"I said, I'm just a traveler," Xia Ya said, "and... an ordinary painter."
"You are not ordinary." Ekaterina said, "I heard from the teacher I invited that it would not be surprising to say that the portrait you painted was painted by Leonardo da Vinci."
Ekaterina turned around and took a few steps.
"It's been more than a year since you last appeared. Your sudden disappearance and reappearance couldn't be a coincidence, right?
what is your purpose? "
"I am indeed a traveler." Xia Ya said quietly, "I am here this time to witness."
"Witness what?"
"Witness, a piece of history."
"History?" Ekaterina frowned, "You mean me?"
There was a glimmer in Xia's eyes.
"For me, everything that happens now will eventually become history."
Ekaterina understood what Chara meant, and the brilliance of her blue eyes dimmed a little.
"Is this so"
She quickly calmed down and said with a smile, "Then you should always follow me. There will never be too few things in my life that can be recorded in the annals of history."
Xia Ya was speechless.
Then, she asked curiously, "What have you been doing for more than a year? Are you traveling around the world and painting?"
"I'm helping a friend build something." Xia Ya said.
"Oh?" Ekaterina was very interested.
"Ever heard of the Philosopher's Stone?"
Ekaterina opened her eyes slightly, "That thing that can turn stone into gold?"
Xia Ya took out a small stone from his arms. It was a hexahedron, very small, only about the size of a finger, and there were some runes engraved on it.
"This is a sample."
He threw it to Ekaterina.
"I'll give it to you to play with. It can make your wishes come true, and it can also increase your lifespan, although not much."
Ekaterina looked at the stone silently, with a glimmer of light in her eyes.
If this thing really has the effect he said, then this kind of thing can be said to be priceless among rulers.
Especially the effect of increasing lifespan, some emperors would even be willing to exchange their land for this treasure.
But he threw it to himself as casually as a toy.
She raised her eyes to look at Xia Ya and teased.
"Is this a token of love?"
"I have a lover." Xia Ya said.
However, Ekaterina was not sad but happy, her eyes lit up and she joked.
"I thought you were a saint who doesn't eat the fireworks of this world."
Xia Ya was speechless for a moment, not knowing how to continue.
At this time, the door outside was pushed open, and a non-commissioned officer in military uniform walked in.
"Your Majesty, we are ready."
She raised her head and glanced at Xia. He returned to his ordinary appearance just now, like an ordinary officer.
But those bright eyes are hard to ignore.
She turned her head and said, "Let's go."
She walked out, and Xia Ya followed, but as soon as she went out, she was stopped by the sergeant.
He looked at Xia slightly warily.
"Who are you and why have I never seen you?"
Ekaterina in front spoke.
"One of our own, Orlov."
Orlov glanced at him, his eyes still unkind, but he still took a step back and exited the road, and Char continued to walk out.
He boarded a ship with Catherine's coup troops as they headed by sea to St. Petersburg.
Ekaterina just stood on the bow of the boat, quietly looking at the rising dawn in the distance. The sea breeze was blowing her hair and her eyes were slightly dark.
No one knows what will happen until the coup succeeds.
The result of the failed coup is obvious. It would be better if he died directly. If he was imprisoned in one place for more than 20 years like Ivan VI, it would be worse than death.
"Do you think our trip will be successful?"
"You have to believe in your husband." Xia Ya said.
Ekaterina couldn't help laughing, "The one I want to overthrow now is my husband."
"I said, you have to believe in your husband's status in the hearts of the guards." Xia Ya said, "Believe it or not, from now on, you will have a smooth journey without encountering any obstacles."
Of course Ekaterina didn't believe it.
But after a pause, she said, "How about we make a bet?"
"What?"
"If, after we arrive in St. Petersburg, things don't go as you said." Ekaterina's eyes stared into the distance, with a faint glimmer of light dancing in her eyes, "How about you stay in the palace?"
"Anyway, for people like you, this period of time is quite short, isn't it?"
Xia Ya's eyelids narrowed slightly, "I've never lost a bet."
"What a coincidence." She slowly raised the corners of her mouth, "Me too."
Xia Ya smiled and said, "I have no objection."
Ekaterina stared at him for a long time. After a moment, she turned her head and looked into the distance and whispered.
"Actually, I also think the situation is as you said.
But if the coup was really that simple, the world would be full of emperors."
Xia Ya was speechless.
The voyage was not far, so after about ten minutes, they finally arrived at the port of St. Petersburg.
As the country's capital, its ports need to handle huge cargo capacity.
However, there are not many ships docked at this moment, and it is even eerily quiet...
Soon, the Imperial Guards from St. Petersburg came from all directions and occupied the coast. They lined up, held their heads high, and pointed their guns at their ships.
It seems that because of the previously arrested officers, the people in St. Petersburg had actually learned in advance that Catherine was preparing a coup.
Ekaterina's eyes were also slightly solemn, and she was clutching the Philosopher's Stone that Char had just given her in her palms, trying to pretend to be calm.
The soldiers who were following her immediately protected her behind them and also raised their flintlock guns.
At the same time, the naval guns of several surrounding ships were also aimed here.
Soon, among the crowd, a man in military uniform walked out. It was Lermontov, the leader of the guards.
He stood on the shore and looked at Ekaterina who was standing on the boat.
"Your Highness Ekaterina, you are not in Oranienbaum. What are you doing here?"
At this time, Catherine was supposed to go to Oranienbaum with Peter III to hold a celebration, but because news of the coup was about to be exposed, she had to advance.
Ekaterina pushed away the crowd and stood at the front again. She put her hands behind her back and looked at Lermontov.
"I heard that someone was planning a coup in St. Petersburg, so I brought troops to support them."
