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

A notice printed in typography was pasted on the pillar at the entrance of the Ji Taoist monastery.

Lisa got out of the car and tried to look up on tiptoe to see the content of this notice:

"Anyone who will take over the parish and take in Nat Brown will be paid five pounds."

Lisa read it word by word, turned her head and smiled at the mother who was helped down by Alec, "It's so strange, my sister, there is such a good thing as giving away money!"

Alec had never been to this kind of place, so he felt very novel about what Lisa said, "Oh, is this true? That's really strange enough."

The empress raised her eyebrows slightly, and reminded lightly: "Don't be greedy for petty gains."

Lisa thought, yes, there is no such thing as a pie in the world, didn't the person who gave it make it clear that there was a problem?So I shut up.

The three of them walked to the door of the Ji Taoist Temple. The gatekeeper in his 60s looked at the person's clothes up and down, his shrewd eyes lit up immediately, he picked up his worn-out hat and pretended to salute, "Dear Mrs. Madam, Miss, good afternoon."

Alec was getting impatient. The bleak autumn wind rolled sand and rocks and hit people's faces a little painful. He held the lady's small white lace parasol, turned sideways to block the wind for his wife, and said bluntly: "Lazy old guy , Hurry up and open the door and let us in!"

The empress was indifferent, but Lisa couldn't help but glance sideways at Alec.

"Yes, sir." The gatekeeper panicked and quickly took out a long circle of keys, and opened the door with trembling dry hands.

At this time, the director of the Jido Temple, wearing a gold-rimmed red uniform and a black boat-shaped hat, came over with a cane.

"Good afternoon, dear sir, madam, and miss." The flesh on his face trembled as he spoke, "May I help you?" He was so fat that his eyes were squeezed into slits With flattery that is hard to see.

Alec knows how to deal with such a person, the more rude you are to him, the less he dares to neglect you.So, Alec stared at the other party, and said slowly, with an arrogant tone, "We need a young man, you know, he must be smart and hardworking."

The face of the director of the Ji Taoist Temple burst into brilliance, and he smiled flatteringly, "Oh, you are such a kind family, please allow me to lead the way for you." He raised his arms, "Please."

So, the three of them followed behind the director of Ji Taoist Academy, and walked to what he called the "director's room".

Along the way, the officer, who tried his best to please the guests, kept introducing the situation of their Ji Dao Temple:

"Oh, our abbey is funded by some kind and charitable adults, Mr Mann of the London Waterworks is willing to give us our daily water free of charge, and our generous Mr Bloom has provided us with oatmeal …The children live happily here, they can eat three meals a day, and on Sundays like today, they can get an extra bread roll and small onions…The elderly can also have their own room independently , oh, the system established by our gentlemen of the council is wise and kind..."

Alec has been wearing a sarcastic smile, but Lisa is bluffing and bluffing.

"Is it really that good?" Lisa couldn't help wondering.

Of course it’s not so good, the empress sneered in her heart, surrounded by cold iron gates, men and women were separated, and looking at the sallow and emaciated faces of the people she saw along the way, the whole Jidaoyuan looked like a prison Indeed, even under the "care" of the "wise" council members, they have to be self-reliant and at the same time contribute to the church.

Here, poverty is also a "sin".

Hearing Lisa's question, the director of the monastery was displeased. He turned his head and squinted at Lisa with a half-smile expression, "Of course, we are all acting in accordance with God's mercy."

The empress smiled lightly, and when Alec saw the smile of his beautiful wife, he couldn't help but put his arms around her waist, so that she could be closer to him.

Lisa felt the implied displeasure of the director of the Ji Taoist Temple, she shrank her neck and dared not speak out.

The director of the Ji Taoist Temple led them to a pine door, and knocked vigorously three times before speaking: "It's Gamfield, Your Excellency, we have three respected guests coming to visit."

A dry voice came from inside the house, "Please come in our guest, Gamfield."

"Yes, sir." The clerk of the monastery named Gamfield stretched out his hand and twisted the doorknob to push the door open, and stretched out his hand in a gesture of greeting, "Please come in, my respected guests."

The three of them entered the council room.

The room was large, the transparent glass windows were half-opened, and there was a long table in the center of the room. Five gentlemen with an average age of over 40 were sitting at the table, looking up at them.

Gamfield figured out their identities early on the road, so he was the one to introduce Alec and the others to the directors, "Good day, all the directors, this is Mr. d'Urberville, this is his wife, and , this is d'Urberville's younger sister, Miss Durbeyfield, they came to adopt an obedient and lovely angel."

Sitting at one end of the table was a gentleman in his fifties with tortoiseshell eyes. He nodded to Alec, put down the newspaper and magnifying glass in his hand, and made a gesture of invitation, "Please sit down, sir and madam, and Miss."

Gamfield took the initiative to pull out the chairs for them, and Alec sat down at the other end of the table after the empress and his wife and sister sat down.

"Hello, Mr. d'Urberville, what kind of child do you want?" asked the director sitting at the other end.

Alec had come to accompany the mistress at all, so he looked at the mistress, "Oh, it depends on my dear wife." He passed the choice to the mistress.

Mr. Director looked at the overly pretty little lady, "Madam?"

The empress raised her eyelids, "Sorry, sir, can we go and pick it ourselves?"

The directors looked at each other, the director thought for a while, and replied, "Yes, dear lady." He raised his head, "Ganfield, please take our guests to choose a lovely angel."

"Yes, Mr. Taylor."

So they followed Gamfield out again.

