Solovyov in Tsarist Russia 1796

Chapter 95 045 Ball at the Winter Palace (Part 2)

Rayevsky was weak and sickly during his adolescence, so he attached great importance to physical exercise. He lifted weights every day and had a well-proportioned body. At the age of sixteen, he followed the army on the expedition to Turkey to Moldavia. Moreover, his appearance could also set off Solovyov.

"You, the inventor, were in the Grenadiers before, but now you are in the Guards."

"Nicholas, this should be said to be the emperor's praise for his heroic fighting in Italy and Switzerland. He just issued an order at noon today and joined the Guards. Of course, the clothes are all new."

Vladimir was in General Korsakov's corps before, and lost the brigade he commanded on the battlefield. He was still a major general and a general of the Guards, but unlike his brother Peter, who was the general of the Crown Prince, he was the general of the Tsar himself.

In a sense, Grand Duke Constantine and Prince Vladimir Dolgorukov were Paul's spies at the front, and they had the right to report everything that happened at the front.

He was very dissatisfied with Korsakov's report that shirked the blame, so when he talked about Solovyov, his tone was relatively gentle, after all, he was also a friend of his third brother.

"Yes, you have turned yourself into a tangerine. If you were in the old clothes, there would be no place to rest in the middle and you couldn't take a shower. With that smell, no girl would like it when you come back."

Prince Mikhail sniffed and concluded: "Yes, not only did you wash, but you also sprayed cologne. You love cleanliness, do you take a shower every day at home?"

"Yes, when we were marching, we could only take more showers when we were stationed in the city. When we were in Milan, something always happened."

"Did you get along with the Italian girl when you went on the expedition?"

"It's a pity that we have to continue the expedition. After that, we fought wars and moved from one place to another. It was also very dangerous when we were in Switzerland . The old soldier Massena has been chasing us. If General Rosenberg and Prince Bagration hadn't driven the French away, it would have been dangerous enough. "

"General Massena won the battle in Zurich, but why do you call him an old soldier?"

Soloviev answered Prince Vladimir's doubts very straightforwardly: "It depends on this person's experience. I like to study the experience of my opponents. He seems to have been a smuggler and was born a civilian in the past. It was the French who overthrew their king that gave him the opportunity to become an officer. Otherwise, he would be a warrant officer at most."

The arrest of General Scherer was enough to interrogate a lot of information, and the French's chatterbox attribute was also very easy to use.

The banquet went on very quickly. They were talking here and were about to enter the next process.

At this time, they had to pass through a huge living room and then reach the palace where the dance floor was.

A huge self-ringing clock placed at the door of the palace attracted Solovyov's attention.

When he stopped to watch, someone patted his shoulder from behind.

When he looked back, he noticed that it was Countess Ekaterina Skafronskaya.

"Mishka, did you notice this chime clock too?"

"Yes, it's really exquisite. Why is such a big thing placed here?"

"That's the chime clock that my uncle ordered in England. It was given to Her Majesty the Queen that year, and it was only placed here this year. This chime clock can also make bird calls! Do you want to listen to it?"

This girl appeared here today, still wearing the standard custom-made dress of a maid, and wearing a brooch representing Elena, but she was not in a hurry to go to the ball. It was probably because Elena, who was about to get married, gave her "sisters" a holiday and had no official duties - plus she has always been like this. If the noble maids in the Winter Palace had to punch in for work, she would definitely be absent the most times.

Of course, she took the initiative to talk to Solovyov outside her house, and she didn't know what personal thoughts she had, but at least she wouldn't faint. After all, she taught him the "anti-fainting tactics". Although it worked on the first day, it was hard to prevent, and Sylvia had a trick up her sleeve.

"Of course, there is always some time, and it looks like it's almost time. This big guy looks very delicate."

In addition to the story that Prince Potemkin and his niece had to tell, he was particularly good at pleasing the queen. This huge peacock chime clock also has owls and roosters on it, which are used to tell time, and the peacock can sing.

After Potemkin's death, this huge chime clock came to the Winter Palace, and it was recently moved here by Paul, just outside the ballroom.

"It's really beautiful. I have to admire the craftsman's craftsmanship. This is a masterpiece."

"But I also heard, Mishka, that the same designer made another self-ringing clock, but the Chinese emperor didn't like it."

This thing seems to have something to do with Emperor Qianlong who liked to stamp, but that's another story.

"And Prince Potemkin spent a lot of money on it. This is also a masterpiece. If I can see another treasure, I would be very interested."

This may just be an advertisement to raise the value of the self-ringing clock. The cunning British can come up with this method.

You know, the emperor who liked to stamp, he asked the Imperial Household Department to make it directly, and there were also outstanding works, and the Qing Dynasty was not short of silver.

Then the "little fairy" even held his arm. It can be felt that this girl is only sixteen years old and looks quite old.

Holding her hand, you can tell that because she is still growing, she is almost becoming a thinner "Boule de Suif", and she is soft when you pinch her. Now it seems that she is indeed very attractive.

No wonder when I heard that there were many young officers of the Guards who courted her when she was on duty before.

"I want to invite you to the ball."

"Don't you have Count von Paalen?"

"He's not in St. Petersburg recently, he's in Riga."

"Then you don't need me to be your partner, right? Aren't there others?"

"I want to know something from you, and I know that once a young lady is like this, you can't refuse."

"How do you know?"

"I'm with Her Highness Elena, how could I not know about you? And the portraits you sent last month included one of Cupid and Psyche, and it was Julie who let you know about it. I think you can't refuse this."

