[Pride and Prejudice] Rich Lady

The demons danced wildly on the dance floor, and the ancient and modern mixed together in the auditorium. Elizabeth Bennet seemed to be infected: facing a stranger, especially when they were all hidden behind masks, it made her suddenly feel like reliving the conversations of later generations on the Internet, and couldn't help but feel more Make her eloquent and straight to the heart.

When it comes to marriage, this is really a focus that has never been outdated throughout the ages.

"In addition to love, people need to think more. Ladies can obtain a better quality of life through their husbands, while gentlemen naturally expect their wives to bring a warm home so that they can rest easy." Darcy said tentatively.

Elizabeth curled her red lips and said with a smile: "Mr. William, you also agree with exchange of equal value—oh, I think what you just said is exchange of equal value. Ladies value status and property, and men do the same."

"There's nothing wrong with that. Well-matched marriages can expect peaceful coexistence." Elizabeth said, "But it has nothing to do with love, it just needs to match materially. I think this is very appropriate, and it avoids some tragedies. It's better than one party. It’s better to provide money and one party to provide status—in this case, if a woman is the party providing property, then she loses weight after marriage and becomes very vulnerable.”

Darcy shook his head, he was never good at expressing his feelings, especially love, he was hopeful but not forceful.So he said: "Two people who happen to be in the right family get married because of love. Although it is happy, this kind of thing is a gift from God. We can't expect everyone to have this luck."

"In my opinion, most of the people who have a peaceful and satisfactory family life are the combination of men and women with equal property and status. Equality between the two parties is already the cornerstone of harmony. If love is born on the cornerstone, then satisfaction will become more The happiness that people envy is complete; if there is no basis for misfortune, then they should think carefully about it—this is very dangerous, just like a garden in the sky, there is a crisis hidden under the beauty, and it is difficult to last long." He said.

Elizabeth applauded his wonderful speech, "I agree too much, matter and spirit, the spirit must be built on a material basis to be happy, only the material may not be unfortunate, only the spirit will be disappointed."

Elizabeth's view of love is much more negative than Darcy's, because she said: "Love can only bloom for a long time in the pages of books. But in the story, love must always be strangled and destroyed at its peak, so that it will be profound and meaningful, so that To be lamented by people. After all, love is often a tragedy."

Jane shook her head and did not want to get involved when she heard them speak so harshly of the longing-for love and marriage.

"Miss Lizzie, I guess you are not very old, but you are too pessimistic." Darcy said hurriedly with a tremor in his heart. "Looks like ladies are well-bred, and things like reading too much may produce some unforeseen circumstances—I was planning to send my sister to school, and now I'll have to think again."

"The stories in the books may be tragedies for a long time, but the comedies are equally touching. I advise Miss Lizzie not to take the stories in the books seriously, or read some of the popular ones. I recommend "Robinson Crusoe" and "Gulliver's Travels" "Captain Singleton" or "Tom Jones," especially the last one, Mr. Fielding writes very well, and it can blossom sincerely in reality."

This realistic novel really liked Elizabeth very much, but when she heard that Mr. William also recommended it, she couldn't help laughing: "I thought gentlemen would dislike "Tom Jones", the image of nobles and gentlemen it describes is not very good , mercenary, hypocrisy and cunning—rarely does Mr. William like it? You must know that many conservative gentlemen think it is a book that is not serious. I have heard that some pastors in other counties have claimed that it is the culprit that leads to the decline of grace and moral decline. "

"I see," replied Mr. Darcy, laughing, "that Miss Lizzie has some prejudice against gentlemen, or perhaps all gentlemen?"

He only meant to make fun of her, but Elizabeth could not help being surprised at Mr. William's sharpness.However, this had the opposite effect. Instead of shrinking, Elizabeth became more excited.

He made a joke, and then said: "It is undeniable that many of them are really not worth reading. They either write about extramarital affairs or illegitimate children, and they always advocate getting something for nothing: the lover sits on the seat of the mistress of the manor, and the illegitimate child becomes the heir. "

"I also guess that Mr. William is a wealthy unmarried gentleman," which is easy to see in his speech and clothing. Only the jeweled silver pocket watch tied to Mr. William's lapel is of great value. Elizabeth brought the topic back : "Then what does Mr. William want his wife to be like?"

Jane woke up from her own thoughts, and hurriedly touched her sister's arm under the table, reminding her that her words were a little rude.

