North America 1849, from Gold Rush to Warlord

Chapter 267 Cooking Raw Rice into a Cake
Having just woken up from a nightmare, still shaken, Qianqian lingered in Azu's arms for a long time, feeling the reassuring, steady, and powerful heartbeat of her beloved, before she truly realized that it was all real.

After calming herself down, Sisi looked around the all-too-familiar room before asking, "Why did you bring me back?"

"Take me with you!" Sisi's eyes pleaded. "No matter where we go, I want to be with you!"

Ah Zu gently embraced Sisi and whispered in her ear, "Of course I can elope with you back to California, but... I can't let you follow me like this without any clear explanation!"

"With your status, doing that will only bring shame upon yourself and your family!"

"Trust me, stay with me, and I won't let you suffer any injustice...!"

"Mmm...!" In Azu's arms, Qianqian nodded gently, feeling extremely content.
-
For the next period of time, Azu accompanied Sisi in the Alps, hunting and fishing, living a blissful life.

It wasn't until early September that Duke Joseph and his family returned to Posenhofen Castle from Vienna.

Upon meeting, Nene was incredibly excited, hugging her younger sister and exclaiming with great joy, "Sissi, do you know, in Vienna, His Majesty the Emperor and I are engaged...!"

Sisi and Nene's mother, Ludovika, and the mother of Emperor Joseph I of Austria, who is now Empress Dowager Sophie of Austria, were sisters.

In other words, Nene is already engaged to her cousin.

From this moment on, history took another big turn!
As a result, Sisi's fate was completely changed.

"Nene, congratulations! I'm so happy for you...!"

Sisi and Nene, the two sisters, were overjoyed and hugged each other.

Their parents, the Duke and Duchess Joseph, were equally delighted to see the two sisters embracing and weeping.

……

After the two sisters calmed down a bit and slowly separated, Joseph's family noticed that Azu was behind Sissi.

Upon seeing him, Duke Joseph's eyes lit up immediately.

"Hahaha...!" Duke Joseph laughed heartily and gave Azu a tight hug: "My dear Li, when did you come to my house?"

"Why didn't you send a letter beforehand? I definitely wouldn't have gone to Vienna; I would have stayed home and waited for you!"

Azu then gave him a warm hug: "Duke, I was planning to surprise you, but I ended up missing you...!"

"Haha!" Duke Joseph's smile remained unchanged: "Nene is engaged to the Austrian Emperor, and now we welcome you, a guest from afar."

"I'm so happy! Come on, let's drink until we drop!"

With that, Duke Joseph pulled Azu into his own wine cellar.

Compared to the excited Duke Joseph, Sissi's mother looked at Azu's retreating figure with a worried expression on her face.

A moment later, Sisi's mother, Ludovica, took her to a room alone.

"Sissi, when did that Earl of Gold Mountain arrive?"

Faced with her mother's question, Sisi blushed slightly: "I've been here for almost half a month!"

"Half a month, that's a long time...!" Ludovica scrutinized his daughter from head to toe.

Seeing Sisi's hesitant and shy demeanor, Ludovica's expression grew even more somber.

"During this time, you...you haven't done anything, have you?"

"I...we...!"

Sisi was originally prepared to tell the truth: during this time, she and Azu had been hunting and fishing, and had not done anything out of line.

At most, they would hug and kiss... No matter how affectionate they were, they still held onto their bottom line.

But as the words were about to come out, a sudden inspiration flashed in Sisi's mind.

"Mother, I...we...!"

As she spoke, Sisi blushed, the blush spreading all the way to her ears and neck, her entire pretty face like a shy red cloth!
Ludovica was horrified when he saw his daughter's appearance: "You...you, could it be...could it be...!"

"Um……!"

Sisi nodded shyly.

In this family, the person who most opposed her being with Ah Zu was her own mother.

If my mother knew that Ah-zu and I had already consummated our relationship, what would she think? Would she still object?
Sure enough, Ludovica's expression changed drastically: "You really...you really have...already...this...this...!"

