plumnovel Chapter 109. Children of Russia
Chapter 109. Children of Russia
Chapter 109. Children of Russia
"The child was placed in the Queen's bedroom, and whenever the child cried, the Queen would rush over immediately."
""
Gemma told Ekaterina the information she had gathered.
It has been a week since I gave birth.
During this time, Catherine suffered greatly because she could not see her child.
Elizabeth forbade her to see him.
She could only secretly learn about the children's situation, but asking around would be seen as questioning the Queen's ability to care for the children, so the information was very limited.
"No, I must see my child. She can't stop me."
Despite her physical condition, Ekaterina got up to go to Elizabeth's bedroom, and Gemma quickly draped an even thicker coat over her.
"I'm sorry, Your Highness, you cannot go in—"
The head steward tried to stop Catherine, but she pushed him aside and barged into Elizabeth's bedroom, where many experienced ladies-in-waiting and servants stood.
"Let her in."
Eliza glanced at Ekaterina, who was being stopped at the door.
The servant released her, and Catherine ran over happily.
"Keep your voice down!"
Elizabeth placed the baby in the cradle, and a joyful smile remained on her face from the moment the child was born.
"I summoned Father Confessor, and he named the child Paul."
Ekaterina shook her head, looking at the child with love and tenderness: "No, this is my child, and I want to name him after his father."
Elizabeth's face instantly turned cold: "Your father's name? Your father is German! The child's name is Paul. You have no right to name the child! Paul is a very good name. It's the name of my mother, Catherine I, and my father, Peter the Great's, firstborn son, and it's also my brother's name!"
With a single glance from her, the head steward immediately led several female attendants and took Catherine away.
"No! Your Majesty, give me back my child! This is my child!"
Elizabeth's expression was indifferent: "Tomorrow is the child's baptism, and as his mother, you are permitted to attend. However, if you behave in any further disrespectful manners, I will confine you to a convent!"
When Sergei arrived at Catherine's room, she was weeping bitterly.
He slowly approached her and gently stroked her shoulder.
Upon seeing Sergei, Catherine cried even harder.
"She won't give my child back!"
"The child will be fine with His Majesty. You need to calm down and get well so you'll have more energy to see the child," Sergei comforted her.
After a while, Ekaterina calmed down and recounted what had just happened.
"I'm really worried about the child. I feel like they're over-caring, and that excessive care could suffocate the child."
"The room was very hot. There was a black fox fur quilt in the cradle, the child was wrapped in a blanket, covered with a cotton quilt, and then another quilt was placed on top of the cotton quilt. The child's face and body were covered in sweat."
Ekaterina couldn't imagine how much her child was suffering.
Those black fox fur, flannel, velvet, and satin quilts, while each one is incredibly expensive, are simply not enough for a child to enjoy so much warmth.
He'll die from the heat!
Thinking of this, Ekaterina became anxious again.
"Don't worry, those experienced people won't let the Queen do that." Sergei had no other choice, and now he was in dire straits himself.
Catherine suddenly looked at him, her eyes filled with worry.
"What are you going to do next? The Queen will definitely punish you."
Sergei's decision to help her conceive was Elizabeth's idea, but since they were both in love, they completely agreed to the proposal.
But now that she has a child, Elizabeth will absolutely not allow the child's "biological father" to stay in St. Petersburg.
To prevent any unforeseen circumstances, they might even poison Sergei, so that Paul could be made Peter's child.
"I don't know either. We can only wait and see. You don't need to worry about safety. The Empress values her reputation highly and won't kill anyone easily, especially since I'm a court official."
Sergei was relatively reassured about this, because Elizabeth hadn't even executed Ivan.
But he had to be wary of others, especially Shuvalov.
After calming Catherine down, Sergei left the palace.
Meanwhile, some people had already boarded carriages and left St. Petersburg.
Upon reaching the outskirts, the carriage was stopped by a masked man on horseback.
"Snapped!"
The groom lay dead in a pool of blood.
The midwife who delivered Paul was terrified. She got off the carriage and ran back, stumbling and staggering.
The masked man raised his pistol.
"Snapped!"
The midwife fell to the ground and remained motionless.
The masked man approached the carriage, shot the coachman, then shot the midwife, and rode away.
The day of Paul's baptism.
Elizabeth went to Catherine's room.
An attendant carried a golden tray with an imperial edict on it.
"The national treasury will allocate 10 rubles to you; this is what you deserve."
Elizabeth then waved her hand.
A courtier stepped forward and handed Catherine an expensive diamond necklace.
"If you'd like to cooperate, you can participate in the entire baptism ceremony today; otherwise, you can stay in your room!"
"Paul Petrovich will be Peter the Great's successor, his great-grandson, and the future Emperor of the Russian Empire, so to whom does he belong? Certainly not to you, but to all of Russia!"
-
Catherine knelt beside Elizabeth's legs, weeping and pleading.
Elizabeth remained unmoved and turned to leave.
On this day, the entire city of St. Petersburg was brightly lit, with constant cannon salutes, fireworks, and dances, as the whole city celebrated the birth of this child.
Ekaterina, however, remained alone in her room, suffering greatly.
10 month.
Ivan Shuvalov left St. Petersburg and was assigned to the army.
This was undoubtedly cruel for Ivan, who was used to a life of luxury and was the Empress's male favorite.
The one who did all this was not Elizabeth, nor Sergei, but Alexander Shuvalov.
Elizabeth looked up at Shuvalov.
"Was it you who made Ivan beg me to let him join the army?"
Shuvalov dared not conceal anything: "Only in this way can his life be saved. His Majesty will surely remember Ivan's feelings for you."
He had no choice.
Sergei learned that Ivan knew the secret that "Paul was not Peter's child," and he forbade Ivan from doing so. If Sergei reported this to the Queen, the Queen would likely execute Ivan.
Because this is top secret, it absolutely cannot be known by more than one person!
"Wasn't it you who made the mistake? How could Ivan have known if you hadn't spoken up?" Elizabeth pointed the finger directly at Shuvalov.
Given Shuvalov's shrewdness, how could he not come up with a good excuse?
"Your Majesty, I swear to God with my life, it was absolutely not me who told him. I asked Ivan, and the Grand Duke said that he never slept with the Grand Duchess, and that the child was either Sergei's, Naryshkin's, or possibly Zakha's."
Elizabeth scoffed, "Zakhar, far away in the army? Did he send the child over from afar?"
Shuvalov immediately said, "Paul can only be Grand Duke Peter's child. I will tell the Grand Duke and find a way to make him accept this reality."
"You're a smart man, I won't pursue the matter of Ivan's loose tongue," Elizabeth waved her hand.
Shuvalov bowed and left.
The following day, a parliamentary session concluded, confirming Russia's stance on the Anglo-Prussian alliance.
To feign compliance.
Continue taking the British gold.
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