Pride and Prejudice the Poor Princess

Collins couldn't see Mary's appearance at all. He nodded to Mary coldly, and then looked at Mrs. Bennett.

"This is?" He pointed to Mary.

If possible, Mary wanted to break off his rude fingers, but thinking about the identity of this person, she forced herself to suppress her anger.

"This is Mary, my third daughter." Mrs. Bennet smiled stiffly.

"It turned out to be Cousin Mary." Collins bowed gracefully, but it was a pity that he did not show aristocratic demeanor at all, but seemed nondescript.

"Hello." Mary nodded slightly.

"I heard that Miss Mary has been taking care of the Bennett family's farm? I wonder if Miss Mary can take me to have a look?" Collins asked gently.

Is this inspecting the industry?Mary's face was slightly cold, she nodded and said, "Of course."

The two put on overalls and platform shoes and headed for the racecourse.Seeing the cold scene in the racecourse, Collins frowned, "Why didn't you see the busy workers, Miss Mary? As far as I know, it should be the time to spend the winter busy." His tone was filled with condemnation, as if because of Mary's slack. Feel dissatisfied.

"We made preparations a month in advance. This is fodder, which is enough for all the horses to survive the winter." Mary pointed to the piled up pasture, suppressing the anger that was churning in her heart.

"So much pasture!" Collins sighed, and asked again, "How many horses are there in the racecourse now? Are there any thoroughbreds?"

"There are more than 50 horses, and there are two purebred Irish horses." These things can be known after a little inquiring, and Mary did not deliberately hide them.

"My God, there are still two Irish thoroughbreds?" Collins was really surprised.Irish Thoroughbred horses are horses exclusively used by the royal family, and their quality is of the highest quality, making all nobles flock to them.

"Miss Mary, please take good care of them." Collins looked very cautious.

It's such a hostile tone again!Mary's eyes were dark, but there was a polite smile on her face.

"Can I go and see them?" Collins asked, heading straight for the stables.

"Of course, Turandot has just given birth and has a bad temper. Don't get too close to him." If it wasn't for taking care of Turandot's emotions, Mary would never remind him.

"Ah, it's amazing, it's still so small!" Collins kept circling around the foal.

Mary leaned against the fence, looking at him incredulously.

After getting along for a short time, she already had a general understanding of this person's character. Beneath the haughty appearance was a humbleness, which in turn created his vanity and greed.However, his status as a pastor allowed him to restrain his viciousness, which can only be described in four words - sanctimonious.

All the things she worked so hard for will be reaped for nothing by such a person, Mary frowned, feeling more uncomfortable than ever before.

The British land law is the most complicated law in the world. For a small land sale, the documents involved cannot be filled in several large boxes.And its land inheritance law is many times more complicated than the sales law.

By law, all land belonged to the king.While enjoying the benefits brought by the land, the occupants of the land should fulfill corresponding obligations to the king.Some duties require only money, while others require labor.Unfortunately, the land belonging to the Bennett family belongs to the latter.

Labor can only be performed by men, so the Bennett family property fell to Collins.Who told Mrs. Bennet not to have a son!

What's more cruel is that the provisions of the law are too detailed. The annual output of a piece of land, the number of tenants, the amount of rent, and even the number of horses, cows, and sledges are all registered in the register, allowing inheritance The reader knows all about it.

In other words, if Collins wanted to, he could drive Mrs. Bennet and her daughters out penniless after Mr. Bennet's death.All that awaits them is a life of poverty.

The laws drawn up by the privileged class never protect the weak!Mary walked quickly to the outside of the stable, looking at the sky with heavy eyes.At this moment, how much she misses the taste of power and wealth.

"Miss Mary, you take good care of them!" Collins didn't notice her gloomy mood at all, and happily chased her out.

Mary was silent.

"This land looks very fertile, so it must produce a lot every year?" Collins asked casually.

Mary glanced at him coldly, and said briefly, "Nearly [-] pounds a year." It used to be only [-] pounds, which was barely enough to maintain the dignity of the Bennett family. With the income from the horse farm, the situation has gradually improved.Even if she didn't tell her about these data, he could get a definite answer if he asked casually in Langborn.

"Wow!" Collins exclaimed and stopped talking.Thirty-five hundred pounds was enough for him to live a very respectable life.

Mary led him back, thinking about speeding up the emptying of the racecourse, and it was imminent to open up another source of income.After this experience, she felt that she no longer had the heart to run the racecourse.She could now fully understand Mr. Bennet's casual attitude towards his property.

