Shadow of great britain

"Be honest, or I'll kill you with one shot!"

In the box on the second floor, the moment the barrel of the gun was stuffed into Elder's mouth, the Royal Navy draftsman finally discovered something was wrong.

"Um?"

The black cloth covering Elder's eyes was torn off, and it was then that he realized that the coconut tree lady who had seemed so charming to him just now had disappeared, and was replaced by a French gangster with semi-short hair.

The coconut tree widened its eyes and asked: "Say! Where is Alexandre Dumas? Let me warn you first, don't cheat in front of me, otherwise I will send you to see God immediately!"

Elder woke up from a dream, and he didn't know whether it was because he was ashamed or angry. Not only was he not afraid, but he even cursed loudly.

"You...you fucking dare to deceive my feelings!"

"Deceiving your feelings?" The coconut tree also became angry, and he yelled: "You are still fucking playing with my body!"

"Huh?" Elder said in surprise: "So, we are even?"

"What the hell is your logic?!"

Alexandre Dumas and Tom, who were lying under the bed, heard the quarrel between the two, and they couldn't stop muttering.

"What happened? Did the two of them quarrel?"

"I told you, why would anyone fall in love with Elder? They probably want to blackmail him."

"How about I go out and help him out? It would be bad if they two get into trouble here."

"No, don't pay attention to him. He caused things by himself. Let him handle it by himself."

Just as Tom was hesitating whether to go out, suddenly there was another knock on the door.

There was only a creak, the door opened, and a voice that was familiar to Alexandre Dumas suddenly sounded.

"Coconut tree, just clean up the person, so as not to cause death. After all, this is Mr. Hastings's friend. We are only here for Mr. Dumas. Don't offend him too much in other ways." .”

Coconut Tree gritted his teeth and glared at Elder. If it weren't for the position of section chief, would he be sitting in this position?

The coconut tree let out a long sigh, and then responded with a face full of humiliation: "Boss, don't worry, I will act in a measured manner."

Vidocq just looked around the room, and soon his eyes fell on the two chairs placed in front of the window.

A playful smile suddenly appeared on his face. He glanced at the big bed in the room and then at the two chairs: "I remember this seems to be Mr. Hastings' personal lounge, right? "

The coconut tree nodded: "Yes, he is quite good at enjoying it. There is a bed and furniture, and he can live here directly after cleaning it up."

Vidocq asked Vacour next to him again: "I remember that we investigated before and it seems that Mr. Hastings has not established a special relationship with any lady, right?"

Vakul also nodded: "Boss, according to your instructions, I sent my brothers to take turns with him as soon as we arrived in London. That boy works almost every day at three o'clock and one line at Lancaster Gate and Whitehall Street. , Wheatstone Musical Instruments Store, and his schedule does not change for several days. Life is so regular, and there are no women in Scotland Yard, he will definitely not have time to fall in love. "

When Coconut Tree heard this, he couldn't help asking: "No, I remember you told me a few days ago that Hastings and a lady were in the coffee shop..."

When Wakul heard this, his heart suddenly rose to his throat. He quickly winked at the coconut tree, but it was already too late.

Vidoc's sharp and terrifying eyes immediately locked onto Vakul: "What's going on?"

Vakul felt that his throat was dry, and he swallowed heavily: "Boss, it's not really a big deal. She's just an inconspicuous woman, and Mr. Hastings just sat with her in the coffee shop. For a while."

Upon hearing this, Vidocq directly grabbed Vakul's collar: "Fuck, why didn't you tell me this earlier? Didn't I tell you that you have to tell me all the information, no matter how detailed it is?"

Vakul smiled reluctantly: "Boss, although I said that, I think it's best to investigate and tell you if I have any information. After all, you are quite busy at ordinary times, aren't you?"

"Then have you investigated clearly?"

"This..." Vakul said tremblingly: "I sent someone to follow that girl for two days. On the first day she went to the Russian Embassy, ​​and on the second day... she disappeared the next day... "

"You lost me?!"

"No, no, the girl is not lost..."

"Oh, that's okay..." Vidocq just felt relieved, but in an instant, Vakul's words raised his blood pressure again.

"The person we sent to follow the girl was lost..."

"Trash!" Vidocq suddenly felt something bad in his heart: "That girl is definitely not a good person. You have been fucking discovered by her! Wait, you just said that she has been to the Russian Embassy. Could it be that she Is he an old man?"

