Prince Albert is the uncrowned King of the British Empire.

But in a way, he was also under tremendous pressure, and although he was attached to the queen and respected by the entire royal family, he was still considered by many to be an outsider in the British Empire.

And many people suspect that this prince is manipulating their queen.

In addition, because he has been plagued by illness for a long time, he has a little more empathy for pain.

At this time, I saw Ba Xiali's hands raised high, as well as the glass bottle in his hand.

It's like seeing two desperate trapped beasts.

It's like Don Quixote rushing to the windmill.

Although he didn't plan to use it, he still stepped forward and accepted the bottle with his own hands, and Su Yu worked hard to make metronidazole.

"Okay, I'll take it." Prince Albert said, "Two gentlemen, I think you should go and get some sleep." Tomorrow when the sun rises, you may be able to find a new direction. ”

"Plus, I'm really going to be late." The prince laughed.

Suddenly, Sir Bashali quickly got out of the way.

"Your Royal Highness, you must give this miraculous medicine a try, it will definitely surprise you, and you will definitely be impressed by Sir Su Yu." Bashali shouted loudly, having completely lost his proper demeanor.

Then, under the protection of the royal cavalry, Prince Albert's carriage drove out.

And the Basha Rite remained in place, full of hopeful eyes, as the carriage disappeared from view.

Bao Ling said: "Mr. Bashali, do you feel my despair? ”

Sir Bashali said, "Sir Baling, we are on a great path. You're sighing here, do you know what Sir Su Yu is going through? ”

"There is little hope on our side, and we may not be able to fulfill our secret agreement with him at all. But he has given everything for this. ”

"He has offended his emperor, he has been left out in the cold, he has been isolated, he has lost the emperor's favor. He had already been saddled with a debt of more than 10 million taels of silver, he had already swayed more than 100,000 families to Jiujiang, and he had already traveled all over China in search of any possible potential collaborators. ”

"In terms of the amount of investment, can we compare to him? We are only invested in our future. ”

"And what he invested in was his reputation, all his future, and the fate of hundreds of thousands of people."

"What reason do we have to complain? I have spent more time in China than you have in the UK, and I have probably spent more time reading Chinese books than British books, and I want to give you a Chinese idiom, which is a waste of boats! ”

"Sir Bao Ling, we are going to visit our potential allies one by one, and we are going to prepare for the fulfillment of the secret treaty."

Sir Bao Ling said: "However, we have not yet impressed His Royal Highness, and we have to pay all our political resources at this time?" It's likely to go to waste. ”

At this time, the assets that two people can get out are probably about hundreds of thousands of pounds.

In addition, there is a distribution right for penicillin.

If you want to negotiate things in London, you need to invest constantly and spend a lot of money on lobbying.

Therefore, it is necessary to give up part of the distribution rights of penicillin, and to give up the equity interests in the gold mines in the Malay Peninsula.

According to the normal way, they should wait until Prince Albert's attitude is clear, and then their side will start to operate the next secret cooperation.

Otherwise, the money and political resources invested may be wasted.

Sir Bashali said: "Although you did not understand it, I still give you that idiom, and I will ruin the boat!" ”

"Do really big things, don't leave yourself a way back, then there is hope for success."

"No matter how much we give, are we worthy of Sir Su Yu?"

Sir Bao Ling didn't know if he was excited by this chicken blood, or because he had no choice.

Next, he swept away the decadence, and once again paid a lot of money to lobby various magnates and consortia in London.

Because he was not welcomed, he became a blacklist for many salons and cocktail parties.

Therefore, I paid for a salon and a cocktail party.

Sponsor Cambridge University and Oxford University in exchange for political lectures.

Explain his political views over and over again.

The words are ready-made, which is the panic that Su Yu persuaded them.

Su Yu sorted it out afterwards and wrote it in English, with a total of tens of thousands of words.

From all aspects, the important role of the development of the Qing Dynasty in the British hegemonic order and the important role of the development of the Qing Dynasty in the reshaping of the British global market are expounded. Develop the important role of the Qing State in suppressing the hegemonic pursuer of the United States, and develop the strategic role of the Qing State in containing the expansion of the Tsarist Russian Empire.

Frequently contact with major consortia, spend money like dirt, and hold party after party.

Surrender all kinds of interests and attract major capital consortia to take the bait.

