Solovyov in Tsarist Russia 1796.

Chapter 501 013 The French are testing us, is the purpose of this test to form a marriage alliance?

This grand ball held in the Winter Palace seemed a little deserted this year.

For the Russian court, recent expenses have indeed been tight. Russia has indeed begun to borrow money because of its military failures in recent years and the impact on continental trade.

Although the situation has not reached the point of being heavily in debt, the situation is not optimistic at the moment.

But there were distinguished guests, members of the Prussian royal family who were homeless due to the defeat and the occupation of Königsberg, so the king could only stay temporarily in Memel.

The queen came here with her daughters. As for her pregnancy, people in Petersburg did not talk much about it and even expressed sympathy for her.

But bringing the daughters to St. Petersburg had a different meaning, considering that when the Tsar himself was looking for a wife, the current Queen of Sweden and her sister came to St. Petersburg to choose a wife when she was only 11 years old, the Queen was 13 years old, and Alexander himself was less than 15 years old.
Bringing 9-year-old Princess Charlotte here and putting her together with 11-year-old Nicholas, not only can the two of them be playmates, but the emotional foundation they have will be quite reliable if they really want to go on blind dates in the future.

This year Solovyov did not dance at the party. He sat at the edge of the dance floor with Katya.

Although not as many people come as in the past, the food this year is good, and it is not inconvenient to go to the toilet in the Winter Palace.

Therefore, he and Katya were more restrained and only ate a little.

Speaking of Russian toilets
This is a topic as interesting as the streets of Paris.

But the situation in St. Petersburg is not so bad. The Neva River flows into the sea here, and the canal has always been full of running water, which is much better than the situation in the Seine River.

There are also public toilets and sewage drains, but they are relatively simple.

However, it will not make St. Petersburg become like Paris, which is usually very charming, and becomes even more charming when the northeast wind blows from the garbage dump.

But if these toilets were made like this, it could be said that they would remain the same even into the 20th century.
In Solovyov's own manor, the nobles felt very comfortable when they went to his house, probably because even if Solovyov called his wife, mistresses, and their children, they could use the toilet freely, and there were flush toilets and sewers, and even a self-built tap water supply system. Even the servants' living area had public toilets.
The sanitary conditions are so good that even the most picky people of this era would be very satisfied when they come here.

"This is still not as good as home, Mishka, when are we going back?"

"Don't worry, there's still a while. Even if we return to our home in Laundry Lane, we can have a good rest. It's not like it's at this time."

"But I feel that recently...

Katya has been a little constipated lately and it's a little hard for her to talk about it.

As a husband, Solovyov also knew about this situation, but he only improved her diet and checked her body. At least Katya had a good lifestyle and did not have hemorrhoids.
Solovyov's standard for a lover is probably that she loves cleanliness. Even though Polina has a bad reputation and may have an unclean lifestyle, she still has to wash her body regularly. After all, that is her pride.

"It's okay, just hold on for a while. When we get home, I'll ask Adela to find a doctor to see you."

Well, that's roughly the situation. He brought his wife here today and didn't plan to go down to the dance floor.

As for Mr. Caulaincourt, he was very busy today and even had to have a good chat with the Austrian ambassador.

When he came over, he also found the Solovyovs.

"Count, you and the Countess are just sitting here, not participating in any activities?"

"Ah, Mr. Caulaincourt. As you can see, my wife is pregnant, so I am always worried about her and am here with her. Besides, after the shrapnel that hit my leg in Novi, I have been more cautious when attending balls. If this old knee injury relapses, it will be very fatal."

"But there is peace between our two countries now, and you and the emperor are somewhat related, aren't you?"

"Yes, Mr. Caulaincourt, you can sit here, we still have something to talk about."

"What do you want to say?"

"The renovation of the embassy's toilets should be completed, right?"

"Yes, thank you for your help. At least the guests don't have to queue up because they are in a hurry. The place is well built and there are private rooms specially for ladies."

"But such facilities should be installed in Paris as soon as possible. You know, Paris is short of water near the Seine River, because the sewage outlets have always been the same since the time of Charlemagne, which is very frustrating."

For a moment, Collancourt couldn't understand what he meant.

If you want to be picky, Solovyov's words are still very ambiguous. No matter what he says, he thinks Paris is just like that.

If you want to fish out a body from the Seine, you have to clean it before burying it, otherwise...
"As for the reception held at the embassy, ​​you must go, including Count Sergei and his wife."

One can see a sincere attitude in Caulain's eyes.

"If I were not in such a department, I would not have refused your invitations so many times. Mr. Caulaincourt, I will go this time anyway."

"Thank you very much for coming at this time. Also, I wonder if you are satisfied with the wedding gifts given to you by our emperor and queen?"

"By the time the presents arrived from Paris, we were already on our way to the South for our wedding trip. But we also have to thank your Majesty and Aunt Josephine for the gifts, which are very valuable and very suitable for my wife."

"Then when the time comes, the Countess will still have to wear one of the jewelry sets when she comes to the embassy. This is carefully selected."

Before the British gained more wealth from the colonies, the French royal jewels were the most precious and richest treasures in Europe.

Of course, compared with the treasure houses of the Persian Shah and the Mughal Shah, even though these two lost a large number of treasures due to war and compensation, they are still inferior.

Obviously, the gift from the emperor's uncle was a bit weird, but he was a family relative after all. A necklace made of so many rubies, as well as matching earrings and crowns, were indeed very precious. Moreover, if they were left to future generations in the future when finances were tight, they would still be very valuable.

It is true that just collecting these jewels cannot be used to make a living.

