36 Lancaster Gate, Bayswater District, London.

Night falls, and the sky is full of stars.

A gentle breeze blows over Hyde Park, causing the maple and birch branches to flutter in unison.

In the dining room on the first floor, the long ivory-white table is filled with steaming dishes.

Dumas pointed to the plate covered with an iron lid in front of him, and proudly introduced the dinner to the crowd with forks and knives.

"Gentlemen, and ladies who exist in my fantasies, allow me to introduce you to today's main course!"

Darwin couldn't wait to urge, he had been completely impressed by Dumas's superb cooking skills in the past few days.

"Alexander, don't sell it, what are you going to eat tonight?"

Elder smiled, raised an eyebrow and said, "We're going to have a good meal tonight." After the fat man and I went to the West End to watch the play, we planned to try our luck in the suburbs with a shotgun, but we didn't expect to be caught by the two of us! ”

When Dumas heard this, he couldn't help glaring at Elder: "I should have scolded you severely, but for the sake of Ling jumping into the river to catch prey today, this matter was revealed." ”

Elder bit down on his spoon and said, "Come on, fatty, hurry up." I've been looking forward to eating this meal since I got home, and you should quickly remove the lid, or the meat will be cold. ”

When Dumas heard this, he didn't delay any longer, he lifted the lid, and saw white steam rumbling up, and a soup pot with golden butter flowers floating in front of everyone.

He cleared his throat and said, "Allow me to introduce you to this grand feast - Ukcellus sauce with black swan stewed white radish!" ”

Arthur, who was reading the newspaper with a teacup, shuddered when he heard this, and almost spilled the black tea in his pants pocket.

"Black swan stewed white radish?" Arthur put down the newspaper and looked at the soup bowl: "Where did you get the swan?" ”

Darwin was also taken aback by the name, he shuddered, and his face changed: "Elder! Alexander doesn't know the rules, don't you know either? Why don't you persuade him a little? Don't you know that the swans of all of Great Britain go to the Crown? ”

Dumas was stunned when he heard this: "Why do you British always have such strange rules?" ”

Elder also changed his face, and while glaring at Alexandre Dumas, he opened his mouth and said, "What black swan?!" Alexander, can you please stop talking nonsense! It's a duck! Didn't we all say it before? ”

After speaking, he also lifted the soup spoon and fished out a piece of meat from the soup basin, pointed at it and opened the river: "Besides, you ask it, is it a swan?" At first glance, it's a wild duck! Charles, you can't even tell the difference between a duck and a swan, and you're embarrassed to say you're a naturalist? If ducks and swans are the same thing, are you and monkeys the same species? ”

Darwin's face turned red at what Elder said, he snatched the spoon, picked up the piece of meat and threw it into his mouth, and after chewing two bites, his eyes widened and he scolded angrily: "Older, what is wrong with you boy when I haven't eaten duck?" Could this thing not be a goose? ”

Seeing this, Elder pointed at Darwin and revealed to Arthur, "Now, Arthur, you have seen it all. Charles ate His Majesty's swan. ”

Seeing this, Arthur had no choice but to put down the newspaper and said to Darwin in embarrassment: "Charles, I know this may be a little difficult. But if you don't want to change your mind, I'll have to work an extra shift and send you to a cell in Scotland Yard. But don't worry, I've seen this week's prison menu, it's all brown bread with potatoes, although it's not as good as a stewed black swan with white radish, but it's not starving. ”

When Darwin heard this, his anger had to be forcibly suppressed, and he scratched his 'wisdom heights', where the vegetation was becoming more and more sparse, and he smacked his mouth twice, and asked weakly.

"Am I really eating duck?"

Arthur nodded sympathetically: "Charles, you are still young, we allow you to make mistakes." Don't say that you mistakenly recognize the duck and the swan, even if you say that Elder is a monkey, I am willing to give you full understanding. ”

When Darwin heard this, he had to raise his hand to cover his eyes, and he said with a clear conscience: "This is indeed a duck, not a swan." ”

Alexandre Dumas pouted uncomfortably: "You Brits are trouble." The swans in the country are royal, and if you don't know this rule, you think I'm in the Middle Ages. In France, we all keep this thing as a dog, and it's not a fancy thing. ”

Arthur loosened his neck and said, "You're really right, this is indeed a law handed down from the Middle Ages. It's just that the parliament has been too lazy to amend it, and no one wants to touch His Majesty's mold. After all, the king of England is now almost a mascot, and it is indeed not a wise move for a mature politician to anger the sensitive nerves of the royal family because of the shrinking power for such a trivial matter. ”

Alexandre Dumas poured himself a bowl of soup: "Why don't you revise a Civil Code like Napoleon?" It's straightforward and easy to check. IMHO, a modern country still uses medieval laws, how does this sound like a joke.

I now finally understand why your judge places so much importance on the precedents of the past, perhaps he just doesn't want to dig centuries of the law out of a pile of rubble. Maybe they could find the Shroud of Jesus out of it. ”

As he spoke, he picked up the spoon and scooped the meat from the bowl, and suddenly, Alexandre Dumas frowned: "Why do you feel that the portion is wrong?" Arthur, is there a rat in the house? ”

Arthur glanced at the red devil who was belching comfortably on the windowsill, and the book case with the raven cover painted in his hand, but shook his head slightly.

He lifted the fork and put his share of swan meat into his mouth, and while tasting its taste, he frowned and said, "Doesn't this taste like an ordinary goose?" ”

Speaking of this, Arthur couldn't help but ask, "Alexander, then again, has your manuscript been written?" ”

Alexandre Dumas replied unhurriedly, "Didn't I hang out with Elder today?" ”

"And what about yesterday?"

