I am aging gracefully in the world of famous books

No matter how many question marks are on Sherlock Holmes' mind, Mycroft Holmes and Doris Gladstone's wedding went ahead as planned.

Those who are familiar with the character of this young lady felt a little strange. They originally thought that this wedding would be extravagant and ostentatious.However, it was not expected that Doris Gladstone, who has always been keen on luxury jewelry, would choose an elegant and solemn minimalist style.

Sherlock Holmes listened impassively to the low exclamations of the ladies among the guests.They said that Miss Gladstone must love and admire her newlywed husband very much, so she was able to change her previous aesthetic style, no longer flamboyant and extravagant, no longer show off and picky, but tried her best to make changes to cater to the restrained and low-key of a stable gentleman.

Sherlock Holmes: "..."

He thought of the intimate chat he had "overheard" between the two newcomers.

Mycroft suggested that Miss Gladstone add gold and silver thread embroidery and large pearls and gemstones to the skirt of the wedding dress, while the rumored spoiled young lady vetoed her fiancé's suggestion with a chuckle and chose a chic and elegant handmade Lace and clear diamond mosaic.

The future consulting detective compared the facts he personally observed with the rumors he heard, and after thinking about the gap secretly, he finally couldn't help but seriously reflect.

Was his previous view on this marriage a bit too arbitrary?Also, he was not immune to the influence of worldly prejudices.

——Is Miss Gladstone really as arrogant and empty-headed as the rumors say?No, maybe this evaluation can be put another way, that is, this person is extremely simple and straightforward, he says what he thinks, he doesn't have much city power, and he offends people without knowing it.

——If that's the case, then, is my brother's original intention of marrying this countess, as he said, to reduce trouble?

—Maybe, things should be analyzed from another angle.Mycroft never forced himself. If he didn't like the beautiful and simple Countess, he would never have invested so much time and attention in Gladstone Manor.

—So, Mycroft lied to me, he was sincere about Miss Gladstone.

—Then why did he lie?Ha, of course I don't want to admit that like most vulgar men, I will be attracted by beauty and simplicity, forgetting that wisdom is the eternal treasure.

——Well, wait, this conclusion is pending, time will help me see some facts...

The newly appointed Mrs. Holmes glanced at the crowd, took her husband's arm, leaned into his ear and asked with a smile:

"Do you really want to hide Sherlock like this all the time? I heard that he already knew all the servants and maids in the manor, and he also chatted with the neighbors nearby, asking about my past deeds and coming to you His behavior after arriving at Gladstone Manor. Unfortunately, the more he inquires, the more misleading the information he gets."

"Sherlock still needs practice, Doris. I certainly hope that my brother will discover some truths immediately, which shows that he has extraordinary powers of observation and excellent ingenuity. However, the facts are always not as expected, and Sherlock still has some truths." Need to learn more."

"Do you want me to approach him as Klaus?"

"Yes, Doris. Please add Sherlock to the list of students who need to be taken care of. When he finds out Klaus' true identity, his disguise performance course can be regarded as an official graduation. This is what I gave him. set a test."

"Test?" Pei Xiang looked up at the serious and prudent gentleman beside him, "I thought, well, it's because you didn't see through my disguise at a glance, and now you have to find psychological balance from your own brother."

"My dear lady, you have misunderstood me."

With a smile on the corner of his mouth, Mycroft nodded to his congratulatory guests and explained gently and sincerely:

"Sherlock's nature is full of curiosity, and he also likes challenges. He is definitely not the kind of person who likes to live a stable and rich life. I can foresee his future now. It must be full of dangers and challenges, maybe... from time to time. Therefore, as the elder brother, I have to let him learn the skills and skills to protect himself before he is completely independent. lest I have to go back and forth for my brother who is not worried when I reach middle age Busy."

This explanation made Pei Xiang laugh uncontrollably.

In the world before she traveled, the name Sherlock Holmes was already a household name.The literary story of him fighting wits and courage with criminals has been filmed into various versions of film and television dramas, attracting waves of loyal fans. He is really a well-known and charismatic protagonist.

Thinking of Sherlock Holmes in various versions, Pei Xiang inevitably thinks of Mycroft Holmes in film and television dramas, as well as the description of the appearance of the man around him in the original book several years later.

"My dear Mr. Holmes, I must make an appointment with you."

"what?"

"I really like the way you look in your dress now. Hopefully, in a few years from now, you can still wear it easily without a tailor making it a little bigger."

"What caused Mrs. Holmes to have such a strange idea?"