The three million pounds bill in Ba Xiali's hand was the 10 million taels of silver that Su Yu had tried his best to raise, and it was displayed in public again and again.

Finally, a small wave was made in London.

But in the end!

Still pointing in one direction.

Even if we have the will to cooperate, we must not contradict the foreign policy of the British Empire.

Otherwise, the British Imperial fleet rushed up and directly bombarded it clean, and everyone's investment was not wasted?

Congress, for its part, is resolutely following the war line.

Then I hope that the royal family will open another alternative route.

Only with the endorsement of the royal family can this investment be secured.

Eventually, all the sticking points went to Prince Albert's side.

………………………………………………

And Prince Albert was at a meeting with the envoy of the French Emperor Napoleon III.

"Your Royal Highness, His Majesty the Emperor is extremely angry that the barbaric Qing government has captured dozens of our devout Catholics and brutally executed Father Marai, and has planned to send an expeditionary force into the Qing Kingdom."

"Even, even without the cooperation of the British Empire, we will still independently send an expeditionary force to attack...... Country. ”

Prince Albert listened gently to the other's explanation.

Of course, he knew that the French Emperor Napoleon III was having a very difficult time at this time, and there were voices of opposition to his dictatorship in the country, and I don't know how many political forces opposed his censorship, opposed his suppression of parliament, and so on.

As a common means, it is to use external wars to gather internal will.

Therefore, the French emperor was more eager to start a war against the Qing court than the British Empire.

"Your Royal Highness, those ignorant and ridiculous Qing people are completely incomprehensible to civilized language, only guns can make them sober up, His Majesty the Emperor implores the British Empire to speed up the pace, increase the scale of the war, and completely destroy all the will of the Qing Kingdom to resist in one fell swoop."

"Recently, Ye Mingchen, the governor of the Qing Dynasty, has been almost unreasonable to the British Empire, arresting and abusing the diplomatic officials of the British Empire, and using tens of thousands of troops to try to surround the normal garrison of the British Empire in Guangzhou, and regard it as a great diplomatic victory, I am absolutely sure that the entire upper echelons of the Qing Dynasty are now celebrating and laughing at our weakness."

"All of this is because of the negotiation between Bao Ling and Su Yu, which made the Qing State completely miscalculate our will."

Prince Albert said: "On the part of Congress, this war has already been debated, and I believe that there will be a result soon." ”

The envoy of the French Emperor said: "Yes, I believe that Her Majesty the Wise Queen will make the right decision." The friendship between our two countries will certainly lead to an unprecedented brilliant victory in this war. ”

"But apart from Parliament, we are more eager for the support of Her Majesty and you."

Prince Albert said: "Her Majesty's position is of course consistent with that of Parliament. ”

The envoy of the French Emperor said: "It should be said that the position of your parliament has always been the same as that of Her Majesty, and Her Majesty is supreme. ”

………………………………

Just as Ba Ha Li said, Su Yu is in a ruin.

Soon after the first batch of 6,000 immigrants arrived in Jiujiang, 800 new troops marched north again and entered Beijing again.

This time, fifteen thousand newcomers need to be taken away.

After a long period of fermentation, there are already many voices in the inner court that are suppressing and eliminating the miracle name of Su Yu.

said that he recovered Jiangxi, but in fact he did not fight a decent war.

The real big battles were fought by the Hunan army, and Su Yu used conspiracy and trickery to recover the two cities of Nanchang and Jiujiang.

At this time, Su Yao was in Jiangxi, only four or five thousand troops, while the Hunan army was in Jiangxi, with tens of thousands of troops.

can't fight the Hunan army.

And the last so-called diplomatic victory was not so remarkable at all.

It was the British who were originally cowardly, and they were originally paper tigers.

They have exhausted their national strength in the Crimean War, and there are constant uprisings on the Indian side.

So there is simply no way to fight China anymore.

Speaking of which, many people in the court did not know where Crimea was, what the Crimean War, what the Sikh War on the Indian side, all of which Su Yu said in the court.

This time, Governor Ye Mingchen not only allowed the British to completely withdraw their troops from Guangzhou, but also detained British officials, obtaining a greater diplomatic victory, which was simply a glory for the country.

In the name of the miracle of cracking down on Su Yu, of course, he wanted to reduce the support of the people for him.

In fact, it also had a certain effect.