Ludovica was in a state of utter confusion and didn't know what to say: "Sissi, you...you knew he had already married six women...you...you still did this...sigh!"

Ludovica sighed deeply, "It's all your fault for that unreliable father of yours. That old man spoils you way too much!"

"Just like your father, Sisi, you're just as unreliable... You've done such a thing, so... what about those Prussian princes who proposed to you?"

"And what about our Bavarian royal family, and our family's reputation...?"

Ludovica was extremely conflicted, wringing his hands and pacing anxiously around the room, but he couldn't think of a solution at all.

Sisi replied shyly, "Mother, he... he has already spoken personally with His Majesty King William IV of Prussia...!"

"What?" Ludovica asked immediately, "What did they talk about with His Majesty the King of Prussia?"

"His Majesty the King has promised that he will make the Prussian princes give up proposing to me...!"

“This…!” Ludovica had initially been quite in favor of his second daughter marrying into the Prussian royal family.

Given the Prussian royal family's dominant position within the German Confederation, it would eventually become the royal family of the German Empire.

Her eldest daughter was already engaged to the Austrian Emperor and would soon become the future Empress of Austria.

If the second daughter marries into the Prussian royal family, she may even become the empress of all of Germany in the future!
If the sisters become empresses of two different empires, their family's status within the European royal families will rise to an unimaginable height.

This is Ludovica's unspoken ambition.

But now it seems that at least half of her expectations will be dashed!

Ludovica said in disbelief, "The Earl of Goldberg, how...how could he persuade His Majesty the King of Prussia?"

"Mother, I think you have greatly underestimated his strength and ability!"

Sisi replied with no small amount of pride, "Last year, our family lived in California for almost half a year. Don't you realize his capabilities and strength?"

Upon hearing this, Ludovica, the mother, immediately fell silent.

During his trip to California last year, Ludovica's thoughts were mostly focused on the women around Azu.

But Ludovica also gained a full understanding of the man's wealth and power. From what he knew, the man, even if not the richest man in the world, was certainly one of the wealthiest in the world.

The variety of businesses he owned dazzled Joseph's family, inspiring their admiration.

His status in California was absolutely supreme and absolute, even more so than that of a king.

Even throughout the United States, that man's status is perhaps second only to the president and above millions of others!

Even the President of the United States respected that man greatly and listened to his advice.

That man's strength and status are beyond question.

But Ludovica still said, unwilling to give up, "But he's just an elected governor of California, who can only serve two terms at most... He wasn't born in America, so he can't even run for president of America...!"

"After serving two terms as governor, he'll just be a businessman with enormous wealth... How can he compare to the royal family, or even the imperial family?"

Sisi thought for a moment and replied, "Mother, how can you be so sure that he won't become a king, or even... an emperor?"

In Sisi's heart, whether he was an ordinary merchant or a king or emperor, she had long since decided on that man.

However, in order to convince her mother, she had to make a grand promise.

"King... even Emperor...!"

Ludovica exclaimed in astonishment, "Is...is this even possible?"

“To establish a kingdom, or even an empire, on that land in the Americas… how is that possible?”

Sisi smiled proudly: "For him, anything is possible!"

As Ludovica recalled the man's path to power, he suddenly realized that what his daughter had said made a lot of sense.

In just four years, that man built such a large empire.

He is so young. Given more time, would it be difficult for him to build a kingdom or even an empire?

At this thought, Ludovica suddenly realized that it wouldn't be so hard to accept if his daughter married a king or even an emperor with multiple consorts!

Sisi continued, "This time when he came to Europe, I heard him say that he was going to St. Petersburg to discuss the purchase of Alaska with His Majesty the Tsar."

"Once he buys Alaska, this vast land that does not belong to the United States, he will have the territorial basis to establish a kingdom or even an empire."

"Moreover, the army he built with his own hands is so powerful that one day he will surely be able to build a powerful empire!"

