While Princess Sophie watched the boys and girls dance on the dance floor, Metternich, the Prime Minister of the Austrian Empire, watched with great interest.

In the complete opposite of Princess Sophie, the Prime Minister is now in a better mood, and he is especially satisfied to see that the plan he has been pushing for is being carried out steadily.

At his status and age, it is difficult for gold, silver, jewelry, or wine and beauty to impress this already withered heart, and only the desire for power can make his body feel rejuvenated.

The feeling that his government, the envoys of Europe, and even the royal family were acting like pawns on a chessboard on a track he had set was a wonderful feeling that was better than any entertainment on earth, and enough to drive him to work for decades without getting tired.

Napoleon's son, Archduke Karl's daughter, what delicate chess pieces they danced together!

While Prime Minister Metternich was leisurely enjoying the dance, he spotted a middle-aged man in a black tuxedo walking briskly towards him, and he quickly recognized it as Count Litvinsky, the ambassador of the Russian Empire.

This tall, brown beard with a tough personality is even more aggressive at this time because of his unhappiness.

"Mr. Ambassador, do you have any advice?" The Prime Minister asked knowingly.

"Your Excellency, I don't know what you're doing, but I feel like you're planning something dangerous." Count Litvinsky got straight to the point, "If I'm not mistaken, are you planning to match Napoleon's son with Her Royal Highness Princess Teresa?" ”

"I would like to point out to you in particular, he is not only the son of Napoleon, but also the grandson of His Majesty the Emperor, a recognized member of the royal family, the Duke of Lechstedt." Prime Minister Metternich replied unhurriedly, "It is precisely out of concern for his grandson that he hopes to find a marriage for His Highness as soon as possible, which is not a very reasonable thing?" ”

The ambassador grinned and laughed slightly mockingly.

"I really didn't know that His Majesty the Emperor favored this His Highness so much! Your Excellency, on behalf of the Empire, I ask you for an explanation—what exactly do you intend to do with him? ”

This guy is really in a hurry...... The old man sneered inwardly.

"I understand that please pay attention to your attitude, His Majesty's dignity does not allow anyone to be offended, Mr. Ambassador." Prime Minister Metternich straightened his face and looked at each other coldly, "In addition, the lives of members of our royal family do not need to be reported to any foreign government. ”

Count Litvinsky was slightly embarrassed by the Prime Minister's return in return.

"I'm sorry, Your Excellency, I lost my words." He apologized first, but still refused to give up his purpose, "However, I think this is not just an internal matter of your royal family, but a serious diplomatic matter, and what you plan to do with Napoleon's son should be a matter that has been discussed by all the countries that have suffered from Napoleon!" Don't forget how much the Russian Empire paid to defeat that devil back then, and our country and our nation do not allow you to joke about it. ”

The ambassador has taken a very tough stance and clearly has no intention of making any concessions on this crucial issue.

"You don't have to worry about this, my country also suffered from it at the time, and we will never ignore this problem." Prime Minister Metternich smiled slyly, "Our country was the main force against Napoleon, and we have sacrificed too many manpower and material resources to destroy him, and we are certainly not happy that this nightmare will happen again." ”

Austria is the country with the most annihilated troops by Napoleon, or is it about the same, the "main force of resistance to France", your turn? The ambassador secretly sneered in his heart - of course, for the sake of diplomatic decency, of course, he could not say this sentence explicitly.

However, after hearing the Prime Minister's words, his originally nervous state of mind suddenly relaxed a lot. "Can you tell me, then, what do you mean by today's arrangement?"

"As I have already said, as His Highness approaches adulthood, his marriage does need to be put on the agenda. Due to his special status, there were very few suitable people, and in the end, after the deliberation between His Majesty the Emperor and his mother, it was finally decided that His Royal Highness Theresa would be the main candidate, and the Grand Duke, after some consideration, did not particularly object to this. Metternich took his responsibility away, "and here's what you see." To be honest, I was a little surprised at first. ”

"In other words, this is just a preparation for the marriage, and does not mean that your country has any other intention to act?" The ambassador will be skeptical.

"You can think so." Metternich nodded.

"And what's your attitude towards that?" The ambassador was still unrelenting in his questioning.

"You ask me?" Metternich smiled slightly, "As a servant, how can I have any opinion about what the royal family is doing?" Moreover, as far as I am concerned, even if this marriage is really made to come true, it seems that there is nothing impossible, since the Duke of Lechstedt is close to adulthood, is it not natural for him to marry and have children in Austria in the future? ”

"So you plan to create a Bonaparte-Habsburg branch?" The ambassador asked again, while keeping an eye on the Prime Minister, not letting go of any of his slightest facial movements, "Let the Bonaparte family be an ornamental jewel on the scepter of this dynasty?" ”

"It's not something I can decide, Your Majesty can decide." Prime Minister Metternich still maintained a friendly smile, "But if God really wills, I can only silently respect the choice of fate." ”

The ambassador stopped talking, and he was silent for a moment, as if chewing on Prime Minister Metternich's true thoughts hidden beneath his diplomatic rhetoric.

