Solovyov in Tsarist Russia 1796.

My wife and son came, and my mother came too.

After all, the old lady was worried about her son, considering that Napoleon's personal life ability was very poor, even to an outrageous degree.

Fortunately, Catherine likes meat, so she made fried meat patties instead of egg pancakes, otherwise there would definitely be some jokes when she flipped the pancakes.

Now he has confused his two older sons: "Dad, what did you write?"

Well, Alexander Walewski was a relatively precocious child. All these contents seemed like incomprehensible to him, not to mention the young eagle who was still practicing the "bars" that looked like French letters.

Those who know it is writing may think it is scribbles, while those who don’t know may think it is just ghost writing.

In order to ease the embarrassment, Napoleon had to call Demid to lead his cousins.

As for himself, he will play cards, have fun, and do many other activities today.

Even the spies of the anti-French coalition countries on the island believed that Napoleon was preparing to spend the rest of his life in this "Principality" on the island of Elba. There seemed to be no signs of resistance or escape, except for some letters brought to him by one of his Corsican fellows.

It was difficult for these people to check Napoleon's letters, and if someone who came to the island cried out that it was an injustice, it would seem difficult to deal with it.

After all, the preferential treatment that the monarch would receive here was also promised by the monarchs of other countries.

Of course, if the British Cabinet were to cause trouble, who knows what would happen?
He would read these letters before playing cards.

"It looks like the Bourbons will break their promise, your majesty."

"I know that, Bertrand. They won't even give me an annual pension of two million francs, and I give my wife more than that, and I can pay it without tax."

“Maybe they want to satisfy something.”

"These fools will probably replace all the wallpaper and furniture in the Tuileries Palace, because they think that there are traces of the use of the 'usurper' there, and then foolishly spend a sum of money, and then what else will be done next. These fools can be said to be very shameless."

"But there is also some news. Empress Josephine's cousin, Countess Soloviev, is planning to settle in Tuscany."

"What are they going there for?"

"I heard that the count is going to retire, so they are going to settle in Italy. The climate and environment are more suitable."

As for what she can do, there is actually nothing she can do.

It’s just that the nephew who caused him a lot of trouble might come to Italy in the future.

Paulina might be very happy. If she succeeds in unloading the baby and both mother and child are safe, she will probably move there, which is not far from Napoleon's island.

Whether it's to visit your brother, your husband, your lover, or...
All in all, it all seemed quite happy to her.

Playing cards at night is another story.

Napoleon actually cheated on purpose. Although it was a family card game, he still caused his mother's dissatisfaction.

"Napoleon, why are you cheating at cards at this time?"

"Mom, you have plenty of money."

Yes, Queen Letizia was able to save a lot of money every year. Most of the money Napoleon gave her was saved and deposited in the Bank of France or some banks in Italy.

The reason she diversified her investments was that she was worried that her sons would be liquidated in France.

It just so happened that Lucien was familiar with the people in Italy, and his three daughters were all here. Although she was very dissatisfied with her youngest daughter's behavior, the old lady would not be too partial to her and would always take care of her children.

Without the money Napoleon gave them in the past, if they continued to spend so lavishly, they would soon be in debt.

She had to find a way to support her king sons, and now she was indeed very rich.

Much richer than the bankers in Paris.

The old lady was not lying. Even though her son was cheating, that was all.

Louis XVIII did not pay the money, and this breach of contract made Napoleon very dissatisfied.

It's a good thing that Catherine is here.

Napoleon loved his wives, especially Catherine's belly, which was always working hard to give birth to children for him.

She couldn't spend too much time on the island; the conditions there were poor, and it wasn't as easy to find a doctor as in Rome and Florence.

Moreover, Catherine was not restricted and could travel freely among various European courts because she had many relatives and close friends.

Not only could she visit her three sisters, she could also visit her sister-in-law's house, and even the Bavarian royal family to which she was almost engaged, as well as her brother's fiancée's house. She had complete freedom of movement.

She could also take Napoleon's letters directly to Alexander. Although Alexander was still a little afraid of Napoleon, he was his brother-in-law after all, and he was trapped on the island of Elba.

The Tsar himself is still a person who cares about his reputation, and he will probably provide some help.

However, Russia itself is also facing financial difficulties. Behind the extravagant life is a huge fiscal deficit caused by the continuous increase in military spending. This hole is really difficult to fill.

But Catherine's husband cannot be ignored.

"Katherine, how are you feeling lately?"

"Nothing's happened yet, although it looks like I'm like this again."

Even though she was wearing a loose nightgown, Ekaterina went from slim to bloated because of her belly and the stimulation to her body.

"Children will always move, and they have always done so. But I also took your situation into consideration. You can't stay on this island. You have to go to the city. Find a doctor who has good skills and likes cleanliness."

"Why didn't you ask for a midwife with a steadier hand?"

"This is not Russia, Catherine. If it were Russia, you could say that. And, didn't you say that the fewer people knew, the less pain you would suffer?"

"You say it as if I were your mistress."

Catherine pouted and was about to twist Napoleon's ear.

The only people who dared to twist his ears like this were his mother and his young wife.

"Oh, Catherine, what are you doing?"

"You guy, you should know what I mean when I say this."

"Well, Mrs. Valewska will only stay for a few days and then leave, and she knows what her position should be. It's just that you arrived a few days later than her. If she didn't have only one son, she would probably be mistaken for you."

"But she looks a little old, and it doesn't match up with the anthropology that Misha talked about."

"It's not anthropology, Catherine, what do you want, for the child? I still have some money now."

"The money I got from cheating at cards with my mother? Today I went to see Paulina and made plans with her, but Sylvia was so smart that she saw through our tricks. We lost 200 francs to her."

Come to think of it, my wife and sister played much younger than he did.

