I am aging gracefully in the world of famous books

Pei Xiang and Aldrich walked side by side on the winding mountain road, occasionally discussing the beautiful scenery of Lu Yu and the recent news comments in the newspaper.

Aldrich, who has never been very talkative, seemed to be very talkative today, talking about a lot of inside information behind the news comments.

When approaching the top of the hill, Lester Sissel, who was walking in front, deliberately slowed down his pace. After Pei Xiang and the two approached, he asked loudly:

"Miss Marianne, what were you and Miss Dashwood discussing when you just walked over? May I listen? You seem to be very excited, and the tone of the discussion is also very intense. I am very curious. Of course, if Ladies' private topic, just pretend I didn't ask."

Pei Xiang smiled and said, "You can ask Elinor, Mr. Sissel, why did you stop and ask me?"

"Because Miss Dashwood, like Aldrich, has the virtue of being cautious and refraining from speaking. These two people are petty and well-behaved when they speak. Even if they answer questions, they always I will omit some of the most controversial details. To be honest, Miss Marianne, it is more pleasant and interesting for the two of us to talk."

"Mr. Sissel, it sounds like you are not complimenting me, but praising my sister and Colonel Deville in disguise. But... since you have spared yourself, then I will not care about you. "

Lester laughed, and urged Pei Xiang to talk about what the two sisters were arguing about just now.

Pei Xiang organized his words, and then said in a leisurely manner under Leicester's expectant eyes:

"I was just asking Elinor, if a gentleman loves a lady, and the conditions of the two are equal, and there is no real resistance such as family objection, lack of property, etc., and the lady does not show obvious disgust, then, how about What reason is there to prevent this gentleman from pursuing his sweetheart with all his heart?"

"Oh, of course there is no reason," Lester replied quickly. "It is almost impossible for such a situation to happen."

Pei Xiang turned to ask Aldrich beside him, the young colonel hesitated for a moment, and said after deliberation:

"It should be that he doesn't like it enough, or he is hesitant about the future, and he is not ready to take on the responsibility of marriage."

Lester immediately retorted: "How is this possible? Aldridge, Miss Marianne used the word 'admiration', not just because she had a good impression. Once gentlemen fall into such a strong emotion of admiration, the friendship is like a prairie fire. The flames cannot be stopped. What's more, there are no insurmountable obstacles on the road to pursuit."

"Anything?" Aldridge shook his head, "Miss Marianne just mentioned two factors, family and economy. Admittedly, this is indeed a very important aspect, but you have ignored the situation of the gentleman himself. Maybe , Is he in poor health? Or does he have a hidden and fatal flaw? Or..."

Having said that, Aldrich Deville suddenly paused, he hesitated a little about his guess.

Pei Xiang glanced at Aldrich with a smile, and then analyzed:

"Or, this gentleman is not tempted for the first time. He may have promised another lady a marriage contract. Of course, this must be secret. For various reasons, the gentleman fell in love with that lady, and turned to another lady. In a new love affair."

Lester's eyes widened in surprise: "You mean, a gentleman who has a secret engagement, he has a new love object?"

Elinor quickly spoke up: "This is just Marian's random guess, and she and I were arguing about this issue just now. Because I think a gentleman, um, a well-educated and decent gentleman, cannot do such a thing. I agree with Colonel de Vere's initial statement that the gentleman was inferior or hesitant for some personal reasons."

Pei Xiang smiled slightly, instead of insisting on his conjecture, he continued to ask new questions:

"Then I will make another hypothesis. Of course, this is just a rational discussion. If a gentleman or a lady has a marriage contract but has not been married due to various reasons, during this period, he uses his affection I am not dedicated, I have changed my mind, not only have a new love object, but also feel regretful and depressed about the marriage contract."

"Oh, that's such an unfortunate thing." Lester sighed.

Pei Xiang continued: "Yes, it's very unfortunate. This unfortunate person knows very well that such a change of heart is immoral and should be condemned and despised. Therefore, he suppressed his true emotions and stuck to his previous marriage contract , how should this behavior be evaluated?"

This time it was still Leicester who gave the answer immediately:

"Miss Marianne, I think this is a very responsible approach, but anyone who is still sensible should be responsible for his own promises, and can't do everything according to his own will."