"I noticed that you have never refused dessert after dinner. To be more precise, you are satisfied with the sweets baked in the kitchen of Gladstone Manor, but your exercise is far from enough. No, I am not alarmist, My dear, you must know that in the past many years, I have devoted almost all my energy to observing the appearance of human beings. I can foresee your future image just like you can foresee Sherlock's future."

Mycroft was silent for a moment, and after a while he said reluctantly: "I will try my best, ma'am."

The newlyweds boarded the luxurious four-horse carriage. Pei Xiang looked back at his family standing in front of the courtyard through the window and waved his hands frequently.After coming here for a while, he took back his gaze.

When facing Mycroft alone, Pei Xiang restrained the sweetness and joy in his expression, and his soft and glistening emerald eyes became clear and clear again, like a clear stream or a pool of blue waves, still beautiful and moving, But it lacks some warmth and charm.

Mycroft felt uncomfortable for a moment, but he quickly suppressed the vague fluctuations in his heart, and also recovered his calmness and reservedness.

"Doris, most of your luggage has been sent to the Hampstead Green mansion in the suburbs of London, and some daily necessities have been placed in the Pall Mall Street apartment where I live now. Where do you plan to live as a permanent place? ?”

"Let me go to Pall Mall with you first. After all, we are newlyweds, and various visits and social interactions are indispensable. Moreover, I have to teach your subordinates and Sherlock. If I live alone in Hampstead, Not very convenient."

"That's fine, but there's no rush to start class. I'll let Sherlock go to London in a month. Before that, you teach me first, and I'll help you with your homework."

Pei Xiang looked at Mycroft in surprise: "You tutor me in basic courses yourself? Aren't you busy?"

"I can always find time. And recently, the relationship between Her Majesty the Queen and the Prime Minister has been a little tense, and the cabinet... is not stable. The big men are at a stalemate. We small government employees are easy to be affected, so I just happened to Use the excuse of being newly married to avoid the limelight."

These days, Pei Xiang has developed the habit of reading multiple newspapers every day. He naturally knows that the various reforms advocated by the cabinet affect the interests of all parties. Even an outsider like her can feel the competition and tension, let alone Mycroft, who has been dealing with it, is gone.

——Even, in those endless conflicts and contradictions, maybe there is this little government employee who helped fuel the flames.

"So, you've been staying at Gladstone Manor for so long? Well, it's rumored that Miss Gladstone has fascinated Mr. Holmes and made him postpone his call to his superiors. An eminent gentleman is about to ruin his career."

Mycroft raised his eyebrows slightly: "It's not necessarily a rumor. Compared with the mediocre minister in London who likes to shirk responsibility, Mrs. Holmes is indeed more attractive. The lace making techniques in various parts of Europe you talked about last time gave me a lot inspired."

"I am very honored by your compliment, my dear Mycroft. In that case, I will pretend to forget that you have lost your mind and started to perfunctory in the middle of hearing it."

Pei Xiang blinked and smiled very forgivingly.

Mycroft was taken aback for a moment, and he couldn't help touching the corners of his eyes: "I thought I disguised my expression pretty well."

"It's very good, the perfect state of serious listening, every nod and response is just right."

"Then how..."

Pei Xiang didn't make a sound, but turned to look out the window.

Mycroft thought about it seriously, then suddenly sighed.

"You were deceiving me just now, and I fell for it."

"So, you made a preconceived mistake, my dear sir, you think too much of me," Pei Xiang slightly elongated his tone, with a little laziness and relaxation between his brows, which made people relax their guard subconsciously, "I Guess your mind will wander, this has nothing to do with any observation and reasoning, just rely on my intuition."

"This is really hard to guard against. You just complained that your teasing expression was too real and determined, so I followed your train of thought."

"Well..." Pei Xianghui smiled slyly, her eyes became meaningful, "But, my dear, you are still following my train of thought."

Mycroft was stunned for a moment, but suddenly he came to his senses.He laughed heartily, and his usual cold and indifferent gray eyes were shining with excitement and curiosity. This kind of wanton laughter had rarely appeared in Mycroft's life in recent years.

"Dear Doris, my good girl, you are like this, you have really achieved the ultimate in truth and falsehood. I am looking forward to the future life more and more."

The newlyweds' journey was far from dull and deserted, and of course, there wasn't much of the romantic tenderness that characterizes many newlyweds.Before the carriage drove out of Earl Gladstone's territory, the teaching courses in the carriage had already started.

Of course, not only is Pei Xiang explaining the theoretical knowledge in her mind to Mycroft, but Mycroft will also pour warm water for Pei Xiang when she is tired and talk about some content that will be involved in university courses system.The two taught and learned from each other, and felt that the time of the journey passed quickly.

