Fang Lang's words moved Audrey Hepburn beyond words. She threw herself into Fang Lang's arms without hesitation and gave him a passionate kiss.
But Hepburn's mother seemed very stubborn. She didn't even give face to her son-in-law Fang Lang and said directly:
“No, this will not only bring shame to the Fang Lang family, but also to our Hemstra family. I will never allow this to happen.
If you like to dance ballet, you can dance at home and in front of Fang Lang, but you are absolutely not allowed to dance in the opera house for everyone to see."
It turns out that Hepburn's mother's full name is Ella van Heemstra. The Heemstra family is a direct descendant of the Dutch royal aristocracy, and its family can be traced back to the early 16th century.
Hepburn's maternal grandfather was Arnald van Heemstra, a lawyer with the title of baron.
Hepburn's father's full name was Joseph Victor Anthony Hepburn Ruston, and he was the general manager of the Brussels branch of the Bank of England.
It can also be seen from here that although Hepburn's mother's family has aristocratic status, there are no prominent figures among the family members.
But sometimes it is often this kind of people who care particularly about their aristocratic status and family honor.
...
...
As for why the other party would rather accept Audrey Hepburn being with Fang Lang as a lover, but could not accept Audrey showing up in public after becoming Fang Lang's lover, Fang Lang was a little confused.
After hearing what her mother said, Audrey Hepburn was obviously very dissatisfied. Fang Lang had no objection. Why did you, as my mother, stand up and oppose me from realizing my dream?
He sat up from Fang Lang's arms again, looked at his mother with a stubborn face and said:
"What are you talking about? It brings shame to the Hemstrak family. Does the Hemstrak family still exist? What is there worth repeating about a noble bloodline that has completely fallen?"
The young Audrey Hepburn's words were unexpectedly fierce. Fang Lang did not expect that she would say such words to her mother. Although Fang Lang did not care about the so-called aristocratic bloodline, he had to stand up and stop her at this moment:
"Audrey, we have to respect our elders and not talk to our mother like that."
As he spoke, he did not forget to pull the other person back into his arms, patted him on the back, and signaled him to be patient.
Although Audrey Hepburn obediently leaned back into Fang Lang's arms, he did not really calm down. Instead, he continued to snort with dissatisfaction, "Hmph!"
Seeing this, Fang Lang stroked Hepburn's back with amusement. He turned to Hepburn's mother who was about to say something else and said:
"Auntie! Don't be anxious. Come and sit down. Can we have a good chat?"
Hepburn's mother, who had already finished washing the dishes, glared at her daughter, nodded, walked over slowly, and sat on the sofa next to her.
Fang Lang felt that it was a bit disrespectful for him to hold Audrey Hepburn and chat with her mother like this, so he patted Audrey's back gently, then patted his side, motioning Audrey to sit next to him.
Unexpectedly, Audrey, who looked very well-behaved and cute, directly rejected Fang Lang's request this time. She still sat in Fang Lang's arms, put her arms around Fang Lang's neck, buried her head in Fang Lang's shoulders, and snorted at her mother to express her dissatisfaction.
Seeing this, Hepburn's mother was not as angry as Fang Lang had imagined, but her expression was not looking good either. She coughed lightly again to remind her daughter.
But Hepburn was obviously a bit upset, and she still buried her head in Fang Lang's shoulder, pretending not to know what her mother meant. This made Hepburn's mother look even uglier.
Fang Lang coughed lightly upon seeing this, and said softly to the girl in his arms:
"Be good, don't be willful. Let me have a good talk with your mother and see if I can convince her, okay?"
Only when she felt her neck being touched by two warm lips did Audrey Hepburn reluctantly get off Fang Lang, sit next to him, and put her arm around Fang Lang's arm.
Seeing that the girl listened to him, Fang Lang breathed a sigh of relief. He didn't have time to savor the feeling on his neck. He gave Hepburn's mother an apologetic smile and said,
"Aunt, I just heard you mention the Hemstra family. Is this your family? Would you mind telling me more about it?"
Hepburn's mother was not an unreasonable person. Although she had just directly rejected Audrey Hepburn's dream, she still respected her future son-in-law very much.
Seeing that his son-in-law wanted to know about his family situation, he certainly couldn't refuse.
In fact, Fang Lang, who came from the future, had heard that Audrey Hepburn had aristocratic blood, but he had never seriously studied the situation. Now that he heard Hepburn's mother bring it up, he certainly wanted to take the opportunity to find out more.
“Yes, my family is a direct descendant of the Dutch royal family. My father, Mr. Arnald van Heemstra, holds the title of baron and is a lawyer.
He served as deputy attorney general and assistant judge in the Ministry of Justice in Arnhem, as well as the city's first mayor, and also served as governor of the Dutch colony of Guiana and Suriname in South America.
Fang Lang was somewhat surprised when he heard this, as he obviously had not expected that the other party actually possessed a real noble identity.
