[Pride and Prejudice] Liz's Little Vest

Chapter 10 The Little Scientist

When Elizabeth came down from upstairs, she found that the atmosphere in the living room was very strange.

Miss Bingley and Mrs. Hurst were rarely chatting. They glanced at her, but continued to do what they were doing as if they didn't see her.

The other people in the house didn't know where they went.

"Excuse me--"

"In the kitchen."

"In the kitchen?" Elizabeth was stunned for a moment, then asked repeatedly, "My sister is in the kitchen?"

"You're asking Miss Manley?" Miss Bingley was also stunned. She thought Elizabeth was asking Mr. Darcy, so there was a sense of gunpowder in her answer that she didn't even notice.Unexpectedly, it was an oolong, and the one he cared about was obviously his younger sister.

Miss Bingley's tone softened, and she justified herself: "Miss Manly came out of the kitchen just now, and she should be in the piano room now."

"Thank you." Elizabeth nodded.

--

Seeing Elizabeth out of the corner of her eye, Manli immediately put down the piano, got up and quickly walked towards her sister, and hugged her.

"What's the matter?" Elizabeth looked at the child-like Manli in her arms, and felt a little funny, "Why did you come to the piano room without saying a word?"

"I don't like Miss Bingley."

"what happened?"

"She speaks ill of you, sister, behind your back."

That's what happened!

Elizabeth couldn't laugh or cry.

Miss Bingley and Mr. Bingley have very different personalities, and of course she doesn't like it herself, but she is Mr. Bingley's sister after all, and she will be Jane's relative in the future.

It doesn't matter if you don't see each other right, but the relationship should not be deadlocked.

Elizabeth touched Manli's head: "Don't pay attention to these little things."

"Oh." Manli reluctantly agreed.

"Get up, Mary dear, there are other men in the room." She was talking about little Mr. Jenner who was sitting at the piano, watching them calmly.

Manli was usually solitary and taciturn. Apart from her at home, she basically only communicated with the notebooks of famous books. Elizabeth felt a little surprised that she actually got along very well with a young man at the moment.

"Sister," Manli blushed, "this is Mr. Wilson Jenner, one year younger than me. His father is a good friend of Mr. Darcy."

"Little Mr. Jenner?" Elizabeth almost cried out in surprise, "My God, is your father Mr. Edward Jenner?"

Mr. Jenner, who had been silent for a while and watched their exchange with a blank face, finally raised his eyes.

"You know my father?"

"..."

More than knowing?

Within a few years, his father, Mr. Edward Jenner, would have created the vaccination against smallpox, the benefactor of mothers, children, and people throughout Europe[1][2].

--

Coincidentally, Elizabeth's previous employers, Earl James Laura and his wife had a deep relationship with Mr. Edward Jenner.

Smallpox was prevalent in the early nineteenth century, and countless people died every year.Mr. Jenner spent nearly 20 years investigating among milkmaids on pastures, and found that patients who had had cowpox would not be infected with smallpox [2].

Observation alone cannot be recognized by the Medical Association. To prove the usefulness of vaccinia requires the experiment itself.So Mr. Jenner removed pustules from the hand of a cowpox dairymaid and injected them into a young boy.The little boy soon suffered from cowpox and recovered, and Mr. Jenner injected him with smallpox pus[2] under the witness of many colleagues.

This is a very dangerous experiment. First, the human experiment itself is against ethics; second, if the little boy gets sick, then Mr. Jenner will become a criminal and a murderer.

Fortunately, the experiment was successful as expected by Mr. Jenner, and the little boy did not show symptoms of smallpox. This time it really proved that vaccination with vaccinia can prevent smallpox.

Later, Mr. Jenner's research was recognized and rewarded by the Royal Society of Medicine, with a total of [-] pounds.His Royal Highness the Prince Regent even granted him the title of earl.It’s just that Mr. Jenner voluntarily devoted himself to medicine and didn’t have much pursuit of money and status, so he gave up the [-] pounds and the earldom to the little boy and his family who dedicated themselves to the experiment at that time.

This little boy was, of course, James Laura, the Earl of Laura who later inherited the title as an adult.

Later, Earl Laura married a Chinese lady, and the tutor hired by Countess Laura was Elizabeth.

Because of this bond, Earl Laura's family and Mr. Jenner's family have a good relationship and frequent exchanges. In her previous life, she also had a good talk with Mr. Jenner's son, Mr. Wilson Jr. Jenner.

But obviously, the middle-aged appearance of this gentleman is quite different from that of his youth. Elizabeth did not expect to meet an old friend in such a scene, let alone his father, Mr. Edward Jenner, who was a good friend of Mr. Darcy, so at first He was not recognized in the drawing-room of Mr. Bingley's house.

Elizabeth looked at the tall and cold and arrogant young man in front of her, and suddenly seemed to see her best friend from her previous life spending 24 hours in the laboratory looking unkempt.

Still more handsome now!

She couldn't help laughing leisurely, blinked and said, "Hello, little scientist."

"Little scientist?" Mr. Jenner Jr. raised his eyebrows, and the surprise in his eyes became more apparent.

"I suppose, Mr. Jenner, you must be in and out of the ranch every day?"

If she remembers correctly, at this time Mr. Jenner was in the midst of a 20-year ranch survey, and it now appears that Mr. Jenner Jr. is also helping his father with his research.

"Why do you say that?"

"Your skin is tanned, sir."

