"Sit, Mr. Howard," Yan Hou sat down as he surveyed the hall, when a man dressed as a servant walked in and whispered a few words in the old woman's ear. She nodded, waving for the man to come down. With Yan Hou's current strength, even the slightest sound could not escape his ears. "My full name is Catherine Jane Howard. It's a coincidence that you have the same last name as mine. I heard that you were down on the street and were saved by Elena, right?" was still smiling in the first half of the sentence, but when it came to the meeting between Elena and Yan Hou at that time, the smile disappeared.

"Catherine, I know what you're thinking right now, it's a misunderstanding. Yan Hou was helpless, facing the old man who protected his children, he could only explain as much as possible.

"Misunderstanding? You didn't mean to approach us Elena?"

"Of course not! I was about to kill a corrupt official! It was Elena's unexpected appearance that disrupted my plans!"

"Kill?!You said you were going to kill someone?!Oh my God!"

"Catherine, believe me, that man is in China, and everyone will be punished for killing his own countrymen! Think about it, if there is an English nobleman, he is dignified, but he is a tyrannical and murderous person, will you hope that he will be punished!"

"I'm more of a law-oriented, Howard. Although Catherine's expression struggled a little, her tone was firm.

"I know, but now China is in chaos, and I'm afraid the law won't work. ”

"Then why are you still pestering us Elena?"

"I didn't pester Elena, I said I was coming to England, I thought Elena would be playful so we would be separated, but she came back together. I was going to leave as soon as I got off the boat, but Elena insisted that I come to her house and meet her family, so I came. But, trust me, I'll be gone soon. ”

"Then I...... Well, I'm a little confused. Howard, are you telling me that it's our Elena who loves you very much and haunts you, but you don't love us at all?

"Catherine, I know that Elena is perfect in the eyes of your nobles, and I should be honored that she loves me, but even if I am a foreigner, even if I am penniless, I still have my dignity. Besides, Elena is a good girl, I admit it, but if I don't love, I don't love, and there is no way to force it. ”

"You're going to hurt Elena. ”

"I know, but I can't explain it now, and you won't believe me if I explain it, I still have a lot of places to go, and if I have the opportunity to come back to this place in a few decades, I will definitely come to visit you then, and when the time comes, you will understand without me saying anything. ”

"You're because ...... Is there anything unspeakable that has given up his love for Elena?"

"No, I'm sure, I don't love Elena. I just hope that we can be very good friends. I'm sorry, ma'am, I don't want to be rude, but I don't want this misunderstanding to continue. ”

"Actually, with the power of our Howard family, it's easy to get you a title of nobility and a hereditary knighthood in England, don't you really think about it? I don't want Elena to be sad. ”

"No, thank you for your kindness, I really can't accept it. Elena may be sad for a while, but when a good boy comes along, Elena will get through. Grandma Catherine sighed helplessly.

"I hope so. Then three men and one woman walked in, and it was clear that they were a couple and their two sons.

"Hello, Mom. The husband stepped forward and kissed Catherine on the cheek. This is Elena's father Henry, mother Ciri, eldest brother Paul, and second brother Grieg.

"Mom, how are you?" said Ciri, who kissed Catherine on the cheek as well, and then looked up. "Where's our little princess?"

"I know you're not coming to see me, the old woman, she's freshening upstairs, and you'll see you at dinner. Sit down, don't you see any guests?"

"Who is this?" As the head of the family, Henry was the first to express concern.

"This is Howard, a friend of Elena's acquaintance in China, and this is his first time in the UK. Catherine introduced.

"Hello, friend from afar, welcome. Yan Hou also greeted a few people, and everyone chatted. Yan Hou told them about Chinese culture and some current conditions, and told them about Elena's performance in China, praising Elena as an angel. The atmosphere was very harmonious, and by the way, I also asked Grieg to go hunting the day after tomorrow. Looking at these people in front of him, Yan Hou finally knew why Elena could be so innocent and grow up in such a loving and tolerant family, no wonder Elena could be so beautiful.

At dinner time, Yan Hou barely interjected, and the family was chatting enthusiastically, and Elena spoke passionately about what she had seen and heard in China, and denounced the evils of war. Ciri and Yan Hou whispered sorry, Elena was sometimes too jealous and hateful, and she would be a little excited. Yan Hou smiled and shook his head, indicating that he didn't mind.

Dinner ended happily, and Grieg had already accepted Elena's "boyfriend" Yan Hou and offered to take him to the bedroom.

"How far have you gotten with Elena? We must be very welcoming!"

