Chapter 22 022 The incident happened before the reconnaissance had any results

Chapter 22 022 The incident happened before the reconnaissance had any results

Chapter 22 022 The incident happened before the reconnaissance had any results
Miss Julie Le Brun, her mother was a famous painter in the French court. After the Revolution, she went into exile in Florence and Naples successively. Now she lives in St. Petersburg, Russia for a long time. She is very close to the ladies of the upper class in the court, including the queen. She is also very famous and dotes on her only daughter.

As for her father, he is the descendant of court artists who have served the Bourbon royal family for generations. He is also a famous art connoisseur and investor in the Parisian social circles. In fact, his family background is quite good, if you don't consider her father's poor financial situation.

According to Madame Le Brun's arrangement, it was actually a good match in terms of status. After all, the young man had later mentored Delacroix and was also a good friend of David. He was already well-known in the painter circle, and with his ability it was only a matter of time before he won the Prix de Rome.

If such a husband can succeed, considering the status of his father-in-law and mother-in-law, he will treat Julie well, otherwise there will be some problems in socializing in the art circle.

But Julie seemed to be very interested in the theater's director's secretary. After careful investigation, Solovyov finally confirmed that at least this secretary, Mr. Nigris, was not Prince Yusupov's secretary, which saved a lot of trouble. However, he was the secretary of another noble, Count Grigory Ivanovich Chernyshev, who had a high status in the court. However, there was no way to resolve the dispute privately.

After thinking it over, he returned to his home in Laundry Lane. After all, the problem could not be solved privately, so he needed to analyze the intelligence he had obtained so far, some of which was obtained in social occasions.

The information obtained from Dolokhov's intelligence network of the Guards officer was that according to the actresses in the theater, this gentleman was obviously not only hooking up with Julie, the French girl, but probably with other people, but the ladies in the theater were unwilling to provide more information.

Julie's problem was that her mother was in St. Petersburg and her father was in Paris, both of them respectable people in the upper class. Even after the Revolution, although Mr. Lebrun suffered a lot in the art world, he still held a public office in Paris, but he was in debt. In order to avoid property loss and debt disputes, Mr. Lebrun announced his divorce from Mrs. Lebrun, but he was still working hard to get his ex-wife off the "immigration list" so that she could return to France.

For the only daughter in such a family, it is obvious that some people would have some thoughts, or it is not impossible just considering Jolie's appearance.

As for Madame Le Brun, according to the description and reports of relevant parties, the news did not come from Sergei Kuzmich, but from the "Little Fairy" Countess who inquired about it in social occasions. Madame Le Brun seemed to have discovered this matter, but the Countess's letter was vague, which made Soloviev unable to figure it out, although he would go to No. 7 Million Street to see her these days, and perhaps there would be some other news there.

He was also going to make a trip for relevant information, and it seemed that Mrs. Lebrun was also going to her house.

Solovyov was a little confused about what was going on.

For him, there is no need to do too much testing on the gun now. He can just present it to the Tsar one day in the future. After all, these are samples, not mass-produced guns. The processing process also caused a lot of headaches for the invited Dane.

The Danes can rest, but Solovyov cannot rest, after all, he still wants to do something.

At No. 7 Million Street, Countess Skafronskaya was leaning on the sofa. For ladies, daily life was not like that of men, who had to work a lot, or go out for some in-depth exchanges. If ladies did not find something to do at home, they would easily get bored.

Solovyov came here again. In fact, there is another point. The Countess, this little adult, except that her body has not yet grown up, always wants to pretend to be an adult. She wants to know where her "investment" has gone, but she doesn't care about the benefits.

After all, Prince Potemkin and her mother had left her a considerable fortune. She was not worried about the returns, but rather about the quality of the products, since she was going to use them for herself.

"Ah, you're here again, Misha. How are you doing in the country these days?"

Her tone today was quite naughty, and when Solovyov saw her like this, he thought there might be something on him, but his uniform and hat were very clean, so if there was a problem, it was probably on his boots.

There is always mud on boots, and not all streets in St. Petersburg are as clean as the street in front of the door.

"My home is in Laundry Lane. Although the name sounds clean, the streets are all mud. And I'm a soldier, so walking on muddy ground is a common occurrence for me."

They chatted in this way, which was quite relaxing. The Countess was like a lazy ragdoll cat, a little sleepy, and she started yawning after just a few words. This girl was already qualified to be a court maid, but she always skipped work at home, or went to other noble ladies' houses to play with her girlfriends under some excuse, or was dragged by the Grand Duchess and noble ladies to attend tea parties.

"Your family's house is in a rather inconspicuous alleyway, and it's not on the main street."

"Yes, but living there feels like home. For me, Countess, it would feel a bit empty like in your house."

"Then if you return to the manor, you will also feel empty, right?"

"I haven't been back for a while. I've been serving the whole time. When I first met you in Moscow, I was serving in the regiment. Although I'm a little freer now, I'm still an adjutant. After this winter, I'll have a lot of duties next year."

"You men, all you do is serve and fight all day. Wouldn't it be better for you to participate in social activities? We can all have fun together. Misha, you are only two years older than me and you can dance very well."

"Have you seen it?"

"Not really. I think outstanding officers should be good at dancing, including quickstep."

At this point, she is still not honest on the sofa, wrapped in velvet sofa, thin linen blanket and silk clothes, her two bare feet seem to be gesturing the steps of quickstep, it is said that she will be so charming when she grows up. And with her facial expression, it is easy to remind people of a painting by Goya, "The Dressed Maja", but this painting is not available this year, it is a work from 1798.

This was Solovyov's idea, but the countess also noticed that this was actually a bit impolite, so she sat up and put her shoes back on.

