Chapter 65 Workhouse (1)

The news of the knighthood spread across London like wildfire. Duan Feizhuo obviously didn’t say anything, but everyone seemed to get the news immediately.

Z declined the reception banquet of the night guards, explained a few things to his subordinates, and then accompanied Duan Feizhuo back to No. 49, Franchise Square.

Seeing this familiar building again, Duan Feizhu couldn’t help feeling a lot of emotion.

There was a time when he thought he would never come back. He thought he was going to spend his life in a dungeon or at the North Pole. But he came back. He also returned with his title and lover. What place in the world is warmer than home? Even the Raven restaurant downstairs, which specializes in poisoning diners with dark dishes, looks extremely cute at the moment.

“Can I live here today?” Z asked looking at the window on the third floor.

Duan Feizhuo turned his head away, his cheeks felt hot, as if someone had thrown a Motorov gun in his face. He coughed twice and muttered, “It’s up to you.”

“Then can I move here in the future?”

“Don’t you care about other people’s eyes? It’s strange for two single men to live together…”

Z tugged at his gloves disapprovingly: “I’m a police detective from Scotland Yard, who dares to arrest me? Besides, don’t Holmes and Watson also live together? Just say that I rented a room in your house. ”

You probably don’t know how many Fuhua colleagues have emerged in later generations… Duan Feizhuo thought helplessly.

They climbed the stairs, and Duan Feizhuo opened the door. A familiar smell came over his face, and he suddenly wanted to cry. Even when he lost Z and reunited with Z, he didn’t shed a single tear. But when he returned to this place he called “home”, he couldn’t hold back his tear glands.

The house is spotless and the windows are bright and clean, which shows that Al worked hard to maintain the place when he was away. Duan Feizhuo felt that he should give his little servant a raise—if his cooking skills improved a little bit.

He threw the suitcase on the ground and went to the kitchen to make two cups of tea. There was no hot water in the kitchen, so he could only boil water by himself. He was used to the days when someone waited on him, and suddenly he had to do it himself to get enough food and clothing, but he was not used to it. This is the so-called easy transition from frugality to extravagance, but difficulty from extravagance to frugality, right?

Halfway through the fire, he thought to himself, why not just use secret techniques? So he called Z to the kitchen, held Z’s mechanical prosthesis, and knocked on the kettle.

Energy extracted from mechanical prosthetics directly boils water to a boil. The lid of the kettle jumped up, steaming hotly. Z withdrew his hand, his expression not very good-looking.

“Are all of you mystics like this?”

“It’s very convenient!” Duan Feizhuo defended the mystic.

He opened the cupboard and looked for the tea caddy. It’s Al doing all these things in the family, so he doesn’t even know where to put the tea caddy, which is really worthy of being the head of the family.

While rummaging through boxes and cabinets, Z suddenly hugged him from behind without even saying hello, and his mechanical prosthetic arm clasped his waist tightly.

“What are you doing? Shock me!”

Duan Feizhuo’s cheeks became as red as the flames in the hearth. What else can Z do? The lonely man and the widow are in the same room, and it seems that they can’t justify not doing something…

He turned his head slightly, pecked on Z’s chin, and waited for the white-haired man to lower his head to give him a deep kiss. When he was on the airship, Z liked to do this: press him on the astonishingly large porthole from behind, forcing him to face the boundless sky and sea of ​​clouds outside the window. Forced him to surrender again and again, but never gave him a kiss unless he asked for it.

But this time Z didn’t even give him a kiss, and even looked away when he approached his lips.

“You are really cunning and cunning,” Z seemed to be angry, “you actually asked Her Majesty the Queen to pardon you for all your crimes. Now I can’t pursue you. Are you satisfied?”

Duan Feizhuo was amused. cunning? deceitful? he?

“What can you do to me?” He raised his head and asked.

“The law can’t punish you, but I can.”

Z’s tone was calm, but Duan Feizhuo couldn’t help swallowing. “…Then how are you going to punish me?”

Z hugged him tighter, as if wanting to rub him into his own flesh and blood.

“Punish until you can’t get out of bed.” Saying that, Z bit the young man’s earlobe.

“I would like to ask you,” Duan Feizhuo said, “if I hadn’t been canonized, or if I hadn’t asked the queen for pardon, what would you do with me? Would you put me back in the dungeon?”

