Lady of the Lord From the East

When Felix wrote to the kings and nobles, he did not forget to write to Count Adonis Aldrich, inviting him to visit Sardinson when the sweet potatoes were ripe.

Although Adonis left, his relationship with Dolores did not become estranged. On the contrary, for Dolores, an introverted little girl, relying on correspondence would make her feel more secure. , Without seeing each other, she would not be speechless because of shyness.

This kind of feeling is a bit like a house in the information age. They are socially afraid of real people, but they are extraordinarily open online.

Of course, with Dolores' character, the so-called openness without shyness is only a relative term.

And Adonis is also very active in writing letters to Dolores. There are pigeons to send letters. They send a small note almost every day. Every few days, a letter of more than three pages will be delivered by a servant. In the letter, I will tell Dolores how my territory and Aldridge County are like, introduce everything to her, including the castle, manor, town and my family, and then talk about what I have done recently. What, although most of them are trivial things in life, but I have to say that this has deepened Dolores' understanding of Adonis and made her more and more like this young and handsome count.

Sometimes Dolores can't help but bring these letters to Wei Wei. From the lines, it can be seen that he is serious about letting Dolores familiarize himself with his territory. Although he has not officially confessed and proposed marriage, But the intention of the call is very obvious.

Although Felix hadn't read the letter, he had heard about it from Wei Wei, and he became more and more satisfied with Adonis, so this time he wrote to Adonis, in addition to inviting him to come and see The harvest of sweet potatoes, talking about an accident, is also a hint to the other party, if you are interested, you can take advantage of this time to arrange a marriage proposal.

Adonis obviously understood Felix's suggestion, so he said in his reply that he would come as promised, and that he would bring his mother to Sardinson as a guest.

"If nothing else happens, there will be a wedding in our family." Felix took the letter to Wei Wei, with a smile on his lips, "Adonis is indeed a good son-in-law, although Lola married him, it would be very difficult for us to marry him. It's a little troublesome."

Adonis' sister has already been engaged to Prince Andrew, and even the wedding time has been determined. At this time, they chose to marry the Aldrich family, which is naturally equivalent to being on the king's side, which is a complete opposition to Romanov. Now, the duke, who is not very lenient, is likely to act against the Williams family, but the bandit group that appeared before is likely to be related to Duke Romanov. It can be seen that even without this relationship, they and Romanov Duke Love's relationship is obviously not going to get any better.

So even if there is another layer of relationship, it will not have much impact on Felix, otherwise he would not have hinted that Adonis invited Dolores to the banquet in the first place.

Of course, in addition to the battle between the king's lineage and the Duke of Romanov, the rivalry between the two princes is also not to be ignored. Although Prince Andrew is not a suitable heir, his body is healthier than that of Prince Edward. The chances of ascending are higher, and if it is an ambitious noble, they may prefer the next king to be a more manageable puppet.

Felix had taught the two princes for a while, and he knew that the relationship between Prince Edward and Prince Andrew was very close at that time, even when he took Wei Wei to the Queen's birthday party last time, the feelings between the two princes All look good.

But last year, when he went to the capital to visit the king alone, and when he saw the two princes again, Felix felt that Prince Edward was a lot colder to Prince Andrew than before, probably because the king had already started to choose a princess for Prince Andrew at that time. , And Crown Prince Edward and his Crown Princess have never had children, and the Crown Prince probably started to be anxious at that time.

Prince Edward's health is indeed not very good, and there have always been rumors among the nobles that he may not live long, but in fact, according to the court physicians, the crown prince's body is only weaker than ordinary people and is prone to illness, but as long as you take care of it carefully Note that there is still a lot of hope that he wants to live to the age of his father.

And Prince Edward himself is not a person who accepts fate. In fact, it can be seen from his active learning attitude that the crown prince is very confident that he can inherit the throne. He was a competitor.

But obviously this situation has changed now. The king is trying to increase the energy of Prince Andrew. Although he is only doing this to guard against Duke Romanov and protect his son, in the view of the crown prince, I am afraid that his father intends to give up his own. signal.