"..."

After all, Mr. Wilson Jenner was only a minor child, and when he heard others comment on him, he immediately put a displeased expression on his face.

However, Elizabeth felt that if this happened in the middle age of this gentleman's previous life, his eyes looking at the microscope might not even move an inch.Thinking of this, she wanted to tease him even more deliberately.

"Mr. Jenner's devotion to science and the spirit of deep-seated research are really commendable."

"..."

"Thank you for the compliment."

There was no thank you at all in his tone.

Elizabeth smiled without saying a word.She looked at Mr. Jenner Jr. and then at Mary.

It seems that Mr. Wilson Jenner was never married in his previous life.

She suddenly felt that the two "nerds" in front of her were a good match, and her smile became more cunning and brighter.

--

When Mr. Darcy and Mr. Elton came in, they happened to see Elizabeth laughing so much that her mouth almost reached her ears.

Darcy couldn't see through the matchmaker plan in Elizabeth's heart, but felt that the bright smile on others was very dazzling. He just wanted to ask about the situation, but was preempted by Miss Bingley who followed.

"Miss Elizabeth Bennet, what are you talking about?"

"I just asked Mr. Edward Jenner."

True, they only mentioned Mr. Jenner's father at the beginning of the conversation, but now Elizabeth was more interested in his presence at Netherfield, so she took the opportunity to ask about it.

Her questions clearly had an effect.

"You know Mr. Jenner?" Darcy was surprised.

"I admire Mr. Jenner's efforts in medicine." She originally wanted to say "achievement", but thinking about the discovery of vaccinia has not been recognized by the public, and Dr. Jenner has no reputation, so she used "efforts". two words.

"Mr. Jenner has encountered some difficulties in research, and this time I invited him to come to Meryton for a walk." Darcy didn't know why he wanted to explain.

"Is it research on cowpox?" Elizabeth's eyes lit up.

It seems that Mr. Jenner is now at the end of his ranch research. He found that patients who have had cowpox will not be infected with smallpox, but there is no way to directly prove that cowpox can prevent smallpox. This is probably the research difficulty Mr. Darcy said.

Mr. Jenner Jr. and Mr. Darcy both looked at Elizabeth.

"Yes, it's about cowpox and smallpox," said Darcy, "that's all I know. The other little Mr. Jenners should know better than I do."

Seeing that Elizabeth still wanted to ask more questions, he quickly continued: "Miss Bennet, I think you should drink this tonic soup first."

It was a slightly commanding tone, but there was an undisguised concern in the words.

Elizabeth was startled, then smiled slightly: "Thank you, Mr. Darcy."

Without asking why, she took the bowl directly and drank it down.

Mr. Darcy looked on with an unaccountable joy in his heart.Mr. Elton's face darkened, and Miss Bingley couldn't stand it.She began to criticize: "Smallpox? My God, Miss Elizabeth, why are you talking about such devil's minions?"

"Smallpox is not a curse, it's just a disease." Mr. Jenner retorted immediately, "Miss, it's not the Middle Ages anymore."

"Yes," continued Elizabeth, "Mr. Jenner is trying to prove that cowpox prevents smallpox."

Mr. Jenner Jr. and Mr. Darcy looked at Elizabeth together again.

"People are people, and cows are cows. Cowpox and smallpox are related? Are you kidding[3]?" Miss Bingley sneered, "Why do doctors who treat diseases and save lives now study a group of animals[3]?"

"Vaccination? Will it grow horns?" asked Mrs. Hurst "innocently".

Little Mr. Jenner glanced at Miss Bingley and Mrs. Hurst as if he was looking at an idiot. The mocking look in his eyes was obvious, and he almost wrote the words "a group of ignorant humans" on his face.

However, he knew in his heart that this was probably what most people thought.Even the old men in the medical school scoffed at his father's point of view, let alone ordinary people who don't understand science?

Thinking of this, he couldn't help feeling a little more fond of Elizabeth and Miss Manley, and calmed down his tone of voice to Miss Bingley: "Biological science is not acceptable to most people. I'm the one who played the piano to the cow, sorry."

——Obviously, apart from his tone, his words were not at all calm.

Miss Bingley flushed with anger.

Mr. Jenner looked at her again as if looking at an idiot: "Please allow me to leave, miss, I think it is better for me to go upstairs to the study to accompany my father."

Without a moment's hesitation, he moved away after speaking.

"Please stay, Mr. Jenner!" Elizabeth said suddenly and pleasantly.

Mr. Jenner paused, and looked at Elizabeth with doubts.

"Mr. Jenner is at Netherfield now?"

"Yes, Miss Bennet."

"Could you—may I meet you?"

The author has something to say:

Remember the Gloucestershire friend who wrote to Darcy in Chapter 3?It's Mr. Edward Jenner himself!

Author: It feels like the whole world is bullying Miss Bingley series... Soon, Wickham and Collins will appear soon, and Miss Bingley will not be alone (being bullied) soon~

Note:

1. In history, Mr. Edward Jenner was born in 1749, and the discovery of cowpox was more than ten years earlier than this book.For the sake of the plot line, the time and background of the historical events have been slightly changed~

2. The information comes from Baidu Encyclopedia, and the latter part has elements of adaptation.

3. The content of the dialogue comes from the externally cited materials on Baidu Encyclopedia, and the original words are taken from the debate in the medical community on Dr. Jenner's research.