"Mr. Sissel means that this person should pretend that nothing happened, um, it's that kind of psychology... It's your own business to love and be moved, as long as you don't say anything or take any further actions. Wait until reason prevails." After losing the relationship, return to the partner again. Because of the sense of responsibility and morality, even if he or she has another person in his heart, even if he or she finds it difficult to love his or her partner, he or she must uphold a spirit of sacrifice , keep your promise."

Lester touched his chin, and muttered, "Why does it feel weird to hear you describe it like this?"

Aldridge said softly: "Since there is no love anymore, we must confess as soon as possible. As for the result, it should be left to the other party to decide."

"How can you confess everything?" Lester yelled disapprovingly, "Aldridge, this is too cruel. Ladies are so fragile and gentle, they could have happily prepared for the wedding, but suddenly Knowing, knowing that my fiancé has changed his mind, hey, isn’t this just adding trouble? After telling the truth, it will be of no benefit to others or yourself.”

Pei Xiang raised his eyebrows: "Mr. Sissel, you are automatically bringing a person who has changed his mind into the gentleman's side. What if we think about it from another angle? On the premise that the marriage contract can be dissolved peacefully, a gentleman is willing to marry a person who has another heart in his heart." Is there a lady who belongs to you? Will he feel that the other party's concealment is a kind of fulfillment and sacrifice? Forgive me, Mr. Sissel, if you are the one who is being concealed, will you be grateful for the other party's keeping the promise?"

Lester opened his mouth, momentarily speechless.

He conceived a little according to Pei Xiang's assumption, and immediately felt aggrieved and disgusted in his heart.Lester knew he wouldn't be grateful for the opportunity to have a wife who loved him...

Elinor pointed out the inadequacy of this assumption very calmly.

"Marian, when you make this assumption, you should treat ladies and gentlemen differently. You should not ignore some realities, that is, ladies are always in a relatively weak position. If the person who changes his mind is a gentleman, he chooses It is actually a kind of kindness for some women who are in a bad situation to endure silently and insist on fulfilling their promises. Otherwise, the abandoned woman is very likely to encounter something more tragic than a loveless marriage. Of course, if the role identity If it is changed, gentlemen may feel wronged, because they are more powerful and have more rights to choose, so they will not think that some concealment is for their own good."

Pei Xiang naturally knew that Elinor's words were calm and objective, so he nodded with a smile.

At this time, she didn't have to argue who was right and who was wrong, but she just wanted to take the opportunity of a walk and chat to broaden Elinor's thinking.

As for meeting these two gentlemen and having them participate in the discussion, it was purely coincidental.

So, she still didn't say much, but raised a third discussion topic.

"Then let's analyze the third person involved in this hypothesis, who is loved by that gentleman... Well, in view of the difference in social status between men and women, I choose to narrow down the scope of my hypothesis for the time being, and take this matter into consideration. Its central character is set as an unfortunate gentleman."

As they spoke, the four of them had already reached the top of the small hill, and after a slow circle, they returned back the same way tacitly.

"What is the situation in this hypothetical event of the lady who is newly in love with the gentleman?"

Lester said quickly: "Of course she is innocent, she doesn't know anything."

Pei Xiang shook his head and said doubtfully:

"Does she really know nothing? If she is an intelligent and sensitive lady, is it true that she cannot feel the passionate affection of a gentleman? Well, suppose that gentleman is not so successful at suppressing his inner feelings." , he more or less showed a little bit of inseparable affection, then, will the admired lady be tempted by this friendship?

"Attention, she doesn't know that this gentleman already has a fiancée, she only thinks he is a suitor with good conditions. Moved.

"However, she waited and waited. During this period, she experienced all kinds of sweet and sour mental journeys. In the end, she found out that the other party had already been engaged. Then, isn't this lady who is admired and encouraged in disguise very wronged?"

Lester frowned and thought for a while, then suddenly said:

"Actually, Miss Marianne's assumption is not unfounded. Similar things have indeed happened in London, not just one or two. Because people are easy to promise on the spur of the moment, and then quickly I regret it, alas, it's a mess after all.

"But let me tell you, there is no way to do this. Feelings are like this, people's hearts are like this, and they have never been perfect. It depends on what position you are in. Relatives and friends are always willing to defend their side. "

Elinor was a little surprised by Lester's speech.Because she didn't expect that this warm and hearty gentleman would say such calm words.

Pei Xiang was not surprised.

She has been exchanging letters with Lester Sissel, so it is very clear that this person is actually quite realistic and sensible in some respects.

