Chapter 4: Jericho's House
After leaving the Triumphal Boulevard, the carriage of the Jericho family entered the Blancing district, which was located on the west side of the Tiamat Palace, which was the residential area of the noble families of the imperial capital. Here, there are all kinds of luxurious and huge mansions, and each family is comparing the grandeur of their own houses. And each family is far away from each other, not only because each family has a large mansion and yard, but also because these rich and noble families are unwilling to get too close to others.
The Jericho family's mansion is also luxurious here. When the carriage reached the destination, Sophia couldn't help but exclaim for the grandeur of her house, although it was far larger than the Midnight Fort, but after all, this is the imperial capital with an expensive land price, and it is not easy to have such a big house, not to mention that this mansion is much more exquisite than the Midnight Fort in the countryside.
There were already many servants in front of the gate to greet the master. Although the Jericho family rarely enters Beijing, this does not mean that the family will not come to the imperial capital, so such a luxurious mansion cannot be left to eat ashes. As a result, the mansion is usually guarded and cleaned by a small number of servants hired by the Jericho family for a long time, and when the owner comes to live in it, he hires a few more people on a temporary basis to fill the faΓ§ade. The servants who greet them at the gate now are composed of two groups, one of them is equivalent to the retainers of the Jericho family, and they are trusted by the Jericho family, and the other part is also looking around when they greet them, and the ones who do not look too respectful are those who are currently employed.
Swain stepped out of the carriage first, then reached out. Sophia also stretched out her hand from the carriage, helped her brother, and stepped out of the carriage. In front of these subordinates, she can't be a little presumptuous like her brother, but she must show her aristocratic demeanor well, so as not to be looked down upon by the commoners of these imperial capitals.
"Welcome to Dweide, welcome home, sir, miss. The butler greeted the two masters as soon as they got out of the carriage and bowed respectfully, "When we heard the news that the two of you were coming, we immediately cleaned the house, and you don't have to worry about all the problems of food, clothing, housing and transportation, I have already taken care of it." β
The butler was full of desire to please his masters, and although they did not know him, and he had never met them, it did not prevent him from serving and receiving his due reward for serving the Jericho family. However, to his surprise, although the new head of the Jericho family is a young man, he does not feel the vitality of a young man, or directly childish. When Swain looked at him, he sensed that something was wrong. He has seen a lot of people, and most young people like Swain like to put on a straight face in front of a subordinate like him, as if he is very serious, but in fact, he is just afraid that he will not be able to scare the subordinate, and he will be ridiculed by the subordinate instead of being dignified. But the person in front of him is different, he doesn't have a serious or unsmiling appearance, his expressionless face looks chilling, I don't know what he's thinking, but it's natural, or it seems strange to see a smile on such a face. And it's just that face that he's facing now. The longer Swain was silent, the more uneasy and nervous the person facing him would be, even if this person was full of confidence, he would be scared into a cold sweat.
Sven didn't speak, just nodded to indicate that he knew, but Sophia smiled and thanked the butler. And before the butler could say a few more words, Swain had already stepped into the house, and Sophia naturally followed her brother closely, and the butler could only hold back what he had prepared, and motioned for the others to do their own work, and then follow the master, who did not seem to be very easy to serve.
"I have already ordered someone to clean the room, the two of them can choose at will, the chef has invited a famous chef in the imperial capital, as long as the husband and young lady wait for two or three hours, you can enjoy the original imperial capital food. β
"Sophia, you go upstairs and pick a room first. Swain still didn't look at the butler, but just instructed his sister. Sophia naturally obediently listened to her brother, and was accompanied upstairs by the maid to choose a room. And when facing this old man who didn't have a smile alone, the housekeeper felt even more pressured.
