The second-floor box of the Astrid Amphitheater has a much better view than the box of the closed theater, thanks to the semi-open structure of the theater.

In front of the box is an extended-style balcony with a view of the stars and the moon, and a view of the theater in the center of the stage.

There, the theater staff is nervously preparing the props for tonight's performance, countless iron cans, several meters of copper pillars, and a rose-red curtain falling inch by inch.

In the box, Lionel Rothschild looked at the young man who was leaning on the balcony sofa and sipping wine while writing a few sentences from time to time.

He turned to Arthur and asked, "Arthur, who is this?" ”

Arthur chuckled softly: "Sorry, Lionel, I forgot to introduce you, this is the famous German poet - Mr. Heinrich Heine." You must have read his book "Heine's Poems", right?

In terms of his perception of society, Mr. Heine was able to write such forward-looking and philosophical poems as 'the beginning of the burning of books, the end of the burning of people'.

When talking about the sorrow of love, he can also write the sorrow of 'I have possessed your heart for a long time, but you have forgotten it'.

Congratulations, Lionel, and I'm honored to inform you that The Brit has just received an amazing author. ”

Arthur turned his back to Heine and winked at him with a smile as he said something praising Heine.

Lionel was stunned for a moment, then quickly grasped the hidden meaning of Arthur's words, and he lowered his voice and asked, "If you say that, Mr. Heine's new work, those offensive remarks about Rothschild......"

Arthur also smiled and whispered: "Lionel, Britain is a country with a free press, and we can't censor a new work. But at the same time, the British's editorial board agreed that controversial remarks should be avoided as much as possible. We all understand that risks can never be avoided, but at the moment, in my opinion, risks are generally manageable. ”

When Lionel heard this, he couldn't help but smile and patted Arthur's chest with the back of his hand: "Arthur, it seems that even if you are not a policeman, you will do a good job as a stockbroker." You're right, we're not afraid of risk, it's everywhere, we see risk in a manageable way, and for me, that's enough. ”

Arthur took out the red wine from the cupboard, poured a little into each of the two goblets, and lightly raised the glass to touch Lionel.

The wine glasses collided, and there was a crunch sound, and the wavy wine only reflected the slightly hooked corners of his mouth: "Lionel, most of the malice in the world comes from not knowing or knowing too much. If you can talk to him, maybe Mr. Heine will retract it himself. ”

Heine heard the conversation behind him, and couldn't help but get up and turn around, he glanced at Lionel, frowned and asked Arthur, "Mr. Hastings, who is this next to you?" ”

This time, without waiting for Arthur to reply, Lionel took the initiative to greet him with a smile: "Mr. Heine, I am really honored to meet you here. To introduce myself, I'm a banker, one of the investors in British, and a big supporter of yours. Truth be told, I buy two copies of your poetry collections, one for reading and one for collectibles. If you don't mind, just call me Lionel. ”

"Banker? Investor? ”

Heine quickly caught the key words in Lionel's words, and he pondered for a long time, and finally, in his heart, the respect for the owner of the money slightly outweighed the disgust for the banker.

Heine shook Lionel's hand: "It's a pleasure to meet you, sir. I also feel very honored to be able to share my travel insights and insights with readers in The British. ”

Lionel complimented: "Your lyric poetry is absolutely superb, even if you look at Europe." I'm a little embarrassed to say that I touched my wife with your love poems, and I really appreciate you for helping me win a love. ”

"Oh? Is it? ”

Heine smiled awkwardly when he heard this: "So it seems that you are luckier than me. Most of those love poems were written by me to my cousin, and when I finished writing them, I felt that there was probably nothing more outstanding and emotional in German literature than these poems. But what I didn't expect was that my cousin obviously didn't understand literature and didn't have any feelings. If there's one thing I regret in my life, it's that I didn't kill the dog man and woman. ”

As soon as Heine's words came out, Lionel, who had always had a good cultivation, suddenly stiffened his smile, and he maintained that smile and turned his head to look at Arthur beside him, his eyes were full of doubts and doubts, as if he was asking Arthur: "Are you sure this guy standing in front of me is Heine?" Which of the best lyric poets in Germany? ”

Arthur also understood what Lionel was thinking, he calmly lifted his coat, took out the pistol inserted in the holster and handed it to Heine's hand, and said with a little apology: "Mr. Heine, I'm sorry to hear this news. I'll give you a gun and talk about my condolences. ”