Two years later, London, Pall Mall Street, Sherlock Holmes House.

Pei Xiang, who came back from the semester break, sat at the breakfast table and read the newspaper.

The small rounds of jam bread on the plate have been eaten, and the coffee in the cup exudes an attractive mellow aroma.Her eyes were fixed on the review article on the front page, her expression focused, her white fingers hooked the handle of the delicate porcelain cup, but she hesitated to take a sip.

Mycroft, who walked into the restaurant, saw this scene, and his expression became soft and stretched subconsciously.

"Why didn't you sleep more? I heard that you often stay up late to do experiments recently."

Pei Xiang snorted vaguely, ignored Mycroft for the time being, but seized the time to read the remaining half of the comments.After that, she took another sip of coffee before looking up at the man sitting across from her.

"Good morning, Mycroft, I'm glad you didn't put on any weight. As for why I had to stay up all night in the lab, I guess you already know the whole story. Well, that was a string of bad accidents, and normally I won't stay up late."

Mycroft took a sip of his coffee, smiled and said nothing.

Pei Xiang glanced at him and continued to explain patiently:

"The doorman in the laboratory and the cleaner in the dormitory area are your people. I know they have told you. That's it. After some careless students broke the equipment in the laboratory, they did not report and compensate in time. The one who relies on The purchaser who was related to the school mixed up some reagents and utensil specifications, and my instructor got angry and quarreled with the dean... In short, many accidents caused the delay of my experiment progress. It stands to reason that I can I left school a few days later, but I promised you not long ago that I would appear here today, so I had to choose to stay up a few nights."

"Sounds like this, it's really a helpless choice, Doris," Mycroft said in a gentle voice, but the content hits the nail on the head, "However, if you stayed at school all the time and didn't run around with Sherlock and hang out in the East End In the pile of homeless people, your experiment should have been completed a month ago, and the paper will be handed in in time. That way, you will definitely not be involved in the accidents later, and you won't have to stay up all night to catch up with time .”

"Okay well, I'll take care next time, Mycroft, I promise."

Pei Xiang put down the newspaper in his hand, and solemnly promised in a very sincere tone, just like many times in the past two years.

Mycroft smirked and said he believed it, as he had done so many times during the two years.

"By the way, you asked me to vacate this vacation ahead of time, saying that there was something for me to help, but you didn't say what it was. I guess it involved confidentiality. You couldn't write it in the letter, so you didn't ask in detail in the reply. So now, can you tell me?"

"Doris, do you know Leon Sydot?"

"Sidott? If you mean the famous portrait-painter Sir Sitoutet, of course I've heard of him."

"I'm asking you for help this time because it's about him. We may be staying in his newly renovated beach house for a short while, just in case you can admire his works and private collection."

"Sir Sidot has returned to England?" Pei Xiang raised his eyebrows in surprise, "I saw him in the newspaper last time, didn't he still travel around the European continent, and then painted portraits of some nobles and celebrities? ...It's only been two months, how come he came back?"

"It is said that in order to complete an outstanding work, he worked hard and forgot to eat and sleep, which caused his health to deteriorate. Finally, he followed the advice of an Italian doctor and returned to his hometown in England to recuperate. The gratifying thing is that he returned to his hometown in the West. Under the care of his wife and children, Sir Dott slowly regained his health and had the energy to renovate his holiday home in Brighton."

"Just listening to your narration, this is indeed a happy and good thing. But, dear Mycroft, I can see pity and ridicule in every subtle expression of yours."

"Yes, you always catch my true emotions, my dear Mrs. Holmes."

While eating breakfast slowly, Mycroft told Pei Xiang about the experience of the famous painter when he was young.

However, he had just started a job when a servant came in to report that Mr. Sherlock Holmes had arrived.

Pei Xiang immediately lowered her head to check her dress and makeup, and found that because she hadn't worn women's clothes for a long time, she had a whim this morning and dressed herself up very delicately and extravagantly, even if she left for the dinner immediately, she wouldn't feel rude .

So, she adjusted her expression subtly, and smiled sweetly at Mycroft again.

Mycroft returned the same gentle smile, pulled the newspaper on the table to his hand, and adjusted the layout and page number order.

After a while, Sherlock Holmes appeared in the breakfast room.

Seeing Mrs. Holmes, who often lived in suburban villas, sitting at the dining table, Sherlock did not show any surprise expression. More precisely, he had already been surprised at the door.