"Grieg, we're not what you think. Although Catherine didn't introduce Yan Hou too much, she simply said that she was Elena's friend. But Elena's warm eyes made everyone think he was Elena's sweetheart.

"How is it possible, we Elena are very proud, she doesn't look down on any of those noble young masters, and always says that they are too frivolous. But the way she looks at you is different, it's the first time I've seen her look at a man so lovingly. ”

"I'm just friends with Elena, she's just a momentary crush. ”

"What if it's not a momentary infatuation?"

“……”

Seeing Yan Hou frowning and silent, Grieg felt that Yan Hou might have rejected Elena because of his low self-esteem, it must be! So he decided to help Yan Hou and find a way to make him a nobleman, he should not hesitate anymore! Grieg admired his cleverness very much, and then took Yan Hou everywhere to participate in various aristocratic gatherings, so that Yan Hou could get to know more people.

Although it was an unintentional move, it made Yan Hou unexpectedly and smoothly enter the circle of the British aristocracy. Yan Hou's talkativeness, and his affinity, were quickly accepted by the nobility. But that's not enough, they just like to chat with themselves and let them pave the way for what they're going to do later, not necessarily yet. Yan Hou began to leave early and return late, and although he lived in Elena's house, Elena barely saw Yan Hou. Grieg cheers her up from time to time and reports Yan Hou's whereabouts to Elena, letting her know that Howard is trying to be a man worthy of her!

Late that night, Yan Hou returned to Elena's house, where he had already dragged his friends in England to find some connections and a house in London. He was going to move out, and he couldn't continue to live in Elena's house like this, which was very inconvenient.

"Howard, let's talk. As soon as Yan Hou opened the door, he saw Catherine waiting for him in a formal dress, without removing her makeup and grooming at all.

The two walked through the back door next to the kitchen and came to the back garden. After a long silence, Yan Hou didn't see Catherine speak, but he didn't open his mouth to urge, just patiently waited for Catherine to speak.

"Did you take advantage of Grieg?"

"With Grieg? I didn't! Catherine, why do you ask?"

"You use him to make friends with the powerful!"

"I didn't!" Catherine's angry face made Yan Hou a little confused.

"From the first day you came, you told me that you didn't think much of Elena, you just wanted to be friends, but Grieg always said that you were trying to be a man worthy of Elena. Since you don't like Elena, how can Grigg explain that you are introduced to those powerful people? Grieg misunderstood, you can explain, but you didn't! You didn't take advantage of my grandson or something?!"

"I'm a young man from a foreign country, I have no roots and nothing, I need to live here, Grieg is very kind to introduce me to a lot of people, that's exactly what I need, I've dragged my friends to find a house in London, I can move there tomorrow. I wondered why Grieg invited me to parties so often, because he thought I liked Elena, but I told him it was a misunderstanding, and he didn't listen. ”

"You said that?"

"Yes, on the first day Grieg asked Elena and me after dinner, and I said it was a misunderstanding. Looks like he misunderstood me too, sorry. Catherine stared at Yan Hou for a moment.

"Are you going to move out tomorrow?"

"Yes. ”

"Where are you moving to?"

"My friend helped me find a house in London, it's easy to get around, I don't need a big house by myself, my friend's uncle has passed away, his house hasn't been dealt with yet, and he just rented it to me. It was Mary, the cousin of Mrs. Ciri whom Grieg had introduced to me, and she was a nice person, and she waived my rent for the first three months, saying that she would borrow it from me and pay it back to her when I found something to do. ”

"Mary, her late uncle's house, isn't it old Mike's house, I know it's a good place for a bachelor. But the house is old, and you're afraid you'll have to clean it properly, and old Mike didn't hire a servant, and he didn't clean it very much. ”

"Okay. ”

"Well, it seems that Grieg really misunderstood, you better explain it to him, or Grieg will be angry. ”

"Yes, ma'am. ”

"I'm afraid Elena won't want you to leave, and if you suddenly say you're leaving, she will definitely not be able to accept it. ”

"I don't want to say goodbye and let Elena continue to live in fantasy and be bad for her. I'll leave early tomorrow morning, I hope you don't tell me where I'm going, and it's okay if Grigg might reveal my whereabouts, it won't be so fast, I didn't go through Grigg to find the house, but directly asked someone to find it, Grigg didn't know. So, now you are the only one who knows where I am. When I get to London, depending on the situation, I may move, I'm not sure. In a few years, Elena may forget about me. Time can dilute everything, and hopefully by then she will be married and have a few lovely children. ”

"I hope so. ”