Solovyov in Tsarist Russia 1796.

Chapter 183 040 The number of times the salute is fired can easily lead to misunderstandings

After the coronation ceremony, normal celebrations, whether in St. Petersburg or Moscow, will last for at least half a month. Muscovites don't care. After all, many of the "nouveau riche" in St. Petersburg have never seen the world, and it is good to let them see the majesty of the coronation ceremony for three hundred years. Moreover, the Tsar will still come to Moscow with the young and beautiful queen to formally hold the next coronation ceremony.

The small problem is that the past few years have been too busy. There have been three tsars, two coronation ceremonies, and a lot of changes in Russia.

The Queen only attended the banquet for a short while. After giving a signal, she was carried away by servants. According to the rules of Empress Dowager Maria at that time, the Tsar and the Empress Dowager were to stand in the front during court etiquette.

Solovyov hadn't changed his clothes yet and was still dressed as a maid. There was nothing he could do about it as his schedule was very tight. If he wanted to remove his makeup and change his clothes, Natalia would have to lock him up alone in the maid's room.

Anyway, there is nothing good to eat at this kind of banquet, so it is better to hang out with the soldiers of the Guards, as he has the most experience in this area.

However, he was worried about Louisa at this time. After changing his clothes, he had to go to the Queen's suite again. The task order given to him by Alexander had not been cancelled.

There were some days afterwards. Louisa had a hard day. After she undressed, she lay down in her pajamas. There was only one maid on duty here, and she couldn't order anyone else around.

At night, when the Guards arrived to relieve the guard, Solovyov left the Winter Palace. He returned to the Guards' barracks to pack up his personal belongings and take them home. After that, he would also move back to the Winter Palace to take over his duty station.

The next day there were other ceremonial ceremonies, including the offering of bread and salt to the Tsar and Tsarina, a traditional Russian ceremony, followed by a great deal of celebration.

Louisa also felt the baby moving in her belly these days. After the dedication ceremony, she returned to the Winter Palace to live. The doctor said her due date is October 10, so she is not in a hurry.

The celebrations will last until the end of the month, and many activities cannot be cancelled, but they have to be held away from the Winter Palace. However, citizens often say one thing, that is, the Queen did not attend, probably because she is about to give birth, which is a good thing. After all, the royal family is prosperous, and no matter whether it is a boy or a girl, it is a happy event for the citizens of St. Petersburg.

In this case, the celebrations in St. Petersburg will also be extended.

There were also quite a few guards adjutants on duty in the palace, but since Alexander had to attend an event, all of these adjutants went with him. The Queen Mother was particular about pomp and circumstance, so she also took many maids with her, including the girls who usually followed Louisa and surrounded her all the time.

"Your Highness, are you feeling better?"

"I've been having trouble walking these past two days. You asked me to sit here. If I feel uncomfortable, I'll go see a doctor."

It was already the evening of September 9th. Louisa had been feeling unwell for the past few days. Although her diet was fine, her irritability and restlessness were becoming more and more serious.

"Should we inform His Majesty?"

"As for Alexander, he is no longer the crown prince, but our emperor. Unless my condition is extremely serious, don't stop and ask him to attend the ceremony. It is still good. Don't alarm him too much because of me. After all, the whole of Petersburg knows that I am about to give birth. If the quack doctor makes a wrong diagnosis and delays things, that would not be good either."

On the night when Alexander became Tsar, Louisa actually already had a plan. When something big really happened, she would silently support Alexander, not causing trouble or creating problems. In fact, with her eyes that read a lot but spoke little and observed more, she could also realize that although the Queen Mother seemed to have read a lot of books, she was not necessarily as smart as the French headless cake queen.

Paul once told Louisa that although the French queen had a bad reputation, she was very methodical in doing things in the palace, managing the inner court, and ceremonial occasions. When Louis XVI made a mistake, it was Marie Antoinette who tactfully interrupted and avoided diplomatic disputes between France and Russia. Everyone knew her problems. France's problems at that time were already a dead end. It was the couple's desperate efforts that led to their death. Speaking of which, their family was also very miserable. Currently, there is only one girl left who is in semi-seclusion in Dresden.

What happened, from the trial and the referendum, greatly shocked Paul. What Alexander, the young Tsar who called himself a "Jacobin" and had just stepped out of his middle school years, would do was also a focus of the world.

