Chapter 96 Ball at the Winter Palace

Chapter 96 Ball at the Winter Palace

Chapter 96 Ball at the Winter Palace (Part 046)

As the Mazurka sounded, the second scene, featuring young aristocratic men and women, began.

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

He did not like the palace being full of old men, even though he himself was a middle-aged man in his forties, and he was also very aware that his appearance was indeed not very good, and the outside world did not think highly of him, and he could not 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, Paul himself was a little worried about Constantine's bad temper. Although he himself was also eager for quick success and had mood swings, as a Tsar, he still had to remain restrained and calm, which can be seen from the years of infighting 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.

It was just a simple treatment, and the doctor in Prague removed the stitches. A scar was left on the leg, but it is not visible under normal circumstances.

This girl was very good in social situations, especially in dancing. Although she had become plump recently and not as slender as the one they had just met in Moscow, she danced very fast and it was difficult for ordinary dance partners to keep up with her pace, especially when she was dancing to Polonaise music, which was even faster.

When I was with Sylvia, waltzing was not a big deal. Because of the influence of the Austrian court, people in northern Italy and southern Germany all danced waltz, and the rhythm was better.

Back in St. Petersburg, when there was no Poland, the unimproved Mazurka was brought to the St. Petersburg court. If Solovyov had not been injured, he would not have cared much about this speed. Even if he was asked to perform a piece of "The Emperor is not at home today", he would just gesture a few times.

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

"Hoo! Katyusha, go and change your dance partner! I was injured in the battle at the front. Few people can keep up with you at this speed. But it's not easy to find a dance partner like you."

"How good is the prince at dancing?"

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

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

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

"It's close to the knee. Fortunately, it wasn't crippled like my father! The men in my family are also strange. They always serve higher-ranking masters. My grandfather served Prince Menshikov, who was a marshal back then. Now I serve Marshal Suvorov."

"I won't play either. But where is your father?"

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

Anyway, the word "stepmother" could never be said, and because Baron Sergei had a leg injury, he just joined the conversation on the side in such occasions.

The former Mademoiselle de Rivery, now Madame Solovieva, was absent from the dance floor for both dances and seemed a little anxious.

The reason is very simple. She cannot bring her children to this dance. Julia and Polina are both at home in Laundry Lane. She is the type who takes care of the family, but she also has to attend social occasions.

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

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

Solovyov was forced to resort to a roundabout tactic. He temporarily left the countess, and the countess herself stepped aside when she saw her good female companion.

"Mishchenka, Dad has always been proud of you, especially in the banquet hall, where you were mentioned in the Emperor's commendation decree. Dad worked for so many years and broke a leg, but I am only a major. You are a major in the Guards now."

"Dad, but this responsibility is huge!"

Guards, and the First Battalion of the Guards Regiment, this is no ordinary responsibility.

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

When it comes to this point, the music has changed, this time it is waltz.

The music played at this time may not be as rich as the heyday of waltz in the 19th century. It is a folk song written by Schiller, a friend of Goethe, and 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 neutrality alliance" with him. Who knows what this capricious fool will do next.

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

As the waltz played, all four pairs of royal family members, except the Tsar himself, the Empress, and the Grand Duchesses from Maria onwards, appeared on the scene.

The crown prince himself is very skilled in socializing and is very proud of it. His footprints can be seen everywhere inside and outside the wall. He is good at handling women, confidants and ministers. He uses sweet words to women and speaks nicely to ministers.

Today's ball was quite rare. He held the Crown Princess' hand and entered the dance floor. This was also Paul's special request in this waltz, to show the charm of a member of the royal family.

Even Constantine and Juliana had to go on stage to dance. Fortunately, although their families were not harmonious, they had practiced these skills well for the dance, so their coordination was not so awkward.

The core of the ball lies in these two couples and the two newlyweds who are about to get married.

Solovyov was not paying attention to the dance floor, but noticed that Count von Paalen and Count Rostopchin were leaving the hall, apparently to the side to talk about something.

He had 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 from the hall. Although they had not officially taken office, Tsar Paul's edict had arrangements for the return of each of the meritorious adjutants.

These two are the Tsar’s confidants, but what are they going to do?

He looked at Tsar Paul, who was sitting on the throne, stroking Maria's hair and looking at 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 seemed very "harmonious" at least in front of him. At this time, it was easy to let down his guard.

When the two counts went out, they were likely to arouse suspicion.

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

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

Solovyov followed only out of his usual vigilance, and even in the garden, the two men did not notice anyone approaching behind them.

There were no guards in the garden, and the two of them were not afraid of the cold, so they started discussing there.

However, it is not as dangerous as it seems now. Count von Paalen proposed to Count Rostopchin to recall the Count Zubov brothers who were in exile back to St. Petersburg.

By the way, the eldest brother of the court darling Count Platon Zubov is the son-in-law of the Grand Marshal. Although the relationship between the two sides is bad because Nikolai Zubov embezzled the Grand Marshal's property, there are many things involved.

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

Since it didn't sound like anything harmful, Solovyov pretended nothing had happened and sneaked back to the hall.

At this moment, only Alexander and Louisa were on the dance floor. This couple looked like a perfect couple, but in fact, they had a close yet difficult to describe relationship. They always attracted everyone's attention in the palace.

Louisa, in her red dress, danced with Alexander to the melody of the waltz, and everyone around them was stunned. The Crown Princess did not like to show up in public, and mainly stayed in the palace to take care of the children and read in the library. However, with her figure and good palace education, it was a pity for her not to participate in palace social events.

Solovyov didn't pay attention to this because he had just gone out and came back. Work, life, and being attracted to young ladies should be separated, and he was very clear about it.

No one knew what the circumstances were regarding Count Zubov's possible return to Petersburg, and even if Soloviev had overheard Count von Paalen's mention of Kutaisov, he would not have noticed what was going on.

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

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

This princess was indeed a bit odd. She was different from her three sisters in that she was always more proactive. It might be the power of the name. Not to mention the empress, Catherine I was also a tough character who was able to suppress the madness of the giant Peter the Great.

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

This scene was still very beautiful. At least there was no sense of conspiracy in the palace and everything seemed so harmonious.

Count von Paalen had been drawn into his conspiracy group to overthrow the rule of Tsar Paul, but his plot had been delayed because of Paul's earnest conversation with the young couple when the Crown Princess was pregnant. Now that his plan has failed, he has begun to look for ways to mobilize forces against Tsar Paul.

Lord Whitworth had previously been noncommittal about overthrowing Paul. After all, the Tsar had joined the anti-French alliance and had also sent a large number of troops to four of the five major battlefields, forcing the French into a corner. However, with Austria's stupid move, the Russian Tsar withdrew from the anti-French alliance, which made the lord begin to acquiesce to the conspiracy group's actions. It is even possible that the British, through Count Vorontsov, the Russian ambassador to Britain, and Lord Whitworth, who was in St. Petersburg, had already begun to lay out a dark network behind the scenes.

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

Paul was still unaware at this time, and he easily crushed several local conspiracy groups. Many of these confidants in front of him were even promoted by him, and they were vested interests. Their betrayal was indeed unbelievable when it was revealed now.

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

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

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

All this happened so quickly that no one present had time to anticipate the emperor's actions. How gratifying it was to see a monarch treat his meritorious old ministers in this way! - Gryazev's Notes

The fact that such a Tsar was murdered can only be attributed to the fact that he offended interest groups.

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

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

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

The most serious ones among them are the pro-British nobles.

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

(End of this chapter)