Originally, the second batch should have been about 18,000 people.

In the end, some people did dismiss the idea.

But in the end, there were still 15,000 people, which was far beyond the expectations of Su Yu and others.

That's because the first batch of people who went to Jiujiang wrote letters to their families.

Moreover, it's all a long story.

said that he had a good life in Jiujiang, eating well, dressing well, and living well.

The land has been allocated, and the land deed has been obtained.

It's all first-class good fields.

However, they are not ready to go farming anymore and are now learning to read every day.

Learn all kinds of knowledge.

Now that the factory has not yet been built, they have already received a salary, one or two or five dollars a month.

plus 36 taels of silver for settling down, and clothes and daily necessities, and a house to live in.

Meals are in the cafeteria, much better than eating at home, the price is cheap, and the money is simply not spent.

During this time, it was a fairy-like day.

These family letters instantly reassured the uneasy parents.

Next, they took the letters and circulated them everywhere.

The second batch of immigrants, who were originally shaken, once again had high hopes and strengthened their confidence.

In fact, according to Su Yu's original intention, the core members of this first batch of industries wanted to be recruited in Jiangsu and Zhejiang.

Because a lot of the population over there is also of very high quality.

However, the plan could not keep up with the changes, so he needed to raise funds in the capital.

As a result, this first batch of core members became Zhili youth.

became an immigrant who traveled thousands of miles.

There is no way, who invests, who benefits.

Whoever invests, who can be with you.

Because, it has become a community of interests.

And this time, and this time Bai Feifei is also going south.

He sold most of the business in the capital, taking the last sum of money with him.

All those who are willing to follow her will go to Jiangxi together.

If they are unwilling to follow her, they will give a severance money.

Su Quan also has the heart to go south.

But he couldn't.

Su He's father is an official, and he deserves three days of fishing and two days of drying nets. After Su Lu left, Su Quan was his representative in the capital.

If he is gone, it will bring a very bad signal.

It will make people think, is Su Yu having a huge unpleasantness with the emperor.

Your whole family is gone, what does that mean?

"Xianggong, after I leave, you will do less and talk less in the court, just watch quietly." Bai Feifei said: "If you have something, go to Lord Chong'en to discuss, don't bury your head in making decisions alone, don't let me worry, you know?" ”

Su Quan nodded.

But Bai Feifei was still not at ease.

Next, the capital may be in turmoil.

Relying on Lord Chong'en, I'm afraid that I won't be able to shelter this family.

……………………………………

The queen summoned Princess Shou'an again.

"Fourth sister, the Naiman Palace's side has already sent someone to urge, aren't you going back?" The queen said in a low voice: "Didn't you promise to go back to Mongolia before?" ”

Princess Shou'an shook her head and said, "I originally planned to go back, but now I don't see the limelight right, I want to stay in the capital." ”

The queen said: "What are you doing in the capital?" ”

Princess Shou'an said: "Shelter Su Yu's family, Chong'en's temper is too straight, and his status is not high enough, so he can't shelter." ”

The queen said: "What kind of ecstasy soup did he pour on you, making you so desperate." ”

Princess Shou'an's face turned red, I don't know if it was ecstasy soup, anyway, I didn't pour it less, and I poured it up and down together, and it didn't taste good at all.

Seeing Princess Shou'an's instantly red face, the queen said, "Fourth sister, you ...... You shouldn't have a big belly, that's a big disaster. ”

Princess Shou'an said in a low voice: "How can it be so coincidental? ”

said this, and directly betrayed herself, indicating that the two must have happened to them.

Bah!

The queen snorted secretly and scolded the two of them for being shameless.

Then, Princess Shou'an retorted and said, "Your stomach, why don't you have any news at all?" ”

The queen said: "No, it's nothing, don't count on it." ”

Princess Shou'an said: "You, the queen, let her fly over there." She recently disciplined Concubine Lian again, and I heard that she also moved the family law. ”

The queen said: "Well, this lotus concubine used to be flamboyant, but now she is much more low-key." ”

Princess Shou'an said: "You, you just can't stand up." Watch out for one day when she rides on top of you. ”

The queen said: "That's not it, she still has this kind of eyesight." ”

That afternoon!

Princess Shou'an openly went to Su Yu's house and visited Qingqing.

teased Su Yu's baby son.