And today was also a strange thing. It was okay to talk with the three princes and Laevsky at the table. The three of them spoke more in Russian. Today, even the "little fairy" asked him to speak Russian, as if he wanted to "encrypt the conversation."

She must have learned about her "eye problem" from the clever Grand Duchess Elena.

"Well, I promise you, what's the matter?"

"Wait until we get to the ball, otherwise it will look a little strange. I don't want people to gossip about me before I get married, like Maria."

It goes without saying that something happened to her sister recently, but she just returned to Petersburg, so it's not convenient to ask, or she shouldn't know at all.

As for the dance to be performed at the ball, it is also necessary to take into account that some old ladies' legs and feet are not so flexible. It may be too passionate to perform Polonaise.

Moreover, Tsar Paul himself likes the French-style dance in the past. He sat on the throne and watched the people dancing below. One of them was the Duke of Richelieu, the descendant of the cardinal's nephew. The young duke was a good French court dancer.

Seeing him, Paul would think of the scenes of his meeting with Louis XVI and his wife when he went to Paris twice. The French king, who was a little afraid of socializing, became friends with Paul, who looked serious. Paul joined the anti-French alliance because he remembered the tragic fate of this friend and his wife. Now they only have one daughter who survived. At the request of the Count of Artois, he offended the British and Louis XVIII, and let the girl settle down in Dresden under the cover of Prince Vasily Dolgorukov who was exiled to Saxony.

He wanted to make the people around him happy, so he arranged the escape of the French princess. Therefore, he always liked to arrange the marriages of people around him.

His daughter's marriage involved diplomacy, but he was willing to arrange the marriages of trusted generals, those senior court attendants, and the noble maids who were waiting to get married.

He wanted to arrange the marriage of the two daughters of the countess, the older one to marry Count Pavel von Palen, the son of his trusted minister, and he took special care of the younger one. Although it had not been officially confirmed, the Tsar's promise to the countess was to choose a "warrior among warriors" as the groom for his younger daughter Catherine.

For this reason, he took a fancy to Prince Bagration. Although he was from Georgia, he was brave in battle and had a high family background. In the Russian aristocratic system, the princely titles of Georgian and Tatar princes were recognized, so he felt that this marriage was not bad.

It was just not clear that the "little fairy" already had someone in her heart, so his approach was to randomly match couples.

You have to wait until the previous dance is over before you can enter the polonaise or waltz, so that you can be more free on the dance floor. The characteristic of French court dance is that it is relatively slow and the rhythm is very soothing.

At this time, it is more suitable to talk.

Solovyov felt that this bad girl hugged his arm tighter. He was so close that he could smell the perfume she used.

The "little fairy" often changed her perfume to attract other people's attention. In the past, she used cinnamon, lavender, rose and jasmine. This time it was almond. Although she was surprisingly lazy, she did a very good job in intelligence work and knew where her weaknesses were.

Moreover, she opened her folding fan, obviously wanting to whisper.

"Did you know Prince Bagration when you went to Italy?"

"Ah?"

Prince Bagration should not be the type that this girl likes. Her question made Soloviev confused.

"Which Prince Bagration are you asking about? There are many royal families in Georgia!"

"Pretending to be confused, Mishka, it's the emperor's favorite Prince Bagration. Although it hasn't been decided, I heard from my mother that the emperor will point me to him in the engagement arranged for the maid next year."

"That prince is a warrior. On the battlefield, you can trust him with your back. Moreover, his family is very high. This is a good match. If I were the emperor, I would arrange it this way."

Then, his arm was twisted by the "little goblin".

"As expected, you are wearing the uniform of the Guards issued by the Emperor, and the medals issued by the Emperor. You are no longer on my side! We are business partners, and aren't all the things you offer tested on me? Mishka, you should give me some advice, but you are not."

This time, she must be really anxious, tears are rolling in her eyes. She found her situation and took out her handkerchief.

"If the emperor really decides, no one can change it. I escaped a disaster today. If His Highness Constantine hadn't changed the subject, I would have been in the collective wedding. Katyusha, it's not strange for a girl to get married at the age of seventeen, but it's a bit early for a young noble to marry a wife at the age of eighteen. A famous general like Archduke Karl didn't even have a blind date in public."

"You escaped a disaster, but please think about me! I have someone I like, if I can't be with him."

It is said that this countess is a little devil, small in stature, with many thoughts, and a heart full of devilish ideas that can hardly be contained. In fact, she is still a naive girl.

"Have you ever known the person you like? If you are really worried about the Emperor's arranged marriage, I can help you investigate His Royal Highness. I met him when I went to the British Club, and he was often my superior in the Grand Marshal's Corps. Moreover, according to the Emperor's instructions, he will serve as the general on duty in the court next year, so there is a lot of time to observe."

"Well, you have to help me with this!"

"It would be best if Her Royal Highness Elena could stay in Petersburg for a while after she gets married, and influence the Emperor through her and Her Royal Highness Maria. Do you understand what I mean?"

"Well, I understand!"

She then took back her tears, and as the Mazurka sounded, she wanted to pull Solovyov down to dance.

In her opinion, this series of cover-ups was still perfect, and indeed it was not noticed.

However, what would happen between Prince Bagration and her? Solovyov was caught in the middle, and it was not easy for him to be a man.

However, the prince was still single in his thirties. If anything, a wealthy woman like Countess Orlov might be more suitable for him. But she had been exchanging letters with Count Kamensky, and it was obvious that she had someone in her heart.

He couldn't just watch the "little devil" being hit by Paul's indiscriminate marriage attack. It was always difficult.