[Pride and Prejudice] Rich Lady

Queen Charlotte told them that since the king first fell ill more than ten years ago, they had been worried that his illness would recur. This terrible thing became a reality last year. The ministers discussed the war against France.

At that time, the anti-French alliance had already collapsed. Napoleon, the consul of France, signed an armistice treaty with the Holy Roman Empire and a religious treaty with the Pope.Perhaps the unfavorable battle situation stimulated George III, and the king suddenly fell ill.

When he first got sick, although he was excited and talkative, his symptoms could still be controlled, and the king himself was conscious.But when the king faced the proposal of religious reform and troubles again, he was very annoyed, thinking that it violated his oath to uphold the Protestantism when he was crowned. With the break with his good friend, Prime Minister Pete, the king’s illness worsened amidst internal and external troubles. .The busier he was, the sicker he became.

But the king still had to conceal his illness. He had already announced his recovery before the Congress was held in November last year, and attributed the recurrence of the disease to the persecution of the Catholic Church. (Note)

"When His Majesty fell ill for the first time in 1788, the people thought he couldn't hold on. At that time, the stock market was in chaos, which almost caused riots." The queen recalled the past, her face was ugly: "Fortunately, he recovered in time. For this reason, the king spent much of 1789 on tours of the south of England to reassure the populace."

Queen Charlotte covered her face, and tears flowed from her fingers: "This time, His Majesty can't do that anymore. His illness is intermittent. In order to ensure that it is normal for him to appear before the public, the entire cabinet and The members of the palace exhausted a lot of energy. As you know, the opening ceremony of the Congress must be addressed by the throne to be in line. This year, His Majesty almost fell ill in Congress, and there are still many occasions that require the king to attend. The situation is already out of control... ..."

"The royal ball will be held in May, when the king will personally receive the ladies who will be present (Note ②) - if his illness is not cured at that time, then all the nobles in all Britain will know that the king has not recovered, and hide it from the people .”

The more Elizabeth heard it, the more she felt that something was wrong. The king had indeed announced his recovery. Now the royal family and the parliament were doing their best to conceal the real illness of the king, but now they were told that no matter how kind, friendly and approachable Queen Charlotte was, she couldn’t hide it. The fact that she had dragged them both into the water.

Not only she and Darcy, Her Majesty the Queen came to Havering in person, but all the doctors, patients and employees in Havering were involved.Perhaps Netherfield Park and the Darcys would have to be added.

She looked at Mr. Darcy, and Darcy's face was silent, unable to see anything.Elizabeth was taken aback, and then imitated him, trying to calm herself down.

Queen Charlotte's confidant attendant suddenly found that the two young people opposite were behaving very unusually. The man seemed to be attending a sermon in a church, calm and dignified; Out of the "sad" mood.The attendant felt that this expression was somewhat familiar. After thinking about it carefully, he found that it was almost exactly the same as the queen's expression when her mother-in-law, Princess Augusta, passed away.

Without the slightest excitement, fear and eagerness to learn the truth, the two of them were like two tightly closed clam shells, making the plans of the guests come to nothing.

Queen Charlotte obviously noticed this too. She wiped her tears gracefully with the hand with the opal ring, and she was a graceful and luxurious lady again: "I am so worried about Your Majesty, I pray to God , willing to take the place of His Majesty to be tortured by disease!"

"His Majesty the King is deeply loved by the people. Hearing him suffer so much makes my heart ache. In the next three months, I will lead the people here in the church in Havering to pray for His Majesty." Elizabeth Said, "During this period, Havering Hospital is temporarily closed, no new patients are admitted, and entry and exit are prohibited. We will work personally to show our piety, and hope that God can hear the prayers of the hospital and let our king recover as soon as possible. "

According to the practice of previous years, there will indeed be countless occasions in which the king will be present in person to consolidate the support of the royal family: in his early years, he frequently changed the prime minister, which once aroused dissatisfaction in the society, until he supported the young prime minister to take office. This good partner has cooperated for 18 years , During this period, the king's popularity reached its peak, but it also meant that the two broke up last year, and the turmoil caused by the resignation of Prime Minister Pitt Jr. was no small matter.The king must stabilize the situation and pacify the bad influence of Protestantism and Catholicism, and the cult incidents that followed.According to this situation, the king's illness will never be concealed for long.

Elizabeth became ruthless, and would rather separate herself and Havering Hospital from society for three months, and try to escape this vortex.