If she was still Princess Renxiao, if she still held power... Mary smiled wryly, and stopped herself from making any more meaningless associations.People always have to live in the present.

In the afternoon, Mr. Bennett finally came back from visiting friends.Seeing Collins who was sitting in the living room and talking to Jane, his expression was not good at all.But he quickly forced a smirk to meet him.

Collins also rose to greet him.The two families had been at odds for a long time, and there were not many thoughtful words to greet, and within a few minutes, they fell into an awkward silence.

"Uncle Bennett, can I talk to you alone?" Collins asked after thinking for a moment.His tone seemed respectful, but his manner showed a bit of arrogance.He knew that the conversation that followed would undoubtedly be a boon to the Bennett family.

Mr. Bennet frowned, and walked upstairs to the study first, "Come with me, kid."

"Tell me, what does he want to talk to your father about?" Mrs. Bennet asked anxiously.

"Talk about his reason for coming. Either for money or for sex, or for both money and sex." Mary squinted her eyes, as if she was thinking about something.

"My God, that's too bad!" Elizabeth exclaimed unbearably.

Mrs. Bennet was shocked, then smiled.If so, she wouldn't have to worry about the lives of herself and her daughters.For the sake of the in-laws, Collins will be kind to them.

"No, I have to go up and have a look." She lifted her skirt and rushed upstairs in a hurry.

The girls in the living room were devastated by the news, but Mary was the only one with a calm face.

"If that's the case, which one of you would like to marry?" She suddenly said a few minutes later.

"Marry him? Then I'd rather be an old maid forever!" Elizabeth shook her head violently.

"Priest, a boring job!" Catherine laughed.

"If I have to marry, I have to choose one from Meridon's militia, and the others are out of the question!" Lydia was a little angry.

Jane was just silent, and her anxiety was betrayed by her furrowed brow.She already has it all.

Mary sighed and rubbed her forehead tiredly.Marriage is indeed the most beneficial way to preserve the Bennett family, as the mistress can own the land reasonably and legally.However, everyone seems to be reluctant.

While she was struggling, Mrs. Bennett's enthusiastic voice came from upstairs, "Collins, it's great that you decided to do this."

Not knowing what Collins said, she yelled again, "No, no, no, Jane is about to get engaged..." The rest of the voice dissipated under Mr. Bennet's stop.

Jane breathed a sigh of relief, but Elizabeth and the others showed expressions of grief and indignation at being betrayed.

When the three of them went downstairs, there was a deathly silence in the living room, which continued to the dining table until Collins ate his first bite of dinner and cried out in amazement, breaking the suffocating scene.

"Oh my God, this is the most delicious dinner I've ever had! May I ask which cousin made it?" He looked at Elizabeth with anticipation in his eyes.After Jane was excluded, his first candidate became this girl who was second only to Jane in beauty.

"Ah, Mary's craftsmanship is the most famous in Longbourn. I bet you can't eat such a unique food all over the country." Mrs. Bennet boasted proudly.

Collins looked at Mary in surprise.

Mary smiled at him and nodded. Her porcelain-like delicate skin seemed to be transparent under the light, making her look radiant and charming, and her ordinary facial features revealed an extremely gentle expression.

Collins's attention was immediately drawn to her natural poise and elegance.His heart wavered, and when Elizabeth ignored her, but Mary answered her questions, he quickly changed his goal and began to please Mary intentionally or unintentionally, and endlessly boasted about his great benefactor Catherine De Mrs Bull.

Mr. Bennet watched his performance with contemptuous eyes the whole time, and laughed heartily at every stupid thing he said.This dinner was undoubtedly painful for him, but more painful things were yet to come.

After dinner, Mary knocked on his study and announced a news that nearly made him faint.

"Dad, I decided to marry Collins." She sat down and said slowly.

Mr. Bennett's eyeballs popped out of their sockets, and it took him a while to recover his voice, "Son, I think with your intelligence, you won't fail to see that he is a fool!"

"Yes," Mary nodded, "arrogant to humble people, humble to arrogant people, paying special attention to his own face, he is a fool who thinks he is smart. But this is the most important reason why I married him .I don’t need a smart and strong husband to control my property.”

Mr. Bennet was silent, with a troubled expression on his face.

"Son, I know that you have a strong character and made such a decision, mostly for the sake of this family. However, I still want to ask you to think carefully. This is about your lifelong happiness!" In the last sentence, he emphasized tone.

"I'll think about it." Mary smiled slightly.The realization that her father valued her more than her possessions warmed her heart.