[Tess of the D'Urbervilles] Concubine Wan Gui counterattacks the doormat

Jack Durbeyfield was dressed in a black robe, and his face, which was usually flushed with alcohol, was now pale and calm.He was well groomed, even his beard, which was always unkempt, was neatly combed, and he felt like a benevolent gentleman asleep.

Lisa bent over, placed the bouquet of daisies in her hand on the side of her father's face, stared at it for a while, and then looked away.

The lid of the coffin was slowly pushed up, gradually covering his body. "Boom—" there was a low sound, the coffin was completely covered, and Jack Durbeyfield's body was replaced by the cursive words engraved on the brown coffin surface:

"1810·03-1847·08

Jack Durbeyfield"

Old Jack's life is summed up in just these few words.Compared with the thousands of people sleeping underground, he may be the most insignificant among them, but he may also be the most proud.He succeeded in marrying his daughter to his own family within a month before his lifeline was cut, whether it was a fake or not, but the blood of his family continued under the surname of "d'Urberville" , and he himself, under the arrangement of his rich and powerful son-in-law, will be sent to the cemetery where the ancestors of the d'Urberville family rest - Kingsbeer.

"I still have an old silver spoon and an ancient seal with a coat of arms in my house, but, my God, what is a silver spoon and an ancient seal? . . . Come to think of it, I've been talking to these noble D'Urbervilles are bound by blood..."

"Buried Kingsbear under the green hill, in the catacombs where our ancestors are buried row by row, and under the canopy made of Pepique marble, there are statues of our ancestors..."

"..."

Perhaps, when Jack Durbeyfield met his ancestors hundreds of years ago, his current "success" could still be used as his capital, and he continued to boast to his ancestors underground.

When the coffin was being transported away, Mrs. Durbeyfield bent over and hugged Lisa beside her, and couldn't help crying again. The children were also taken to cry. They stretched out their arms to hug their mother one by one, and lifted Mrs. Durbeyfield Surrounded tightly.

The empress has been standing not far from them, hugging the little guy, her eyes are covered by the drooping hair, making it difficult to see the expression on her face at the moment.

Alec thought she was sad, so he put his arms around her, and he took his son with him.

The summer wind blows gently, blowing up their skirts and clothes, the small daisies all over the hillside sway with the wind, and the lush grass ripples with the wind waves.

In such a summer, the little man Jack Durbeyfield died.There is nothing special about his departure. If you insist on finding out one thing, he left traces of different shades in the hearts of two daughters who had nothing to do with him and lived centuries apart. And perhaps a young man who had confessed in the parish of Emmin Abbey, but by the time he heard the news it would be days after old Jack's death.

*****

Alec finally sat comfortably on the sofa, addicted to cigarettes, and when he wanted to reach out and take out the cigar box in his arms to smoke, he thought for a while, thinking of the disgust hidden in his wife's eyes when she smelled the smoke on him, and put his hand on the The breast pocket stopped for a while, and finally gave up.

At this time, a restrained voice appeared in front of him, "Good afternoon, sir."

Alec raised his head, looked at Demville, and subconsciously imitated his mother and raised his eyebrows.

Demville respectfully handed him a roll of perfumed white paper tied with a red ribbon.

Alec was puzzled, but he still pulled off the ribbon tied with a bow, and looked at ten lines at a glance.Soon, he put away the scroll and asked, "You want to go, my buddy?"

Demville nodded, "Yes, sir. I should have politely proposed to leave after the wedding. Since you have been very busy recently, sir, for this reason, I didn't have the opportunity until today."

Actually Alec didn't want Demville to resign.Since he came, the servants in his family have a clear division of labor. At least within the range of his sight, every servant is very serious about their work, and it seems that the quality of etiquette has changed overnight. The leap forward made him feel like a nobleman even at home.

Thinking of this, he asked to stay: "I can increase your salary, how about 200 pounds a month?"

Demville: "Thank you sir, but my real duty is to take care of my little master. The work here takes up all my time. I haven't forgotten the main purpose of my coming here."

Alec had both admiration and helplessness for this kind of servant who was only loyal to his master, but he still made a last attempt to persuade him: "You lose this job, how can you support your noble little master?"

Demville was stubborn: "I'll think of other ways, sir."

"You can bring your master to the D'Urberville Manor, so that you can take care of him while working, killing two birds with one stone, can't you?" A faint female voice suddenly sounded from behind.

Alec turned back from the sofa and saw his wife on the stairs. The little guy in her arms was grinning at his father, very cute.

Demville nodded in the direction of the empress: "Thank you, madam, but I still stick to my own ideas."

The empress feels very sorry, after all, being served by a butler who has served in a noble family for a long time, not only can she enjoy comfortable and elegant service, but even when guests from outside come to visit, seeing the way of life in the manor, they can't help but think highly of this family Some, especially bourgeois squire families like Alec who have no background.

But she doesn't intend to make things difficult for others. After all, Rhodemville doesn't really want to stay here, and she won't work here with all her heart.

She glanced at Demville, went downstairs slowly, and went out to bask in the sun with the little guy in her arms.

Alec's heart had long since left with his little wife. Facing the stubborn Demville, he just nodded impatiently and said, "Since you have decided, then so be it."

Dumville bowed slightly, "Thank you, Mr. d'Urberville."

Well, as soon as he was let go, Demville's name changed immediately, but Alec didn't care about these trivial matters, and he waved his hand, and Demville left as he wished.

Alec got up, came to the big window, stood in the hot afternoon sun, with one hand in his trouser pocket, and saw his wife sitting on the chair under the lush holly tree.

