Solovyov in Tsarist Russia 1796.

What happened in St. Petersburg soon spread to Moscow.

Solovyov had long known that Speransky was at risk of falling out at any time because he had offended too many people.

He originally planned to write a letter to explain the situation to Alexander and plead for mercy for his brother-in-law.

But looking at the current situation, if I write the letter myself, since I am in Moscow, I may not be able to figure out Alexander's attitude, which may end up causing me to be in trouble as well.

He then decided to wait for official orders, the information Katya had learned when she entered the palace to accompany Louisa, and letters from several friends.

However, Speransky's order to dismiss him from his post had just arrived, and Balashov was no longer the Minister of Police, which was somewhat surprising to him.

By now he was in Kaluga, at Prince Dmitri's house.

When the prince appointed him as his adjutant, his health was already very poor, and he doesn't look much different now than he did then.

"Misha, don't be so flattering. Petya has a higher rank than me now, and so do you. You don't have to act like you were my adjutant. We have servants here."

"I am still a junior after all."

"You are a junior, but you are also a general. The servants will take care of you. By the way, the dishes cooked by my chef are good. You can try them. My doctor does not recommend that I eat those foods, but he also emphasized that I should supplement myself."

"But I see that you still don't look good. Normally, if you take some tonic, you'll at least look better."

"I'm in a state that I can't be cured. Besides, everyone will die. There's no way to avoid that day. If we knew what it would be like after death, it would probably be hell. No one would be afraid, after all, they already know their own fate."

"Perhaps there is a cycle. Some people believe that after the soul reaches its resting place, it can return to the human world."

"You are such a joker. The child resembles the mother probably because of the time in the mother's womb. But we are not as lucky as you. My wife probably can't have children. In the future, Petya will be my heir and will have to take care of this aunt. What you need to do is to do what you should do and don't worry too much about me. Also, the notary of this will is my relative. You can send a reliable person to hand it to him. When the will is announced, there must be someone present."

"It's not my father-in-law's house. Everyone around me knows that you have designated Petya as the heir, on the condition that he takes care of your wife."

"But we must be prepared. Vasily Vasilyevich will face a lawsuit for his property. I have learned some of it in Kaluga."

Katya's aunt did file such a lawsuit, but the court has not yet accepted the case.

Solovyov just thought that it was a bit funny to still be discussing the issue of property inheritance at this time, and it might end up in nothing.

The French are coming. Think about it, many of the Dolgorukov family’s important assets are near Moscow. When the French come in, it will be a lot of trouble.

"But the text of the law still depends on the judge's acceptance and final ruling. Russia is probably better in this respect. There are always people willing to solve problems through litigation, unlike the impulsive French who brought duels here."

"I remember you said that the Gauls and Germans were the first to do this. It's true that after two thousand years, human nature is still hard to change."

After saying this, Prince Dmitri began to cough again, and it was obvious that he was a little tired.

"You still need to rest well. I can only stay here with you for a few days before I go to Moscow."

"I know your chores are more important."

Although Solovyov did not expect his father-in-law to leave much inheritance for himself and Katya, it would still be quite troublesome to consider his father-in-law's debts.

Even my own father can't put the brakes on so much debt, you can see how troublesome it is.

The notary chosen by Dmitry was naturally a person of status within the Volkonsky family.

After Solovyov had arranged these things, he did not go to his father-in-law immediately.

When he came back last summer, the old man's condition was not very good. If he went to the manor in the suburbs, it would be late now. After arriving at Tverskaya Street, he still had to find a place to stay.

He thought that at this time, the only family that could still host guests was probably Pierre's, since they were very familiar with each other.

Pierre did inherit a large amount of property from his father. According to the custom of the Russian nobility, he also had to entertain various guests. This is also one of the great advantages of the Russians. They are warm and hospitable. Sometimes you don’t even need to spend your own money when traveling from one place to another. The nobles and businessmen along the way may be able to take good care of you.

So when you go to a self-employed farmer's home, there will always be someone to entertain you.

In this way, you will naturally be treated well at your friend's home.

"I didn't expect you to come over at this time. According to the letter, you won't be able to come over for a few more days."

"After I arrived in Kaluga, Prince Dmitri also asked me to come to Moscow to help him with some affairs. Also, he was not in a good mood to be seen often."

"It sounds like my father didn't want anyone to see his final appearance when he was still alive."

"Yes, Count Bezukhov took good care of himself. After he had several attacks, although I didn't see his appearance, I knew the symptoms."

"Seven years have passed in a flash, and we have all changed a lot."

"But your wife"

"That family is all the same, you know that."

Pierre felt quite helpless when he said this.

Solovyov also knew that the difference between Prince Vasily Kurakin's family was that there was no good person in them and that they were all bad people.

"But I also heard that Helen hasn't been doing very well lately."

"Yes, it's not very good. After the doctor prescribed her some medicine, she looked even worse." "What medicine did he prescribe?"

"I did get a prescription, and there are some medicinal herbs in it. I don't know much about medicine."

As Pierre spoke, he took out the prescription. After Solovyov looked at it, he did not comment on it first.

"But Pierre, whenever you appear in front of us, if you don't make a statement, you might be mistaken for a doctor, especially since you always dress neatly."

"Ah, is that so?"

