Chapter 2 Manor
John recovered from the attack of the powder and motioned Liang Xi, who looked very proud, to sit down. He looked at Liang Xi and said gently, "Child, there is an idiom in Chinese called 'great wisdom appears foolish'. Do you know what it means?"
Liang Xi explained : "A person may look stupid, but he is actually very smart. He seems to have done stupid things, but he has reaped good results."
John nodded as if he understood something, sat down, and said, "I told you a truth: the one who laughs last is the winner."
Liang Xi felt vaguely unwell.
John took the water from Mary with his left hand and patted the back of Mary's hand with his right hand to express his gratitude. John took the water and asked: "Does the medicine have any side effects?"
Liang Xi replied: "It will be short-lived."
John: “Can’t drive?”
Liang Xi nodded: "Yes."
John: "But I need to go to Reading."
"Oh, my god. Mary?" Liang Xi looked at Mary and felt cheated.
Mary stood behind the sofa and rubbed John's shoulders: "You know, I love this man. I can deceive the whole world for him."
Liang Xi was speechless: "It's fine if you're trying to trick me. But have you ever considered that showing off your affection like this will hurt my young heart?"
John laughed, opened the drawer of the coffee table, and pushed a business card in front of Liang Xi: "Contact Lawyer Cook when you arrive in Reading."
Liang Xi asked: "Can I not go?"
John smiled: "Liang Xi, I know you like being a detective."
Liang Xi said: "You have a pension, so of course you can like being a detective. Last year you went on a month-long trip to the Mediterranean, and I didn't make a single dollar."
John said, "But you read the detective agency book."
Liang Xi: "I can only study. Old man, things are different now. Do you know how advanced technology is now? Paper burned to ashes can be pieced together to make fingerprints, and the element content in your hair can tell where you have lived for how long. In modern times, being a detective can only be a hobby, not a profession."
John took his car keys and two fifty pound notes from the drawer and placed them on the coffee table.
Liang Xi said: "Of course it's okay to work part-time occasionally." He reached out and took the money and car keys.
John waved his hand lightly, indicating that Liang Xi could leave.
Mary accompanied Liang Xi out of the living room and said, "The girl who just sent you here is very beautiful."
Liang Xi said: "We are not suitable."
Mary asked, “Why?”
Liang Xi picked up the banknotes in his hand: "Because I'm poor."
Mary laughed and patted Liang Xi on the back: "Go ahead."
John walked out of the living room and watched Liang Xi drive away in his Beetle. Mary said, "John, you can give him a little more money."
John replied: "He has the ability to get rich, and he also has the talent of a detective. I am worried that he will use the talent of a detective to get rich, and I hope he can use the ability to get rich to be a detective. He will have enough money, but not now."
…
There are still more than a thousand hereditary nobles in the UK, but there are only a few nobles with money and land. However, one-third of the land in the UK is currently in the hands of a very small number of nobles. These nobles are typical hereditary nobles with fiefs and are the real rich and powerful.
Liang Xi went to Reading Town to contact Cook, a lawyer who provided legal services to a very small number of nobles. A male assistant of Cook was responsible for meeting Liang Xi. After the two met outside Reading Town, the assistant was very dissatisfied with Liang Xi and even called Cook directly. Cook reminded the assistant to treat Liang Xi politely.
In view of Cook's attitude, the assistant asked the driver to drive in front, and he got into the Beetle driven by Liang Xi and introduced the reason why Cook invited John to Reading Town. The assistant was not dissatisfied with Liang Xi personally, but was dissatisfied with Liang Xi's jeans and T-shirt combination. Because the place Liang Xi was going to was a nobleman's manor.
Earl Davis was the largest landowner in the area, a hereditary nobleman, and a member of the Upper House. In short, he was a remarkable man. This remarkable man died yesterday morning. Lawyer Cook rushed back to London from France and arrived at the Earl's home at seven o'clock this morning. Then Lawyer Cook discovered that the Earl's will, which was stored in the safe at home, was missing.
Liang Xi said: "The law firm should have a backup will."
The assistant explained: "The Earl summoned Lawyer Cook three days ago to draft a new will. Lawyer Cook was in France to deal with one of the Earl's properties and had no chance to persuade the Earl to back up the will."
The assistant explained the legal issue, that the employer had the right not to disclose the will to the lawyer, in which case there was no backup will. Because Cook was in a hurry, he did not send the will to the London lawyer's office, but placed it in the safe behind the portrait in the Earl's bedroom. The loss of this will caused Cook to be in big trouble.
Without a new will, the old will must be in effect. However, when many people know that there is a new will, the old will cannot be effective. In the case of the loss of the new will, the property can only be distributed according to the absence of a will. The negligent party, Cook Law Firm, will also be sued in court and face huge claims.
The only person who could steal the will was someone in the Earl's manor, and someone in the inner courtyard of the Earl's manor, that is, someone who worked and lived in the main residence. There were eight suspects in total, including four children with inheritance rights and four staff members of the main residence. Cook urgently contacted John, hoping that John could help him find the lost will before the will was announced tomorrow night.
Liang Xi advised: "If we encounter a theft, we should call the police instead of looking for a detective."
The assistant looked at Liang Xi in confusion, "Do I need to call you to call the police? Are you a detective?"
Liang Xi was despised and said helplessly: "Let's wait and see." People nowadays have too weak legal awareness.
His words made the assistant, who was already unsure, even more unsure.
…
The manor of Earl Davis is very grand. Not to mention the dozens of employees and the lawn that looks like a work of art, the manor has a dedicated church, which makes people feel classy. This is how you should spend money. The body of the Earl was temporarily kept in the church. After the memorial service, he was buried directly in the backyard of the church, which was the ancestral grave of the Earl's family.
The main building of the manor covers a large area. The Earl's main residence is located in the middle of the manor, and the building on the left is the residence of his children. As the Earl's chief lawyer, Cook prohibited the Earl's children and other non-main residence staff from entering the manor on the grounds of counting the property in the main residence.
At the entrance of the main residence, Liang Xi met the manor housekeeper, a very traditional and typical British housekeeper. The security guard on the side asked for the car keys and drove Liang Xi's Beetle to the parking space. When needed, after the security intercom is called, someone will deliver the car to Liang Xi.
