Catherine and the Black Emperor

011. Ivan VI

"Your Highness, where is Naryshkin?"

Peter (the elder brother) looked around and saw that there was no one behind Peter (the Grand Duke).

"He went back, but he wasn't doing well."

Peter (the older brother) grabbed his hair: "The party tonight—"

"Can't you see the Grand Duke isn't doing very well either? Why are you having a party?" Sergei stopped his brother.

"It was the Grand Duke who said he wanted to drink it," Peter (the older brother) whispered.

Peter suddenly shouted, "That's right, I said we wanted to drink! Why not? We want to drink! But it would be best if we went somewhere else. Do you have any good places to go?"

Sergei and Peter (the older brother) exchanged a glance and smiled.

Before long, the three of them sneaked out of the Winter Palace. This was easy for Peter (the older brother), and Sergei was also very quick. He often climbed through the girls' windows, while Peter (the Grand Duke) was much more clumsy.

Fortunately, the guards were not alerted in the end.

The three men were on a slope behind the construction site, one of them holding a bottle of wine and tilting his head back to drink it.

After drinking about half a bottle, the three of them felt warmer and able to withstand the cold weather.

"Your Highness, what has happened to make you and Naryshkin look like this?" Sergei asked, feigning concern.

Now quite drunk, Peter (the Grand Duke) finally dared to reveal his whereabouts that afternoon: "You have absolutely no idea where my aunt took me—to a prison! Peter and Paul Fortress! It tasted like, like…"

"A stinking ditch," Sergei replied.

Peter (the Archduke) turned around, his eyes still blurry: "What does that stinking ditch smell like?"

"Go on," Sergei said with a smile.

"The prisoners in the fortress are missing limbs, and one woman had three fingers broken off! She has no teeth! Naryshkin was terrified. I'm a little better, a little better..."

"That's all? There's nothing to be afraid of." Peter (the older brother) shrugged nonchalantly.

"Of course, that's not all! I also saw—"

Peter (the Grand Duke) suddenly stopped talking. He seemed to remember something, and he was very scared. He tilted his head back and poured more wine into his mouth.

"Never mind who I saw, it was absolutely terrifying. If Naryshkin had seen that, he would definitely need to be helped home!"

Lying on the ground, Sergei squinted at Peter (the Grand Duke), who was continuing to drink. He was now absolutely certain that the last person Peter (the Grand Duke) saw was the key to Elizabeth taking him to the fortress.

That person's identity must be extremely important!

According to Peter (Grand Duke), Naryshkin has obviously been ruled out. So, to find out the other man's identity, we still have to start with Peter (Grand Duke).

Thinking of this, Sergei kicked Peter (his brother) in the butt.

"With such a low alcohol tolerance, what are you bragging about? Forget the Grand Duke, I could easily knock you out!"

"Sergei, what nonsense are you spouting! Grand Duke, let's drink!"

"drink!"

"Coo coo coo..."

"Coo coo coo..."

After drinking most of the bottle of wine, Peter (the older brother) was drunk, and Peter (the Grand Duke) was also drunk. Sergei estimated that it was about time, so he pulled Peter (the Grand Duke) aside.

"Where are you going?" Peter (the older brother) asked, supporting himself with one hand on the ground.

"Take a break," Sergei said without turning around.

"free?"

Sergei pointed to his crotch, and the latter rolled his eyes and waved his hand impatiently.

"Hurry, hurry!"

Sergei, who was familiar with Peter's (Grand Duke's) character, didn't say much. He only guided Peter (Grand Duke) on the topic of "fear," and Peter (Grand Duke) confessed everything.

After gaining his freedom, Peter (the Grand Duke) and Peter (his brother) continued drinking, while Sergei, who knew who was imprisoned at the Peter and Paul Fortress, had no interest in drinking at all.

So when both Peters raised their bottles at him, he raised his bottle too, and then, as the two men were pouring their drinks, he moved the bottle to the other side of his body and poured it on the ground.

Back home, Sergei lay in bed, thinking about that name.

"Ivan VI".

Three years ago, Elizabeth launched a midnight coup, seizing the throne from Ivan VI.

