It was already winter in 1777, and William had been back at Sanssouci Palace for more than two months. During these two months, William had gotten to know every corner of the palace and most of the servants. The servants had a great liking for the prince, and William was polite, kind, and never bullied the servants.
William had just come out from Old Hans today and was now in the Palace of Sanssouci, where Old Hans trained William in fencing, archery, and fighting. Buer was the one who taught him court etiquette and culture. When Frederick the Great was handling government affairs, he often called William to let him get familiar with and even understand the various administrative aspects of the kingdom.
"Brother William, come quickly!" At this time, several children gathered in the garden of Wuyou Palace. One of the children waved and shouted to William on the side of the road.
William saw that it was his sister, Friederike Christine Emilia Wilhelmine, and he cried out:
"Christine, what are you doing?"
"Come quickly, Brother William, there is a wounded rabbit here," Christine shouted loudly.
William trotted all the way to them, and saw the children looking at the rabbit on the ground at a loss. When Christine saw William coming, she seemed to have a backbone and pointed at the rabbit and said to William:
"Brother, look at the rabbit's hind legs, it seems to be injured. We were playing just now and it suddenly jumped out. I was scared to death. Come and check on it. Is it okay?" Christine complained.
William grabbed the rabbit by the ears and found that there was a small cut on the rabbit's hind leg that was bleeding. It was probably because it stepped on a trap. William put the rabbit down and said to Christine:
"It's no big deal. Apply some medicine on its legs and tie them up with cloth. It will be healed soon." He called a servant and handed the rabbit to the servant.
"Hehe, brother is still smart. Let me introduce him to you." Christine pulled William and said to the children present:
"This is my brother, His Royal Highness Prince William of Brandenburg." Then he pulled William and pointed at the children and said:
"This is Karina Ludwig Lox, granddaughter of Duke Lox, this is Sofia Christiane Ludwig, daughter of Duke Friedrich II of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, and this is Elizabeth Dorothea Friedrich, daughter of Count Hesse-Darmstadt and our sister."
Khan, it seems that this is a diplomatic event, two princesses of the county, a daughter of a duke and a princess of a kingdom, this is simply a small international conference in Central Europe. Thinking of this, William looked at the children. The oldest one was probably Elizabeth Dorothea Friederike, the daughter of Count Hesse-Darmstadt, who looked about ten years old, about the same age as her sister Friederike Charlotte Ulrich Katharina.
The younger one, Karina Ludwig Rox, the granddaughter of Duke Rox, looked the same age as Christine. Well, seeing these three little girls, William once again proved the profound truth that there are no ugly women in the nobility. Dozens of generations of excellent genes have made these girls, unless they have genetic mutations, sure to be beautiful when they grow up.
"Greetings, Your Highness," the three girls saluted to William shyly.
"Don't be so polite, everyone. You are Christine's friends, which means you are my friends. If you need any help, just call me," William said.
When Christine heard William praise her so much, her eyes almost narrowed into slits due to smiling.
"Your Highness, I heard that you play musical instruments very well. Can we enjoy it?" Karina asked William
"Of course, everyone, please follow me," William replied, and walked towards the concert hall of the Souci Palace.
"Please take a seat, I'll play a song for you." When they arrived at the concert hall, William walked to the instrument stand and took out a violin, and his hands jumped like an elf.
In 1721, the famous musician Johann Sebastian Bach collected his six best concertos and dedicated them to Marquis Christian Ludwig of Brandenburg. These are the famous six Brandenburg Concertos, also known as the Brandenberg Concertos, which show colorful and original contrasts, gorgeous and superb polyphonic techniques, and active and magnificent melodies.
William played the second movement of the Brandenburg Concerto, which is a lyrical slow movement. It contains both contemplation, sadness and poetic pastoral painting. Listening to this movement, one does not need to gain anything from the music, but just needs to relax and enjoy the slowly passing music time.
The children were gradually intoxicated by the music. When the song ended, Christine was the first to jump up and clapped her hands excitedly. The other three girls also woke up from the music.
Elizabeth looked at William affectionately, her eyes seemed to be able to drown people. William secretly wiped the sweat off his forehead, he didn't expect the little girl's eyes to be so fierce.
"Your Highness, you play the piano so well. I think even my music teacher can't compare to you," Sofia praised.
"Your Highness, can I ask you for advice on music in the future?" Elizabeth asked excitedly.
William smiled back at them and said:
"Of course, I'm not asking for advice, we are just friends learning from each other." Before William could finish his humble words, a maid came in and said to William:
"Your Highness, His Majesty invites you to come over."
William agreed and said to the girls:
"Sorry, Your Majesty asked me to pass by. Christine, you have to entertain your friends well, okay?" After saying that, he walked out.
Not to mention the chattering of several girls after he left. William walked to the hall where Frederick the Great usually handled government affairs. In addition to Frederick, there were several people who looked like nobles asking for instructions.
"William, come here, you guys go down first and do what we just said." Frederick called William and asked the others to go down. The others saluted Frederick and William and walked out.
William came in, and Frederick signaled the maid to close the door and said:
"William, the Austrians have taken action. I heard that Elector Karl Theodor of Palatinate-Sulzbach sent envoys to the Austrians to propose to cede Lower Bavaria to Austria, and Austria would give him the Austrian Netherlands as compensation. The young Austrian Emperor Joseph II and his mother Maria Theresa agreed to this proposal. The Austrians may start to hand over the territory next year. We don't have much time. I will never allow any Bavarian territory to fall into the hands of the Austrians."
Frederick frowned and sat in a chair, thinking deeply.