Chapter 79 029 Sir or Madam, do you want to deposit rubles?

Chapter 79 029 Sir or Madam, do you want to deposit rubles?

Chapter 79 029 Sir or Madam, do you want to deposit rubles?

William rode fast on his way to St. Petersburg this time. After all, his aunt the Queen told him clearly that he should come to St. Petersburg as soon as possible. Although he didn't explain why, Archduke Joseph told him so much, so he was probably here for a blind date.

Over the years, apart from the portraits he saw at his grandfather's house, which showed that Alexandra and Elena had grown up a little, his impression of his cousins ​​was still that they were just "little kids".

He quickly rushed to St. Petersburg, changing horses several times at the post station on the way. His riding skills were quite good. Moreover, on the way to St. Petersburg, according to Paul's order, he had to provide "royal treatment" to the adopted son of Prince of Württemberg, so his journey was relatively smooth.

When he arrived in Gatchina, before he went to St. Petersburg to see his aunt, he met the engaged Elena and her fiancé here.

Here, they also cultivate relationships before marriage. After these royal princesses get married, they have the opportunity to visit their families, but that only happens once every many years, and only when Europe is relatively peaceful.

Since 1788, Europe has been in the midst of war, especially after the French people overthrew the Bourbon monarchy. The war has lasted for more than ten years and has not been interrupted to this day.

It is very difficult to go back to my parents' home. It is not like the peaceful years more than ten years ago, when it was a daily routine for nobles from various countries to visit each other, and the Austrian emperor could even come to my sister and brother-in-law to give them advice on the issue of having children.

Now that William was able to come to Gatchina, the northern German states and Russia, far away from the core area of ​​​​the European continent, were still at peace.

And Elena was very enthusiastic when she saw her cousin.

"Cousin William, the Queen Mother told us that you were coming. This is Frederick Ludwig of Mecklenburg, my fiancé."

"Hello, Your Highness William of Württemberg, we are in Gatchina, and we are here to escape the summer heat as well."

"You are only here for the engagement and wedding, and you already speak Russian so fluently."

"My brother is serving in the Russian army, and Russian is compulsory. Perhaps I will come to St. Petersburg to become an officer like your father did."

It was common for Mecklenburg to serve in the army of various countries. Before inheriting the territory of Prince of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, Frederick Ludwig would have chosen to serve in the Prussian or Russian army if nothing unexpected happened.

This is normal for a small German prince like his family, which has a respectable name but is actually on the margins.

Of course, Frederick Ludwig was different from his brother who was accustomed to military life. He was a sociable person with a handsome appearance and a gentle personality. As a result, he quickly fell in love with Elena and was quickly recognized by Paul and his wife.

"Being an officer here is hard work. You have to travel all the time, and there is a terrible plague in the south."

William said this because his sixth uncle Karl contracted malaria and died in the army while following Prince Potemkin south to fight against the Ottoman army.

At that time, their family returned to Württemberg. When they received the bad news, William's grandfather, the old Prince of Württemberg, was heartbroken. After all, his son died so early, and it was a tragedy for the old man to see his son die before him.

In military life, sometimes plague is more terrifying than enemy bullets.

However, Frederick Ludwig, who read a lot, and William, who read a lot but loved to read pornographic books, said: "If you want to improve sanitary conditions, at least it is safe in the city. I have seen a lot in St. Petersburg, especially the edict issued by His Majesty the Emperor of Russia to improve the sanitary environment. It can be said that it has been strictly implemented in St. Petersburg. This is even cleaner than Berlin and Vienna, and the rumored Paris and London..."

"Okay, stop talking. I think this is a consensus, although I haven't been to these two cities either."

It was a consensus in Europe that both Paris and London were dirty and messy, and both sides laughed. Frederick Ludwig did not have much good feelings towards his British relatives, even though Louise from another branch of their family married the King of Prussia and George III was the brother-in-law of Louise's father, but this aspect was somewhat distant from their family's connection.