Aldridge, who hadn't spoken much, said:

"From the root cause, why did that gentleman get engaged and make a promise so easily? Since he has already put the person in his heart, why does he change his mind so easily? After changing his mind, he should make it clear, let the other party go free, and give enough compensation. "

Lester sighed: "Aldrich, you are too idealistic and too proud. We are all mortals, full of flaws. Who can avoid making mistakes? Who can avoid being tempted?"

Elinor nodded lightly: "Marian had the idea of ​​only talking about her relationship once in her life before, and I was always worried that she would be hit by reality. The world is changing, how can I meet the right person all of a sudden, We should learn to move forward with understanding and compromise."

Aldridge frowned, and then returned to indifference.He is not the kind of person who changes his opinion easily, nor does he like to persuade others, so he stopped talking.

Pei Xiang talked to Lester and Elinor again, and the four of them quickly returned to the bottom of the hillside.

At the fork in the road, Pei Xiang and Elinor were going to visit Pastor Peter, so they said goodbye to the two gentlemen.

Looking at the two graceful figures gradually going away, Lester poked Aldrich and smiled twice.

Aldridge moved half a step to the side expressionlessly.

Leicester leaned forward like candy, and whispered in a tone of "discovering your big secret":

"Hey, Aldridge, I noticed your little thoughts, you have a special crush on Miss Marianne."

Aldridge didn't deny it immediately, nor did he admit it immediately, he just touched the family crest pattern on the cane in silence.

Lester also felt that his friend and Miss Marianne had no long-term development possibility, so he just teased a few words, and then changed the topic.

"Aldrich, I always thought that you were the kind of extremely calm and rational person, and you didn't have many romantic fantasies when it comes to marriage and affection. When the time is right, you will start a family with a lady from a similar family background, and you will have a wonderful life. The next heir, and then spend a lifetime in peace and stability."

"What made you change your mind?"

"Of course it's your performance today," Lester raised his eyebrows and raised his voice slightly, "I found something from your words, Aldrich. I can't say whether it's good or bad, you, um, seem to be expecting a certain period of time. Very pure passion? Is that why you've been single so far?"

Aldrich didn't quite agree with Lester's statement, he thought for a moment before he said slowly:

"I didn't have any special expectations. However, I don't want to make some random decisions. At least, my marriage will never follow the arrangement of Earl Deville. I only want what I want, not what others need. "

Lester sighed: "Of course you have the confidence, I can't do it. To be honest, I really have no feelings for the arrogant lady of the Canaletto family, and she probably isn't satisfied with me either. But my father and Her father has the intention of getting married, so we have to compromise."

Aldrich suddenly asked: "If your marriage is settled, how will you arrange for that Lisa?"

Lester curled his lips and said lazily:

"Give me a sum of money, what else can I do? Before dating Lisa, I made it clear to her."

Having said that, Lester chuckled.

"Looking at it this way, I'm luckier than the unlucky gentleman who had changed his mind as Miss Marianne assumed. At least I don't have so much emotional involvement, and I'm thick-skinned enough."

Aldrich nodded in agreement: "You have always known how to treat yourself kindly."

Lester narrowed his eyes and said in a playful tone, "But Mr. Ferrars is suffering a lot."

Aldridge glanced at Lester with disapproval, and said coldly:

"Miss Marianne doesn't have any intention to accuse Mr. Ferrars. The topic of discussion she just raised is just based on some real problems that already exist, and there is no specific hint from beginning to end. You shouldn't misinterpret Marianne. Miss."

"Aldrich, you have changed."

"I just hope that you can be cautious in your words and deeds, and don't cause unnecessary trouble to a lady because of your arrogance and assumptions."

"Aldrich, you have really changed." Lester deliberately drew the tone.

The black-haired man calmly glanced at his friend who was pretending to be sad, and walked away.

On the other side, the two sisters who went to visit the priest's mansion were also talking about the previous topic.

Elinor asked with some hesitation: "Marian, do you really think that there is a possibility of Mr. Ferrars' secret engagement?"

"I have this guess, but there is no evidence at all. In order to prevent being charged with the crime of talking nonsense, I can only try to make some assumptions and analysis. Elinor, what I just said is based on some existing social problems Feeling it, Mr. Ferrars was not involved from the beginning to the end, so don't worry."

Elinor nodded: "It's true that you didn't name your name, but it's an insinuation. But... Fortunately, your wording is very cautious and objective, so that people can't catch any special clues. That's why I didn't stop you from saying Go down and join the discussion."