It was a matter of Mr. William's affair, after Elizabeth said it, she also felt a little presumptuous.

Mr. Darcy was not angry. After thinking for a while, he chose to confess.He said: "My family does have some wealth, but it's a pity that I don't have a title commensurate with the wealth. The family expects me to marry a young lady whose family background has declined but retains the title."

When he said this, even Jane was in awe of him.

It is true that this kind of marriage is commonplace, but gentlemen always pretense it with "love" and never admit the "deal" in it.Mr. William's frankness made the girls feel good about him again.

"But I have to say, this is not quite to my liking: it is too rare to find a marriage partner who meets the family's expectations and personal wishes at the same time. My sister-in-law and I's marriage must be based on our approval. A like-minded, well-matched Your lady is my greatest hope."

Both Elizabeth and Jane nodded. They felt that if this gentleman really matched his words and deeds, then he would be the only good companion.

Mr. Darcy is not good at expressing his heart, he was a little embarrassed after he finished speaking, so he talked about other ways to cover up: "Speaking of which, I also have a cousin who has a prominent background but no right of inheritance. Both he and my uncle hope to find a rich businessman Daughter, in order to maintain a decent life. He is used to ample expenses, so the choice of objects is also very narrow..."

After saying a few words in a daze, Mr. Darcy stopped quickly. It's not very good to talk about people behind his back.

But this just hit Elizabeth's previous words, and she said immediately: "I hope your cousin is upright and good, otherwise it will be a bit unfortunate to marry his lady. As I said just now, rich girls once married Having lost her weight and security, she can only hope for her husband's mercy."

"I don't mean to offend, but what I say is sincere. Isn't that rare in the city? There are many well-born women in the Bethlehem Asylum--and there are people who lock up jealous, quarrelsome wives in the attic of the manor to make them Really become a crazy woman, and then take her wife's property to have fun with peace of mind. No matter how much she was loved by her family, after she got married, because of her unequal status, it was difficult for the rich businessman's family to provide her with shelter. So at the beginning Just keep your eyes open, don't you?"

Mr. Darcy was silent for a long time, shocked by the lady's bold remarks, but he had to admit that it was a fact that in England, women were inherently weak.

"Okay, your topic is too far away." Jane smiled and rounded up the situation, she looked at the dance floor, "The dance is almost over, maybe you can have another dance?"

But both Darcy and Elizabeth were a little heavy at the moment, and had no desire to dance.

Mr. Darcy found the young lady far bolder, sharper, and more sober and independent than he had imagined.He knew in his heart that such a lady was actually out of tune with the mainstream society in England, but he couldn't help but be more attracted to her.The balance in his heart kept going up and down, the angel was warning him to stay away, and the devil was tempting him to get close.

Elizabeth was thinking of herself and her sisters. She suddenly realized that a generous dowry could not protect them, and more efforts were needed in terms of status, right to speak, influence, etc.—Elizabeth once again thought about that terrible thought: After she was 21, it was nice to be a rich widow.

Both of them were very preoccupied.Suddenly, a loud noise erupted not far from them, and a gorgeous candle holder was completely knocked down. Fortunately, several male guests nearby quickly extinguished the burning carpet, so that the flames did not burn on the curtains. The curtains and curtains are all over the synagogue. Once a fire breaks out, it will spread all over the place immediately. At that time, everyone can only run for their lives.

After dealing with the flames that almost caused the disaster, the guests turned their eyes of condemnation to the source, only to find that the masks of the couple fell to the ground, and the gorgeous feathers were burnt to give off a pungent stench.

One of the protagonists happens to be the widow that Elizabeth had in mind.

Riva Bradley, a wealthy widow from a neighboring town.

The other was Atwood, the youngest son of his family, Nelson Atwood, whom the residents of Meryton loathed and were wary of.

Nelson was pretending to be polite and apologetic. He said that seeing the unstable candle holder, he hurriedly removed the lady's mask because he was eager to protect his partner-this is obviously not recognized by people, and even the guests bluntly said it was a lie. The lifted candle holder stood there firmly, how could it fall down for no reason.

Nelson has a thick skin. He insisted on denying it, and pushed the matter to nearby guests, saying that someone else might have touched the candle holder.

Nelson had a courteous smile on his face, he was always concerned about whether the lady he 'saved' was frightened, and he stretched out his hand, as if he wanted to give the 'miss' a comforting hug, but he didn't notice other people's eyes watching the show.

