Chapter 24: Jade Rabbit makes a plan to earn money and merit, and also a man...

"If you want to earn money from the upper class, you must first earn enough reputation, which is what they care about most. Let them take the initiative to bring the money to your door." Alice said the business principles she had learned from the English people over the years as a human being. Especially after interacting with more upper-class ladies recently, she understood this principle more and more.

"Alyssa, you mean, do some good things and build a good reputation. In order to show off their reputation, those people in the upper class will choose our medicine as their first choice once they need to buy medicine?" Elizabeth understood immediately.

Alice nodded and continued, "We opened a pharmacy and wanted to build a reputation, so naturally we focused on medicine."

Jane stopped denying it and began to think carefully about whether her sister's idea was feasible. "Why don't we go to the Tzu Chi parishes in various dioceses regularly to donate some medicine?"

"No, since we want fame, we can't just leave it to others or hand it over to others. We have to do it in a big way. We can open a pharmacy directly in the Tzu Chi Hall." Alice replied.

"Open a pharmacy? Don't you deliver medicine?" "Will Tzu Chi Hall let you open a pharmacy? I'm afraid the people there can't afford your medicine, Alyssa." Jane and Elizabeth had the same doubt.

"There has to be a threshold to prevent people from taking medicine at will. Of course, it won't be the same price as for the upper class, and it won't be the same medicine. After all, they rarely suffer from the same illness, even if the symptoms appear similar." Alice tried her best to explain Chinese medicine in terms they could understand. "For example, in London winter, both rich and poor often cough. But the rich have plenty of warmth, usually because they eat too much warm and nourishing food and often stay by the fire in dry houses, which causes internal heat to accumulate and cough. The poor, on the other hand, cough because they catch cold from wearing thin clothes and congregate in unventilated places, which spreads the infection to each other. Although the symptoms are the same, the treatments are completely different."

She added in her mind: Except for the poor little gentleman who was infected with the plague while preaching and had to endure a cold wind all night.

"Then the herbs used to make the medicine will be different. Chinese herbs are expensive, mainly because of the high transportation costs. However, England itself has a small number of herbs that are the same or similar to those in the Far East, and using these herbs can keep costs as low as possible. Anyway, I only sell the most commonly used medicines for the poor and don't prescribe special medicines, so there is no need to worry about running out of rare herbs." Alice continued to explain.

"In this way, we can gain the 'votes' cast by the upper class with money by publicizing the reputation we have accumulated through doing good deeds in Tzu Chi Hall," she concluded.

"Yes, even my mother has to participate in charity events organized by Meryton and nearby ladies from time to time to maintain the reputation of Longbourn. This trick can be said to have caught all the gentry and above in one fell swoop." Elizabeth joked.

"That's right!" Alice agreed.

As for that stubborn gentleman, who only cared about preaching and helping the poor, she would let him experience the surprise of being a "fellow traveler." She would recite a few verses of the sutras he recited, and perhaps with this visible "kindness" she could trick him into overcoming his inner hurdle and not mentioning betrayal of God.

Besides, doing so would also allow her to gain more merit. It was not bad to slowly eat the side dishes while waiting for his big meal.

Alice raised an eyebrow. Don't keep her waiting too long.

By then, she would be able to earn money from the rich while earning merit from the poor, and she could use the money she earned from the rich to help her earn merit from the poor. Then she could use this to coax the man into agreeing and becoming devoted to her.

Alice was thinking about good things when she suddenly noticed an acquaintance coming downstairs.

The gentleman walked hurriedly and soon arrived at the door of their apartment.

There was a knock on the door: "Miss Elizabeth."

It was Mr. Darcy's voice, calm yet with a hint of anxiety.

Elizabeth looked at the closed apartment door in surprise, then looked at Jane and Alice, very confused.

Although still a little angry, Elizabeth thought it was against etiquette to leave a gentleman outside, so she went to open the door.

