Catherine and the Black Emperor

83. Even chickens and dogs ascend to heaven.

8 month.

Count de Vere served as Peter's steward.

9 month.

Georgy served as the accounting secretary of the Russian State Bank.

10 month.

Gleb served as the arithmetic advisor to the Russian State Bank.

11 month.

Sergei and MP Feodor visited the hunting party and participated in a hunting activity.

12 month.

Member of Parliament Vladislav was furious when he was turned away by Sergei.

"How dare he refuse to see me! I'm a Privy Council member! A second-class official! How dare he!"

1751 October.

Member of Parliament Vladislav sat opposite Sergei, looking rather reserved.

"Duke, I need to clarify that I didn't do those things. Even if you report this to the Queen, I still have room to maneuver!"

He spoke without any confidence.

Sergei slowly raised his glass: "What are you saying, Congressman? How could I possibly give these to the Empress? After all, what the Congressman has done is for Russia. These are gifts from me to the Congressman."

Vladislav was overjoyed and quickly raised his glass: "I knew the Duke and I were the closest of friends! Don't worry, I'm not ungrateful; I'll always remember that it was the Duke who helped me get my seat in parliament!"

Vladislav left the mansion with incriminating information on himself.

2 month.

Felice became a performance consultant at the Royal Theatre, no longer needing to perform as a clown.

3 month.

Ulyana was promoted by Count de Verde to become Peter's squire.

4 month.

Catherine's maid, Matryona, became the head of the household after being recommended by Catherine, and Gemma then became her only personal attendant.

4 month 21 day.

On Catherine's birthday, Sergei asked her what gift she wished for, and then prepared a grand hunting party for her.

5 month.

Sergei met with Peter.

That's right, Sergei and Peter haven't seen each other since their acquittal.

It wasn't that Sergei wouldn't see Peter, but rather that Peter used many clever excuses to stay in his room.

"The Grand Duke's servants surrounded and protected him. The thing that pleased the Grand Duke the most was dressing his servants in military uniforms and then leading them in drills."

This was the message Ulyana told him at the time.

If you told someone that they were locked in a room doing something so boring for such a long time, no one would believe it. This wasn't a few days, or even dozens of days, but several months, more than two hundred days!

From childhood, military uniforms, military drills, and issuing commands helped Peter forget all his unhappiness and fears.

"These days, my life is no different from being in prison, but not because of you. It's like I've gone back to my childhood," Peter said as his first words to Sergei.

But he dared not face Sergei directly.

Sergei looked at him and said, "You are the Grand Duke. It was right of you not to come to my rescue when I might commit treason. Otherwise, the Russian people would laugh at the Grand Duke for being with a traitor."

"Really? Sergei, do you really think so?!" Peter was overjoyed.

He enjoyed training soldiers, but he didn't want to stay in his room for so long. He did this to express his dissatisfaction with life and to hope that Sergei would come to him.

Although Sergei didn't actively seek him out, and it was only because he couldn't bear the loneliness that he came out, it's alright...

"I forgive you, Sergei! But I hope next time you'll come to me first!"

Peter left happily.

For a moment, Sergei had a strange feeling: could Peter really be a pure child?

But he immediately dismissed the idea.

Even if Peter were not, he would do the same thing as Elizabeth, or even be more ruthless than Elizabeth!

It's just that the timing isn't right yet.

6 month.

In a luxurious suburban mansion, in an opulently decorated room, Agafia lay on her bed, a smile spreading across her face as she watched Sergei enter.

"My warrior, you haven't come to see me for a month. If you don't come soon, I don't know what I might do, find another man, or... go to your house."

Sergei's gaze turned slightly cold: "You'd better not use this as leverage against me."

He knew that Agafia was just saying it to express her resentment, because Agafia was a pragmatic woman who had never met Anastasia.

This was clearly something Agafia did intentionally.

Agafia's pragmatism is not only reflected in this aspect.

That's why he didn't abandon his lover.

"I wouldn't say I seduced a married man. After all, we were the first to have a relationship. You were my man first, and then your wife. Of course, if you say I seduced him, then I did." Agafia licked her scarlet lips.

Sergei placed a diamond bracelet on the table.

"I don't lack jewelry. The money my father gave me is enough for me to squander until I die," Agafia said, resting her head on her hand.

"He gave me fatherly love, I gave me lust. If you don't want it, I'll investigate whether your father has taken bribes and where he got so much money," Sergei said calmly.

"Do you dare? He's the Prime Minister."

Sergei remained silent.

Agafia knew he really dared, and couldn't help but smile smugly: "You look so irresistible."

She got up, the blanket slipped off her body, revealing a dazzlingly white skin.

She strode up to Sergei with her long, slender legs, pushed him onto the sofa, and slowly raised her long, jade-like legs, gently placing her crystal-clear right foot on Sergei's chest.

The next second, Agafia cried out in surprise as Sergei grabbed her ankle and pulled her into his arms.

"Women have the best posture."

As Agafia lay on the stairs, her graceful and alluring figure was perfectly displayed, and Sergei couldn't help but sigh in admiration.

"Give this letter to your father."

As he left the room, Sergei took a letter out of his pocket.

7 month.

Anastasia relinquished her position as a lady-in-waiting at court ceremonies and, under the appointment of Prime Minister Bestudev, became the deputy director of the Museum of History and Culture.

Although he was a ninth-rank civil official, far inferior to the previous seventh-rank palace official, he had much less responsibility and more than 30 female subordinates, making his work quite easy.

Days passed one after another, and Sergei, who had been busy for more than half a year, finally slowed down, and life seemed to be returning to peace for him.

8 month.

Catherine began to witness Elizabeth's duality.

One evening, during an opera performance at the Royal Theatre, Elizabeth sat in the royal box and watched Catherine chatting and laughing with others, which made her unhappy.

In Elizabeth's view, the woman in front of her, who was already a married woman, should have long lost the vitality of a young girl.

But Catherine not only retained this vitality, but was also full of confidence, and became very popular in the court, a complete transformation from the shy little girl she had first met.

"Look at Catherine's figure! Her waist is like a willow branch, and her legs are long and shapely, making every man's gaze fixed on her!"

Elizabeth's seemingly complimentary words were actually filled with jealousy, because she had become severely overweight.

Even dancing isn't as easy and agile as it used to be!

So, Elizabeth, consumed by jealousy, began to attack Catherine.