Pride and Prejudice the Poor Princess

When the three sisters returned to Longbourn, they were not warmly welcomed by Mrs. Bennett, because she had already heard about the marriage of Collins and Charlotte.She thought that she would be the one who should prepare the dowry for her daughter, but the object was changed to Mrs. Lucas, and she also came to her for advice all day long.That depressed mood tormented her fragile nerves again.

She kept cursing Collins for his lack of vision, swore she would never attend his wedding, and then put her arms around Mary to comfort her, telling her that she must find a better husband.She's grieving over the impending loss of the Bennett family's fortune, but nothing matters more than her daughter.

Fortunately, Jane brought good news. Her love affair with Bingley is in full swing, and there is only a grand wedding ceremony short of it.Jane told her mother for the first time that Mr. Bingley would propose to her sooner or later.

"Thank God, our family finally has good news! Jane, you have found a unique and good husband, and you will be happy in the future!" She sighed, clutching her chest.

You wouldn't be so glad if you knew that Mary had turned down a better husband!Elizabeth thought amusedly, and then quietly exited the living room with Mary, leaving Jane to deal with her mother.Her eloquence is not inferior to that of Collins at all, which reminds Mary of a common saying in Daxia—if you are not a family, you will not enter a family.

Spring has come quietly, and gone without a sound. Unknowingly, the girls have taken off their heavy winter skirts and put on light and bright summer shirts.People who went to the city for the winter also came back one after another, but the militia stationed in the town had to move out.

Catherine and Lydia are in a state of great anxiety.They are too obsessed with red uniforms, losing them, it seems that even life has lost its color.Lydia was good friends with the wife of Colonel Foster, the head of the militia, and she repeatedly clamored to go to her house for a while, so that she could stay with the red uniforms all day long before they left. Together.She even pictured in her mind four or five handsome men in red uniforms flirting around her at the same time.

On the one hand, she was shy, and on the other hand, she couldn't help herself.She pestered Mrs. Bennet to go to Meryton and give her some extra pounds to buy a dress for the ball.

Mrs. Bennet, a doting mother, agreed without a second thought.But when she asked Mary, the head of the family, for pounds, she was severely rejected.

"It's time for you to discipline Catherine and Lydia, mother. They are getting worse and worse. They don't know anything except playing around, going to balls, and flirting with men all day long. If this continues, they will be in danger sooner or later. situation!"

"Girls at the age of fourteen or fifteen are all like this. It will be fine when they grow up. To tell you the truth, I also had such a time when I was young." Mrs. Bennet waved her hand disapprovingly.

"No, let Catherine and Lydia tell me by themselves. Also, don't prepare a carriage for them in private. Without my order, the farm workers will not agree to borrow horses from you. Don't waste your time!" Mary He buried his head in the book and said coldly.

When the daughter put on a straight face, she was extremely majestic, like a queen who would not be disobeyed.Mrs. Bennet had no choice but to leave Catherine and Lydia to persuade their sister.

Mary thought that she would be pestered endlessly by Catherine and Lydia, and was about to train them well, but she didn't expect that the two suddenly became quiet and stopped arguing about going to Meryton.

This phenomenon is a bit strange, but Mary received a letter from Aunt Gardner before she could get to the bottom of it, inviting her to travel to the Lake District together.This itinerary had been discussed as early as last winter, and Elizabeth found it very interesting and joined in.

The two set off for London, and before leaving, they repeatedly told Mrs. Bennet to be optimistic about Catherine and Lydia.

Uncle Gardner's departure was delayed due to business, and he had to return to London earlier because of business, which greatly shortened the journey.Aunt Gardiner proposed to give up the plan of visiting the Lake District and return after three weeks in Derbyshire.The scenery there is no less than that of the Lake District.

Satisfied that Mary and Elizabeth had fun, they did not dispute it.

"We will pass by the small town of Langton later. I visited there before, and the scenery is pretty good." Aunt Gardner squinted her eyes and recalled, and added excitedly after a few minutes, "Oh, yes, Langdon It's very near Mr. Darcy's estate, and we happened to be visiting him."

"It's not good to rush over to visit, Auntie." Mary's calm eyes stirred up waves.

"Why? Mr. Darcy is a very easy-going gentleman. If we pass by but don't pay a visit, he will blame us if he finds out." Uncle Gardner waved his hand carelessly.

"You seem to be very familiar with Mr. Darcy?" Elizabeth asked curiously.

"Ah, we met a lot in London. He stopped and said hello every time we passed our shop. He was easygoing and talkative, knowledgeable, generous, and had many brilliant ideas on how to run the shop. He was a businessman. He is a genius, much better than his grandfather and old Mr. Darcy! I dare say that the wealth of the Darcy family is beyond the reach of many grand dukes." Uncle Gardner praised.

"Comfortable and talkative? Why do I feel that they are not talking about Mr. Darcy?" Elizabeth jokingly whispered in Mary's ear.

Mary pursed her lips and smiled, and turned her head to admire the endless fields and rolling hills outside the window to conceal the strangeness in her heart.After such a long time, she thought she had recovered her calm, but hearing Darcy's name could still clearly outline his profound facial features in her mind.

Seeing that Mary hadn't spoken for a long time, Elizabeth thought she was unwilling, and persuaded her in a low voice, "It's hard to come here, let's go to Pemberley to have a look. I heard that Mr. Darcy inspects the property all year round, and often travels far away. Australia and India, to manage his plantations. The chances of us encountering him are low, don't you worry."