As she spoke, a glint of light shone in Sisi's eyes: "So what if he just becomes an ordinary businessman in the future?"

"As long as I'm with him, I'm happy every day, every moment!"

"I can't imagine how I could live without him in the future...!"

Sisi remained resolute and continued, "Therefore, I have given him everything... Even if the whole world opposes it, I will stay with him for the rest of my life, never to leave him!"

Faced with Sissi's resolute stance, her mother, Ludovica, fell into a long silence.

Finally, she said in a deep voice, "Sissi, my daughter, but he has already married so many women... How can we, as Christians, accept such a thing?"

Sisi said with unwavering determination, "Mother, for him, I'm willing to convert...to either Mormonism or Islam...as long as I can be with him, I'm willing to give up everything...!"

"You, you, you...!" Ludovica was so angry that he couldn't speak for a long time.

Ludovica was completely at a loss when faced with his unrestrained, rebellious daughter who pursued freedom and love.

After a long pause, Ludovica finally said, "My daughter, he has so many women, and there may be even more in the future."

"I'm afraid that one day you'll fall out of favor and be neglected by her. By then, it will be too late for you to regret it...!"

Sisi shook her head resolutely: "I believe that day will never come!"

Then, Sisi retorted, "Mother, even in monogamy, even in European royal families, how many women have fallen out of favor and been neglected by their husbands?"

"Even if I marry a prince or even a king, wouldn't I be afraid of falling out of favor and being neglected one day?"

Now, Ludovica was truly speechless!
In European royal families, even queens and empresses are often neglected and out of favor.

The most extreme example is Catherine the Great, who was born in Prussia and later became Tsarist Russia. She was still a virgin many years after marrying Tsar Peter III!
Because of Peter III's dislike, Catherine didn't even have the chance to share a bed with the Tsar!

In order to give birth to a legitimate heir for Tsarist Russia, Catherine had no choice but to sleep with the Tsar's cousin...!
Born into the Bavarian royal family, Ludovica married his cousin Joseph and was exposed to these secrets of the European court for a long time, so he was very familiar with them.

Therefore, she knew very well that everything her daughter said was true.

The affection between husbands and wives in royal families is often far less than that between ordinary people.

Most European court women, even those who became queens or empresses, led tragic lives; those who lived happily ever after were practically only found in fairy tales.

Speechless, Ludovica could only sigh deeply and say, "Sissi, my dear daughter, since you have so resolutely chosen him, your father and I can only wish you happiness!"

"But no matter what, you cannot bring shame upon this family and the entire Bavarian royal family. This is my final request!"

"You and he must handle this important life event properly. Even if you do marry him in the future, you must have a grand and glorious wedding!"

As she spoke, Ludovica stared at Sisi's belly: "Especially, before you get married, you absolutely cannot... you absolutely cannot cause any scandals...!"

Sisi nodded shyly: "Mother, don't worry, we know what we're doing and we know how to be restrained...!"

"Sigh...!" Ludovica sighed deeply, shaking his head helplessly.

……

Meanwhile, in the cellar of Posenhofen Castle, Duke Joseph, who was downing a dark beer, patted Azu heavily on the shoulder and laughed loudly, "Li, did you come here to marry my daughter?"

Ah Zu smiled and shook his head: "It's not the right time yet. If possible, I think getting engaged first would be a better choice!"

"Engagement...?" Joseph frowned. "Lee, you know you already have so many women. Even if it's an engagement, it will be very difficult for my family and the Bavarian royal family to accept!"

Azu nodded: "Of course I know!"

"So, I think we can get engaged secretly first...!"

"A secret engagement...?" Joseph said unhappily, "No matter what, why would my Sissi, a duchess, resort to such a shameful secret engagement?"

Azu replied, "It is precisely because of Sisi's status as a duchess that I wish to have a secret engagement...!"

"Why...? Li, you need to give me a very good reason, otherwise, I can't possibly agree...!"

(End of this chapter)