Seeing the bewildered look on the Duke of Angus's face, Alan pulled him aside and whispered to him about Internet leaks and what preconditions needed to be met before leaks would occur. It was not that this thing would leak information on its own like a ghost.
“Oh… like this?”
The Duke of Angus nodded. When it came to eating, drinking and having fun, he was good at everything, but this kind of novelty was no longer suitable for middle-aged and elderly people like him.
Not to mention him, even if we push it forward another twenty years, when smartphones are everywhere, there will still be a large number of middle-aged people at that time who do not know how to use smartphones. People of each age group have different levels of acceptance and understanding of new things.
Alan nodded and glanced around with a look of looking at a country bumpkin. There were quite a few people coming to the meeting today, at least more than three hundred people, and the entire lounge was almost full. Most of them were in small groups of five or six people, gathering together in groups and talking in low voices.
Suddenly, an old man dressed very fashionably came into Alan's sight. This old man... seemed to be from that family, right?
As he was not sure, Allen nudged the Duke of Angus next to him with his elbow and whispered, "Look at the guy at 12 o'clock, dressed like a man, is he the Duke of Marlborough?"
"Hmm... Let me see."
The Duke of Angus tapped his toes slightly and glanced in the direction Allen indicated. There were several old men standing together there. The oldest one looked like he would die at any time. He was a bit scary. He was so thin that he looked like a skeleton. The old Deng standing next to him was the one Allen mentioned.
"It seems to be him. This is the first time I saw him in the House of Lords. The one next to him is...it seems to be...Hey, I wasn't married when I saw him last time...How come even an old guy like this is here today?"
As the Duke of Angus was speaking, even someone like him with a very poor political sense felt that something was wrong today, let alone Alan next to him.
Ever since the Duke of Angus confirmed that Old Den was the Duke of Marlborough, Alan felt that today's events seemed different from what he had imagined.
First of all...the Duke of Marlborough doesn't often come to the House of Lords, just like Alan doesn't like to come to the House of Lords.
People like Allen would come over at least a few times a year. Sometimes when there was an important matter, he would come over just by receiving a phone call.
But the Duke of Marlborough was determined not to come.
It's been several decades since he ascended the throne, right?
His visits to the House of Lords were few and far between.
Judging from their positions, those who could stand and chat with him were of either higher or lower status than him, and they were also not young either. These old men gathered together and suddenly came to the House of Lords for a meeting.
These old guys are the inspiration and prototypes for the vampires who sleep in coffins in old castles all year round in many film and television works.
No one knows where these people are hiding in the castle, and even the queen doesn't know what they are doing.
Even if they really die one day, it is hard to say whether outsiders know about it.
So low-key...some people's names are never even heard of by ordinary people.
Some people sarcastically say that the old men are immortal, and they are referring to these old men. The old castles, the decadent air, the outdated times, and the aged bodies are just a group of people hidden in the light and shadow, and they can still "suck blood" through their loyal servants.
Such a group of people who are not usually seen showed up today. This matter is weird no matter how you look at it.
…
"Your Excellency's coffee."
The waiter's voice came to his ears. He was carrying a tray with a cup of coffee on it. Alan nodded, picked it up and took a sip, swallowing it with difficulty...
It's too unpalatable. Don't expect the hospitality here to provide the noble lords with any high-end goods. Alan estimated that this coffee was only slightly more upscale than the worst instant coffee.
"Take it away, it doesn't taste good!"
After sending the waiter away, Alan leaned over to the Duke of Angus and whispered in his ear.
"I haven't paid attention to this place recently. Did something happen again? These old guys are not often seen."
"Nothing has happened. These are all old things. If you want to talk about something big... does the draft document on formally reducing the number of noble members in the House of Lords count?"
“Is this thing out?”
Alan's eyes widened when he heard this.
Wasn’t this discussed some time ago?
Now that a first draft has been produced, it will not be long before it is officially implemented.
Although most of the nobles lead a low-key life, some of them, even if they are members of the House of Lords, will not come even if they are supposed to.
But this does not mean that they do not value this identity.
