Struggle in Russia

After a while, Neridova blinked her eyes and stretched lazily, and then she said calmly: "I am not short of money for the time being, and Pyotr Andreevich is not interested in power either. Ours The request is very simple, to be peaceful and peaceful, so that we can live our free little life!"

Count Rostovtsev smiled slightly and said: "Your request is indeed not high, but it is not easy to achieve. Given the relationship between you and His Majesty, from the day you entered the Winter Palace, you have been entangled in intrigues and intrigues. I have killed you and now I want to escape cleanly, do you think this is possible?"

Neridova's eyes flashed and she said, "You mean that the peace I want must wait until His Majesty is gone?"

Count Rostovtsev sneered: "In my opinion, even if His Majesty leaves, you may not be able to find peace!"

Neridova looked solemn and said sternly: "Why?"

Count Rostovtsev chuckled and said: "You don't think that the Queen is a tolerant person, nor do you think that she has not offended anyone in the past years in order to compete for favor?"

Neridova showed a serious look, because Count Rostovtsev's words touched her heart. It is difficult for women to have true friendship, especially between the first wife and the mistress.

Don't look at the current Queen Alexandra's virtuous and indifferent attitude of letting Nicholas I pick flowers mercilessly. Do you really think she has a good temper?

She had no choice but to let Nicholas I go. Do you think she is not filled with hatred?

Only those who have actually stayed in the Winter Palace know that Queen Alexandra is never as good-tempered as she appears. Once Nicholas I is gone, do you think she will be polite to Nicholas I's confidante?

And this is what Neridova is most worried about. She is very worried that once Nicholas I is gone, Alexandra will hate her even more despite how favored she has been over the years. She was the empress dowager at that time, and a little hesitation to Crown Prince Alexander could make her worse than death. Let alone live a peaceful life, her life might be in danger.

This is just Queen Alexandra. If you include the bitches that she has offended in order to win her favor over the years, you can imagine how disastrous the consequences will be.

In a situation like Neridova's, unless she immediately finds a reliable backer to rely on, she will really be beaten to death.

But think about who Neridova can really rely on?

It seems that there is only Count Kleinmicher, and the status of this count is very embarrassing. Although he is a confidant of Nicholas I, he seems to be highly trusted, but his authority is very low. Without Nicholas He can't scare anyone in this life.

So you can put yourself in Neridova's perspective and think about what would happen to her once Nicholas I had his braids. And this is why she has been particularly active in the court in recent years.

On the one hand, she is trying to make friends everywhere to see if she can find reliable friends. On the other hand, she is trying to make good friends everywhere to see if she can find an escape route when encountering danger in the future.

It's just that after all these years of activity, she has observed too many high-ranking people. Either they are not powerful enough to protect her, or they are of low character and cannot be trusted at all.

In the past two years, she suddenly had more contact with Count Rostovtsev. She also carefully observed the count's behavior, and gradually came to think that the count was the most reliable among the piles of scum. one.

The only thing that made Nelidova a little undecided was that she couldn't figure out what Count Rostovtsev wanted to do. She really didn't dare to blindly trust people with unclear goals.

Because she always believes that only by clarifying someone's purpose can we truly understand the person's nature. For example, Count Uvarov, others only saw his usual sanctity, but Neridova saw his selfishness and unscrupulousness, and knew that this extremely conservative guy could never be entrusted with life.

After observing for such a long time, she continued to make insidious inquiries or find people to inquire about Count Rostovtsev, just to find out what the count wanted to do. Is it just for glory and wealth or some other purpose.

But the more Nelidova observed, the more confused she became, because Count Rostovtsev had too many faces. He looked like everything but resembled nothing at all. Do you think he is a conservative? But he seemed to take some care of Count Speransky. You could say that he was inclined to reform, but he got along harmoniously with a group of conservatives, especially his relationship with Nicholas I. It doesn’t matter if you said that he was not conservative. People will believe it.

In short, Nelidova couldn't see through Count Rostovtsev, and now as time passed, the time left for her was getting less and less. After thinking about it again and again, she took the opportunity of Count Kleinmicher to bring news to her. Decided to have a good chat with Count Rostovtsev in person.

"Of course I know that there is no peace in the palace, and I also know that the queen and some people actually hate me," Neridova said slowly, "So didn't I come to you? If Peter and I help you keep an eye on the palace Internal dynamics, keeping in touch with you at critical moments, can this be exchanged for some degree of protection?"

Count Rostovtsev smiled slightly and said: "Of course this can be exchanged for asylum, but you should also know that multiple submissions are the most annoying thing. If you can't guarantee the uniqueness of the message, then I can't provide any decent asylum." …”

Apparently Count Rostovtsev has clearly seen Neridova's little tricks over the years and knows that this woman has been casting a wide net. From his point of view, the most annoying thing is this kind of behavior of casting a wide net. What is the difference between this and sitting on the fence?

Neridova bit her lip and said harshly: "The most critical information will naturally be provided to you first and only, but you should also know that if I can't be good at it, I won't be able to get any decent information."

Who knew that Count Rostovtsev would not take this trick at all, and said without hesitation: "How much does your intelligence source have to do with those connections? To put it bluntly, what those people can bring you The news is not as effective as His Majesty’s casual words!”

Neridova's expression changed, and she sighed: "If you say that, do you mean that if I want to cooperate with you, I have to cut off all previous relationships?"

Count Rostovtsev smiled and said: "I didn't say that. Of course you don't need to sever all ties, but it's better to sever ties with some people!"

Neridova's eyes flashed with white light, and she immediately asked: "Then who are these people?"