Chapter 52

New book uploaded, seeking support.

"Be careful, be careful! Don't break anything, Svenson, Henry, handle them gently!"

While our great doctor Zhu was holding Lady Isabel's tender hand and talking about his life aspirations, on Dover Street in London, at Mrs. Durand's house, the charming French lady was standing in her bedroom, watching Bai Siwen and the young French tailor Henry pack and box the exquisite porcelain and glassware.

As Zhu Jishi shifted his business focus from London to Manchester, the house on Dover Street became idle. In early May, Zhu Jishi bought a villa in the outskirts of Manchester, named it the Roman Villa, and prepared to live there with Mrs. Durand. Of course, the purchase of the house, the decoration of the love nest, and the moving were all handled by Mrs. Durand, this "virtuous helper." Mrs. Durand returned to London to move, but there wasn't much to move, just some of her and Zhu Jishi's clothes, and some expensive porcelain and glassware. As for the furniture in the house, it wouldn't be moved to Manchester. The house, along with the shop, would be rented out, bringing in 150 pounds a year. Although it wasn't a large sum, Mrs. Durand wouldn't refuse the money.

Henry and Bai Siwen also came to help with the move. One was now the butler of the Roman Villa, the other the Chinese chef. This Bai Siwen, although a compatriot and fellow Guangdong native of Zhu Jishi, didn't seem to be favored. He had even tutored Zhu Jishi in traditional Chinese characters a few days ago, but now he had become a mere servant.

This wandering Chinese gentleman was quite adaptable. He worked diligently as a servant, helping with everything, and his mouth was sweet, always calling Mrs. Durand "madam" and "lady," as if she were Zhu Jishi's legitimate wife.

However, while getting along with Mrs. Durand, Bai Siwen didn't forget to indirectly probe into Zhu Jishi's background—out of curiosity, but more so because of the task given to him by William Jardine. Although he no longer mixed with the consumptive William Jardine, he didn't dare to completely ignore Jardine's orders. He knew how deep William Jardine's background was and how much wealth he had. Without Jardine's efforts, the Sino-British War might not have started. Such a powerful figure must not be offended.

But thinking about his current master, Zhu Jishi, Bai Siwen also felt a bit unfathomable!

A member of the Royal Society of London and a member of the French Academy of Sciences... these two positions were roughly equivalent to the Hanlin scholars of the Qing Dynasty. To hold both positions in two countries, his knowledge must be immense! He was also ennobled as a baronet, which was equivalent to a second-class noble in the Qing Dynasty. Although it wasn't a significant title, Mrs. Durand said that the title was personally bestowed by the Prince Consort of the British Empire! The British Emperor was a woman, Queen Victoria, and the Prince Consort was like the Empress. Since the British were monogamous, the Queen had only one husband. So, if the Prince Consort favored someone, they might have a significant role in the future? In the Qing Dynasty, it would mean a promising future in the cabinet. Although the rules in England were different, following such a master shouldn't be too bad. However, it seemed that this master didn't favor him much, so he needed to find a way to curry favor.

While lost in thought, he heard a crisp sound, which startled Bai Siwen. Fortunately, it wasn't the porcelain in his hands that broke, but a mistake made by Henry, the butler.

"Henry, be careful," Mrs. Durand muttered, but didn't say anything more.

"Let me, let me clean it up," Bai Siwen quickly put down the porcelain he was holding and turned to help Henry pick up the broken pieces. He didn't know much about Henry, but he had learned from Mrs. Durand that the boy was the illegitimate son of her ex-husband, making him a half-gentleman.

While thinking about how to curry favor with Henry, Bai Siwen's hands didn't stop. He picked up the broken pieces of porcelain and put them in a dustpan. Suddenly, he heard Mrs. Durand shout, "Svenson, don't throw that away, it's Jason's treasure. Oh, Jason always leaves things lying around, just throwing them into bottles. What if it gets lost?"

Treasure? Bai Siwen looked down and, indeed, what he held was a treasure! It was a piece of jade, pure in quality, fine in structure, full of water, and white like sheep's fat, with a heavy oily texture—excellent Hetian sheep's fat jade! Although Bai Siwen wasn't an expert in jade, he knew the basics. In his days in Guangzhou, he had also been wealthy, and his family had a few pieces of high-quality sheep's fat jade, but they were far inferior to this one.

Upon closer inspection, the jade had dragon patterns carved on it, and the craftsmanship was extremely delicate, not like the work of a common craftsman. In the circle of dragon patterns, there was a seal script character, which seemed to be the character "xuan." This jade clearly had a noble origin, but where did Zhu Jishi get it from?

Bai Siwen carefully handed the jade to Mrs. Durand, seemingly absentmindedly asking, "Madam, is this stone passed down from the noble's ancestors?"

"Yes," Mrs. Durand put away the jade and smiled, "Jason's ancestors fled to the South Seas when the Tartars conquered China. This stone was left by his ancestors. By the way, Svenson, is this stone very precious in the East?"

"Yes, yes, this stone is called jade, and this piece is the best of the best, known as sheep's fat jade. Only high-ranking officials and nobles can own it..." Bai Siwen smiled and explained the jade to Mrs. Durand, but in his heart, he was speculating about Zhu Jishi's background.

He knew that the Tartars Mrs. Durand referred to were the Manchus, and the conquest of China referred to the Manchu invasion and establishment of the Qing Dynasty. If Zhu Jishi's ancestors fled China at that time, then they must have been surnamed Zhu... and they fled during the Eight Banners' invasion. With such a dragon-patterned jade, could they be descendants of the Ming loyalists?

The character "xuan" might be the name of a Ming prince. If he could return to China, he could ask someone knowledgeable about Ming history to confirm.

Bai Siwen's eyes darted around. The descendants of the Ming loyalists were certainly wanted by the Qing court. If he could capture and deliver them to the Guangzhou governor's office, not only would his crime of colluding with Westerners be forgiven, but he might even be promoted! Right, Zhu Jishi had the backing of the British Prince Consort Albert. It was unknown to what extent they were colluding. Would Zhu Jishi accept British support to restore the Ming and overthrow the Qing? If so, it would be a significant problem for the Qing court...

Page flip, AD starts

Page flip, AD ends