The maid came down the stairs with a large round-brimmed hat, walked out quickly, came to the mistress, and handed her the hat.Alec saw his wife protecting the child with one hand, and took the hat and put it on with the other, covering her pretty face.The maid didn't leave, but just stood by her side in case of emergency.

The empress lowered her head and saw her son with round eyes rolling, she couldn't help but leaned closer and kissed his forehead. The little guy seemed very happy with this exchange, and kept giggling non-stop. His smile was brighter than the sun in this summer afternoon. brighter.

Seeing such a child, the empress was very satisfied. She picked up the little guy's white and soft little fingers and kissed them one by one.There was always an inconspicuous but very gentle smile on the corner of the empress's mouth, and her whole body exuded a soft maternal breath, like a ball of light, charming but so bright that people couldn't open their eyes.

Alec's heart moved, and before he could react, his body had gone out before his consciousness, and he came behind his wife.

The empress felt Alec's breath, she didn't look up, and let Alec put his hands on her shoulders.

Alec was a little worried about his mother, after all, her father, Jack Durbeyfield, had just died recently, and her mother and those younger brothers and sisters had also left, and lived in the apartment that Alec specially bought in the famous seaside resort of Sandborn .He sincerely hoped that the Durbeyfields family could calm down their sorrow in this beautiful place, and his sister-in-law Lisa, who had agreed to stay, moved there temporarily because she was worried about the newly widowed Mrs. Durbeyfield.Therefore, the huge d'Urberville estate restored its former calm.

Alec was worried that his mother would feel lonely, so he couldn't help asking: "Are you feeling okay?"

Hearing Alec's sudden question, the empress was a little confused, but soon understood what he was referring to, "I'm fine." She replied.

The two were silent for a while.There was no flirting, no playful faces. This was the first time Alec had a serious conversation with his wife. For a while he didn't know what to talk about with his wife, so he kept silent.

"Alec, you have spent a lot of money recently." The empress broke the silence and returned the question Alec asked just now, "Are you feeling okay?"

The empress means that your money can still support our mother and daughter?But in Alec's ears, it turned out that his little wife took the initiative to care about him, and had already started to think about him, so he was very happy.

"I'm fine too, my dear. The old man left me a lot of property. There are three vineyards alone. I promise I won't let you and Auston starve with me." Well, regardless of the beginning Anyway, at least the result is satisfactory to both husband and wife.The empress finally felt relieved when she got the answer, and Alec was satisfied with his wife's love and care for the first time.

But soon, the empress was concerned about another question, "But dear Alec, why haven't I seen you work?"

Alec was very proud. He bent down and embraced his wife, put his mouth close to her and said, "Honey, in fact, these properties are taken care of by special people, and I don't need to worry about them. Don't worry if I say that." Is it? My baby."

Empress is not satisfied with his answer.Not to mention that it is unreliable to rely solely on the loyalty of the subordinates to ensure income. The emperor is in danger of being rebelled by his courtiers, let alone a small businessman like Alec?Besides, Alec spends money like water, and he is only living on his father's laurels. Sooner or later, he will spend all his money!The empress didn't want to endure Alec's various inadequacies and marry him. In the end, she and her son ended up in poverty!

Thinking of this, the empress frowned worriedly, "Alec, I think, you can try to work, maybe you will live a more fulfilling life?"

For some reason, Alec immediately understood what the empress meant, "Tess, do you think I'm worthless like this?"

The empress took Alec's hand from her shoulder comfortingly, turned her head and tried her best to make her eyes sincere, looked at him and said, "Honey, I just hope that you can find your own life value, and at the same time, you can Give our Oston a good father figure, don't you think?"

Alec looked a little confused, and he thought of those past events buried in his heart.

Holding the ball, Alec saw his father's carriage driving towards the exit of the manor, so he couldn't help running up to follow the carriage with short legs.

"Daddy, Daddy..." he yelled as he ran.

Dad's carriage stopped, and Alec saw his father get off the carriage, looked at him with a smile, and opened his arms towards him.

Alec jumped up happily, buried his small body in his father's broad embrace, grabbed his suit with his little hand, and asked, "Dad, are you going to London again?"

"Yes, my little one," Dad hugged him, "Dad is going out now, Alec has to stay at home obediently, and accompany Mom to relieve boredom, you know?"

"But..." Alec became unhappy, and said coquettishly, "I hope mom and dad will stay with me."

Dad stroked Alec's little head, "Alec, Dad has to work so that you and mom can live happily." He kissed his face, let him go, went back to the carriage, and went to the carriage. In front of the car, he waved to him, then got in the car and left.

"dad……"

The carriage drifted away, and Alec stood where he was, not even noticing that the ball had dropped.

Later... Later, my father went out to work more and more frequently, and there were more and more quarrels with my mother. Sometimes when my mother saw him who looked similar to my father, her eyes flashed unconcealable disgust. Sometimes he even saw him. To hate.Until one day, their family became a joke in London society.The rich Mr. d'Urberville died, in the bed of his mistress, and the cause of his death was rather ignominious.From then on, his mother didn't want to look at him any more, until his nickname was out, and everyone who knew him secretly laughed at him as worthy of being the son of old D'Urberville, and his indifferent mother finally looked at him differently up.But is it really worth it?

"Alec? Alec?..." The empress called him, and suddenly met his eyes that turned from bewilderment to seriousness, and froze for a while.

He put his hands on her shoulders, his expression gradually serious.

He won't repeat his father's mistakes again.

The author has something to say: A question that needs special explanation, Jack died in March 1811 in the original book, but I changed it to 3 here, purely to match the development of the next plot, I hope everyone understands, ok~~