Life of Being a Crown Prince in France-Chapter 690 - 599: The Song of Poland V

Chapter 690: Chapter 599: The Song of Poland V

Under the prior arrangement of Stanisław II, the news that he “paid respects” to the Tsar occupied the headlines of all major newspapers in Saint Petersburg the very day, with many newspapers even publishing his cloying speech in full.

Saint Petersburg instantly became a place of joy and celebration. Although the Russians had always regarded Poland as their “little follower,” the sight of the King of Poland personally demonstrating extreme humility was a completely different feeling.

Catherine II was also very pleased with Stanislaw II’s attitude, lavishly praised him, and set up a sumptuous dinner to entertain him.

However, the young man with a distinguished air beside the Tsar was constantly on guard, watching the King of Poland closely. Whenever the latter got slightly closer to Catherine II, he would use various methods to stand between them.

Stanisław II was very polite to him and even gifted him several valuable presents.

The King of Poland knew this man represented the major hurdle of his visit—Catherine II’s current lover, Pladen Zubov.

He showed great patience, formally visited the Tsar daily, talking only about state affairs, generally about how Poland was more destabilized than ever but remained loyal to Russia than at any previous time.

Four days later, Stanisław II finally got the opportunity he had been waiting for.

He was invited by the Tsar to participate in a hunt and stayed in the hunting palace that evening.

Under the moonlight, the King of Poland, who had been wandering in the courtyard, saw Catherine II appear on the second-floor balcony wrapped in a fur coat. The pretty boy, perhaps too tired from hunting, was not by her side at that moment.

Stanisław II immediately signaled to an attendant, took the Scottish bagpipe handed to him, and began to play from more than 30 meters away from the balcony.

The deep, slightly melancholic sound of the music drifted into the night sky, specifically the theme

After the song ended, Catherine II, with those sad and beautiful melodies lingering in her ears and a somewhat blurred gaze, raised her hand and said, “Let him come here.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

The next day.

Pladen Zubov woke up from a deep sleep to find that the Tsar was not beside him.

He hurriedly put on his clothes and went to the living room, only to see Catherine II admiring an oil painting, beside her was the artist of the painting, the famous Russian painter Feodor Stepanovich Rokotov.

In the painting, Stanisław II humbly bowed, while the Tsar stood on the high steps in front of the Winter Palace entrance, surrounded by hundreds of Russian nobles, exuding an imperial presence.

It was the scene from the first day the King of Poland had come to pay a visit.

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Of course, the painting was commissioned by Stanisław II from Rokotov for a hefty sum.

Catherine II looked at the painting with satisfaction and instructed her attendant, “Hang it in the concert hall after we return.”

She didn’t admire it just because it depicted Stanisław II, but because it showcased the Tsar of Russia’s majesty and Poland’s submissive stance.

The next evening, Stanisław II “accidentally” met Catherine again in the corridor.

After sending Zubov away, she listened to her musician Stach play “Let it be me.”

“Thank God I met you,”

“I want to stay with you forever…”

In the amendment clauses just read by the Prince, although Catholicism became the state religion, the constitution did not require citizens to convert to Catholicism. Protestantism, Eastern Orthodox Christianity, and even Islam were allowed.

Because of this clause on the state religion, the Vatican had promised to provide Poland with aid of 250,000 scudi, roughly equivalent to 1.1 million francs. For the stingy Vatican, this was indeed a huge sum, clearly showing how pleased the Vatican was with Poland’s repositioning as the “Spear of God.”