It's not that she doesn't want to treat the king's illness, but that there is no specific medicine for treating mental illness at all. The treatment method used by Havering is basically based on traditional Chinese medicine "phlegm obsessing the heart orifice, qi stagnation and blood stasis, and stasis congealing brain qi" , effective but must cooperate with the patient, supplemented by a relaxed and breezy environment.The king will definitely not let go of his busy affairs, and his illness is mixed with forces from all sides. Elizabeth feels that she has no political sensitivity or sensitivity. Her small raft sails into the vortex beyond her capacity, and she will capsize and be swallowed in minutes Lose.

But the queen found Havering herself, so she couldn't help but flinch.

Queen Charlotte no longer used emotional offensive, she said bluntly: "I hope you can be your majesty's attending doctor."

Mr. Darcy shook his head and said: "We hope that His Majesty the King will get better as soon as possible, but you know, Miss Elizabeth is not a doctor, and she is not even qualified to clean the medicine cabinet for the pharmacist. Besides, you must also know that Havering Hospital Doctors can indeed alleviate the symptoms, but this is a slow process, and no one can guarantee that His Majesty the King will recover before May."

He took a special look at the Gregorian calendar on the wall (Note ③), "There are less than two months, and it is almost impossible."

Elizabeth also said: "I don't know anything about medicine, how can I be the king's doctor."

"If Her Majesty is talking about the doctor from Havering," she paused, showing a troubled expression, "I heard that many people in the parliament don't believe in Ming's medical skills..." The Ming's doctor in Kensington After a great contribution to the Yellow Fever in London, a small group of people insisted that it was "witchcraft" from the East, trying to invade England, God blessed - many diseases that neither God nor European doctors can solve, They have all been solved by outsiders, from infertility to prevention of yellow fever, which will inevitably cause conflicts among some church personnel and doctors.While secretly going to Kensington to see a doctor, many aristocrats expressed their distrust of oriental medical skills on formal occasions: "It's unbelievable that you can know the disease you are suffering from by pressing the blood vessels in your wrist for a while!" The nobles said.

Queen Charlotte was silent, which was the reason why she came to the Havering Private Insane Hospital in person, and also the reason why she asked Elizabeth to be the king's doctor.If Elizabeth agrees, then her doctors will naturally be the ones to treat the illness, and this young lady only needs to act as a cover.

Mr. Darcy's complexion was gloomy, and the gentleman keenly saw the queen's plan, and he probably meant to push the lady out as a "shield" when necessary.Otherwise, he would not have left him, a more reasonable man, without asking, instead of asking a lady to take up this terrible position.

As we all know, doctors in the royal family have never had ladies, and half of Havering Hospital belongs to Darcy, and even in people's eyes, Mr. Darcy is the only owner of this private mad hospital.Like Francis Willis who treated the king last time, Willis is the owner of a private madhouse in Kent. (Note ④)

"We are going to get engaged this year." Mr. suddenly said: "Havering will be the property of the Darcy family, but because of the relationship between Miss Elizabeth and the Kensington Medical Hall, I am willing to still put half of the property in her name. We agreed in advance."

Obviously, this promise of half of the property is not in accordance with the law. The law stipulates that all the property of the wife belongs to the husband. At most, the wife's father or brother can sign an agreement with the husband before marriage to ensure that the husband pays the amount of pocket money every year.Darcy's meaning is obvious, he is the owner of Havering Hospital. In any respect, Queen Charlotte's proposal to ask Elizabeth to be the king's doctor is unreasonable.

Firstly she was not a doctor, secondly Havering did not belong to her, and lastly, no gentleman of standing would allow his wife to be a madman.

Darcy refrained from speaking before, as soon as he spoke, the road was blocked.

The attendant was very annoyed. She didn't expect that someone would treat the queen's request like this, without any sympathy. She said very coldly: "Miss Elizabeth is clearly proficient in medicine. We heard that she has read many medical books and also helped the queen. Many people know that the doctor in Havering has revised the treatment plan! It is really reasonable for Her Majesty the Queen to invite Miss Elizabeth."

Elizabeth quickly regained her senses, and she responded with a smile: "I just made some suggestions for the workers to take care of the patients for the purpose of better care for the patients, just like ordinary ladies and ladies would care about farm workers. I don't know how to do medicine, and reading books can't make me acquire this skill."

"Besides, I read medical books from the Ming Dynasty, which are not recognized in England for the time being." The young lady added politely.

Seeing that it was getting late, Queen Charlotte had no time to delay. Although she had other plans, her desire to seek medical treatment was genuine.Compared with the treatment the king is receiving now, she believes in the medical skills of the Ming people: "I have personally seen the restored General Parvasi (Note [-]), and the treatment he received is like heaven No matter Mr. Darcy or Miss Elizabeth, one must be appointed as His Majesty's doctor!"

