Chapter 41: Envoy of Chastity, Queen Teresa's Revised Opinions on 'Beloved'
'Karl Peter Ulrich, Peter Fedorovich, Peter III...'
From the crown prince to the emperor, as a colleague, Frederick I was extremely envious of Peter III. Along the way, he had the support of his aunt, Queen Elizabeth, and it was so smooth. Moreover, the autocratic monarchy of the Russian Empire was simply too comfortable.
Unlike here, where there is a parliament, the king is basically just a decoration. He does not have as much power as Peter.
Thinking about bidding farewell to the King of Sweden, Frederick I couldn't help but sigh. Although he was a king with little political power, he also felt extremely disappointed.
…
The capital of Austria, Vienna.
Queen Theresa was a devout Catholic, and her extreme rule made it difficult for people here to be happy.
Because there are a large number of spies everywhere on the streets, they are the Queen's "chaste envoys".
27-year-old Teresa is paranoid that girls can only gain God's favor by overcoming their natural love for the opposite sex.
So these chastity envoys follow the young girls to every possible means.
At any time, on any street in Vienna, young girls were picked up and thrown into prison simply because they had no company.
If a girl walked into a house, spies would wait at the door to take her back for questioning.
If the girl was embarrassed or hesitated to answer questions, she would be thrown into jail immediately.
Once there, her money and jewelry were gone and would never be returned.
For young girls, the only way to avoid being entangled is to walk down the street with a rosary in hand and head down.
Because spies don't arrest people who go to church.
The emissary who delivered the message came from Russia. He took a waterway from the port city of Riga, and then all the way by land. By the time he arrived in Vienna, he had already walked all the way.
In desperation, I came to the path beside the wall. Just as I was about to solve the problem, a voice shouted:
"If you don't find another place to deal with it, I will arrest you!"
The secret envoy was a little stunned. When did Vienna have such a rule?
He asked: "Why?"
The young man shouted: "Because there is a woman looking at you from the window upstairs."
The secret envoy suddenly realized that this was a chaste spy, so he had no choice but to find another path to solve the problem, and then hurried to the palace.
Maria Theresa, Queen of Hungary, Queen of Austria, owner of all Habsburg territories, and Queen of the Holy Roman Empire, is 27 years old and has given birth to 6 children, but she is still slim.
At this time, Teresa was kneeling in the room where she prayed, naked from the waist up, and was being whipped by a nun.
Her smooth back was marked with marks. It could be seen from other parts of her back that some marks were just right, but new marks were made.
As if ignoring the pain in her back, Teresa prayed devoutly:
“Lord God, King of Heaven, Almighty God and Father, we praise you, praise you, worship you, magnify you and thank you for your supreme glory.
Lord, Jesus Christ, the only begotten Son;
Lord, God, Lamb of Heaven, Son of the Father;
You who take away the sins of the world, have mercy on us.
You who take away the sins of the world, please hear our prayer.
You who sit at the right hand of the Father, have mercy on us;
Because only you are holy, only you are Lord, and only you are supreme.
Jesus Christ, you and the Holy Spirit share the glory of God the Father, Amen.”
Every time she prayed, there was a whip on her back. After praying devoutly, Teresa was immersed in the state of mind of the saint.
After she got dressed and walked out of the prayer room, she received something from the emissary.
This is a secret message from Count Bernice.
Because of the accession of Peter III to the throne, Theresa was worried about this admirer of Frederick and specially sent this capable envoy.
Count Bernice is smart and shrewd, and he believes that he will do his best for the benefit of Austria.
She opened the secret letter, in which Count Bernice detailed the whole story of Peter's interview with him.
When she saw the Danish ambassador being beaten violently by Peter III, Theresa couldn't help but feel a little strange.
When she saw that Peter III was naked and carried out atrocities, Teresa couldn't help but be stunned for a moment.
Is Peter III so ridiculous?
Moreover, the letter also described the interactions between Peter III and a noble widow in a carriage, and then believed that this Peter III had a complexity that was difficult to see through.
It is said that he was very absurd when he was the crown prince, and what he saw was only more absurd. However, Queen Elizabeth, such an absurd person, allowed him to ascend the throne as emperor, and he also wrote a book like "Peter Love". It is really puzzling.
Count Bernice's opinion is that no matter whether Peter III is ridiculous or not, he must try his best to win over Russia and not make him become like Prussia.
Judging from the performance of the last interview, the new emperor did not seem to have a lot of power in the court. The deputy minister of general affairs, Bestutev, was in charge. This was a very good point for Austria.
But Peter cannot be ignored. Peter is the emperor after all. No matter how absurd he is, he is still legal and orthodox. Sooner or later he will take power. Then will be the real test for Austria.
Count Bernis said that he will do his best to reduce the difficulty of this test and deepen the friendship between Russia and Austria.
At the end of the letter he wrote:
"Your Majesty, I present to you a portrait of Peter III and a book "Peter Love" written by him. In the book "Peter Love", the heart-warming love story of Peter and Sophia is described. This is undoubtedly a more interesting book.
Surprisingly, my judgment is not important now, our position is unquestionable, and I dedicate this beautiful work to His Majesty."
"As for the portrait of Peter III, I forgive myself for not being able to paint the whole picture, so as not to surprise His Majesty, but you can definitely feel the appearance of Peter III in the portrait."
Teresa put down the secret message, a little curious.
She did not read the book "Peter Love" first. As a devout Catholic, she believed that since Count Bernis recommended her book, it would naturally have merit.
But the book was too thick, so she looked at Peter's portrait first.
It seems that he had the same deep impression as Baron Madefield. The portrait painted by Earl Bernice also shows Peter standing on the carriage, glaring forward, opening his mouth to scold him as the main subject of the painting.
It's just that unlike Madefield's painting, Peter here is wearing a coat. Although his upper body is naked, important parts are blurred. Only the beginning and end represent Peter's spear of sin.
Even so, Teresa couldn't help but be surprised.
She measured the beginning and end in her mind, looking puzzled, how could it be so big?
After a while, Teresa, a devout Catholic, waved the painting down and picked up "Peter Love" to read.
Teresa was originally unhappy because Peter in the book had his first wife. Even though he was a crazy wife, she was still a wife.
Catholicism emphasizes perfect monogamy. Marriage is permanent. Divorce is a betrayal of faith. You can no longer confess or receive Holy Communion.
Theresa was not ready to read anymore, but in order to learn about the new Russian emperor from this book, she had no choice but to endure it and continue reading.
As she watched, Teresa, who had a critical spirit, found it increasingly difficult to make a conclusion. Then she put down the book and gave instructions:
"Rewrite this book, delete the original crazy wife in "Peter Love", and turn it into a love story between Sophia and Peter who went through many hardships but finally got together."
"yes."
The attendants took the book and went to carry out the queen's order.
Teresa was satisfied with her idea. It would not violate Catholic teachings or affect her reading. It was perfect.