Solovyov in Tsarist Russia 1796.

Chapter 681 The Protection Structure of the Russian Village Community (Part 043)
When we returned to Laundry Lane, it was still nighttime, but for Petersburg in summer, such daytime nights were rare.

Indeed, this is the case in high latitudes, and the weather is indeed good.

He also knew that Adela had been living here all the time, and although this matter was mostly for his own faction, she also had a part in it.

Adela was also asleep at this time, but the front door was closed and the bedroom door was still open.

This was no wonder. She, a few maids, and two old servants who guarded the door were the only people living in Laundry Lane. It looked strict from the outside, but a little lax from the inside.

As for her sleeping posture, she seems to be sleeping very soundly, looking like a sleeping beauty.

Not wanting to disturb her, Solovyov returned to his bedroom.

"Master, don't you live by the lake? Why are you back?"

"Uncle, I have something to ask. You are so kind to me. You can still look after my house. Why don't you go and enjoy your life with your son? He is in charge of the timber business for me and he is very well-off now."

"If my old bones can't walk anymore one day, I'll ask my son to arrange someone to take care of me."

Some old men just like to find something to do for themselves. Solovyov thought that when his uncle worked with him in the laundry lane, he was already quite old, and he still couldn't stay idle for more than ten years. This can be considered as doing something useful in old age.
"Well, you can still get paid as usual, and just help me look after the house in Laundry Lane."

"Why, Master, are you going out to fight again?"

"No, I'll be here for the second half of the year and probably won't leave Petersburg. It's just that there are some things. Do you know who the new sons-in-law are?"

"I know that. Miss Yulia is marrying a prince. You said he is the brother-in-law of Her Highness Elena. As for Miss Adelaide, she is marrying the savior of us servants."

"Why do you say that?"

"Master Speransky, the new son-in-law that the young lady is going to marry, is older and has been married before, but his status and position are not to be doubted. Although he is still a master now, he was born into a poor family like us after all. The emperor can trust him, which means he still cares about us."

"You sound like some of the veterans I led. They said that Emperor Paul cared about them, the soldiers."

"Who says it's not true? All of us need a master to protect us in order to survive. But to be honest, there are good and bad masters. Our master is a good man, but he still follows the old rules. Your idea is good, but you spend all day in the army, and so does our son-in-law. As for Speransky, I have to say that Mikhail Mikhailovich is the son of a country pastor. He is as kind-hearted as our master, and he has a lot of good ideas like you, and he still has time to take care of us."

"That's it, uncle, you can go back and have a rest, and just get me a pot of boiled water."

Solovyov will not rest for too long. He also has to consider who to meet with during the day. Obviously, the former leaders of the liberals are not very suitable. Balashov may make some moves.

However, if I really want to take any action, it would probably be more appropriate to do it from a woman's perspective.

So he decided to meet the ladies, too, and maybe that would help.

At this time, I would definitely meet Count Pavel's wife Sofia, but it would not be appropriate to go to No. 17 Nevsky Avenue.

But it was naturally good to have topics to talk about in the salon, because of my relationship with her, there were many wives of my friends in Madame Recamier's salon, and in such a place it was suitable to talk about things alone in the corridor.

Moreover, although the location of the lady's salon will be taken care of by the Minister of Police's men, the masters, ladies and young ladies who come in and out here are all of status, and others don't seem to know what they are doing here.

After he leaves, Balashov might have other ideas.

In short, the purpose is definitely not simple, but to spy on someone always feels like an invasion of other people's privacy. Even if Solovyov can be with such a beauty, others can only envy him.

Madame Recamier was always present in the salon, and when she invited guests, she would always choose ladies who were relatively close to her.

A house on Maly Moskovskaya Street has now become her base. It is very convenient to take care of children here, and it can also be regarded as a parent-child experience exchange meeting for a group of wealthy mothers.

There are also many people who come with their children.

Solovyov is more qualified to say that I am here to see my daughter, and it would be meddling for anyone to supervise her.

As for his attendance at such a salon, there were not many guests.

Mothers who are still raising children during this period are naturally also guests of Madame Récamier, including Katya.

Even they were a little surprised when they saw their husbands/lovers who had been staying indoors these days.

"Michelle, haven't you been doing research in the manor these days?"

"Although it has been behind closed doors, Julie, I still have some things to do. Perhaps, including some issues that need to be discussed."

"If there is anything, you can tell us. Mishka, sister Sonya is here today. She is also your old sponsor."

Indeed, the composition of the guests in Madame Récamier's salon is very different now than when she was a banker's wife in Paris.

In the past, there were often some big shots who actually wanted to make her their mistress, and some even came to propose to her directly.

She had just told these stories to Countess Sophia.

The lady nodded in agreement, and everyone in Petersburg knew that she was the woman Alexander wanted but didn't get. She and the count had a good relationship, which ultimately avoided some embarrassing things.

Since she is here, it is actually easier to solve this problem. The ladies sitting here, in addition to their wives and lovers, are also acquaintances.

For example, Princess Golitsyna, Louisa's former companion, whose husband was actually Lady Sofia's cousin, had just recovered from her illness and looked a little weak.

There were quite a few people from Sofia's family, the Golitsyns, who came today, regardless of whether they were married daughters-in-law or from this family. Katya represented the Dolgorukov family, as well as Peter Volkonsky's wife and Kirill Naryshkin's wife Maria. They were all related to him to some extent, and the last one gave Solovyov a polite smile when she saw him.

