Chapter 303: The music and singing return to the courtyard, the lights are on the balcony

Chapter 303: The music and singing return to the courtyard, the lights are on the balcony

Chapter 303: The music and singing return to the courtyard, the lights are on the balcony

"Move in, move in. This place needs to be renovated according to the design of the garden expert we brought with us. We need to divert water to build a pond and rockery. We also need to plant a row of willow trees in the back."

Soho Square, Soho, London.

A Spanish restaurant that had just closed was bought, and Jiang Chunlin was directing people to start a large-scale construction to renovate the original restaurant.

Madam Huang Wanjun had notices posted and began preparing to interview British beauties who were willing to work in the entertainment industry.

She would personally interview and train qualified foreign girls to become sought-after courtesans. In modern terms, she was an agent and boss who specialized in promoting celebrities.

This place is going to be transformed into an upscale courtyard with oriental style, attracting London's dignitaries and wealthy business owners with its oriental mystery and culture. The goal is to turn it into a noble salon and business club, not a low-end place selling meat.

Jiang Chunlin, the second-in-command of the secret service under Shao Quanzhong, took London as his first stop in Europe. His espionage activities began with a stab in the back of the British big brother.

His subordinates were ordered to buy willow trees. They could not grow them from seedlings as that would take too long, so they just dug them up with the roots and made finished products. The Huai Army Intelligence Department was never short of money.

There is an old Chinese saying: Don't plant mulberry trees in front and don't plant willow trees behind. It depends on where you are.

"I have heard the sound of the flute, but I have never seen the beauty of spring."

Willow trees have always been a good prop for farewell by writers and poets.

In ancient times, there were no mass-produced pig bristle toothbrushes. People would break off a willow branch and give it to friends who were traveling far away, reminding them not to forget to brush their teeth when they were away. It was quite elegant.

Where are the most mobile customers, who often come and go, and need a lot of willow branches? Brothels.

Therefore, ordinary people do not plant willow trees behind their houses to prevent being misunderstood as secret prostitutes. The more willow trees in high-end clubs and salons, the better. Willow banks and the morning breeze and the waning moon have always been sought after by literati.

The richer they are, the more they are willing to pursue elegance. The Chinese entertainment culture, which is more elegant than Europe, will definitely be pursued by the British big brother - the premise is that the Qing Dynasty has become a great power and is no longer a barbaric tribe in the eyes of the British.

The landscape screens, wooden railings and even Taihu stones that were being carried into the courtyard in large quantities were all finished products brought from the south of the Yangtze River.

The British may be vulgar, but they don't admit that they are nouveau riche. They think they are gentlemen. So wearing gold and silver is not cool. What is cool is "singing and playing in the courtyard, and lights on the balcony."

Grasping fashion and leading fashion, even in the UK, Jiang Chunlin and Huang Wanjun are top professionals.

At the Thames River dock, a large number of Nanyang Navy warships were docked and countless goods were being lifted out of the bottom warehouse, including decoration materials being carried to Soho Square, London's traditional red-light district.

Most of the goods were not brought from the Qing Dynasty, but were looted along the way and were directly carried into the warehouse rented by the Wen Chamber of Commerce next to the dock.

A dozen young men of the Wen family, along with fifty or sixty loyal associates, came by boat. They were going to set up a trading post of the Wen Chamber of Commerce and a branch of the Wen Bank in London, and then gradually expand the business to major cities in Europe.

The first business of Wen's Trading Company was to sell the stolen goods that Shao Quanzhong had robbed along the way.

The cargo was worth about 10 million ounces of silver and came from Equatorial Guinea, Las Palmas, Cadiz, Ceuta and Valencia.

If you don't sell it locally at a loss, it will probably have to be sold in batches over several years.

Well, this is common in London, the old imperialists started out as pirates.

Over the past few centuries, there have been countless pirates who went out to rob with letters of marque issued by the king and then returned to London to sell the stolen goods.

When the South China Sea Fleet first arrived in London, it was blocked and anchored in the sea east of the Isle of Sheppey at the mouth of the Thames, and only the flagship was allowed to dock.

It was not because the British were afraid of the Nanyang Navy, but because they had to make room for the British fleet when they were going to hold a naval review.

Now that the naval review is over, the ships take turns to unload cargo.

The person who organized the unloading was Zeng Xiaoyi. In addition to serving as captain, he was also responsible for logistics and foreign affairs in the Nanyang Navy. He was a very busy man and had no time to visit his Prussian girlfriend.

…………

At Buckingham Palace, Rong Hui, led by the palace butler, finally moved into the VIP room with Shao Quanzhong, along with her two children.

Tomorrow is the day when Shao Quanzhong will receive the title and honor. It is Shao Quanzhong's highlight moment. It is better for Rong Hui, the legitimate wife, to be present. The next day, Shao Quanzhong took the British royal carriage to the Windsor Castle in the suburbs to receive the title from the Queen.