“Otherwise?” Z said in a natural tone.

Duan Feizhuo waited for a while, waiting for Z to say “I’m joking”, but Z didn’t say a word.

“You’re not serious, are you?” He couldn’t believe it, “We’ve done everything, but I… gave you everything, and you still want to put me in a dungeon?”

Z combed the hair of the man in his arms absently: “‘I like you’ and ‘I’m going to put you in a dungeon’ are not contradictory.”

Duan Feizhuo:? ? ?

Think about it carefully, is it really not contradictory? Shouldn’t he have said, “It’s a good way to kill relatives”?

He turned around and looked straight into Z’s eyes: “Then after putting me in the dungeon, will you still come to me to do this kind of thing?”

“If I have a need.” Z laughed.

“You…! You really don’t treat me like a human being?”

Z laughed even more heartily. Duan Feizhuo was dazzled for a moment. It was rare for him to see Z so happy.

“Just kidding.” Z said, “I’m very patient. I’ll come to you when you can’t help but beg me for it.”

“Who would beg you for it!” Duan Feizhuo gave him a gouged look, “I can bear it too! Your skills are not very good! It hurts me every time!”

Z narrowed his eyes and stroked his lips. The hard metal pressed against the soft lips, and the rough movements were gentle.

“what are you doing?”

“I’m thinking,” Z said casually, “how to stop your mouth full of lies.”

Duan Feizhuo’s cheeks burned even more intensely, and the fire in his body burned even more vigorously, making his mouth parched, like a long-dried plant thirsting for the nourishment of rain and dew.

“You only care about yourself every time,” he said angrily, “I don’t want to do that at all.”

“Then what do you want?” Z asked.

Duan Feizhuo licked his dry lips, and whispered a few words into his ear.

Obviously he was the one who made the request to Z, but after saying those few words, he himself turned red in the face.

Z raised his eyebrows: “Are you serious?”

Duan Feizhuo intentionally squeezed out a sinister smile: “What? You don’t want to do it for me?”

Z pushed him away violently. His lower back hit the cabinet, causing him to hiss in pain.

“Yes.” Z said arrogantly, “For my ‘jazz’, of course I am willing to do anything.”

After finishing speaking, he slowly bent his knees and put on a non-zhuan belt with his hands.

Then someone knocked on the door.

The two cursed at the same time. Duan Feizhuo adjusted the shirt messed up by Z, and went to the entrance to open the door.

A large group of people stood outside the door.

“Congratulations, master!” Al was the first to jump in. The young man’s face was flushed, and he was holding a small basket in his arms, full of small biscuits he made with his hands.

The next person to enter was Mr. Lynn, the lawyer. His round body almost occupied the entire hallway. “I heard that you have been knighted! Oh, how happy your uncle’s spirit in heaven would be if he knew!”

“I saw him when he first visited us, what a promising young man!” Mrs. Lynn came in, holding her daughter’s arm.

Miss Lynn has lost a lot of weight compared to the last time we met, but the red lines on her skin have disappeared, and her face is much healthier and ruddy.

“Long time no see, Mr. Chester, I haven’t thanked you for saving my life.” She smiled shyly.

Last in line were Lord Perilla and her son. Duan Feizhuo was not so much flattered that a dignified noble came to his mansion, but rather wondered why the mother and son were idle all day long.

When a group of people saw that Z was here, they all showed colorful expressions. The Lynn family had known Z for a long time, and they only treated him as an ordinary policeman, thinking that he had come here to celebrate the knighthood. Ar Ze stared at Z vigilantly as if facing an enemy. Lord Perilla’s mother and son exchanged proud glances. After Duan Feizhuo was imprisoned, they pleaded with the queen. Now he has not only regained his freedom, but also received the queen’s award. They feel that they have contributed a lot.

Z looked at them as if he wanted to kill them on the spot.

“I’ll make tea for everyone!” Al took the initiative to run into the kitchen. He found that the master had already boiled hot water, and he couldn’t help complaining why he didn’t even leave any hot water, so he troubled the master to do it himself.

He made tea and served it to everyone in the living room. They enjoyed the biscuits he brought with black tea. As a servant, he is not qualified to stay with gentlemen and ladies, so he ran back to the kitchen. But he showed half of his face from the kitchen, watching the nasty night policeman all the time to prevent him from bullying his master.