"Yesterday? Yesterday was even more interesting. ”

Alexandre Dumas said happily: "Yesterday I finished lunch, and I went to Speakers' Corner in Hyde Park to eat, and I went to look for inspiration. As a result, I met a very interesting guy over there, and his speech was in a very large audience. Even many street vendors couldn't help but put down their work and stand outside the fence to listen to his speech, and the expressions on their faces made it clear that they weren't hired for money. ”

When Arthur heard this, he immediately felt that something was wrong.

He picked up the cloth and wiped his mouth: "Really? What was he talking about? ”

"Actually, it's not a big deal, it's nothing more than encouraging workers to take the initiative to fight for their rights and persuading factory owners to reduce their working hours. By the way, he also advocated the establishment of pre-school education, so that school-age children can enter school and learn something. ”

Arthur took a sip of tea and said, "I probably know who you're talking about." That speaker, is that Mr. Robert Owen? Since his return to England last year, he has been on the move, carrying out various political activities and leading the workers' movement. ”

Alexandre Dumas was stunned: "You know him?" Oh, but yes, I almost forgot that you're a police officer at Scotland Yard. If you don't know him, that's amazing. If it had been in France, Mr. Owen would have been invited to the Paris Police Department to talk. Damn it! Maybe I shouldn't have told you this. You know now that he's giving a talk at Hyde Park, I'm guessing I'm going to chase him away tomorrow, right? ”

"Chase him away? Not really. Arthur held his teacup and said, "Although I have always thought of Britain as a dunghill, the good thing about a dunghill is that you can throw anything into it. If not, how can you be a republican and live in a constitutional monarchy?

Mr. Owen's ideas may be a bit unconventional for the authorities, but as long as they don't pose enough danger, he can stay here.

As I said before, the king is almost a mascot, so the kind of thing that used to catch people based on personal likes and dislikes doesn't work now.

Not to mention the fact that there is also a small group of members of parliament who support some of Mr. Owen's views, and in addition to disagreeing with the argument of public ownership of property, there are some supporters of the reduction of working hours and the establishment of underage education. ”

When Elder heard this, he was also disgusted: "Why is the property publicly owned? My money is floating out of the boat day by day! I don't want to give the fruits of my labor to those idle Irish drunkards. ”

Arthur asked, "What if you and your uncle's property are to be taken public ownership?" ”

"And my uncle?" Elder eyes lit up, and he slapped the table: "Why didn't I think of it!" Can the original public ownership of property still be chosen? ”

When Darwin heard this, he shrugged his shoulders helplessly and said, "Elder, you don't call it public ownership of property, you call it roadblock robbery." And you don't want to use a knife, but you also want to rob your uncle's money. ”

"Huh!" Elder rolled his eyes: "It's been a long time, this Robert Owen doesn't want to use my hard-earned money to feed those rude Irishmen." ”

When Dumas heard this, he couldn't help but ask Arthur with interest: "I thought you weren't interested in this question, but I didn't expect you to know so much." ”

Arthur leaned back in his chair and stretched: "It's just a need for work." After all, if you don't even know your potential job goals, then what is a superintendent? Arresting people in handcuffs can be done by just someone. ”

Seeing that he began to play again, Dumas did not give him room to further force and asked, "Then what do you think about the public ownership of property?" ”

Arthur just smiled: "I'm a Scottish Yard policeman, and I don't have a personal political opinion. ”

"Really?" Alexandre Dumas was a little disappointed: "I thought you were different from the other policemen." But also, how can I have the illusion that there are good people in the police? ”

Hearing this, Arthur took a sip of tea and said, "However, I can paraphrase some other people's opinions, such as John Locke's famous quotes." ”

"Oh? What did he say? ”

Arthur smiled and put down the teacup: "Property cannot be public, power cannot be private. Although I think that Mr. Locke may be too absolute in saying this, it is not a novel understanding to say that if property is publicly owned, it will result in the private ownership of power.

Mr. Owen's ideals are good, but everyone has seen what he has done in the public farms of the Americas for several years. Maybe the brave new world he spoke of could one day be realized, but I am pessimistic that I will definitely not see that day.

So instead of his grandiose slogans, I'd rather look at the few bills he actually proposed, such as reducing working hours and establishing skills schools for teenagers. If all of this happens, I think at least the problem of juvenile crime in the London area will be greatly alleviated. ”

When the red devil on the side heard this, he couldn't help but smile and rub his hands forward: "Oh! My dear Arthur, how could you not see that day? Heaven will appear before your eyes whenever you want. ”

When Arthur heard this, he just took a sip of tea: "Whoever promises heaven to mankind often brings hell to earth. I don't have any illusions about heaven because I know what kind of world I live in. ”

Dumas was thoughtful, and asked, "Would you be interested in going with me tomorrow to hear Monsieur Owen's speech?" ”

Arthur smiled and pulled out a Ministry of Internal Affairs document from his bag hanging behind him.

"Actually, if you don't invite me, I will go, which is the focus of my work for a period of time in the future."

Alexandre Dumas's brow jumped, and he vaguely saw the word 'top secret' on the paper.

"You're spying on Mr. Owen? Don't you Brits like to talk about freedom the most? Is this the freedom of Britain? ”

Arthur first wrote a few lines on the paper, then glanced at him.

He smiled and put his hand on the dining table, and crossed his fingers to drag his chin: "What do you think?" Alexander? Freedom is not about doing whatever you want, it's about not doing what you want. Besides, it's better for me to keep an eye on Mr. Owen than to hand it over to the military police at the War Department, right? ”

(End of chapter)