If you ask an Englishman, where do the rich people in London live?

Then he will surely tell you that the rich people of London live in the West End.

But if the answer was an authentic old Londoner, he would have narrowed it down a bit.

Old London will tell you: "Only the mud-legged nouveau riche would have gathered in places like Kensington, Chelsea, Notting Hill, and the old aristocrats of the real London usually lived in Mayfair." ”

As the old Londoners said, Mayfair, as the earliest developed wealthy area in London, not only has convenient transportation conditions, but also sits on the most luxurious and high-class commercial and art area in London.

The Regency Crescent, Sotheby's, the Royal Academy of Art and, of course, the three major shopping districts in London – Burlington Arcade, famous for its high-end jewellery and luxury goods, Piccadilly Street, famous for its high-end clothing, and Bond Street, which is known for its antique art connoisseurship.

In addition to attracting a large number of wealthy aristocrats with strong spending power to settle here, a large number of foreign embassies were established in the area, including the Imperial Russian Embassy in Britain.

As the wife of the Russian ambassador to Great Britain, Count Livin, Mrs. Livin's residence was naturally located in the embassy.

This previously heavily guarded embassy area was naturally upgraded during the London meeting, and although it was already dusk, the military and police standing guard in front of the embassy still did not dare to relax their vigilance.

Unnoticed by the military and police, Arthur was riding slowly around the embassy in a public carriage.

Beside Arthur sat Elder the Royal Navy cartographer who was holding a triangular ruler and looking up at the embassy from time to time to draw a map of the embassy's topographical structure, and the other was Pinkerton, a little imp who was so nervous that his palms were sweating.

According to Arthur's knowledge of the history of British architecture, the concept of ventilation has rapidly spread in Britain since the outbreak of many large-scale epidemics in London in the 18th century, and high-end residences such as embassies must be equipped with large wooden bellows and vents.

And when the carriage circled around the embassy for the third time, Arthur finally found an inconspicuous square hole behind the eaves of the back door of the embassy, judging by its size of nearly half a meter wide, this should be the air vent.

Most adults are inaccessible to an air vent of this size, but if you replace it with a child who is stunted due to malnutrition, it should be barely accessible.

Arthur pointed to the vent and lowered his voice to Pinkerton and asked, "That's what I and Lingti did, have you done this before?" ”

Pinkerton glanced at the vents, and after a long time, he nodded slowly, "I...... I've swept chimneys before, and this vent looks like a chimney, and I should be able to climb in. It's just ......"

"But what?" Arthur asked softly, "Aaron, if you have a question, don't hesitate to ask it now." It's better to say it now than if you get stuck in a vent after the action starts. Even if you think this operation will fail, you should say so, and I can think of other ways while I still have time. ”

When Pinkerton heard this, he hurriedly waved his hand and said, "No, sir, you misunderstood, I'm not backing down. I'm just wondering, there's no one going to light a campfire under this vent, right? I used to be most afraid of this when I was sweeping the chimney, and some of the masters would light a fire directly under the chimney in order to urge us to finish the work as soon as possible, and I would have nowhere to run when the choking smoke rose. We've had a couple of kids there who were burned to death like this. ”

Elder who was drawing heard Pinkerton's statement and couldn't help but scold: "Are those stupid employers drinking too much Thames water?" When you were sweeping the chimney, he set fire to the bottom? It's no different from intentional homicide, right? ”

Pinkerton just smiled reluctantly, "It can't be helped, sir." The children who sweep the chimney are either dead or better dead. Even if we are smoked to death, no one will care, and the employer can solve the problem by losing a sum of money. ”

Pinkerton couldn't help but hang his head as he said this, and he remembered his current situation.

Arthur looked at him like this, but just put his hand on his head and shook it vigorously: "Aaron, I'm sorry to hear what happened to your fellow chimney workers, but there's nothing I can do about it, at least for the time being. But just because I can't do justice for them doesn't mean I can't cover you. You have to remember that you are now my man, an employee of the Provisional Bureau of Surveys and Surveys of the London Region.