In her house, if the local servants were not around, speaking Russian was like encrypted communication, which was also to keep the matter secret to a certain extent. The Countess also noticed from Soloviev's eyes that he was always very restrained. She didn't like this attitude. She preferred more enthusiastic men, such as Count von der Palen, whom she met at a dance some time ago. The young cavalry officer Pavel Petrovich was already a lieutenant colonel of the Cuirassier Regiment at a young age. It was rumored that he would soon be promoted to colonel and had the right to choose to become the commander of a cavalry regiment.

The cavalry officers all had a bit of excess energy, which was indeed quite different from the young adjutant Solovyov who was restrained and cautious in everything. Moreover, his father was deeply trusted by Tsar Paul. If we did not consider that he was ordered to retire a few months ago and was recently re-employed as the commander of the Guards Cavalry Regiment in St. Petersburg, there would really be no problem.

"But for officers, it's not just about balls, jeune femme."

The topic was brought back to the topic again, but this also reminded the Countess that when speaking, she should always get back to the point. What she needed to consider now was Julie's problem.

"Mrs. Lebrun seemed to have heard all this, and she complained to my mother that this was a conspiracy by her governess to separate her from Julie. Sometimes I envied Julie, who had a mother who loved her desperately, but was a bit nagging like a housekeeper."

"You think so?"

"Yes, and Julie is also my friend. Your purpose, could it be that you like her?"

This statement was also due to the fact that the Countess had always been outspoken and was not suitable for keeping any secrets. However, this statement also made Solovyov feel a little ridiculous. After all, he was just paying attention to his friend's social life and marriage, and the secretary was inappropriate in any way. However, the person involved was probably still confused about how to solve this problem.

The sweet words of middle-aged men are usually extremely destructive.

"No, it's just that as a friend, she told me about this matter, so I have the responsibility to help check it, Katya, isn't that right?"

By the way, the proportion of "Katya" in St. Petersburg is a bit high now, thanks to the deceased empress. On average, in every prolific aristocratic family with girls, there must be a girl named Catherine, and the proportion is no less than that of the name Maria.

"Look, Julie is also my friend. If she falls in love and then the other person abandons her, that would be a terrible thing."

Apparently this "little goblin" knew more details, and Madame Le Brun, who had been busy with her creations recently, was actually not far away, at 3 Million Street, creating a portrait of the "old witch".

If you visit them, there is nothing wrong with it. Prince Saltykov's family, except for the hostess, is quite polite to others. The problem is that the hostess seems to always have the final say in the family.

And Solovyov himself would feel bored when he thought of that unlucky face.

However, at this time, the Countess was still willing to do it, but she just asked the servants at home to go over.

Inviting Mrs. Le Brun to come here during afternoon tea time would be a good way to solve the problem, and it would be perfect for Julie to come along and discuss some issues in the empty reception room.

After all, the lady now knows about it, and she personally strongly opposes this matter. However, given the living conditions in Europe, it is obvious that some feudal ethics are still needed in some special circumstances.

Unfortunately, there isn't.

Sometimes, backward things can actually play a protective role. This is a kind of black humor targeting social issues.

When Mrs. Le Brun came to Count Skavronsky's residence, it was clear that someone was trying to "steal" her daughter from her, and she was firmly opposed. But if no one stopped him and the secretary succeeded, Julie would soon be infected with smallpox after getting married. Mrs. Le Brun, who had never had smallpox, stayed by her bedside for a long time, and at first she did not care about the bad feelings this marriage brought her.

However, this has not happened yet, and now that Mrs. Lebrun is able to come, she still cares about this matter very much.

"Madame, I have invited you here. I have invited Julie to the theatre with her secretary. As you know, we are in the theatre with our money, but we are also involved in scandals. We are in the theatre with our money and friends. In this situation, Julie and the secretary are in a very good relationship." (Madame, it was my idea to invite you here. We have heard about Julie and a secretary. As you know, the theatre is always full of scandals. We don't like to hear about what goes on there, but from what I and the Countess know, Julie and that gentleman are not suitable for each other.)
"Thank you, I understand, but Brunette is already obsessed with that gentleman, and I don't think there is an appropriate solution." (Thank you, I understand, but Brunette is already obsessed with that gentleman, and I don't think there is an appropriate solution.)
Brunette, this is Julie's nickname. Obviously, the lady was a little anxious when she mentioned this name, but Solovyov could understand it. As a mother, she would not understand her daughter's rebellious behavior. But the underlying problem is indeed a universal social problem, and the mother and daughter are actually dependent on these nobles in St. Petersburg. For some things, Mrs. Le Brun is also powerless.

"I think at this moment someone should represent you and challenge that gentleman to a duel. Although this may hurt Julie's feelings, it is a solution."
Madame Lebrun was very smart. When she heard this, she knew that Solovyov wanted to take the lead, but she still wanted to refuse.

But just as she was about to speak, Solovyov spoke up.

"Madame, I don't think you should refuse. Maintenant, I'm a voie cette. I'll challenge you to a duel as your agent." (Madam, I don't think you should refuse. This is the only way. I can challenge you to a duel as your agent.)
He was still quite confident when he said this. After all, he had made guns in the countryside that summer and practiced shooting at targets a lot, and he was very accurate.

Considering that dueling weapons are usually self-prepared, he is still very confident, and since he can't let Mrs. Lebrun say anything, he puts his words in advance.

It might make Julie unhappy, but it is much better than having a man abandon her, breaking up with her mother, inheriting her father's huge debts, and ending up in poverty.

Solovyov didn't know about this, he just liked to meddle in other people's business, and he must find a time to throw out the white glove of the duel invitation.

(End of this chapter)