The second volume is full of glory and splendor in the capital, and the spirit is full of vitality in the foggy city. Chapter 297: Trivia
Chapter Subtitle: The Last Calm Before the Madness
"July 1921 could be called the "Month of Madness" for the British Empire, which still held the dominant position in the world at that time.
Starting from the second to last Saturday of July, a series of events occurred one after another, just like the little boy in "The Emperor's New Clothes". Not only did they make the British royal family and government lose face as the British Empire, but they also exposed the weak nature of this largest empire in history.
Since then, a wave of pursuit of independence has emerged in all colonies of the British Empire, which is directly related to the "Month of Madness".
Yes, if their sovereign country cannot even manage its own capital, homeland and the most recent and oldest colony - Ireland, how can it manage these colonies that are hundreds, thousands or even tens of thousands of miles away?
We all know by now that the central figure in "Month of Madness" was a 27-year-old Chinese student. Based on the various historical materials we have now, it's no exaggeration to say that he single-handedly led the movement.
Before this, everyone thought he was a talented scientist, a gifted economist, and a bohemian wanderer.
Only after this did the whole world know his true identity.
However, to this day, there are huge differences in opinions about him. Some say he is the originator of modern terrorism, while others say he is a fighter for justice and freedom.
He is Yuan Yanshu..."
"A few days ago, the British government declassified a batch of historical files that had reached the declassification age. Among them was a record of Scotland Yard's surveillance that aroused the interest of historians around the world. This was a report on the whereabouts of Mr. Yuan Yanshu, secretly monitored by Scotland Yard under instructions from Whitehall..
Although unsigned, it's speculated that this "Whitehall" directive likely originated with Winston Churchill, then Secretary of State for the Colonies. His feud with Yuan Yanshu began with a debate across the Atlantic in November 1920. However, due to his limited authority at the time, he could only influence Scotland Yard rather than mobilizing MI5.
What's more, at that time, senior British officials, including him, could not have known that Mr. Yuan could cause such a big mess.
At the same time, even with such surveillance, Mr. Yuan still successfully organized this unprecedented operation. No wonder some people say that he is a wizard from the East.
Now, through this whereabouts report, combined with various accounts and recollections from people around Mr. Yuan, we can roughly outline what he did during this period.
Now let me take you back to the past:
On June 18, Yuan Yanshu and his American friends arrived in Southampton from New York. After getting off the ship, they had some minor conflicts with local residents. As a result, he was detained by the police and lived in a villa owned by the Baker family.
On June 28, he arrived in London by train and immediately checked into the Savoy Hotel.
On July 1, he and his friends held a dance party at the Savoy Hotel, where he met Ms. Katherine Mansfield, and the two quickly became "close friends."
However, due to some misunderstandings, he had some unpleasant friction with his old friend Xu Zhimo, who left the meeting halfway.
On July 2, Yuan Yanshu visited the Chinese Embassy in London at noon and had lunch with Gu Weijun and his wife and Ms. Wei Mingniang. In the evening, he had a banquet with three Japanese friends, Nomura Kichisaburo, Yamamoto Isoroku, and Inoue Narumi.
On July 3, Xu Zhimo, accompanied by Chen Xiying, went to the Savoy Hotel to apologize to Mr. Yuan. It is believed that the two men reconciled because the stalker found that the atmosphere was very harmonious when the three of them had lunch together.
From July 4th to 6th, Yuan Yanshu and his group toured London. According to the report from the stalker, he stayed at the British Library for a long time, sitting in the same seat and rubbing his feet vigorously on the ground. It was unknown what he was doing.
Later, some people said that there were two people's footprints in the British Library, one was Marx and the other was Yuan Yanshu. In fact, this is nonsense. Marx wrote "Das Kapital" here, but it is impossible for him to sit in the same seat for decades. It is even more impossible for Mr. Yuan to leave a pair of footprints in one day..
On July 7, accompanied by Keynes, Xu Zhimo and others, Yuan visited Cambridge University and met with Arthur Pigou, a renowned economist who was teaching there at the time. Pigou also gave Yuan a copy of his 1920 book, Welfare Economics, as a gift.
That evening, they went to the home of Alfred Marshall, the founder of modern economics, and had dinner together. According to Keynes and Xu Zhimo, who were present, Marshall greatly admired Yuan Yanshu's Socialism and called him the most insightful Eastern economist he had ever met.
On July 8, Yuan Yanshu attended a literary salon organized by Manshufeier. Almost all members of the evil society were present.