The Atwoods had been out of Meryton for so long that it was impossible for them to know the famous people in the neighboring towns, nor would they know that the well-dressed young lady was a widow.What's more, Nelson Atwood temporarily changed the target his father had chosen for him: he thought that Miss Bennet, with her meager dowry and poor attire, was far from a good candidate.Those who credited Meriton flattered her so much that his father was deceived into telling him to marry her.

After Nelson invited Jane but was rejected, he suddenly saw Riva on the dance floor. She had a slender figure and graceful dancing posture.Although she was wearing a plain white dress, she did not lack jewelry, and there was a big shiny diamond on her chest.Naturally, Nelson spotted her, thinking that she was a rich and noble girl, and immediately gave up his original goal and plotted against her instead.Finally, when exchanging partners in group dances, he took Liwa's hand.

Since he has such dirty and sinister thoughts, he deserves to suffer the next bad luck.

Riva Bradley covered her face, extremely ashamed!She is a young widow, of course she would not let go of the opportunity to dance (ordinary formal balls, widows can attend, but do not have the right to dance), after hearing about Meryton's masquerade ball, she has been looking forward to it, and specially spent money to buy it New outfit, ready to have fun.

The dress she made is a goddess in Greek mythology. This goddess is not well-known, but it suits Riva's secret thoughts: she dresses up as the most mysterious of the three goddesses, who stays at home. Department. Goddess Hestia.It was also because she carelessly showed off her appearance to her dance partner that Nelson was more convinced that she was a well-educated unmarried lady.

The guests surrounded them, pointing and whispering.

The widow is very hot, she is only 24 years old, younger than many of the guests here, but she has been married twice and successfully inherited two large estates.Of course, this has something to do with her beauty, but more importantly, she is able to let go of her face enough to change at will between the wild and stubborn sex style and the kind and harmless elegance and docility.The local nicknamed "Black Poppy" was not only because she married a leather dealer as a shoemaker's daughter, but also married a gentleman as a merchant's widow, and because she was in the midst of two suspicious property battles. , she inherited and kept a large fortune.

Nelson was still complacent, pretending to be considerate to her.

But Riva Bradley didn't appreciate it, and she slapped Atwood's face hard.She almost jumped up, vowing to teach this scoundrel who had made her so humiliated—although she wanted to welcome her before and wanted to have some contact in private, she would never move to the public.

Who knew Mrs. Bradley had fallen in love with little Atwood an hour before.It was a poor boy, she was sure then, for he had never seen the world, and took vulgarity for goodness; With a figure like a bull, this is the type that an adult like her would like in bed curtains. Does it matter if she is arty or not?

Nelson Atwood was no gentleman, in fact, he had no manners.

Riva's slap knocked off his little camouflage, and he just clenched his arms to endure, when he heard someone call Riva "Ms. widow!

Nelson became enraged, waving his arms to hit someone.But Liwa was very nimble and light, while he was strong but clumsy, he didn't hit anyone at all, instead he was caught several times.

The guests complained, "It's too disrespectful." They watched the excitement without grace while relying on their masks to cover them.

There were still people pushing forward from behind, and the three of Elizabeth were inevitably getting closer to the center of the storm.

"Let's go." The two sisters whispered, they wanted to leave this chaotic place as soon as possible.

Especially Jane, who had recognized Nelson as one of the two strangers who had known her before the dance.This makes Jane have to be frightened.

"Be careful!" Elizabeth hurriedly grabbed her sister.

But the folding fan in Jane's hand was taken away from her by Liva, who was dodging everywhere. This was not the first thing she snatched. Just now, she snatched a gentleman's "scepter" and knocked on it. Little Atwood's brain broke after several blows.

Jane was very nervous, staring at the folding fan.

Elizabeth was protecting her, while Mr. Darcy had already stepped in front of them. He turned sideways and stretched out his arms, wrapping Elizabeth in his arms as much as he needed. "Please let me go." He said, intending to escort the two ladies out.

Diagonally across from the farce, Miss Bingley's eyes were so wide open that the sockets of her eyes could hardly be seen through the mask.

Elizabeth quickly found her own carriage. She was still vigilant, and stopped a few yards away from the carriage to thank Mr. William and say goodbye.She has no intention of exchanging her real identity under the mask with him.

Mr. Darcy was a little disappointed, he could only smile and said: "Just now I heard Miss Lizzie talk about Taolisi College, I am planning to send my sister to school for education, she may become Miss Lizzie's classmate. Maybe we are destined to become real friend?"