Then, I stayed for dinner.

This is a strong signal to the outside world that whatever happens, you can stop in moderation.

Su Yu's family, I am covered with Princess Shuo.

Don't forget, Su Yu is going to marry Princess Shouxi.

Regardless of the rumors outside, Su Yu is still the emperor's trusted governor of Jiangxi.

As the emperor's fourth sister, the only sister of the same father and mother, in many cases, she is still able to represent the holy will.

So, this statement is still useful.

……………………………………………………

Next!

Hundreds of new troops, guarding Bai Feifei and other hundreds of people, as well as 15,000 new immigrants, left the capital.

Hao Hao left the capital and went to Tianjin.

On the sea, more than 300 large ships are waiting.

It's not just about transporting people, it's also about loading all kinds of supplies.

During this time, Su Yao used a huge amount of gold and silver every day to purchase all kinds of materials.

Mountains of materials were transported to Jiujiang by boat.

A few days later!

Wang Tianyang led hundreds of new troops, with 15,000 new immigrants, lined up neatly and boarded the big ship.

At this time, the commander of the new army has become Ronglu.

He will be a man, come and see him off in person, and he will assist him in every way.

It was not until everyone had landed and hundreds of large ships had gone to sea that they had lost their backs.

The new army's God of Wealth sneered on the side: "Zhonghua, what are you doing with your hot face and sticking Su Yu's cold ass?" Didn't you see Wang Tianyang, and the way the soldiers under him looked at you? Cold. ”

In the eyes of Wang Tianyang, Zhaobu and others, Rong Lu was a betrayer.

Everyone chose to follow Dashuai to Jiujiang, but you Ronglu stayed in Tianjin and became the new deputy minister of the New Army instead.

But in Su Yu's opinion, where can Rong Lu be a betrayer?

He has always been the emperor's person, and he is outside the Su Yu system, but at a critical moment, he once stood in line with Su Yu.

And on the surface, he has a lot of respect for Su Yu.

Of course, now that he is in the new army system, he has comprehensively adopted the de-Soviet system and built a new army of the Ronglu system, which is also a normal political behavior, and there is nowhere to take responsibility.

Yixuan smiled on the side: "He's gone, I'm really relieved." In the two years of his reign, I was really pressed and couldn't breathe, and every tael of silver was clearly asked. That guy in Waittab longed for a hundred pairs of eyes to stare at me. ”

"Su Yu is a clean official, he is really angry, it's better to leave early. He does not get rich himself, and he does not allow others to get rich. ”

Rong Lu frowned, very uncomfortable with Yixuan's words.

What's wrong? When you were under Su Yu, you didn't dare to be greedy? Under me, you're going to be greedy?

But Yixuan thinks, Ronglu, don't give me a shelf, the reason why you were able to get into the new army in the first place was because of my path.

Of course, Yixuan himself is still following the path of Boyan.

It's just that now Bo Yan is unlucky, but Rong Lu has become the deputy minister of the New Army and a member of the three products.

……………………………………

And at this time!

Dagukou, not far from the New Army camp.

It's in full swing.

The three bigwigs, Seng Greenqin, Shengbao, and Guiliang, are conducting a joint inspection.

Dagukou Fort.

Several times the Yangyi fleet came to the sea of Tianjin to force the capital, and it was also shocking to Tianjin three times a day.

Therefore, the emperor and the imperial court are determined that this Dagukou fort must be expanded and repaired.

Originally, in Emperor Daoguang, the Dagukou Fort Group was already quite large-scale. There are five large forts and twelve earthen forts.

After this threat, it was decided to upgrade these battery groups.

The fort fortress group was strengthened and part of the artillery was updated.

So a huge amount of money was allocated, and the project began a few months ago, almost a year earlier than in history.

As the minister of the Imperial Mission, Seng Grinqin was in charge of this project.

Today, the project is in its final stages.

Monk Greenqin and other three bigwigs came to accept the first batch of projects.

Look at the swarthy artillery, stretching for miles.

Monk Lingqin said with confidence: "This time, I am no longer afraid of the Yangyi army coming, Tianjin City, and Shuntianfu will no longer be shocked three times a day." ”

Sheng Bao said: "If the Yangyi fleet doesn't come, it's enough, once it comes, he will definitely not come back." ”

Gui Liang said: "The Yangyi fleet will not come, on the Guangzhou side, Ye Mingchen forced the Yangyi army in Guangzhou to retreat to Hong Kong, and made a great contribution to completely suppress Su Yu. ”

At this time, Su dragged the immigrant fleet, and hundreds of large ships were moving south in front of them, and they couldn't see the border at a glance.