Vakul hurriedly went back and added: "Boss, you are indeed wise! Only after our follow-up investigation did we find that that girl does seem to work in the embassy."

When Vidocq heard this, he raised his hand angrily and slapped Vacour: "In other words, our people fell into the hands of the Russians? Do you know that if Mr. Talleyrand knew about this? How will he react? He will kill us!"

Vakul panicked when he heard this. He tried his best to clear up the relationship: "Mr. Vidoc, the lost man is just a local gangster hired by me. Even if the Russians catch him, nothing can be said from his mouth." Nothing can be found in it. I believe we will be fine."

Vidoc looked at Vakul's face. It took him a long time to finally suppress the anger in his stomach. He waved his hand impatiently and said: "Forget it, finish this order first. The rest of the matter will come later. consider."

When Agares, who had been lying on the window sill watching the show, heard this, he just covered his mouth and snickered: "Oh, our Miss Fiona is really a capable woman. If this little bastard Arthur knows about Fiona, Not only did Na secretly take advantage of others, but she also knew about it without reporting it, so I’m afraid it won’t be Elder who is tied to the bed today.”

Elder listened to what these French people said to each other. He didn't know if it was because his feet were off the ground. After the passion subsided, his clever IQ took over the high ground again.

"Wait, you want to attack Alexander? Are you the newly sent French killers?"

When Vidocq heard this, he just smiled kindly and said: "Sir, don't speak so harshly. We are just entrusted by others to ask Mr. Dumas to return to Paris."

Elder said carelessly: "Returning to Paris? Then you would be quite lucky with him. I thought you were going to take him back to the plantation. But you are unlucky today, Alexander is not in the theater."

"Really?" Vidocq glanced at the two chairs by the window, then slowly leaned over and looked under the bed: "That's not necessarily the case."

His eyes met Alexandre Dumas's face.

For a moment, the air fell into a dead silence. After the two looked at each other, Alexandre Dumas just turned around slowly and expressionlessly, supporting his head with one hand, leaving only his broad back to Vidocq.

But this kind of deception is obviously of no use.

Not long after, he, Tom, and Elder were tied up and thrown to the ground.

"Elder, look what the hell you did! Just pick up a girl and pick up a guy, and you even brought me in with you!"

"Why don't you tell me about you! Who attracted the flies today? Oh, God! Look what I have done! I actually rubbed a Frenchman's ass, and it was a man's! Tom, Why don't you just give me a shot later? I've been humiliated enough today. If I die in the hands of a Frenchman again, my life will be the ultimate humiliation. Please don't let me taint it. to the honor of the Royal Navy."

"Mr. Carter, didn't you notice that I was tied up here too?"

"Yes! Why are you tied up here, where is your gun?"

"Mr. Vidocq just bet that I don't have bullets in my gun."

"The results of it?"

"He made the right bet."

"Then why don't you bring bullets? Do you usually use Scotland Yard's guns as fire sticks?"

Tom only felt a little aggrieved: "Mr. Carter, you don't know. Scotland Yard is no better than the Royal Navy. Our gun management regulations are too strict. Arthur has now been transferred from a position of real power, and ammunition and other things are all owned by the police." It is kept independently by the district. If he wants to get some bullets, he must take a document from Director Luo Wan, but as you know, there has been some trouble between the two of them recently, so the document approval may not be so smooth. "

Vidocq sat on a chair and leaned over to look at the three living treasures. He held a pipe in his mouth, lifted his skirt and crossed his legs. Taking advantage of the gap between Vacours to call for the carriage, he still had time to chat with them.

"Oh, it turns out that Mr. Hastings's life has not been very satisfactory recently, so that's no wonder. Generally speaking, he has no need to pay attention to a Frenchman who has lost his protection order. It seems that he, like me, also wants to take advantage of Is this an opportunity to make a comeback?”

When Elder heard this, he just said angrily: "You are a French guy who knows nothing. Arthur is trying to hurt his friend. We, graduates of the University of London, are now in charge of someone else!"

"Is there someone above? Is there someone above who still needs to play music part-time here?"

