[Zhongying] Rebirth meets a wizard

When the carriage stopped in front of Mrs. Jones's house, Lydia poked her head out of the carriage and saw Mr. Alan Jones standing beside the carriage, reaching out to help her get off the carriage.

Mrs. Smith, who got out of the carriage first, stood aside and gave Lydia a helpless look. This was obviously not Mrs. Smith's intention, and it was very likely that Mr. Jones Jr. took the seat without saying hello.

Lydia had no choice but to hold Mr. Jones' hand with a grateful smile, and lightly got out of the carriage.

"I'm flattered to have bothered Mr. Jones to meet me in person."

Lydia greeted Mrs. Jones' eldest son in front of her.

"It's my honor to be here to welcome Miss Lydia. Just call me Allen. Otherwise, there are two Mr. Jones in the room. What will happen then?"

Mr. Jones stood beside Lydia in a gentlemanly manner, smiling gently.

"Well, good afternoon, Ellen. Please call me Lydia, too."

Lydia and Mrs. Smith looked at each other secretly, and continued to smile.

"Lydia, please come inside, mother misses you very much."

Mr. Alan Jones smiled with satisfaction, and made a gesture of please.

...............................

There were not many people in the drawing room of Mrs. Jones's house, except for Lydia, only the Jones family.

As Alan Jones said, there were two Mr. Jones in the room, his father and brother.

Seeing Lydia coming, Mrs. Jones enthusiastically stood up and took a few steps to meet her.

"Lydia, since you're here, I told you it's almost time for you to arrive too."

He stepped forward to hold Lydia's hand, and told the living room maid beside him.

"Quickly serve tea and refreshments again."

"Yes, ma'am."

The maid hurried away.

And Mrs. Jones led Lydia to the sofa.

"I knew you were coming today, so I didn't let my family go out. We've known each other for several years, and we haven't had a chance for you to get to know these Mr. Jones well."

"It's my pleasure."

Under Mrs. Jones's never-before-seen enthusiasm, Lydia was a little speechless, but quickly reacted.

"Mr. Jones, Mr. Jones, hello. Of course, there is still the beautiful Mrs. Jones. It's nice to see you."

"Miss Lydia, hello."

Mr. Jones did not speak much, and appeared serious and steady. He was not as good at dancing as Mrs. Jones, and seemed a bit introverted.

"Miss Lydia, hello. Mr. Jones's serious title doesn't suit me. You can call me William. We are about the same age, aren't we?"

The youngest, Mr. Jones, was still a teenager. He greeted him with a smile and waved his hands lively.

"William, and Mr. Jones, you can all call me Lydia."

Lydia has a bad feeling. Such a warm family reception and investigation of her is... not what she thought...

"Lydia, you are such a honey, drinking tea, I don't know if it suits your taste."

Mrs. Jones smiled and looked at Lydia with a satisfied look.

"Who doesn't know that the capable Mr. Jones always finds the best things for you, Madam, how could I be dissatisfied."

Lydia continued to smile and compliment, but Lydia felt that her face was about to freeze. She was suffering, even if her life was not in danger.

After taking her own cup of tea, Lydia took a sip, and asked about the purpose of today's trip without tasting anything.

"I don't know why Madam invited me here today?"

Regarding Lydia's question, the speaker was Mrs. Jones, and the three Mr. Jones were smiling companions.

"Actually, it is really important to invite you here today. My husband, Mr. Jones, as you may know, is a sailor and has his own fleet."

Listening to Mrs. Jones' eloquence, Lydia nodded with a cooperative smile.

"The destinations of our family's fleet usually don't go too far, because the sea is too unpredictable, and we usually don't take risks on unfamiliar routes. But my husband has always had the idea of ​​going to the east, oriental porcelain, Tea bricks, as well as the silk that you will like, are all things that attract us. Now, we plan to find someone to join a voyage. We will ship, and you will provide goods or money. When you go to the East, you can barter or buy directly with money. Or, in exchange for enough goods to return. Benefits or goods are divided according to the investment before the voyage, and the return is directly owned by the individual.”

Mrs Jones watched Lydia's reaction as she spoke.

Lydia remained calm, still smiling gently, and seemed to be listening seriously.

"Others may not know it, but I know it. Now in our British Empire, when it comes to cloth and clothing, almost no one can compare with you. It turned out that there was Mrs. Bell, but she also went, his son And no talent. Now it's all yours."

Mrs. Jones suddenly changed her words and began to praise Lydia.

"You're welcome, ma'am."

Lydia shook her head modestly.