Because this time is too sensitive, when Prince Andrew got engaged, the relationship between Prince Edward and the Crown Princess became more and more rigid, and both parties had the intention of divorce, but the king did not agree for the time being due to various considerations. The plan of this matter, in the view of the crown prince, is probably not good news.

In short, because of the issue of the heir to the throne, the king's family is currently fighting with each other. If Felix agrees to the marriage of Dolores and Adonis, one careless will also bring the Williams family to the ground. Join in.

But after weighing the pros and cons, Felix still decided to accept the son-in-law of Adonis. The crown prince just didn't understand it for a while before he would be wrong with the king. If he was smart enough, he would soon understand that the king chose the young lady of the Aldrich family. Marrying Prince Andrew is actually for his own good, otherwise Prince Andrew would not have married Miss Aldrich, but should be a lady from one of the great nobles in the capital. Those people would stand behind Prince Andrew because of this. Help him **** the heir position.

Although the status of the Aldrich family is powerful enough, they have always kept a low profile. Even if their young lady married Prince Andrew, it did not mean that Adonis would stand by Prince Andrew to help him compete for the throne. Felix once Having tested what Adonis meant, he had the same idea as Felix, and he was not ready to join in.

Wei Wei read the letter again, and was satisfied that Adonis said she would bring her mother as a guest, but she was also a little worried, and asked Felix: "What kind of person is this Mrs. Aldrich? It will be difficult. Get along?"

Since ancient times, the relationship between mother-in-law and daughter-in-law has always been the key to family stability and peace. Although it is not very kind, Wei Wei is very fortunate that she does not have a mother-in-law, otherwise her life may not be as smooth as it is now. Be in charge of the house.

Since Felix intends to marry his sister to Adonis, he has naturally investigated the other party's family situation.

"She is a very capable lady. The last Earl of Aldridge was sick in bed all the year round. Their territory can remain calm and this lady is inseparable, and Adonis was able to take over the territory smoothly because she was behind her. for support."

This made Wei Wei even more worried: "It sounds like a very strong lady, I don't know if Dolores can get along well with her."

With Dolores' character, it is unlikely to conflict with the other party, but if the other party doesn't like Dolores, the relationship between mother-in-law and daughter-in-law may be a big problem.

Felix hugged his wife and comforted: "Don't worry, Dolores is an excellent lady, and Mrs. Aldridge will be satisfied with her."

Felix is ​​not a sister-in-law, but he feels that his sister was taught very well by Wei Wei, and there is no reason why others will not like it.

"Of course, if we really can't get along, we'll just have to change candidates."

Wei Wei sighed and didn't take Felix's words to heart. She could see that Dolores was really in love with Adonis now, and the relationship between the two sides was getting better and better. How could it be possible to change it? just change.

Dolores heard that Adonis was coming to Sardinson, and she was taking her mother with her. Naturally, she understood what the other party meant. This made her nervous. Of course, she was looking forward to seeing Adonis again. Nice, but at the same time Dolores couldn't help worrying that Adonis's mother would not like her, and the closer to the time Adonis said he would visit, the more worried she became. Every day she was distracted by clothes. It seems that Wei Wei tried to enlighten her, but the effect was obviously not ideal, so she had no choice but to give up and let her go.

What the situation is, we can only know when someone comes.

In August, Felix received letters from nobles one after another. In the letters, these people expressed that they were very satisfied with Felix's offer. They agreed to buy seeds at this price without negotiating at all, and said that they would buy seeds at the agreed time. Someone was sent to Sardinson to discuss the details, along with a bunch of gifts.

These people are also human beings. They know that Felix and Wei Wei have a good relationship. Most of the gifts they send are items used by female relatives. Perfume and cosmetics are from the Williams family, so no one sends them. , but sent a lot of jewelry and the most popular fabrics.

The most eye-catching gift among them was a purple brocade handkerchief with a pattern of butterflies wearing flowers.

Although it is just a handkerchief, this gift can be said to be more precious than gems. During this period, silk was very precious in Europe, and only a very small amount could be passed from Asia to Europe. Even the royal family did not have much. There is one that needs to be treasured as a decoration to show off, but there are almost no ones that will actually be used, let alone given away.

