palace, the residence of the Tsarist family, His Royal Highness Crown Prince Alexander of the Russian Empire, who had been informed by the attendants, politely welcomed him out of his residence and entertained him hospitably. My two guests.

"Miss de Treville, it is a pleasure to see you again." He smiled with the enthusiasm of a polite corporal and extended his hand to Fran. "I really hope you will not mind my presumptuous invitation, but will happily Enjoy this journey.”

"What are you talking about! It's an honor for me to be able to come to your palace." Fran also answered him with a smile, letting the other party pick up her hand and kiss the back of it lightly, "Say To be honest, I am flattered by your arrangement, and I don’t know if I can maintain your good impression of me in the future.”

"There is no doubt that you can, because compared to that meeting at night, I found that your beauty is even more amazing when I see you during the day." Crown Prince Alexander complimented with a smile on his face, and seemed to put down Fran's hand reluctantly. hand, then turned his gaze and glanced at Mary, "Of course, the same goes for you, Mademoiselle de Leolan."

Mary bowed to His Royal Highness the Crown Prince seemingly respectfully, but in her heart, she had an even worse impression of the Crown Prince who was obviously just complimenting her politely.

"Thank you for your compliment. I will take it as the truth." Fran replied with a smile.

After many experiences, she is now able to be calm even in front of the Russian Crown Prince, and this calmness makes her even more unique and charming.

"Of course this is the truth!" Crown Prince Alexander couldn't help laughing in front of Fran's joke, "Okay, let me take you in to have a rest. You must be a little tired, and the wind outside is not right. It’s not good for your health.”

Then, under his leadership, Fran and Mary walked into the Catherine Palace.

To be fair, in terms of aesthetics or luxury, Russia entered civilization later than Western European countries. However, the czars naturally had the courage to use their own pomp to overwhelm their Western counterparts.

After the management of successive tsars and the painstaking efforts of architects of successive dynasties, this palace has indeed become magnificent and has become a classic Baroque building. It is everywhere, decorated with the splendid pomp of His Majesty the Tsar.

As soon as they entered the staircase, they saw relief patterns and vase lamps decorating the walls, and the reinforced mulberry on both sides of the corridor was also decorated with reliefs and tassels.

When they came to the first hall in the palace, the imperial style was even more overwhelming. The walls of the hall were covered with magnificent relief decorations, and the roof was painted with murals of ancient myths and depicted the sun god Apollo. And the walls everywhere were filled with elaborate and delicate gold carvings, which were magnificent and spacious.

This hall is the dance hall in the palace. When the court was busy, people would dance here every night. The candlelight made the reliefs around sparkle, as if they had come to a fantasy world.

However, this style did not impress Fran. She just looked around politely and did not feel as shocked as some foreign visitors.

Crown Prince Alexander, who wanted to show off his own family in front of this woman, was a little curious about this. "You don't seem to be interested? I know you like art very much, so are you dissatisfied with the layout here?"

"No, Your Highness, it's beautiful here, but... it's the kind of normal beauty that matches the emperor's residence very well, but it's too much of a match - I've seen enough of what I've seen here in Versailles." Fran answered very honestly, "It looks too much like Europe."

"Isn't it good to look like Europe? This is what my ancestors pursued." Crown Prince Alexander smiled again, and then continued to explain, "This is what we built to match the emperors of Europe. If you want to see the authentic Russia, you can go to Moscow, such as the Kremlin, where we have our Russian-style domes, And the square palace - yes, everything is so Russian. "

"I am very curious about your description - but I am sorry, I am almost at the end of my trip, I am afraid it is difficult to arrange this trip." Fran shook her head gently, "If I have the chance in the future, I will definitely go there to have a look."

"Are you leaving? Oh... This is not surprising, after all, winter is coming, and you French people will not be used to our winter." Crown Prince Alexander thought about it and suddenly made another joke, "But you can ask your grandfather when you go back, after all, he has been to Moscow that year, and may be more familiar with the Kremlin than I am-"

The ridicule implied in this sentence made Fran blush slightly.

No matter what the political faction is, 1812 has always been a sad thing for France, and even more so for Fran. Her grandfather followed Napoleon's army there, and then collapsed in the terrible winter. The terrible memories have not disappeared from his mind until now, and Fran has been following her grandfather since she was a child, and of course she also shared this pain from her grandfather.

"Thank God, my grandfather finally came back." She whispered.

The original text is available at 6 # 9 @Books/Bar!

"Thank God, everything has finally returned to peace. It was all a tragedy, whether it was for the Russians or the French." Crown Prince Alexander also nodded, "As young descendants, the only thing we can do is to try to prevent this terrible tragedy from happening again."

Then, he looked up at Fran and changed the subject.

"I know that what I have shown you now is not enough to impress you, but I think there is still a place here that can impress you... Please allow me to take you there and let you feel the charm there."

"What do you mean?" Fran was a little curious.

"A rare treasure, a miracle that may never be replicated." Crown Prince Alexander said mysteriously, but he soon announced the answer, "To be more precise, it is a hall composed of amber wall panels, a place so beautiful that even people like you will be shocked..."

"Really?" Fran was a little surprised.

She did not doubt that the Crown Prince was lying. When she was young, she had heard the legend that the Tsar lived in a hall built with rare treasures - just like the Arabian king in the fairy tale.

When she grew up, she knew that the rare treasures were amber, which was more valuable than gold.

What really surprised her was that Crown Prince Alexander actually planned to take her there to see it directly - as a host, he was really attentive.

But she was even more surprised.

"Miss Treville, my father is also there now. If possible, as I said just now, can you do me the honor of painting a portrait of him there?" After seeing that she was finally surprised, Crown Prince Alexander asked with a smile. (~^~)