“How do you know I’ve been knighted?” Duan Feizhuo asked helplessly.

Mr. Lynn said with a smile, “Al told us. And he got it from your poet friend.”

Lord Perilla said: “We have also been notified by Mr. Yeats.”

Yeats, you have only been working at Scotland Yard for a few days, and you have leaked far more information than I have. Duan Feizhuo thought to himself. You are the undercover agent!

Mrs. Lynn asked curiously: “What great contribution did you make to receive such an award? Al only said that you went to sea. Could it be that you discovered something extraordinary overseas? A new continent? A new species?”

Well, they did discover a new species, but it was not the kind of “cute little animals that people have never seen before, such as kangaroos or koalas” as Mrs. Lynn imagined, but a giant monster… After all, the queen canonized him as well Not because he discovered Leviathan, but because he captured the spy and saved the Wellington.

But everyone on the Wellington was ordered to keep silent about the spies. Can all the hundreds of people on the ship really keep their secrets? Duan Feizhuo expressed doubts about this. However, he has already tasted the consequences of leaking secrets, and this time he said that he would not repeat the same mistakes.

He looked at Z, hoping that Z who “represented the official” could answer this question.

“We followed the airship to the North Pole to find the traces of Franklin’s expedition.” Z moved out the official answer.

The Lynn family and Lord Perilla’s mother and son certainly knew the story of the Franklin expedition. Decades later, various rumors about the fate of that expedition still rage.

“So you found it?” Lord Perilla asked excitedly.

“Unfortunately, no. There was even an accident on the way. At that time, Mr. Chester used his professional knowledge to save many people, so he was appreciated by His Majesty.”

“Oh!” The guests were amazed. The North Pole is so cold, there are drift ice, polar bears, and savage Eskimos. If you are not careful, you will die! This amazing young man must have saved everyone with his medical knowledge!

Duan Feizhuo hurriedly changed the subject: “How is Miss Lin En’s health?”

Luisa shyly said, “It’s back to normal. Beautiful Gaia’s medical skills are really superb, and the doctors are also very kind. I still have to thank you. If you hadn’t been able to connect me and put me in a nursing home, I’m afraid I’d be dead now.”

“I didn’t do anything. It was thanks to Mr. Yeats that I got to know the members of Beautiful Gaia back then. You should thank him if you want to. By the way,” Duan Feizhuo glanced at Z, “Detective Xinya also It is indispensable. He was the one who told me that Beautiful Gaia can cure ether disease.”

Luisa looked up at Z, and the blush on her face became more and more obvious: “Of course…thanks to Detective Sinya, too.”

Z’s beauty really suits both men and women. When Louisa first met him, she mistook him for “Leo Chester”, completely ignoring the right man next to him. The lethality of his appearance can be seen.

Louisa did not notice that Lord Perilla, who was sitting across from her, was looking at her intently.

The Lord who was hurt by love finally came out of the haze of the fairy dance. Seeing such a delicate girl today, his “chivalry” began to flare up again. Oh, that the fair maiden had suffered from ether, so dreadful that even the lord had heard of it! What a pity! If only he was the one who sent her to that sanatorium! He must protect the girl from the evil disease!

Mrs. Edith gave her son a sideways look, and stomped on him calmly. The Lord hissed, and hastily withdrew his rude gaze.

Mr. Lynn could hardly restrain his curiosity: “So, have you seen Her Majesty the Queen?”

Duan Feizhuo nodded.

The Lynn family all clasped their chests, their movements surprisingly unanimous. For the British people born in this era, the queen is nothing more than a goddess in mythology, and the glory spreads from her throne to the whole world. It was the privilege of a lifetime to meet her (twice again!) and to brag about her forever!

“I also have to thank the old lady and the lord. I heard that you pleaded with His Majesty several times for me.”

The Lynn family was puzzled. “Forgiveness? Why do you ask for mercy?”

“Uh,” Duan Feizhuo quickly thought of an excuse, “I was imprisoned in the police station due to some misunderstandings. Of course I was released later. Thanks to the lord and the old lady for running for me.”

Z snorted. What a misunderstanding.

Lord Perilla puffed out his chest, as if he were a noble knight who came to the rescue. He decided to show his noble sentiments and morals in front of Miss Lynn.