Gui Liang said: "Lord Wang, do you understand Su Yu's behavior?" ”

Sheng Bao said: "I can't understand, I can't understand, I don't want to do a good favorite, I insist on setting up a factory, which annoys the emperor and loses my holy family." ”

Gui Liang said: "More than 20,000 people have been relocated, and the silver of the Anjia family alone is nearly one million. I don't know how much it costs to get these hundreds of boatloads of supplies. With such a large amount of money, the borrowed money is still used so generously. These tens of millions of taels of silver, I'm afraid that it won't be long before he spoils it clean, and he won't even be able to see the hair of a factory at that time. ”

"Why is he so generous? Are the days gone? ”

Hasn't he thought about what the consequences will be if he loses? Not only will he have nothing, but hundreds of thousands of creditors will tear his heart, which is the coffin book of hundreds of thousands of families. ”

At this time, it's really a summer insect that can't speak ice.

Su Yu took advantage of the last quiet period before the outbreak of the war, desperately procuring supplies, and building his base as quickly as possible.

If this war is fought, it will be completely subversive for everything.

The majesty of the Qing court would be a devastating blow.

……………………………………………………………………

After leaving Changsha!

Su Yu kept going, and came to the outside of Tianjing City again.

That's right!

It is outside the Tianjing City of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom.

He came to have a secret talk with Hong Xiuquan's secret envoy Lin Shaozhang.

The Tianjing Incident killed too many people, and the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom lost a large number of high-ranking people.

Lin Shaozhang was able to take power and became the deputy prime minister of the heavenly kingdom.

This person can barely be regarded as an elite person in the kingdom of heaven.

This time, there is only one content for the two people to talk about for the time being.

The waterway of the Yangtze River is shared and does not invade each other.

Because Su Yu will have a large amount of goods to and from the Yangtze River waterway, although it is likely that there will be escorted by British armed merchant ships at that time, but for the sake of conservatism, he still has to negotiate with all parties.

At present, there are three big players on the Yangtze River waterway.

Su Yu, Hunan Army, Taiping Heavenly Kingdom.

On the Yangtze River waterway, Su Yu and the Hunan army had already finished negotiations. Because the cooperation between the two sides was too great, Su Yu ceded most of the overall power in the entire Jiangxi, and the power of the green battalion. On the Hunan side, it was necessary to pay the price of 300,000 people and a large number of cattle and farm tools.

Although the other party has not yet fully agreed, several giants still need to discuss.

However, there is a high probability that they will agree.

And the Yangtze River waterway does not invade each other, and for the Hunan army, there is no obstacle at all.

Su Yu took the initiative to eliminate the hostility, and the Hunan army would not deliberately clash.

For the Hunan army, development is the first priority, and taking the territory that has just been swallowed is the first priority.

Although the two sides have personal grievances, at the critical moment, the personal grievances must also be completely conceded to political interests.

"Prime Minister Lin, we and the Hunan army have occupied Jiangxi, and now it seems that it is completely beneficial to the Heavenly King." Su Yu said: "This completely stifled Shi Dakai's power, made him lose his base, and lost the confidence of the Heavenly King." ”

"Next, the Heavenly King should boldly use Lin Qirong, Chen Yucheng, and Li Xiucheng to further suppress Shi Dakai in military power."

"Shi Dakai is ambitious, but indecisive. Don't force him, boil the frog in warm water. On the one hand, the Heavenly King has to respect Shi Dakai very much, and he wants to constantly elevate his status, and on the other hand, he secretly promotes new generals and suppresses his military power step by step. ”

"According to this method, the Heavenly King will soon completely seize power."

"Now, is Shi Dakai still making trouble every day to run away?" Su Yu asked.

Lin Shaozhang said: "Recently, there has been less trouble, and the loss of Jiangxi has dealt a big blow to Yiwang, and his westward expansion strategy has been completely suppressed. According to your previous strategy, the Heavenly King continued to elevate the status of the Winged King in public, which really made the Winged King gradually paralyzed, and the split heart became weaker and weaker. ”

After leaving the capital, Su Yu didn't even have time to return to Jiujiang.