Fang Lang actually had some knowledge about the Netherlands, but his knowledge was superficial. What impressed Fang Lang the most in this life was of course the colonies owned by the Netherlands in northern Brazil, Guyana and Suriname, both of which bordered Brazil.
Fang Lang, who came from later generations, would also go to the Netherlands to load and unload goods and rest at the port during his ocean voyages. What impressed him most was of course the Dutch red-light district, no, it was the open girls, and no, it was the windmills.
Yes, it’s the windmill and the tulips.
In Fang Lang's impression, the Netherlands is not large in area, but it is a developed country. The country's agriculture is very developed, especially in flower cultivation, which is the best in the world.
Of course, the Netherlands also has excellent ranches and a lithography machine manufacturing company that later became famous.
He knew that the Netherlands was also a very important recipient of aid in this European aid plan. He was thinking about whether he should find an opportunity to visit the Netherlands!
I didn’t expect that Audrey Hepburn’s hometown was the Netherlands. Now I might have the chance to visit the Netherlands.
"Oh! Then I wonder if you have any relatives in the Netherlands?"
Fang Lang just listened to the story about the noble identity and didn't take it too seriously. So he just nodded and didn't go into details.
Hepburn's mother was very proud when she talked about her family, and she couldn't help but want to hold it up and enjoy the praise from her future son-in-law, but Fang Lang didn't care about this background at all.
Instead, he asked about his sad story, which made his originally proud expression turn into a lonely one.
"No, my brothers and family were captured and executed by the Germans during World War II. Now there are only Audrey and I left in our family."
As he spoke, his eyes began to turn red unconsciously, and he looked like he was about to cry. Audrey Hepburn beside him also seemed to have thought of something, her eyes also began to turn red, and she held Fang Lang's arms even tighter.
Seeing this, Fang Lang felt a headache and coughed twice:
"If there is a chance, should we go back to our hometown?"
Hepburn's mother obviously didn't expect Fang Lang to suddenly bring up this topic. She looked up at Fang Lang in confusion.
"But we have nothing left at home. Even our old house has been destroyed by the war. We have no objection to going back."
“I see that you seem to be very concerned about the status of the Hemstra family. According to you, if only Aunt and Audrey are left in the Hemstra family now.
Do you have a chance to go back and inherit this title?"
Fang Lang asked with some curiosity.
"There is no chance. The Dutch aristocratic titles are passed down to males, not females. My eldest brother is the last Baron of Heemstra. After his family was killed by the Germans, there are no more baron titles in the entire family."
Although she didn't know what Fang Lang meant, Hepburn's mother felt that Fang Lang seemed to want her to return to the Netherlands. In her heart, she certainly hoped to go back and take a look, at least that was her home.
But Arnhem, as one of the important battlefields between the Allies and Germany, has been basically destroyed. If it weren't for the last resort, who would be willing to leave their homes and wander around in Britain?
Now I'm living under someone else's roof, how can I have the chance to return to my hometown?
In fact, what Fang Lang cared about was not the so-called noble title, but he wanted to see if he could use the other party's identity to establish some relationship with the local forces in the Netherlands and acquire some high-quality assets from the Netherlands in the upcoming European aid plan.
You know, although the Netherlands is not big in area, its strength is quite good. In terms of agriculture alone, it is worth investing in Nice! The two world-renowned infant formula brands, Friso and Nutrilon, are both from the Netherlands.
"Aunt, it's okay. It doesn't matter whether you have a noble title or not. What matters is that it's your hometown.
Since Audrey has decided to be with me, I naturally have to consider your life. If you want, I can buy you an estate in your hometown, such as a farm or an apartment.
Or if you don't want to go back to that sad place, I can also help you buy property in the UK or other European countries.
If you are willing to follow Audrey and I to settle in Brazil, I would also welcome you very much, and I can help you buy a property in Brazil at that time."
Although Fang Lang provided Hepburn's mother with many options, what he hoped most was that she could stay in the Netherlands so that he could make arrangements in the Netherlands in her name.
As for the possibility of separating Hepburn and her daughter, Fang Lang was not worried. At worst, after his company's business gained a foothold in the Netherlands, he would bring her to Brazil to be with Hepburn!
Hepburn's mother was a smart woman who received aristocratic education since childhood. She could feel that Fang Lang had his own purpose in his words, but for a while she couldn't figure out what his real purpose was.
After all, every word Fang Lang said was for her consideration.
After a moment's hesitation, she decided to let nature take its course. Since her daughter had already decided to follow this prospective son-in-law, the other party would definitely not hurt her even for the sake of his daughter.
Moreover, she herself could feel that Fang Lang had no ill will towards them, mother and daughter. She trusted her intuition very much on this point, otherwise they would not have been able to escape the cruelty of the Germans.
You know, she had already sensed the crisis long before the Germans attacked her brother's family, and changed Audrey Hepburn's name to a less British one. If her brother had listened to her advice, maybe his family could have escaped the disaster.
"Since Audrey has decided to follow you, I believe you won't abandon me.
So I want to hear your opinion.”
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