Solovyov in Tsarist Russia 1796.

Chapter 122 The Golden Apple Party at Peterhof Palace (Part 022)

The summer heat had not yet passed, and the clothing in the entire court became cooler. The only ones who suffered were the soldiers and officers, plus their boss, Tsar Paul.

The Crown Prince has had more official duties recently, but he always goes to indoor places, and the environment in the palace is still very good.

At this time, the summer clothes of young ladies and girls waiting to be married look very eye-catching.

In No. 7 Million Street, the new dress that the "little fairy" made for herself was very bold. Although it covered her breasts, the deep V shape was still too revealing. It went all the way below her southern hemisphere and only stopped just above her belly button. Her breasts were originally bigger than her sister's, which made her figure even more conspicuous.

"But it's not good to wear it out like this, it might make me look fatter."

Yes, she still has a little belly. The price of a plump figure is usually that you can't guarantee a perfect figure, although her belly is like Jolie's breasts that she has to squeeze to get.

Moreover, in the court of St. Petersburg, Queen Maria still had some requirements for dress, and it was obviously not allowed to wear this outside.

"Forget it. I'll show it to my dear husband in the future. Or I'll go to Italy or Paris. No one there cares what my skirt looks like."

She put this outfit away and changed into the maid's uniform that she usually wore in the palace. Even so, she did look older than others.

She has been narcissistic since she was a child. When she was in the palace, she was loved by the empress because of her lively personality. Her name was also a tribute to the empress by her parents, and she was kept in the palace for a long time.

However, considering the open atmosphere in the Queen's court, it is not surprising that she is involved in everything, but until now.
Solovyov knew that this girl was more talkative than practical, and was a little shy when it came to things after marriage, so he always used this to tease her.

He is now chatting with Count Lita. Although the count has not been in Russia for long, he has mastered a poor but fluent Russian and no longer needs to add French or Italian as seasoning.

The count and his stepdaughter were also going to Peterhof Palace today. Nearby there was a summer villa bestowed by the Tsar. The countess had already gone there, and they were going to follow by car.

Solovyov was not assigned any duties, but picking up and escorting these distinguished people was also his daily work.

"Since you said that, I can only say that Milan is indeed a beautiful city. If it is during peacetime, it would be a wonderful thing to stop and admire the scenery there with some free time. However, we left Milan very soon and went to Turin. After that, we went to war and experienced a difficult march in Switzerland."

"That's a shame. If you could live in Milan for a year, you would be able to experience more of this charming and exciting city."

Solovyov could only maintain a business smile, he knew that Count Lita was also from the Visconti family, but not from the same branch as Silvia. He was not surprised that Silvia had not written to him recently, because Italy was back in the hands of the French, and there would be no correspondence for the time being.

Moreover, the Visconti family is quite good-looking. Moreover, although the several branches of the Milanese family have lost the power and status they had during the Duchy of Milan, this era is the time when the big families are flourishing.

It was no wonder that he was favored by the Countess and Countess von Palen - after all, Maria was already married, and now there was only Ekaterina as a child in the family. Count Lita had the Countess as his wife, and was a lover with Maria, but he was also the father of the "little fairy", which was quite confusing.

However, Solovyov sometimes couldn't understand that the Italians' thoughts, especially what they said, were not necessarily consistent with what they showed with their hands.

"Maybe there will be an opportunity in the future. Many islands there are suitable for recuperating patients. The emperors of the Roman Empire built villas on many islands."

"It is true. For example, Capri. Milan is not near the sea. If you want to experience the scenery of a small island, I am not talking about the big islands like Sardinia or Sicily, but also Corsica, where the French ruling comes from."

"But I heard that island belonged to Genoa in the past?"

"Indeed."

By the time they got to this point, the "little fairy" had already changed her clothes and came out.

"What do you think of this?"

"Very good, Catherine, indeed, the most charming of all the unmarried girls in Petersburg."

This stepfather was very kind to Ekaterina and she could feel what it was like to be a father.

"We're going to a Greek ball, and we're dressed like this."

"Don't we have to take off our shoes when we get indoors?" Solovyov said. Indeed, the girl was not wearing socks, and her toenails were painted with pink nail polish. The sandals she chose were a modified version of mules (a type of indoor women's shoes).

"Yes, you all need to take off your shoes. There are blankets there, so you don't have to worry about slipping."

This aroused Solovyov's vigilance. He was worried that Louisa had said something to the "little fairy". However, the girl did not emphasize the word "slip" when she mentioned it, so she probably didn't know about the accidental meeting between him and Louisa.

Those who came to the palace this time were all young girls, and the party became a ladies' party again, but without the daily active Elena and Alexandra who had always been with her. The time had come to July, so the date was almost up.

At that time, we will have to invite the doctor to the palace, but the two princes will be in the Summer Palace, not in the Imperial Village.

According to the rules, when members of the Russian royal family are born, those born in autumn and winter are generally born in the Winter Palace, while those born in spring and summer are mostly born in the Catherine Palace in the Imperial Village. This is a rule that has been stabilized since the Empress' period.

At that time, a temporary diplomatic agreement would have to be signed with the people of Mecklenburg and Württemberg to temporarily "cede" the bedrooms of the two princes to the two countries, and then restore the territorial sovereignty over the palace the day after the child is born.

Then, the people standing guard at the door should also be placed far away.

This court gathering was more like a masquerade ball, as everyone was dressed up as ancient Greeks, but it was unlikely that they would wear work clothes - at the Hera Games held at the same time as the ancient Olympia Games, young girls would dress like this.

