Solovyov in Tsarist Russia 1796.

In the city of Sofia, probably only the monastery is relatively quiet.

There were two grenadier regiments stationed nearby, but the atmosphere was still quite relaxed.

After Madame Recamier arrived, she had been trying to organize a literary salon here. However, considering the environment in Sofia, even the nobles were being squeezed into paupers, and she was probably still needed to pay for it. This was a way to help Solovyov stabilize his relationship with the local nobles.

Solovyov also knew that this French woman was always a little clever.

She wanted to use her presence during both of Solovyov's expeditions to consolidate her position as the most important mistress.

"You seem to be applying Louis XV's style to a count like me. Julie, this doesn't seem appropriate."

Because she always brought Clara with her, Solovyov actually liked this "family of three" state, and the two of them sat in the reception room and started chatting.

He had not expected Madame Recamier to have such an idea, which was a bit strange in itself.

"I can't go back to Paris for a while, so I'd rather stay here with you. Catherine is young, lively, docile, and loyal to you, but you are not like that. You have always been sentimental. It's not enough for us, you want more."

As she spoke, she leaned over and pressed her body, which had grown slightly in size after giving birth, into Solovyov's arms.

"Although Clara is still young, she is actually conscious and very smart. What if you show off too much in front of her and she becomes like you?"

"It's nothing. Jacques left me a lot. I can prepare a generous dowry for Clara. You must find her a good husband who will treat her wholeheartedly. He must have your ability and be as beautiful as you, but he must not be as amorous as you."

"If you put it that way, I guess I'll have to look at it from the perspective of Count Pavel Stroganov, the best Petersburg man who loves only his wife."

"Right, that is it."

"But it's really hard to find someone like Count Pavel. These men in Petersburg, huh, they are not only amorous, but also... There will always be someone to take care of this matter in the future."

"Well, that's the only thing Petersburg is like Paris in."

"Okay, let's not talk about this. You also took the maid next to me. What is Mihrima doing now?"

"I asked her to prepare the bath water. I also want to check the child's body."

"You."

Solovyov was a little speechless because of his wife. She was a young widow in her thirties, but she still liked to act like this.

"I can see that, Adela, you really treat her as a sister, but as for this child, I feel that you have some feelings for her."

"So you want to check your competitors in advance?"

"It's not just that. You need to teach her social skills. Maybe it will be helpful to you."

"Kaka is the hostess. She is enough for social occasions."

"You always pamper her and let her raise your children at an age when she should be enjoying happiness the most. It's a bit..."

Well, after coming over from Odessa this time, she has become even more willful than before.

Although she is older, she looks more like a younger sister when she is with me.

But when I'm with Louisa, and more recently Queen Louise, they are not only older, but they also always play the role of the older sister.

Madame Recamier chose a somewhat contrasting route, always relying on her beauty and being relatively proactive to keep Solovyov under her thumb.

"Oh, you're right. But for an open event like this, it's a bit too..."

"When the French emperor was still the commander of the legion, he took his mistress out to show off. Did your aunt have any objection at the time?"

"Ah, that was in Egypt, and Paris is still more chaotic than St. Petersburg. Julie, I would like to ask you to hold a literary salon and invite local nobles. Usually, a banquet is also held at this time. The purpose is to get acquainted with the local nobles and stabilize the local order before leaving Sofia."

"Well, I can do as you wish, but you have to."

If the lady was not so close to him, they would probably only maintain a distant relationship. As for stretching out one leg and putting her foot in his hand, it was obviously an overly intimate and even a little provocative action.

"Paint my toenails. Which shade do you think is better?"

"How about this soft pink color? It's closer to the original color and looks natural. Do you want me to apply it for you?"

"Catherine isn't here, the two of us can live on our own without you."

"Don't want me?"

"You, the lion, have both had children with us. We can raise them together, as you said. That's what a lioness is like."

Talking to her like that, with her little fists pounding her chest and her pretty face, it's impossible not to like her.

However, because his wife is recuperating recently and has brought their daughter with her, he can only hold it in.

As for the salon, it would be more appropriate to hold it in the monastery, which itself has a large space. Moreover, the successive abbots of the monastery have always been opposed to the Turks. With the Russian army here, they are naturally willing to provide a venue.

Furthermore, Solovyov made it clear that the fee to be paid to the abbot was to be used as an offering to the monastery.

It's impossible to always let Madame Récamier pay for it, I can still pay for it myself.

But in the territory of the Ottoman Empire, cash metal currency was always more useful than banknotes and checks.

If possible, the Sultan would even give a tribe 100 gold coins to make them fight for their lives.

The labor cost is really too cheap. If Russia is willing to double it, I believe some tribes that want to call Russians pagans will be able to join in.

There is no other reason. If you give too much, there will always be people who will work hard for you.

As for the guests, in addition to the locals, there were also Russian officers, which was regarded as a kind of spice of life.

By the time Julia arrived, Madame Récamier always had a companion. Michelima was still being "trained" by her, and although she could speak French, her "literary literacy" was still a little lacking.

Solovyov felt embarrassed by this statement, but Madame Recamier didn't care. She leaned back in the chaise longue named after her, crossing her legs with a hint of pride.

However, she was still reluctant to show the soles of her feet in public, which was always a hint, and Solovyov also knew that he was needed.
If he wasn't a general commanding an army, he would probably be a gigolo who lives off his wife.

