Volume 7: Doing Business with the World Chapter 224 The victory of greed!
The play, no, it should be said that it is a drama, "Sheriff Holmes", is set in a small town near a large commercial city, which is a little backward and has a population of barely over 10,000.
The reason is mainly to avoid the bug that the sheriff cannot afford to hire a spellcaster to help investigate the case... The sheriffs in big cities are at the level of the city police chief and the city defense team, and these two are extremely rich.
The old-fashioned and poor small town sheriff and his slightly smooth and decadent middle-aged fat assistant (the actor is Dr. Bruno who played the priest in "Cinderella" before). These two characters, who are not at all pleasing in appearance, have firmly grasped the hearts of the audience halfway through the play.
After sorting out his ideas for the investigation, Sheriff Holmes turned his investigation to the manors, farms, and plantations around the town with beautiful hostesses. He visited and questioned farmers and villagers around the manors one by one, and after running to countless places with frequently changing backgrounds, Sheriff Holmes focused his attention on one of them.
Undine Estate, a sweet red fruit plantation owned by a baroness.
The baroness is old, but she has a very beautiful niece; when Holmes brings his assistant to visit her, the play finally has a beautiful lady...
Uh…the Baroness’ niece is actually played by the actress who acted as the stepmother in Cinderella.
Compared with young people, this actress has no advantages, but with a bunch of farmers, ordinary people, naughty children, old women who play themselves, and the two-person team of sheriffs with negative looks, her 70% looks can also show 90% effects...
The old-fashioned sheriff was still not good at speaking, and he offended the first female protagonist and her aunt right from the start, causing countless good-natured laughs from the audience; fortunately, his assistant Watson tried to smooth things over and persuaded the furious host to calm down with great difficulty.
After learning the purpose of the two sheriffs' visit, the beautiful niece shook her head and denied it, saying that she had never invited the young man.
The Baroness even expressed her opinion directly: she hated unmarried men and women having affairs with each other, and if her niece did such a thing, she would definitely drive her back to the countryside.
The case reached a stalemate, and Watson frustratedly proposed to give up again (Piggy's scene, funny.jpg), while the stubborn Holmes said that he was very stubborn and it would be no problem even if he banged his head against the wall dozens of times.
The sheriff's partner returned to the town to continue the investigation. This time, Holmes adopted more flexible means. He hired street thugs, thieves, and vagrants to monitor several noble families living in the town around the clock, and even paid servants to get information.
On the other hand, assistant Watson ran around the town's clothing stores, tailor shops, and leatherwork shops to find out where the deceased's clothes came from.
In this section, the stage is divided into two halves for separate performances, using this "double-lens" format to show the difficulty of solving the case, as well as to divert the audience's attention, making them dazzled and ignoring the problem of the plot not progressing fast enough...
When Watson was suspected of stealing by the owner of the leatherwork shop and was chased and beaten with a wooden sole, Holmes was squatting at the door of a nobleman's house and chatting with the doorman.
When Watson was teased by the fat owner of the tailor shop, Holmes listened seriously to the homeless boy reporting the intelligence he had gained from surveillance.
The two protagonists each obtained information through different channels and came together. The staff in black quickly pushed the two-piece scenery off the stage and replaced it with the scenery of the Public Security Bureau.
Viscount Pope couldn't help but murmur in praise: "This is a great way to transition."
"Never seen before." Bearded Feng agreed with a smile.
Isaac: “…”
——Can you please stop talking to each other!!
Von Aldoni J, can you please be more aware of being a wanted criminal? !
On the stage, after Holmes showed his skills in pushing (pretending) and reasoning (forcing), the scene shifted to the setting of a nobleman's home.
Watson found out that this family had just bought deerskin belts and cowhide boots (of different sizes) belonging to two young men from a leather shop in the previous year. Holmes discovered through surveillance by a homeless child that young people wearing the same belts and boots had appeared in this household.
The two sheriffs battled wits and words with the noble's butler, and finally met a young master of the family... Strictly speaking, one of the male owner's illegitimate sons.
Holmes went up to him and asked if his brother was missing. He was almost kicked out by this illegitimate young master...
With the help of Watson, the young master said that his family did buy two New Year gifts, one for him and the other given by his father, the male owner, to a clerk in the town hall.
The two sheriffs hurried to the town hall. The clerk from the Trade Department did not make things difficult for the two colleagues. After learning that they were investigating the whereabouts of the gift from Sir Churchill (the father of the illegitimate child), the clerk frankly told them that he had given it to another friend of similar size on the day he received the gift, and he had not even opened the box.
After many twists and turns, the two sheriffs finally found out the identity of the deceased - a young man from the town named Mark Jim.
However, it remains a mystery as to how Mark Jim was harmed and how he was abandoned in the wilderness... Jim, who inherited the lord's father's estate, has been living a life of debauchery in the neighboring big city. He returned to the old house in the town to live frugally after almost squandering his family fortune. He has no relatives in this town, and the clerk in the Trade Department is one of the few old friends and relatives who still keep in touch with him.
As the plot progresses to this point, assistant Watson once again becomes the audience's spokesperson: "Could it be that the niece lied? She lured Mark Jim home and killed him when her aunt was not paying attention?"
