[Pride and Prejudice] Stupid life in the 18th century

Viscount Ansel Westminster stayed in Chiltonham until autumn, without those annoying farm laborers, and from time to time, he would soak in the cold spring with Mr. Bennett, run horses, hunt, and shoot.Unexpectedly, his body got better and he grew taller. Perhaps this was all due to the excellent cooking skills of the Miss Bennetts.The old butler was very pleased in private, and even hoped that if his young master could marry a girl from the Bennett family, he might really live a long life.

Seeing that the weather was getting cooler, Mr. Bennett invited Anseir Westminster to Longbourne together.The young Viscount was obviously having fun, and happily dismissed the old butler, who was in charge of transporting Chiltonham's books back to the London mansion, and happily jumped into the carriage of the Bennett family.

Although Longborn does not have the strong holiday atmosphere of Chelton Ham, it has a different idyllic scenery.Mr. Bennet and Lord Ainsair rode now and then.Jane and Elizabeth's Cocoa and Snowy were left at Cheltonham because they were really small and could be brought back if they went on holiday next year.

Not long after returning to Longborn, rumors spread that the Bennetts had purchased a new farm.So the Bennett family also had the feeling of the richest man in Longborn.Sir Lucas became even closer to their family, and even brought the two daughters of the Lucas family to visit frequently.This may be for the noble and beautiful boy, who made the daughter of the Lucas family reach the age of socializing.In view of the strong purpose of this family, Elizabeth and Charlotte Lucas who changed their cores did not become good girlfriends.

What's more, in London, the ladies of the Bennet family have made friends with many high-society ladies.

Mr. Bennett accompanied the Viscount to a few balls, but this guy is obviously not very keen on pulling the girl around. The 16-year-old is still young, but he would rather play card games with the Miss Bennett family, but he has never lost, and won Catherine and Mary's pocket money without leaving any pocket money, but he is not embarrassed.Elizabeth and Jane were determined not to take their pocket money to play cards with him, although the "afternoon tea salon" could be regarded as both fame and fortune.But the two sisters, who are well aware of commodity prices and the current social situation, obviously have a tendency to be misers.

Elizabeth and Jane would ask how the Viscount's ball was going at first, but after being perfunctory, they stopped asking.After hearing that this guy was suspended from Eton College due to illness, Elizabeth retaliated to incite Mr. Bennett.So before winter came, the poor sick and weak noble boy was persuaded to go back to school.

Ansair didn't know why; maybe it was because the family had so many children, it was noisy and full of vitality; maybe Mr. Bennett still looked like a father, or maybe it was because of the beauty of the ladies in the family.Although he was somewhat reluctant, he obediently let the old housekeeper handle the matters of returning to school.As for the money from the sale of the farm and garden villa this time, part of it was used to repair the mansion in London, and the other part was deposited in the bank.

When he left, he and Mr. Bennett had a very deep relationship. One was a middle-aged son who was still breastfeeding, and the other grew up under the care of the old housekeeper and had never enjoyed the love of the elders at all.So Ansel Westminster said goodbye to Mr. Bennett twice with great reluctance, and Mr. Bennett also tried to persuade him to stay twice. In the end, the Viscount decided to return the next time he was on vacation by the way. Come to bother and vacation together.

Mrs. Bennett was delighted with this result, she was almost certain that the Viscount must have a soft spot for her two older girls.Mr. Bennett let nature take its course. He really wanted to have such a big son. Looking at Andrew in the swaddling baby, he really didn't know if he would still have such good energy when the little guy grew up to be 16 years old.

Except for the decision to go to Chelton Ham each year from late spring to early autumn, the three older Bennett girls were usually in London when they were not in Longbourn.Mr. Bennett bought them a house in the South District. Although they will often live in the Gardenal family, if the whole family goes to London, they will return to their own home.After all, it is better for the young lady to stay with the protector.

Jane and Elizabeth are still receiving Miss Sterling's aristocratic manners education every day, which is completely imposed after encountering the Viscount.Now, needless to say, the cooking skills of the two of them, even the female workers are quite accomplished.The embroidery patterns and looks that I draw every month are very popular in London, but I just have some small exchanges with the female guests of the "Afternoon Tea Salon", which is not commercialized.

Mr. Bennet could not have been more pleased with these two daughters, but his third daughter, Mary, was also growing up.

Mary is not ugly, maybe she is just relatively unremarkable among the beautiful sisters.Because I have been in the "Afternoon Tea Salon" for a long time, I have some topics with many noble ladies. They talk about Shakespeare, poetry, and Greek mythology.Even though she is not the most beautiful lady in the "Afternoon Refreshment Salon", her speech, behavior, and thinking are very brilliant.Sometimes she would play the piano and read newspapers to civilian female guests on the first floor, and sometimes discuss political affairs with ladies and wives on the second floor.

The ignorance of women all comes from their short-sightedness and lack of good education. There is even a saying in France at this time: "A woman only needs to be able to smile, sing, dance and do housework. All education for women should be In relation to men, the object of education should be merely to learn how to please men."

