Wang Zhong, accompanied by the two princesses—yes, two princesses, one a real princess and the other his princess—wandered around his quarters for three hours.
He had been prepared for a clash of swords; after all, both were from Ante, where subtlety was unheard of, and direct confrontation the norm.
But the situation turned out much better than he had anticipated.
Initially, Wang Zhong played the role of tour guide, but gradually, Ludmila took over that role, leading Olga on a “tour” of the barracks, treating the soldiers’ training exercises as entertainment.
As the true and false princesses happily engaged in machine gun shooting, Wang Zhong couldn’t help but ask Nelly, who followed close behind, “Is this normal? They’re getting along so well, it’s not the calm before the storm, is it?”
Nelly looked at Wang Zhong and countered, “What, do you really want to abandon Liu Da to marry Her Royal Highness the Crown Princess and become a prince consort?”
Wang Zhong, “No, I have no such thoughts. But the Crown Princess has always been forthright, so I thought they would be at each other’s throats…”
Nelly, “What are you talking about? Even if you marry Liu Da, you can still have a lover. If a woman doesn’t have lovers, it means she really loves her husband. If a man doesn’t have lovers, it means he has no charm.”
Wang Zhong, “Ah? Is that so?”
“Yeah.”
As Nelly said this, Olga began to operate the machine gun, with Liu Da assisting her by holding the ammunition belt.
The two lay on the ground, using their chests as a cushion of sorts.
Wang Zhong paused to watch the recoil of the machine gun and its fluctuations.
Ludmila, wearing a military uniform, handled it fine, but the Crown Princess—wow!
As the machine gun’s bullets shattered the brick wall behind the target, Olga laughed heartily.
Wang Zhong’s mouth fell open into an ‘O’ shape, thinking to himself, ‘Mother of God, no matter which one I marry, I dare not have a lover, or I’ll end up as target practice.’
Then Nelly continued, “Once the Crown Princess really gets married, she’ll keep coming to see you, her lover. In nobility marriages without love, it’s normal for both spouses to have lovers.”
Wang Zhong was shocked, “What do you mean? So will Liu Da as well?”
“No, she loves you,” said Nelly.
Wang Zhong, “I love her too, so shouldn’t we both be good to each other? But according to what you just said, I need to have a lover?”
Nelly, “Yeah, it proves you’re a competent man. Even if you never touch this lover, you should have one. Liu Da probably thinks the princess would be suitable.” Discover worlds on m-v le-mpyr
Wang Zhong was tremendously affected, “Is, is that so?”
Then in ‘Quiet Don River’, why did Grigori’s affair with Aksinya lead to Natalia’s suicide?
Wang Zhong fell into deep thought.
Nelly seemed to guess what he was thinking and said, “That’s only for nobles. Among commoners, if a woman commits adultery, the man would challenge to a duel, and one of them would end up dead.
“If a man cheats, the woman would feel unattractive and might consider suicide.”
Wang Zhong, “Then there’s too much difference between nobles and commoners, no, I can’t accept that.”
Nelly blinked her eyes, “Everything I said was just made up.”
…it was made up!
Indeed, on second thought, in the Russian literature Wang Zhong had read, nobles didn’t calmly accept having lovers. For instance, in ‘Humiliated and Insulted’, Nelly’s mother was abandoned by a noble because he was to marry a real noble lady.
Huh?
Wang Zhong turned to Nelly, “Wait, you are Liu Xia’s wet nurse’s daughter, right?”
Nelly, “Right. My mother is also your wet nurse.”
Wang Zhong, “Oh I see. You aren’t some duke’s illegitimate daughter, are you?”
Nelly gave Wang Zhong a pitying look as if he were an old man gone senile from an illness.
Wang Zhong breathed a sigh of relief; it was just a coincidence of names.
Indeed, Nelly did not have the same defiance and strong pride as the girl in the story.
Of course, being precocious and radiating maternal warmth were traits they shared.
While reading the novel, Wang Zhong had felt that (the story’s) Nelly could be his mother.
But the end of the story was too sad; it truly crushed all things beautiful, leaving behind just a sliver of light.
So many Russian stories are sad, like ‘Quiet Don River’, where Grigori lost everything in the end, including his love Aksinya, Natalia who loved him, and the rank he earned through combat: both White Army’s and Red Army’s. He lost it all.
In the end, he even threw the weapon that had always been at his side into the Don River.
But at the very end, his child ran towards him.
Wang Zhong didn’t really like children, but when reading this scene, he felt as if the child were an angel descending from heaven.
Russian literature was truly miraculous.
As Wang Zhong was lost in thought, watching Nelly, her expression grew even more scathing, “Sir, if you say you don’t choose either of them and only want someone like me, even if it’s a joke, I’ll get angry.”