"You look more like a doctor than some famous doctors, but who prescribed Veratrum? If you put tonic medicine in it, it will definitely cause trouble if your body is not in good condition."

"what?"

Pierre didn't quite believe that such a thing would happen. After all, these Western doctors didn't understand Chinese medicine.

In order to understand the situation of medicinal herbs, Solovyov learned Latin and plant classification on his own.

Some classifications have not yet been determined, but he is familiar with these Veratrum things.

"Veratrum is poisonous, and it's used together with ginseng. How can you not vomit? Especially for people with weak bodies. Helen has been with you for so many years. Even if she was having an affair outside, she should have had an illegitimate child with someone else. Why is there no movement?"

When Solovyov said this, he had actually almost sentenced Helen.

She is weak, always having abortions, and a little bloated. She also has to take these strange medicinal herbs. It would be strange if nothing goes wrong.

There is still a chance of survival, and it will probably be soon. If history is restored, it probably won't survive this year, or even sooner.

"You are such a smart person. You can spot the problem with just two glances."

"It's just that I'm more concerned about these herbs. In Chinese medicine, some herbs classified with ginseng cannot be used with Veratrum. It will cause strong poisoning. The mildest symptom is vomiting, and the most serious is poisoning. It can be said that if you study medicine without following science or effective experience, you are harming people."

"That's right."

"But it's a good thing for you, Pierre. Helen is like this now. It's a good thing that she and you have been separated for the past few years. You don't have to worry about those unnecessary things."

The reason why the couple met was probably that Helen asked Pierre for a large sum of money for living expenses, but she couldn't take away much, and there were some things that she had to let Pierre know.

Such an evil woman ended up like this. Although her version was two hundred years ahead of the times, her ending was very classic. It can be said that she brought this upon herself and received retribution.

"But this is also their family."

"Ippolit is a coward with bad intentions but no guts. Anatole is the only one who is decent as a soldier. The whole family is a bad breed. Pierre, if that's the case..."

Solovyov felt that Pierre should have gone to Count Rostov immediately after his wife died. Even if he did not give face to the Kurakin family, probably because his family had such a bad reputation, the two powerful cousins ​​in the family would not think much of what Pierre did.

Prince Alexander Kurakin had a lot of lovers and never got married, but he was also very concerned about his nieces. He even broke off relations with one of his nieces because he was too involved.

What this family did was even more shameless than those two families. After all, Prince Alexander kept mistresses and lived happily with them, and was generous with his own money to the people around him.
Edward Gibbon once said that the generosity of the Roman emperor was also a virtue. People like Commodus knew this, but some people were just plotting to take other people's property.

It’s hard to say what the final outcome will be, but it will probably be a lot of fun.

But Solovyov himself couldn't say anything. He was just a very good lover and seemed to be a bit picky about food. It was really difficult for him to give Pierre too much advice in this regard.

However, Helen's fate was probably expected. It would be the time for Nicholas and Natasha from the Rostov family to have good luck next.

There were also some strange things about the Count's family. The eldest daughter, Vera, who married very early, didn't seem to have a good relationship with her younger brothers and sisters. Nicholas and Sonya always took Natasha and Petya out to play, but there was no news of any interaction between this married sister and them.

Probably every family has someone like this, who may not be very popular.

If Nicholas was lucky, he would probably meet Andrei's sister Maria on the road. These families knew each other, so some progress was inevitable. Maria had a good personality, but was a little ugly according to the aesthetic standards of that era. The problem was that her cheekbones were a little protruding and she was too thin.

As for Natasha, Solovyov wanted to bless Pierre, but when he thought that the girl would not mature without going through hardships, he took back the words he had prepared.

"Misha, you seem to be thinking about something."

"It's nothing, Pierre. I think there should be another stage in your life. Don't think about this moment."

"Is that so?"

"Yes, and medicine must always be put together with science. But even if we talk about science, we still have to see that people's hearts are evil, and we always need to educate some people."

Anyway, Pierre doesn't need to maintain any relationship with the people in the Kurakin family. By now he knows exactly what kind of people they are.

"I can understand what you are saying. After all, this is how I have lived in the past few years."

"It was very good in Paris, Pierre. Although that place is very dirty, we are all foreigners there. Even some of my French relatives were only recognized recently. Although St. Petersburg and Paris are similar in many ways, people are different from each other. There will always be good people and bad people. Pierre, you are a good person and should not be hurt like this. A self-centered wife just thinks she wants to live a good life, but is unwilling to really consider your feelings. It's a good thing that she showed it in advance. If some people keep hiding, it will only be more dangerous. Look good at the beginning, but behind people, it's another set, and want to devalue you. There is no worse woman than this kind. But there are some people who will pursue this kind. It can be said that birds of a feather flock together, and people are divided into groups, which is not wrong.

Pierre, I have said so much, but I still want to wish you a happy life of your own, in spirit, not in material. We all have this kind of material life, which is more or less the same. There is not much difference between what nobles and commoners eat.

"You seem to have some feelings as well."

"I am lucky to have found a good wife. What if someone devalues ​​you? I can hardly imagine living in that kind of environment. You must find a wife who suits you, but don't be like Andre said. You will definitely face the trivialities of life. Just don't act weird all the time."

He talked a lot with Pierre, hoping that he could see clearly and find his own destiny in the end. (End of this chapter)