To oppose you is to oppose me, to oppose me is to oppose Scotland Yard and the University of London, to oppose Scotland Yard and the University of London is to oppose the Home Office and the Chancellor's Hall, and to oppose the Home Office and the Chancellor's Chamber is to oppose the entire United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland.

I don't allow anyone to pose a threat to the lives of the little guys under my hands, or even if we take 10,000 steps back, if something really happens to you one day, even if Lao Tzu can't save you, he will definitely send the murderer's whole family to be hanged, about this, you have to have faith in me. ”

After speaking, Arthur also stretched out the little finger of his right hand at Pinkerton, Pinkerton was stunned for a moment, and then remembered what Officer Tom had told him about Arthur's life experience in the past few days, and his heart was suddenly full of courage.

He also stretched out his little finger and hooked Arthur and pulled it gently, and the thumbs of the two were printed together, in the children's innocent and simple behavior language, this represented the official establishment of the oath between them.

Pinkerton took off the new felt hat that Arthur had just bought for him, and a smile spread across his face: "Sir, I believe in you. ”

When Elder heard Arthur's words, he couldn't help but whistle, and he joked: "Arthur, what you said, I was moved when I heard it, if I can't get along another day, I just voted for you, right?" It's a pity, you are the superintendent of Scotland Yard, and the officers and sailors of the Royal Navy dream of a superior like you, and if the commander of the fleet and the head of the Admiralty are willing to cover them like you, we are confident that we will win the war even if we start a war with the navies of all Europe at the same time. ”

When Arthur heard this, he just quipped, "Come on, Elder, although I don't know much about the Royal Navy, I know that their goal is to be able to deal with the war with the four sea powers at once. If Scotland Yard had such strength, would I still be thinking about whether or not to steal through the vents? With a wave of my hand, General Codrington's naval guns can wipe out the Russian embassy, and when the smoke clears, I'll go straight in through the main entrance to pick up something. ”

Elder shrugged his shoulders and said, "If you are willing to take the responsibility for General Codrington, he may really agree to help you like this, after all, the Ottoman Turkish fleet is like paper paste in front of him." You may not need him to go out for such a small thing as blowing up the Russian embassy, you can let the unemployed General Corcoran go to work, after all, he is not worried about using bomb ships to sneak attack the enemy once or twice, and he is the most professional in explosives. ”

Arthur just smiled, he patted Pinkerton on the shoulder, and patiently explained to him, "I brought you here today to let you observe the nearby terrain first." I know that you are a serious 'craftsman', and that your amazing skill is so great that even old Eugene of St. Giles will praise you. If it weren't for that, I wouldn't have thought of you in this matter.

Of course, I asked you to do this job, of course, not to let you die. Unlike the chimney, the vent has no campfire underneath it, and it should normally lead to a wooden blower that speeds up air circulation. But I don't know exactly where the blower is placed in which room, and how far away the room where the blower is placed is from the bedroom where the information might be stored.

So today, your task is to climb in through the vents when I enter the embassy to find out what's going on outside. I'll try to get the attention of the embassy staff as much as possible, so you have plenty of time to figure it out and take your time and don't rush.

Even if you don't gather valuable information, it's not a big deal, and this mission is important but not necessary, so safety comes first. ”

Arthur didn't take him out of the car until he was sure that Pinkerton understood him.

He first glanced around at the pedestrians around him, and then, taking advantage of no one to notice, he grabbed Pinkerton and jumped into the back door of the embassy.

Arthur lit his pipe outside the wall, smoking a cigarette and watching Pinkerton's ass disappear at the end of the vent, until he was no longer visible, Arthur took the gramophone at his feet and walked to the main entrance of the embassy, smiling and handing out his business card to the military police standing guard.

"Please inform Mrs. Levine that Arthur Hastings is coming."

Unexpectedly, the military policeman with the musket on his back didn't even look at the business card, he just stared at Arthur's face for a while before he laughed and spoke.

