Catherine and the Black Emperor

87. Hunting Ground Accident

"Your Majesty, I apologize; this is my dereliction of duty." Sergei stepped forward and bowed.

"Of course it concerns you! How did you find out about this beforehand? Get out of here!" Elizabeth didn't want to pay any attention to him; she just wanted to scold the instigator.

"Come, Cyril, look for yourself! How well the flowers, plants, and trees here are maintained! I've never seen such thriving vegetation in the Winter Palace gardens!"

"Tell me, what do the rabbits eat here? Do they drink red wine and eat roast chicken? To these flowers and plants, rabbits are truly a great benefactor! Or have you sold all the rabbits to the nobles around here?"

Cyril turned pale and immediately knelt down on the ground.

"No, Your Majesty, that's not it! I dare not sell rabbits to nobles! I dare not sell them to anyone!"

He never imagined that the "green grass," "fragrant flowers," and "beautiful scenery" that he originally wanted to show off to the Queen would become the reason for her to reprimand him.

How could this happen?

To prepare for the Empress's arrival, he instructed the caretakers to tend to the plants ten days in advance, and specially transplanted thousands of beautiful flowers from his own garden and many botanical gardens in Moscow.

Before long, a subordinate came and reported to Sergei, who then walked up to Elizabeth.

"Your Majesty, our investigation has revealed signs of hunting in many areas of the hunting grounds."

Upon hearing this news, Cyril nearly fainted.

The Royal Hunting Grounds are strictly off-limits to anyone who is not a member of the royal family, especially since this is the Queen's hunting grounds!

"Impossible, impossible..."

At this moment, Cyril was not the only one terrified; his brother Razumovsky, the hunting ground manager, and a group of servants were also there.

Count Razumovsky was well aware of this.

If her brother had indeed accepted bribes from the surrounding nobles and opened the Queen's hunting grounds to the public, it would be a blatant insult to the Queen, who valued her reputation above all else.

The consequences would be unimaginable!

"Your Majesty, Cyril would never dare to do such a thing. Please give me time, and I will investigate thoroughly!" Razumovsky hurriedly pleaded for his younger brother.

Looking at her favorite male lover, Elizabeth's expression softened considerably, but her words remained cold.

"If no one had ever come here to hunt, the hunting grounds would definitely be teeming with rabbits and other game, and there shouldn't be any signs of hunting, wouldn't you agree?"

"Your Majesty, I will reveal the whole truth in half an hour!" Cyril banged his head on the ground.

Razumovsky had known Elizabeth for many years, so he knew exactly how to quell her anger as quickly as possible, but before he could speak, Sergei stepped forward.

"Your Majesty, please rest for a while; the hunt will begin soon."

Razumovsky's eyes flickered slightly.

Indeed, this is the difference between his brother and Sergei.

The most important thing now is not to deal with those nobles, nor to investigate the truth, but to enable the Queen to complete the hunt.

This is no longer a simple hunt; it's a matter of face.

If today's hunt falls through, and word gets out in time, the consequences will be unimaginable. Europe is waiting to see Russia make a fool of itself.

"Let's go eat first."

Elizabeth turned and left, followed by Catherine, Peter, and a group of royal family members.

"Count, I've detained these people for now." Sergei stepped forward and looked at the hunting ground servants, including the caretaker.

"Duke, can my brother spare him?" Razumovsky pleaded.

Even he would never have imagined that the former bodyguard of the empress would have grown to the point where even he would ask for her help.

Sergei smiled: "The count's brother certainly wouldn't be involved in such matters, so he can naturally dine with the count."

Upon hearing this, Razumovsky immediately breathed a sigh of relief.

Since Sergei said so, then even if there are problems with his younger brother at the hunting grounds, it won't affect his brother.

However, based on his understanding of his younger brother, although his brother's personality had become increasingly flamboyant after things got better, he still knew his limits, so the matter at the hunting grounds should have nothing to do with him.

"Thank you, Your Grace." Razumovsky left with his brother.

As Cyril got up from the ground and left with his brother, he couldn't help but look back at Sergei a few more times.

He first noticed the other woman because he heard that the Grand Duchess was getting close to her. Later, he became jealous of her because during the few days he spent with the Grand Duchess, he noticed that her attention was often drawn to Sergei.

Looking at the other person now, he felt that this young man, who had not attracted much attention except for his appearance, was now so unfathomable and so frightening.

Even her own brother, the Empress's favorite male concubine, would make requests of her.

Sergei beckoned, and his subordinates came over.

"Make arrangements immediately."

As soon as his subordinates came to report to him, he ordered them to immediately bring over the wild rabbits.

He had already learned about the hunting grounds two days ago.

After a moment's thought, he decided to make this a lesson for Cyril.

He had his subordinates prepare wild rabbits in advance, but he didn't bring them over, otherwise Elizabeth would suspect that he knew about it but didn't report it or had other intentions.

Three hours later, hares appeared in the hunting grounds. Although there weren't many, there were enough for Elizabeth to hunt on her own.

"He brought rabbits from the city!" Cyril exclaimed in surprise.

"That doesn't matter anymore," Count Razumovsky said to his brother.

Finally, after Elizabeth finished her hunt, Sergei handed over the interrogation results to her.

"The administrator accepted bribes from the nobles Fuma and Gihon, opening the hunting grounds to them. The servants also received bribes, but they were all forced by the administrator. No one dared to accept them. As for Cyril Razumovsky, he was unaware of this and knew nothing about how to manage the hunting grounds."

Count Razumovsky breathed a sigh of relief.

Elizabeth handed the report to Sergei: "The administrator will be punished accordingly; the others are to be dealt with as appropriate."

"Yes."

Elizabeth looked at her male lover: "Your brother is not suited to manage any property. You can ensure he has enough to eat and wear, but eventually you can find someone else to manage it."

"I understand, Your Majesty."

After Elizabeth left, Sergei whispered to Razumovsky, "You know, Count, that Her Majesty spent her childhood in the countryside."

Razumovsky nodded.

He knew the Empress better; she told him about her childhood, and he understood exactly what Sergei meant.

"I should have realized that His Majesty is very knowledgeable about the management of rural industries. As the head of the hunting party, I also bear responsibility for this problem."

Sergei didn't say anything more.

In terms of status and position with Elizabeth alone, he was actually far inferior to Razumovsky.

We can't say or do anything more.

However, misfortune never comes alone for a person.

Cyril offended Elizabeth once again as the parade was drawing to a close.