The big enamel clock in the corner of the living room rang nine times, and the attendants guarding the door came in, urging the queen to return to Windsor Castle as soon as possible.Queen Charlotte's face is very ugly. Even though Mrs. Augusta has passed away for 20 years, the rules she left behind are still shackling the Queen of Britain, and the attendants around the Queen even still have the shadow of the strict princess . (Note ⑥)

Queen Charlotte could not refuse, she must achieve the goal of changing a doctor for the king: "Compared to Dr. Willis's corset many years ago, the current physician uses the juice of poison ivy to cover the whole body of His Majesty, And the king's ministers didn't care about His Majesty's pain, just because the doctor said it could suck the 'bad liquid' out of the king!" (Note ⑦)

The queen closed her eyes in pain, and said in a hoarse voice: "You may not know what poison ivy is. It is a poisonous weed from America—yes, that's right! It came from Britain that was thought to be lost from His Majesty. The largest colony overseas!" How ironic, the queen clenched her hands.

She squeezed out a voice between her teeth: "Even if you touch this poisonous weed for a short time, even if your skin is gently brushed by a damaged leaf, it will become red, swollen, blistered, and extremely itchy... After the treatment, the king will be dying of these symptoms within a few days, with constant fever. He will not survive, and you are my only hope! I will not allow this hope to be dashed - I think Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth Miss is very clear, from the moment I come here in person, you must send someone to treat His Majesty!"

Doctors in the Ming Dynasty can't do it, at least in the current public opinion situation, they can't directly treat the king on the bright side.Once leaked, it will cause huge discussions, and it may even be mixed with the king's concealment of the people, and the fermentation will expand, affecting the diplomatic relations between the two countries.The queen and Elizabeth are very aware of this, but Queen Charlotte insists that Havering take over the king's treatment. She is determined, and now she throws the choice to the young couple in front of her.

As soon as she finished speaking, Mr. Darcy said: "I will introduce doctors to treat His Majesty the King. The most important means of treatment in the Havering Private Insanity Sanatorium come from my family, several doctors and priests from the Darcy family Sir will come here regularly, so the patients’ condition will get better.” He acted as the guarantor and separated the treatment of Havering Hospital from the doctors of Mingguo, which meant that if an accident happened, he would be solely responsible for it.

"Mr Darcy!" exclaimed Elizabeth.

Queen Charlotte was a little surprised, but soon she turned her attention to other aspects: "Very well, Mr. Darcy, please do your best! If the king recovers, you will not only gain the friendship of the royal family, but also a lot of money." Reward: Whether it is the title or the right, I can guarantee that it is definitely what the Darcy family is eager to think about. Of course, there is also Miss Elizabeth, she will also get the reward she deserves. But I hope that His Majesty's doctor must be quite cautious , I don't want to see a treatment that has no effect, so the deadline is the royal ball in May, if His Majesty still can't get better..."

Obviously, the queen's tenderness at the beginning, her strength later, and the combination of kindness and force at this moment are all to enable the doctors in Havering to treat the king with all their heart.

But Mr. Darcy is obviously not afraid of this trick. He replied in a distant and reasonable way: "No doctor can guarantee the recovery of his patients. Anyone who dares to guarantee except God is a liar."

The queen stopped, looked at Darcy silently, and oppressed him with the power she had cultivated in a high position for many years.

The atmosphere froze.

"Does the Prince of Wales know about Her Majesty's visit to Havering?" Mr. Darcy asked calmly, neither humble nor overbearing.

The attendant beside the queen trembled and looked at him fiercely.

Darcy said calmly: "Whether it is the opening of the Parliament or the royal ball in May, if His Majesty the King is willing to sign the "Regent Draft", then it will not be a problem. It was already in His Majesty's study, and it was almost passed the parliamentary vote." (Note [-])

This time even Queen Charlotte's lips trembled, and Darcy changed the topic: "Your Majesty and the Parliament are responsible for Britain. I think His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales is inexperienced." Mr. Darcy seemed to be answering what he said earlier. This sentence does not specify whether it is His Majesty the King, His Majesty the Queen, or both.

"It's an honor to serve His Majesty," Darcy replied to the Queen's words before: "I will do my best. But——"

Both the queen and the attendants were a little afraid of his "but".

"But with the Prince of Wales and some members of parliament, they may trust His Majesty the King's current doctor more. I ask Her Majesty the Queen to persuade and explain this." The implication is that they will never take themselves out for Queen Charlotte.