Louisa only remembered one thing, don't let some stupid behavior affect the overall situation, and unless she was about to give birth, don't ask Alexander to rush back, and keep stability. Although the couple had been crowned, the throne was not so stable. When a new king ascends the throne, there are always some things to worry about.

But she neglected to notice that the doctors sent to the palace this time were not the doctors from the Naval Hospital whom Paul had trusted at the beginning. Many of the royal doctors had died or retired due to their age. As for the Austrian doctors of this session, although they looked okay in appearance, they could not be relied upon to really perform the job.

However, on the morning of October 10, Louisa really couldn't hold on any longer. Not only did she suffer from abdominal pain, she felt that she was about to give birth. However, the doctor had not arrived yet, and Alexander had just attended an event. When he left, Louisa was still in good condition.

This was more troublesome. The Empress Dowager's lady-in-law, Miss Anna Pavlovna Scherer, stayed in the palace. She was still very calm, and in the battle between the mother-in-law and the daughter-in-law, although the Empress Dowager was the noble lady she served, she did not want to offend the Queen. Moreover, this cute little girl was easy to get along with, and she knew what was going on.

"Hurry up and prepare the delivery room for your Highness. Get everything ready. Is the delivery table ready as well?"

"Anna Pavlovna, we had already made arrangements last night, but the Emperor had just gone to the theatre to see a performance, and Her Majesty the Empress Dowager was also there, and there were performances in the square and on the street. I'm afraid it would be too late to call the doctors."

"Forget about those Austrian quacks. If nothing works, we'll just call a midwife to get His Highness through this!"

What's worse is that Miss Scherer is not young anymore and is a famous beauty, but she has never been married, let alone had the experience of having children; the maids in the palace, these young girls have just been selected and have hardly even touched the hands of the boys they like.

The doctors and midwives, whether they were famous or mediocre, experienced or inexperienced, were all stuck in the traffic. The Empress Dowager also liked pomp and circumstance, and her own carriage was a six-horse carriage, larger than that of the Tsar and his wife. Fortunately, her carriage was not on the small road of Million Street, otherwise there would be even greater trouble.

Miss Scherer was still very calm. After analyzing the situation, she decided to ask the military doctor to come over if things didn't work. The doctor in the Pu Tuan was quite good. When the queen was still the crown princess, she gave birth to her second child, and he had been on standby next door.

But at this moment, there is also a problem. He lacks an assistant. He can call a pharmacist at No. 4 Million Street, but there are limited qualified doctors and nurses.

"If it really doesn't work, I know these quacks will delay things. They even swore that Her Majesty the Queen's due date is the 3rd. The Emperor just went to the theater and it's too late to go back. We have to go ahead. Mikhail, I remember you have some experience in disinfection and nursing. You helped your stepmother when she gave birth."

"what"

This doctor is talking about things that are not relevant. Two days ago, Solovyov really helped his stepmother to take his younger brother out of the womb at home. The reason was that the doctor's assistant knocked something over right after finishing the disinfection, so Solovyov, who had just washed his hands, had to go to help. This incident is really well-known in Vasily Island and the Admiralty.

"Don't worry about that. Even if it's an ordinary girl from a citizen's family, you have to help her. This is the doctor's code of conduct! And you have always been a bit chivalrous, so you must help with this kind of thing."

"What's the matter?" Solovyov understood what the regiment's military doctor Mr. Meyer meant. Louisa was about to give birth, and the doctor, midwife and birthing mother had not arrived yet, so he had to take over. However, these assistants were really unreliable, so he was forced to take over.

"If it was a natural birth, it would be fine. But if it was a difficult birth like my stepmother's, where forceps were used, I'm still a little scared!"

His younger brother was safe. He trembled a little when he saw it at that time. He was still a little scared when he thought about it. After all, he was his blood brother, and it would be dangerous even to lend a hand.

But now they had no choice but to go ahead. Miss Scherer sent the relatively smart Princess Anna Shcherbatova to inform the Tsar and the Empress Dowager, hoping that Alexander could be called back as soon as possible.

Louisa was still able to move on her own, she was already feeling very uncomfortable. Fortunately, Miss Scherer reacted quickly, but she was not as experienced as Mrs. Golovina, and whenever there was anything happening in the palace before, it was that female official who assisted.