"Escape is not the way. We will always meet when we should meet, and we will never see those who should not meet even if we catch up. I am not afraid to meet Mr. Darcy, Eliza." Mary said with a light smile.

"It's very good of you to understand. He can be so polite to his uncle and aunt. It can be seen that he has forgotten my misunderstanding of him and your rejection of him. You used to say that he was an upright person. Now I can be regarded as I believe it. Of course, it would be even better if he could change his arrogant temper. Then you can marry him." Elizabeth's tone was full of regret.

The two got together and talked in a low voice, completely oblivious to the strange look that the Gardners exchanged.

The town of Langton is really beautiful. The houses built with red bricks are full of romantic flavor. In addition to the farmland with rolling wheat waves, there is also a large sea of ​​cosmos flowers, pink, pink blue, dark red, dark blue... the wind blows. Layers upon layers of colorful waves are set off, and the magnificent scenery can make people who wander in it forget all their troubles.

Mary and Elizabeth ran wildly in the sea of ​​flowers, chasing butterflies flying in the sky, and their rare lively appearance made the Gardners laugh.

When they finally enjoyed themselves, it was past four o'clock in the afternoon, and they missed the afternoon tea, but it was not time for dinner.This is the right time to visit Peng Boli.

Pemberley covers a much larger area than Rosings Manor, including a green lake and an endless cypress forest.Mrs. Reynolds, Pemberley's housekeeper, received them. Her extremely enthusiastic attitude was in sharp contrast to the cold and arrogant housekeeper of Rosings Manor.

The layout of Pemberley's mansion is also very different from the grandeur of Rosings.The color of the furniture is a little monotonous, and the decorations are quite simple, but it is full of solemn atmosphere.

"Due to the lack of a hostess for a long time, the Pemberley mansion is a bit boring. These furnishings are from many years ago, and the patterns are not new." Mrs. Reynolds said shyly.

"Yes, you need a mistress to change this old state of affairs," agreed Aunt Gardner.

Mrs. Reynolds nodded and gave Mary a meaningful look.

Mary did not pay attention to their chorus, her eyes were already attracted by a row of oil paintings on the mantelpiece.The largest one in the center was an amiable old gentleman who must have been Darcy's father.The smaller one next to it is Darcy himself, but his face is much greener than it is now, and it should be drawn when he was seventeen or eighteen.

Mary stared blankly for a long time before looking away.Her face was calm, but her ears gradually turned red.

Mrs. Reynolds didn't bother her all the time, and waited aside with a smile on her face.

At the bottom is a row of small oil paintings decorated with photo frames. The beautiful girl is seven points like Darcy. It must be his sister Georgiana Darcy. Even Wickham's portrait is impressively listed.

"Why is he here?" Elizabeth pointed at the photo frame with a look of disgust.

Mary also frowned slightly.

"It seems that the two ladies already know about Wickham. Wickham hadn't shown his true face when old Mr. Darcy went, so his favor for him has not diminished at all, and he deliberately asked us not to move the portrait here. .So Mr. Darcy has kept it, even if it brings back bad memories every time he sees it." Mrs. Reynolds explained.

"Mr. Darcy always values ​​friendship." Mary smiled, her voice full of tenderness she didn't know.

Mrs. Reynolds immediately followed her subject to praise Mr. Darcy for his kindness and generosity to his tenants, and how clever and sweet he had been as a child.Mary listened with gusto, and more than an hour passed before she knew it.

"It's time for us to leave, Mrs. Reynolds. It's getting late." Aunt Gardner looked out the window and said awkwardly.She had expected to meet Mr. Darcy, but he had not appeared for so long as they had been together.This is different from their original plan.

"Let's go after dinner!" Mrs. Reynolds hastily asked to stay.

"No, we haven't booked a hotel yet, so we can only visit again next time." Uncle Gardner said regretfully.

"Madam, take a look at this scarf, I don't know why there is a big tear!" Mrs. Reynolds tried to persuade again, but a maid ran in in panic.

"Oh, my God! How did you do it? This is a relic left by Mrs. Darcy to Mrs. Darcy. It is genuine silk from the East, which has been passed down by the Fitzwilliam family (Darcy's mother's natal family) for several generations!" Mrs. Reynolds continued. Checked through the scarf, and then shouted anxiously.

"It must have been washed too hard, and cracks appeared when it was dried. Special attention should be paid to maintaining silk like this, which has been passed down for several generations. Their silk is already very fragile. It is best to wash it with cold water boiled with acacia fruit. Wash." Mary explained gently.

The scarf is pure black, with swirling cloud patterns embroidered with gold thread. It is low-key and luxurious. It really is a typical oriental embroidery. Not to mention the commemorative significance, even the price cannot be estimated.

Mary took the scarf and checked it over and over again. Her calm and calm posture calmed the restless Mrs. Reynolds.

"This is a relatively simple Shu embroidery. If there are silk threads of the same color, I think I can restore it to its original state." Mary looked at Mrs. Reynolds with a questioning look.This scarf means a lot to Darcy, and she can't just sit idly by anyway.After rejecting him, she kept trying to do something for him.

Mrs. Reynolds was dubious.The opening of the scarf was very torn, and the yarn was broken in many places, and it didn't look like it could be repaired no matter what.But since Miss Mary has spoken, she might as well let her try.Even if it can't be repaired well, Mr. Darcy must not bear to blame it.