After returning home, Solovyov asked Adela to take out the set of ruby ​​jewelry and let Katya wear it when they went to the French Embassy.

When Napoleon was flirting with Countess Walewska, he mentioned that older men should dress up in jewels to please their wives. Well, this uncle, he is obviously already middle-aged, but he still makes fun of me with this.

But the set that was chosen is indeed amazing.

"Katya, it looks very suitable, but here in the belly, should the skirt be looser?"

"It's okay, Mishka, it's better to be more relaxed."

Then Solovyov took Katya in his arms and began to stroke her belly with both hands.

"Well, they are this big at this time. If they are really twins, you will have a hard time."

As for his desire for more intimacy, Katya did not resist.

"You'll have to find me a better doctor, or a more steady midwife."

"Don't worry, if something unexpected happens, I'll be by your side."

But speaking of this, Katya thought of Solovyov's "glorious history". As a guards officer, he was not only responsible for security work, but also for living. He had done this kind of work when he was forced to do it.

Even Her Majesty the Queen herself mentioned, when she entered the palace to serve, that Solovyov had used forceps to pull the princess out of her belly.

Although it sounds easy to say, just like taking out the baked bread from the fireplace, but think about being with relatives, if the women in the family have given birth to children, they generally still have lingering fears about this kind of thing.

"Then you better be gentle."

"Don't worry, you are in good shape. If you need emergency treatment, the doctor will be able to help you. Besides, there are still a few months left, it's just that your belly is a little bigger. I have to say, my Katya is still very beautiful and will be an excellent mother in the future."

As for his request for a kiss, Katya naturally obeyed. All she could do now was hold hands, hug, and kiss.

When Adela came to the room, seeing her brother and sister-in-law being so intimate, she felt a little jealous of her sister-in-law, but more importantly, she had important things to do today, so she coughed twice.

"Brother, you guys still have to go to the French Embassy today!"

"Adela, do you want to come with us?"

"No, I'd better stay at home. If you all go to the reception, someone has to take care of the house."

"How old are you? You act like a nagging little housekeeper all day long. What kind of husband will you find in the future?"

"At least he's not a German. Julia always gets excited when she mentions the prince from Mecklenburg. Even though he's a prince and a general, he's a little too direct."

How to deal with Adela in the future is indeed a problem. As a soldier, she doesn't like the rude ones, but those who are cultured, like Davydov, are too "wild". What about the other young officers?
Fortunately, she is young and can wait a little longer.

However, when I arrived at the French Embassy, ​​the things mentioned were more or less related to blind dates.

But the goal of this blind date sounds very strange.

Before that, Jerome married the princess of Württemberg and then became the King of Westphalia. It seems that the men and women in the Bonaparte family are all matched to their own positions and everything has been arranged almost perfectly. The next generation is still relatively young, and the oldest boy is not even old enough to be engaged.

However, most of the Russian nobles invited by Caulaincourt had some connections with the French, especially several branches of the Dolgorukov family.

During the conversation, he was asking about the situation of the Queen's sister Mary.

Mary, the timid little white rabbit, had recently arrived in St. Petersburg from Stockholm and was living in her eldest sister's house. She would often appear in social occasions, but because of her husband's irreconcilable feud with the French, she would not attend such receptions.

The "Black Duke" was unlucky. His father died of serious injuries in the battle with the French, and his own principality was confiscated and became part of the state under the Rhine Confederation. His eldest brother, who was not very smart, died of illness. In addition, some rumors about his wife scared him so much that he sent Mary to Stockholm and then to his eldest sister-in-law in St. Petersburg before he settled down.

He now sent his son to live with his grandfather and joined the British army's combat forces with the volunteers from Brunswick.

Mary is relatively free now. Her seemingly rough husband is very gentle, considerate and attentive to her. Even for the sake of his wife's safety, he is willing to divorce her so that Mary can get happiness and freedom.

".Her Highness Mary is indeed in Petersburg, but she has been staying with Madame Czartoryska and rarely shows up in public."

"This is really the family tradition of the Baden family. After their girls get married, they keep a low profile in everything they do."

However, this rumor has spread from the Meuse River across the Memel to St. Petersburg, which is also very funny.

After all, Mary was a married woman, and except for the eldest and youngest sisters, her three sisters were queens, so it was indeed strange to mention her.

But Solovyov still had some patience. He listened to the topic and it seemed that it was Mr. Talleyrand's bad idea to find a princess who could give birth to children for the emperor to marry.
This old pervert with big breasts but weak legs and feet is indeed not very friendly to his aunt, and his body is so flexible that he has to move around in all directions.

At least for now, he is still relatively loyal to his uncle the emperor. He has an annual salary of 4 francs, a large amount of real estate and many welfare benefits, and France is very powerful. At this time, he will not choose to betray unless the emperor's intentions are different from his.

Well, this further proves that Napoleon was still obsessed with having sons, especially after he slept with Josephine's maid and had two sons with Countess Walewska.

If it were Mary, although her husband was still alive, she was young, only 25 years old, and had given birth to two sons. She was in good health, and her timid character would not cause any trouble.

However, this proposal was definitely not what Talleyrand had in mind. He would only choose unmarried girls as a pimp for the emperor.

If this is the choice, Napoleon himself now despises marrying an Austrian woman, thinking that it would bring misfortune.
He had to find a suitable girl who was unmarried, healthy, looked like she could have children, and who would suit Napoleon's taste.

This candidate is probably Her Highness Catherine. This girl can ride horses and hunt, she is in good health, and she is also quite wild.

But the biggest obstacle to this issue was probably Queen Mother Maria, who hated Napoleon very much.

(End of this chapter)