I am a literary giant in Russia

Chapter 188 Meeting and Shooting Competition

In a sense, rituals are activities that use behavioral language to bring individuals or groups into a specific situation. Sometimes, people use this method to label all sorts of people or things.

Generally speaking, as things mature, rituals naturally emerge. For example, during the reign of Peter the Great in Russia, due to the gradual integration with Europe and changes in all aspects of Russian society, the first textbook on etiquette appeared in Russia, titled "A Mirror for the Upright Youth: A Guide to Everyday Etiquette Co-authored by Multiple Authors".

Published in 1717, this book remained the most popular textbook on character and manners in Russian society until the end of the 19th century.

Some of the content is reasonable, while at other times it seems too cumbersome, to the point of resembling a performance. The reason it is made so complicated is that this process is actually a system for verifying aristocratic status.

Mikhail was not a nobleman and had no interest in such ceremonies, but he still had to observe proper etiquette. So, after asking a servant from the general's household to inform the general, Mikhail stood there alone and waited.

His behavior made the general's steward a little unsure. Judging from the dashing way he rode the horse and the demeanor he was showing, this young man was obviously not simple. But why did he come alone on horseback without a carriage or servants?

If Mikhail could hear his thoughts, he would probably answer honestly: because there isn't.

Of course, he could afford to buy a carriage, but due to some financial issues, Mikhail has not yet made arrangements for it.

After waiting for a while, Mikhail's simple name card was delivered to the mistress of the house. Soon after, with the mistress's approval, Mikhail went inside under the guidance of a servant. After walking for a short while, Nadya's mother's somewhat helpless face appeared before Mikhail.

Frankly, if she could, Nadya's mother, Lady Danilevskaya, wouldn't really want to entertain Mikhail, who had come from afar, but her husband seemed to mention the young man every now and then, and that not entertaining him might really make the general furious.

Therefore, Madame Danilevskaya could only offer a polite smile and explain briefly: "The general is hosting a shooting competition near the estate. I have already informed him that he will be back in a little while. In the meantime, please have a seat in the living room."

"Okay, excuse me."

Seeing that Nadya's mother's expression seemed a little off, Mikhail could guess the reason, but he didn't care. Just as he was about to take the initiative to make a few awkward conversations with Nadya's mother, he suddenly saw a rather familiar but long-unseen figure on the stairs a little ahead of him.

After making eye contact with Mikhail, the seventeen-year-old girl, who seemed to suddenly come to life, even winked at him. But before she could do anything else, Madame Danilevskaya, who had heard the commotion, noticed her, frowned, and called out:
"Nadya, what are you doing down here?"

"I was extremely thirsty, but there was no water in the teapot, so I came down to pour myself some."

Nadya, who had just finished half a pot of tea, gestured innocently to the teapot in her hand and then said, "Otherwise, I really have no other choice."

"Where is your maid? What is she doing?"

"I asked her to do some other things for me."

After replying, Nadya naturally turned her gaze to Mikhail and said with a surprised expression, "I really didn't expect to have guests at home. It's been a long time since I've seen you, Mr. Mikhail. You seem to have lost some weight. Please allow me to give you my regards."

"haven't seen you for a long time."

Under the watchful eye of Madame Danilevskaya, Mikhail also greeted Nadya politely, and then the two of them smiled at each other with a similar meaning.

Mrs. Danilevskaya, who was watching all this, was speechless.

Something still feels off.
And where did he lose weight? I don't see it.

Since they had already met, and Mikhail and Nadya had previously had many exchanges on literature and art, and with Mrs. Danilevskaya present, Nadya naturally sat down after taking the water.

Seeing this, Mikhail made a few awkward conversations with Mrs. Danilevskaya and then brought up a few topics. Even though Nadya's mother seemed a little distracted, Nadya took the opportunity to engage with the conversation.

So, when Madame Danilevskykaya came to her senses, Mikhail was recounting some amusing incidents he had encountered during his stay in Oryol Province. It must be said that Mikhail was indeed able to make even small things interesting, and this was also true in his letters.

Unfortunately, Nadya couldn't show a happy smile like someone reading a letter alone. Instead, she could only smile and nod politely from time to time. Even so, she still felt that the weather was wonderful today, and even the sunshine seemed different from usual.

Just as Madame Danilevskaya, who was becoming increasingly suspicious, was about to steer the conversation elsewhere, to her surprise, her husband, who had been busy with the shooting competition, returned shortly after. As soon as he entered the door, he exclaimed, "I heard Mikhail has arrived! Where is he? Where is my dear Mikhail?"

Mikhail: “.”

Although Mikhail found it rather cheesy, since the general had spoken like that, Mikhail quickly stood up and said, "I'm here. It's been a long time, General Danilevsky."

"Long time no see, Mikhail. Why are you being so formal?"

As a native of St. Petersburg, the general wasn't particularly concerned with etiquette. This was partly due to his personality, and partly because he had once boasted to Mikhail, "Who in all of St. Petersburg doesn't know our family? So why bother with so many formalities?"

Therefore, upon seeing Mikhail, he warmly patted Mikhail on the shoulder, and then, unlike the usual aristocratic greetings that required a long chat in the drawing room, he went directly to ask Mikhail after a friendly exchange of pleasantries:

“Mikhail, I heard you spent some time with Turgenev. How was it? How’s your marksmanship now? If you come here, I can continue to teach you. When I was young, I never missed a shot, whether it was target practice or hunting! Once I entered the forest, even brown bears would have to run away overnight! It’s a pity that I’m not as good as I was when I was young, but I can still teach others.”