Elizabeth was noncommittal, and after saying goodbye to him again, they separated.

After getting into the carriage, Elizabeth told the coachman to go home. Before coming, Mr. Bennet had told his daughter that he and his wife had to help with the aftermath of the ball so that they would not have to wait.

Jane was frightened and a little uneasy, and she couldn't believe any of the gentlemen at the moment: "We shouldn't mention Taolisi College, he will guess who you are...and that fan..."

Elizabeth hurriedly hugged the restless eldest sister, and comforted her: "Although I am the only one in Meryton in Taurice, there are quite a few in neighboring towns and cities. Most of my classmates are from counties near London."

"As for the folding fan," Elizabeth opened the window of the carriage, and threw the fan out in her hand: "Who knows it's our fan, and who can prove that it's ours? Little gadgets in the store, without a badge and It's worthless, only a fool would make a fuss about it."

She laughed: "My dear Jane, you can rest assured now."

"If I ask you, Mrs. Bradley played well..."

The carriage finally turned out from among several horses and horses, rattled onto the road, and quickly disappeared into the night.

At this time, a person stood out from the shadow of the carriage next to him. He stretched out his arm, and with his slender fingers, he picked up the folding fan on the ground that was stained with dirt.

Mr. Darcy frowned, and paused for a few seconds before brushing off the fan with the handkerchief in his pocket.

The night wind woke up a little bit of worry, and Mr. Darcy put away his folding fan, intending to go into the auditorium to find friends: this farce should be over, and he intends to return to London as soon as possible.

……

Mr. Darcy likes easy-going, cheerful and happy people. For example, he accepted Charles Bingley and became friends with him, just because Bingley's personality is pleasing.

But now, Darcy felt that Bentley was going to be dragged down by his unlovable relatives.He was a little reluctant to tell his friends the identity of the pretty girl Bingley was interested in, in view of Miss Bingley's insistence on speaking vitriol about the lady he was attracted to.

Yes, Darcy admits that he has a little liking for Miss Wonder, she is different from others in his heart.Since Mr. Darcy stepped into the eccentric social world, in view of the annual income of [-] pounds, too many ladies have shown affection to him, and countless people want to marry him, even some nobles with full of charm The widow also wanted to climb the golden guinea tree.Darcy was never moved, and even became more taciturn and arrogant-people turned a blind eye to this for the sake of the pound, and only blindly flattered him.

Darcy almost thought that it was impossible for him to meet a girl who could make his heart beat: he was not born to be in love.Until he always met his Miss Wonderful in unexpected places.And the conversation at this masquerade ball convinced him that she was a lady worthy of everyone's respect and love.

After picking up the folding fan, Mr. Darcy was so happy that the corners of his lips were not as tight as before.

But Darcy decided to take a break for a while. He always thought that when a man encountered love, it was stupid to pursue it immediately.The prudent Mr. Darcy thinks that they need to understand more before they can seriously consider the future.

He decided not to pursue it for the time being, which did not conflict with the slander that hated Miss Bingley at all.Of course Darcy could see what Caroline Bingley was thinking, and he began to feel that the silence and lack of response were too misleading, otherwise how would Miss Bingley dare to blatantly slander other girls.In what capacity did she vent her jealousy?

Bingley has always indulged his sisters casually. Although Darcy does not agree with this irresponsible practice, he is also unwilling to dictate how his friends deal with relatives: Bingley is used to this, and Darcy doesn't think he can easily correct it.He really doesn't have much majesty in front of his sisters.

But this time:

"Won't you persuade, Charles," said Darcy, frowning, and beckoned Bingley to listen to his sister's babble of sarcasm.

Bingley smiled bitterly: "You know, Darcy, I can't control her. Thank God, Louisa is not here, otherwise I won't be able to be quiet all night."

"The ladies at the ball are not vulgar, nor are they inappropriately frivolous. Don't you think her words are too much, and besides, saying such words does not make her more respected and loved."

Bingley would have been willing to defend the matter if it had been about the girl he adored, but now he was too exhausted to persuade Caroline.I can only beg my friend to be considerate: "Caroline's mood is similar to the weather in London. The rain clouds come and go quickly, and she won't talk about it tomorrow."

Darcy raised his eyebrows, and suddenly asked: "Have you found that 'Miss Blonde'?"

