Chapter 11 The Dead Manor Owner (4)

Shen Cinian walked in front, calmly going down the stairs. Fang Ke followed behind him, lowering his head, not knowing what he was thinking about.

He could feel a pair of eyes occasionally falling on his back. Perhaps Fang Ke was looking at the floral collar on his coat, or perhaps he was looking at where his scepter landed on the stairs, or perhaps...

In fact, he knew that Fang Ke was looking at the heels of his retro leather boots.

Such a cute little thought. Chen Ci Nian rubbed his thumb slowly in a circle on the palm rest.

Fang Ke's gaze moved and fell on Shen Cinian's fingers.

This action was a bit awkward, although it was his own problem.

However, Fang Ke pursed his lips again, restrained his dirty thoughts, and lowered his head to continue staring at Chen Chinian's heels.

Shen Cinian's fingers are very beautiful, and the movement of grinding the palm is also very beautiful, but he is very unhappy.

Why? Because Shen Qinian touched the cane instead of him.

Maybe, he is mentally ill, that's what he thinks, it's irrational, but what logic can a mentally ill person have?

Fang Ke suddenly snorted inexplicably.

When Shen Cinian heard the dissatisfied snort, he smiled and didn't take the puppy's whining to heart at all.

Their original location was on the second floor, and it was very quick to get down to the first floor.

The fire in the fireplace had gone out, and the white candle was still burning, but the flame was a strange green.

There were a lot of sawdust and messy bloodstains on the carpet, and thick unknown books and letters from unknown sources were scattered on the ground.

Chen Qinian didn't look at it for long. Although the envelope was not signed, the wax used to seal it was red, and the seal of BkHpalace was easy to recognize.

There is a 90% chance that this letter came from Queen Victoria of Lan.

Then the timeline of the current copy should be between 1837 and 1901 in the old era before the arrival of the weirdness, which was the last heyday of the Hanoverian dynasty. After that, the dynasty went to ruin.

Shen Qinian raised his cane and observed the emblem on it, confirming that it belonged to the Salisbury family.

So he played the role of the famous, most unpopular and conservative hardliner in Victoria - "Earl Cecil".

During this period, Cecil would soon be exposed in the scandal of "financial fraud", and Victoria would use this to announce his fall from power to the outside world, but there were obviously deeper reasons and some unspeakable secrets behind it.

The queen's secret letters, as dense as snowflakes, are evidence of this.

Why did an unpopular marquis, who could only be called an earl, have close correspondence with the Queen many years ago?

These were just the things that Shen Cinian thought of in an instant. The next moment, he took a step forward and locked onto the butler's bedroom without much identification.

More accurately, it is the bedroom of the "housekeeper".

Most of the bedrooms on the first floor belong to the maids. In addition, there is a grocery room, a conference room, a dining room, a kitchen, and a servants' bathroom.

From the indentations on the carpet, we can tell that the direction with the least footprints and the most distinctive boot indentations is the butler's room.

Before Fang Ke raised his head to observe the surroundings, Shen Qinian had already learned almost all the information from the details on the carpet, including the small matter that one of the maids liked to steal her master's honey butter toast.

Fang Ke didn't have that many thoughts, he planned to open the doors one by one to search.

Before he could reach the door handle, Shen Qinian suddenly pulled him back by the leather rope.

He subconsciously tensed his shoulders, then slowly relaxed them, lowering his voice and saying in a bad tone: "What are you doing?"

"I'm lucky," Shen Cinian pointed to a room with his cane, "I guess that's your bedroom."

Is this something you can guess? Fang Ke would be a fool to believe Chen Qinian's nonsense.

Shen Cinian must have noticed something, but he was too lazy to explain it to him.

I don't want to waste my breath on him, or I think he has no brains.

Fang Ke felt that he was looked down upon. He was a little unconvinced. He reached out and grabbed the leather rope in front of the collar, and in turn pulled Shen Cinian towards the room.

He's not stupid, he just doesn't like to think.

Probably a few years ago when he was a rookie and didn't have such strong power, he would also pay attention to details like Shen Cinian and solve puzzles.

Although his mood was not stable at that time, it was not as bad as it is now.

Fang Ke lowered his eyes and opened the door.

Unlike the mess outside, the housekeeper's room was unexpectedly tidy. On the desk there was a book, an ink bottle with a feather pen, several account books, a bunch of keys, and a glasses case.

Fang Ke walked to the table, put the key in his pocket, and just as he opened the cover of the book, he heard the system prompt sound.