Still more, "A girl, when she learns to curtsy, puts her arms well, smiles with her lips pursed, holds out her left hand instead of her right to kiss, and laughs without opening her mouth, is Once educated, you can get married."

But obviously this is the moment when women's rights are sprouting. Whether it is Jane Austen or the Bronte sisters, perhaps there are no such outstanding women in this world, but there will always be other women awakening, and there will always be someone born as the times require.

Mary and a few good female guests criticized the current tragic novels and Gothic novels, so one day, a lady named Vera Wood said to them, "Since we can't stand it, why don't we write it ourselves?" We are busy, but at this time everyone is still entertaining themselves.

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Soon came the news that Baldwin Stoker had returned to Europe. This news undoubtedly made his relatives and friends excited.Not to mention Mr. Gardinal's expectation and apprehension, the three girls in Stoke's family shed tears of excitement.

A week later, Baldwin Stoke's fleet finally returned to London.This time he received a lot of goods. Although he lost three ships at sea, everyone was fine, and he had been operating in the Qing Dynasty for more than a year. This time, he planned to stay for more than half a year before continuing to go to sea.The products of the Qing Dynasty and the East that he brought back made the whole of London boil for a while.

It was more than a week before he had time to be with Mr. Gardinal and Mr. Bennett.The reason why he brought Mr. Bennett was to talk about the lady's salon. After Baldwin came back and learned about what happened in the past two years, he valued the Bennett family even more.He even came up with the idea of ​​marrying the eldest daughter of the Bennett family, but unfortunately the girl in the Bennett family is too young!He has to wait at least two or three years, maybe the next time he comes back from the Qing Dynasty, the time will come.

(Perhaps in this era, girls generally love uncles. It is normal for a 38-year-old gentleman to match an 18-year-old girl.)

What surprised the Bennett sisters was the family brought back by Budwin Stoke, the braided family from the Eastern Great Qing Dynasty: the braided father, the braided brother, the braided little bean, and a bun woman.

Everyone was very curious about this family, but they sat quietly beside Budwin Stoke and asked about the Qing Dynasty.It is said that the emperor over there is now surnamed Aixinjueluo, and has rich products. The Qing Dynasty is bigger than a dozen Great Britain.

Baldwin Stoke didn’t go to too many places. Their fleet first docked in Macau, then went to Guangdong, and then docked in Fujian and Songjiang along the coast. They stayed in Jiangsu and Zhejiang for a long time, and finally From the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal to the capital of the Qing Dynasty.The Qing Dynasty is really rich in products, such as fruit tea from Guangdong and Fujian, silk embroidery from Suzhou and Hangzhou, and porcelain from Jingdezhen!

The food is even more delicious. It is said that there are more than a dozen cuisines in the Qing Dynasty, such as Sichuan cuisine, Cantonese cuisine, Shandong cuisine, etc. It is a pity that he did not taste them all.But it doesn't matter, the ancestors of the family he brought back this time were imperial cooks, and their generation is also very good at Sichuan and Cantonese cuisine.

So everyone looked at the braided family again. According to Bai Dewen, their family name was Chen, and they were originally Han Chinese.Sailing hasn't shaved his head in the past few months.I don't plan to shave after leaving the Qing Dynasty.

Elizabeth deeply suspected that this family was supposed to be a product of the rebellion against the Qing Dynasty and the restoration of the Ming Dynasty in the south.

"Chen, tell me, don't you speak English very well?"

The braided brother looked here and there, with an indecent look, but he didn't look at the girls. "A man and a woman can't kiss each other!"

"Oh! Chen, this is not in the Qing Dynasty. We have hand kisses here. Didn't I teach you on the boat?"

"Hey, please let me wait for a few more days, I'm not acclimatized now." They all speak Chinese, with a bit of Mandarin mixed with a Sichuan accent.

Elizabeth understood roughly, and couldn't help being a little amused, and even played tricks and handed the biscuit to the braided little Douding. "Hello, little gentleman, try our dim sum."

The top of the braided little Douding's head was already hairy, and a pair of slender phoenix eyes looked at Elizabeth clearly.He speaks standard British English in a serious manner, probably learned it from Bai Dewen, or how to say that he has laid a solid foundation in the language while he was young. "Thank you, let it go, I will do it myself."

This made Elizabeth very happy. Seeing that Xiao Douding was only two or three years old, she wanted to hug him.

Xiao Douding was so frightened that he hid behind his mother, only showing a pair of beautiful eyes.Now everyone's attention shifted to this gentle woman.I saw her round face, delicate features, willow eyebrows and phoenix eyes just like those beauties on Chinese porcelain, and her actions are like weak willows supporting the wind.

Hairpins with ingots and silver hairpins and silk flowers are combed on the hairpin, and a beautiful emerald tassel hangs down on the side; the upper body is mainly dressed in a jacket and shirt, and the lower body is mainly a skirt, or a longer vest, which follows the Ming Dynasty. shape.Although it is made of cotton and linen, the embroidery and tailoring are exquisite, and it is not elegant.The front part of the embroidered shoes is exposed under the skirt, but the feet are not bound.

The ladies were all fascinated by Mrs. Chen's attire.