“We just made a small contribution.” He said in a high-spirited manner, “You have outstanding talents, and His Majesty has the insight to recognize talents. Even without our intercession, you can still be appreciated by His Majesty.”

He glanced expectantly at Miss Lynn. But Miss Lynn did not notice his appearance at all. His shoulders drooped involuntarily.

“How’s your family’s mine going?” Duan Feizhuo asked.

“Oh, we decided to sell it, but we haven’t found a buyer yet.” Speaking of this, Lord Perilla was a little listless, “Actually, I wanted to mine it myself. It’s ether crystals! It’s worth more than gold mines! But The technology of mining ether crystals is complicated and requires a lot of upfront investment, which is difficult for us inexperienced people to handle. So I plan to sell it and use the money to start a business I am familiar with. My mother also agreed.”

He and Lady Edith exchanged a look.

“The Council for the Advancement of Science wanted to buy the mine, but my mother didn’t like the representative they sent, saying he was like a strutting peacock.”

Speaking of the high-spirited member of the Science Progress Committee, a vivid image appeared in Duan Feizhuo’s mind.

“Could it be Mr. Secretary Carter?”

“It’s him! Why, you know him?” Lord Perilla was surprised.

That’s very familiar. Duan Feizhuo thought depressingly. Carter seems determined to win the Perilla mine. Do you have to use money if you can’t achieve success with tricks? Does the Council for the Advancement of Science really need ether crystals?

“He was the one who took me to see His Majesty. To be honest, I don’t like him either.”

Lady Edith gave the hero’s sympathetic look. “Let me just say, Albert, that guy is smooth-talking, and he is not a good person at first glance. Don’t be fooled by his sweet words. You are soft-hearted and easy to trust others. Last time, Melissa didn’t Do you have a long memory?”

Lord Perilla looked at his mother aggrievedly. He originally wanted to show his heroic side in front of Miss Lynn, but how could his mother expose his shortcomings? What would Miss Lynn think of him!

Everyone glanced at me and chatted enthusiastically, and the topic changed from the Carter Criticism Conference to the business of Perilla Manor. They talked until the sun went down. Al couldn’t cook dinner for so many people by himself, so they went to the Raven restaurant downstairs.

The owner of the restaurant probably has never seen so many guests, and among them there are serious nobles, he was almost moved to tears. The chef of the restaurant was greatly encouraged, and he performed beyond his standard and made a table of barely swallowable meals.

After the meal, Z went to pay the bill. Duan Feizhuo originally wanted to pay the money himself. After all, everyone came to celebrate him, so it would be unreasonable for him as the master not to pay. But Z just waved his hand, and went to the kitchen with the restaurant owner to talk in detail for twenty minutes. When they came out, the restaurant owner had a gloomy look on his face. Duan Feizhuo suspected that Z had bargained the price.

Lord Perilla, mother and son, came in their own carriage, there was no need to call a cab. The lord wanted to show courtesy to Miss Lynn, so after his gorgeous carriage drove up, he said: “Dear Sir, Madam and Miss, if you don’t dislike my poor carriage and horses, please let me take you home.”

Mr. Lynn gave him a strange look: “Thank you, my lord, but we live on the next street, and we will be there in ten minutes’ walk. There is no need to take a car.”

Luisa took her parents’ arms: “Yeah, our family hasn’t gone for a walk together for a long time. Let’s treat it as a snack after dinner!”

They bid farewell politely, and the three walked away holding hands. Lord Perilla watched them go sadly, his figure showing a bleak chill in the summer day.

Mrs. Edith is such a good person, she can naturally see that her son is interested in the girls of Lynn’s family. This stupid son of my family was born with an incurable terminal illness called “knight disease”. Whenever he sees a weak girl, he can’t help showing his chivalry. She was danced by the fairy Melissa before because of this excessive chivalry.

She didn’t know whether her son had a short-term episode of chivalry, or whether he really fell in love with the lady at first sight. If it is the former, then this relationship may end without a problem. That lady is the daughter of a friend of Mr. Chester’s. How could she deceive the benefactor’s friend? Tragedy must be stopped before it happens!

If it’s the latter…Miss Lynn is studying at a girls’ school, and her father is a well-known lawyer in London. The middle-class family is already considered a good family background in England. But after all, he is just a commoner. Lord Perilla is a hereditary baron. A large number of ether crystal deposits were newly discovered in his territory, and he instantly became one of the richest people in the country. Wouldn’t it be inappropriate to be ridiculed by others to marry a commoner woman?