"Miss Elizabeth, I cannot accept all the accusations you made yesterday." Mr. Darcy opened the door and bowed slightly before handing her a letter. "Forgive me for learning that you had ended your visit to your friend's house prematurely. I have come here to ask you to read this letter."

After saying this, he bowed to Jane and Alice who came over after hearing the sound, then turned and left.

Elizabeth, bewildered, took the letter back into the house and opened it to read in front of her closest sisters.

Her expression changed several times, and finally a trace of regret, worry and pity appeared on her face.

"What's wrong?" Jane asked softly.

"Jane, Eliza, I'm afraid I've misunderstood Mr. Darcy. At least I shouldn't have been so angry as to accuse him of being too cruel to Mr. Wickham." She looked at the two of them and said, "Elisa, even after you reminded me, I already had doubts about Mr. Wickham's statement."

"And now, Mr. Darcy is being asked to open such a wound to explain this matter to me, even though the letter states that he has obtained Miss Darcy's consent." Elizabeth shook the letter, her face grim. "I simply cannot believe that he would invent a secret that caused harm to his sister, just to explain it to me."

She struggled to relate what the letter said about Mr Wickham and Miss Darcy.

Jane couldn't believe that such a seemingly polite gentleman was so close to abducting a kind and lovely lady like Georgiana.

Alice quickly accepted the news, but was also angry at his evil behavior towards her friend.

Elizabeth was shocked, but she quickly cheered up: "No, that man seems to be still in Longbourn. I must write to my father about this."

She immediately took out her writing paper and wrote a letter. After careful consideration, she added a few words at the end, asking her father to control her sisters. They could tell her that Mr. Wickham was a bad man, but they didn't need to tell her mother and sisters about Miss Darcy's private affairs. After all, it involved a lady's reputation. Although they had no ill intentions, they were always careless about what they said. Telling them would be like telling the whole of Meryton. It would easily cause Miss Darcy unnecessary harm.

The letter was sent back quickly.

But just one day later, a letter from Longbourn wiped out the three people's good mood. Jane was anxious and worried, Elizabeth was remorseful and blamed herself. And Alice was furious.

Mr. Bennett's letter stated that Elizabeth's letter had been timely, allowing him to prevent Lydia's marriage to Mr. Wickham, to whom she had already accepted. Mrs. Bennett had a quarrel with him over this.

As for the reason for this proposal, Mr. Bennett said in a very ironic way that if Lydia had not been showing off her investment in Alice's pharmacy and boasting about how much wealth and connections she would have, Mr. Wickham would not have considered her a target of deception even if he had to go to her by gaslight. With Elizabeth's reminder, he also learned that the gentleman's creditors had come to Meryton, which may have been the reason why he was so confused that he quickly chose Lydia as a marriage target with a good fortune.

Mr. Bennett stated that he disapproved of the marriage as a father and had his servants lock Lydia up in the house. Unexpectedly, she was as agile as a monkey and managed to climb out the window, disappearing with Mr. Wickham. Since they were planning to get married, they likely eloped towards Gretna Green in Scotland.

The letter mentioned that he had rushed to London to meet up with Uncle Gardner. He wrote this letter in a hurry and asked someone to deliver it urgently. Once the two were ready, they would go to Scotland together. He asked them to pay attention to the news in London.

Alice took the letter and read the message carefully.

Before she could settle accounts with him for the harm done to her friend Georgiana, he had abducted Lydia. Although she sometimes found Lydia troublesome and noisy, she was still her family in the human world. They had lived together as sisters for more than a decade before regaining her memory.

She crumpled the letter into a ball. When she found the two of them, she'd make sure Wickham knew the consequences of offending her. She didn't like to eat people, but that didn't mean she wouldn't skin them alive. Did you really think she was a good person? She lowered her eyes, a strange glint in them.

Jane paced back and forth anxiously: "How could Lydia abandon her family and do such a reckless thing!"

"Jane, your marriage to Mr. Bingley is still in the public announcement period." Elizabeth looked at Jane worriedly, then blamed herself, "It's all my fault for not letting Dad tell Lydia the truth. If I had, maybe she wouldn't have been deceived by that bastard like this."

