[Following the world lines of Extra 2: The Demon Queen’s Traitor and Extra 6: Li Daitao’s Zombie World, Zha Ai stayed in Austria and left a legendary story with the Empress Dowager Sophie...]
March 20, 1841
On this early spring night, Vienna was more radiant than ever.
The Hofburg Palace, located in the center of the city, has changed from the silence and solemnity of the past and has become flashy and dazzling. There are lights and colors everywhere. Celebrities from all walks of life, dressed in fine clothes, rushed to the palace in an endless stream to participate in this event.
A long-awaited celebration.
This celebration was held to celebrate the 30th birthday of Charles Bonaparte, Duke of Lechstatt.
Logically speaking, although Duke Lechstatt can be considered a member of the royal family, he is only the grandson of the late emperor after all, and is not qualified to enjoy such high-level courtesy. However, Her Majesty the Queen Mother Sophie ignored the eyes of the world and insisted on doing so.
His most trusted and most relied-upon ministers held such celebrations to please their favored ministers.
The affair between the Empress Dowager Sophie and the Duke of Lechstatt is almost a secret known to everyone in the empire, but some things cannot be said on the table, no matter how excitedly everyone spreads them in private.
The two were having a romantic affair, but on the surface everyone could only pretend to know nothing about it.
Since the Queen Mother is happy and wants to spend so much effort to celebrate the Duke's birthday, no matter whether it is cabinet ministers, celebrities or foreign envoys, they can't refute His Majesty's face, so they can only put on a proud smile and come to the palace.
The Communist Party of China participated in the grand event.
However, although this romantic affair is already known to everyone, the reputation of both the Queen Mother and the Duke, who is already the Prime Minister, is not bad among the people. To the people, the personal ethics of the kings are not
Not so important, they are more concerned about the daily necessities and daily chores around them.
After gradually coming to power, Duke Lechstadt has indeed continued to adopt various means to try to improve the people's living standards. He actively introduced external technology and investment, improved the originally backward financial and taxation system, and relied on foreign
The chance of victory dealt a severe blow to the originally privileged aristocracy of various ethnic groups, making them pay taxes according to the common standards of the empire.
After several years of his efforts, this ancient and outdated empire seemed to finally see the light gradually emerging from the gloom, and the most intuitive change is that ancient Vienna is constantly expanding and becoming more and more beautiful and charming.
The main streets in the city have been renovated and are wide and regular. They are illuminated by gas street lamps that never go out at night. Even late at night, there is still a constant flow of pedestrians and horse-drawn carriages, and there are exquisite withered paintings everywhere on the street corners.
The sculptures are full of the unique cultural atmosphere of this city.
Because of such achievements, the Empress Dowager and the Duke were not despised and reviled by the people of this conservative Catholic country because of their romantic affair. Instead, they were talked about as legends.
When the Duke's 30th birthday celebration came, not only Her Majesty the Queen Mother was happy, but the citizens of the whole city were also delighted, feeling reassured that the empire had such a reliable mainstay.
As night falls slowly, under the illumination of countless colored lights and fireworks, the magnificent palace becomes as illusory and blurry as a fairy tale, just like this world that is gradually changing beyond recognition.
However, while the whole city was in a festive atmosphere, the atmosphere in the suite belonging to the Duke and Duchess of Leichstetter, located in the center of the palace, seemed a bit depressing and unhappy.
The Duchess is Princess Christina from the ancient Savoy family. She was forced to marry the Kingdom of Sardinia under the order of Queen Mother Sophie after the defeat of the Kingdom of Sardinia (see Extra Chapter 6 Li Dai Tao Jian). Since arriving in Austria,
, she has been living in depression.
It's not that she still hates her husband. In fact, out of a sense of guilt, the Duke is very friendly and kind to her in daily life. It can be said that he takes good care of her. In addition, the Duke himself is a prince and grandson of the same age.
The best among them, so the princess had already given up the anger and shame of being forced to marry. Instead, she accepted the marriage that was forced on her and accepted herself as a member of the Bonaparte family.
Princess Christina's resentment was concentrated on the most noble and unscrupulous woman in the empire. She didn't care about her reputation at all, and she was almost openly entangled with her husband. Even after the Duke married her, she never restrained herself even a little bit.
She also used herself as a cover for this kind of affair... Since the two got married, Sophie had become pregnant again. She secretly hid in the royal sanatorium in the town of Baden under the pretext of being "sick and in need of spa treatment" and gave birth to a baby.
Gave birth to this child.
In order to deceive others and give the child a legal identity, the vicious empress dowager forced Princess Christina to stay there. After giving birth to the illegitimate child, the child became the offspring of the duke and the princess, which means
He became the duke's heir (see Extra 9: Jiu Zhan Magpie's Nest).