A smile appeared on Lermontov's face, "Your Highness Yekaterina, you don't need to hide it. We learned the news fifteen minutes ago."
Ekaterina narrowed her eyes slightly.
However, what surprised her was that all the soldiers put down their guns and made a way for them, followed by the people from the Presbytery and the Privy Council.
They all bowed their heads to Catherine and shouted.
"His Majesty."
The shock caused by so many people speaking the same word is still very strong.
"Basically all the St. Petersburg Imperial Guard are here." Lermontov said seriously, suppressing his smile.
"Everyone is at your command."
When Catherine first arrived in Moscow, Queen Elizabeth gave their mother and daughter a warm welcome.
Crown Prince Peter and his distant cousin, who had been baptized into the Orthodox Church and given a Russian name at that time, were also polite to Princess Catherine.
Ekaterina soon understood that the most important condition for her to gain a foothold in this country was to become a native of this country.
For this reason, she asked Queen Elizabeth to find the best teacher for her, and studied Russian and Orthodox etiquette hard. Ekaterina studied Russian diligently. Even in the dead of night, when all the attendants around her had gone to bed, Ekaterina was still reading hard with her book in her arms.
Although it was winter, the room was very hot, so Ekaterina walked around the room barefoot.
But the winters in this country were much harsher than in Prussia, and she eventually fell ill with pneumonia.
I had a high fever for more than ten days and was unconscious. Everyone thought she was on her deathbed and had already started making arrangements for her funeral.
The Duchess of Anhalt specially found a Lutheran priest to say her last prayers, but Catherine asked for a priest who taught her Orthodox liturgy.
This means that she has completely converted to Orthodox Christianity.
This incident soon spread, and the favor of Princess Catherine doubled in the court.
During the years when she was trapped in the secluded palace, she had been relying on reading to relieve her loneliness. At first she began to read aimlessly, but later she accidentally read the works of Voltaire, and from then on she became interested in books on political philosophy.
Catherine found a thick ten-volume history of Germany and insisted on reading one volume every eight days. She also read through a four-volume history of philosophy, as well as a large number of Russian books. After a while, Catherine's depth of knowledge allowed her to understand Montesquieu's difficult book "The Spirit of the Laws".
Compared to her timid, suspicious, and neurotic husband, she is far superior to the crown prince in both cultivation and thinking.
In the years since she became the crown prince's wife, these ideas and cultivation have gradually been revealed to the courtiers.
She has also been deliberately wooing those courtiers, giving them both kindness and power.
The more stupid Peter III becomes, the more obvious Catherine's ability becomes.
People are not fools. They can understand who can lead this country to glory and who is harming the interests of this country.
Of course, it is still a bit difficult for a German princess to become the empress of Russia, but when she has a prince of her own blood, the situation is different.
This is not Catherine's luck, this is the inevitable result.
Ekaterina turned back and glanced at Xia, who seemed not surprised by the result.
The fate of this Yekaterina highly overlaps with that of Yekaterina in another world. On this basis, Xia Ya gave her the fate of Ye Huang in another world.
Everything that happens will naturally be close to history.
In another world, when Emperor Ye's army arrived by boat, the Forbidden Army in St. Petersburg reacted like this.
But according to Ekaterina, this is obviously not a coincidence.
He should have the ability to predict the future.
She said nothing, just walked down the stairs, and the guards on one side had already brought a horse for her.
She got on her horse and ordered to Lermontov.
"Integrate all the imperial troops, march towards Oranienbaum, and capture Peter III!"
"yes!"
The rest of the imperial guards also jumped on their horses and followed Catherine towards the Oranienbaum Palace.
At this moment, St. Petersburg is still sleeping haggardly in the mist and dew. The fog is hazy, but even so, many people have come out spontaneously on both sides of the street.
Naturally, they do not have access to information about the upper class, but they are people living in St. Petersburg, and their political literacy is much higher than that of ordinary people.
Seeing Ekaterina in military uniform leading soldiers towards the palace, some people could easily guess what happened.
Some people even cheered loudly in support of Catherine.
This is enough to show the amazing popularity that Catherine has in the hearts of the people of this country.
Even the Ye Huang of another world may not have such a public opinion basis.
However, by the time they reached their destination, Peter III had already fled the palace.
The Imperial Guard in St. Petersburg had known about their plan fifteen minutes ago, and although Peter III was fatuous, he was still the emperor, so it was impossible that no one informed him.
They walked forward in the corridor of Oranienbaum Palace, her confidant Orlov walked in front with a sword on his waist, opening the way for her like a guard, and shouted to the waiters standing on both sides.
"Kneel down and salute the Queen!"
The waiters in red were also very sensible. They were all half-kneeling on the ground and lowered their heads.
Then, Ekaterina followed behind at a steady speed, like a warship about to rush to the battlefield.
There was no longer the anxiety in her eyes.
The blue eyes like Lake Baikal reveal undisguised ambition and endless desire to dominate, as well as the corners of his mouth that can't help but raise because of the impending victory.
This victor's posture has a high-spirited beauty full of vitality, which makes people yearn for it.
As Ramses said, a king is the most greedy, cruel, generous, arrogant and ultimate person.
Those who serve as ministers will admire and follow him, live a more wonderful life than anyone else, and will naturally make everyone fall in love with him.
This may not be the only definition of a king, because that is not what Arthur is.
But it is undeniable that such a king does have a unique charm that makes people immerse themselves in the deep blue sea.
A year ago, when Xia Ya met her, she was still an immature soul suffering.
But at this moment, she is a soul that has gone through repeated trials and tribulations and has broken free from difficulties and suffering.
She breaks away from being immature and becomes more resilient and mature.
This empire will also welcome their next emperor today.
(End of chapter)