The succession to the throne from Peter the Great to Elizabeth was a long and winding road.

Peter the Great married Masha, a serf (later Catherine I), and they had Anna (his older sister) and Elizabeth.

"When Peter the Great died, the throne passed to Catherine I, then to Peter II (Peter the Great's grandson), and then to Anna (Elizabeth's cousin, daughter of Tsar Ivan V, who was Peter the Great's half-brother and co-ruled with him)."

"Anna (my cousin) was able to sit on the throne because of the intervention of the Privy Council, who believed that Anna (my cousin) was easier to 'tame' than Peter the Great's own daughters."

"After that, Anna (the cousin) passed the throne to her niece's child—a two-month-old baby, and named him after his father."

This is Ivan VI.

The situation is quite complex.

But it doesn't matter anymore, because the name "Ivan VI" is still forbidden to be mentioned, and anyone who utters it will have their tongue cut out by Elizabeth.

"A three-year-old child is the greatest threat to the current Russian Empress," Sergei said with a smile.

Having this leverage doesn't mean he can threaten Elizabeth, but at least he doesn't want her to be happy, as she will definitely be in a state of anxiety and anger.

"The infant emperor reigned for two weeks before vanishing without a trace. He was imprisoned in a fortress, forbidden from reading or speaking. Year after year, he could no longer understand or speak, and he didn't even know who he was, where he came from, or who his parents were. He was forever unable to leave the prison..."

Sergei slowly clenched his fist.

He wasn't angry about Ivan VI's situation, but at that moment, he was deeply reminded of the cruelty of royal power and the ruthlessness of humanity.

Those who achieve great things must stop at nothing to achieve them!

"Sergei, you're not just an ambitious man, you're a schemer!"

Alcohol assaulted his cerebral cortex, and drowsiness swept over him, so Sergei turned over and went to sleep.

"I'll go see Naryshkin again tomorrow."

The next day, Sergei slept until noon, then took a carriage to the Winter Palace, asked where Naryshkin was, and went straight to the kennel.

"Where is the Grand Duke?" Sergei asked, seeing Naryshkin walking his dog alone.

"My head is throbbing, I'm resting in bed. I've drunk three cups of honey water, so I'm the one who's been given the job of walking the dog." Naryshkin handed him a dog leash.

"I heard from the Grand Duke that you were terrified yesterday," Sergei teased.

"The Grand Duke always likes to exaggerate, but he was indeed frightened. Compared to the Grand Duke, I was much better off. Do you know what the Empress said on the way back?" Naryshkin said mysteriously.

"Hmm?" Sergei looked at him.

"Do you have any secrets to exchange?"

Naryshkin, who was even more gossipy than a woman, wanted to know what secrets Sergei had "found" from the palace these days.

Sergei's eyes lit up. He had actually "found out" about one yesterday, which was probably why Peter felt inferior and had been avoiding Sophia since their marriage.

"The Grand Duke's foreskin..."

Upon hearing this, Naryshkin's eyes widened: "Really?"

"It's your turn to speak."

"Your secret is explosive, but it's nothing compared to mine!" Naryshkin whispered, glancing around to make sure no one was watching. "The Empress said the Grand Duke is incredibly weak, both physically and mentally, and choosing him as the heir to the throne was a mistake!"

"She also said that she could never leave the empire to the Grand Duke. Once the Grand Duke has a son, his mission will be complete, and the Empress will send him to the Solovetsky Monastery or a prison!"

"It's absolutely true! The Grand Duke overheard this while pretending to be asleep!"

Sergei looked utterly shocked, then immediately reminded him, "You'd better keep these words to yourself. Also, we haven't talked about anything today."

Naryshkin knew that if these words got out, Peter would be fine, but he would definitely lose his head, so he immediately shut his mouth and focused on walking the dog.

Sergei, on the other hand, seemed to be deep in thought.

It seems that by this time, Elizabeth had already regretted making Peter the heir to the Russian throne.

Just then, he noticed a well-built maid looking in his direction from a distance; it was Ulyana.

"Naryshkin, here's your dog back. I'm going to get some freedom."

"free?"