In the salon, Mr. Yuan recited one of his old poems, "Mount Tai", in public, which received high praise from everyone..
Later, the great Imagist poet Ezra Pound, who was far away in Paris, was also impressed after reading this poem, saying that it was an Imagist poem that could be compared with his own "Metro Station"..
On July 9, Mr. Yuan Yanshu went to Xu Zhimo's residence in Saskatchewan alone.…
——Excerpt from "Master Unparalleled: British Madness"
“Tap, tap, tap.”
“Just a minute.”
"Excuse me, who are you..."
The door opened, revealing a face that was not pretty at all. She was also wearing an apron and looked like a hired maid rather than the hostess of this place.
Of course, our Master Yuan also knew that the person he was visiting this time could not be as beautiful as Rene Liu, and he had also seen her photos in advance.
However, when he saw the real Zhang Youyi, he was indeed a little disappointed. No wonder "my friend Xu Zhimo" looked down on her. This rich girl looked quite blessed, but she was a little "rustic" for a poet (Yan) and a person (control).
Having said that, although she looked plain, she took care of Xu Zhimo in every possible way, just like a real nanny, buying, washing and cooking lunch and dinner for the two of them, and was also responsible for cleaning the house and washing clothes.
Moreover, these tasks were actually easier than those in her hometown in China, because there, as a daughter-in-law, she had to visit her father every morning and evening.
He took off his summer straw hat, smiled at the hostess, and said in Shanghainese: "Hello, sister-in-law."
"You are..." Zhang Youyi's eyes lit up, and she said with great joy: "You are Mr. Hongjian?!"
More and more people are familiar with Master Yuan's face, especially in the overseas Chinese communities in Britain and the United States, where he is a legend. Moreover, Zhang Youyi is also his fan.
Yuan Yan suddenly said warmly, "Sister-in-law, is it too formal to call me Mr. Hongjian? Qi Sen and I have been friends for many years. You can just call me Brother Yuan."
"Yes, Brother Yuan." Zhang Youyi nodded, then frowned and said, "But my husband is not at home..."
"I know. I came to see you." Master Yuan continued, "Qi Sen asked me to come to you."
Zhang Youyi leaned against the door and said doubtfully, "He asked you to come find me..."
Yuan Yan suddenly took out a handkerchief and wiped the sweat from her head and said, "Sister-in-law, won't you invite me in?"
In fact, the temperature was only about 30 degrees Celsius at that time. However, in order to be a high-ranking Chinese, our Master Yuan could not wear shorts and T-shirts, so he had to reluctantly wear a linen suit, which was naturally a bit hot.
"Oh, Brother Yuan, please come in." Zhang Youyi said in a panic as she opened the door.
Our Master Yuan sighed inwardly. The Zhang family didn't know how to educate their own children. She was obviously the daughter of a wealthy family with a prominent family background, but they made her act like a poor girl who had never seen the world.
No wonder people say, raise sons poorly and daughters well.
In fact, the old man has forgotten his 17-point charm, and women always feel a little "panic" when they see it.
"Brother Yuan, please sit down. What would you like to drink?"
"Just a soda...thank you." Yuan Yan took the soda and pointed to a chair next to her and said, "Sister-in-law, please sit down too."
Zhang Youyi took off her apron and put it aside. She sat down carefully and asked, "Brother Yuan, why did my husband invite you here..."
Our Master Yuan took a sip of iced soda and said lightly, "Oh, he wanted me to tell you that he wants to divorce you."
"He wants to..."
"Bang!"
Zhang Youyi was so shocked that she almost jumped up, knocking over the chair she was sitting on with a loud noise.
"No, no, it's impossible." She shook her head and said, "He can't divorce me!"
Zhang Youyi raised her head and said firmly, "I didn't forbid him from taking a concubine, and I didn't violate any of the seven grounds for divorce. So he has no reason to divorce me!"
Feudal ideas are really harmful.
As expected, just as the historical records show, Xu Zhimo seemed very abnormal before he filed for divorce, and Zhang Youyi also realized that her husband was having an affair, but as a traditional woman, she had convinced herself to accept this matter.
After all, she was the original wife who was married in a formal ceremony, and the ones who came after her were all concubines.
When their marriage broke down, this traditional woman compared herself with the "Seven Reasons for Divorce", and found that none of them applied to her.
If it was before the Republic of China, Xu Zhimo really would have no reason to divorce her.
"Ah..." Yuan Yan sighed, stood up, and propped up the chair, saying, "Sister-in-law, sit down and talk."