Sven continued walking, as if to visit the mansion, or to examine the work of the people, and he walked as soon as he entered the porch, straight through the hall, and circled around again. And the butler can only accompany him, although the master does not command. After turning the whole first floor around, Swain returned to the parlour and sat down on the sofa, while the butler stood trembling before him. He was originally very confident in his work, but being shrouded in Swain's silent aura for a long time made him nervous, especially since he couldn't tell what he was thinking from Swain's face at all, so he was even more worried about whether Swain would deliberately look for him.
"Is the coachman hired?" asked Swain suddenly.
The housekeeper was stunned for a moment, and then quickly reacted. "Yes, the carriage was also custom-made last month, and the family crest was left over from before and then loaded onto the new carriage. The butler replied honestly, although he didn't know why Swain asked this, but he was able to answer the question, and his heart gradually calmed down.
"Is the coachman familiar with the imperial capital?"
"He was a local, and he knew every name in the imperial capital. His family had also served the Jericho family before, and he had no criminal record and was a trustworthy person. β
Swain nodded, then stopped talking.
This simply made the butler very tormented, even if Swain reprimanded him at this moment, such a silent silence was like a terrible punishment, the more silent it was, the more people couldn't help but think about it, and couldn't help but doubt, especially a person like the butler who ate by observing words and looks, it was simply killing him, because he really couldn't guess what Swain was thinking.
"Do the people of the imperial capital have any habits? You should also be a local, tell me about it, such as the rules of afternoon tea and so on. β
Hearing Swain speak, the butler suddenly felt relieved. He froze down, thought for a moment and then spoke: "Sir, you don't have to pay too much attention to these, the imperial capital is full of people from all over the empire who want to come here to find opportunities, so it can be said that there is actually no ironclad imperial capital customs. If anything, it's probably a vassal elegance and learning the rules of the royal family. Habits vary from house to house, but if you're going out to visit, it's okay to have a tea time or a meal, and it's a good time to talk. β
As the butler spoke, he suddenly felt that he had grasped Sven's thoughts. Hmph, it's a great pretend, isn't it also a rich country man who has never seen the world? It's so frightening, but I don't want to show my hillbilly appearance who doesn't understand the customs of the imperial capital. As a result, when he opened his mouth, he was still completely exposed, but he was just a little ghost in the end. As if to hide the embarrassment that he was scared enough just now, the housekeeper slandered a lot of cruel words in his heart. However, thinking like this made his confidence rise again, and he was even more convinced that the little ghost in front of him was not so terrible.
"When will dinner be ready?"
Just as the butler was still slandering in his heart, Sven suddenly asked again. The butler was confused by Sven's idea of jumping so fast, and he couldn't think of what Swin wanted to do, so the butler had to reply: "Because Mr. and Miss are coming to the imperial capital for the first time, the kitchen has prepared a sumptuous dinner, please ask Mr. and Miss to taste the flavor of the imperial capital, the preparation time is longer, it takes about two hours." β
"That's a little more prepared in the kitchen, a little more prepared. β
With that, Swain stood up and walked straight out.
Seeing that Sven seemed to be going out, the housekeeper hurriedly stopped Sven. "Sir, where are you going?" The butler was completely confused by Swain, and the previous sentence made him think that this was the host's family to entertain others, but at this time, Sven was going out again, what was he going to do?
However, thinking of Sven's indifference since they met, the housekeeper was afraid that Swain would think that his hurried and questioning tone was not respectful enough, so he hurriedly added: "If the young lady asks later, the villain will have an explanation." β
Swain didn't stop at all, just dropped a word to the butler who was still in the living room.
"Viscount Ernest's Palace. β
The butler chased him to the hall, and when he heard this, he felt even more confused. Viscount Ernest, who is that? This title is so strange that even an old man in the imperial capital like a butler can't figure out who this is for a while. Generally speaking, if a person's title is addressed, his surname will be added in front of it, and Ernest is obviously a name, and if the title is preceded by a first name, then it is generally a close person or to avoid confusion and misunderstanding. For the heir to the title, it can be addressed by a lower title, so the viscount may also refer to the heir of the earl.