As soon as he entered the door, he had already deduced that the hostess of this family lived in this apartment last night.

It's a bit strange to say that, after all, it is quite normal for Mrs. Holmes to live in Mr. Holmes' apartment, and there is really no need to surprise Sherlock.However, after two years of observation, he is no longer optimistic about his brother's family life.

A month after Mycroft's wedding, Sherlock also arrived in London, and he first visited the flats in Pall Mall.However, he didn't see the newly married Mrs. Holmes in the apartment where his elder brother usually lived. Instead, he was introduced to a young man named Claus by his elder brother.

When Sherlock learned that Klaus was proficient in the knowledge of disguise and disguise, he quickly fell into the constant exploration of unfamiliar fields and began to study new knowledge.

A few days later, Sherlock, who was caught in surprise, suddenly realized that during his stay in London, his brother Mycroft had been living in the apartment, and he and his new friend Klaus also lived here, but never There was no sign of Mrs. Holmes.

Of course, Mycroft occasionally went out for a while, and was said to be with his new wife at a suburban house.However, according to Sherlock's observation, every time his elder brother set off and returned, there was no expectation or tenderness in his eyes, and he was not even as relaxed as when facing Klaus.

Sherlock thought back then that his brother must have finally realized that superficial beauty doesn't last long in a marriage.Mycroft, who had come to his senses, felt dull and lost after discovering that he and his new wife could not communicate deeply.

However, Sherlock's idea had just emerged and was extinguished again.

Because on a sunny afternoon, Klaus was out on business and expected to return to London in a few days, so Mycroft invited Sherlock to go back to his mansion in the suburbs for a short stay, and spend a few more days with Doris by the way.

This visit really surprised Sherlock, and he had to overturn his cognition again.

Because he found that the relationship between Holmes and his wife was good.At the very least, based on his understanding of Mycroft, he could be sure that the smile on the other's face was real, and the gentleness in his eyes was not fake.

As for Mrs. Holmes, she is as enthusiastic and optimistic as ever, she only likes to talk about the most ordinary family affairs, and she only cares about basic necessities of life.

She is not good at playing the piano. —Mycroft would instruct his wife after supper.

Whenever this happened, Sherlock felt that he had indeed inherited the artist blood from his grandmother.Because he couldn't bear the clumsy and out-of-tune sound of the piano, but his brother was in high spirits.

Her French is a mess. ——Mycroft will explain her grammar, assign homework, correct her pronunciation, and it is said that she has hired a special teacher.

She knew very little about contemporary literary poetry. ——Mycroft gave her a reading list, and told Mrs. Holmes, just rely on interest, and don't need to train yourself to be a talented woman who can speak well.

In short, after a few days of getting along, Sherlock can be sure that his brother likes Doris.

However, as soon as Sherlock's judgment was formed, they returned to Pall Mall's apartment.This time, Doris still stayed in the mansion in the suburbs. Although she showed reluctance, she did not ask to follow her into the city.

Back in the city, seeing Klaus who hadn't seen him for a few days, Sherlock immediately put aside his unimportant doubts, and continued to follow Klaus to focus on the skills he was interested in.

And after Mycroft left his new wife, he didn't have any reluctance or miss, and lived a very comfortable and comfortable life.He only spends time in two places, the apartment and the office, and rarely even goes to some senior gentleman's clubs.

This weird situation continued when Sherlock and Klaus went to college together.Anyway, Sherlock barely saw Doris in the Pall Mall apartment.

Of course, he was sure that Doris had lived here.Because in this apartment that once belonged to bachelors, a lot of women's clothing and accessories were gradually added, all of which belonged to the mistress who rarely appeared.

Sherlock came to visit today because he had received an invitation to leave London for a while.The train ticket was in the morning, so he came early in the morning to say goodbye to Mycroft.

Unexpectedly, this temporary visit made him finally meet the living Mrs. Holmes in this apartment.

"You're going to Brighton?"

"Yes, I know Sir Leon Sydot's nephew. He said that the great painter has recently found his long-lost biological daughter and is preparing to reunite the father and daughter and distribute his assets. However, my My friend told me that for some unexplainable reason, he was almost certain that Miss Sidot died of illness within a few years after her disappearance. Therefore, the person who went to identify relatives this time must be a fake, he I heard that I still have some talents in some areas, so I asked me to expose that female liar."

Mycroft kept his brows fixed, and took a sip of his coffee with his head down.

Pei Xiang curled her lips. Although Mycroft hadn't finished speaking just now, she already knew that this person invited her to Brighton this time, probably to pretend that she was Miss Sidot who had been missing for many years.