Solovyov in Tsarist Russia 1796.

Chapter 323 The Familiar Salon at the Palace Lady's Home

Solovyov was not surprised when he received the invitation. He was now a well-known figure in St. Petersburg. Besides, Anna Pavlovna Scherer knew him very well, except for some personal secrets.

The salons held in her home were always seen as a political barometer because of her special status as the Empress Dowager's lady-in-waiting.

Of course, women who are overly interested in politics are a danger if they do not have sufficient knowledge to govern the country. Conversely, the same is true for a man facing the same problems if he is not fully prepared.

However, the people around the Queen Mother always stir up various topics in their salons, such as the recent coronation ceremony in Milan.

Solovyov also looked around and saw Andrei and Lisa coming together. It was obvious that Lisa was not fat, but was pregnant. As for the tall Pierre, he would also appear here.

I hope he won't mention anything about Napoleon, as that would get him into trouble.

After all, he loved to debate, but what he said was always confusing.

As for himself, he just wanted to read in the corner, using the bright light in the hall.

"Misha, what are you doing?"

Solovyov didn't expect that Andrei would come over at this time.

"Nothing, you know, I don't like this kind of salon atmosphere, but Anna Pavlovna has invited me, and I can't refuse."

"because this?"

"Also, I don't want to offend the people around Her Majesty the Queen Mother."

Only Andrei Solovyov could say that.

"Then you should show more about how literary salons were introduced to Russia?"

Andrei's reminder reminded Solovyov that during the reign of the Empress, the early cultural salons in St. Petersburg were always organized by Maria Feodorovna, who was then the Crown Princess.

It is no wonder that these salons are always filled with various political news.

The Queen Mother often said: "For many reasons, it is not good for a woman to acquire too much knowledge. To bring up children, to manage the household, to manage servants, to be frugal in spending - this is what her teaching and philosophy should consist of."

However, the Queen Mother herself was apparently quite hypocritical, and she even once hoped to become the Queen.

After she became the empress, Solovyov was more worried about Catherine's life. This mother and daughter might even reenact the drama of Empress Wei and Princess Anle.

Then, she did not have enough knowledge and was also very ambitious.

Louisa, on the other hand, was rich in knowledge and fulfilled the obligations of aristocratic women of the era, but she lacked ambition and was ostracized in the court because of her outstanding personal qualities.

There were always strange things happening in St. Petersburg, but he no longer found it strange and even joined in on the topic he wanted to bring up.

"Messieurs, mon ami Fiodor Tolsto revient d'un voyage dangereux et intéressant in America." (Gentlemen, my friend Fyodor Tolstoy has returned from a dangerous and interesting journey to America.)
Obviously, he didn't like to talk about Milan's coronation, and there was actually a group of people who, even though they were about to go to war with Bonaparte, showed unlimited admiration for him.

By the way, there has been no news of Fyodor, the Guards officer, since he participated in this round-the-world voyage.

After all, both ships were drifting on the sea, and a true round-the-world voyage in that era would require replenishment and repairs, which would usually take three years.

He set out from St. Petersburg and was supposed to follow the fleet to travel around the world. This year, he was almost confiscated by the Qing government in Guangzhou and blackmailed. Then he was blackmailed by the shogunate port.
However, his appearance in St. Petersburg now has some legendary color.

"Colonel, I remember that he served under you when you were in the Guards." (Colonel, I remember that he served under you when you were in the Guards.)
There was indeed someone who was attracted by this topic, an officer from the Guards Cavalry, but Solovyov did not know him. It seemed that he was transferred from somewhere else, or maybe he was only on the Guards Infantry side, and he did not know everyone on the cavalry side.

"Yes, sir, you look like a hussard."
"Yes, it is very hard to speak French. I am Davydov of the Hussar Guards."

"There are many Davydovs. When one leaves, another comes."

Although speaking Russian openly in such occasions would be ridiculed by the French-speaking nobles, but think about Solovyov's current level, with the help of others, he can even translate novels. That's the case.

As for Davydov, Solovyov knew that the Davydov family was not small, and it was a prosperous noble family. Unlike his own relatives, most of them were commoners, and a small number of them were nobles, and they often worked as housekeepers as registered nobles.

"Okay, let's go talk to the side and ignore these guys who pretend to be civilized people."

Solovyov approached Davydov and only muttered a few words under his breath.

This Hussar was indeed cooperative, but if more people were to join in, there would obviously be some problems in communication.

In the salon, there are still many people who can speak French, so we have to use it as the standard language.

Otherwise, when some nobles spoke Russian, if they used country dialect, it would be difficult for people to understand them.

"Well, you mean the 'American'. His story is quite interesting."

"Yes, but because he violated military discipline in the legion, I don't think the emperor will forgive him."

But Fyodor Tolstoy was wild enough. He had many friends among the aides-general, and Mikhail Dolgorukov was one of his friends. With his guarantee, he was able to stay in the legion and serve.

It sounds like that Dolokhov guy is going to tie the police to a bear.

Getting into trouble was a daily occurrence for some reckless Guards officers.

"It's interesting to note that you were able to 'tame' him."

"That's because I helped him pay off his gambling debts. Fei Jia is a man who always has a clear distinction between love and hate. He remembers other people's kindness. If you have a grudge against him, he will definitely take revenge. This lunatic is really hard to deal with."

"Don't talk about the trouble he got into. I want to hear what he did in America."

"Fyodor was not at ease on the 'Nadezhda'. He was originally on board to replace his seasick cousin with the same name. In addition, he studied at a naval boarding school and was more or less proficient in sailing, so the captain kept him on the ship.