If we really talk about a card-playing maniac, it would probably be Prince Bagration, who lost 40,000 rubles playing mahjong one night and didn't have to settle the account.

But he is no longer with us. When Ekaterina mentioned her cousin-in-law, she even felt a little sad. "But he is gone. It was my fault to conquer Russia, but..."

In fact, Napoleon still wanted to be tough, but considering that Catherine was here, he couldn't say anything, otherwise it would be troublesome to be beaten by her.

"No need to say anything, I still like your stubbornness. You are willing to go all out in everything you do, which is a good thing, but you also have to pay attention to the occasion. Is there anything you need me to do?"

"I have prepared a letter for your brother, and you should know what it is."

"Isn't it just that I'm short of money? I have a check from the Genoa Bank. Here it is."

Well, at this time, Catherine did not forget to "seduce" Napoleon and took out an envelope from between the mountains.

"This is for you. I think whether it is to support your life here or to do something else, it is my intention. This is 25 francs, the travel expenses my brother gave me for this trip. I think I can live here, at Paulina's house, and at the homes of my sister-in-law's maids, and it won't cost too much. And I have money myself, so this money should be enough for a while, right?"

Ekaterina took out a checkbook, which was more useful than the small checks Solovyov wrote for military and personal expenses on the march.

After all, sometimes, you can't withdraw all the money at once, and you have to use it in batches.

Napoleon was so pleased with his wife's support that he pushed her down on the bed and tried to kiss her.

The door happened to be open, and Octavia passed through it, with her two sisters.

She blushed instantly and covered her sister's eyes.

When the French emperor did this, he indeed forgot that he was no longer in Paris.

He is now the owner of Elba Island, and this villa is not that big.

But what Octavia was thinking about when she went back and secretly kissed Demid was that when she had kissed him secretly before, Aunt Paulina and her mother supported her, and her father did not object when he found out later.

But Demid's uncle was just like that, a little reckless.

But she didn't know that this boy Demid was actually the same as her second uncle, except that he was usually rational and restrained.

Napoleon had not yet publicly stated that he was returning to France, so no one was in the know.

But Polina and Catherine will leave in a few days. They must go to land to give birth.

It was just that Ekaterina arrived earlier, and Polina happened to be there to accompany her.

When the time comes, Octavia will have to go with her mother, and she is a little reluctant to leave Demid.

But his lover is the emperor's nephew, who is much closer to him than his father's non-blood-related nephew, and he will not leave his uncle.

Even when she was daydreaming, she was most like her mother.

But Demid had sworn to her that he would make her his wife.

When Dad came, he even suggested marrying Mom so that we could be a family of three.

But my mother refused. She also found it strange, even though faith was a very formal term and it could be seen from the family background of her father's wife.

After thinking for a while, I reached the corner of the stairs and my face was still burning.

Demid just came up and found her strange.

"Octavia, what's wrong with you?"

"Nothing? His Majesty is with Her Highness Catherine, I think at this time."

"My aunt is in such a bad condition right now. She will give birth in two months."

He spoke in a somewhat inappropriate manner, and Octavia threw a handkerchief at him.

"If you are so frivolous, will you still be devoted to me in the future?"

"Even if your father's angel-like maid comes here and wants to kiss me, I will not change my oath to you!"

Although Demid is a smart boy, he can't hide it.

He was honest in saying this.

"But do you think I'm beautiful?"

"Everyone has his own merits, and girls are the same, each has their own beauty. You are like a goddess, but not like the unfortunate Psyche."

In short, he talked a lot, but Octavia didn't care. After all, Demid would not tell lies against his will to please her, and telling the truth also proved his attitude.

Sylvia educated her daughters well, and she was a good girl who was also smart and knew that Demid would not hide anything from her.

In the future, he probably won't go out and find a mistress without my consent.

What's more, Napoleon allowed her to be a temporary maid here, serving Queen Letizia and Catherine, which was also a sign of his recognition of her, and he arranged her for his nephew.

I heard that Solovyov had many illegitimate children, but he favored his eldest daughter.

Napoleon even thought about how to talk to Alexander, the nephew who had blocked him in Reims.

It would be a good choice to let his illegitimate daughter become his nephew's husband.

Of course, Napoleon also knew that Solovyov had given him some hints about his dissatisfaction with Britain.

But it was impossible to tell the emperor on this island about the plan. Italians are talkative and the whole world knew about it.

He didn't know that Solovyov was in Vienna, working hard to set a trap for Dai Ying, and even brought Talleyrand and his stick into the meeting.

There will be a delay in the arrival of news, so what will happen in the future?

In fact, Napoleon only talked to a few confidants and did not tell people around him that he wanted to return to Paris.

There always needs to be an opportunity. After the restoration, the situation in Paris was not very good, and there were problems in all walks of life in France.

If there is social unrest and if there is some trouble among various parties in Vienna, it will give him an opportunity.

This Corsican man is born with a love of adventure and often has a gambler's mentality.

Even with the peaceful life on the island now, his wife and children visiting him, and letters from Josephine, the family hasn't felt this peaceful for a long time.

In fact, he is also very busy and is observing the situation in Europe.

"Drouot, how much cash do we have now?"

"Your Majesty, to maintain expenses, we need 150 million francs to spend on this island. The troops that came here are all loyal veterans of the Guards. Although they said that they just want to follow the emperor to have a meal, this cannot last long. What's more, what we can spend now, even if we count the money provided by the Queen and the Princess, can only last until June next year."

Drouot didn't say the number, but wrote it on the note.

Napoleon also knew that if Bourbon did not give him 200 million, his property would soon be exhausted and he would have to start using the money given by his sister and wife, which would only aggravate his predicament.

In the end, he finally figured out what to do, but he didn't do it right away. (End of this chapter)