Chapter 3: Jade Rabbit to the Figure Behind the London Plane Tree

Jane received a letter from Miss Bingley sent by a servant. The letter said that she and her family decided to spend the winter in London and did not plan to return to Netherfield Manor. The letter also mentioned that they were so eager to go to London because they wanted to meet Mr. Darcy's sister, Miss Georgiana Darcy, as soon as possible. She and her sister were so eager to have Miss Georgiana as their sister-in-law, and they believed that Mr. Bingley also had this idea and was now in love with Miss Darcy. [1]

The recipient kindly believed that this was a subtle piece of advice and concern from her friend Miss Bingley, and felt sad for the truth behind it.

Alice doesn't think so.

Elizabeth also analyzed the whole story to Jane and concluded that the letter was not Mr. Bingley's original intention, but she was also dissatisfied with the fact that his feelings were easily shaken by the people around him, and that they might not be a good match.

"Jane, let's go to London together." She suggested. Jane could choose not to marry Mr. Bingley, but she couldn't accept someone deliberately interfering and harming her family.

"I heard from Charlotte this morning that Sir Lucas is going to London to visit a friend tomorrow, and you can go with him." Elizabeth obviously understood the purpose of her invitation.

"But, this is a bit presumptuous, going to London right after that..." Jane also understood.

"What's the big deal? We're going to my uncle's house and visiting new friends. That's perfectly polite, isn't it? It would be impolite if we didn't pay him a visit." Alice didn't care, but gave Jane an excuse. "I'll write to my uncle and tell him we'll arrive tomorrow at noon."

Jane still had expectations for Mr. Bingley and finally agreed.

The next morning, the two set off as planned, taking Sir Lucas's ride, and arrived at Grace Temple Street in Cheapside, where their uncle Mr. Gardner's family lived, in half a day.

"Jane, Alice, it's been a while since we last met, and you've become even more beautiful." Mrs. Gardner led several cousins ​​to greet them warmly.

"Aunt, you must say this again in front of Mom. She will be happy for a while when she hears it." Alice joked.

Everyone laughed, and Jane also smiled.

After entering the house, the two were led into the living room and sat down. Mrs. Gardner asked the maid to bring some fruit and asked her to take the children upstairs to play, and then they sat down to talk.

"Jane, just stay here and enjoy visiting friends in London." Mr. Gardner first showed concern for Jane, then looked at Alice with a puzzled look on his face. "Alyssa, what's the matter with the letter you wrote about coming to London for business?"

Alice explained the situation that she hadn't bothered to elaborate on in the letter to the two people in the room who were still unaware of the situation.

"So, Eliza, you're planning to open a shop in London specializing in selling homemade oriental ointments?" Mrs. Gardner said happily. "Then we can see each other more often!"

"I'm not specifically selling this, I'm just testing the waters in London for now," Alice replied. "We'll figure out what to sell later. Anyway, I never have to worry about merchandise."

There are so many Chinese medicine prescriptions in his mind, and even quite a few prescriptions for elixirs. Unfortunately, there are only ordinary herbs in the mortal world. Otherwise, if he sells an elixir that can bring the dead back to life, not only the king, but even the Pope will have to bow his head and beg for the medicine.

Mr. Gardner, who understood business better than Mrs. Gardner, asked, "Medicine is a commodity with many rules. How many do you know?"

"Uncle, I've inquired. Not all pharmacists have the Apothecary Association's qualification certificate. The one in Meryton doesn't have one," Alice said with a sly smile. "Besides, I'm just a druggist. I sell finished products and don't treat patients. The Royal College of Physicians can't control me."

"So, which neighborhood are you planning to open your shop in?" Mr. Gardner posed another question. "The smelling salts you're trying to replace are only bought by upper-class women, and they won't shop here. Even if they knew the goods came from Cheapside, they'd pretend not to know and wouldn't admit it."

"Yes, Uncle, I know." Alice had been to London several times since she was a child, so she naturally understood that the upper class had moved to the West End. She would not find customers for her ointment in the East End. "You know London much better than I do. I was just thinking of asking Uncle for some West End street recommendations."

"Let me think about it," Mr. Gardner pondered, then listed a series of place names and introduced their basic information one by one. "These are all neighborhoods where aristocrats live. Alyssa, you can choose from them, but the rent there is not as cheap as here."

"Uncle, I've brought more than 3,000 pounds in bank notes this time. I think it should be enough as initial capital." Alice ruled out locations that were too suburban and some dilapidated neighborhoods, and asked Mr. Gardner to take her to see the site tomorrow.

After a night's rest and breakfast, Jane went to Grosvenor Street to visit Mr. and Miss Bingley as planned. Alice and Mr. Gardner went to Mayfair to look at store locations, which happened to be on the way.

So the carriage first drove along the Thames and took Jane to Mr. Bingley's residence near Hyde Park, which was the home of his brother-in-law, Mr. Hurst.

After making an appointment to pick up Jane, the two of them went to the Grosvenor district to inquire about shops with a real estate agent, but unfortunately there were no shops for rent or sale.

Seeing that it was almost noon, he went back to pick up Jane, but he didn't expect her to be standing alone outside the house waiting.

