Catherine and the Black Emperor

068. Meeting alone

And so, the Dzogolokovs became the Grand Duke's male steward and the Grand Duchess's female steward.

For Ekaterina, not much changed—she was already under strict restrictions.

But Peter couldn't accept that.

"Dzogolokov (male) is an arrogant and cruel fool, stupid, conceited, malicious, pretentious, furtive, taciturn, and never smiles..."

This was Ekaterina's assessment of Djogolokov; it's clear that Peter's assessment would be several times worse.

This is exactly what Sergei wanted to see.

Because the Djogolokovs held great power, Mrs. Bruze felt threatened and became extremely loyal to Catherine.

"Don't underestimate Bruze's power. Her sister is the Empress's personal lady-in-waiting and enjoys the Empress's deep trust," Sergei told Catherine.

As for how Djogolokov was able to be promoted to this position in such a short time, it was naturally because of Besdudev.

The Dzogolokovs were completely loyal to Besdudev. They only needed to make a suggestion, and the prime minister would readily help them achieve their goals.

This is a win-win situation through cooperation.

"Besdutev has found another watchdog. As soon as Djogolokov took office, he arrested several of the Grand Duke's servants, and Count Dver also left," Naryshkin told Sergei.

Count de Vere was originally the most likely candidate to take the position of steward. Once Peter ascended the throne, de Vere could take the opportunity to oust Count Razumovsky and become the royal steward.

But now, the meat that was almost in their mouths has flown away.

Naryshkin was unaware that Count Deville's resignation was at Sergei's behest. He had met with Deville privately and told him that since someone had suddenly appeared and taken his position as steward, he no longer needed to stay there.

He stopped Deville, who was on his way to see Elizabeth, and assured him that he would grant him a higher status at the right time.

Deville agreed, and thus resigned from his position as steward.

5 month.

The residence of the Djogolokovs.

"Your Highness! It's so nice to see you!"

When Mrs. Djogolokov saw Sergei arrive, she went up and embraced him warmly. Sergei could feel the softness and elasticity of her chest. No wonder Djogolokov had his wife bear him so many children—reportedly one a year.

His visit today was by invitation, and Mrs. Djogolovova was very grateful to him for helping her husband get the position of steward.

At the dinner table, Sergei explained, "Madam, you are too kind. I only did a very small part in this matter; the Prime Minister did the most."

"Of course the Prime Minister supports us, but if His Highness really says so, then my husband should have become the Grand Duke's steward long ago."

It's unclear whether Mrs. Djogolokova reacted quickly and cleverly at this moment, or if it was simply a genuine feeling.

"Your Highness, what do you think I need to do next to better gain the Prime Minister's approval?" Mr. Djogolokov asked.

Sergei put down his fork. "Why do you need the Prime Minister's approval? Sir, what you need to do is win the Empress's favor. Is the Prime Minister the most important person in Russia?"

Mr. Dzogolokov suddenly realized: "Your Highness, you are so clever! What should I do?"

"If you had taken office when you first took office, you would have decisively arrested all the people who were in your way, so that the Grand Duke would not have been preoccupied with other trivial matters," Sergei advised patiently.

"But I can't find anyone else to arrest. I've basically arrested all of his servants. I'm still having a headache about which servants to add for the Grand Duke."

"I am the Grand Duke's friend, and I cannot betray him, so I cannot tell you. Oh, by the way, one of the Grand Duke's chefs cooks very good dishes. The Grand Duke likes them very much, and I often eat them myself. They are indeed very good. You can try them if you have the chance," Sergei said casually.

Mr. Djogolokov's eyes lit up.

The next day, one of Peter's chefs was dismissed. Peter was very fond of the chef, and he had a big argument with Mr. Djogolokov over it, but in the end Peter still lost.

It's worth mentioning that the host was a close friend of Lady Bruegel, and it was through her recommendation that he became the Grand Duke's head chef.

This action led to Mrs. Bruzer becoming increasingly hostile towards the Djogolokovs and even more devoted to Ekaterina.

"Even I can't see the Grand Duke whenever I want anymore; he only has a few insignificant servants with him," Naryshkin complained to Sergei about Mr. Djogolokov's harshness.

"Peter, having lost his friends, developed a lot of perverse pleasures. He made his servants wear masks and dance to his violin music, when in reality they were just dragging their feet across the floor. What kind of dancing do those servants know..." Catherine also confided her grievances to Sergei.

She loved the elegant court dances at lavish balls, a stark contrast to this crude kind of ball.

Peter's behavior disgusted her.

"Whenever he did this, I would feign a sore throat, lie on the sofa, cover my face with a mask, close my eyes, and pray that this ridiculous dance would end soon..."

However, Catherine's situation also improved for the better.

That was because of Sergei's kindness to the Djogolokovs, which made Mrs. Djogolokova no longer prevent Ekaterina from meeting Sergei alone, and even help them keep the secret.

Just as Sergei thought: In the face of a foolish woman, whoever feeds her is her mother.

Gemma reported to Sergei: "Sometimes the Grand Duchess would have Mrs. Brueze secretly send the Grand Duke miniature sculptures of toy soldiers and cannons, as well as model castles..."

Sergei was genuinely pleased.

Ekaterina had already learned to utilize the connections and relationships around her. With Mrs. Brueze's help, Peter could not only evade Mrs. Djogolokova's surveillance but also win Peter's favor. He had become more adaptable to his environment even when he could not change it.

Lady Bruezer's view of the Grand Duke is laughable.

Having such a beautiful wife, he should be enjoying the pleasures of love at this age, but instead he hides in his room playing with toy soldiers.

But she didn't care about any of that; she was focused on finding an opportunity to take revenge on the Djogolokovs.

6 month.

After Elizabeth saw that the Dzogolokovs had taken over Peter and Ekaterina's lives, and Ekaterina still showed no signs of getting pregnant, she felt hopeless.

She summoned the Dzogolokovs and ordered them to find out who the culprit was, or if there was no such person, to find out what caused a beautiful, energetic, and intelligent woman to be unable to arouse her husband's desire.

The Djogolokovs immediately sprang into action.