The War Court and Lap Pillow, Austria's Mandate of Heaven

Chapter 1343 Preparation before marriage
Olga patted her cheeks and felt that her expression was a little stiff.

Alexander asked with a smile.

"My dear sister, why do you seem a little unhappy?"

Olga replied unhappily.

"Why don't you try smiling at others for a few days in a row?"

Alexander became even happier and looked at Olga seriously.

"You think I haven't tried it? You know why I like to be late and leave early! Haha!"

It is also very hard to accept other people's blessings for eight hours a day.
Olga couldn't have a stern face. After all, she was about to become the Empress of the Austrian Empire. This was her duty. And if she had a stern face, it would really scare some people.

You have to know that the Queen of the Austrian Empire has real power. If Francis II had not been afraid that his son was too incompetent and controlled by others, and restricted the Queen's power, Olga could have decided the future and destiny of the vast majority of the subjects of the Austrian Empire after marriage.

Moreover, the emperor Olga married was Franz, whose authority was the highest among all the emperors of the Austrian Empire. No one was willing to risk their own life to test whether Franz's knife was sharp.

In addition, the Austrian Empire had many enemies. If Olga made an unwilling expression, it would definitely be over-interpreted, and it might then become an international crisis.

"I'm so tired! I shouldn't have gotten married if I had known!"

Olga complained.

"Tsk tsk, I see you've got your face pressed against my chest and your saliva is about to flow out."

Olga thought she could get comfort from her brother by being pretentious, but she ended up being ridiculed and shouted in anger.

"Go to hell!"

Alexander nimbly dodged Olga's attack and spoke solemnly.

"Don't be complacent, or you'll get hurt."

"roll!"

At this time there was a knock on the door.

"Your Highness Olga, please come to Schönbrunn Palace. Madame Sophie wants to see you."

Olga's heart skipped a beat. Madame Sophie was a strong woman and a heroine. This was a recognized fact among the noble ladies.

But all the noble ladies knew that Madame Sophie would be an "evil mother-in-law" because such a woman would be very strict and proud. Coupled with the rumors that she had drowned people in the Danube in her early years, most of the noble ladies both admired and feared Madame Sophie.

Alexander sighed and patted Olga's shoulder sympathetically.

"Be decent."

Olga stomped Alexander hard before going out with her skirt lifted.

After several expansions, the area of ​​Schönbrunn Palace is almost ten times larger than before, far surpassing the Palace of Versailles. This also leads to a problem, that is, without a carriage, it is extremely difficult to travel.

Olga saw a very magical scene in the palace. Servants riding two-wheeled or three-wheeled carts kept passing by on both sides of the road.

Olga had never seen a bicycle before and at first she thought the men were clowns, but she soon discovered she was wrong.

These people were not clowns, there were senior waiters and even maids sitting in the carriages. They would give way and salute when the carriages passed by, which made Olga feel very novel, after all, she had never seen such a spectacle in Russia.

In fact, according to tradition, people other than royal family members are prohibited from riding horses in Schönbrunn Palace, and riding in a carriage also requires the approval of royal family members. However, as the palace continues to expand, this rule is obviously no longer applicable.

However, allowing servants and waiters to ride in carriages at will would not only increase security risks, but would also make some royal family members feel uncomfortable. After all, if everyone could ride in carriages, it would not reflect their special status.

So Franz came up with a compromise that not only took the royal family's face into consideration, but also made these rules not seem so inhumane.

The most important thing is that it can also promote bicycles. At this time in the Austrian Empire, bicycles have not completely gotten rid of the stereotype of luxury goods and toys.

Although the bicycles produced in the Austrian Empire were not much different from modern bicycles due to Franz's intervention, horse-drawn carriages were still people's first choice for travel.

The idea of ​​the common people is to save money as much as possible, walk for short distances and take a public carriage for long distances. The nobles and the elite generally think that riding a bicycle is not decent enough, and only those who are unorthodox will choose to ride a bicycle.

The mindset formed over thousands of years is difficult to change in a short period of time, so Franz can only increase the promotion efforts.

If people in the palace rode bicycles, it wouldn't be so shameful to ride a bicycle on the streets of the city.

There are many rare birds and animals in Schönbrunn Palace, which were collected by Franz from different parts of the world. Even a princess like Olga found them novel.

Olga was not an ignorant princess, but the animals in Schönbrunn Palace at that time were too strange. All kinds of strange animals made people feel as if they were in a fairy tale world.

As soon as she got off the carriage, she was surrounded by two seals. They were well-trained and therefore not afraid of people. Instead, they patted their bellies and demanded food.

Olga gave them two fish before they dispersed. She had to say that she really liked this novel feeling. The initial uneasiness and fear had disappeared.

"Oh, my dear little Olga, you are so charming. How are your parents?
But in order to make you shine more at the wedding, you still need to dress up. "

Madame Sophie did not give her orders in a condescending manner, but chatted with her like an ordinary lady.

Olga finally breathed a sigh of relief. She had actually already prepared the jewelry and wedding dress for the wedding. But since Mrs. Sophie had invited her so kindly, Olga still had to pretend to be happy.

But when Mrs. Sophie pulled her into another room, Olga was a little dumbfounded.

Sunlight shines through the transparent arched skylight onto the smooth marble floor. In a room that is more than 30 meters long and 15 meters wide, there are three rows of huge display windows against the wall, and the walls are filled with rubies.

"See if there's anything you like."

Mrs. Sophie said it lightly, but Olga subconsciously took a deep breath. It was the first time she saw so many rubies. It seemed that the Austrian Empire must be rich in rubies.
The jewelry maid at the side began to introduce.

"Your Highness, this wall is covered with the finest Burmese rubies. This red is bright and intense, like burning blood. The locals call it 'pigeon blood stone'."

Seeing that Princess Olga seemed to have no reaction, the jewelry maid began to introduce the gems on the other two walls.

"This side is the treasure of the empire.
On this side were the spoils of empire, some from Africa, some from America, and some from India.
Not every gem is qualified to enter the royal window, and every gem here is top-notch.”

The jewel maid pointed to the huge container in the middle of the room, which was filled with an exaggerated amount of jewels.

“Although these are not worthy of being put in the display window, each one of them is of gem quality and is worthy enough to be on the crown of those kings.”

As a jewelry maid of the Austrian imperial family, her pride was beyond words. After all, even if the top collections of other royal families across the European continent were piled together, they would not be able to fill half of the window.

(It was a consensus at the time that Britain and Russia did not count, Britain did not count as the continent, and Russia did not count as Europe.)
Any one of these can be placed in a jewelry store and regarded as the store's treasure. After all, what is stored here is the accumulation of several dynasties over hundreds of years.

Madame Sophie's words once again interrupted Olga's thoughts.

"This one has rubies, the next one has sapphires, the next one has emeralds, and the next one has cat's eyes.
If you like oriental style, there is also jade.
Audrey, could you please introduce Princess Olga to me?"

After walking through several rooms, Olga's steps became unsteady.