"What's going on? Jane." Alice jumped out of the carriage and ran towards Jane.

"It's okay, Alyssa. Mr. Bentley isn't here, and Caroline and the others were out on a rush. We'll come back next time." Hearing her sister's call, Jane forced a smile and changed the subject. "How's your shop search going? Have you found any that suit your taste?"

It was obvious that Miss Bingley was causing trouble here. When she and Lizzie went to Netherfield Manor to look after Jane who had visited her sickly in the rain, she heard the two sisters laughing in the living room downstairs at their uncle being a businessman who lived in Cheapside.

Now, she was about to be added to the list of relatives they considered disrespectful. If Jane really married and became Mrs. Bingley, she would probably be furious. After all, as a younger sister, she was a closer relative than an uncle.

However, he just followed Jane's words and answered, "No, this place is rented out. Let's have lunch at the restaurant here and then look at other places."

As a result, along the way, there were no suitable shops on Piccadilly and Park Street. Either the shops were stuck in less prominent locations, or they were only for sale and not for rent. If I bought a shop in such a location, the money I had would not be enough to cover the subsequent expenses.

Finally, a suitable shop was found on Oxford Street and Bond Street.

The Bond Street shop, prominently located midway, happened to have an upstairs apartment for rent. While the Oxford Street shop was more luxurious, all the upstairs apartments were already rented. So Alice decided to rent 18 Bond Street, along with the two-bedroom apartment upstairs. Both leases were for a year, costing her just over £1,000.

Of course, Alice didn't tell Jane that she had another reason for renting the Bond Street shop. It was closer to Grosvenor Street, about half an hour's walk away, and now she and the Bentleys were close neighbors again.

She invited Jane to stay there for a while by expressing her reluctance to leave and her need for help.

I was curious about how Miss Bingley and Mrs. Hurst would react when they heard the news. Alice smiled, but her almond-shaped eyes were filled with the amusement of a bad plan about to succeed.

This neighborhood was home to many aristocrats and gentlemen, and naturally attracted many merchants. Those looking for renovations and custom-made signs, furniture, and other items didn't have to travel far; they were sure to find them nearby.

The three found a shop on the connected Brook Street that made custom signs.

Following the style of London shop names, Alice named her upcoming pharmacy - Oriental Alice Pharmacy, which is mysterious enough and attractive enough.

Nowadays, people are always curious about the products from the mysterious oriental country.

She also had to buy enough glass bottles to mix colorful potions and display them in the window, telling neighbors and passers-by that a new pharmacy was open, which was a clearer message than a sign. People were always attracted by the bright colors and rich herbal aromas of the potions.

But when they returned to Bond Street to buy glass bottles, they met a strange man.

He was a middle-aged man wearing a black felt flat-top hat. His nose was so big that it was almost comical, and people couldn't help but look at it.

"Looking at the long-necked glass bottles you chose, I can tell you're planning to open a pharmacy," he said, his tone gentle but giving the opposite impression. "Miss, let me give you a piece of advice: there are already three pharmacies on the surrounding streets, which is more than enough."

"Please believe that I am giving this advice entirely out of good intentions." After saying this, he took an exquisite glass ornament, paid the bill and left.

Jane was a little worried when she heard this: “Alyssa…”

"Jane, these rules don't apply to me." Alice smiled meaningfully.

Mr. Gardner, on the other hand, appeared to be quite open-minded. "Everything is difficult at first, but it's easy later. Business is never easy. As for now, since we're here, why not take a stroll? West End Park is definitely worth a visit."

"Yes, I always hear Caroline mention the scenery of Hyde Park. I really should go and see it." Jane put aside her worries for the time being and responded positively to this suggestion.

The three men asked their servants to put the purchased glass bottles in the newly rented shop, and then took a carriage to Hyde Park for a walk.

Stepping into Hyde Park, there were not only fallen leaves scattered everywhere, but also people everywhere. She had been in England for so long, but she had never seen so many well-dressed aristocratic gentlemen. They seemed to grow on the park lawns, gathered in groups, strolling, racing horses, walking dogs, and enjoying their leisure time.

It's a pity that we can't attract customers here.

It's not that you can't sell goods, but in the upper-class society of this place, it is very rude to start a conversation without an acquaintance to introduce you, and even if you do, you will basically get no response.

As for setting up stalls to sell goods directly, aristocratic and gentleman families might buy a bouquet of flowers at a stall, but would never buy smelling salts or similar products to show their status.

Before she could share this discovery with Jane, she suddenly heard a familiar voice: "Have pity on my fragile nerves!"

The three of them looked at each other, vaguely thinking that Mrs. Bennet had also come to London.

"Mom, you specially asked the servant to call me back just for this?" The complaint was responded to by a low male voice, which sounded a little helpless at the end.

"What do you mean by just that? Why are you so careless about marriage?" The mother's voice was far less high-pitched than Mrs. Bennet's. "With your appearance and character, as long as you don't reject others, there will always be a wealthy single lady willing to marry you."

The sound of two people talking came from behind the sycamore tree next to them. The leaves that had not yet completely fallen covered their faces, and only an elegant and slender figure could be seen under the tree.

The author has something to say:

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[1] This is an adaptation of the original storyline.