Although under various threats from the Empress Dowager, Princess Christina could not tell the truth to the outside world and could only accept this unexpected son. But in her heart, she would never forgive such harm. She was full of hatred for the Empress Dowager.
He never even cared about his nominal eldest son.
The Duke felt pity for his wife's plight, so he was deliberately gentle to her, and the two soon had their own children.
In this way, whether it is Princess Christina's own child or the child that Sophie secretly gave birth to for him, they are all in Christina's name. They are all his legitimate children in name, but in Christina's eyes
Of course, this is completely different. She just wants to leave all her love and future property to her children. She even wishes that the so-called "eldest son" would die early so that the woman could taste God's punishment.
It's a pity that her beautiful wishes can never come true. She can only endure the cruel reality silently. God has not appeared. On the contrary, the woman has become more and more arrogant. No matter how willful she is, it seems that her dreams can come true. Although she
She is just a hands-off shopkeeper, but under her rule the country has shown signs of prosperity, and her popularity has continued to rise. The world is so unfair!
Although today is her husband's 30th birthday celebration, it is destined that she will not play any role in it. She can only watch her husband being taken away by others, full of jealousy but helpless as always.
Because of this, how could she feel better?
Seeing his wife almost crying, the Duke felt helpless. He knew that what he and Sophie had done was tantamount to turning her into a victim and causing her to suffer humiliation. But what's the point?
What's the solution?
He can only do his best to compensate his wife as much as possible. Not only is it emotional comfort, but in the future he will also leave a title and property for their child (the nominal second son) that is no less than that of the eldest son, so that she can
Let's calm down the pain a little bit.
With this thought, he hugged his wife gently and said, "Christina, thank you."
What should he be grateful for? For her patience and humiliation all the time, for her sacrifice, or for her companionship in the next few decades? He couldn't tell himself.
However, facing her husband's embrace, Christina's grievances and sorrows found a way to vent. She also hugged her husband tightly, and then whispered to him, "After the celebration is over, we can go out.
? Just the two of us."
Although as Prime Minister, his schedule is extremely tight, but faced with his wife's humble request, the Duke still couldn't bear to refuse, so he immediately agreed, "Yes, I will make arrangements, and we will go to the foot of the Alps together.
No one will disturb us there."
After her husband agreed to her request, the princess's resentment finally disappeared, and she finally showed a smile. Then she also whispered to her husband, "Happy birthday, Your Highness."
"Thank you." The Duke thanked him again.
At this moment, there was an untimely soft sound outside the door, and then the respectful and feminine voice of the palace attendant came through the door, "Your Excellency, the Prime Minister, Her Majesty the Queen Mother summons you to come and have an audience."
What was supposed to come finally came. Princess Christina slowly broke away from her husband's arms, and then looked at her husband with unwillingness and helplessness in her eyes.
"Feel sorry."
The Duke could only apologize to her, then turn and leave - for him, no matter how much tenderness and pity there was, that person was always more important in his heart.
The princess didn't say a word, just looked at her husband's leaving figure, and her eyes quickly turned into disgust and hatred - there was another account added to the ledger in her heart, but I'm afraid she would never have the chance to "liquidate" it.
.
Soon, the Duke was taken to the apartment of Her Majesty the Queen Mother.
Although she is 6 years older than the 30-year-old Duke, as the Queen Mother, she has unlimited resources to take care of herself, so Sophie still looks very young, and because she has handed over almost all major national affairs.
When your favorite minister handles it, you don't have to worry about anything, so your mentality is not burdened by anything, so it is more conducive to maintenance.
Her skin is now as white and tender as when Aigron first met her, and the willfulness and arrogance in her eyes have not diminished by half.
This is the person he is obsessed with, this is the person he has spent his whole life protecting and protecting.
Although there were a lot of sacrifices and helplessness, as long as I was with her, it all seemed acceptable.
"My sweetheart~" After seeing him, Sophie was as affectionate as ever, calling him, walking up to him and hugging him, "Do you like the celebration I organized for you today?
?”
"It's true, but there's no need to make it so grand," the Duke replied.
At this time, his hands tightly hugged his old lover in his arms.
Because the two people were so "too familiar", they could get into each other's state without any words, and soon they entered a state of total selflessness - and the attendants were already used to this, so they all quietly retreated.
Got off.
Although they were distinguished members of the royal family, there was no restraint between the two of them when they were alone. Aigron hugged her across the sofa, and then the two of them clung to each other.
"Is there anything wrong with being grand?" Her Majesty the Queen Mother chuckled, showing no sign of approaching middle age. "Doesn't this mean that everyone supports you?"
"This has nothing to do with support. Everyone just comes to support me for your sake." Aigron shook his head, and then added, "His Majesty is not very happy about this either. In his opinion, this kind of standard
It is a pomp that only he can possess... I seem to be offending his authority."