Scherer knew that he couldn't let Her Royal Highness the Queen endure this for too long, otherwise it would definitely lead to trouble or even death.

However, the person called in was a military doctor, and there was also the Tsar's adjutant among the assistants. The pharmacist was a professional from No. 4 Million Street. This combination was still a little worrying.

Louisa had taken off her clothes and was placed on the delivery table. It was also Ms. Scherer's quick reaction. Although she seemed to be rash and even lost her etiquette, at this moment, decency was nothing compared to human life.

Solovyov could not have imagined that this was already his third time on the scene. When his sister Polina was born, he was helping with the disinfection. When his brother Anton was born, he just followed and took action.

The first two times it was his own sister and brother, which was terrible enough, but this time it was his beloved Louisa, so he was a little nervous.

"You are a man who has been to the battlefield, and I know your ability to disinfect. Major, please help me disinfect the surgical instruments and various tools. My water has broken now, so we must be prepared."

"All right."

Dr. Meyer was very knowledgeable in medicine. He believed that even his uncle in Bavaria knew more about various surgical techniques than he did. He even had some experience, having delivered babies for the wives of officers in his regiment. After seeing the condition of Her Royal Highness the Queen, he was relieved.

"We can still start like this. Girls, all of you should stand in your respective positions and prepare towels boiled in hot water. Also, Miss Scherer, you are more familiar with the girls, so you should let them perform their respective duties."

"Mr. Meyer, there is one thing you have to be careful about, which is not to choke the child."

"Ah, I understand what you mean. You can even take out your own brother. I know what's going on. Fortunately, it's not the first time for Your Highness."

When Alexander received the news, he became angry and walked out of the theater box holding his sister Catherine's hand. Maria followed behind him when she saw this.

"It seems that one thing is true. Austrian doctors are unreliable! At this time, we can only use military doctors. Also, can the doctors from the Navy Hospital come over?"

"Your Majesty, we are able to arrive at the scene. We need to disinfect and handle various situations. Mr. Meyer, the doctor of the Imperial Guard, is there now."

"Fortunately, he is a great surgeon. God bless, I hope nothing will happen."

At this time, Alexander discovered that his two sisters were more anxious than he was, and had already run onto the carriage with their skirts lifted up.

When they returned to the Winter Palace, there were only a few maids outside the delivery room. Too many people would cause trouble, and they were also waiting here for the arrival of the Tsar and the Empress Dowager.

"Sonia, how is Lisa now?"

Miss Volkonskaya was the only one who kept her composure, and she reported the whole incident to the Tsar himself.

"Her Highness has successfully given birth to a Grand Duchess, but... there is still a second child. Her Highness doesn't have much strength now. Mr. Meyer and Major Misha are trying hard."

Alexander usually always went to his lover, but he was also very worried when his wife was about to give birth. Especially although Louisa's health had improved a lot, it might be more painful for the woman if everyone in St. Petersburg knew about the delivery.

But his adjutant helped with the birth of the child, and although he had heard about what happened to him at home, it was still worrying at this time.

Alexander's mind was filled with Louisa's screams during her first childbirth. He still felt scared when he heard them then, but he couldn't go in now. He wasn't wearing sterilized clothes, nor were his hands, and he wasn't wearing a mask.

Even more nervous were Mr. Meyer and Solovyov who were at the scene. Prozorovskaya, who was a little braver, listened to Meyer's words and pushed Louisa's belly. At this moment, Solovyov saw the baby's head.

"Finally this new big girl came out and did a great job. If she hadn't pushed it, it would have been troublesome."

Meyer asked Solovyov to continue, and what he saw was another girl.

“Anyway, this is a good thing.”

When Alexander heard that they were all girls again, he shook his head helplessly. Although Louisa had a natural birth this time and it was still somewhat dangerous, it was only because the military doctor, the adjutant and these young girls handled it quickly that he wanted to send those two Austrian quacks back to Vienna.

Then, the fireworks were set off. However, this time, because two children were born one after another, it caused a small problem. The people of St. Petersburg mistakenly thought that an heir was born. The number of cannons fired for the two girls combined was almost the same as for a prince. It was not until the announcement was posted that they learned the true situation.

(End of this chapter)