"Impressive, impressive." After offering a few words of flattery to the general, and seeing that the general had asked about his marksmanship, Mikhail thought for a moment and then stopped being modest, saying, "My marksmanship is pretty good now."

To be honest, now that he's come to the general's place, Mikhail really doesn't intend to be too humble and low-key anymore; being a little more high-profile wouldn't hurt.

"Oh? Really? You've only been learning for two or three months, haven't you?"

Hearing the general's subconsciously surprised question, Mikhail didn't think much of it, but Madame Danilevskaya, who was standing to the side, finally found an excuse. She glanced at Nadya and couldn't help but say, "They probably can't learn anything in such a short time, so how can you say they're doing well?"

Before Mikhail could reply, the general glanced at his wife and said with slight displeasure, "Perhaps she has some prior training? Mikhail, we happen to be holding a few shooting competitions right now, with my sons and some young guests here. Would you be interested in coming to watch?"

"of course."

Mikhail smiled and nodded in response to the general's invitation.

Now that the matter was settled, the general quickly prepared to take Mikhail there. Although Nadya seemed somewhat eager, Lady Danilevskaya quickly said in a firm tone, "Alright, Nadya, go back to your room. This is not a place for you to watch. Don't forget you still have homework to finish today."

In this day and age, it is clearly unacceptable for an unmarried noblewoman to watch a shooting competition by a stranger who is not a relative. In fact, if this happened in a prominent setting and was discovered, the reputation of the woman's family would undoubtedly be affected.

Therefore, although Nadya was quite unwilling, she could only exchange another glance with Mikhail before returning to her room.

Although Nadya couldn't watch, people of Madame Danilevskaya's age were undoubtedly less constrained by etiquette. While she couldn't watch too openly, Madame Danilevskaya still wanted to examine Mikhail's performance in her own way before telling her daughter about the young man's embarrassing situation.

And so, not long after, Mikhail followed the general to an open space quite a distance from the manor.

The place looked spacious, but all the necessary facilities were present. As soon as Mikhail arrived, he immediately sensed several young men looking at him. Indeed, one of them, a slightly older, overweight nobleman named Gaidanov, was already talking to another thin young man.
"Is this the person the general rushed to greet after hearing the news? I don't think I've ever seen him before. Do you know him? Which powerful family does he belong to?"

"What great family? He's not even a nobleman!"

The thin young man who had met Mikhail in St. Petersburg said dismissively, "He's that commoner writer who gained a lot of attention with just a few articles and poems. For some reason, the general seems to like him a lot. If you ask me, apart from having a little fame in France, he's nothing special!"

Although the thin young man said this, he lowered his voice considerably. Upon hearing his words, Gaidanov, who had initially felt a great sense of crisis because of Mikhail's appearance, immediately relaxed and said in a meaningful tone, "Oh, is that so? I thought he was someone important. But what is the general bringing him here for? What does a commoner know about shooting?"
If I challenged him to a duel, he'd probably be so scared he wouldn't even be able to hold his gun properly!

"you're right!"

Hearing this, the thin young man said excitedly, "How come I didn't think of that? Although commoners have no honor to uphold, if he dares to accept a duel with anyone—like me—I can shoot him dead with one shot!"

While the two were talking, Mikhail, through the general's introduction, got to know the general's children and other people. As a general, it was obvious that he could not only have one daughter, Nadya. Of his other three sons, two were almost thirty years old, and the other was a little younger than Nadya.

Their attitude towards Mikhail wasn't exactly enthusiastic; they simply greeted him politely.

After exchanging the usual greetings, the general quickly announced to everyone, "Gentlemen, Mikhail has only recently taken some time to learn shooting because he's been busy with his writing and fighting the French. Now, his marksmanship seems to be quite good. So let him have some fun with you young people."

The general, familiar with Mikhail's character, chose to believe him regarding his claims about marksmanship, but the others present seemed to react with strange expressions upon hearing them.

Just started learning? Pretty good marksmanship?

what are you saying?
Although there were many flaws, out of respect for the general, no one said much. But since Mikhail was going to participate in the competition, the fat nobleman Gaidanov, who had been talking to someone, quickly jumped out and said in a slightly contemptuous tone, "In that case, Mr. Mikhail, why don't you go first?"

Since this competition was a sudden idea conceived by the general's family, the rules were not very formal or complicated. Simply put, it was a target shooting contest, and whoever could shoot the farthest and most accurately would win.

Mikhail did not refuse the invitations from others; he simply smiled and nodded. After making some preparations, once he had taken his gun to the appropriate position, everyone's eyes were already on him.

The young noblemen's gazes were somewhat frivolous, but in the end, it was the general and Madame Danilevsky who looked most attentively.

Under the watchful eyes of these people, Mikhail asked someone to fix the target in a rather absurd position, and before anyone's gaze could change, Mikhail calmly began loading the gunpowder.

Before long, with three gunshots, everything was settled.

Although Mikhail's death was over, the sound of those gunshots still echoed in the minds of the young nobles nearby. Not far away, Madame Danilevskaya had unknowingly fed the tea she was about to drink to the table. When she realized what had happened, she quickly glared at the table with her still large eyes and hid to the side.

In the end, it was the experienced general who reacted first. He immediately cheered, then clapped his hands twice, beaming, and couldn't help but say:

"Great! He looks exactly like me when I was young!"

(End of this chapter)