"What does it mean to be offensive? This is what I want to do for you. Am I not qualified to decide what specifications to use to hold the celebration? If he has any opinions, he can just come to me. Why should he have objections to you?" Sophie was confused when she heard this.
He widened his eyes and said, "The older this little guy gets, the more disobedient he becomes. I have to teach him how to respect his elders!"
"There is no need to say that. You know, I have never cared much about false fame. Even if I don't hold any celebrations, I don't care. As long as you are with me, it will be fine." Aigron shook his head, "However, His Majesty's current
His personality is indeed becoming more and more obvious, and I also feel that we can’t be so dramatic about many things in the future - after all, sooner or later, he will be in charge of the empire."
"What objection can he have? You gave him everything, and you are guarding his country for him. If he dares to talk back to you in the future, you can slap him! After all, he is your son."
Sophie said with a smile.
In response to this kind of ridicule, Aigron could only smile bitterly.
Things are never that easy. Even though they are actually a father and son, they still have the status of king and minister. In the past, because the little emperor was young, he could still put on the air of "emperor and regent" to scare the little Fran.
Emperor Ci asked him to be obedient, but as the little emperor grew up, he had already developed the self-awareness of being a king, and he already had a domineering aura in his actions. Add to this the rebellious period that is inevitable for a little boy.
So easy to manage.
Moreover, he was also afraid that if his discipline was too harsh and the young emperor's spirit was broken, he might repeat the mistakes of history and turn his and Sophie's son into the Franz of history.
-Emperor Joseph.
In history, Emperor Franz-Josef has almost become synonymous with weakness, corruption, and incompetence.
In terms of governing the country, he accomplished nothing. First he lost to the alliance between France and Sardinia, and lost the most important territories of Lombardy and Venice; then he lost to Prussia and lost the leadership of the German Confederation. From then on, he could only become an ordinary Central European.
country; later he had to compromise with the Hungarians under internal and external difficulties, and turned his empire into a two-headed alliance co-governing Hungary; finally, he rashly launched a war under the influence of Chief of Staff Hotzendorf
, resulting in the First World War, which completely ruined the Habsburg family's more than 700-year rule history.
When it comes to managing the family, he has also accomplished nothing. Although he loves his wife, he cannot keep the house. The couple has been separated for many years. His only son, Crown Prince Rudolf, even chose to commit suicide due to too much mental pressure...
As an emperor, a man cannot even take care of his wife and children. How incompetent is this?
In short, in the eyes of future generations, Franz Joseph was an image of great tragedy and resentment. Although he lived for 86 years and ruled the empire for 68 years, he did not leave a good impression on people of his civil and military skills.
He is remembered only for his failures and tragedies.
This kind of life is something Aigron never wants to see in his son.
Therefore, after he was responsible for the education of the young emperor, he had been deliberately instilling in the child a clear vision, strong willpower and decisiveness - these things were extremely lacking in the historical Emperor Franz.
Judging from the little emperor's current performance, his educational achievements are actually quite successful.
Therefore, he did not want to use too drastic methods to convince the little emperor and destroy the achievements he had finally cultivated.
There was no way for Aigron to explain his painstaking efforts directly to Sophie, so he could only sigh. "Emperors should be courageous. Since he dares to give me advice, that's a good thing. If he is just obedient, then it will be a good thing."
I would be extremely disappointed.”
Then, he changed the topic, "Forget it, these things shouldn't be talked about on the celebration day. We should be happier, at least today, don't think about those annoying things."
"That's right." Sophie immediately agreed with his opinion, and then she lowered her voice and asked him slowly with that girlish murmur, "So, in order to celebrate, Your Excellency Prime Minister, we...
…should…do…what?”
Although they have been together for so many years and have given birth to more than one child in their affair for more than ten years, Aigron still finds it difficult to resist the deliberate charm of the beauty in his arms...
In particular, the deep affection that could not be dissipated in her eyes at this moment made him infinitely addicted to it.
Sister and brother, aunt and nephew, the empress dowager and the prime minister... This kind of taboo happiness of reversed identity can make him enjoy it every time.
His breathing became heavier, and then he straightened his face, showing a stern look, and then stretched out his hands to press the neck of Her Majesty the Queen Mother. "Your Majesty, I want to start a revolution!"
"Nonsense!" Sophie obviously got into the mood. She immediately straightened her face and angrily scolded the traitor who was approaching Chi Chi, "You have been favored by the country, how dare you say such a thing? How ungrateful is this?
!I will execute you in the square!”
Then, she couldn't hold herself any longer and burst out laughing.
And in the midst of her frivolous laughter, the two figures quickly merged together, becoming indistinguishable from each other.
This is another romantic affair for them, and there will be many more in the future. The gorgeous, frivolous and dissolute Regency Era, the reviled but extremely nostalgic Regency Era, slowly welcomes itself in this celebration.