Seeing this, Lionel hurriedly pressed Arthur's hand back: "Arthur, are you crazy?" Are you going to encourage Mr. Heine to go to a duel of honor? That could kill him! ”

Arthur raised an eyebrow: "What's the big deal about a duel. Before Mr. Heine went for revenge and a duel of honor, I had already duel. ”

Seeing this, Heine waved his hand: "Thank you for your kindness, Mr. Hastings, but the pistol is free, and I can afford it myself." Well...... Maybe I'd better call you Arthur now, but you're a good friend. ”

Heine patted Arthur on the shoulder and said, "You don't have to worry about me, I was just a little bit of a thing, and I didn't know women yet." That's why I planted a heel in her, I was only about 20 years old at that time, and it was easy to believe the nonsense in the book, thinking that women have no personality, as long as they are sincere enough, they can impress them.

But now I have proved with what I have seen and experienced that women are not without personality, but they have a new personality every day. Damn it! At that time, no one told me the second half of the sentence. Arthur, you are still young, you must be wary of my experience! ”

Arthur pinched his chin and pondered, "Is that all you have learned?" Is there anything else? ”

Heine picked up his glass and shook it twice, pacing around the room: "Again...... I'm afraid it's the truth of getting along with my lover's father. But I feel like it's all minutiae, and it's nothing if you can't learn it, and as long as you can smitten her, her father won't be able to stand in the way. ”

"The lover's father?" Lionel asked, "Are you talking about your cousin's father, your uncle, Mr. Solomon Heine?" ”

As soon as Lionel finished speaking, Agareth, who was sleeping on the sofa in pajamas and nightcaps, lifted the quilt and looked around: "Solomon? Where's the Solomon Place? ”

Arthur glanced at the Red Devil, but was rather amuseful and did not intend to comment on his star-chasing behavior.

Heine looked at Lionel in surprise: "How do you know my uncle's name?" ”

Lionel smiled and said, "I said before that I am your avid supporter, and I have collected every review of your poetry collection. And the experience of a well-known figure like you is no secret, and I am also friends with Mr. Mendelssohn, whose father is a well-known local banker in Hamburg. And your uncle, Solomon Heine, was also a successful man in the Hamburg banking industry, and it was all too easy for me to ask him about the Heine family. ”

"Is that so......" Heine couldn't help but pout, "Did he tell you the little story of me and my uncle?" ”

Lionel asked, "Are you talking about the Hamburg banking banquet?" ”

Heine raised his eyebrows, shook his head again and again, and said, "You really know." ”

Arthur, who has always been sensitive to intelligence, asked unwillingly: "So, what is going on?" ”

"This ......" Lionel glanced at Heine beside him and smiled apologetically: "It may be a little inconvenient to say." ”

Heine said, "It's nothing, if you don't say it, then I'll say it myself, it's all in the past anyway." And until now I haven't changed my opinion, that's how I live, and no one can change me in the slightest. Only cowards who have done something bad will hide it, and I never bother to do anything like that. ”

Heine cleared his throat and then spoke, "As you mentioned, my uncle was a banker, so I was sent by my father to study business with him not long after I came of age. But my uncle, the man, was so vulgar that he paid little attention to anything but money. And he hated me writing poetry so much that he scolded me for writing these things all day long, rather than learning to keep accounts quickly.

But he had to understand that there was a limit to my patience, and that he would have to pay the price sooner or later when he scolded me like this. So, at a political and business gathering in Hamburg, I talked to my wife about parenting with my wife, and I shouted to them: 'Prenatal education is very important, and my mother read elegant literature and art when she was pregnant, so I want to become a poet.' My uncle's mother was a robber when she was pregnant with him, so my uncle became a banker. ’”

When Arthur heard this, he couldn't help pinching his chin and nodded slightly, "You should have told this story earlier!" Now I finally understand why your cousin is sneering at you. ”

Lionel, who was also a banker, looked uncomfortable eating a fly, and he coughed and said, "Mr. Heine, in fact, my wife is also my cousin. It seems to me that we have all had similar experiences. They both came from banker families, they both loved their cousins, and they even used the same poems when courting. But the difference between success and failure may be a subtle way of expressing it. Sometimes, it's also important to express your grievances tactfully. ”

Heine raised his glass and touched Arthur and Lionel: "You're all right, so I'm not trying to be as restrained as I am now?" At least I'm not going to say that Metternich has hemorrhoids now. ”

Lionel's wine had just been put into his mouth and he hadn't swallowed it, but when he heard this, he was almost choked to death by Heine.

