Solovyov in Tsarist Russia 1796

Chapter 96 046 Dance at the Winter Palace (Part 2)

As the Mazurka sounded, the second dance, which was mainly for young noble men and women, began.

Speaking of which, there were more young people coming to the Winter Palace today, which made Paul even happier.

He didn't like the palace being full of old men, although he himself was also a middle-aged uncle in his forties, and he was also very clear that his appearance was really not very good, and the outside world didn't think highly of him, and he couldn't get along with the young people. The good looks of his children were somewhat improved by marrying this daughter-in-law, but the genetic influence of Peter III still existed.

For example, Constantine's bad temper, which Paul himself was a little worried about. Although he himself also had the problem of being eager for quick success and being moody, as a tsar, he still had to remain restrained and calm, which can be seen from the years of strife in the Russian court.

Solovyov was dragged into the dance floor by the "little fairy". In fact, he was a little worried about his legs. Although he was only slightly injured in the Battle of Novi, he fought in Switzerland afterwards and had almost no rest in between.

He only did simple treatment, and the doctor removed the stitches in Prague. There was still a scar on his leg, but it was not visible under normal circumstances.

This girl is very good at socializing, especially dancing. Although she is chubby recently and not as slender as they just met in Moscow, she dances very fast. It is difficult for ordinary dance partners to keep up with her frequency, especially the speed of Polonaise, which is even faster.

When I was with Sylvia, dancing waltz was nothing. Because of the influence of the Austrian court, northern Italy and southern Germany all danced waltz, and the rhythm was better.

Back in Petersburg, when there was no Poland, the unmodified Mazurka was brought to the Petersburg court. If Soloviev had not been injured, he would not have thought it mattered. He would have just performed a few gestures when asked to sing "The Emperor is Not Home Today".

But after being hit by shrapnel in his leg, the old injury had not healed, so he tried to choose a slower pace when dancing, and he also needed the "little fairy" to cooperate with him. The girl noticed Soloviev's pace and was also adjusting it.

"Hoo! Katyusha, change your partner! I was injured in the battle at the front. With your speed, few people can keep up. But it's not easy to find such a partner."

"How good is the prince's dancing?"

"I will help you investigate him, including everything about him. You still hope to have a happy marriage, don't you?"

"Of course!" The girl felt very happy after dancing Mazurka, and the "horrible" "rumor of arranged marriage" was diluted a lot.

"Also, Mishka, where is your leg injury?"

"It's near the knee. Fortunately, it's not broken like my father! The men in our family are also strange. They always serve higher-level masters. My grandfather served Prince Menshikov. He was a marshal back then. Now I serve Marshal Suvorov."

"I won't be on stage either. But where is your father?"

"My father, look, he's over there, and..."

Anyway, the word stepmother is always hard to say, and Baron Sergei is just chatting on the side because of his leg injury.

Miss de Rivery in the past, and now Madame Solovieva, she didn't dance on the dance floor for both dances, and she was a little anxious.

The reason is also very simple. The children can't be brought to this dance. Yulia and Polina are at home in Laundry Lane. She is the type who takes care of the family, but social occasions are also necessary.

It's just that she was sent from the West Indies to Nantes to learn etiquette in a school in France.

At this time, because the hall is very large and on both sides of the dance floor, it is not very convenient to walk directly.

Soloviev had to adopt a roundabout tactic. He temporarily left the countess, and the countess herself saw her good female companion on weekdays and went to the side.

"Mishenka, Dad has always been proud of you, especially in the banquet hall. You are in the emperor's commendation edict. Dad has worked for so many years and broke one leg. I am only a major, but you are now a major in the Guards."

"Dad, but this responsibility is very heavy!"

The Guards, or the first battalion of the Putin regiment, this is not an ordinary responsibility.

"I know you have to work hard, for the emperor, for your family."

When it comes to this, the music has also changed. This time it is a waltz.

The music at this moment may not be as rich as the heyday of the waltz in the 19th century. It is still a folk song written by Schiller, Goethe's friend in the early days, which was passed on through the Swedish court.

Although the King of Sweden has been collectively blacklisted by the young ladies of the Russian royal family from the Crown Princess down because of his regretful marriage and his teddy behavior after marriage, he is still a king, and Sweden and Denmark are blocking the door to the Baltic Sea. With such a king, Paul and Alexander have to pinch their noses and establish an "armed neutral alliance" with him. Who knows what this capricious fool will do next.

He is also Alexander's brother-in-law, and the Queen of Sweden is a princess of Baden, the fourth sister of the Crown Princess.

With this waltz, the royal family members, except for the Tsar himself, the Queen, and the Grand Duchesses below Maria, these four pairs are on the scene.

The Crown Prince himself is very good at socializing, and he is very proud of it. His footprints are everywhere inside and outside the walls. He is good at controlling women, confidants and ministers. He uses sweet words to women and speaks kindly to ministers.

Today's ball is still rare. He took the Crown Princess' hand and entered the dance floor. It was also Paul's special request in this waltz to show the charm of royal family members.

Even Constantine and Juliana had to bite the bullet and go down to dance. Fortunately, although their families were not harmonious, they had practiced these skills well at the ball, and their cooperation was not so awkward.

The core of the ball was these two couples and the two newlyweds who were about to get married.

Solovyov did not pay attention to the dance floor, but noticed that Count von Palen and Count Rostopchin were leaving the hall, as if they were going to talk about something aside.

He never had a good impression of Count Rostopchin. He could not remember other things clearly, but he knew who was the coward who boasted about Moscow and then withdrew the information.