Although she was not the most beautiful woman in St. Petersburg, she was the dream lover of unmarried young men and officers at that time because of her innocent, lively and gentle personality, and there was an endless stream of marriage proposals to her.

But she is very childish, and Katya looks more mature than her.

Countess Sophia heard and saw what happened, so she put her youngest daughter Olga into Katya's arms, and the two of them leaned on adjacent sofas so that it would be convenient for each of them to take care of the children.

"Misha, what do you need me to do for you this time?"

"Sonia, Pavel has gone to the army. Do you still hold salons at your home on Nevsky Prospekt?"

"Of course! It would be lonely without any guests, and you know Alexander Sergeyevich's character. Although he is old and sick, he would be happy if there were some activities at home for him to see."

"This is really the old man's style. He has lived a glorious life, but he still wants to be lively even though he is so sick. Let me put it this way. It just so happens that all your family members are here today. I hope to publish some articles to compare the traditional village system and the reformed system, and see what their respective advantages and disadvantages are."

Countess Sofia listened to this. Although she was not very involved in politics, she was very smart, and Karamzin often visited her house.

Yes, conservative writers can visit the homes of liberal giants, although the topics discussed are mainly literary issues.

Karamzin can be said to be the representative figure of the genre of sentimental literature in Russia. His writing style influenced a certain Curly and a series of later Russian literary masters.

"In a normal debate, one has to compare his opponent. Why do you think this way?"

"In Russian tradition, the lords should protect both civilians and serfs. In the past system, the peak of the resale of serfs was during the period from Ivan the Terrible to Boris Godunov. If we have sufficient data and evidence to prove it, the tradition advocated by some of our friends may not be the earliest tradition."

Russia's real tradition is probably the protection of feudal lords and the autonomy of primitive village communities. Serfdom and feudal obligations are secondary in some places.

When Madame Recamier heard this, she was also confused.

Although Katya has been living with her husband for the past few years and knows that he often has some abstract behaviors and habits, she can't understand everything. The common language between her and her husband is probably literature and music, but when it comes to historical content, they are far behind.

After all, Solovyov always told her stories about Greece and Rome, and rarely about Russia itself.

Madame Recamier did not understand, because she was French and naturally did not know much about Russian things and the existence of serfdom itself.

But Madame Sophia was a talented woman who could write books, and she knew her little brother's temperament and character. Moreover, the abstract issues involved here were probably what her husband, who had joined the army, had always wanted to do in Russia.

Seeing her brothers, wives and sisters looking at the two people talking in confusion, she also said: "I understand what you mean. Are you trying to combine the advantages of both?"

“But sometimes it’s not. After all, some relationships are ultimately in conflict. The comparison between the two is also to let everyone fully understand a fact, that is, there are longer traditions before the so-called ‘tradition’. The reform system itself is also constantly improving this structure. Maybe a method that is useful in one stage cannot be used in the next stage.”

In short, he always spoke in a roundabout way, leaving the young wives confused.

How come the talented translator back then speaks so confusingly now?

Even the Naryshkin daughter-in-law said to a Golitsyn girl sitting next to her: "Has Misha become like the people there after his visit to Greece?"

"Maria, I think so too. Count Mikhail used to speak so clearly and it was easy for people to understand him."

Speaking of which, it was Solovyov's personality and speaking habits in his early years. At that time, when he and Louisa did not have an ambiguous relationship, he was actually very popular standing behind Paul at the gate of the Winter Palace.

After all, he is really talented and has a gentle personality.

Now, it’s not just about “General Hua”, but there are also many things he wants to say.

Especially political topics that Russian women often don't understand, although there is someone sitting here who likes to comment on this and says that politics is unstable, like sparkling glass.

But Madame Recamier was talking about this topic with Madame de Staël in Paris. The latter always used relatively easy-to-understand topics to explain it, and Madame's own cultural level was also more suitable for using such metaphors.

Solovyov always talked about complicated things.

"That's fine, Misha. I can even arrange for you to meet Mr. Karamzin. He actually appreciates your translation work."

In this case, it’s not difficult to say, after all, the other party is also very interested in some of your views.

But he couldn't predict how the situation would develop at that time.

Of course, Countess Sophia’s two brothers were both retired cavalry generals, and Prince Dmitry also commanded a part of the cavalry during the Battle of Eylau.

"My two brothers and their husbands are coming to Petersburg to visit my mother. Your father-in-law, Prince Vasily, is also familiar with our family. Why don't you and your wife attend the reception? You should go too. Why don't you want to?"

Countess Sophia's mother was a very famous figure in the aristocratic circles of St. Petersburg and Moscow.

She was very strict with her four children whom she raised. It was true that Prince Dmitri was a brave soldier, but he was very well-behaved in front of his mother and was not even allowed to sit down without the old lady's explicit instructions.

Later she earned a nickname from Pushkin, "The Queen of Spades", which came from Curly's future works.

And it was also very grand. Natalia Petrovna was one of the few nobles who could afford a luxurious carriage with 16 horses. Even the richest nobles like Prince Yusupov and her brother-in-law generally did not have such a grand ceremony.

Even Solovyov would feel a little awed by this old lady.

(End of this chapter)