They entered a spacious hall, which was full of children ranging from two to 11 years old. Their thin bodies were next to the little friends beside them, and they were burying their heads and kept pulling out circles of thick-big Cotton in the rope.

"These sensible children are extracting useful cotton wool from the old hemp rope, which will be used on the ship of our respected Majesty the Queen." Gamfield explained to the three of them in a low voice, and then loudly: "Everyone Sir, please stop what you are doing!"

When the children heard the familiar voice of Mr. Ganfield, the director of the monastery, they all raised their heads in doubt and looked in their direction.

Ganfiel was very satisfied with the children's obedience, and he extended his hand to introduce: "We have three respected guests here today, and this beautiful and kind lady will choose a caring and well-behaved person from among you to take home, then , gentlemen, now please lift up your lovely little faces so that our lady can see them more clearly!"

The children looked at each other in blank dismay, and the eyes of some sensitive children were already bright. They sat up straight one after another, staring at the empress expectantly with wide-eyed eyes.

The empress walked slowly into the aisle, and her eyes slowly flicked over the children's faces. There were expectations and pleadings on their faces, but... she couldn't find what she wanted.The children who were passed by her were disappointed, with obvious frustration on their faces.

"Good lady, please take me away, please." Suddenly, a faint voice sounded, which became clearer and clearer in this quiet hall where even a needle could be heard falling.

The empress easily found the talking child, he was taller than the average child, but very thin, wearing a gray hat that was washed white, looking at her pleadingly.

The empress stopped, and asked back: "Do you have any advantages that make me choose you?"

The kid thought there was hope, and his face was full of joy, "Ma'am, my father once opened a restaurant, and I can cook." He looked a little proud that the partners around him didn't have.

The empress looked puzzled, "But, our family already has a cook, why should I find another one, especially for a little boy like you who has no strength?"

The child didn't seem to expect that the beautiful lady would reject him so much, and was stunned for a while.

The empress continued to walk forward, "Oh, ma'am, I can do other things, I can do everything, I can learn, really." The child's voice was already crying, begging, and his posture was so pitiful that even Lisa I couldn't help but feel sorry for him.

But the empress didn't seem to feel his pleading, and continued to move forward.Lisa opened her mouth slightly, but quickly closed it again, and stood with Alec who was leisurely watching the excitement.

"No, Mr. Hughes, please don't sell me to the scavenger, no!"

"Mr. Brown, please come down!"

"No, sir, please..."

"I say it again, Mr. Brown, please come down!"

"No..." There were desperate cries.

Gamfield's face suddenly became ugly, and he whispered "excuse me" to Alec, and then walked out the door with a chubby body.

As soon as Gamfield left, the children immediately began to whisper, and the voice became louder and louder, and the whole hall was very noisy.

The empress glanced at all the children, disappointed, and started to walk back. Alec stretched out his hand to hold hers, and asked dotingly, "What's wrong? Didn't you find the right one?"

The empress frowned, "Let's go to the next house."

Alec didn't object either, as if he would unconditionally satisfy all his wife's demands, even if it was unreasonable, "Okay." He responded with a tolerant smile.

Lisa waited for them to leave together, secretly rubbing the goose bumps on her arms behind her. Alec couldn't stand it anymore.

Perhaps Gan Feier left in a hurry, all the gates were not closed, and the empress and her party walked out of the Jidao Temple smoothly.

As soon as he went out, Gamfield, who was standing outside the courtyard, immediately saw them. Standing with him was a tall man who was wearing the same uniform as him and was looking up.

"Mr. d'Urberville, why did you come out?" Gamfield immediately greeted him.

Alec replied kindly: "Oh, my wife doesn't like any of those children."

The empress ignored him, but followed the tall man's eyes to see the skinny kid in ragged clothes on the roof.

The tall man just glanced at them, then turned his eyes back to the boy, "Mr. Brown, I repeat, please come down quickly!" His tone was full of threats and impatience.

The child hugged the chimney tightly, weeping silently, "No..."

Lisa couldn't help but ask, "What the hell happened?"

Gamfield said disgustedly: "Nat Brown is a thief, he stole the chef's onion..."

"No, I'm not a thief. Mrs. Walker gave it to me. I didn't steal anything!" The little boy named Nat cried and defended himself.

Regardless of Nat's justification, Gamfield continued in disgust: "...This is a crime that should be hanged, but our benevolent directors have decided to give this vicious thief another chance, and the monastery will pay for it." Let him go learn a craft from the scavenger." In fact, he just paid and threw away such a burden.

The empress looked at Nat's desperate and stubborn little face, and suddenly asked, "Will you come with me?"

Gamfield was shocked immediately, "Ma'am..." He looked at Alec in disbelief to make sure, but found that the gentleman who doted on his wife still only had an indifferent smile on his mouth, absolutely conniving at his wife's nonsense.

Nat forgot to shed tears, and widened his eyes in disbelief, "Really, really? Ma'am..."

"If I take you away, what can you give me?" The empress asked instead of answering.

Nat opened his mouth, and after a moment of silence he raised his head, his eyes were firm, "My life, ma'am, everything I have is yours."

A smile gradually spread on the face of the empress, looking at him, she remembered another similar boy, and said exactly the same words as before: "Okay, from now on, you are mine."

"Yes, ma'am," said Nat gratefully.

"Obey, my master." In a trance, the cold and serious voice sounded in her ears again.

Alec panicked, he didn't want to see her smile like this, it was too ethereal and unreal, as if she would leave in the next second, without even thinking about it, he stepped forward and hugged her tightly .

Mine...whether others are yours or not, but...you must be mine.He hugged her tightly.