He was also curious about the sudden departure of the two men from the hall. Although they had not officially taken office, Tsar Paul's decree had arrangements for the return of every meritorious adjutant.

These two were the Tsar's confidants, but what were they going to do?

He looked at Tsar Paul, who was sitting on the throne, stroking Maria's hair and watching his children on the dance floor, like a loving father.

Enjoying the happy atmosphere of this small family and the Russian court, Constantine and Juliana at least acted very "harmonious" in front of him. At this time, it was easy to relax their vigilance.

When the two counts went out, it was easy to arouse suspicion.

Solovyov knew that Paul was murdered by the ministers, but he did not know who joined.

Count Rostopchin was not among them, but Count von Palen was the mastermind of the first stage, and with him was Admiral de Ribas, the current male owner of the palace at 1 Million Street and the son-in-law of the Empress's former trusted secretary.

Soloviev followed just for the usual vigilance, and in the garden, the two did not notice anyone approaching behind them.

There were no guards in the garden, and the two were really not afraid of the cold, so they discussed there.

However, it was not something that seemed dangerous now. Count von Palen proposed to Count Rostopchin that the exiled Count Zubov brothers should be recalled to St. Petersburg.

Speaking of which, the eldest brother of the court favorite Count Platon Zubov was also the son-in-law of the Grand Marshal. Although the two sides had a bad relationship because Nikolai Zubov privately embezzled the Grand Marshal's property, there were many things involved.

Solovyov could not have imagined that the Zubov brothers and their sister, who was Lord Whitworth's mistress, all joined the conspiracy group in the later period. Russian history was originally unpopular. Knowing that Paul was murdered and paying attention to these conspiracies in the court, he was already extremely vigilant.

Since it didn't sound like anything harmful, Solovyov pretended to sneak back to the hall.

At this moment, only Alexander and Louisa were in the dance floor. This couple looked like a fairy couple, but in fact, they were closely connected but hard to describe. They always attracted everyone's attention in the court.

Louisa's red dress, in conjunction with Alexander, the two of them circled in the melody of the waltz, and everyone around them was a little stunned. The Crown Princess didn't like to show up in public. She mainly took care of the children in the bedroom and read in the library. However, with her figure and good court education, it was indeed a pity that she didn't join the court social occasions.

Soloviev didn't pay attention to this because he just went out and came back. Work, life, and being attracted to young ladies should be separated. He still kept it very clear.

No one knew what the situation was that Count Zubov might return to St. Petersburg, and Count von Palen also mentioned Kutaisov. Even if Soloviev eavesdropped on it, he would not notice what happened.

The ball was still going on. After the royal family members danced this waltz, the young officers present began to invite their female companions to enter.

Catherine wanted to join in the fun, but she was not old enough to go down, and she was paying attention to Prince Mikhail, the hussar brother who protected her in Gatchina, so she could only watch from the side.

This princess was indeed a bit strange. She was different from her three sisters. She was always more proactive. It might be the power of this name. Needless to say, the empress, that Catherine I, was also a tough character who could suppress the madness of the giant Peter the Great.

Maria, however, was still clinging to her father's side. When the court band beside her paused, she began to play the harp. She also had a role in the next dance.

This scene was still very beautiful. At least there was no conspiracy in the court. Everything seemed so harmonious.

Count von Palen had already joined his conspiracy group to overthrow Tsar Paul's rule. The conspiracy was delayed because of Paul's earnest conversation with the young couple when the Crown Princess was pregnant. Now that his plan failed, he began to think of ways to mobilize forces against Tsar Paul.

Before, Lord Whitworth was noncommittal about overthrowing Paul. After all, the Tsar joined the anti-French alliance and sent a large number of land and naval forces to four of the five main battlefields, which once forced the French into a corner. However, with Austria's stupid operation, the Russian Tsar withdrew from the anti-French alliance, which made the Lord begin to acquiesce to the conspiracy group's practices. It is even possible that the British, through Count Vorontsov, the Russian ambassador to Britain, and Lord Whitworth, who was in St. Petersburg, have begun to set up a dark network behind the scenes.

There is a certain amount of economic support and intelligence support, and this possibility cannot be ruled out. After all, English-speaking countries are habitual offenders in this regard, and they are familiar with this.

Paul knew nothing at this time, and several local conspiracy groups were easily crushed by him. These confidants in front of him, even many of them were promoted by him, and they are vested interests. Their betrayal is indeed unbelievable now.

Solovyov's friend Gryazev once described the Tsar as follows: An old general was about to hand over a document to the Tsar, but because of his slipping hand, the document fell to the ground, and he wanted to bend down to pick it up himself.

But the Tsar himself said: "Wait a minute, my dear, I am much younger than you."

Without even calling the attendants around him, the Tsar bent down and picked up the document himself.

All this happened so quickly that no one present had time to expect the emperor to do this. How happy it is to see a monarch treat meritorious old ministers like this! ——Gryazev's notes

Such a Tsar would be murdered, and it can only be said that he offended the interest group.

When he was young, he was surprised that his father Peter III gave great freedom to the nobles, but was soon murdered by these nobles. He also saw his mother go from regent to usurping his throne, and then he had to succumb to the nobles.

Paul discovered a strange fact since his teenage years: those poor citizens and serfs, young officers and serf soldiers, all spontaneously loved him.

And those great nobles were only for their own interests, so he hated them even more, especially those who worshipped foreign countries (although he himself was also proficient in French and Prussian) and ignored the interests of the country.

The most serious among them were those pro-British nobles.

Looking back, it was the hostility with Britain that finally triggered Paul I's personal tragedy and a series of tragedies in Russia.