Wang Zhong, “What happens when you get angry?”
“I’ll splash you with boiling tea,” Nelly said.
Wang Zhong: “Is that something a wet nurse’s daughter would say? You must be some duke’s daughter, right?”
Nelly: “The Secular faction is already in power, my mother is a salaried free person.”
“I’m sorry. It was my mistake.” Wang Zhong sincerely apologized for his slip of the tongue.
Instead, Nelly was put on the spot: “Ah? No, there’s no need to apologize that much… “
————
At that time, Ludmila and Olga had switched places, but they did not start shooting; instead, they looked to the side together.
Olga: “What do you think?”
Ludmila: “He’s been clingy to the wet nurse since he was little; he might see the wet nurse’s shadow in her daughter.”
Olga: “You’re not taking this seriously enough!”
“No, we’ve lived together since we were little; we’re practically family. I’ve always thought of Alyosha as a brother, and Nelly as the youngest sister.”
“That’s exactly what’s most dangerous!” Olga said. “You will be separated from him on the battlefield, right? The maid is always by his side though, accumulated over days and months…”
Ludmila laughed: “That won’t happen; I’m going to start shooting now. You should enjoy the feeling of the cartridge belt.”
After Ludmila started shooting, Olga was caught off guard by the movement of the belt and was startled.
Ludmila stopped: “Hold the belt properly.”
At this point, the machine gunner explained: “The old-style machine guns we use can actually fire without a second shooter holding the belt, no problem. Not having a second shooter just increases the chance of malfunctions; it doesn’t mean it will definitely malfunction.”
“I see.” Olga stood up and patted the mud off her body—though they were lying on a tarpaulin, so there was actually no dirt on her.
Ludmila also stood up: “Are we done here?”
Olga: “I wanted him to come over to instruct me in shooting, to even personally feed the belt! And here he is, playing with the little maid!”
Ludmila glanced over: “It’s fine. And keep your voice down.”
Suddenly, a soldier shouted: “General, has it been confirmed that he is the prince?”
Ludmila: “I am the general’s fiancée.”
The priest supervising the training spoke: “Shulov! Go run laps! Run until your mind clears!”
“Yes! “
Olga looked at Ludmila: “You… are you engaged? I mean, was there a ceremony, with rings? I’ve noticed you’re not wearing an engagement ring.”
Ludmila: “No ceremony yet. Duke Rocossov only died for his country in August. And my family’s estate along with Duke Rocossov’s are all around Bolsk, my family should be busy helping to defend Bolsk at the moment. In such circumstances, no one is free to arrange our engagement ceremony or prepare the paperwork.”
Olga: “Then you’re not really his fiancée, so I still have a chance.”
Ludmila: “He has said in person that he only sees you as a sister.”
“You’ve also said in person that you see him as a brother.”
“Not anymore.” Ludmila said.
The intense direct confrontation caused everyone to subconsciously stay away from the two “supremes.”
Olga: “I acknowledge your current leading position, but I remind you if General Rokossovsky becomes the prince, he could directly influence our military’s policies…”
Ludmila: “But you’re still the Grand Princess, not Ekaterina III. Besides, you can see that Rokossovsky is closer to the Secular faction; do you think the nobles would accept a prince like that?
“Of course, I wouldn’t mind him seeing you as a sister. After all, he was so close to the late His Royal Highness the Crown Prince. In an extreme case, for the sake of the entire Ante Empire, I could even tolerate some weird rumors between him and you.
“I mean, considering his past, if I couldn’t tolerate these at all, marrying him would become a torment. Are you prepared for that? Are you ready to share your beloved with the socialites of Ye Fort?
“Just from what I know, he has 51 lovers in Ye Fort alone, he could date a different one each week for a year without repeats.”
Olga: “That’s not right, isn’t it? That’s one short of a year, isn’t it?”
“The last week is mine.” said Ludmila.
Olga stared at Ludmila, who looked back at her unflinchingly.
Finally, Olga sighed: “Alright, alright, a brother is fine too. But… maybe the church would think they need someone close to them to act as a bridge between them and the nobles?”
“I think you’re pretty close to them too.” Ludmila laughed.
Olga: “… Indeed. Let’s continue cheering for the soldiers at the front.”
Ludmila: “Eh? I thought we were here to visit, to see the great military amusement park.”
Olga: “Of course not.”
Then she turned toward the soldiers, cleared her throat, and began to sing: “When the pear blossoms bloom across the horizon…”
Ludmila immediately picked up the second part and harmonized.
After all, both sides received thorough elite young lady education, and they were not lacking in musical literacy.
Even General Rokossovsky stopped talking with the maid to look their way.