Vidocq pinched his chin, which had just shaved off his stubble this morning, and looked down at the theater stage from the window. Amidst the thunderous applause, Mendelssohn raised his white gloves and bowed to greet the audience with a smile. In the shadow of the curtain behind him, Arthur, who was wearing a jet-black evening gown and a body as tall as a sword, pushed back the broken hair on his forehead. The shiny black hair on the back was in sharp contrast with the white gloves. His eyes glowing with light red light flickered, and he was about to appear.

Vidocq stared at Arthur stepping onto the center of the stage, flicking his tailcoat and sitting on the bench in front of the piano. At this moment, the legend of the French criminal and police circles ordered: "Hastings Sir, I'm sorry. Now, everyone is preparing to evacuate."

At the same time, almost at the same moment, in another box not far from the box where Vidocq was sitting, Mrs. Leven was nestled in the arms of Austrian Prime Minister Metternich. The gray-haired Mr. Metternich teased her with a few words. Mrs. Deleven laughed so hard that she couldn't stand upright.

However, apart from keeping in touch with each other, the two still tested each other word by word.

Metternich seemed to mention it casually: "Dorothea, next time you go back to St. Petersburg to visit relatives, you must remember to say hello to His Majesty the Tsar for me. I heard that he is different from his brother. Now The Tsar pays special attention to these details, and if you don't keep in touch with him often, your relationship will soon become estranged."

Mrs. Levin just blinked playfully: "Say hello? Of course. But I don't plan to go back during this period, because I heard that His Majesty was very angry about Belgium's independence, and said that they must be given a severe lesson. My dear, you know that the Tsar's anger is a very serious matter in the Russian court. At this time, it is best not to get into trouble with him."

"Ah..." Metternich smiled and said, "Then, if you can bring him some good news, you can certainly calm his anger, right?"

"Good news?" Mrs. Levin pretended to be ignorant and said: "You mean Austria plans to stand with us? But if you do this, you will probably make the British unhappy, right?"

When Metternich heard this, he just took Mrs. Levin's arm and said, "My dear, I will do anything for you."

Although Mrs. Levin knew that nine out of ten words spoken by the man in front of her were lies, at this moment, she did not mind making fun of him.

"Clemens, you are always so naive. But that's why I love you so much."

The two foxes were acting out their chat here, while Viscount Palmerston and Lady Cowper in the next box looked much more down-to-earth.

They took a break with glasses of red wine and were about to enjoy an outstanding piece from Arthur.

Mrs. Cowper straightened her messy clothes a little, raised her glass to touch Palmerston, and asked with a smile: "Henry, I saw Mr. Metternich entering the next room before, you are the new Foreign Secretary." Why don’t you go say hello to the Austrian Prime Minister?”

After hearing this, Viscount Palmerston just stretched out his hand and hugged Mrs. Cowper into his arms. He puffed up his chest proudly and said: "My dear, in my opinion, if Metternich is interested, he should come to visit." Me. If he thinks he can get anything done with Austria, I will give him a hard lesson at the London Conference on behalf of Great Britain."

When Mrs. Cowper heard this, she was suddenly worried: "But...Henry, are you acting too tough by doing this? You also understand that the current mainstream views, whether it is the Tories or the Whigs, are They all want peace.”

When Palmerston heard this, he just smiled and comforted: "My dear, I hope for peace because they are not sure they can win. In addition, the Duke of Wellington had told me yesterday not to show any disrespect to Austria." He didn't give in at all. Metternich had just suffered a setback with him two days ago. This old guy still can't figure out his position. I want him to understand that without the support of Great Britain, what is he, the Prime Minister of the Austrian Empire? neither."

In the Coburg Theater, everyone had evil intentions. Just when everyone was thinking about how to obtain the greatest benefit, God seemed to have heard their call, and the lights in the entire hall suddenly dimmed.

Darkness came like a tide, and all the conspiracies were covered up.

The audience screamed one after another. Just when they were about to complain about why the theater took the lighting issue so lightly, the piano suddenly sounded.

"Oh my God! Is this some kind of new show?"

The lights on the stage were dim and the audience could hardly see anything. Even though they were very alert, they could only see a pair of hands dancing on the keys.

"Perhaps this will allow us to focus more on the music itself?"

"I have long heard that this piece "The Bell" is difficult, so is this intended to showcase the technical achievements of the new pianist Mr. Hastings?"

Everyone in the audience was making wild guesses, but they no longer complained. With the notes that came like a storm, the last bit of dissatisfaction in their hearts quickly disappeared.