He leaned on the sofa and coughed, "Monsieur Heine, I have to say that you have a reason to be a poet. Just one word, one word can produce power that ordinary people can't reach. You have such a talent, you can use it with more caution in the future! ”

As soon as he finished speaking, there was a knock on the door of the box, and a well-dressed waiter hurriedly walked in and whispered beside Lionel: "Sir, the most honorable guest in Britain has departed from St. James's Palace. Look, do you want to go downstairs and get ready for a grand greeting outside the theater? ”

When Lionel heard this, he hurriedly asked, "Did Your Majesty bring any entourage with you?" ”

The waiter replied: "The news just came back that said that he only brought a few close attendants, most of whom were ministers of the palace affairs department. ”

Hearing this, Lionel said, "Then don't make it too grand, just welcome it simply." Everyone knew that His Majesty didn't like to put on a big show, and his most annoying hobby was limited to giving a few lengthy speeches to a crowd of guests after a drunken banquet. Judging from his entourage, his visit to the duel this time was just temporary entertainment, not for any political purpose. His Majesty probably just disliked that tonight's court ball was too boring, and he did hate these social things. ”

When the waiter heard this, he nodded, and added: "Young Master, there was news just now: although His Majesty did not bring any outsiders this time, it seems that the few outsiders include the two brothers Henry Angelo. I have heard that both of them have just returned from the Balkans this afternoon and have been summoned by His Majesty to St. James's Palace. ”

"Brother Angelo?"

When Lionel heard this, he couldn't help frowning: "This...... It's a bit tricky. ”

Seeing Lionel in trouble, Arthur followed him out the door, and he asked, "Is there something wrong?" ”

Lionel said with some embarrassment: "Arthur, I'm afraid you and Bertrand will have to show some real skills today. The arrival of His Majesty the King brought with him some unknown variables, and he seems to have brought with him two connoisseurs. You've probably heard of the Angelo brothers, right? ”

"Henry Angelo?" Arthur thought for a moment: "I know there is an Angelo sword school on Bond Street, and it has something to do with them?" ”

Lionel nodded: "That's right, that school was founded by their father." Since the death of Angelo Sr., the school is now in the hands of the brothers. If the two of them hadn't gone to the Balkans some time ago to study Hungarian swordsmanship, it would have been absolutely impossible to watch Bertrand go wild in London. ”

Arthur asked, "Listen to you say that, these brothers are very powerful?" ”

Lionel took a deep breath: "I don't know if they're really good or not. But among the two brothers, Angelo's Scottish Highland broadsword was listed as the basic training of the 42nd Scottish Royal Highland Infantry Regiment, also known as the 'Black Guards'. Angelo Jr. was even better than Angelo Jr., and his hand-to-hand combat knife technique tailored for the sailors of the Excellence was now included in the Royal Navy's standard training subjects.

His martial arts book "Infantry Swordsmanship Practice" was listed as a guide to the sword training of infantry and cavalry in the United Kingdom. As you know, His Majesty has served in the Royal Navy for more than a decade, so he has a lot of respect for the Angelo brothers, who set the standard for swordsmanship in the army, and I heard a while ago that His Majesty seems to be interested in appointing them as Chief of Swordsmanship for the Army and the Royal Navy, respectively. ”

When Arthur heard this, he couldn't help muttering: "The head of the 800,000 London Forbidden Army? Kind of interesting......"

Seeing Arthur's calm appearance, Lionel sighed and said: "Arthur, our script is estimated to be no problem for a layman, but in the face of an expert like the Angelo brothers." And they are still standing by His Majesty's side, in case...... If this spreads, our reputation will not be very good. Even if it can't be passed on, we will ...... on His Majesty's side."

Arthur pondered for a while, and then suddenly spoke: "Lionel, you are right. It seems that our script has had to be changed temporarily. ”

"Do you have a way?"

"There are solutions, but the implementation depends not only on me and Mr. Bertrand. Lionel, you are also important tonight. ”

"Me?" Lionel was stunned: "What exactly do you want me to do?" ”

Arthur beckoned to him, and whispered in his ear: "Listen to me, when the duel begins, you will first stabilize His Majesty and Brother Angelo......"

Tomorrow to make up for the alliance leader's arrears

(End of chapter)