shadow of britain

Chapter 671 Idols of Young and Middle-aged Women
The Moscow Police Headquarters is located on Tverskoi Boulevard, the busiest street in Moscow.

When it comes to this street, it's like Nevsky Prospekt in St. Petersburg, Tverskoi Boulevard represents everything.

Gogol wrote an article praising Nevsky Prospekt in St. Petersburg. When this teacher from a women's college, who had always complained about St. Petersburg, talked about this bustling street, it seemed as if he had forgotten the torture of hemorrhoids and instead figured out the beauty of life.

——Not only young men in their twenties with beautiful moustaches and well-tailored suits are attracted to it, but even old men with full beards and bald heads are attracted to it. And ladies! Ah! Ladies are even more fond of Nevsky Prospekt. Who doesn't love this street? As soon as you step onto Nevsky Prospekt, a sense of fun hits you.

——The retired veterans, wearing heavy and dirty leather boots, stepped on the granite road, which seemed to crack. The young women, wearing small and exquisite women's shoes, turned their heads like sunflowers following the sun, constantly looking at the colorful shop windows. The warrant officers who were full of hope for promotion, with clanging sabers, left a deep mark on the ground. They all took their anger out on this street, and they kicked their legs hard or hard.

Although it is not the same city or the same street, Tverskoi Boulevard is less westernized and modern than Nevsky Avenue, but it has more traditional Russian cultural heritage.

Of course, there is no shortage of the numerous shops on Nevsky Avenue, nor is there a shortage of the glamorous beauties that Gogol praised so highly.

If you come here just to feast your eyes and pursue a better life, Moscow is obviously a better choice than St. Petersburg.

As for St. Petersburg, this city is a model city built by Peter the Great based on the European benchmark. However, for such a city that was not formed naturally but built artificially, St. Petersburg is clean, decent and modern, but the "classic flavor" of this city is too strong.

It is not just a city, but also a military fortress, a large military camp where a large number of troops are stationed, and a workplace for elite bureaucrats from local governments.

The busiest times in St. Petersburg are from 6 to 9 in the morning and from 5 to 9 in the evening.

But the rest of the time, during those working hours, even the busiest stores are empty.

Such characteristics also determine that this must be a city with a serious imbalance in the ratio of men to women. There are many beauties in St. Petersburg, but there are obviously more homeless soldiers who are serving 25 years of military service.

As for Moscow?
Although the lifestyle in Moscow is quite conservative, it is closer to Russian customs than to the bureaucratic style of St. Petersburg.

The noble mansion in Moscow was very much like a small manor.

St. Petersburg's small and narrow official apartments are rare, and Moscow's houses are large and spacious. Because large-scale entertainment activities are often held, many houses have a large courtyard in the middle that is used as a farm, where cattle and various poultry are kept, a vegetable garden and a small shed for storing food.

Some mansions even have rows of greenhouses for growing winter fruits imported from foreign countries.

Compared with the formal and solemn palaces in Petersburg, the Moscow mansions were comfortable and homely, even with a touch of Beurgiovanna.

The Empire style was mainly reflected in the magnificent public buildings in St. Petersburg, and in Moscow in the magnificent decorations and furniture in the private living spaces of the nobility.

The residence of Moscow Police Chief Ziensky is located not far from the Moscow Police Headquarters. This quiet aristocratic residence rests quietly in the morning mist, but the sound of horse hooves breaks the beautiful tranquility like a landscape painting.

The morning mist in Moscow was broken into wisps by the slashing of Cossack sabers, and the white mist spewed out by six Don horses condensed into ice crystals, weaving a spider web in front of the iron gate of the police chief's residence.

The double-headed eagle emblems on the chests of several Cossack cavalrymen were polished to a shine, and their scarlet cloaks with wolf-fur collars fluttered slightly in the cold wind. From a distance, it looked as if this outfit had just been taken off the coffin of Paul I.

A black carriage was moving very slowly, guarded by several cavalrymen. The icy road made it difficult for the chestnut mare pulling the carriage to move. The coachman pulled the reins carefully, without any trace of the wild and unruly style of the usual Russian coachmen.

He was afraid that a sharp turn would cause the foreign diplomat in the carriage, who had three broken ribs, to be sent to the hospital again.