"Lizzie, it's not your fault. Who would have thought that he would choose to abduct Lydia. I also believe that Mr. Bingley will not give up our relationship and marriage because of this." Although Jane was extremely worried about Lydia being deceived, she also spared a little attention to comfort Elizabeth.

"If that's the case, then isn't it my fault too? If I hadn't made money and given Lydia something to brag about, she probably wouldn't have been chosen as a target."

As soon as Alice finished speaking, two voices rang out in the room: "No! How can this be blamed on you!" "Of course it's not your fault!"

"Of course it's not my fault, nor is it yours. When has a robbery ever been blamed on the victim's lack of precautions, or even the fact that they were carrying valuables?" Alice certainly didn't think it was her fault. She was simply trying to persuade Elizabeth to let go of the blame. "The most urgent thing now is to find them."

"Did Lydia and the others really go to Scotland? It's known as a popular destination for elopements and weddings, but do they have enough money to go there?" Elizabeth calmed down and questioned. "Lydia probably doesn't have much money. She spent all her pocket money on fashionable clothes, hats, and lace on her last visit to London. Mother won't be giving her much anytime soon."

"If they don't go to Scotland, where can they get married? The nearest city is London, which can be used as a transfer to the most places. But normally, the marriage announcement needs to be published in the parish where they live. None of these makes sense." Jane was stumped.

Alice thought of someone who could be of the most help. "I'll go and ask Mr. Adrian. He should be more familiar with the marriage arrangements in the parishes."

Jane decided to seek help from Mr. Bingley. Elizabeth went to Uncle Gardner to wait for Mr. Bennett and told them her suspicions. The three sisters then split up.

Alice boarded a public carriage and hurried to the courtyard that had become increasingly familiar to her.

"Miss Alice." John opened the door, a little confused, but also a little happy. "Are you here to see our gentleman?"

As he spoke, he took the tray and led Alice upstairs. "Our master hasn't eaten yet, so you can join us. I'll get some more."

"No need. I have something to talk to your husband about. I'll be leaving soon." Alice stopped his courtesy and went upstairs quickly, pushing open the bedroom door as if she knew the way.

The gentleman was hastily taking off his dressing gown. He must have heard the two talking and wanted to change into something more respectable. Unexpectedly, he was caught red-handed by the unconventional lady.

Alice's eyes quickly swept across the man's naked back, but were quickly covered again by his black priest robe.

Now was not the time to tease this gentleman, so Alice withdrew her gaze and quickly stated her purpose.

The man then turned around with a blush on his face, and it was unclear whether it was out of embarrassment or illness.

He managed a steady voice and said, "If it's as you say, Miss Alice, your sister is most likely hiding in a London parish, planning a secret wedding in a small church there. Although the latest marriage laws no longer allow it, some priests still do such immoral things to make a little extra money."

Alice got more reliable information and prepared to leave to find the troublemaker.

Unexpectedly, a man's voice suddenly sounded behind me: "Miss Alice, I will go with you. I am the only one who knows where those churches are."

Alice looked at the man in front of her, who had recovered a lot but still looked weak, and a look of doubt appeared on her face.

But he just forced himself to walk out the door.

Alice had no choice but to grab the man's arm and pull him back. She leaned close to his cheek and blew a breath into his slightly parted lips. She wanted this thin wisp of auspicious air to seep into his body through the cracks, nourishing him and helping him recover faster. He looked like he was in such a state, she was really afraid he would collapse on the road soon.

Adrian Moran froze in his tracks, subconsciously pursing his lips. Then, recovering his composure, he angrily said, "Miss Alice, you said you wouldn't do this again, never again..."

"I only said I'd ask for your permission if I wanted to sleep with you, but I didn't say I couldn't be close to you." She could still do whatever she wanted. Alice was surprised. If she couldn't even flirt with him, she wouldn't be happy.