Chapter 99: The Ruthless Actor (7)
The convoy set off in a mighty procession, heading towards the heart of the British Concession - the British Consulate.
The previous ambassador was assassinated, which caused a bloody storm in Shanghai, so the inauguration ceremony of the new ambassador was arranged with extreme caution.
There were not many Chinese people who could come to the scene. Mr. Zhan and the women and men he brought with him had to be searched by the guards when entering.
Guns and knives are definitely not allowed.
Mr. Zhan was wearing a smart suit, and the women's handbags were also very small, so they couldn't hide anything on their bodies. However, the blond and big-nosed guards ordered them to turn out all the pockets they could, and their tone was extremely arrogant!
Shi Sui sneered, and Miao Jue's eyes also showed displeasure.
But Mr. Zhan, the second wife and the fifth concubine all allowed them to search in a humble manner.
The inauguration ceremony was held on the lawn outside the embassy.
The red and blue Union Jack of the British Empire was raised, the British national anthem "God Save the King" was played, and the ambassador swore allegiance to King George V.
Zhan Jiahe was one of the few oriental faces present, and he stood out among the group of foreigners.
Especially when singing the British national anthem, only Shi Sui and Miao Jue did not open their mouths, while everyone else sang along enthusiastically, which made the scene even more funny and ironic.
After the inauguration ceremony, there was a tea break held indoors.
The scene was filled with elegant people, and the officials and their wives were dressed in gorgeous clothes and socializing.
Mr. Zhan also had a big smile on his face and took the initiative to greet them in his poor foreign language.
"Hello!! Very nice to meet you!"
However, those foreigners did not take him seriously. They nodded perfunctorily and walked away.
Mr. Zhan is the vice chairman of the Chinese Chamber of Commerce and he bluffs in front of his compatriots, but foreigners don't take him seriously at all!
But Mr. Zhan never got tired of doing this. If one person ignored him, he would find another. After walking around the place, finally a foreigner in military uniform came to talk to him.
"Hello, Mr. Zhan." The man spoke fluent Chinese.
"Ah! Colonel Davis! Hello, hello! Hello!" Mr. Zhan lowered his head and bent over, making his already shorter body appear even shorter.
Colonel Davis was in charge of coordinating military supplies in the consulate. His position was neither high nor low.
Someone like this who takes the initiative to greet Master Zhan must have some ulterior motive...
"Your wives are all very beautiful! But there's one I haven't seen before..."
Davis praised casually and set his eyes on the youngest Miao Jue.
"Colonel Davis's eyes are very good! This is my sixth concubine, she speaks English!"
Mr. Zhan immediately pushed Miao Jue's waist and asked her to go forward to entertain.
Davis was not vague at all. He took Miao Jue's hand and kissed her.
Although Miao Jue was familiar with Western etiquette, he still felt uncomfortable and his face was full of embarrassment.
"eous! You are so sweet!"
Davis exchanged a few pleasantries with Miao Jue in English, then patted Mr. Zhan's shoulder vigorously and pulled him to the corner.
The secret conversation between the two was definitely not a good thing.
Mr. Zhan walked away with his son and his men, leaving a group of women behind.
The second wife naturally felt that the other concubines were under her control.
She put on airs and ordered, "The master is discussing important matters, and we can't lose face for him. Westerners are very particular about how they eat their food. If you don't know how to eat it, don't move around. Don't... Hey? Fourth sister? Where are you going?"
Shi Sui was too lazy to listen to her nagging.
She walked straight to the long table, asked the waiter to bring her a small cake and a cup of black tea, and sat down gracefully with graceful steps.
Tokiho cut off a piece of cake with a small fork and put it into her mouth gracefully. Then she poured milk into the teacup, stirred it with a small spoon, and took a sip.
She even struck up a conversation with the foreign lady at the next table.
Shi Sui's movements were so authentic and skillful that the second and fifth wives were stunned... When did an actor learn to use a knife and fork? And even speak foreign languages?
Shi Sui responded to the second wife with a provocative look, and also gave Miao Jue a wink, telling her to relax.
Miao Jue had long harbored a grudge against the Second Wife.
She bowed slightly and said, "Second Madam, I'll go get some food too. Don't worry, I know the etiquette of Westerners having tea and snacks, and I won't embarrass the master."
After that, Miao Jue also walked away.
Only the second wife and the fifth concubine were left staring at each other, standing in the middle of the banquet hall like two pieces of wood.
Of course, Shi Sui openly integrated into the social circle of the ladies of the consulate not just to piss them off.
She wanted to take advantage of this great opportunity to carefully observe and inquire about the situation in the British Consulate.
The new ambassador is about 30 years old, which is very young among consular officials.
He had sharp eyes and an upright posture, looking extremely vicious. The people who were talking around him were all young people of about his age, while the old hands who had been stationed here for quite some time were gathered on the other side of the banquet hall, chatting leisurely.
It is obvious that the consulate is in the process of transitioning between the old and new groups, and the new ambassador has not yet fully won the support of the people.
It can be predicted that in the coming days, there will be a bloody storm in the British Concession...
But everything has two sides.
Where there is danger, there is opportunity.
The struggle for power within the consulate gave Shi Sui an opportunity to plan a big plan.
…
After returning to the Zhan residence.
Mr. James was in high spirits and had made a great deal with Colonel Davis.
He was also very satisfied with Miao Jue's performance.
"Lieutenant General Davis has been praising you in front of me! He said you speak English very well and behave well."
Mr. Zhan asked the butler to serve her a bowl of precious bird's nest as a reward.
This made the fifth concubine jealous for a while.
But Miao Jue just felt disgusted.
The previous introducer said that Mr. Zhan was a businessman who ran a rice shop, a cloth shop and a pawnshop in the British Concession.
I originally thought that he was just cooperating with the British for mutual benefit.
But she never expected that Mr. Zhan would completely abandon his dignity and kneel down to lick those beasts!
Miao Jue did not grow up here, but she also knew that Shanghai was almost completely divided up by bandits such as Britain, France, Germany and Japan through leasing.
As a student who had studied in a school run by the British, she knew very well what kind of bad behavior the British had when they established colonies everywhere.
After dinner, Miao Jue took a walk in the small garden with a lot of thoughts in his mind, and took the opportunity to get some fresh air.
"Want to go out and relax?"
Tokiho suddenly appeared behind her and asked her with a smile.
Miao Jue couldn't believe it: "Go out? Where to?"
"Of course, we're going outside the Zhan family."
"But what can you do outside at night?"
Shi Sui smiled and said, "Let's go see the real Shanghai."
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