Disagreement within the royal family and strife between members of different factions will divert attention from the "doctor". This most practical part is not worth mentioning in the face of power struggles, so at least Mr. Darcy will be safer .

Except for Havering to take over the king's treatment, the other two purposes of Queen Charlotte's personal visit all failed. treatment, then he will not invite dissatisfaction, whether in the royal family or in Parliament.

From the queen's point of view, since the young man has already thought of the best way to get out, and is willing to ask her to persuade those who oppose it, at least it means that he will seriously treat the king. As long as this can be achieved, Queen Charlotte doesn't care The previous plan was settled: "Very well, I promise you!"

But the attendants who helped her advise were unwilling to face the Prince of Wales and other nobles' targets, and hurriedly jumped out to stop them, but the queen stopped him coldly: "I don't want to see the king receive such painful treatment, that kind of treatment. I can't see the slightest effect, other than the destruction of the king's health! You must understand, Mrs Kirk, that the Kirk family can only stand in Parliament while George is king and I am queen."

The headmaid named Kirk was pale, and she no longer dared to show any dissent in front of the queen.

The attendants outside were urging her again, but Queen Charlotte didn't stay any longer. She took a deep look at the two young men and women who were paired up, put on her cloak, and left from Havering.Under the cover of night, there were still people quietly guarding the intersection of Havering Hospital leading to the outside world.

Elizabeth frowned. She didn't waste time complaining that Darcy shouldn't take over this hot potato. In the previous situation, it was either Mr. Darcy or her.It can even be said that Mr. Darcy blocked the disaster for himself, and Queen Charlotte clearly took a fancy to her relationship with Dr. Kensington Mingguo, and even planned to use her as a shield to divert public opinion.

It was not easy for Mr. Darcy to pull the queen down in the same trench. What Elizabeth is worried about now is: "Ming doctors cannot diagnose in person, and even the Ming doctors in Havering have to temporarily hide in the main building behind. How do we diagnose the king's condition in Havering?"

Several doctor apprentices of Darcy’s family were indeed studying with doctors from the Ming Dynasty, but they couldn’t diagnose the king’s pulse with the methods they had learned, let alone these few apprentices themselves did not have the ability to diagnose the pulse alone—purely European It is too difficult for people to understand the theory of yin and yang, five elements, and qi and blood meridians in traditional Chinese medicine. These apprentices are not as good as the seven or eight-year-old medical boys who carry the medicine box next to the doctor of the Ming Dynasty.

If it cannot be diagnosed, how can it be treated symptomatically?

Mr. Darcy was silent for a while, completely lost his calm demeanor just now, he said black-heartedly: "Or continue with the method of the last doctor? Maybe I can invite a few more owners of private madhouses, they really need the king to do it Advertisement." Queen Charlotte's power in the court is limited, she can at most influence the king's attitude towards German affairs, and the doctors serving the court are a special group, and the queen has no right to ask questions.If Mr. Darcy's current method is followed, they may even get more benefits than treating the king wholeheartedly-the Prince of Wales and other princes and ministers must be willing to extend an olive branch; otherwise, they will take huge risks.

Mr. Darcy was only joking, a gentleman of good nature would never do the murder of a monarch.

Although the history of the motherland is different from that of Elizabeth, the history of Europe is not much different. In the history that the lady knows, George III will be in power for at least another eight years. He survived the treatment of quack doctors until 1811. out of order.This was why Elizabeth was worried, but not too worried.

"The only thing we can do is ask the doctor to try to formulate a prescription and treat His Majesty with the safe 'Taifang'." Elizabeth said to herself, "This is more reliable than rubbing the body with poisonous weeds to make the king feverish and blisters."

She discussed this difficult matter with Mr. Darcy, but it is well known that when a young man and woman are together, the temperature always rises inexplicably, and the two people's feelings often become extra sharp, which can't help but upset distracted.For example, Elizabeth felt the heat from the gentleman next to her, and her face was also infected. The lady secretly brushed it with the back of her hand, and her heart was flustered by the heat.He always felt that even the air became sticky, and Mr. Darcy's ears were red and shiny. He tried his best to concentrate and not be attracted by the fragrance coming from his side.The redder the ears, the more serious Mr. Darcy is, and he feels the heat, wishing he could put his top hat back on his head again.

Now Havering Hospital has completely become an isolated island. Before the king's doctor is replaced, even Darcy and Elizabeth can't leave-now the two are staying alone in a room without opening the door. , nor accompanied by a maid.

The room was too cramped, the fire in the fireplace was too hot, and even the gentlemen and ladies wore too much clothes, which made the young men and women feel hot all over.

