Chapter 24 The Pilgrimage (End of the Court Volume)
Kif.
In 800 AD, Grand Duke Vladimir of Kiev introduced Christianity to Russia. In addition to being the oldest city in Russia at that time, Kiev was also the holiest place in the entire Russia.
There is a 500-mile journey from Moscow to Kiev, and the empress's sudden announcement of the pilgrimage was somewhat unexpected.
What was even more unexpected was that the Grand Duke and the Grand Duchess were supposed to get married soon after their engagement, but the Queen did not arrange a specific date.
The Queen means to make a pilgrimage first.
This trip seemed to be just a whim of His Majesty, a devout Orthodox Christian.
Following him were Grand Duke Peter, Grand Duchess Catherine, Catherine's mother Johanna, the daughter of the Minister of Internal Affairs Vorontsova, Countess Roman, and some palace dignitaries, as well as their personal entourage.
The group included 230 attendants and hundreds of servants.
After setting off, the horse-drawn carriages and baggage trains walked day after day on the endless road, bumping up and down.
Everyone was starving, suffering from exhaustion and boredom.
The team kept changing horses, and at every stop along the way, there were 800 energetic horses waiting for the arrival of the Royal Horse Team.
The carriages of the palace dignitaries all had velvet cushions. In one carriage, Catherine begged:
"Your Highness, please come up and have a rest. Your feet are worn out."
Ekaterina looked at Peter with tears in her eyes.
Peter shook his head, and when he was about to turn around, Ekaterina said quickly:
"Can I walk instead of you? No one will say anything."
Peter still shook his head.
After he got off the carriage, he ordered Countess Roman and Vorontsova:
"The Crown Princess is not allowed to get out of the car."
This order was different from the previous orders to love the Crown Princess. The countess and Vorontsova were both a little dazed, but they both accepted the order.
Peter hugged Ekaterina, comforted her and left.
I don't know why, but Ekaterina always felt that this pilgrimage was different.
She asked the Countess to call Johanna, and she talked with her mother in the carriage, trying to get rid of her worries.
But Johanna looked excited. For several days, Ekaterina was surprised not to see her mother lose her temper.
Everyone she saw was smiling, and even the servants were friendly, which made Ekaterina wonder if her mother had a mental problem.
But fortunately, after talking, Johanna's mind was clear, but she was a little mysterious.
Sometimes the look in her eyes made Ekaterina feel that her mother was laughing at her.
'No way...'
Ekaterina immediately denied it. If her mother was dissatisfied with her, she would tell her directly. She would not just laugh at her with her eyes. She must have been overthinking it.
While Catherine was praying for Peter, someone was insisting on walking in the middle of the carriage.
Even if it is spring, walking for a long time will make people sweat profusely.
"Auntie, drink some water."
Peter caught up and began to admire the Queen.
Apart from anything else, few emperors can achieve this level of faith, although my aunt's attitude towards Orthodoxy is far from that of Peter the Great.
Peter the Great reduced the power of the Orthodox Church, but my aunt gave the Orthodox Church a lot of privileges.
This journey has lasted for a long time. Every time she encountered a church in a small village or a roadside shrine, Queen Elizabeth would stop and pray.
On the way there, she kept reciting prayers.
Peter didn't read it, because neither the original person nor he knew much.
All he can do is serve his aunt, wiping sweat, dripping water, and greeting her, without using others' hands.
Under the Queen's order, although the convoy moved slowly, the nobles did not have to suffer along with it.
Three weeks later, Queen Elizabeth had lost a lot of weight, but Peter was in better spirits.
He had never traveled such a long distance since time travel, and he unexpectedly gained 5 attribute points, one for his stature, one for his appearance, and three for his heroic demeanor. Elizabeth thought it was the result of walking, and was very pleased.
The convoy arrived first at Koseletz, where it stayed for several weeks waiting for the empress and the archduke to catch up.
In Koselletz, the empress held some balls and concerts, and the religious meaning of the itinerary was downplayed. The palace nobles placed bets of 40,000 to 50,000 rubles on the card table.
It seems to prove once again that this is just an ordinary pilgrimage.
Also in Koseletz, Peter took off Vorontsova's clothes, and when he was about to have the final battle, Vorontsov happened to catch him, and Vorontsov left thoughtfully.
Then Vorontsova**.
All the joy and indulgence subsided again after five days, and the convoy set off again.
Ten days later, the convoy finally arrived in Kifu.
Peter saw what this holy city looked like.
Golden church domes rise from the ground on the banks of the Dnieper River.
The Dnieper River is to Ulan what the Volga River is to Russia and the Nile River is to Egypt.
This is the mother river of Ulan. It originates from the swamps west of Moscow, the capital of Russia, flows all the way through Ulan, and finally flows into the Black Sea, splitting Ulan into two halves, east and west.
Dongwu, where Kifu was located, is now located in Russia.
Peter followed his aunt, and Ekaterina followed Peter. Accompanied by a large group of priests and monks, the three of them entered the city of Kiev on foot following a huge cross.
The whole city gave a grand welcome to the arrival of the Queen and the Grand Duke.
In the famous Cathedral of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary in the Pechersk Grand Monastery, the splendor of the monks' procession, the elegance of the religious ceremony, and the unparalleled splendor of the church itself made not only Peter look at him, but also Catherine was stunned.
Ekaterina secretly said to Peter:
"Your Highness, there has never been anything in the world that can be as shocking as this extraordinary church. Look, the statues are filled with real gold, silver, pearls, and all kinds of gems. It's so dazzling.
Got it!"
Peter just smiled at Catherine's words.
Perhaps after being tempered by 500 miles of walking, his aura at this time was extraordinary. This smile fascinated and shocked Ekaterina.
Soon, Ekaterina was shocked by something even more amazing.
————
ps: The palace volume ends and the emperor volume opens.