Solovyov in Tsarist Russia 1796.

Upon reaching Novgorod, this section of the road is already open to traffic.

Short-distance trains can take you directly to stations near Gatchinar. This isn't for the convenience of the wealthy and powerful, but rather because the area around the Tsarskoye Selo station system is where the nobility resided, making it relatively convenient.

After arriving here, Solovyov also inquired about some of the stewards and servants who had come here.

Solovyov found it strange that Arakcheyev had not been at his estate or in St. Petersburg recently.

But strange things kept happening on this count's land, such as cats having to be kept on a leash.

Solovyov loved cats, or more precisely, felines.

Even more outrageous is that Bellingshausen and Lazarev brought back cheetah cubs from South Africa on their return journey, and successfully bred them in captivity at the Crimean Zoo.

It wasn't because of any particularly advanced technique; it was simply that the area Solovyov had enclosed was large enough for these cheetahs to run around, go into heat, mate, and successfully conceive.

This extravagant approach is not recommended to be imitated, but it is very effective.

This is also the difference between Solovyov and Arakcheyev: one is relatively lenient, while the other is overly strict.

Since the count was not present, Solovyov was to go to Tsarskoye Selo next.

Because the Empress Dowager was always in Gatchina, social events in the court often took place in Tsarskoye Selo. The proximity made it convenient for various activities, especially with the short train journey from St. Petersburg to Tsarskoye Selo being very convenient.

Katya, along with the children, lived in the Alexandria Palace with Nikolai's family. This was originally the bridal chamber of Alexander and Luisa, but Alexander favored his younger brother. Although the crown prince was secretly chosen, his treatment was made very clear.

The secret between Constantine and Alexander was kept from Nikolai, which even Solovyov found strange.

There's no need for the brothers to fight for the throne; they're all entitled to it according to their order of succession. Moreover, given the close relationship among the four brothers, it wouldn't be difficult for them to make preparations internally beforehand.

However, after Constantine went to Warsaw to serve as governor of Poland, the two older men did very little in this regard.

Constantine was essentially ruling Poland, while Alexander simply became a recluse.

As for Louisa, she was a homebody to begin with, and the couple's life became increasingly mysterious.

Louisa even felt that she was more like a lover than a wife now, and that as her looks began to fade, the two of them had become true love.

As for the girls' marriage arrangements, since the four princesses are going to university, it will take some time and delay the process by another year or two.

However, her relationship with Alexandra, formerly Charlotte, as sisters-in-law was rather ordinary.

This strange relationship puts Katya in an awkward position, as she was Louisa's former handmaid and the caretaker of the Grand Duchess's children.

Nikolai, however, felt that it was his mother who was interfering, since his first child was a son.

"Your Highness, please don't worry, things will always get better."

"But this is not good. There are rumors circulating in the royal village, and people are always speculating about my brother's succession."

"This is always a matter for His Majesty to decide. Why didn't you ask him when my husband was going to the Imperial Village?"

"Yes, the boss will definitely have a way. Although he always keeps things to himself, if I talk to him about something, he will probably tell me."

The mentor-student relationship between Solovyov and Nikolai was indeed quite special.

Although the succession to the throne is a foregone conclusion for the royal family, no matter how it goes, it is a foregone conclusion.

Only Nicholas has a son. Constantine recently married a Polish woman and has a son, but his son has no claim to the throne.

Ultimately, it ended up in Nicholas's hands. It was only because the Empress Dowager did not interfere further that Tsarist Russia was transformed into Tsarist Song Dynasty.

Solovyov was well-read, and he even considered such things.

When he arrived at Tsarskoye Selo, Nikolai didn't rush to see him on the first day.

The couple reunited, of course. Although Katya had gained a lot of weight, she was still as energetic as before.

It's like a sponge that's completely soaked in water; it's probably almost completely squeezed dry.

"Katya, I'm over forty now. There's a ten-year age gap between us. It's not like it used to be."

“Mishka, you’ve gone bad.”

"How did I become bad?"

"I know you like young girls, and all you do is bully my best friend all day long."