The main reason is that, although the British relatives are still quite caring towards the Mecklenburg families, what the British cabinet is doing and Britain's attention to Hanover make them have closer contacts with Mecklenburg.

Moreover, like Sir Humphrey, George III fell into a state of mental illness as he aged and was not always lucid. In fact, the British monarchy was now weakened.

"If there is a chance, we might travel together to Paris and London, but as for novelties there, they are probably not as good as those in Petersburg these days!"

"Not as good as Petersburg? In what respect do you mean?"

After all, William had been away from St. Petersburg for a long time. He had been here during the last years of Empress Catherine's reign, and he and his father had left here because of political issues.

"What I want to talk about is the large aquarium built in the bay, which is also an exhibition hall for rare animals. It is different from the museum in Berlin, where the collection is all living things."

"That's very interesting. Although there are many rare and exotic marine animals in the museums we know, they are all specimens and dead. But in St. Petersburg, these animals are alive?"

"It was my brother Alexander who advocated the construction of the Royal Exhibition Hall. It was built for my sister-in-law, although it has just opened."

"Elena, you still have to explain this specifically. It's just the first phase of the exhibition hall. His Highness is really generous. He invested a lot of the funds allocated to him by the Russian royal family, just to make the beauty smile."

"That's because of my sister-in-law. Her hobbies are different from those of ordinary people."

Indeed, a senior homebody who loves philosophy, history, geography, and encyclopedias does not have the awareness of being the next Russian queen at all. You know, Queen Maria's main work is in charity, and the Crown Princess can only show her presence here.

"Yes, Louisa comes from Baden, our neighbor in Wurttemberg, where there are many well-educated ladies."

This is indeed the case. Louisa's second sister married the King of Bavaria this year (she had previously been the fiancée of the Duke of Enghien), her fourth sister became the Queen of Sweden, and her fifth sister married to Brunswick. Only her eldest and youngest sisters were still unmarried.

The Tsar's father-in-law was very good at arranging marriages for his family. All the girls were well-educated. Even the eldest daughter, Amalia, who lacked charm, received a full education and had always had plans for marriages - but none of them worked out. William himself was not aware of it. He still used the name of the Crown Princess before she got married because as old neighbors, the two families were still very familiar with each other. It was not like the chattering sisters-in-law in the Winter Palace called her by this name to show intimacy.

"No wonder this princess loves learning so much. She is so radiant, but she always locks herself in the boudoir. Elena, your sister-in-law rarely participates in social activities!"

"Yes, especially since she is pregnant again recently. These two sisters-in-law of mine..."

At her age, she was only a junior high school student, and the issues she discussed were all matters of concern for her future as a hostess and a mother. However, in front of her fiancé and cousin, they were all family matters, so it didn't matter.

William and the couple agreed that when they went to St. Petersburg, they would first pay a visit to the Tsar and his wife, and Alexander and his wife, and then go to the Royal Aquarium together.

And this time, all the sisters were there. Only Constantine and his wife were not at home because they were away at the war and at home for recuperation respectively.

When Alexandra heard that her cousin was coming, she actually knew that this might be another blind date. She and Elena are one year apart in age, but they are like twins and always act together.

The sisters agreed that they would get married together, at least one of them would get married and the other would be engaged, and the ceremonies would be held at the same time.

Frederick Ludwig of Mecklenburg stayed in St. Petersburg, not only for the adjustment period before marriage, but also to wait for his sister's engagement.

There are many palace fighting dramas in European courts, but in Paul's family, the blood ties between the nine members are still very obvious. Except for Maria and Catherine, who sometimes fight and fight over toys like ordinary sisters, it is rare to see them quarreling with each other.

Even if a crown falls in the future, they will still refuse each other. What's more exciting is that the bond between brothers and sisters, as well as between brothers and sisters, has always accompanied them throughout their lives. The saying "The most ruthless are the imperial family" seems to not exist here.