But he kept getting into trouble, and the captain got fed up with him and left him in Petropavlovsk-Kamchatka. Then the guy somehow managed to get back to North America, lived with the Tlingit for a few months, and then returned to Kamchatka, making the long journey across Siberia to get back here.

"He's really capable, and he can cause trouble."

"Colonel, I also heard that he lives with an orang-outan." (Colonel, I also heard that he lives with an orang-outan.)
"Monsieur, you have to ask him personally. I am only telling you the facts I know." (Sir, you should ask him personally. I am only telling you the facts I know.)
When others said this, Solovyov could only tell them what he knew.

As for whoever is praising Napoleon here, it is true that Russian nobles are often not very patriotic, even less so than outsiders and ordinary people.

At this time, no matter how glorious the coronation in Milan was, it was just a declaration of French control over Italy. It had nothing to do with the Russians, but if I said it directly, I was afraid I would offend the female officer.

Solovyov knew that the Queen Mother had always been dissatisfied with him because of the incident on the Ares Square.

This matter was not spread by others. If he had not made the young ladies in the palace happy, Maria would not have told him this secretly.

Even excluding this, he was extremely careful with his words.

As for Fyodor Tolstoy's legendary journey, it does bring a lot of topic traffic in St. Petersburg.

That is to say, at that time, there were only newspapers, and the circulation was limited, so what was spread were mostly urban legends.

The two fast sailing ships sailing around the world were heading towards Macau at this time.

Solovyov continued talking for a while, and then he saw Andrei and Pierre go into the inner room, and they seemed to have something to talk about.

However, for Lisa, her pregnancy has only been about three or four months, but because of her petite and cute figure, it is particularly obvious.

Solovyov thought about Andrei and felt helpless, after all, she was someone else's wife.

As a "friend of women", he was caring in all aspects. After telling these friends about a magical adventure, Solovyov ignored the Viscount de Montemar who was entertaining guests in the salon and walked away quickly.

"It's almost time. If we continue like this, it will be tiring. Some people want to speak French, and some want to speak Russian. If we put the two kinds of wine together, it might be easy to get drunk, especially for those who can't drink much."

"It's been a pleasure chatting with you, Colonel. I hope you can bring me more adventure stories like this in the future. They will be more interesting than the novels you translated."

This is a cultural difference.

And now, he noticed Lisa.

"Madame Prince, I am in the inner chamber. I am in the palace, but I will take you there." (Madame Prince, your husband has gone to the inner chamber. Please allow me to take you there.)
Lisa was amused by his action, and her smile was really bright.

Of course, Andre's taste in girls, although he is indifferent, is really good.

Natasha, you choose according to Lisa, right?

"Merci, Baron, but it is hard for you to speak like this. Although I come from this side of the Baltic Sea, I have a good command of Russian."

"Ja, it seems more appropriate for me to speak German just now."

"That's not necessary, Baron. You and my husband are friends, and I appreciate your help at this time."

As they were talking, they had already arrived in the corridor.

"It still feels a bit cold here. It may be because the basement is too large, the humidity is rising up, and it is colder there."

"It doesn't matter. I'm still wearing thick clothes. I love my child very much, so I will do my best to take care of him."

It is impossible to assume the gender of the child now because there is no relevant technology. We can only know after the baby is born.

"Speaking of which, Madam, I remember that Andre fell in love with you when he first saw you in the garden, and then..."

Speaking of this, Lisa blushed a little.

"It sounds embarrassing, but Andre"

"If you think he... well, how should I put it, lacks attention to you, it may be because we soldiers are all going to the battlefield. But Andre is a sincere person, but he always behaves noble and arrogant, although this is only on the outside. You have to know that sometimes, there are people who are cold on the outside but warm on the inside."

"Thank you, Baron, for comforting me at this time."

"Pregnant women always need emotional stability and keep thinking about pleasant things to make you and your baby happy."

"thanks, thanks."

Lisa thought about it and realized that Solovyov did have a good reputation among the girls in the palace, but he was not regarded as an object of admiration, but always as a good friend.

Even recently he and Madame Récamier had sometimes been together, and there were girls who wanted to give him their blessings and were somewhat disappointed.

Although the lady was very beautiful, she was older and a young widow.

"Some say that after you went to Paris, you came back less enthusiastic about young girls."

When she said this, Solovyov laughed out loud.

"Ah, it seems that there will always be a time when it can't be hidden, but I won't marry Madame Recamier. She doesn't want to marry a soldier and go to the battlefield. Such a young, beautiful and rich widow needs someone who can take care of her in every possible way. Such a person is either a court attendant or a rich and idle person. I, who work almost every day, will definitely not be able to do that."

Solovyov said this to indirectly help Andrei.

He knew that Lisa actually had a good personality. Although she could be a little capricious sometimes, she was not as willful as Natasha, who would lose her mind if a man seduced her.

Although she has lived in social occasions since she was a child, she is surprisingly calm.

"Ah, I understand what you mean. You are a very thoughtful person as a friend of our couple, and you deserve to be a friend forever."

At this point, Solovyov also took her to the guest room where Andrei and Pierre were talking.

Speaking of which, he finally got to know a little bit of the "plot" here.

However, Lisa's fate seemed to have changed a lot for him.

After all, because the doctor mentioned her health problems when she went for a physical examination, Andre was a little wary.

You need to invite an obstetrician and gynecologist from Moscow or St. Petersburg to Tongshan, and book a longer cycle.

But he could not help Pierre. There were rumors that Count Bezukhov's health had been deteriorating recently and he had been bedridden for a long time after suffering two strokes.

Thinking of this always makes people shake their heads.

(End of this chapter)