Suddenly, the chestnut mare pulling the cart slipped on the ice and neighed. The swords of six Cossack cavalrymen were unsheathed with a clang, startling a flock of crows from the treetops.

The carriage slowly stopped, and as Blackwell pushed open the door, the leading Cossack captain immediately dismounted and came to help Arthur get off the carriage.

"Your Excellency, be careful!" Captain Kosov, the head of the guard, shouted with a hint of vodka. He pointed at the chestnut mare that was swishing its tail and said, "This beast has kicked several Poles to death!"

"That's all right." Arthur's deerskin gloves brushed across the horse's mane, wiping away the frozen blood. "Your country's Don horses are as tough as unicorn cannons, and are much more interesting than Britain's draft horses."

He caught a glimpse of Captain Kossoff's bulging trouser pocket, from which half of a bottle of French brandy protruded.

Captain Kossoff noticed Arthur's gaze, he looked down, and immediately touched the back of his head awkwardly to apologize: "Sir, you know, in this awful weather, the brothers have to find a way to keep warm."

Arthur waved his hand and joked, "I understand. In this weather, even if a devout priest is sent, he will have to drink a few sips of strong liquor before he can open his mouth in front of God. Thank you for your escort along the way. Henry, you will take Captain Kossoff and his brothers to the French restaurant in front to rest. Their dishes are not bad, especially the Marengo stewed chicken, which is very well made. As for the bill, just tell the boss to put it under my name."

"Understood, sir." Blackwell bowed slightly, held out his white gloves and smiled, "Captain Kossoff, you and your subordinates will just follow me later."

Captain Kossov couldn't stop laughing when he heard this. He hurried forward and held Arthur's arm: "Sir, you... you are really thoughtful. Come on, slow down."

There was still frost on the bronze door knocker of the Ziensky Mansion. Before Arthur approached, he saw a lady wrapped in a silver ermine cloak, walking down the steps like a spring flood, supported by servants.

The malachite diamond earrings on her temples filtered the morning light into starlight, and the fingertips sticking out of the mink handcuffs were dyed with Marmara Sea shell powder. Arthur had long been familiar with the upper circles in Moscow, and he recognized this person at a glance: the wife of Moscow Police Chief Ziensky, a lady from the Muravyov family.

"Your Excellency must forgive this barbaric display." Her French was as sticky and sweet as Odessa candied fruit, and her malachite earrings tapped against her collarbone as she shook her head. "It is heartbreaking to see you like this. How could those thugs have the heart to attack such an outstanding person as you?"

Mrs. Zienski's words were not entirely false, because Arthur's complexion did look very bad to others.

Arthur's complexion was like the peeling frescoes in the Winter Palace, with a strange vitality floating in the carefully blended paleness.

He used the lead white powder that London girls loved as a base, mixed with crushed mica used to restore monastery murals, so that the skin would glow with the dampness of a tomb under the candlelight.

The "coughing up blood makeup" technique taught by Vidocq himself paints two morbid blushes on the cheekbones - the crushed freeze-dried powder of Hungarian red wine will melt into the afterglow of coughing up blood when exposed to heat.

Dip the frozen silver spoon into peppermint oil and draw frost lines on the temples, then use diluted honey to condense the oily sweat of a fever patient on the tip of the nose.

The most exquisite touch was the lip color: first use wax to seal the blood color, then apply squid ink mixed with blueberry juice, and finally sprinkle a layer of icing sugar to simulate peeling dead skin - as if the life had just been shattered by a thug's machete.

The three years of experience in Scotland Yard, coupled with the careful guidance of Parisian detective Vidocq, ultimately resulted in the image of this sickly and world-weary young man.

Not only Mrs. Ziensky felt heartbroken, but her best friends, the famous actress Miss Ekaterina Semenova, and the Moscow socialite Mrs. Maria Khovlina, who were invited to the side, were also frightened.

"Oh my God! You look so pale! Come in and warm yourself by the fire."

With the help of servants and accompanied by the concerned voices of ladies, Sir Arthur Hastings, who had just dealt with three hooligans with great vigor last night, was finally invited to the fireplace in the living room.

He relaxed on the sofa for a long time before forcing out a strained smile: "You... General Ziensky is not at home? He and I have an appointment to report the attack last night here."