Just walk around in South China, make friends everywhere, negotiate everywhere.

Even, as an enemy, he went to direct the political policy of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom.

Hong Renli was in secret, matchmaking, and organized several meetings and secret talks between Su Yu and Lin Shaozhang.

Also because of Su Yao's guidance, Lin Shaozhang's power position in the Kingdom of Heaven has risen rapidly.

Especially every time he made a contribution to Hong Xiuquan, he was successful, and Hong Xiuquan felt that Lin Shaozhang was a great talent, and he relied on him even more.

"In the next two years, I don't just hope that you and I will not invade each other on the Yangtze River waterway."

"Even, I hope that in the full military, there will be no aggression against each other." Su Yu said.

Lin Shaozhang said: "If Zeng Guofan attacks Anqing, will you support?" ”

Su Yu said: "No." ”

Lin Shaozhang said: "Then if we attack the Jiangnan camp again, the Jiangbei camp, will you support?" ”

Su Yu said: "I hope you don't attack the Jiangbei camp, because there is no point." As for the Jiangnan camp, it is unlikely to happen within two years. Even in these two years, the most important thing for you is to restore your strength and unify your will. ”

Lin Shaozhang was silent for a moment and said, "We agree!" ”

"Within two years, we have shared the Yangtze River waterway and have not violated each other. In terms of full-scale military affairs, there is also non-aggression against each other, and the time limit is two years! ”

Su Yao stretched out his hand, and Lin Shaozhang stretched out his hand.

The parties formally reached an agreement.

…………………………………………………

Buckingham Palace, London.

Queen Victoria is getting dressed.

She actually loves and hates this place, and she loves it because it symbolizes power and glory.

But the place is a bit small, it's really uncomfortable to stay and the room is not enough.

Despite the expansion, it's still cramped, and Windsor Castle is a bit more comfortable in comparison, albeit on a smaller footprint.

Prince Albert wearily in front of his desk.

In front of him was a document that was called another line of the British Empire, another hope.

The core content is to cooperate with Su Yu. The secret meaning is to support him to become the enlightened ruler of the Qing State.

Recently, Basha and Bao Ling have held salons everywhere, sponsored universities everywhere, and held lectures, so that their political ideas have also been widely circulated.

Although it was regarded as a joke by many people, at least it spread.

Then Bao Ling and Ba Ha Li respectfully presented the document to Prince Albert for royal inspection.

However, the prince was not in the mood to open at this time.

Because, he faintly felt as if his illness was about to attack.

The dull pain in my abdomen returned.

At this time, it depends on luck, sometimes it is mild, but sometimes it is very serious, and the pain can almost take half someone's life.

Because all the famous doctors could not see what the disease was, and it was not properly treated, the disease worsened after two years, from severe pain in the intestines and abdomen to stomach cramps, and after another two years, the whole situation worsened, leading to his death.

Queen Victoria is complaining about Buckingham Palace, is talking about how her son is disobedient, and in general, her husband responds gently.

But now, there has been no response for half a minute.

The queen felt that something was wrong, and immediately turned around and said, "My dear, what's wrong with you?" Is it going to be another seizure? ”

"Hurry up and call the doctor, hurry up and lie down in bed."

And at this time, an internal official rushed in.

"Your Majesty, Your Royal Highness, the resolution has been passed by the Parliament."

The queen came to her husband, gently tendered his belly, and instinctively asked, "What resolution?" ”

Then she quickly realized that of course, it was a war agreement with China.

The official said: "Britain and France, the all-out war agreement against China, called the Yarrow War, the American minister said that he wants to join this war. ”

This moment has finally arrived.

For the British Empire, this was not a very huge thing, but just one of their frequent war operations.

And for the Qing court, this war will be a devastating blow!

However, the news was like a catalyst.

The inside of Prince Albert's abdomen instantly seemed to be like a knife, twisting fiercely.

"Ah......h

His face turned blue instantly, and cold sweat broke out.

Rolled almost straight off the chair.

Terrible pain, nightmarish torment came.

………………………………

Note: The second more was sent because of insomnia and no energy. In the end, she couldn't go out to eat with her daughter-in-law, but ordered takeout and let her have a cold birthday.

(End of chapter)