However… Mrs. Edith thought of her dead husband. She herself was only the daughter of a squire. At that time, her marriage with her deceased husband was also criticized. Many people said that she was too high-ranking and not worthy of the lord. But her husband said that the luckiest thing in his life is to marry her. He has never regretted it.

Lady Edith thought so herself.

The situation of this era is changing rapidly, and it is developing rapidly in a direction that people have never dared to imagine. The world is changing, people are waking up, and many things are very different from when she was young.

As she boarded the carriage with her son, she thought that perhaps one day it would become commonplace for nobles and commoners to marry. Maybe one day, even the royal family will marry commoners. Perhaps one day, even the nobility will cease to exist. If the son really likes commoner girls, then why not? He’s just letting what’s bound to happen in the future happen ahead of time.

Forget it, children and grandchildren have their own blessings. She is getting older and can’t control so much. Let him go!

Duan Feizhuo waved goodbye to Lord Perilla’s carriage, turned to Al and said, “It’s getting late, you should go back too. Don’t worry your mother.”

“Don’t you need me to serve you, Master?” Al asked with concern, “I haven’t boiled the bath water for you yet. Your luggage hasn’t been packed yet. Will you make your own bed?”

Blue veins appeared on Duan Feizhuo’s head: “It’s not that I can’t take care of myself!”

“Then…then…” The young man leaned close to his ear and said softly, “Will that night watchman do you any harm?”

“I’m a jazz now, he doesn’t dare.” Duan Feizhuo patted the boy on the head, “Go. I’ll give you a day off tomorrow.”

“I don’t need a vacation.”

“Paid.”

“Oh!” Al left happily.

In the eyes of the common people, the jazz is as unattainable as the stars in the sky, and is protected by Her Majesty the Queen. Al felt that even if the night watchman had ten more courages, he would not dare to do anything to his master, so he skipped and walked towards his house.

From today on, he is the valet of Jazz! His master is not only a mystic, but also a mystic recognized by the queen, even the night guards dare not touch him casually! Al felt as if his face was glowing, not to mention how embarrassing it was!

What the boy doesn’t know is that although the night watchman dare not put his master in prison, he has thousands of ways to “bully” his master. Just tonight, his master will be “bullied” a lot…

He didn’t see that the master and the hateful night watchman whispered a few words, and they both walked up the stairs. The fingers of the two were tightly clasped together.

He also didn’t see, in the Raven restaurant, the boss was holding a rag, standing at the door, looking thoughtfully at the night.

“I suspect that guy did it on purpose.” Z gritted his teeth as soon as he entered the house.

“Who?” Duan Feizhuo asked.

“Your good poet friend.” Z even refused to call Yeats by his full name, “He purposely spread the news of your knighthood and asked everyone to congratulate him, wasting time…”

Duan Feizhu laughed. “Are you thinking too much? He is your colleague now, do you want to do this…”

His lips were sealed with Z. Now he found out that once he said something that Z didn’t want to hear, Z would use this trick to shut him up. Tried and tested.

Damn, he really likes this.

He hooked Z’s neck, and while the two kissed intermittently, they staggered into the bedroom and fell on the bed.

“Wait, I’m going to take a shower.” Duan Feizhuo sat up and said.

Z pushed him back on the bed. “Haven’t you washed enough on the airship?”

“Who told you to be in my shower every time…” Remembering that charming scene, Duan Feizhuo blushed and couldn’t continue.

Z let out a deep laugh deep in his throat, unbuttoned his clothes, and raised his chin at him: “Turn around.”

Duan Feizhuo remained motionless: “Why do you like to get up from behind every time?”

Z’s movements paused for a moment. “I don’t want you to see it.” He hesitated, “My body is not pretty.”

“I do not care.”

“You’ll be scared.”

Duan Feizhuo raised his head, and stared at the white-haired night policeman unwillingly. “I want to see your face.”

Z leaned down and was at eye level with him: “I just like my face, huh?”

Duan Feizhuo pulled open his collar and kissed a scar on his chest. “I also like other places on your body.” He raised the corners of his lips.

That night, he kissed every scar on Z’s body.