Amidst the music, they could occasionally hear the sound of solid and heavy footsteps.

Thumb, thump, thump!

It sounded like someone walking up the stairs or someone ringing a bell, but some people thought it might be a novel accompaniment.

He was holding a police officer's knife in white gloves and paired it with a brand new black top hat. In the darkness, all he could see was a pair of red lights that were so weak that they were almost imperceptible, rising gradually with the sound of footsteps.

Arthur's body blocked the path that Vidocq and his party must pass through. The two groups had a tacit understanding and remained silent, because everyone knew that it would be bad if this matter got into trouble.

On the stage, Mendelssohn played the score of "The Bells" with all his heart. Although he had heard Mr. Moscheles brag about its difficulty many times, and it was indeed a bit difficult to get started for the first time, he was committed to becoming a composer after Bach. The young musician who was the greatest pianist was not fazed by it.

Notes like butterflies passing through flowers came out one after another, and the sound of orchestral instruments was accompanied by bursts of tinkling sounds coming from the second floor.

The moonlight shines through the window on Mendelssohn's fingers. As he plays the passionate melody, the sweat falls down Mendelssohn's cheeks, drips across his neck and into his chest, staining the ruffles on his white shirt like clusters of flowers. .

In the darkness, the arc of the sword flashed.

Dots of red light, dancing like the gleam of phosphorus in a churchyard.

The battle between French classical swordsmanship and Apennine Fiore style started at this moment.

There were two bangs, like the sound of his back hitting the floor and rolling down the stairs.

There was a dull groan, like a fist hitting the chest.

On the stage, the dancing fingertips went crazy, as if the piano was vibrating along with it, and the earth was shaking.

Suddenly, the sound of the piano suddenly stopped, and along with a cry of extreme pain, a cry of extreme fear rang out in the silent hall: "Surrender!!!"

The staff who had been standing on the ladder holding candles, waiting for the lights to be re-lit immediately lit the chandeliers in sequence, and the light returned to the earth in the hall.

Everyone's eyes were focused on the area where the sound had just come from. They were two moving 'ladies' who seemed to be emotionally moved by Mr. Hastings's moving playing. They knelt on the ground and covered their faces with tears, lying beside them. The other one was even more powerful. He actually fainted with foaming at the mouth.

"Oh! My God!"

All the gentlemen and ladies present exclaimed. They were just amazed by the piano skills just now, but now they are shocked by this shocking scene.

Perhaps before, some people would have disdained Arthur Hastings’s nickname of ‘Paganini of Piano’, but now, no one would question this title.

In the shocked eyes of the gentlemen and ladies, Arthur, who had already taken advantage of the chaos to switch places with Mendelssohn, slowly raised his hand. The tuxedo on his chest heaved violently and he was breathing heavily. Apparently, in order to make these three 'Ms.' was caught without a fight, and he was very tired.

After adjusting his breathing, Arthur finally had time to straighten his messy tuxedo, put a hand on his chest, and bowed slightly to greet the audience: "A song adapted from "The Bell" by Mr. Paganini, To all the guests present, I also wish Mr. Paganini all the best for his upcoming concert in France."

As soon as he finished speaking, a burst of thunderous applause burst out from the audience.

Arthur smiled and raised his hands to the audience in agreement, while Mendelssohn, who was standing in the audience, also asked in an excited voice: "Arthur, looking like this, do you think you have won the battle?"

Arthur didn't say much. He just walked off the stage after the show, quietly opened his tuxedo, and showed Mendelssohn the several tears on his shirt: "Mr. Vidocq can fight better than I thought." , it’s a pity that I’m too old.”

Just when Arthur was about to exchange a few words with Mendelssohn, he suddenly noticed a beautiful figure on the spiral staircase leading from the first floor to the second floor. It was Mrs. Levine who was in a hurry and two Tsarist Russians who were waiting beside her. The military attaches, judging from their expressions, looked like they had learned some bad news.

On the second floor, Viscount Palmerston and Lady Cowper seemed very satisfied with Arthur's song. They opened the window and applauded Arthur with a smile.

When Arthur saw this, he felt that something was wrong.

While he was still thinking carefully, the red devil suddenly grinned and put his arm on his shoulder: "Hey! Arthur, it seems that the action team you sent to the Russian Embassy is working very smoothly. I think See they are already on their way to find you.”