Catherine and the Black Emperor

85. General Buterin

10 month.

Sergei and Peter hadn't played cards in a long time.

That day, Sergei was called to play cards by Peter, and he learned that Naryshkin had not contacted Peter for a long time, and Peter was even less inclined to take the initiative to contact him.

"Playing cards with those servants is so boring. They always let me win. It's so easy. I win every single hand." Peter seemed to really enjoy the challenge.

But Sergei knew that Peter always liked to be the winner, and that Peter would fly into a rage if someone else won.

Ekaterina was verbally abused by the other party more than once.

Later, Ekaterina stopped playing cards with Peter. In her words, "If I ever play cards again, I will definitely beat him!"

Two hours later, Sergei lost a bag of rubles, and Peter was overjoyed before allowing him to leave.

Sergei found Naryshkin.

"Hoping to serve in the court shows that you have grown up, but severing ties with Peter over such a small matter shows that you are not fully grown up and do not know how to survive in the court."

Naryshkin retorted, "You are his friend, yet he stands by and watches his friend die. You have helped him so much, and he shows no gratitude whatsoever. Such a person utterly disappoints me."

Sergei patted him on the shoulder: "You have to understand, when two people are worlds apart in status, they can never get along as equals, so there's nothing wrong with what Peter did."

"Don't say such discouraging things. My father consulted with the Empress, and I have since returned to my post in the Crop Department. Sergei, believe me, I will catch up with you!" Naryshkin clenched his fist and raised it.

Sergei was pleased with his confidence and also looked forward to experiencing the treacherous nature of the court and officialdom.

Only the environment can temper a person.

11 month.

Peter suddenly took a liking to hosting parties in the form of meals in his room, inviting many nobles to his events.

As his wife, Ekaterina was required to attend every occasion.

Sergei went a few times, but after exchanging pleasantries, he stopped going. Only bored people would find such a boring gathering enjoyable.

On this day, Gemma suddenly passed on a secret to Pimen, who immediately reported it to Sergei.

"The Grand Duke invited General Butrin tonight. During the dinner, the General made the Grand Duke laugh so hard he almost fell over. Perhaps because he wasn't fluent in Russian, the Grand Duke blurted out, 'This son of a bitch is making me laugh to death.'"

Sergei knew that Peter had been in Russia for so many years, and although he didn't like Russian, he certainly wouldn't be so unfamiliar with it.

He was simply reckless and didn't take General Butler seriously.

"What was General Butrin's reaction?" Sergei asked.

Pimen replied, "The general didn't say anything, but the Grand Duchess kept trying to comfort him, but it didn't seem to be very effective."

Sergei smiled. "Being insulted and then comforted by a woman, especially the insulter's wife—how could that possibly be effective?"

He knew that General Buterin had been offended by Peter.

The proud and arrogant general had already humbled himself to attend Peter's party and even managed to make him laugh, which was an act of flattery. Peter's blatant disrespect and public humiliation only fueled the general's anger.

"Compared to all that, I'm more interested in whether the Grand Duchess did it on purpose," Sergei said with a smile.

If Ekaterina knew that her actions would only anger General Buterin more, and that she did it intentionally, then Sergei would truly have to look at Ekaterina with new respect.

That means that Catherine had already developed an awareness of "palace intrigue" and put it into action!

This is what it means to "use your intelligence where it's needed."

"I questioned Gemma in detail, and judging from the fact that the Grand Duchess also left her seat immediately after General Butrin left, it is very likely that the Grand Duchess did it on purpose," Pimen replied.

Sergei smiled.

It's not just for Catherine's "awakening," but also for Pimen's "comprehensiveness."

"Pimen".

"grown ups."

"Do you regret doing things for me? These things are all shameful, and you even had to keep it from Matrena, who is the one you love."

Pimin shook his head: "Without you, Pimin wouldn't have such a comfortable life, and he wouldn't know Matrena. Even if you allowed me to tell Matrena these things, I wouldn't do it. It would only benefit her."

Sergei nodded, signaling the other man to leave.

Pimmen was an extremely loyal man to him, and also an incredibly intelligent and quick-witted one.

This is precisely why he chose the other person as his "second-in-command".

This matter has only just begun to escalate.

The next day, General Buterin told Elizabeth about it. Elizabeth was already completely disappointed in Peter, so she was not happy about Buterin attending Peter's party.

"You went and asked for it, but I'm still indignant for you. Don't associate with such ill-mannered people again."

Sergei knew one thing.

Historically, General Buterin contributed to Catherine's ascension to the throne and even brought up the matter again, indicating that Buterin had never forgotten that statement.

"Exerting effort or giving your all are two different things."

Sergei smiled, then took a bottle of red wine and visited the general.

"If you're here to laugh at me, then I'm afraid I'm not in the mood to receive you, Vice Chairman!"

Butrin instructed his butler to decline Sergei's visit, citing his busy schedule, but Sergei ignored the butler's objections, which further angered Butrin, who was already in a bad mood.

"General, you should know that even if you go to His Majesty, His Majesty will not punish the Grand Duke. On the contrary, His Majesty will be unhappy because you went to the Grand Duke," Sergei said with a smile.

"But what can I do?" Butrin's voice was cold and hard.

How could he not know how foolish Peter was? But the Empress's health was deteriorating, and she had recently suffered from stomach problems. With no new heir to the throne, everyone knew that Peter was the next Tsar of Russia.

How could he refuse the other party's invitation?

Not only could he not refuse, he also had to lower himself to please the other party, but what was the result?

"And the result?" Sergei suddenly asked.

"What?" Buterin looked up.

"The result was that the general's attempt to curry favor resulted in public humiliation, making him a laughing stock in the court. Now everyone is talking about him and laughing at him."

Sergei, as if he could see through Buterin's thoughts, told him with his words that he had seen right through him!

"You're just here to laugh at me!" Buterin's eyes were already icy cold.

Sergei placed the red wine on the table.

"I believe that after we finish this bottle of red wine, the general will change his opinion of me."

An hour later, Butrin, with a hearty smile, personally escorted Sergei out of the mansion.

He watched the other party's carriage disappear into the distance and felt genuinely happy.

Having been suppressed by Aprakshin in the army, if he could truly become one of the top generals of the three Guards of St. Petersburg, it would certainly be another glorious chapter in his official career.