"Sorry for the delay." Then the ambassador bowed to Metternich and said goodbye, "Finally, please forgive me for my rudeness. ”

After saying that, he turned around and left.

"These Russians are really anxious, and they are reluctant to wait and ask again!" After the ambassador had left, Mr. Gentz, a close assistant who had been standing beside him, finally spoke.

"They've really had a rough run of things lately, so it's normal to be a little more nervous." Prime Minister Metternich replied with a smile. "The events of last winter have terrified their Tsar's Majesty to this day, and he must never want to hear the name Napoleon again."

Last winter, on December 26, 1825 (December 14 in the Russian calendar), a group of Russian officers, after conspiring, staged a military coup d'état in Petersburg after the death of Tsar Alexander I and the unresolved decision of the new Tsar.

After the initial shock and anger, the new Emperor Nicholas I regained his composure and sent a large number of troops to surround the rebels in Privy Council Square and use artillery to force a bloody suppression.

After suppressing the mutiny, the Tsar ordered the establishment of a "secret interrogation committee" to try those who participated in the uprising, and a large number of conspirators were exiled.

Up to this point, only nine months have passed since this bloody incident, so the Russian Empire is still in the stage of unresolved aftermath, and it is very normal for nerves to be tense up and down.

The more anxious the neighboring country is, the happier Metternich will naturally be.

"The French ambassador has just taken his leave." "I suppose he is busy writing his report back to Vienna." ”

"I think so, they're going to freak out." Prime Minister Metternich laughed slyly, "Sometimes I am really worried about poor King Charles X, who has to deal with both the House of Orleans and the House of Bonaparte, and how anxious he would have been if we had not left Napoleon's son here!" ”

"Bourbon-Bonaparte-Bourbon." As if chanting a mantra, Mr. Gentz repeated a few words, "Now it's time for Orleans to taste it." ”

"Or another Orleans-Bonaparte-Bourbon marquee?" Metternich couldn't help but laugh out loud, "Poor Frenchman! Others have moved the throne into the stage, but they can always turn the stage into the throne! ”

"Hahahaha......" Gentz couldn't help but laugh at this nasty joke.

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While the prime minister and his aides were joking, the dance music that had been stopped resounded through the hall with the band's performance.

The second dance is about to begin.

Aiglon walked unhurriedly to the center of the hall, and then Princess Teresa walked over.

The two men glanced at each other.

"Your Highness, are you feeling better?" Aiglon asked in a low voice.

"Yes, it's a little better." Princess Teresa nodded slightly, but there seemed to be a residual flush on her face.

"Just ...... Is anyone kidding you? Aglon couldn't help but ask again.

"Yes, indeed." Princess Teresa smiled bitterly, "Think about it, with today's situation, there will always be some elders who will make fun of me, but I can't talk back." ”

Then she leaned close to the young man, and looked up slightly at his face.

"Did you just drink?" She asked in a low voice.

"I drank a little." Aiglon nodded, "But don't worry, it won't affect my next moves. ”

"It doesn't look like you're as calm as you seem." Teresa lowered her gaze slightly, "Still a little nervous, right?" ”

Now, there's nothing to be nervous about...... Aglon thought to himself.

Then, he keenly noticed that except for himself and Teresa, the pairs of dance partners around him seemed to have changed.

But who cares about that?

The second dance is a waltz, which is quite brisk, and the two men first greet each other and then hold hands again.

"Two Highnesses!"

Just as they were about to dance, a court attendant came up to them and saluted them respectfully. "Your Majesty wants you to go and see him before you dance this dance."

Aglon was a little confused, but naturally complied with the will.

So, he followed Princess Teresa shoulder to shoulder to the throne in the center of the hall to pay tribute to His Majesty, the Supreme Majesty of the Empire.

"It's beautiful." His Majesty the Emperor looked at the boy and girl at the bottom of the steps, and then at the Empress next to him, and made a short and simple comment, "It's all beautiful, aren't they?" ”

Her Majesty nodded. "Yes, Your Majesty."

"Teresa." His Majesty turned his head again and looked at the girl under the throne.

"Your Majesty? What are the commands? Theresa's face was full of confusion.

"Franz didn't disgrace you tonight, did he?" His Majesty the Emperor asked.

This seemingly simple and seemingly allegorical word made Her Royal Highness the princess blush. “…… His Highness is very powerful, I'm just worried that because of my own affairs, I will delay his time tonight. ”

"It's okay, I don't think he could ask for it." His Majesty smiled and waved his hand, motioning for them to go back. "Alright, let's not disturb the entertainment of you young people, and go on. Hopefully you're having fun tonight. ”