"No, I won't sit." Zhang Youyi shook her head and said, "Mr. Yuan Da..., if you are joking, this is not funny at all. So I'm sorry, I have to ask you to leave..."
Master Yuan looked her straight in the eyes and interrupted, "Sister-in-law, do you really think this is a joke?"
"I, I, I..." Zhang Youyi actually got rid of his "eyes of nothingness" and shook her head, muttering, "Impossible, impossible, impossible..."
Yuan Yan suddenly looked at the distraught young woman in front of him and sighed again.
Even a woman like Zhang Youyi, who came from a wealthy family and received education, was poisoned by feudal ideas, let alone the millions of women compatriots at that time.
It is not without reason that the first law promulgated after the founding of New China was the Marriage Law.
In fact, if one is truly a feminist and has read a little history, then he or she should understand that the party that is about to be established this month is really a great benefactor to Serbian women.
Moreover, the political movements after the founding of the People's Republic of China may have destroyed some "traditional culture", but it is undeniable that they have swept away a lot of feudal remnants that should have been thrown into the garbage dump of history.
It can be said that they have violated the laws of historical development by elevating the status of women to the level of "half the sky".
Therefore, once the historical development returned to "normal", some women in the other half of the sky were not only not grateful, but also despised those who allowed them to go out of their homes and enjoy freedom. Finally, even in the 21st century, some people were still opening "women's virtue classes" with great fanfare.
If this isn't called reversing history, then what is?!
You must know that rights and obligations are equal.
If they want to be traditional women like Zhang Youyi who stay at home to take care of their husbands and children, they must accept the dominance of men in the family, tolerate their husbands having affairs outside, and endure the resurgence of a patriarchal, male-dominated society.
Yuan Yanshu didn’t know whether these women were “as beautiful as flowers”, but he knew that their husbands who “earned money to support the family” could make their faces bloom!
Our Master Yuan also planned to make Zhang Youyi's face "bloom with joy"... No, it should be "as beautiful as a flower".
"Sister-in-law! Sister-in-law!! Sister-in-law!!!"
Zhang Youyi, who was finally awakened by him, wiped the corners of her eyes and said hesitantly, "Yes, Yuan, Yuan, Yuan, big brother."
"Sister-in-law, I came here today just to bring this message to Qi Sen, but..."
He smiled and said, "But since this is our first meeting, how can I, as your elder brother, not give you a gift?"
"clatter!"
Zhang Youyi's eyes blurred, and she saw the handsome man snap his fingers, and a beautifully decorated book suddenly appeared in his hand.
"It's just a small gift, not a token of respect."
When Zhang Youyi took it and looked at it, she saw the title on the cover: "The Four Evil Magics of Makeup."
"This is..." She couldn't help but look up and asked.
"Sister-in-law, whether you will divorce Qi Sen or not, studying the contents of this book will be of great benefit to you."
"this……"
"Please believe me!" He finally used the "Eye of Nothingness" to hypnotize the other party.
"Gudong gudong..."
Yuan Yan quickly finished the bottle of soda in one gulp and said, "Sister-in-law, thank you for the soda. I'll take my leave now."
“Snap!”
Without waiting for Zhang Youyi to see him off, he walked straight out of Prince Residence and lit a cigar under the awning at the entrance.
This kind of historical gossip only needs to be slightly mixed in, and after your own mixing, it will definitely sound very good.
I have seen it with my own eyes. Zhang Youyi has a pretty good foundation. If she could learn Japanese makeup, one of the four major magic arts in Asia, she would not be as good-looking as Lin Huiyin's bare face.
Right now, the most important thing is the shocking news I want to make...
Well, this chick has a nice body.
Master Yuan, who was full of enthusiasm, saw a curvy brown-haired girl twisting her body into the shed. Unfortunately, she was wearing a wide-brimmed hat that covered her face.
When she went into the building, she naturally had to fold the small parasol she was holding.
But she didn't know whether it was because she was too weak or there was something wrong with the parasol, but she couldn't close it no matter how hard she tried.
The lustful Yuan Yan suddenly threw away the cigar in her hand, leaned over and asked gracefully, "Miss, may I?"
"Thank you." The brunette breathed a sigh of relief and handed over the umbrella.
Just as the umbrella blocked the two of them, the girl said softly, "Mr. Yuan, we meet again..."
"Who are you……"
When he finally remembered the woman's voice, our Master Yuan was shocked and blurted out, "It's you!"
