The banquet was finally about to start, and Zhou Nan felt like an escaped prisoner, feeling light. He'd rather face ten academic debates than be like a zoo monkey and let a bunch of women judge him.

The ballroom is the largest hall in Buckingham Palace, with tables and chairs arranged in an N-shape in the middle of the hall. On either side of the room were long tables with dishes and drinks, and according to the standard of two guests and one attendant, there were forty people waiting.

The king and his wife and the two princesses sat at the head, and the others lined up in turn. The seats were arranged in strict order of status and position, and Zhou Nan and Audrey, plus Lady Hemstra and Audrey's grandfather, as guests specially invited by the king, were arranged in the middle of the long table on the nobleman's side, a little higher than their actual status.

On the other side, there are government officials, who may not have titles, but because of their positions, they are better ranked than the nobles.

Jean Nord was placed on the side of the officials, and he talked cordially with several old people of similar age, without the slightest restraint. As for Etinny, because they were attachés, they did not have the opportunity to sit in the main banquet hall.

Audrey sat beside Zhou Nan, and on the other side of her was Melissa with a sad face. She was going to have a big meal, but she happened to lose her teeth, and now she was distressed.

Audrey began to take care of her, and didn't have much time to talk to Zhou Nan, and after sitting down, she whispered to Zhou Nan: "I'm reluctant to exchange clothes with her, but she's a princess......"

Zhou Nan comforted her and said: "I am also very reluctant to design clothes for her, because I only want to design for you." ”

She said affectionately: "I know, you did all this because I ......"

Zhou Nan scratched her nose and said with a smile: "You are my wife, of course I have to think about you." ”

The Lord of the Court, the Earl of Swarfs, shouted, "His Majesty the King of the Kingdom of Britain, and Her Majesty the Queen, Her Royal Highness the Princess has arrived at the ......" (not to omit mistakes. ）

Everyone stood up and gave a round of applause. And when the king had sat down, all of them sat down again. Although George stuttered a little and his own personality was more reserved, he had presided over this kind of banquet many times, so he seemed to give a welcome speech very easily.

In his welcome speech, he also expressed his welcome and gratitude to Zhou Nan, which also made many people pay attention to him.

Then came the prayer time, and Audrey and her mother were Catholic, and although the prayers were different from the Protestant ones, they were very similar, so they didn't feel conspicuous.

But Zhou Nan has always advertised that he believes in "Taoism", although he is a fake Taoist, but if he has no faith, he is an undesirable person in Europe, so this identity has always been worn.

He was the only one who did not pray, but the bishop who presided over the prayer also knew about him and did not express his displeasure.

After praying, the attendants standing on either side began to serve the food with great training under George's order.

Although Britain has always been famous for its dark cuisine, it is only folk. The menus of the European courts are almost homogeneous, and you can eat whatever you want.

Everyone's menu was prepared in advance, and Zhou Nan didn't eat beef, so he was registered in advance, and he chose the dishes for himself in the menu.

Although it is a British state dinner, the menu is in French, which is also a tradition of the royal family. Because the current British royal family was originally the Duke of Normandy in France.

Even in the upper classes of the British society, there was still a tradition of speaking French

The first course: Treasure fish fillet with lobster mousse.

Second course: Roasted venison tenderloin with Madeira red wine truffle sauce.

Vegetables: braised red cabbage in stock, potatoes in a small pot, pumpkin tart with celery root.

Dessert: chocolate, mango, lime biscuits. Fruit platter.

In addition, the first and last courses of wine to accompany the meal must be British. The first glass before the meal is champagne and the last glass is a sparkling wine from the UK.

If you just eat this meal in the UK, I'm afraid no one will think that British cuisine is dark, because this meal can be called delicious.

After the dinner, of course, there was no such thing as a court ball, but Zhou Nan still did not participate, but was dragged to Whitehall by a group of politicians to discuss some political topics.

However, this time, due to the large number of participants, there were many people. In addition, Zhou Nan's purpose had been achieved, and he did not want to serve the British on an obligatory basis, so this time, he did not have any more amazing speeches at all.

Regarding some current affairs, his opinions are no longer deafening, but follow the direction of the mainstream, which makes some politicians a little dissatisfied, but no one comes to force him.

However, it doesn't help him to keep a low profile now, because he has already shocked the big names in the afternoon.

It's just that they haven't reached a consensus on how to treat Zhou Nan.

It was close to midnight when the banquet was over, but it was only two or three hours after dark, and the streets were still full of cool people.

Audrey leaned on Zhou Nan's right arm, and Marita changed her favorite dress, which made her a little unhappy.

But Mrs. Hemstra was very excited, because Count Pattinson agreed to ask about Audrey's father Joseph, and Alan agreed to pass on his title to Audrey.