When he woke up the next day, Duan Feizhuo felt that his body was about to fall apart.

Because of his self-healing ability, Z became more and more unscrupulous. He was tortured until almost dawn before falling asleep.

He suspected that Z hadn’t let him go when he was asleep, but he had no proof.

As soon as he turned his head, he saw Z’s sleeping face in the morning light. Every inch of the facial features is just right, as beautiful as if deliberately designed by a painter.

The man who once regarded him as a scourge, now let go of all his defenses and slept beside him, exposing his most vulnerable side to him. How can this be done without 100% trust?

Originally wanted to complain a few words, but this scene made Duan Feizhuo’s heart inexplicably soft.

He lowered his head and kissed the corner of Z’s lips.

Z’s eyelashes fluttered like a butterfly’s wings.

“Can you go to Scotland Yard today?” He asked without even opening his eyes. “I would like to call everyone to discuss the future of the secret trading house.”

“…Is it necessary to discuss business matters early in the morning?” Duan Feizhuo was helpless.

“Then let’s talk about private matters?” Z opened one eye, “Before I go to work, I want to…”

“No, you don’t want to!” Duan Feizhuo jumped out of bed and quickly got dressed, “I’m going to the poorhouse first today. Have you forgotten about Simon? He bought a lot of gifts for his little friends, I promise the colonel to send his presents to those little friends.”

“This matter can be done tomorrow.” Z sat up, and the quilt slipped off his body, revealing his muscular and scarred body. The sunlight shone on his mechanical prosthesis, reflecting dazzling golden light.

Duan Feizhuo glared at him: “He is a poor orphan. Please show kindness.”

Z propped up his body with one hand, and asked lazily, “Do you want me to go with you?”

“…Aren’t you working?”

After a simple wash, Duan Feizhuo put on a decent coat, and found a bag full of Simon’s gifts from the suitcase.

Holding the bag, he suddenly felt sad. Simon cared so much for his fellow orphans at the workhouse, and bought them many presents, but he could never go back. He remained forever at the ends of the world, a victim of political struggle and intrigue.

He ate breakfast in the dining-room downstairs (the cook had fallen back to normal), called a carriage and drove straight to Rosefield Workhouse.

Almost all of Duan Feizhuo’s impressions of the workhouse came from Dickens’ novels. Dickens described the workhouse as more terrifying than the prison. The great writer firmly believed that the inmates in prisons committed crimes, and that the only crime committed by “inmates” in workhouses was poverty.

But Rosefield Workhouse was quite different from Dickens’ description. It is more like a school than an almshouse. The school building made of red bricks is not only beautiful, but at least it is magnificent and bright. The grass and trees in the garden are neatly trimmed, and a group of children are playing under the trees.

Duan Feizhuo explained his purpose to the gatekeeper of the workhouse. The porter led him to the dean’s office.

The Abbot was an elderly woman, about the age of Lady Perilla. He has an amiable face and speaks softly.

Hearing of Simon’s death, the dean was devastated.

“The kid came to our workhouse when he was very young,” she said. “I watched him grow up. The kid was special, and he was very fond of animals. He always said that he would be an animal trainer or something.” Yes. Later, he was selected and taken away by His Excellency Carter. Everyone was very happy for him, thinking that he was going to make a fortune, but I didn’t expect…”

“I heard that Lord Carter is the patron of this workhouse?”

“It should be said that the Council for the Advancement of Science is the patron, and His Excellency Carter is just their representative. They donate a large amount of money every year, and they also select smart and outstanding orphans to work on the committee, or sponsor them to study in better schools. Simon is one of them.”

The dean became more and more sad. Duan Feizhuo wept with her for a while. After she calmed down, she said: “I think we should not tell the children about Simon’s death. They have lost their parents and family. If they lose their friends, I’m afraid they will go crazy with grief…”

Duan Feizhuo nodded in agreement. Simon marked the recipient’s name on each gift, and Duan Feizhuo took out the list and asked the dean to call the children on the list.

The dean went out for a while, and when he came back, he brought seven or eight children, including boys and girls, the oldest was eleven or twelve years old, and the youngest was only four or five years old. They are neatly dressed and look like ordinary children, not like the abused little pity in Dickens’ novel.

“This gentleman is a friend of Simon,” the dean introduced. “He was entrusted by Simon to bring gifts to everyone.”