Pei Xiangyi raised his eyebrows: "As long as Mr. Ferrars behaves upright, who will charge him with an unwarranted charge? A hypothesis is just a hypothesis. It may be related to anyone, or it may never have happened."

The two walked quietly for a while, seeing the pastor's hall in front of them, Elinor spoke again:

"Marian, you also said that you have no evidence at all, so isn't your guess about Mr. Ferrars unfair? You know, after a secret engagement, you also have feelings for other unmarried women, and let the other party and It is very immoral for family members to misunderstand."

Pei Xiang straightened the ribbon on the hat, showing a faint smile.

"Eleanor, time will tell everything. Maybe you will be able to see a person clearly in a short time."

"I have nothing but friendship with Mr. Ferrars."

"Of course, I'm sure you're not tempted by him, but Fanny's calculations make me uncomfortable. And, you must confess, your growing sympathy and understanding for Mr. Ferrars, you I always feel that Mr. Ferrars is different from his family and deserves your special attention."

Elinor did not deny this.

After all, Mr. Ferrars is a young gentleman who admires himself. On the premise that he has no obvious defects, the emotional Elinor is always willing to give the other party more tolerance and respect.

Pei Xiang observed the change in Elinor's expression and shook his head secretly.

She thought, sympathy, respect, appreciation, like-mindedness plus the gratitude and joy of being admired, if some secrets are not revealed as soon as possible, the 19-year-old Elinor can easily fall in love.

Two days later, the group from Nolan Manor went to Hemerhe City to participate in the Garden Jockey Club.

After watching the fierce horse race, they each paid a shilling, and then entered the Baiwuhua Park near the racetrack.

In addition to lush flowers and trees and beautiful sculpture fountains, there is also a semi-circular luxury building in the park.

The first floor of the building is a spacious and bright public rest hall. Visitors can sit in the hall and watch the juggling and circus performances on the lawn outside, as well as the musical instrument performances in the hall. It is a lively and relaxing place.

There are painting exhibitions, sculpture exhibitions and a comfortable and quiet library on the second floor, and individual small rooms above the third floor, providing private resting spaces for unwell tourists.

As soon as he walked into this semi-circular building, Pei Xiang booked a small room from the waiter where he could rest quietly.

"Elinor, there is too much dust on the arena, and the noise is too loud. I have a headache. I plan to go to the small room to rest, so I won't stay downstairs with you."

"I'll go upstairs with you."

"No, you can go and play. I have a maid to take care of me, and there are so many guests today, Fanny can't do it by herself, so you have to help her."

Elinor hesitated for a moment. It was really inconvenient for her to go away. One of the two young ladies of the Dashwood family must stay.So, she could only reluctantly nod her head, and watched Pei Xiang go up the stairs with some worry.

After a while, a smiling Lester came over and asked:

"Miss Dashwood, where's Miss Marianne? Why didn't you see her?"

"Marian is a little tired, resting in the small lounge upstairs."

"That's it," Lester nodded, sat down beside Elinor, and called his friend Aldrich to accompany him to watch the performance on the lawn, "Miss Marianne missed these wonderful performances. pity."

Elinor smiled politely, talked softly about the horse race in the morning, and changed the subject of her sister.

Looking at the laughing and noisy crowd, Aldrich suddenly felt a little headache.

His hearing was already sharper than ordinary people, and there were too many children in the rest hall and on the lawn, and the children's characteristic sharp shouts kept coming and going, which was a slight torture for him.So, he also got up and left the rest hall on the first floor.

Aldrich did not go upstairs to rest in a quiet room, but chose to go around to the back of the building.The place is full of trees, and there are a few elderly gentlemen smoking and talking, and two or three homeless people who somehow sneaked in are squatting in the corner in a daze.

Aldrich stood alone for a while, and suddenly saw a somewhat familiar maid.

"Nancy, shouldn't you follow Miss Marianne?"

The maid named Nancy saluted Aldrich, and replied crisply:

"Colonel de Vere, Miss Marianne has ordered me to do her shopping, and I have to leave for a while."

"The lounge over there?"

"Before I left, Miss Marianne had already rested, and Miss Elinor was also notified."

Aldridge nodded, motioning for Nancy to do something.

He stood alone for a while and felt even more bored, so he turned and returned to the noisy rest hall.

Unexpectedly, he only left for a while, and a group of people with him found new fun.

"Lester, what are you doing?"

"Oh, Aldridge, are you back?"