But judging from the fact that Luisa refused to wear such an outfit when Elena was sketching her, the effect was indeed not very good. In the Russian court, which was famous for its openness, no one would dress like this even in relatively private occasions.

What they wore were still "pepros" with many wrinkles that showed off their body curves. Most of them showed their arms, as if they were comparing which girl had the best-looking arms.

However, it should be noted that even though they are all white people, they still need to clean the hair on their arms regularly, especially the noble girls present. If you trace their family origins, they are all in Eastern Europe and Northern Europe. If you look closely at their arms, you will see that they are still hairy.

It is not surprising that someone like Countess Strodianova's mother was called "the Queen of Spades" by Pushkin, or "the Lady with the Mustache" by others, but the Countess herself was not like that.

But Louisa was an exception. She was always worried about her hair growing too fast, but not so much about her arms. In paintings of her, except for her shoulders, her arms were often exposed.

Apart from being a little thinner, there was no other problem. The painter needed to make her figure rounder. Painters of this era were embarrassed to show up without the skill of retouching. Now in this palace, everyone had to play the role of a Greek mythological figure, and arrangements had been made in advance.

Maria played the role of Cleo, one of the daughters of Zeus and the Muses. In the Russian court, she was tied to the harp. This role was a forced arrangement, but she was willing to do it, and she was not as cute as her sister Catherine.

Catherine was holding a wine jug. Everyone knew that this was the goddess of youth Hebe, who was responsible for pouring wine at the banquet of the gods on Mount Olympus.

There was real "wine" poured into her flagon, and there was a big pocket around her waist filled with wrapped candies and dried meat, which looked very realistic.

Considering that the Grand Duchess sometimes looks like a wild girl, it would not be out of place if an eagle stood on her shoulder.

After all, in ancient Greek drama, before this goddess was arranged to be the wife of Hercules, her main task was to pour wine and feed Zeus' eagle.

The two of them still lived a carefree life. In this masquerade ball, there were only girls, and they had to play their own roles and comment on their appearances.

Then when Louisa came out, she came with little Maria in her arms, but she couldn't play the role of Hera. You could say that she was jealous of Alexander's mistress, that's possible, but with her level, let alone being jealous, she couldn't even be like apple cider vinegar.

So she held the child and dressed up as Calliope, the chief Muses.

It didn't matter if she held the child, she just got a toy harp and held it on the other side.

This appearance is quite appropriate. After all, Orpheus, the harp player, is really regarded as the son of Calliope in the Greek story.

"It's good for you to do this. Our Maria here is all related to the harp."

"The child is still young, and she just thinks it's fun to be here."

However, the child still snuggled in his mother's arms, and was not taken away until he saw Louisa's maid coming.

If there was a man present, he would definitely be fascinated by the figures and faces of these girls.

Maria's usual program is to play the harp and then start singing.

But this time it was Louisa who sang. She was a princess of the Margrave of Baden. She spoke French and German in her own court, but after staying in St. Petersburg for so long, she had mastered Russian fluently.

What she was going to sing was a passage from the unreleased play "The Golden Apple". Although she had not practiced for a long time and her poor lung capacity did not make her a bel canto singer, her voice was pleasant and she was good at using her vocal organs, which made her voice sound more elegant.

"Your Highness, what do you mean?"

"Of course, we have to give out a golden apple. We have to give it to the most attractive lady in our venue."

In fact, Louisa prepared gifts for everyone. She didn't like socializing, especially noisy occasions.

At this "masquerade" filled with girls, she was able to relax a little.

Louisa was able to come out today because of the instigation of her two sisters-in-law. They thought it would be fun, and they also got support at the "Ladies' Tea Party", so they invited the girls who came here to spend the summer to attend such an event.

In this way, someone is always needed to evaluate, and the referee is not on the field, but in the yard.

They were some palace eunuchs and guards officers, but most of them were married, and in terms of their personal character, there were no scandals about them in the outside world.

For this job, the first person in the court to be recommended is Count Stroganov. Although he is so handsome, he has always been good to his wife. They often communicate with each other when they are apart. He can be said to be a model husband.

Solovyov came here purely to stand guard.

"I'd really like to take a gardening vacation, so I can go out and prune the flowers, rather than just stand here."

"Today's occasion is so beautiful, Misha. If you miss it, you may rarely see it in the future."

"I know that the princes are planning to hold such a masquerade party, but it's strange to hear you say this."

"I love my wife and I am loyal to my marriage and my relationship, but that doesn't stop me from appreciating beautiful people."

"Ah, that's true. You have a lot of pictures of ancient mythology hanging in your house, much more than religious pictures."

"As for you, I think you should think more about your future. As a young nobleman, you should join the Guards, get married, and join a club. You should find an opportunity to complete the second task."

"How old am I?"

"Don't you see how many good young men there are in Petersburg who get married in their teens?"

"I'd better hold off! Especially since Petersburg has been so secretly busy lately."

After hearing this, Count Stroganov said no more. He had heard from his wife before that although Her Royal Highness the Crown Princess had no private affairs, she was very caring towards the sister of the Major of the Guards.

He was a man who liked to think too much and hoped not to cause any trouble. However, considering Alexander's actions, the Earl himself actually thought that if this continued, someone would eventually enter Elizabeth's boudoir, which would cause great trouble.

Generally speaking, secrets will not be kept for long, but Solovyov has not made any such moves so far. He is even an important commander in guarding the palace, so it doesn't sound like him.

Some clues were discovered, and maybe Alexander, because he really couldn't figure out the major's orientation, thought it was FAKE NEWS.

I wish all my book friends a happy Year of the Dragon. There are only two updates today, and I hope everyone has a good new year!

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(End of this chapter)