The children were called to the dean’s office during playtime. The boss was not happy at first, but when they heard that there were gifts to take, they turned their worries into joy.

And the gift was from their favorite brother Simon! Simon is the best of them, and he was chosen by His Excellency Carter to be his assistant. All of them regard Simon as their pride and role model! After Simon left, there was no news. They all thought he forgot his friends in the workhouse, but he didn’t! He also brought presents! He is so nice!

Duan Feizhuo called out the names on the list one by one, and every time a child stepped forward, he took out the corresponding gift from the bag. He felt like a Santa Claus. But if the price of Santa’s gift for you was to take your best friend’s life, I’m afraid the children of the world wouldn’t enjoy Christmas that much.

After distributing the gifts, the dean said to the children: “You should thank this gentleman.”

The children said in untidy but loud voices: “Thank you sir!”

“Let’s all go play.”

Holding gifts, they swarmed out happily.

Duan Feizhuo couldn’t laugh anymore.

He found that more than half of those children were wearing necklaces or rings or other accessories. Without exception, these ornaments radiate the light of mystic items.

Duan Feizhuo walked to the window and looked at the children playing in the garden. Those children who got Simon’s gifts were gathering under the tree, talking and laughing, checking each other’s gifts, and comparing whose gifts were fresher and more interesting.

“My doll is the best. Have you ever seen such a beautiful doll?”

“It’s something for children to play with, adults don’t want to play with it! Adults read books!”

“If you read too much, you will become a nerd! My toy soldiers are the best!”

“Simon is so kind, you still remember to bring us a gift. When we grow up, can we serve the committee like Simon?”

“The committee has always only selected people with the most talent for esoteric arts. Well, you probably don’t have a chance!”

“Nonsense! My secret technique is obviously very strong!”

“Shh! Don’t mention those two words! If we let others know that we know secret arts, the night police will come and arrest us!”

The principal upstairs couldn’t hear the children’s conversation, but Duan Feizhu could hear it clearly.

If he’s not mistaken, those children are all descendants of mystic families. The reason why Simon made friends with them was precisely because they were also mystics.

How many mystics are there in total in London? How many mystics are there in England? How much of the ancient line of mystics remains? There are so many orphans from mystic families in this workhouse alone. Could it be that all the eggs in the world will automatically go into one basket?

These children were stuffed into the same workhouse, and when they grew up, the Committee for the Advancement of Science selected some of the most gifted to serve for it.

I always feel…not a coincidence.

A terrifying guess appeared in Duan Feizhu’s mind, and he couldn’t get rid of it no matter what.

Is it really a simple accident that these children lost their families? Could it be that someone intentionally made them orphans and adopted them in this workhouse, and when they grew up, they selected good seedlings for their own use?

It’s like… To put it nicely, it’s raising dead soldiers. To put it bluntly, they are raising livestock.

But he needs evidence.

Asking those children directly probably won’t find any evidence. Firstly, I was too young to ask why. Second, they don’t necessarily have to open up to outsiders.

But Duan Feizhuo didn’t need a confession. He can read memories directly from objects.

As long as there is one piece of evidence, he can know the cause and effect of the matter. Much more efficient than interrogation.

scotland yard. Abnormal Case Investigation Section.

Mr. R stood by the window smoking a cigarette. Today is a fine day, a cigarette before the start of work is better than a living god!

He was puffing and puffing happily, when suddenly a hand stretched out in front of him, pulled out the smoke from his mouth, and crushed it on the window sill.

Mr. R stared at his superior in shock: “Boss, didn’t you say that the rules have changed and you can smoke now?”

Z said as if nothing had happened, “The rules have changed again.”

“Boss, you can’t change the order overnight!”

Z ignored his complaints and looked around at everyone in the office: Miss Acheson who was typing, Xenophon who was reading the newspaper, Ms. Q who was stroking the cat in the air, and Yeats who was writing something in a hurry, but it was definitely not an official document.

“There is something to discuss with everyone,” he said, “about the future of the secret trading house. You know, the owner of the trading house has been knighted…”

Xenophon happily interrupted him: “It’s in the newspaper! ‘Mr. Leopold Chester, born in Aberdeen, knighted’!” He waved the newspaper and rattled it.

Z frowned and continued, “Her Majesty also pardoned him for all his crimes, so we can no longer