The House of Lords is a place where everyone can vent their complaints and speak freely.
If the number of seats for MPs is reduced, what will they do in the future?
First reduce the number of seats, then completely reduce the House of Lords, and finally abolish the House of Lords directly?
Does that mean that it won’t be long before those politicians are bent on eliminating all the nobles?
…
Thinking of this, Alan looked at the old guys in the distance again.
He has come to his senses now. It seems that the excitement today is due to the Internet leak, but in essence... the Internet incident may just be an excuse. Some people want to take advantage of the fact that the Internet may harm the interests of the nobles to make indirect accusations, or even go a step further... to make a bigger fuss and attract more attention.
And with the involvement of these old guys, there is a high probability that they had already discussed it in advance before coming.
Thinking of this, Alan frowned.
These old guys, I am the youngest and most promising aristocrat in Britain, but no one informed me in advance!
Is this because he is isolated? Or is it because they are afraid that he will leak the secret?
You guys teamed up to do something bad, and no one called me?!
When Alan thought of this, he became furious. Yes... Putting aside the facts, even if he was a royal official, he was essentially different from these "foreign officials", and his identity did give him the motive to inform on others, but Alan dared to swear to you on his chest that if he really knew in advance that this group of people were going to cause trouble, he would definitely watch the fun and even provide them with some help.
As for leaking secrets or making complaints, Alan was too lazy to do them. It was better to make some noise. The House of Lords had been silent for a long time. It was a good opportunity to see what tricks these old guys were using and learn from them.
…
"Isn't this the famous Earl of Carmarthen? Why is he here in the House of Lords today? How come... your information has also been leaked? I remember that you like making adult movies? Why don't you just go and make your own movies? Why are you here to meddle?"
Speak of Cao Cao and he will appear.
Allen was just muttering about the old men in front of him. The Duke of Marlborough, who was just mentioned by him, turned his head, his eyes lit up when he saw Allen, and he walked up to Allen with a smile on his face. He nodded to the Duke of Angus in a very perfunctory manner, and then mocked Allen.
…
Don't ask why this guy came over and mocked Alan as soon as he saw him. It seemed that it was not in line with the behavior of a man of his age, but... the two families actually have a deep connection. When Alan asked Angus just now, he didn't show any respect to him.
"Oh... you are... oh... I've been busy lately and my mind is a little confused. Uncle Angus, this is... the descendant of the Duke of Marlborough whose ancestor fell in love with a mistress and competed with the late king for her, right? Am I remembering correctly?"
“…”
Angus's face turned red. It is said that one should not hit someone in the face or expose someone's shortcomings when scolding him. Moreover, they were now in the lounge of the House of Lords. Although there were not many reporters here, everyone was a noble.
But... what Alan said was very vicious. Didn't he see that the expression of the current Duke of Marlborough opposite him was already very bad?
You said you are not young anymore, why do you mess with young people?
The point is, it's not easy for him to be caught between the two of them. If he admits what Alan said... that would be too offensive. Should he not admit it?
What Alan said is true. What should we do?
"You are such a sharp-tongued country bumpkin... you are so... so vulgar!"
Before the Duke of Angus could come to support Allen, the Duke of Marlborough on the opposite side turned red in the face, pointed at Allen, and said angrily.
…
"Tsk tsk tsk... According to our ancestor's diary, when he accompanied the late king on a visit to India, your ancestor took advantage of the Earl of Ellisford's absence to seduce his wife, and in the end... tsk tsk tsk... Oh, by the way, I seem to remember that this information was uploaded to the Internet by my housekeeper. I don't know if it was leaked this time."
What Alan is talking about here is the feud between the two families in the past.
The whole story is not too complicated. It's about a nobleman who falls in love with a married woman. While the woman's husband is away on a business trip, the two of them have an affair. Later they are discovered, which leads to a series of bloody plots.
The cause... was probably more than a hundred years ago. As for the exact time, Alan couldn't remember it clearly, but it was when the Prince of Wales was still Edward VII.
