Solovyov in Tsarist Russia 1796.

There are many things to say about the year 1811, such as the birth of Napoleon's son. The difference is that the child born by Catherine was healthy, and both mother and child were safe.

Napoleon was very happy, but he also had his own plans.
What should I do now that I have a son?
His ambition had exceeded his capabilities at the time.

Solovyov also had a son, and he could imagine Napoleon's attitude towards his son.

Along the way, he was able to see a lot. It seemed that people were no different from usual, still living and working.

"It's looking good, this should be a good year."

"Yes, sir. But you brought back a new maid. The previous one was also considered a young lady in our family, but do you still treat this one as a sister?"

"Never mind that. We will just rest for a while and then go to Moscow. We won't stop anywhere except at the post station."

"Why not go along the Smolensk road to Moscow?"

"We don't have that much time, and if we take the Old Smolensk Road, it might delay us."

In short, he has a lot of things to think about. From the border to Moscow, these things now are just estimates. What the situation will be like at that time is also another matter.

Now we have to look at the situation on both sides through the carriage window.

At this time of spring, apart from the empty fields, what is perhaps more noticeable is the mud in Russia.

The French will definitely not come in the first half of the year. They will only take action in the summer when the road conditions are better.

As for going to Moscow, Solovyov also thought that when he appeared in Moscow, he would probably be given a welcoming ceremony in places like the British Club, just like Bagration in the past.

But he didn't want this either, and was ready to go to his father-in-law.

After selling the Sparrow Hills residence to Prince Yusupov, Prince Vasily moved to Volynshchina, which was Prince Krimsky's favorite place during his lifetime and the most important residence of this branch of the Dolgorukov family.

It looks like this place is also very beautiful and is just west of Moscow.

Probably, Napoleon would not escape when he arrived here. The French have been fond of robbery for a long time. He was already well aware of this when he was in Italy.

When he saw Prince Vasily, Solovyov was also surprised at his father-in-law's current poor health condition.

"Vassily Vasilyevich, you looked very well when we left Petersburg, and you are like this now."

"It's easy for people to be like this when they get older. Misha, my good son-in-law, your success in Greece was known to the whole of Moscow not long after, and many people came to congratulate you. It's really interesting. When my father was in power, he also saw this kind of scene, but they are really interesting, just like you said, they are like chameleons, always changing their faces."

Solovyov took over the conversation and understood its meaning, but was still a little confused.

"what do you mean?"

"Misha, don't take it personally."

My mother-in-law spoke at this time. She looked well maintained. She was only 42 years old, which was still a relatively active stage in the social circle for a lady.

"Yeah, don't take it personally. Kid, you're still young. We've all seen some of these things when we were young. You're going to be thirty soon, right?"

"Yes, Vasily Vasilyevich, my birthday is in April."

"Katya's birthday is about the same as yours, so we should have some fun. It would be meaningless to go to the club. There are flatterers there, and they have to invite guests to their home. My good son-in-law is so promising, and the family can also gather here, but that Madame Recamier..."

Solovyov knew that his father-in-law was dissatisfied with his mistress, so he moved closer to his chair and kissed the back of his father-in-law's hand.

"Just follow your request."

"Actually, I have no objection to your doing this. Julie is a good woman. If she weren't a French woman, she might be your wife, or the Italian girl from earlier. Katya told me about it, and she gets along very well with them. This lady can live in our manor on your birthday."

Speaking of which, the greatest quality of old Prince Vasily is probably his tolerance and generosity.

"Besides, it's not like we haven't seen these things before."

What was probably embarrassing was that Solovyov was also quite familiar with Prince Potemkin's relatives, and Prince Yusupov even married the prince's niece and bought his family's estate.

"Yeah, that kind of thing."

"Child, don't talk about these things. You must take care of women, but your woman should still love my daughter the most. I also know that you love her very much. If I hadn't called you back in a hurry, you would still be traveling in Greece now, receiving the cheers of the Greeks as the victor!"

Even though his words didn't make sense, he still had to listen to what his father-in-law said.

Besides, this is at home, so it doesn't matter if you speak casually, and no one will spread gossip about your family.

Old Prince Vasily also knew that his daughter was popular among her girlfriends and could even get along well with her husband's mistress.

Besides, my son-in-law has become very restrained after marriage, and he will be able to help with my two sons' affairs in the future.

I have a younger daughter, Sonya, who is going to get married in the future. My health condition is already very poor. If I go ahead with the wedding, I, as a wife, will only be maintaining my dignity on the surface. If I let my younger daughter get married, I'm afraid I'll need my daughter and son-in-law to take care of the wedding in the future.

"Yes, you are right. It's just..."

They chatted for a while, and old Prince Vasily became apparently a little sleepy, and asked the servant to take him to his bedroom.

"Well, I'm a little tired too. You can go see Katya. She's playing with the children in the garden right now. Go see the children. Also, when are you going to have children next time?"

Well, it’s a bit unreliable.

"Katya also needs to rest, and now we have three children, it may be a burden for her, always having to take care of her body."

The father-in-law didn't say anything afterwards. He probably believed that the more children they had, the better the relationship between the couple would be.

However, he and his wife had five children, and their relationship was not necessarily very good. They were just like an ordinary aristocratic couple.