Lester pointed excitedly at an old woman in black in the hall and said:

"This sorceress from the east is very interesting. She is proficient in the theory of fate, and she has already agreed on several things just now. It is really, really amazing."

Aldrich followed Lester's movements and watched carefully, and saw a wrinkled old woman sitting cross-legged on a table, holding some copper metal discs in her hands, chanting speaking some strange language.

"She can predict fate? Oriental magic?"

"Probably, anyway, just now Mrs. Murdoch didn't trust the old woman very much, so she taunted her a few words. I didn't expect this mysterious woman from the east to tell some of Mrs. Murdoch's past, and immediately made Murdoch Mrs. Ke was shocked. It is said that those past events have only been circulated in a small area, and they will never be known by such a strange foreign witch."

"So, the waiter here didn't let her leave as soon as possible?"

"Yes, yes, a mysterious oriental witch," said Lester, laughing, "has disturbed the elderly gentlemen and wives, and they suggested that the old lady should be let go, because she was very likely to be a Damn liar."

"But I can see that everyone is very excited."

"Of course, what an interesting new thing. Young people are clamoring for this Oriental witch to stay. Haha, plus Mrs. Murdoch - she seems to have some real skills, so, it becomes That's it now."

Aldridge raised his eyebrows slightly, found a seat not too far away and sat down.

At this time, someone pushed Elinor in front of the black-clothed witch, and asked the old lady to calculate it for Miss Dashwood.

The old lady carefully looked at Elinor's appearance, and then began to fiddle with the copper disc in her hand.

After a while of ups and downs of mysterious prayers, only a few "aggressive" sounds were heard, and those small thin copper pieces stood on the clean table. This scene immediately caused a burst of exclamation.

The old lady closed her eyes for a moment, then opened her eyes suddenly.

"This lady has just lost a male relative within the last year."

As soon as these words were said, the innocent little girl on the side showed an excited expression, she grabbed the sister beside her and whispered:

"Actually, Mr. Dashwood has not been dead for a year."

"Shh-"

The sorceress in black didn't seem to hear the discussion around her, she grinned and said slowly in a hoarse voice:

"Miss has a windfall recently, ah, I still have to bear the fatigue of moving, but after the fatigue, the new place will bring new fate, miss must take good care of it."

Elinor's eyes flickered, and she asked softly, "Can you see where I'm going to move?"

The woman in black fiddled with the metal disc a few more times, then closed her eyes and muttered for a while before answering Elinor's question:

"I saw... a bustling city, far away from the quiet countryside."

Hearing this answer, Elinor froze for a moment, then smiled gently, took out some change from her handbag and handed it to the fortune-teller.

The woman in black was not polite, and directly stuffed all the rewards that Elinor handed her into her arms, then looked at Elinor and said:

"Little girl, you are quick to pay, and I will tell you one more thing. Be careful of the deceitful love around you. Remember, don't lose your reason and prudence at any time."

The words were whispered, and no one else heard them except Elinor and Aldrich not far away.

Because Elinor had just been reminded by her sister, when she heard the witch's abrupt warning at this moment, she naturally thought of the preoccupied Mr. Edward Ferrars.

Inexplicably, she felt that certain guesses were more credible.

When the thoughtful Elinor left, some young ladies and wives who were eager to try came forward, wanting this magical oriental goddess to predict her fate.

Unexpectedly, the old woman in black rejected all the women present.

She said in a hoarse voice that predicting fate was so exhausting that she could only test four people a day.The lady and lady just used up two places, and now there are only two opportunities left.

Furthermore, Easterners pay attention to the balance of yin and yang, women are yin and men are yang, so the remaining two opportunities can only be reserved for the men present today.

Hearing this statement, the ladies sighed with regret.

However, it didn't take long before they began to look excitedly at the gentlemen present.Everyone wants to know who will get the remaining two chances today.

Some people even asked the old woman in black loudly, asking if she would come to this park to predict people's fate in the future.

Anyway, after a lot of joking and joking, somehow the way to choose the "lucky guy" became to ask the old woman to toss a coin with her eyes closed.

Whichever gentleman the coin falls on, has to be predicted by the oriental goddess.

Aldrich took a sip of tea irrelevantly.

Unexpectedly, Lester on the side used too much force, tripped while grabbing the coin, and accidentally threw the coin he was about to get to Aldrich's feet.

Thus, Aldrich Deville became one of the two "lucky ones".

And another "lucky guy" was Mr. Edward Ferrars sitting near Miss Elinor.