0221 Reluctantly reading the narration.

[Ding, got the item - the key to open all doors except the cellar and the housekeeper's diary, and the story exploration degree is increased to 9%.]

Diary: June 3, 1728, one month since my master's death. I'm a bit lost in thought. I can't remember how many years I've worked here. The scent of earth and grass from the last century still seems to fill my nostrils. My young master, John Cecil, stands before me. The child bears the same face as my late master, and I always feel like old James has returned.

Poor little John is only eleven years old. Fortunately, the family doesn't have much property, but there is a large piece of land that needs my help to manage. My little master only needs to meet those tricky nobles.

[Speaking of which, today was my first time meeting the young master. He was standing in the cemetery, dressed in a black suit. I recognized him immediately. He looked so much like James, but I had never met his mother.]

John died on October 14, 1768, on a rainy day. It always rains in Westminster. I watched the hearse taking John back to Hatfield House along the long and rugged mountain road, and my heart trembled.

John has no son, and the title of Salisbury may be coming to an end. The sky is always gloomy, and I can't see any sign of the sun rising.

Thirty years ago, John kissed my left shoulder, and ever since then I have been afraid of the scorching sun.

John was a good boy. He never did anything out of line, and even when the royal family weakened his power, he never complained.

In 1838, I went to the cemetery to visit my two masters, bringing two bouquets of white roses. Seventy years ago, a rainstorm had damaged the cemetery, and the rebuilt cemetery looked much quieter. I hope the souls of the masters resting there haven't been disturbed.

"Oh, guess what I saw in the cemetery! I can't believe it! A child not even ten years old! How could he...how could he look so much like John? John has been dead for seventy years. Could he be the child of John's daughter?"

I brought the child back and reported him to the royal family. The royal family confirmed his identity, bestowed upon him a title, and he became my new little master.

I asked him, and he said: His name is Robert, and he asked me to send someone to take him back to London.

In 1853, there was a loud thunder outside. Robert was different from my two masters. He seemed born to take revenge on the royal family. I was trembling in fear in the manor, reading the newspaper about his quarrel with Queen Victoria. I was extremely worried. I was too old. I had already...

How could I... be so old? I've lived for so long, so long, but how could I possibly live this long...?

I touched my left shoulder. There was a deep tooth mark there, a mark that hadn't faded in the years since. It reminded me that I was long dead, yet I still live on in this incorruptible body. In 1738, poor John bit my left shoulder, bringing back my soul from the graveyard where it had nearly hanged itself. From then on, I achieved "eternal life."

[I knew it was old William. He's back. My master has never changed.]

I picked up the evening paper—oh no, my little Robert, he's only 23 and so young, and the Queen wants to banish him.

But it doesn’t matter. Maybe this is a good thing for me. They don’t know that my old William is going home. Maybe he will affectionately call me “Little Wood”. I like this name. “Littlewood” sounds like a fallen pine tree in the forest.

[We're meeting tomorrow. He'll be happy to see me, right?]

The diary ends here, and it is obvious that the butler named Wood has no ill will towards them, and may even be on their side.

Fang Ke suddenly felt a little uncomfortable. He closed the diary, looked up, and when he unexpectedly met Chen Chinian's gaze, he actually felt a little guilty.

When he realized this, he immediately pricked up his spines like a hedgehog: "Why did you hurt your little Wood and you blame me?"

Shen Cinian suddenly raised his hand and touched Fang Ke's head under his defensive gaze - stroking his hair.

"No," he smiled with an unclear meaning, "I just thought it would be harder for you."

"What?" Fang Ke was still very alert, his fists clenched tightly, ready to punch Shen Qinian in the nose at any time.

"With your character...it's not easy to play the role of Old William's Little Wood. Thank you for your hard work."

"Who said I want to--" "Okay, go change into the steward's clothes and don't keep your master waiting."

Fang Ke pursed his lips to hide his panic, stumbled over to the bed and began to take off his clothes.

Shen Cinian looked at him for a while and laughed softly.

He knew that Fang Ke was panicking, and it was because of the word "Master".

It turns out that his fierce squad leader is really a puppy.

For a moment, Shen Cinian had the thought of making Fang Ke his new believer.

But it was only a tiny bit. Being Fang Ke's God Lord should be very interesting.

He was a little interested.

"Do you believe in God?" Shen Cinian suddenly asked with narrowed eyes.

"I don't believe it." Fang Ke answered bluntly with his head down. He was busy stripping himself naked, and then quickly changed into clean new clothes - they were very close fitting, probably props prepared by the system.

Looking at the flickering candlelight on the wall window, he paused and said, "I only believe in myself."

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