Solovyov in Tsarist Russia 1796.

Chapter 198 010 Guests attending the baptism

The railway project would certainly not be completed so quickly. A lot of Russia's annual budget was used to pay off previous debts. If we look at it from the perspective of 1802, the debt was also very high, but it was not as high as it is now.

Alexander was still willing to invest money in shipping and road transportation, especially when he went to Gatchina to pay his respects to the Queen Mother in the spring. He indeed felt that the roads in some places were really terrible. Even if it was to make himself more comfortable, he still had to approve the improvement of the Russian road network.

This is just the first step between Tsarskoye Selo and Pavlovsk. More projects will be launched in the future, and a prerequisite for this is sufficient funding.

Russia's finances have never been optimistic, and some places often cannot collect taxes. Everyone knows this. Now when Alexander sees the pile of documents, he has a headache.

His biggest advantage over Paul was that he had a group of close friends who truly wanted to follow him and were willing to work and sacrifice for him, while Paul's cronies turned around and murdered him.

"Pasha, how many times have we discussed departmental reforms?"

"This is the fifth internal discussion. In addition to departmental reforms, there is still a lot we need to do."

"There is endless work to do every day. Only when I sit on the throne do I feel that this is my prison cell."

"Sashka, this is also your responsibility and mission as a monarch!"

"What about your mission?"

"As your friend, there are ministers to help you."

"Thank you. You and Sonya are the most sincere to me. Sonya rejected me because she loves you deeply, and you love her deeply. Except for God's call, nothing can separate you. But I am so sentimental that I fall in love with every girl I see."

When Alexander was alone with Count Stroganov, he acted less. He had a lot of worries at the moment, and Maria Naryshkina was going to give birth in the next two days.

Even with the strong body and abundant stamina of this Polish girl, Alexander's worries were not alleviated. He was frightened by the fact that Louisa had encountered danger twice during her three childbirths.

As for naming the child, he named her Elizabeth for some reason. It is difficult to guess what Alexander was thinking, especially since both Constantine and Louisa were to attend the baptism on that day.

"To put such a young child in there for baptism, even though it's just a formality."

The current relationship between Louisa and Maria Naryshkina cannot be said to be bad, but one of the lovers also gave birth to a child for Alexander, which is somewhat unpleasant from the perspective of women.

Although Louisa loved her eldest daughter very much and had once brought her to Alexander Palace to play with her own children, this lack of preparedness would eventually lead to something.

And in the next few days, Alexander did go there frequently, and Louisa was about to start her journey to visit relatives, and the first destination along the way was Vyborg.

Spring has passed and the scenery has changed. Summer has just arrived and it hasn't felt that hot yet. Riding on the road to Vyborg is a very pleasant thing.

Queen Elizabeth is about to start her visit to Sweden. This time she is traveling with her sister Amalia who stays in St. Petersburg. However, what makes her feel uncomfortable is that her favorite maid Natalia is engaged to "little" Prince Golitsyn, and this time when they return from Sweden, they are going to get married officially. The closest sister around her always has to get married, which makes her feel happy and sad at the same time.

"Lisa, it's okay. Even if I get married, I will come to see you often. Sasha is very good. Although he is not tall and has a long face, he is witty and humorous."

Apparently, Princess Shakhovskaya, the granddaughter of the former Attorney General, was fascinated by the eloquent and wealthy prince. Both of them came from wealthy families and their status matched each other.

"But he has to be nice to you if you're wronged."

Luisa thought about it and realized that she seemed to have suffered more injustices, and Natalia still had her own way. Her family would not let her be bullied by her husband after she got married.

We also have to consider that "little" Golitsyn is a consistent person and there is no need to worry too much, so Louisa did not say much. She was just sad that another sister around her got married, but fortunately this one could come back often.

"It won't be a big deal. We're just around the corner from Vyborg, Lisa. We can rest here for a night. Tomorrow we'll leave Russia and head for Sweden's Finnish territory."

Vyborg was also one of the few places where the queen personally visited for a long time. However, if you think about it, Russia had not had a proper queen for many years. In the 18th century, there were five empresses and regents alone. It was really rare for a queen to travel in person.

And when they arrived in Vyborg, the local governor also came out to greet them, and there were quite a few onlookers. After all, the young queen's arrival here still attracted the attention of people around her.

It was probably just a sigh. Her Royal Highness the Queen was young, beautiful, and could speak fluent Russian. Her only shortcoming was that she was not good at socializing, and because of physical fatigue, she settled down in a corner on the second floor of the provincial government building.

Then Louisa kept everything simple. She asked everyone to go to eat and only left two maids by her side. As usual, she took a bath.

However, the bathtub was a little shallow, so Natalia called Solovyov over.

"Mr. Major, I remember that you arranged everything for His Highness's daily life at the place where he stayed during this trip to Vyborg."

She pointed at the bathtub and said this, but Solovyov had no choice. If you want to take a bath in Vyborg, it's good to find a shallow ceramic bathtub like this. The rest are made of iron or wooden barrels.

"There's nothing we can do about it. The bathtubs here are shallow. Even if we go to the homes of the local gentry, we have to go to a manor far away to get some. If there are some, I can't tell you."

It was Louisa who spoke up and rescued Solovyov.

"It's okay, Natasha. I'll just wash while I'm dressed. When we get to Frederikshavn, we'll be entertained by the Swedish side. They should have some arrangements."

"Your Highness, I don't think this is a good idea."

"If you don't like it, ask the major to find a wooden bathtub. We can take turns bathing. But the servants will have to boil more water."