Well, that makes sense. Mihrima is both her mistress and servant, as well as her sister, but she's not as close to Adela. In fact, she has to treat Adela like her sister-in-law.

"But it depends on the situation. If you two are both pregnant, who will take care of the household chores? I will probably stay in St. Petersburg for a while longer. There's nothing going on in Crimea lately, and I've already arranged the duties of the governors of each province. I might even be able to stay here this winter."

"If that's the case, may the Lord bless us and grant us another son."

"Why a boy?"

"If there are four sons, one of them can always be kept by our side to become a civil official and inherit the family business."

Because they came from a family with a long history of military achievements, Katya still considered her husband's future to some extent. Neither of her two older brothers were in the army, so the family naturally had to rely on her son-in-law.

If there were four sons, Katya thought that the three older ones would all join the army.

“Three sons are fine too. If you feel sorry for your daughter, we will prepare a larger dowry.”

"Well then, it always depends on God's will."

In fact, it depends on the man. Alexander only has daughters, so it's really his own problem.

It's like I've been diligently working with Polish girls for over ten years, and they're all girls.

After she left Alexandria, she gave birth to a son.

Since the two had already broken off their relationship by then, it was unclear whose child Emmanuel Naryshkin was.
However, the Naryshkin family's relationship with the royal family was that of Peter the Great's maternal clan, so they were naturally considered distant cousins. They would naturally participate in any activities held in the court.

Moreover, something Solovyov didn't know was that the nobles involved in the Northern Association were all from prominent families or were very wealthy. Compared to the sons of the previous generation of rebels in the National Salvation League, this group was far too "noble".

Many of the imperial relatives and nobles, including those who carried the double-headed eagle flag in Tsarist Russia, participated in this movement.

There were even many sons of generals, as well as their adjutants.

Solovyov has now sent out all his adjutants, and usually only the governor's secretary is by his side.

He could only guarantee that there were no dangerous elements involved with the Southern Association in his office. The Northern Association had even almost won over the children of many important figures in St. Petersburg, and fortunately, many of them were daughters, which garnered the sympathy of these powerful figures.

This also includes Speransky, who has returned to the Council of State. Although Alexander no longer trusts him as completely and openly as before, he still holds a high position among the ministers.

In fact, Solovyov could easily guess that these young people would inevitably seek his advice because of his liberal and legalist views.

As for himself, because he talks too much and prefers to take action rather than argue, these young people are more likely to feel hopeless when they encounter him.

It's nothing, just a lot of roundabout ways, not Russian at all.

With Speransky back, Vasily naturally had to return as well. He rarely saw his older brother and wasn't as close to him as he was to Anton.

"Vasha, how are things in Siberia?"

"It's just too cold there, everything else is fine. Also, I applied to transfer to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, I don't know if it will be approved."

Solovyov is a user of the "Face Fruit" ability, so this kind of joke is actually quite plausible, since he and the Foreign Minister both came from Paul's entourage and often went on missions together.

But he didn't want his third brother to go to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, because frankly, the work there wasn't very valuable.

Solovyov couldn't stop him from having this desire.

What worried him more was that this kid probably wasn't interested in women.

Anton was already married and would soon become a father. Although he was marrying Paul's illegitimate daughter, he was still considered the Tsar's brother-in-law.

The doctor examined that girl with no breasts or buttocks, so there's no need to worry too much.

What would Vasily do?
There are plenty of eccentrics in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Pushkin, who is so good at causing trouble, is much more normal than the guys in the Ministry.

Not to mention that Gorchakov spent his entire career in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, except for a period when he was sent to the embassy.

Solovyov also knew that his brother-in-law had recently been transferred to Italy and had fallen in love with a noblewoman living there.

Katya actually wrote to him, saying that the girl was Catholic and that they should take their family's precedent into account.

That's true. Solovyov's father-in-law was the one who was expelled by Paul after converting to Catholicism.

Before marrying Katya, Solovyov had tried to get married several times, but each time he failed because she was a Catholic.