So this gift is a very generous one.

But the gift-giver is not so appreciative.

"It was sent by Duke Romanov." Felix frowned.

Although he suspected that Romanov had made a black hand on Sardinson, the fact was not investigated. Of course, Felix could not tear his face with the other party, so he also gave it to Duke Romanov when he gave gifts before. When the other party wrote to him, he didn't refuse. He just assumed that he didn't know those things and treated the other party as an ordinary transaction object.

But because of this, this gift seems too cautious.

Because Romanov not only sent this extremely precious butterfly-wearing flower brocade handkerchief, he also sent two sets of expensive jewelry and several pieces of the most popular patterned fabrics in the capital, and they were the ones with gold threads. Either one can cost a fortune.

Although other people sent these, but they only sent one or two pieces. The fabric was also in line with the trend but the price was relatively common. Even the king sent not as much as Romanov.

Because the gift the other party sent was too expensive, Felix frowned before he could read the letter, really not understanding what the other party meant.

Wei Wei didn't have much interest in that handkerchief. Silk was precious, but she had quite a few in her hands. For handkerchiefs, Wei Wei still likes cotton, which is more skin-friendly and absorbs sweat. This kind of silk is just a good-looking one. The kind used, really used, I am afraid that she will be said to be extravagant.

But she was also curious. It would be too unreasonable for the good-looking Duke Romanov to give such an expensive gift to buy seeds—these things are enough to buy all the corn directly, and obviously they It is impossible to sell him all the corn.

Or is it because of the bandits? But although they have begun to suspect Duke Romanov, they have no evidence in the end. During this period of time, there has been no other change on Duke Romanov's side. If so many precious gifts are specially given because of this, then why not? On the contrary, did he expose the fact that he was behind the black hands on Sardinson? The other party should not be so stupid.

"Look at what he said in the letter first, don't you know?"

Felix didn't really want to read this letter. He always felt that Duke Romanov couldn't be attentive. He must have some special intentions, so he prepared so many gifts.

He took out the letter from the envelope, opened it, and hurriedly read it, and quickly understood the purpose of these gifts.

Then he laughed angrily.

Seeing that his face was not good, Wei Wei immediately asked what was written in the letter.

Felix threw the letter on the table and sneered: "Duke Romanov wants to marry Dolores for his third son."

Wei Wei got angry when she heard it. She stood up abruptly, and scolded directly without regard for her manners: "Why does he have such a big face, does he really consider himself a king?!"

Duke Romanov is the king's cousin, ten years younger than the king, but he already has seven children, of which the eldest son and the second son are about the same age as Dolores, but they are either married or engaged! And the woman's identity is very high, so neither of these two could be the marriage objects that Duke Romanov thought of.

But the two remaining sons of Duke Romanov were both younger than Dolores, and several years younger. One was eleven years old and the other was seven years old. Of course, the most likely candidate among the two was Eleven-year-old third son.

But Dolores is 14 years old this year, and the other party is only an 11-year-old child. Although women in the West get married early, how can men not get married until they are 15 or 16 years old, so if they agree In this marriage, he will get the age when he can get married. At that time, Dolores will be almost twenty years old. At this time, she is an old girl in the eyes of others, but it is not that she cannot marry, unless they have a brain If something goes wrong, she will promise to find her a husband that small.

In particular, the other party is still the third son and has no right of inheritance. If the Duke of Romanov does not become the next king, the future of the third son may be a knight or a small nobleman. With Dolores' family background and her own conditions, If she fought hard, she could become a queen, okay?

Before the king said that he wanted Prince Andrew to marry Dolores, they did not agree, so where did Duke Romanov have the confidence to make such a request?

It's not that they didn't take Williams seriously, or that they really thought they were the next king.

Felix was even more angry than Wei Wei. He read the letter. Although the other party used polite words, there was an almost arrogant confidence in some details, as if he really thought he would agree to the marriage.

This made Felix wonder where did his confidence come from? If you think about it, you can see that this kind of marriage proposal is unlikely to succeed.