"It's about to start, I think you should put on your slippers. Julie, you can be more relaxed in the Turkish bath, but when you entertain guests on weekdays, you still have to be more 'conservative' here, unlike in Paris."

"Ah, Paris. How about you going to Paris?"

"You know, I."

"If we go to the Turkish bath, you want to go with me." When she said this, she didn't know whether she was really blushing or pretending to blush.

But by now, some people had already started notifying, and guests began to arrive one after another.

Because the number of local nobles is really limited, there are more guests to entertain, and there may even be more merchants, even some from Italy, but their business here is not very good either.

"Hello, Count. Hello, Madame Recamier. I am Antonio Favalli, a local businessman, but as you can see, I am not a local."

"If you are a local, nodding means no, and you are from Italy, right?"

"Yes, I was originally a merchant in Naples, dealing in cloth."

"I can tell that your accent is quite different from that of northern Italy and Corsica."

"Have you ever been to Naples?"

"Although I have been to Italy twice, once I went to Rome and the other time I went to Guastalla, I never went to the south."

"If you can come to Naples, you can see the scenery there, and also go to Capri."

"But now that the French are there, the Italians may not be doing so well."

"For businessmen, it's the same everywhere. It's just that we're used to living in poverty, and we're next to Mount Vesuvius, so the most important thing in life is happiness."

"It's happiness, is it the same in Sofia?"

"You can make money here, and you will only feel happy if you return to Naples. But the prerequisite is that you drive the French out of us, just like the Sicilians did in the past. I'm sorry, ma'am, you are French, and I have overlooked this."

"That is of no consequence. I left Paris because of Bonaparte, and it is no use for you to tell me all this."

Madame Recamier always keeps smiling in front of others, which really shows her charm.

The business smile in this salon is external and private, and sometimes it may be between two people.

This man from Naples kept staring at Madame Recamier, showing the kind of Italian
When I saw Prince Borghese in the past, I thought he felt good about himself, but when I think about what happened in northern Italy earlier and the southerners I met this time, maybe all Italians are like this.

There is really no way around it, it's human nature.

In addition to the cloth merchant, there are also local timber merchants. If you see a grocery store owner coming as well, you can really feel that the local merchants are very poor, and when they send out invitations, the quality will not be very high.

They have to come wearing clothes that they think are decent, and they may even have to find a tailor. Recently, it has been a period of time when local tailors who make high-end clothes are making more money.

It’s just the way the locals dress, it looks like a step back in time.

"Julie, I've seen so many guests. Look."

"You told me that in the past Russians also wore robes. Some people here do that. It's still summer now."

"The summer here is pretty good. The climate is pleasant. It would be nice to go to a 'hotter' place further south."

"Do you want to go to Greece?"

"I have this idea."

"It's a pity that Catherine stayed in Petersburg, otherwise we could all go there. We women could meet each other on an island in the Mediterranean with our children, foster our feelings, and then figure out how to deal with you."

Well, Madame Récamier is being naughty again.

But this is a good suggestion, Solovyov also thought, but considering his glorious history, only lovers of equal status would gather together to fight the Three Emperors' Battle in bed.

"Okay, last time you cheated at cards with Katya, you didn't count me."

"Hahaha, you cunning guy, you still have a trick up your sleeve and guessed all the cards we have."

"The cards I don't have are probably in the hands of you two. If you collude, you will naturally understand."

Yes, Solovyov did play Landlord with the two of them, but it’s not called that in Europe.

If we really follow this meaning, it would probably be "fighting Napoleon."

"You are indeed very smart, but I can never win when playing chess with you."

With Madame Recamier's intelligence, she might be very smart in social situations, but she might not be so smart in other aspects.

While they were talking, the guests were finally here, and now they could start discussing some issues.

If there is really nothing to say, you can also choose to dance here.

But the lady was not willing to come down to dance. She always leaned there to chat with people and discuss things that women found interesting.

But Solovyov felt that she should also come down and dance.

"Julie, you are the hostess of the salon, you can come down and dance."

"We can discuss something interesting, like Virgil's poetry. Michel, if you want to dance, you can take Mihrima with you. Can you teach her how to dance?"

Although this is possible, there are no suitable dance partners for her to lead her maid to dance. Julia and her husband are reunited after a short separation, so she would not let her sister be her dance partner.

"Master, I want to learn it too. It looks like the guests are having a lot of fun."

"Okay, but you have to come and see"

Solovyov tried to invite a local young lady to dance so that she could give Mihrima a demonstration.

He could even ask about some situations, such as the attitude of the local people in Sofia towards the Russian army, and their attitude towards him as the commander-in-chief and the interim governor.

"Sir, you are much more fair in judging cases than those masters in the past. There was a dispute between my family's inn and the neighbors, and the land was divided equally between each family. Although we didn't get it all, your judgment was based on facts. Even if we are not satisfied, it is an acceptable result."

"There's nothing we can do about it. It's just an empty space, and we can only judge by custom. But you dance well. I want to teach my maid how to dance, and your dance steps are very suitable for her to learn from."

"Really? We also have dances here, but because we are short of money, everyone only has the opportunity to come out during important holidays."

"If there is long-term peace in the future and there are no more tax farmers who are sucking blood out of people and replaced by regular tax departments, maybe everything will be fine."

He said so, but that was all. (End of this chapter)