In Russia, the requirements for Catholicism among public officials are quite strict, unless you are a native Catholic or a foreigner.

There were always conversions within the royal family, whether it was through marriage or marrying into the royal family.

If Eugene's youngest son were to marry into the family in St. Petersburg in the future, he would likely face the same fate.

And so, Nikolai Dolgorukov was kept under the control of his sister, but it was still relatively easy for him to find a good girl.

After all, he had previously been in Vienna, a place with a less than ideal social atmosphere, and as an embassy secretary, he surprisingly did not have a mistress.

Of course, he was also quite tired of working at the embassy and planned to return to Moscow to run the estate after getting married.

"Vasha, is there a girl you like?"

"No, not at all. At the border of Kyakhta, I could only see infantrymen and Tatar cavalry under the command of the Chinese emperor. The only women I saw were Irish people traveling there with their families, either old or young."

"When you get back to St. Petersburg, you should take a good look around. According to your sister-in-law, the girls in St. Petersburg are still more interested in soldiers and diplomats these days, especially when there's no war."

"That's alright, but brother, please don't try to introduce me to someone. I'll decide to get married naturally when I find a suitable girl."

To be honest, my younger brother is quite conservative, probably because his older brother is too extravagant.

But Anton's decision was made long ago, and it's hard to say what Vasily's situation will be.

Their style was quite suitable for Nicholas's court.

But then a girl in a blue dress walked past the brothers, and Solovyov could clearly see that the younger brother's eyes lit up.

"Vasha, you've taken a liking to her?"

"Not yet, but the girl is very pretty, just a bit thin."

“Vasha, that’s Sonia from the Naryshkin family, that’s her.”

After Katya explained it this way, Vasily understood.

That girl was Alexander's illegitimate daughter; besides his own daughters, she was the apple of his eye.

It's strange that some of the children raised by the Polish woman died young, and that Sonia's health is also relatively weak.

Louisa was physically weak, but thanks to advancements in medical care, her children all survived to adulthood.

But this girl, although she was a bit weak, did not contract the unfortunate tuberculosis bacteria thanks to the progress in epidemic prevention.

If we are to restore history, she died in 1824 when her tuberculosis suddenly worsened, just before she was preparing to get married.

Alexander nearly suffered a mental breakdown because she was the only illegitimate daughter he had raised and cared for.

However, although this girl is weak, she is still relatively healthy.

Besides, she was so slim that all the boys in the palace were green with envy.

After all, princesses are often unattainable for the sons of princes. Although these young officers and attendants knew more or less that the seventh princess Nastya would marry a nobleman from the country, and even guessed that it would be Solovyov's eldest son, Pasha, who was better at charming girls than his father, he was at a disadvantage in the competition.

Moreover, Pasha is often by the side of the Queen Mother and the Queen, a distance advantage that none of them have.

But Miss Sofia Naryshkina, also the Emperor's beloved daughter, was an illegitimate child born to his mistress. She had sisters, but this girl was clearly the most sought-after, a dazzling gem.

The only downside is that she's too thin.

But a girl like her is enough to attract a lot of competition; quite a few young men have written her love letters, even though she's only fourteen or fifteen years old.
The young men who wrote the letters were all two or three years older than her; in the Russian court, early romance was quite normal.

However, this is an activity for young boys and girls, like the one involving Count Zuboff when Louisa had just become Grand Duchess. Adult men shouldn't get involved in this group.

Vasily was exactly the age of the boys who were pursuing Sonia Naryshkina, but he had spent most of his time in Siberia, where he saw more Buryat people and various Mongol Tatars in the forests. When he returned to St. Petersburg, he saw any girl who dressed up a little as if she were an angel.

But considering this, Vasily hesitated. He was neither like his eldest brother nor his second brother. Instead, because he had spent the most time by his father's side, he was more like the traditional shrewd businessman of the Solovyov family, skilled in calculation and thinking even more than his eldest brother when he was fighting.

Solovyov himself was somewhat helpless, wondering what was wrong with his family.
There was nothing they could do; they were all so close, and he had set a good example. (End of Chapter)