At this time, the lady thought of a question: Mr. Darcy seemed to say in front of the queen that they were going to get engaged this year?

The author has something to say: Last month's full attendance little red flower is in hand~ I'm happy~

I originally wanted to write enough for [-] and post today’s update and [-] plus updates, but it’s too late, this chapter counts as today’s update, and [-] plus updates will be postponed~

After Yu finished writing the remarks, he will send a small red envelope for the first few pages~ Comments on this chapter will also send a hundred small red envelopes~

Note: "George III had a short illness, and after recovering he blamed it on the Catholic problem. Finally, on March 1801, 3, Pitt resigned and was succeeded by Henry Addington, Speaker of the House of Commons."—— Wikipedia, George III

Note ②: On May [-], [-], George III held a grand birthday party for Queen Charlotte, who was pregnant at the time, and personally received all the young men and women attending the banquet. Since [-], the practice of Queen Charlotte's ball has been It has been passed down that every May, the king or queen will receive unmarried noble girls in the palace, which is a coming-of-age ceremony for celebrities, and it did not end until [-].The Queen Charlotte Ball, which has been restored now, is also a coming-of-age ceremony held by the United Kingdom for famous ladies from all over the world, and it is changed to September every year.

Note ③: The Gregorian calendar: the Gregorian calendar, which is a dating method originated from Western society. In 1582, Pope Gregory XIII approved the promulgation. — Wikipedia, AD

That's the calendar we use now.

Note ④: "George III's attending doctor is the owner of a private madhouse in Lincolnshire, a doctor named Francis Willis. The treatment mainly consists of reprimanding, intimidation, and wearing tight straitjackets. If the king refuses to eat or is noisy, His legs were tied to the bed, and a wide cloth belt was tied around him. Later, a special chair was used to restrain his movements." - Encyclopedia, George III

Note ⑤: The fish was fabricated based on "John Percival (a British Army officer) who was once treated in Teshurst Asylum". The Tesshurst Asylum opened in Sussex in 1792 as a madhouse for the wealthy.Many of Yu's ideas about Havering Hospital come from this "Private Madhouse in Teshurst, England in the 19th Century"

Note ⑥: Mrs. Augusta: Princess Augusta of Saxony-Gotha is the mother of George III, but George III's father died before taking over the throne. George III is from his grandfather George II. took over the British throne.So Augusta is not the Queen Mother (Yu did not find information about calling Augusta the Queen Mother, and many sources call her Princess Augusta). Augusta died in [-].

The relationship between Queen Charlotte and this mother-in-law is somewhat tense: "The tense relationship between Charlotte and her mother-in-law, Princess Augusta, made it difficult for her to adapt to life in the British court. Augusta binds Xia with rigid court etiquette." Lott. In addition, she also placed many attendants around Charlotte, so as to monitor Charlotte's every move." - Encyclopedia, Sophie Charlotte

Note ⑦: "There is also a doctor named Warren, who insists on applying a poisonous insect and mustard dressing all over the king's body. He said that the blisters caused by this are painful and will attract the "bad liquid" from the king's body. The cures of quack doctors only delay the recovery of the sick." - Wikipedia, George III

The fish has been altered a bit.

In addition, poison ivy: this kind of emulsion is extremely poisonous and can easily cause paint sores. - Encyclopedia, poison ivy

Note ⑧: In February 1789, the Congress resumed, and the government immediately introduced the "Regent Draft", which authorized the Prince of Wales to be the Regent, but at the same time imposed many restrictions on the power of the Regent. The "Regent Bill" was passed by the House of Commons in the same month, but George III's illness suddenly recovered before the draft was submitted to the House of Lords for voting, which made the "Regent Bill" abandoned. — Wikipedia, George III

In addition, many of the attendants of the Queen of England at that time, especially the chief servants, came from noble families.When Yu was looking for information, he also found many unimaginable and interesting things, such as Queen Caroline of George II:

"Although George Augustus continued to have mistresses, as was customary at the time, the two of them had a successful and loving marriage because George Augustus's mistress was well known and he would tell her about his mistress. The matter, therefore, was clear to the queen about her husband's infidelity.George Augustus's most famous mistresses were Henrietta Howard, Countess of Suffolk and Amalie von Wollmorden, Countess of Yarmouth .Henrietta Howard was one of the queen's chamberlains and when her husband inherited the title of peerage in 1731 she became the queen's chamberlain and retired in 1734...the queen prefers Made his husband's mistress her handmaiden, because she believed she could know their every move by doing so." (Wikipedia)