"I always think this letter is a bit strange." Felix calmed down a little, took the letter back and read it again, but it seemed that there was nothing special about it.

Wei Wei also leaned in to look at it, and also became suspicious: "It seems to be a bit against the peace. Since Duke Romanov has been able to fight the king for so long, he should not be so stupid, right?"

She simply took the letter from Felix's hand, and then read it word by word, and finally found something strange.

She pointed to one of the words, uncertain: "Is there any trace of modification here?"

The letter of Duke Romanov was written on parchment, and the ink on the parchment can be removed by special methods. If so, it is easy to leave traces.

Felix leaned over to take a look, and found that Wei Wei was pointing at the word for sister. He took a closer look and found that there seemed to be some other traces under "sister".

Wei Wei had already read all the other content. She combined this seemingly changed part with the following content, and quickly came up with a new idea in her mind.

"You say, is it possible that Duke Romanov is not planning to marry Dolores, but Caroline?"

The letter didn't mention Dolores' name, or even say which of his sons he was begging to marry. Felix decided it was Dolores because of your sister written on it.

That's why he was so angry.

But if the person was changed to Caroline, the target was the Duke's six-year-old son, the age difference was actually appropriate.

"If it's Caroline, then it's logical, right?"

Nobles these days like to give their children baby kisses. The Duke of Romanov wants to give Caroline to his youngest son. The two sides are of the right age, and although the youngest son has no right to inherit, Caroline is an orphan, and Felix's relationship is farther away than Dolores. In the eyes of ordinary people, her engagement to the youngest son of the duke's family is actually a high level. After all, the latter may become a prince.

So if you think so, it's no wonder that the tone of Duke Romanov's letter was so confident and even a little arrogant. He probably didn't think that Felix would disagree with this marriage.

But Felix really disagreed. Caroline was so young, it was too early to talk about marriage, and his original position was different from that of Duke Romanov. He was a vassal of the king, and he was very popular with the king. trust, and even if he agreed, what would the king think?

Although it is normal for nobles to marry, it does not mean that the king will not regard this marriage as his betrayal.

After Felix calmed down, he thought more: "If this letter has been altered as you think, and Duke Romanov's original target was Caroline, I think it might be the same. A trap."

If he agrees, the king will regard him as a traitor, and if he does not agree, he will directly offend Duke Romanov, so that the other party has an excuse to trouble him.

That kind of excuse that can openly trouble them without being directly suppressed by the king. After all, even if a noble wants to do something to another noble, it will not work without a suitable reason.

If it's because of the rejection of the marriage that you're angry and angry, then it's all right.

However, Felix is ​​not afraid of the other party's trouble. Anyway, he has already placed the appearance of the bandit on Duke Romanov's body, and they have long been hostile.

What Felix was more concerned about was who changed the letter and why it was done on purpose.

The first person on the king's side he suspected did, perhaps because the king was worried that he would agree to Duke Romanov's marriage intentions.

"Of course it may be others. After all, there should be more than one king who thinks Duke Romanov is not good." Now it's not just the king and the duke who are making a fuss in the capital. There are several qualified thrones after the duke. The heir, obviously, will not watch the duke take over smoothly. I am afraid that these people, like the king, hope that the duke is not good. Of course, it would be better if the two princes were not good together.

There are quite a few people who can do this kind of thing, but no matter who it is, who can change the Duke's handwritten letter, the other party has obviously arranged an undercover beside the Duke.

Wei Wei: "I feel that there are other things to do here, otherwise as long as we reply to this matter, Duke Romanov's side should realize that something is wrong, and the person who converts is likely to be exposed at that time. Well, the price is too high."

Felix thought so too, but he didn't continue to struggle with this issue: "Whatever they are for, it has nothing to do with us, we just don't know about it."

Wei Wei thought about it as well: "Actually, it's easier for us to reject Dolores. After all, she already has a suitable engagement partner, doesn't she?"

"you're right."

Adonis is coming, no matter whether the two sides can make it or not, this is a good excuse to reject Duke Romanov, and in this way, the other party has no excuse for making trouble, who made him one step late.