This time, Rong Hui held Ji Zeng and sat in the front row side by side with Shao Quanzhong, while Ping'er and Maria sat in the back row.

Ji Ming and Ji Si were taken care of by servants and sat in the carriage at the back.

In front was the British Royal Guards wearing bearskin hats and bright red lobster uniforms leading the way, followed by Shao Quanzhong's guard platoon.

This was not the first time Rong Hui had ridden in this carriage, nor was it the first time she had been to Windsor Palace. She had been invited by the Queen to meet the Queen's daughter-in-law, Princess Alexandra of Denmark, and mainly to meet Princess Louise, the daughter of Prince Edward who had just been born.

Ping'er was very nervous when she first met Ronghui. She bowed to Ronghui politely and offered her tea. Princess Maria next to her also followed suit.

Unexpectedly, Ronghui held the hands of her two younger sisters without any shyness, and did not pay attention to the etiquette of serving tea. They chatted casually about the major and minor events of Qing Dynasty, Spain and Britain. The atmosphere was relaxed and lively, which was completely different from the strict and proper Wenxiu.

Ping'er has been trying to figure out Shao Quanzhong's hobbies, trying to please him and pretend to be what Shao Quanzhong likes, but she didn't produce any results.

Shao Quanzhong was eclectic and seemed to have no special requirements for women. His harem included traditional ladies from Jinshi families, foreign students like Rong Hui, foreign girls, and female bearded men like Hu Liuniang.

This put Ping'er in a dilemma. Shao Quanzhong accepted all kinds of girls, and the only common thing among the concubines in his harem was that they were beautiful. Speaking of beauty, I was undoubtedly ranked number one. This was good news for me.

…………

Windsor Palace, St George's Chapel, Inner Hall.

Even the Prime Minister was not allowed in here, this was the absolute domain of the royal family. All the British people who watched the ceremony were members of the royal family, and on Shao Quanzhong's side, only Rong Hui and his two concubines were allowed to enter the hall with their three children to watch the ceremony.

"My queen has decided to grant you the status of an earl in addition to the title of nobility. This will be a lifelong honor and obligation."

Shao Quanzhong knelt on one knee with his hands clasped together.

Queen Victoria held the royal rapier, which she never wore in normal times, and placed the tip of the sword on Shao Quanzhong's shoulder, and officially conferred the title of Earl of Jersey on Shao Quanzhong.

Then the Queen's personal secretary, the Queen's fourth daughter, Princess Louise, read the Earl's oath of allegiance to the Queen to Shao Quanzhong. Rong Hui translated it on the spot, and Shao Quanzhong repeated it in Chinese.

"I swear by Almighty God, so help me, that I will bear faithful allegiance to Her Majesty Queen Victoria, her Heir and Successor."

It is not known whether the Emperor of Heaven will bless Shao Quanzhong, but he probably would not accept the oath of Shao Quanzhong, a faithless man.

Shao Quanzhong didn't intend to break his oath. He was going to St. Petersburg to go through the process again.

Loyalty to the royal family and loyalty to the country are two different concepts. Even if I lead people to subdue the British big brother in the future, there will be no problem in maintaining friendly relations with the royal family.

After all, old lady Victoria is so old, and she gave him an island as his private territory, so kneeling on one knee is nothing.

Of course, the Jersey Island that was granted this time is a real private territory. Shao Quanzhong would not dare to take the island granted by the UK back and incorporate it into the Qing Dynasty, unless he didn't want to do it anymore and broke with the British big brother.

Next, Queen Victoria awarded Shao Quanzhong the Victoria Cross in recognition of his fighting for the British Empire against the Russians, charging at the forefront and being a good fighter.

After Shao Quanzhong was awarded the title and honored, he stood up and the royal family members, led by the Prince of Wales, applauded. They thought that was the end of it.

The Queen also looked like she had finished her job. She affectionately teased her stepson in Rong Hui's arms, and asked her daughter-in-law to bring her granddaughter, the little princess also named Louise.

"Lord Shao, I want to marry my granddaughter to the Shao family and marry her to your son Shao Jizeng. Do you agree?"

The Queen could ask this question in public, so the secretary must have communicated with Shao Quanzhong and his wife in advance. Shao Quanzhong bowed and said, "Thank you, Your Majesty, for your grace."

"Okay, from now on we are relatives by marriage. You are welcome to join the Windsor royal family and become a member of the royal family. Now I declare that I will award you the Order of the Garter."

The people present were not aware of the Queen's decision in advance. Shao Quanzhong didn't care. He already had several medals, so one more didn't seem to matter.

The Prince of Wales and other members of the royal family took a breath together, and looked at Shao Quanzhong with very different eyes.

(End of this chapter)