Although he no longer liked the son who worshiped the Nazis, he did not want him to die in prison.

This matter was also approved by the queen, who promised to urge the king to intervene in this matter, so that Audrey could inherit the title smoothly. Although it is only an empty title now, in today's days, the nobility is still superior.

After getting out of the carriage, the grooms and the carriage drove away, and Melissa could not hold on to her sleep.

Etinny helped the weakened Jean Nord carry the child and carried her into her bedroom.

Entering her bedroom, Audrey couldn't help but hug Zhou Nan. "Jonas, you have been wronged for my sake."

"No, I did it willingly. Don't be depressed because of a dress, speaking of which, this dress from Marita is much more expensive than yours. ”

"But it was the dress you designed for me, and she liked it at first sight, and pestered me to change it with me. When she put it on, she refused to take it off. She's a princess......"

"She's just a spoiled kid who hasn't grown up. Just assume she's Melissa and let her do it once. ”

Audrey is still a little depressed, but she also knows that there is nothing to be done about this matter, and she can't turn her face with the princess for a dress.

"It's so hot, you see you're sweating. I'll go put the water and bathe you. ”

August is already the hottest season in London, especially now that the pollution is high, which adds to the stuffiness.

Zhou Nan proposed: "Let's go to the pool for a while, I put my arm on the edge of the pool, I am not afraid of water." ”

Audrey shook her head and said, "There are too many people in the house, and I'm not used to wearing a swimsuit in front of outsiders." ”

Bikinis were not yet available in this era, and swimsuits were still very conservative, but even so, many people were not used to it. When I was in the Netherlands, many women swam in public pools, wearing a dark coat over their swimsuits before they could go into the water.

Zhou Nan thought for a while and said, "In the future, we will also build a swimming pool at home, and we can swim if we want." ”

Audrey looked at Zhou Nan and smiled ambiguously, became a little shy, and covered Zhou Nan's eyes with her hand. "Are you thinking about bad things again? Don't think about it, don't think you ......"

Zhou Nan deliberately groaned, and she hurriedly stopped in fright. "Did it touch your arm? Did it touch your arm? Does it hurt? ”

Zhou Nan suddenly hugged her in his arms with his right arm, and laughed. "How can this be a bad thing?"

She smiled shyly, hugged Zhou Nan's neck, and took the initiative to kiss her.

……

……

"Miss Hepburn, this is an invitation from Princess Marita to you for a horseback ride in Kensington Park tomorrow morning."

"But I can't ride a horse......"

Mrs. Hemsstra hurriedly took the invitation from the female officer's hand and said, "Thank you, Your Highness the Princess, for the invitation, do we need to do anything to prepare?" ”

"No, you just need to prepare your riding clothes, Her Royal Highness has prepared a well-trained thoroughbred."

Audrey took the invitation card to the study on the first floor, which has been turned into a large office, and several assistants are centered on Zhou Nan, collecting and translating various materials.

Because of the support of the British academic community, Zhou Nan can borrow any materials no matter what he wants, as long as he does not have a relatively high level of confidentiality.

Every day, there are several assistants in major libraries and associations to collect information, and then report the content to Zhou Nan, as long as Zhou Nan finds it useful, he will borrow it back, and someone will translate it, and then Zhou Nan will add it to his book.

This saved him a lot of work, and the progress was much faster than expected.

Audrey entered the study, greeted by a gentle smile from everyone. With her gentle personality, she has won everyone's love, and she also tries her best to be a virtuous helper in learning to do logistics for everyone.

Coming to Zhou Nan's side, she whispered, "My dear." The princess invited me to go horseback riding tomorrow......"

"Where?"

"It's in our back garden."

"Then you can prepare...... Oh yes, you don't have a riding costume yet! You know where the checkbook is, you go with your mom to buy two riding suits and come back. I've been busy for the past two days, so I won't accompany you to buy clothes. ”

Audrey leaned into his ear and whispered, "I'm not because of this, I don't want to play with her." She loves opera, she loves dancing, she loves balls, she likes horseback riding, she likes shopping, but I don't like any of that. She has affected my life and influenced me to practice dance every day, but I can only follow her wishes. ”

Zhou Nan diverted his attention from the book, put his arms around her legs and let her hold herself tight. "We'll be out of London in a month at most, and we'll never have to accommodate her again."

Audrey has a gentle personality, and she knows that she can't be understood by her mother, so she can only go to Zhou Nan for some comfort. Come and complain to Zhou Nan, and then you will feel much happier.

After kissing Zhou Nan on the face, she laughed again. "Well, then you're busy. I went to dance with Stephanie, and in the afternoon I went with my mom to buy riding clothes. ”

(The list of state feasts here is modern, and I hope you won't take it seriously.) The weather has cooled down, everyone pays attention to keeping warm, and the old demon accidentally catches a cold. ）