Hearing this, Bentley became even more depressed, and he shook his head weakly, "There were too many people at the ball, and something like that happened in the end, I didn't have a chance to meet my 'Princess Blonde'. I think this is a test God gave me , he brought us together, but set up twists and turns to test people—but it doesn't matter, here is so close to London, there must be many opportunities."

"I only saw you were busy dancing, and didn't look for it at all." Darcy said sharply.

"Dear Darcy," his friend sang: "Love is suitable for thinking about it in quiet time, especially in the quiet and deserted night; but at the ball, people should put everything aside and enjoy the joy to the fullest... Of course, It would be great if you could meet love at the ball."

Mr. Darcy looked at him coldly, and resolved not to tell him about Miss Jane.The last time they had seen them, the two ladies looked like sisters of the same family, although they didn't look much alike.Of course he recognized Miss Jane as a pretty girl whom his friends admired, her blonde hair so conspicuous, but Bingley obviously didn't realize it.

Darcy privately thinks that Bingley is far from admiring Miss Jane as he said, and does not agree with his separation of love and pleasure.So be it, thought Mr. Darcy, and Bingley will forget it in perhaps a fortnight.

The Bentleys are a bit forgetful.

Jane didn’t see Bentley at all.During the whole dance, she only noticed that Lizzie had a good conversation with that Mr. William. Jane felt that Lizzie had a crush on Mr. William, but she did not dare to jump to conclusions.So it was a pity that they didn't meet at the formal ball, otherwise they would have been able to make friends naturally——with the comfort of her family, she finally felt relieved, so she was in the mood to pay attention to other things.

The three little sisters were a little envious at first, but when they heard that the two of them sat on chairs almost all night, and another farce like that happened at the end of the ball, they turned to sympathize with the two sisters.

And none of this distracted Elizabeth, because she finally waited for Laura's reply, and the messenger came to the door shortly after they left.

Laura told her in her letter that Mr. Jared was back in London and was about to leave for Longbourne.

The author has something to say: There are fat stamps!

In order to finish writing, the fish forgets the time.So give 200 small red envelopes for comments in this chapter~

The alarm clock has been set, even if the chapter is thinner tomorrow, try to update it on time~

Note: The "Addison Bull" mentioned in the previous chapter is the common enemy of Elizabeth and her friends. He was the mastermind who ambush the ladies at Christmas last year in the previous article.

In addition, regarding Miss Bingley, Yu feels that this lady is really not very smart. In the original novel, she always slanders and ridicules Elizabeth in order to dispel Darcy's thoughts.

For example: [In order to tease Darcy to hate this guest, she often said sarcastically, if he and Elizabeth were married, how much happiness would be brought to him by planning this marriage.

……

"After the wedding is over, you have to gently advise your mother-in-law not to talk too much. If you have the ability, you can also cure your sisters-in-law from chasing the officer. There is one more thing, it is really difficult Open my mouth, but I have to remind you: Your Madam has a little problem, it seems to be conceited, and it seems to be rude, you have to try to stop it."

……

"Be sure to hang the portrait of Mrs. and Mrs. Phillips, your uncle and aunt, in the gallery at Pemberley, next to that of your great-uncle the judge. You know they belong to the same profession, but in different ways. As for Mrs. Elizabeth , you don’t need someone to paint her portrait, which artist can paint her beautiful eyes vividly?”]

——These paragraphs are Miss Bingley's "tricks" in Chapter 10 of the original book. Although she slanders others, she also makes her mean and disgusting.

Yu thinks that Miss Bingley still doesn't study well and her paragraphs are low, she is an unsuccessful white lotus.

Thanks to the little angels who voted for me to overlord or irrigate nutrient solution~

Thanks to the little angel who threw the grenade: Ye Tan 2;

Thanks to the little angels who cast mines: Xinxin, Wuming, Xiao, Qingfeng gradually cool, つ° early summer, lemon is not sour, Wanfengliang, papaya, He Zhengyouzi;

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Qin; I am a small trumpet; Ye Yao; rinrin; Qinxin, fingertips bloom into sand, lift your skull; Zijin, a very tired salted fish, 666, peaches, Suyan, white ink; nothing ;Bank X; Sister Minmin, Rose after the Rain, Zijin, Miss Qianjian; Cat in the Moonlight, Wandao, Rabbit Meow, Daydream, Qianyi, Radish and Green Vegetables, It’s Cool in Autumn, Those who like to read sweet articles Lazy Nier, Qiangweiwei V;

Thank you very much for your support, I will continue to work hard!