"I didn't expect that Hastings that Mrs. Levine was talking about was really you. Come in, Madame is meeting her inside, and you should be able to see her at once now. ”

Seeing that the military police actually knew him, Arthur couldn't help but be curious: "Who are you?" ”

The military police didn't say much, he just stood up and saluted: "That murder and corpse theft case was handled very beautifully, I am very happy to have fought side by side with you." In the meantime, allow me to thank you in person, for my brother's body was once dug up by the rats, and you gave me a chance to take revenge. ”

When Arthur heard this, he just smiled lightly, and he also remembered who the other party was at this time: "I also thank you for your dedication, as far as I know, there is not a single mischief in the Fifth Royal Guards Infantry Regiment, and the Wellington Guard is not in vain." ”

The military police smiled and gave Arthur the way: "Superintendent Hastings, please pass." ”

Arthur nodded in return, and then walked into the embassy, which was actually an embassy and more like a luxurious private residence.

A garden with a stone-paved walkway decorated with marble statues on either side of the walkway.

It's just that some of these stone carvings have been completed, some are only half carved, and some of them look like they have just started, but they have just drawn a rough outline on the brick surface with a pen on the outside.

It seems that these statues may not have been made by professional stonemasons, but by stone carving enthusiasts.

He looked up at the marble statues, and then at the color of the stone path under his feet, and instantly seemed to understand something.

Sure enough, geniuses are always in the minority, no matter what period it is, people's addiction to food is always the main theme.

Arthur thought about these things, and soon jumped over the stone walkway of dozens of meters, and walked up the steps to the antechamber supported by four stone pillars more than three meters high.

When two military attachés of the embassy in the uniform of a Russian officer with a long sword tied around his waist and a bearded man standing by the door chatting casually saw the guest, one immediately turned back to report the news, and the other took the initiative to interrogate Arthur in his exotic English.

Fortunately, the interrogation did not last long, and the military attache who went back to report the news soon returned.

He spoke, "Mr. Hastings, wait a minute. The head maid said that Mrs. Levine was putting on her makeup, and that you could go to the lounge and sit down for a while. ”

When Arthur heard this, he remembered what the military police standing guard at the door had said to him before.

Isn't Mrs. Levine entertaining? How can you wear makeup?

However, Arthur didn't say the question directly, but smiled and took out the tin box containing tobacco from his pocket and asked, "Do you want to have some of this?" The tobacco produced in Santo Domingo in the West Indies tastes quite pure. The tobacco there is generally used to make cigars, and if it weren't for a friend of mine who worked on a plantation there, a little cop like me wouldn't have gotten his hands on such a good thing. ”

The two military attachés were about to refuse, but when they heard that the tobacco was produced in the West Indias, they hesitated for a while, and then they readily agreed: "Then you are welcome." ”

Arthur handed over the tin box, and after a while, he saw a cloud of smoke outside the antechamber of the embassy.

The bearded military attache gave a thumbs up while sipping his cigarette and praised: "Compared with Russian tobacco, it is indeed much stronger, and we are not suitable for growing tobacco there." ”

Another bearded military attache who spoke English couldn't find anything to say, and laughed: "Sir, you said you are a policeman?" It's a coincidence, I can also be considered a police officer, if so, we are still together. ”

When Arthur heard this, he took two puffs of his cigarette and asked, "Really?" Are you a police officer in the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia? ”

The bearded man waved his hand: "You know Russia quite well, I used to be the establishment of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, but a few years ago the department was reformed, and I was transferred out of the Ministry of Internal Affairs." ”

"Really? Then I have to congratulate you. Arthur quipped, "It's not a good job as a police officer, even if you transfer to another department to clean up, you can be considered a high promotion." ”

"Hahaha!" Arthur's remarks were to the bearded man's heart, and he also joked: "I'd rather I was a cleaner, you may not know that after the reform of the department, my work has become more difficult than before." ”

"Oh? Why is that? ”

"Why?" The bearded man let out a big puff of smoke: "Of course it's because I'm in the third hall of the fucking Imperial Office, and while I'm mostly working on documents right now, there's a fucking lot of them." ”

The third hall of the Imperial Office?

When Arthur heard the name, the smile on his face suddenly became even brighter.

It seems that the rough-looking bearded military attache in front of him is really not lying, he and Arthur are indeed peers.

The third hall of the Imperial Office, perhaps the name sounds too literary and incomprehensible.

In Russia, the local people usually called it - the tsar's secret police.

(End of chapter)