As for the garden, we can now see that all the women in the family are there, and it is obvious that the children are willing to be with the aunt.

When Sonya gets married in the future, she has to choose someone with some prospects, or someone who is more obedient. In a blink of an eye, she is 13 years old. In a few years, she will be introduced to the palace and should have a position as a court maid like Katya.

"Look at you guys, basking in the sun on the lawn like this, it looks very comfortable."

"It's my brother-in-law. You're finally back. By the way, can you stay here for a long time this time?"

"In the summer, Sonya, we shall go back to Petersburg, probably soon."

"Really? My brothers are not at home, and I am the only one here. It would be meaningless if my sister came back."

"What about Petersburg? Isn't it better to stay in Moscow?"

"Neither Petersburg nor Moscow is good, what if I can go to Ryazan?" "There are some people in Ryazan, but don't be too optimistic about the countryside, there are good people and bad people everywhere. If there are people of your age, I will keep an eye on them."

Solovyov actually has this problem too, which is that he likes to introduce people to potential partners.

He thought that the most suitable one would be Petya from the Rostov family. The boy had good behavior since childhood and was not like his brother Nikolai, who had some unreliable friends.

There is just one small flaw. Perhaps all the Rostov family members are like this. They do whatever they want and always follow their own personality.

But they also have to get along with each other, or know each other before they can talk about these things.

"Brother-in-law, you are..."

Our Sonya is really a smart little girl. She actually knows everything.

At this moment, as the younger sister-in-law, she also relied on her young age to jump onto Solovyov's back.

"My father has never carried me on his back. Can you carry me to my sister's place?"

"Of course."

"Just be nice to me. Although I allow you to date those beautiful aunts and sisters, I love you deeply. No matter what time, you have to keep her in your heart."

"Okay, okay. But this amount is too light for you, girl."

Sonya is actually very tall, but she is still growing and her weight is still relatively light.

"But if you eat too much, you'll be like mom. Now she's also getting a little fat."

Katya looked at her sister being carried on her husband's back and thought it was a bit funny.

"What's wrong with you guys?"

"Sonia is nothing special, but how should we arrange the list of invited guests?"

"As for the invitations, we can do as you wish. But we will only have time to invite those friends around Moscow, and we will also have to arrange guest rooms for them."

"It's natural for guests who travel far away to come here, but some guests may come with a whole family."

"A whole family is coming, so of course we have to make arrangements. Let me think, should we invite your relatives and friends in Ryazan as well?"

"Our birthdays are close together, and we have invited quite a few friends."

So they each wrote down some people on paper, and when they saw Count Rostov's family, Solovyov also said something more.

"Petya, the youngest son of Count Ilya, is older than Sonya. I think he is a good boy. He is still in school. If Sonya is to find a husband in the future,

"Your idea is good, but they are all too young. Even when you and I were engaged, I was only sixteen."

She is only celebrating her 20th birthday now, so there is really no need to rush.

Taking into account the debts of his father-in-law, even his own father helped to run the business, and there was still a foreign debt of about 30 rubles. This was also caused by the long-term life abroad and the need to maintain a decent life for a special prince's family.

But Sonya's future still needs to be planned well, and she cannot be allowed to go out with a shabby dowry when she gets engaged or married.

"Okay, I'll listen to you. Let's put Sonya's matter aside for now. She is indeed a tsunami. Besides, we are celebrating our naming day together, and it seems that you are also the protagonist. As for the guests."

"There must be guests from both sides. I know you have many relatives, they should all be here. Where is your nephew?"

"Christian will be back soon. He will probably be in the army. But according to his father's arrangement, he will probably return to the manor."

"You are the only one in your family who is willing to join the army. If it were my brother, he would be engaged to Varvara, but I know about my brother. He is a little..."

"Don't worry about Vasya, he should be in Petersburg by this time."

"Corya is the best, but he is in Vienna and can't come back now."

Katya has a better relationship with her second brother, and she cares more about Nikolai.

"If you are a diplomat, you have to be abroad, and this is inevitable."

"Where are you going to go in the future? Will you continue to be a soldier?"

"If I were a civil servant, it would be really troublesome. It would be better to be in the army. At least I would follow orders and it wouldn't be like the palace."

"If that's the case, I'm still a little worried about you."

"what happened?"

"Not only do I have a premonition, but there were already some rumors on our way to Odessa that the relationship between the Emperor and the French Emperor is not good right now."

"If there is a war, don't worry. If anything happens, I will make arrangements."

"But I am worried about you. If something happens to you during this expedition, I will be a little worried about you in Odessa. When you are fighting those barbaric Turks, there will be people who want to assassinate you on the road."

"It doesn't matter. I'm not that important when we're at war with the French. The French don't take me for granted, even though the emperor and I were once relatives."

“It’s still the same now.”

Katya said so, and Solovyov was not going to let her go.

"You girl, it seems like you have also learned some bad things."

Since she spoke like that, she should be punished a little.

"What are you going to do?"

"Katya, I think you're ticklish, too."

"Sonia and the children are here."

"Then I don't care!"

He was about to "punish" Katya by tickling her, causing her to beg for mercy. Sonya on the side just laughed out loud and watched the fun. The atmosphere seemed relaxed at the moment.

But such good days can be enjoyed for a while in 1811, but it is not certain that there will be such good days in the next few years. (End of this chapter)