"You are too humble and low-key, otherwise people who want to know you will definitely crowd your house."

Mrs. Jones went on to compliment Lydia with great enthusiasm.

"That's why we thought of you first. You can eat the silk item by yourself. I don't know if you are interested."

Hearing Mrs. Jones's suggestion, Lydia didn't answer right away, she held her teacup and thought for a while.

"I don't know who the leader of this voyage is?"

"Of course it is my husband. He has rich sailing experience, and he will also hire sailors who have been to the East. You can rest assured in terms of preparations and sailing experience."

Seeing that Lydia had a problem, Mrs. Jones was very happy.

"If I take down the silk part, is another partner already selected?"

Lydia was a little moved, but she still steadied herself. High returns meant high risks, so she couldn't be too impulsive.

"In fact, the final candidates have not yet been decided. Our family can manage the miscellaneous items by ourselves. We plan to find Taylor and Wilson who are more involved in porcelain and tea bricks. They are old friends of our family. But these are just preliminary intentions. It hasn’t really been negotiated yet.”

Mrs. Jones is very sincere, so she is very frank about her plans.

For Mrs. Jones' sincerity, Lydia also reciprocated.

"I think I'm very interested in this voyage now, but I'm afraid the details need to be well communicated. After all, it requires the cooperation of multiple people. I don't think the division of interests should be rushed. But Mrs. Jones, you have to count me in!"

"Of course, of course! The important thing is to have intentions, and everything else can be discussed."

Mrs. Jones is already very satisfied with Lydia's statement today.

"Madam thought of me first when she had such a good project. I was really touched. If Madam is free in a few days, let's go shopping on Bond Street. I heard that there are a lot of new things there recently."

Lydia directly invited Mrs. Jones to go shopping. This is the most direct way to express intimacy, and it is more useful than talking.

Sure enough, Mrs. Jones was very happy.

"Okay, let's make an appointment, and you won't regret it when the time comes. With you by my side, Mrs. Henry will show her housekeeping skills, and then I will take advantage of you."

"My mother said she wanted Lydia to know us, but she ended up occupying us by herself. It's really inconsistent, very stingy."

Seeing that the situation was going well, Mrs. Jones' youngest son interrupted at the right time, explaining that the time for talking about business was over, and now it was time for private chats.

"Brother is right, we didn't say anything other than saying hello to Lydia, and I don't know if Lydia thinks we don't welcome her."

Alan Jones followed his younger brother's lead and spoke beautifully.

"I was the one who interrupted your family time, and Mrs. Jones couldn't have been nicer to me."

Lydia is also sweet-mouthed, coaxing the Jones family to be very happy.

"It's my fault. I'm pulling you to talk about boring business. You young people, talk about what you are interested in, and ignore me and old Jones."

Mrs. Jones took the opportunity to hand over the topic to her sons, but Lydia only felt that the weird feeling before was coming again.

After chatting for a while with the two young Mr. Jones about the latest opera and the hottest soprano in London, Lydia was already tired, and what she had read in the newspapers had already been said, and it seemed that it was not enough.

"Miss Lydia, you have an appointment with your sister for dinner, the time..."

Mrs. Smith, who rescued Lydia from the fire and water, spoke, with a good timing and a good excuse.

"Ah! We had such a good chat that I forgot. I'm sorry, but I'm afraid I have to say goodbye."

Lydia cheered in her heart, but said goodbye to the Jones family regretfully on the face.

It was the eldest son of the Jones family, Alan Jones, who sent Lydia away. He helped Lydia into the carriage, watched Mrs. Smith also get into the carriage, and went home.

…………Inside the carriage…………

"Dear Lydia, this Mr. Jones has gone, how are you doing, facing such a warm afternoon tea reception?"

Mrs. Smith joked that after sitting down, Lydia leaned against the wall of the carriage and acted like she was exhausted.

"I'm not well. I think this trip has made me guess why Mrs. Jones asked Sherlock to investigate me. How about you, Mrs. Smith."

Lydia sat up slightly, still in a lazy posture.

"It's obvious, isn't it? It seems that you are his family's favorite candidate for the eldest daughter-in-law. This is no afternoon tea, it's simply a blind date."

Mrs. Smith solved the mystery directly.

"It would be great if she came to me just for sailing investment. Now I feel that public and private affairs are mixed together, and it's messy."

Lydia complained that she thought Mrs. Jones's eyes on her daughter-in-law were scarier than her malicious eyes.

…………… 221b Baker Street…………

"So you went to Mrs. Jones' tea in spite of my letter?"

These are the first words Sherlock sees Lydia.