Mrs. Ziensky personally poured Arthur a cup of black tea: "I have sent someone to the Moscow police station to inform him. Please stay here for a while, he will be here soon."

When Arthur heard that Zienski was not at home, the old spy who specialized in defrauding women and children immediately became more alert.

Among these three beautiful ladies, one is the wife of the Moscow Police Chief, one is the sister of Moscow Gendarmerie Colonel Semenov, and the other knows many unknown secrets of Moscow social circles.

Putting these three ladies together is like putting a mud puddle in front of a Yorkshire pig. If you don't let it roll in it, it will definitely be unhappy.

"How about I go to the police station to find him? Moscow has been in turmoil lately, and he has so much work to do. If he comes back just for a robbery case, I'm afraid your husband won't be able to handle it if the Tsar blames him!"

"Don't get up!"

Miss Semyonova hurriedly held Arthur's shoulders, but she was a step too late after all, because Arthur had no intention of leaving. As soon as his butt left the sofa, he pretended to be anemic and sat back down.

"Smell this quickly." Mrs. Hovlina was obviously more experienced. Seeing Arthur dizzy and slumped on the sofa, she quickly took out a bottle of smelling salts and stuffed it under Arthur's nose.

The strong and pungent smell made Arthur cough repeatedly. He originally planned to continue acting for a while, but his body instinct forced him to succumb to the power of the smelling salt bottle.

Arthur held his head and thanked him softly, "Thank you, ma'am. I'm feeling much better now."

Mrs. Ziensky tried to dissuade him, "I'm afraid you'll faint while you're talking here. Who was the doctor who treated you? What advice did he give you?"

Madam Hovlina offered advice, "Your injury has concerned the entire Moscow. The Emperor inquired about your condition last night and said he would send someone to take you back to St. Petersburg overnight to invite the court physician to treat you. I think this is a waste of time. You are so weak that you cannot stand such a long journey. Besides, there are good doctors in Moscow. If you don't mind, I have a business card of a German doctor here. His medical skills are well-known in Moscow. I heard that he was a military doctor serving in the Prussian army in his early years and has a lot of experience in treating trauma."

When Arthur heard that he had to be sent to the hospital, he was naturally very unhappy.

Not to mention whether the German doctor was really a skilled doctor, even if he was, wouldn't all the medical subsidies he applied for from the embassy be in vain?
Arthur now has only one criterion for selecting doctors, that is, they must dare to prescribe medicine and issue invoices. Medical skills are placed second.

Arthur tried to change the subject, "Thank you for your concern, but compared to my injury, I still feel that those who were arrested for arson are more pitiful. I passed by the Krutitz Barracks a few days ago and saw that many arson suspects were detained there. A group of people were stripped naked in the snow and stood on iron plates and whipped one by one..."

Miss Semyonova continued: "Have you heard about that incident? The first prisoner sentenced to be flogged shouted loudly that he was innocent. He swore that he was innocent and he didn't know what he confessed under torture. He also took off his shirt and shouted to the onlookers: 'Orthodox Christians, look!' His back was covered with blue scars running horizontally and vertically, and now he was going to let this scarred back be flogged again. The onlookers cried out in surprise, and the atmosphere became gloomy. The police were all panicked. The executioner gritted his teeth and reduced the number of lashes. Others quickly tattooed them, and some were hastily shackled. The matter ended in such a hasty manner."

Mrs. Ziensky, who knew some of the inside story, defended her husband awkwardly, "This is the only solution. There are fires every day now, and only a few murderers have been caught. The emperor is furious about this and has ordered that the case must be solved within three days. You also understand that the emperor's words are golden. If he says it will take three days, it must be solved within three days."

Mrs. Hovlina asked worriedly, "Although that's what she said, right now, this matter has caused a lot of discussion in Moscow and public opinion is in an uproar. The arsonist was sentenced, but until last night, fires were still happening. If we don't give the citizens an explanation, I'm afraid this matter will be difficult to turn over."

Mrs. Ziensky lowered her voice and said, "You have a point. I heard from my husband that Prince Golitsyn has reported the matter to the Emperor. The Emperor wants to set up a new court to re-judge the case, especially the prisoner who publicly complained before the execution. The case must be thoroughly investigated."

(End of this chapter)