He was the Prince of Wales, so his chief of guards must have been the earl of the Hill family. When Edward VII visited India, he was accompanied not only by his chief of guards but also his secretary general.
His secretary was the Earl of Ellisford.
And this countess looks...very beautiful!
Those who are engaged in literature and understand it all know that they are busy with official business for a long time, especially following Edward VII, the ambitious crown prince, there are even more things to do.
In the long run, you will spend more time working overtime and less time going home.
The daughter-in-law will inevitably feel lonely and isolated as she spends less time at home.
It was at this time that his daughter-in-law had an affair with someone else, the eldest son of the then Duke of Marlborough.
Speaking of this person, his younger brother was the father of the famous Prime Minister Churchill.
The relationships here are a bit complicated, but in Britain... the relationships between nobles are like this, very messy.
…
Anyway, that young man not only seduced the married woman, but they also developed feelings for each other after the seduction.
When the other person’s husband came back from a business trip, he was discovered by the real owner!
In this case, things were starting to get out of hand, and Edward VII, their monarch at the time, was very angry.
He ordered the Earl of Ellisford to divorce his wife, and then let the young man who seduced the married woman marry the countess.
But the young man was already married at that time, so he had to divorce first before he could get married.
And he is the eldest son of the Duke of Marlborough!
The entire Marlborough family was extremely angry about Edward VII's arrangement and felt that their family had suffered a great humiliation.
Finally... Churchill's father, the younger brother of this playboy who seduced other people's wives, took the initiative to step forward and used a big move!
It turns out... this Countess is not only promiscuous, but also very extravagant.
To what extent did it cost?
Before she met this young man, she was the mistress of Edward VII!
…
The details here are so shocking that the boss arranged for the secretary to work overtime frequently, and then hooked up with the secretary's wife...
Think about how miserable the Earl of Ellisford was... He was the most miserable one among them, but no one cared about him from beginning to end. At the beginning, he was grateful to Edward VII, thinking that this was the monarch he was loyal to supporting him, but who knew it would be like this...
Churchill's father wrote directly to Edward VII, stating clearly that if he did not withdraw the insulting order to his elder brother, he would make public several love letters he had written to the Countess!
…
Edward VII was also a ruthless person. He hated to see others threaten him, let alone a noble son who was not yet a noble? He would accept it even if it meant losing some reputation.
In the end, he fell out with Churchill's father on the spot. Churchill's father was also stubborn and exposed the matter. At that time... the popularity of this matter was no less than the exposure of the telephone recording between Cha's boss and Karami two years ago. Later, the matter was resolved by Queen Anne.
Anyway, Alan only knew about the final event, which was recorded in the family's ancestor's diary in a somewhat vague manner. It said that Edward VII asked him to quietly deal with a few people, and then the matter was left unresolved. This incident was considered one of the royal scandals of the year and was once forbidden to be mentioned, especially after Edward VII came to power, and was strictly forbidden to talk about it.
Since then, the Marlborough family and the Hill family have been at odds with each other. Anyway, neither side can do anything to the other, so they never interact with each other and rarely see each other. But whenever people from both sides meet, they dislike each other and a few sarcastic remarks are the least of their words.
If Allen wasn't afraid of making a big fuss, it wouldn't be impossible for him to beat up Old Deng on the spot.
…
"You...you...shameless..." When he heard that Alan had asked his butler to post the scandal of that year on the Internet, the current Duke of Marlborough turned pale. Their family's ancestor had been glorious all his life, but now he was being insulted by an outsider with such a scandal. The key point was that he couldn't do anything about it!
A scandal from over a hundred years ago can still hurt him!
"Haha... I just heard that you guys are secretly planning something again? Is this true? Why didn't you invite me?"
Alan took two steps forward, patted the old man's shoulder cordially, put his arm on his shoulder, and continued chatting with him in a familiar manner.
"???"
Hearing what Alan said, the current Duke of Marlborough's face changed again. It turned out that this family was doing dirty work all year round. This nose was sharper than that of a hound. He made a sarcastic remark, and Alan had already asked him if he was plotting something!