The butler analyzed this, and suddenly sweated, and he finally understood who this Viscount Ernest was, the only son of the previous Earl of Midnight, and the father of the current earl, Ernest no Jericho. Since the Earl of Midnight was inherited by the eldest grandson, this Mr. Jericho could not inherit the earl, and because the current Earl Swain was still young and had no children, according to the male priority inheritance law, the heir was still this Mr. Jericho, but the inheritance relationship became very awkward.
I heard that the former earl had a discordant relationship with this gentleman's father and son, and looking at the current earl's tone, probably the father-son relationship is still not good, so why did he go?
Just as the housekeeper was habitually speculating about the thoughts of the master's family and the family gossip, Sophia, who had already chosen a room, came down from the upper floor. She asked aloud when she saw the butler standing in the hall. "What's the matter, sir, where is my brother?"
Hearing this cold and even slightly cold voice, the butler immediately came back to his senses and hurriedly responded: "Mr. went to Viscount Ernest's mansion." β
"Oh, yes. Sophia didn't seem to react in any other way, neither worried nor happy.
"Miss, have you decided on a room?" said the butler, wisely, not to say much on the subject, but to ask about something else.
"Just the north-facing one in the middle of the second floor. β
"The north-facing room can't shine the sun, and it's still very cold in the imperial capital this season, is it okay?"
"It doesn't matter. With that, Sophia went upstairs.
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The Emerald River, the main river of the imperial capital, passes through the Browning district, dividing this area into two parts, the one near the Tiamat Palace is known as the Upper River District, and the other part is known as the Lower River District. Although the Bailangning District is a residential area for the rich, the rich are also divided into classes, naturally, the land price in the Upper River District, which is close to the Tiamat Palace, is more expensive, and the houses are more luxurious, while the Lower River District is a little worse, and even the last shame of some of the broken children, using the last remaining house of the family to support themselves with a little face.
And Swain's father, Mr. Ernest No. Jericht's residence in the imperial capital is in the Xiahe District, which is different from the Jericho family's mansion in the Shanghe District, because he has not inherited the title and the family's wealth for many years, and even has no family support and assistance, Mr. Viscount Ernest, the commander of the imperial capital garrison who is beautiful on the surface, actually does not have a very luxurious life. He lived a simple life with his wife and daughter, and even the house was like an apple squeezed into a pile of watermelons, conspicuous and embarrassing.
"Victoria, Victoria?" In the small house, Viscount Ernest's wife, Jane Knott Jericht, was looking for her daughter. The couple's daughter, Victoria, who stayed by their side, was extremely doted on by her mother, so her personality seemed quite maverick. Obviously a girl but boyish, like to wear men's clothes to the streets and alleys to find something to do; even though he is fifteen years old, he is still so childish, without a little maturity.
The lady searched all the upstairs and downstairs, and because the family was not large, only a few servants were hired in the house, except for the cook, the groom, etc., and only one maid was always with the lady.
"Ah, Ramrem," said Madame, as she saw the maid with her short black ear-length hair, as if she had seen a savior, "have you seen Victoria? β
The maid was used to this kind of thing. Madame usually stays at home and has to find hobbies to pass the time, so she likes tailoring clothes and dressing up her daughter. It is this hobby that makes her daughter have a psychological shadow on wearing women's clothes......
"It should be the same, ma'am. The maid said to Madame, and there was no expression on her face, she should not be surprised by such a thing, and she was not even alarmed at the slightest pretense of worry.
"Ah, really. The young lady pouted a little angrily, "Why does this child dislike the clothes I made for her so much, they are so beautiful." β
The maid stepped back without a trace, apparently disagreeing with this.
"Forget it," said Madame, sighing, and abandoning her original plan, "Ramrem, please go and call her back, and Mr. Later should also be back." β
"Yes, ma'am. The maid stooped down to receive the order, "But someone has come to visit the gentleman, will you meet him first?"
"Oh, of course, who is visiting the sir?"
"He called himself Count Midnight, Sven Noe Jericht. β