Life of Being a Crown Prince in France

Under the prior arrangement of Stanisław II, the news that he "paid respects" to the Tsar occupied the headlines of all major newspapers in Saint Petersburg the very day, with many newspapers even publishing his cloying speech in full.

Saint Petersburg instantly became a place of joy and celebration. Although the Russians had always regarded Poland as their "little follower," the sight of the King of Poland personally demonstrating extreme humility was a completely different feeling.

Catherine II was also very pleased with Stanislaw II's attitude, lavishly praised him, and set up a sumptuous dinner to entertain him.

However, the young man with a distinguished air beside the Tsar was constantly on guard, watching the King of Poland closely. Whenever the latter got slightly closer to Catherine II, he would use various methods to stand between them.

Stanisław II was very polite to him and even gifted him several valuable presents.

The King of Poland knew this man represented the major hurdle of his visit—Catherine II's current lover, Pladen Zubov.

He showed great patience, formally visited the Tsar daily, talking only about state affairs, generally about how Poland was more destabilized than ever but remained loyal to Russia than at any previous time.

Four days later, Stanisław II finally got the opportunity he had been waiting for.

He was invited by the Tsar to participate in a hunt and stayed in the hunting palace that evening.

Under the moonlight, the King of Poland, who had been wandering in the courtyard, saw Catherine II appear on the second-floor balcony wrapped in a fur coat. The pretty boy, perhaps too tired from hunting, was not by her side at that moment.

Stanisław II immediately signaled to an attendant, took the Scottish bagpipe handed to him, and began to play from more than 30 meters away from the balcony.

The deep, slightly melancholic sound of the music drifted into the night sky, specifically the theme song "My heart will go on" from "Titanic" in future generations.

Catherine II was immediately captivated by the melodious bagpipe sound, she leaned out to look, and saw a man's lonely figure leaning against a pine tree, his whole being radiating a melancholic and desolate charm.

After finishing the prelude, that man switched to a cello and began to play and sing.

"Every night, in my dreams,

"I see you, I feel you."

"That tells me, your heart goes on…"

Stanisław II's singing was quite impressive; after all, a man favored by the Tsar could be no less capable.

The lyrics had been adapted into French by Joseph, largely retaining the flavor of the English version.

Catherine II was immediately drawn to the deeply affectionate singing. When the first verse ended and shifted to an interlude, she immediately turned to a servant and said, "Is that… Stach?"

Unconsciously, she had returned to that time more than twenty years ago and inadvertently mentioned Stanisław's nickname.

The servant quickly bowed and said, "Yes, Your Majesty, that is indeed His Majesty Stanisław II."

After the song ended, Catherine II, with those sad and beautiful melodies lingering in her ears and a somewhat blurred gaze, raised her hand and said, "Let him come here."

"Yes, Your Majesty."

The next day.

Pladen Zubov woke up from a deep sleep to find that the Tsar was not beside him.

He hurriedly put on his clothes and went to the living room, only to see Catherine II admiring an oil painting, beside her was the artist of the painting, the famous Russian painter Feodor Stepanovich Rokotov.

In the painting, Stanisław II humbly bowed, while the Tsar stood on the high steps in front of the Winter Palace entrance, surrounded by hundreds of Russian nobles, exuding an imperial presence.

It was the scene from the first day the King of Poland had come to pay a visit.

Of course, the painting was commissioned by Stanisław II from Rokotov for a hefty sum.

Catherine II looked at the painting with satisfaction and instructed her attendant, "Hang it in the concert hall after we return."

She didn't admire it just because it depicted Stanisław II, but because it showcased the Tsar of Russia's majesty and Poland's submissive stance.

The next evening, Stanisław II "accidentally" met Catherine again in the corridor.

After sending Zubov away, she listened to her musician Stach play "Let it be me."

"Thank God I met you,"

"I want to stay with you forever..."

This theme song of "Heartbeat" was even more passionately straightforward than the one from the day before, plunging Catherine II once again into memories of the past.

After a while, she turned to Stach, "You never showed such outstanding composing talent before."

"I still can't compose, Your Majesty, I simply wrote down the longing in my heart."

Catherine II smiled, didn't return to Zubov's room, but instead talked at length with Stach by the fireplace, listening several times to "My Heart Will Go On," her face full of reminiscence.

Stanisław II hadn't expected things to go so smoothly.

After all, the Crown Prince had prepared seven extremely romantic songs for him, each one deeply moving, truly masterpieces.

Yet it had only taken the second song to seal the deal.

After that, although Catherine II still favored Zubov—for after all, a man in his fifties surely couldn't rival the taste of a fresh young man in his twenties—

she would summon Stach every now and then to play those touching songs and relive the romantic times of the past.

Indeed, mature meat also has its unique flavors, sometimes more appetizing than fresh meat.

Thus, Stanisław II shamelessly settled down in the Winter Palace.

...

Warsaw.

In the grand hall of the Łazienki Palace, Prince Poniatowski glanced up at those present and flipped through the documents in his hand, saying, "So, regarding the establishment of Catholicism as the state religion, I believe everyone agrees, right?"

He had recently completed a thorough review of the constitutional clauses with Sais.

The latter, using his extraordinary political sense, helped him eliminate all potential content that could shake the situation.

He also helped him map out the distribution of political forces in Poland, formulating a plan to unite all political factions.

A representative of the Patriotic Party pursed his lips but said nothing.

In the amendment clauses just read by the Prince, although Catholicism became the state religion, the constitution did not require citizens to convert to Catholicism. Protestantism, Eastern Orthodox Christianity, and even Islam were allowed.

Because of this clause on the state religion, the Vatican had promised to provide Poland with aid of 250,000 scudi, roughly equivalent to 1.1 million francs. For the stingy Vatican, this was indeed a huge sum, clearly showing how pleased the Vatican was with Poland's repositioning as the "Spear of God."