Struggle in Russia

The joy on Princess Sophie's face couldn't be concealed at all, or she didn't mean to conceal it at all. The grand duchess, who had suffered a lot, was ready to let out a bad breath, venting all the anguish of the first few decades of her life.

As for her eldest son, that is, Grand Duke Franz Joseph, he was very calm, with no joy or anger on his face, and he looked at his mother's performance ignorantly, looking so harmless to humans and animals.

People who don't know will only complain about the Grand Duke, thinking that he was definitely delayed by his mother, otherwise he must be the emperor, not his idiot father.

It's just that Li Xiao didn't see it that way. He saw a familiar thing from the face of Grand Duke Franz Joseph - performance.

Yes, it's acting, and it's a very superficial acting, as if a crappy little fresh meat is trying to burst into acting.

Li Xiao doesn't know what others think or think, he only knows that this thing is too immature, and he can only deceive ghosts. The only thing that made him wonder now was whose idea it was to put on such a poor performance?

Is it Archduke Franz Joseph himself or someone else. If it is the Grand Duke himself, then he can only say that the Grand Duke is as described in history—likes to be smart. Or like to be greedy for small gains and suffer big losses.

It is true that it is really frustrating not to be able to ascend the throne immediately, but if you protest with such poor acting skills, you are really looking for the wrong person. Apart from being able to fool a character similar to those gossip aunts just now, who can you fool?

For old foxes like Schwarzenberg and Duke Alexander Gorchakov, they can see through their true intentions at a glance, and will deliberately design them to trick you.

Li Xiao guessed that the grand duke might want to show sympathy first to create momentum for himself. It's just that there has never been such a thing as sympathy in politics. You can ascend to the throne of God if you expect others to take pity on you? Isn't this delusional!

Politics has always only believed in strength. If you have strength, you can do whatever you want, but if you don't have strength, you can only be rubbed on the ground by others. However, this Grand Duke Franz Joseph has no strength, and his heart is as high as the sky. Isn't this funny!

Anyway, Li Xiao's first impression of Grand Duke Franz Joseph was not good. He thought that the Grand Duke was an ambitious and restless master, but his skills in making troubles were not very good, and he was a bad chess basket.

On the contrary, Princess Sophie deserves more attention. It’s not that this mother is much smarter than her son. To be honest, Princess Sophie may be a little expert in palace fighting in the Habsburg court, but palace fighting does not mean politics. A set of intriguing performances is nothing more than a trifle compared to the coquettish operations of these acting masters in the political arena.

Princess Sophie vented her emotions indifferently. It seemed a little smug, but it was actually much more useful than Grand Duke Franz Joseph's little trick. The first is to declare the ownership of the throne to the entire Austrian aristocratic circle, and the second is to show his strong attitude at the same time.

Both of these show that she is very confident, and being politically confident is almost equivalent to having strength. In short, the Grand Duchess is actually showing her strength and preventing other spoilers from making trouble.

This kind of strength can avoid a lot of troubles and disputes, at least it is much more useful than her son's virtue of "the baby is suffering but the baby doesn't say anything".

Li Xiao lowered his voice and said to Prince Alexander Gorchakov: "The Grand Duchess is smarter than his son!"

"It should be said to be more rational," Prince Alexander Gorchakov said with a slight smile. "That Grand Duke doesn't know what to do to the best advantage, and he will only do some specious and stupid things for granted. Keep a calm face!"

Indeed, after all, Archduke Franz Karl is also the father of Archduke Franz Joseph. It is true that this father is a bit slow, but he is your father after all. Your father became the emperor. The girl is full of resentment. I can imagine you What about this son?

What's more, Archduke Franz Karl's succession to the throne is reasonable and legal, and no one else can pick the bones.

Why is your son full of opinions, as if you have been wronged so much, it is clear that you are an ambitious white-eyed wolf!

Naturally, to a truly intelligent person, Archduke Franz Joseph's humanity is readily apparent, and basically he can be seen through at a glance. It's ridiculous how clever this fool thinks he is.

"Do you have any idea?"

Li Xiao curled his lips and said: "Not yet, we need to look again..."

Li Xiao's re-watching is definitely not looking at Grand Duke Franz Joseph, he is more looking at Princess Sophie, he wants to see the different performances of this woman in different scenarios, so as to make further judgments.

"Shall I recommend you to meet the Grand Duchess?" Prince Alexander Gorchakov asked kindly.

"I don't need it for now," Li Xiao declined with a smile, "It's better for me to hide in the dark for the time being."

Prince Alexander Gorchakov just said that, Li Xiao's chances of being exposed by reducing contact with important figures such as Princess Sophie are even smaller, and he is also happy to do so.

At the moment, the two were divided into two groups. Prince Alexander Gorchakov continued to walk among thousands of flowers without touching himself, while the short and unattractive Li Xiao wandered around the venue with a wine glass. It seems that they are not here for the ball but for a walk.

Li Xiao has been observing Princess Sophie's actions. The future Austrian empress is able to cope with the current situation very well. Apart from the occasional hostess aura, most of the time she still makes people feel like a spring breeze.

Of course, her inadvertent small actions still attracted Li Xiao's attention. She didn't care about her idiot husband. glanced.

Either he was confident that he could control Archduke Franz Karl, or she simply didn't care what this nominal husband did. Or maybe both.

Li Xiao noticed that the Grand Duchess was actually very concerned about Grand Duke Franz Joseph's movements. A pair of eyes would search the crowd for Archduke Franz Joseph whenever he had free time, and observe his actions. If he acted properly, the mother would show a gratified smile.

Of course, Princess Sophie would frown involuntarily when the Grand Duke encountered a problem or the response was not appropriate.

Li Xiao shook the red wine in the goblet, and murmured in a voice inaudible to others: "This seems to be a mother with a strong desire to control..."