Princess Zizi is prejudiced in society. Her name was often repeated in the room of my guardian. The aunt's companion, a poor widow Maria Ivanovna, told her story.

Princess Zizi lived with her mother and older sister Lydia. The old princess all the time was sick, And the princess in letters to Masha constantly complained of boredom. In the summer we still went to Simonov Monastery, and in winter - even cry. The princess had one consolation - to read books. She read all of Karamzin, read “Clarissa,” which her mother firmly locked in the closet, the entire “Herald of Europe” ... She liked the wonderful poems of Zhukovsky and Pushkin most of all.

Meanwhile, the old princess accidentally met a young man, very pleasant and courteous. Vladimir Lukyanovich Gorodkov began to visit the house, even cheered the princess, and she went with her daughters to the Gostiny Dvor. But then the princess again had to suffer. Mother constantly sent her out of the living room under various pretexts, as soon as Gorodokov appeared. How sad it was for the princess to sit upstairs on the orders of her mother, while Gorodkov, cheerful, amused, occupied her mother with Lydia. Finally, Zizi realized: her mother wants Lydia, as the eldest, to marry earlier. And yet: that she herself had long and passionately fallen in love with Vladimir Lukyanovich. On the day of the engagement, the princess became ill, and even had to call Dr. A shortly after the wedding, her mother died, taking the word from Zizi to take care of Lydia and her children. And so it happened. Zizi ran the whole household in the house. She took care of all the trifles of everyday life, of home comfort, of Gorodkov's amenities. She almost autonomously managed the household and servants — her sister did not go into it. But the house was in order, and Gorodkov was pleased with everything. In the evenings, he even reported to Zinaida in the management of the estate.

Day by day, Zizi's affection for Gorodkov increased. With a beating heart and cold determination, Zizi left after her evening conversations in her room and threw herself on her bed. When Lydia had a daughter, Zizi devoted herself to serving her niece. But somehow, an old friend of Zizi, Maria Ivanovna, sent a letter to her from Kazan with her friend Radetsky, who was going to Moscow. He was a decent young man, not bad in himself, not without a fortune, he wrote poetry and had a romantic character. Radetsky fell in love with Zinaida. He began to visit the house almost every day, talked with the princess for a long time and about everything. But somehow accidentally Radetzky quarreled with Gorodkov, and he was refused the house. Whenever he comes, there are no owners. A chance helped him: the princess went to church, and the servants, appeased by fifty dollars, said where to look for her. Radetzky really found Zizi in a dark church at a pillar. She was on her knees and prayed fervently. There were tears on her face. And it was hard to believe that it was only from one of piety. No, secret sorrow was undoubtedly expressed in it. The young man in love stopped the princess after the service, spoke to her and confessed his feelings.

It seemed that the evening itself, quiet, serene, the last rays of the sun illuminating the face of the princess, disposed to frankness. The princess thought about the words of the young man, about his recognition. Probably, deep down, she herself felt miserable. The princess did not give a decisive answer, but promised in a few hours to send a note home to him. In less than half an hour, he received a letter of consent and the desire to marry as soon as possible. Radetzky already wanted to bother about the wedding a little light, so that he could make a marriage tomorrow. But suddenly a new letter arrives from the princess with an apology that she does not love him and cannot become his wife. Radetsky immediately left. But he suspected that the princess’s decision was made not without the participation of Gorodkov, whom she idolized, and he considered his beloved an evil genius. This was the case. When the princess, pale and trembling, decided to announce to Lydia and her husband that she was getting married, her sister laughed, and Gorodkov turned pale. After that, he came to Zinaida as if in order to take care of her estate, of her dowry. The princess began fervently to refuse everything ... Gorodkov with effort said that it would be indecent, that the princess herself would regret it ... and then a new affection would supplant the old ones ... It was a hint of a warm relationship between Gorodkov and the princess, established recently. Gorodkov called her the only friend, the real mother of Pashenka. To recall all this at the moment when she decided to marry, leave this house, this man - the only one she loved - and had no right to love ... All this was beyond her strength. The next morning, she refused Radetsky.

But here a new incident required all the strength and courage of the princess. Lydia was pregnant again. But she continued, despite the advice of doctors, to go to balls and dance. Finally she got sick. Doctors convened a consultation. Lydia threw out, and her condition became very dangerous. She felt that she did not have long to live. Sometimes she asked Zinaida to become Gorodkov's wife after her death. Sometimes she was jealous of her, and she accused her husband and Zinaida of only waiting for her death. Meanwhile, Maria Ivanovna in Kazan learned something about the secret intentions of Gorodkov and the current situation of the estates of Zizi and Lydia. She sent her friend the original letter of Gorodkov, from which it followed that he was selling the estate in parts, cheaply, just to get the money in cash. He wants to get his own, separate - and at the same time take advantage of the second half of the estate belonging to Zizi ... In a word, he thinks of himself, and not of Lydia and not of his daughter ...

Having learned about everything, the princess directly with a letter goes to the leader of the nobility. Then, when Gorodkov was not at home, together with the leader and two witnesses, she appeared in the room of the dying Lydia. Lydia signed a will in which the leader was appointed clerk and guardian to help Vladimir Lukyanovich, and the children were also given Zinaida under her special care.

The inevitable happened - Lydia died. Gorodkov forced Zinaida to move out of the house, then blackened in the eyes of others. When the will was read, he stated that his wife owed him a sum greater than the value of the estate. He even presented loan letters, explaining that he only did this in order to keep the estate for children from someone else's control ... And again, everyone cried and sighed only about the insidiousness of the scheming Zinaida. The guardian reproached the princess that she made him a fool. But Zinaida knew for sure that her sister could not take money from her husband: Vladimir Lukyanovich had nothing to give her. But she had no evidence. Even the letter that opened her eyes, she gave to Gorodkov. The leader refused to conduct business. But Zinaida herself filed a lawsuit about the lack of money of Lydia's loan letters. She saw that Gorodkov made contact with one immoral woman who was pulling money out of him and forcing her to get married. For this process, money was needed, so she had to file a second request for the division of the estate. And finally, the third - about the ruin made by Gorodkov in the estate. All means were exhausted, the princess had to publicly swear oath in the church in the truth of her testimony ... But here again, providence intervened. Gorodkov was smashed by horses. After his death, the girl regained her rights over the estate and over the education of her niece.