The next day, William came out soon after meeting Paul and his wife. Paul had recently become the Grand Master of the Knights Templar and was addicted to giving out medals. He gave his wife's beloved nephew an "honorary weapon", but it was not a sword, but a revolver.

The most simple and shabby person in the Russian royal family was undoubtedly Tsar Paul himself. He could survive on water, cabbage, sausage and bread, and only occasionally had some red wine or liqueur, but he did not reduce the expenses for his family.

Perhaps it was because the budget was spent too much when his mother, the empress, was alive. After he cut the emperor's expenses, he was able to save a lot of money, even enough to give his son a little luxury and build a hot spring for the children.

Russia was still short of money, and he met William when he was looking at the military expenditure report, so there was no excessive entertainment.

However, for Frederick Ludwig, who has been confirmed to be his son-in-law, this involves relations with Britain. Russia's diplomacy has always been following the two routes of Russia-Prussia-Britain and Russia-Austria-France, and all aspects must be taken into consideration.

Paul had been having a "working lunch" at noon recently, which was too undignified for the Tsar, so Elena took the initiative to go to Uncle Alexei's place with her sisters, her fiancé and her cousin.

Given their status as distinguished persons, they entered the hotel converted from the mansion inherited by Count Bobulinsky from his father Orlov for the sole purpose of booking the entire place.

However, the count himself was in the hotel, and their aunt was working at the counter in the store. When Elena came to play outside the Winter Palace, she often brought her fiancé with her and took care of her uncle's business - that is, she spent money directly here as a royal family member, but she bought some strange things, especially sets of animal dolls.

"what is this?"

"It's the Great Auk, a bird that doesn't fly, but lives in the sea."

The survival of this bird is now in jeopardy. If nothing unexpected happens, it will be officially declared extinct in 1852. The killing efficiency of those countries sailing on the sea is too high, especially the United Kingdom and France should be criticized by name, and the museums also purchased them at high prices, which led to the killing.

When Alexander and Louisa decided to build an aquarium, the animal had to be brought to St. Petersburg alive, and the price was 500 rubles. Only then did the museums that made specimens and collected bird eggs suppress their efforts. The entire Iceland and northern Scotland island region racked their brains to catch a pair alive and bring them to St. Petersburg.

Among the animal dolls and toys for children on the counter of Count Bobulinsky's shop, the most popular ones are those made in the style of the great auk.

In fact, it should be said that it is more like the penguin, which was named later, especially its round appearance.

But Elena just likes it, and she also has a polar bear doll. Among her sisters, she now looks more like a girl from a wealthy family.

Many dolls had to be bought and placed in the palace. Although the ladies-in-waiting would pay attention to etiquette, she was getting married, and Frederick Ludwig liked them because Mecklenburg needed Russia as a backer, and their family also valued family affection, so these dolls had to be packed in boxes and taken home. It can be said that she gave a lot of rubles to her uncle's business.

That's right, she is still a little girl, and she is still in the consumer group by paying money for Pinguinus, an animal that has convergent evolution with penguins.

The Mecklenburg family's upbringing was more like that of an ordinary family, with so many rules. Elena was very smart, and she knew that if she married into this family, she would be subject to much less restrictions than in St. Petersburg.

Queen Louise of Prussia was famous for her commoner style, so this is not surprising.

The food here is a little different from outside, because the main dishes in the Earl's hotel are all donkey meat.
However, considering that the selling point he has racked his brains to come up with is the nutritional value of donkey meat and the Russian version of donkey-hide gelatin that he had previously used on the Queen and the Crown Princess, this is not surprising.

Moreover, compared to horse meat, the taste of donkey meat is more acceptable, and the two Italian chef brothers are also very good at cooking donkey meat dishes, so just follow the Spanish cooking method.

Fortunately, Solovyov had never patronized the Count's restaurant because of his military service. If he had known that the two brothers looked like the Mario Brothers, it would have been fine. But if he had known that the fat chef's name was Paul, he would have been so angry that he would have burst out laughing.

Aren’t Chinese in Europe the most like Italians?

(End of this chapter)