Louisa didn't care much about her daily life, but she wouldn't use her servants too often. This time, the situation was special. She was with her sister, and the maids and servants who accompanied her, and everyone had to keep clean. This was easy to deal with. Solovyov also had an arrangement, and the local coopers also had a chance to make a fortune. After all, the queen of a golden branch and jade leaf was going to use their barrels, and maybe a "Grandeyev" would appear in them.
After getting a large wooden barrel, Louisa felt that it could accommodate two people.

"What a big tub, Misha, you really have something to offer."

"Whenever I go to a place, I always like to ask what's available there. When I was in Italy, I asked where the food was good. When I went to Sweden, I visited many places along the way. As for Vyborg, Your Highness, you just have to make do with it. I'll go on duty outside now."

Solovyov still paid close attention to Louisa's affairs.

Soon after the maid stopped at the door, the sound of limbs splashing in the water and the sweet singing of Natalia Shakhovskaya were heard from inside.

They have a deep sisterly bond, and when they take a bath together, they do so in an artistic way.

But you can't see it, you can only listen.

Solovyov's own guard post was under the stairs on the first floor, but he was a little tired today after riding on horseback all day. Now he could at least take a break. There were Vyborg Governor's garrison outside, so it was safe.

Louisa loved to sing with her maids while taking a bath. It was an old habit. The young queen often did this to relieve her tension. She felt extremely relaxed doing this in Vyborg. After taking a bath, she asked the maid to change the bath water and asked her sister and several other maids to take a hot bath as well to relieve their fatigue from the journey.

The next day, they arrived at the border, where there were Swedish and Russian outposts in Finland. Sweden sent local garrisons to escort them, while the Russian Vyborg garrison that had followed all the way now only had the accompanying cavalry and adjutants left.

In addition, Solovyov was also paying attention to the Swedish garrisons. It was obvious that their state was very lax, and these people would be needed to escort them later. It would not be a big deal if they were just for show, but when a real fight broke out, such an army would not be very effective.

Solovyov also had to negotiate with the local Swedish garrison commander, but the embarrassing thing was that the other party did not understand Russian and he did not speak Swedish, so he had to rely on an interpreter.

But one thing that can be confirmed is that the Swedish side arranged accommodation for the Russian Queen in Frederikshavn, in a small villa outside the fortress in a very secluded environment. Only Russian personnel came and went here, and the Swedish army only guarded the intersection.

The environment of this place is not bad, but because it is located near the border between the two countries, it is not so prosperous. After all, the war between Sweden and Russia was not long ago, and the humiliating defeat of the Russian Baltic Fleet in the last Russo-Swedish war occurred nearby.

However, there was no need for the Swedish side to demonstrate with the Russian Queen about the regional arrangements, but simply to stay here.

And this kind of quiet environment is indeed suitable for meeting at night.

Louisa also sent out signals during the day, asking him to come to her bedroom at night, but only to chat with her.

Of course, when they meet, they will still hug and kiss each other.

"Thank you for your hard work, Mishka. Is everyone asleep?"

"Everyone went to bed, but the confused little cat at your door kicked off the quilt, so I went to cover her up."

"Okay, I called you over here at this time so that you can read this script to me quietly. I guess this is your unfinished work, right?"

"Yes, Louisa, this is still a work in progress and needs to be modified according to the situation in Russia. After all, the girls here prefer handsome cavalry officers who are brave and fearless and dare to do anything."

The bedroom here was not that big. Louisa asked Solovyov to read to her in a low voice in this small space so as not to make too much noise. Moreover, the two of them could lean against each other and be more intimate.

Especially a girl who had just taken a bath and dried herself off was indeed attractive. But it was unlikely for two people to lie on the lounge chair together, so Solovyov asked Louisa to put her feet on his knees, while he leaned against the wooden wall.

"If you feel drowsy after reading for a while, you can go back to sleep."

The script was actually quite simple, but it needed to be adapted to be more like a stage play that Russians could accept, and it also needed to be in French, which required some language guidance. Solovyov was not very good at imitating a girl's voice, so he had to make some corrections when he read it to Louisa.

"Your tone in this paragraph is a bit stiff, even when you read the literal meaning."

It was Louisa herself who began to yawn. Although her body recovered faster after giving birth, she was more prone to sleepiness. Soon the eyelids of the "Archangel" began to droop. Even when Solovyov gently scratched the soles of her feet with his fingers, it only made her legs move. It was obvious that the young queen was sleepy again.

"Louisa, shall I carry you to bed?"

Seeing that she had fallen asleep, there was nothing he could do, so Solovyov had to pick her up again, let her lie on the bed, and cover her with a blanket.

She was indeed very cute when she was sleeping, but after a while, she started to mutter her daughters' names, and she seemed to miss them a little.

Thinking about how she looked when she was taking care of her children, she was really a clumsy young mother.

Solovyov was worried that she was not sleeping well, so he gently stroked her back. It was unclear whether he was coaxing a child or petting a cat. He also sang a lullaby not far from her ear. However, it is hard to say whether this behavior constituted infringement.

After all, he was singing Schubert's work. If Louisa heard this piece of music, who knows if she would have a sudden inspiration the next morning and run to the piano to play a piece of music herself.

"Good night, lovely Louisa."

After making sure she was sleeping soundly, Solovyov kissed her cheek and then sneaked back to his own room. After returning from Sweden, the two did not have many opportunities to meet. Louisa's life during this period was not very easy. Queen Mother Maria, under the current situation where Alexander treated his favorite mistress and wife equally, probably criticized Louisa because she had not been able to give birth to an heir so far.

This is a big problem for her, after all, she is still breastfeeding and her body has not yet recovered to normal. However, the Queen Mother's statement also comes with the "argument" that Louisa's sisters, who are already married, have already given birth to sons.

(End of this chapter)