"How can a woman who lives in someone else's house, whose aunt doesn't speak to her and whose maid even turns her face away from her, convince the servants, grooms, gardeners and other men in Wendini Manor to help her dispose of the body? And it can't be just one person, it must be two people, and they have to use her aunt's carriage."
"Then, could it be the clerk in the Trade Department? It shouldn't be difficult for him to make up an excuse to trick Jim out. It can't be that illegitimate child. That guy doesn't even know Jim."
"Don't guess, Watson."
Sheriff Holmes stood up from the sofa with a hole in it, walked to the coat rack, put on a black cloak and a bowler hat, bit his pipe, picked up his cane, and said with his iconic stepfather face: "Any unidentified body is halfway solved as long as the source of the body can be found. This case is even simpler. The moment the source of the body was found, I already knew who the criminal was. Now, let's solve the last problem... catch and punish the real murderer who killed Mark Jim."
Audience: “???”
"Simple..." Viscount Pope's mouth twitched.
"Have you found out? When? Did I miss something?" Prince Maurice looked confused.
In the VIP room on the second floor, Earl Winston and his son, who had frowned at the beginning of the performance because of this "drama" that had no singing parts at all, and now were really impressed, looked at each other and then at the forest elf warriors who were in the same room with them.
"Helene, Kay, have you guessed who the murderer is?" Master Winston asked.
"This... the most suspicious ones seem to be the illegitimate son and the trade department clerk. There can't be anyone else except them." Helin said in embarrassment, "Master Winston, what do you think?"
Winston "Master": "..."
Next to him, another Winston said awkwardly: “Um…Hailin, the person you are talking to is my father.”
Hailin, Kai and other elven warriors: "..."
The appearance of the sea creatures does not change much after they reach adulthood, and they are also long-lived, which makes Winston and his son look like brothers. If they appear at the same time and they are not introduced, it would be difficult for outsiders to tell who is the father and who is the son...
In the last scene, the staff pushed onto the stage the set of the illegitimate young master’s house.
"It's really the illegitimate young master, Earl Winston, I guessed it right!" Helin quickly changed the subject and tried to resolve the embarrassment.
Just as she finished her words, a carriage slowly drove out from the other side of the stage and stopped at the door of the illegitimate master's house. A maid supported an old woman and walked down... It was the hostess of Undine Manor, the Baroness.
Just as the Baroness was about to go up the stairs, Sheriff Holmes, who had been hiding in an alley nearby, suddenly appeared.
Holmes, who had only one expression throughout the entire performance, bowed slightly and said with a frown, "Hello again, ma'am."
The Baroness is a serious actress, and her acting skills beat the paralyzed-faced doctor apprentice Holmes. She first showed a brief look of horror, then quickly calmed down and raised her chin in a high and cold manner: "Is it such a coincidence, Sheriff Holmes, you are also here to visit Sir Churchill?"
Holmes nodded and said straightforwardly: "Yes, ma'am, I am waiting to disturb you when you visit Sir Churchill."
The Baroness's facial muscles twitched noticeably, but such a delicate performance was invisible to the audience far away, so the Baroness slipped slightly when going up the stairs to express her uneasiness.
...This is also the shortcoming of stage performances. The actors' lines can be clearly transmitted to the entire audience through the sound amplification devices installed on the outer circle of the stage (sound shells or alchemical products. The former are relatively rare, while the latter are mature in technology and not too expensive compared to other alchemical products). Only the audience in the first few rows can see the micro-expressions.
Hailin: “…” Oh my, my face hurts!
The Baroness and Sheriff Holmes walked into the gate one after another. The staff quickly pushed away the gate scenery, and what appeared on the stage was the living room scenery of the illegitimate master's house.
The Baroness sat down with the help of her maid, and Sir Churchill's maid brought her tea without even asking her preference.
The illegitimate young master came out to receive the guests and naturally greeted the Baroness. When he found Holmes was there, he said unhappily: "Didn't the Sheriff come here during the day? Why is he here again?"
"Of course I'm here for something." Holmes said this with a negative EQ, and took out his pocket watch to check the time. "Please wait, my assistant will invite Mr. Louis here soon."
"Louis? Who is that?" The illegitimate young master was even more unhappy.
The Baroness, who was holding the teacup, shook her wrist and a little tea spilled out. The maid hurried forward to clean it up.
"It was actually the Baroness's doing?" Prince Maurice was confused. He had been guessing for a long time, but he had not considered the old woman. Fortunately, he did not say the conclusion out loud, otherwise he would be embarrassed.
"Yes, I thought it was the young niece." Viscount Pope was confused.
Prince Maurice's expression remained unchanged, and he felt much better because he had a companion who had been slapped in the face.
Many viewers had similar doubts. On the Centaur side, Sayre and several warriors even whispered about how the Baroness looked kind and didn't look like a murderer...
Assistant Watson coaxed and tricked Louis, a clerk from the Trade Department, into the room. The clerk looked very confused: "Sheriff Holmes, why did you invite me to Sir Churchill's house?"
"What are you doing? What do you think of our family?" The illegitimate young master was even more dissatisfied.
"Please be patient." Holmes walked to the center of the field, holding a pipe in one hand and a cane in the other, and said slowly, "Next, I would like to ask you to listen to a story, a story about 'revenge'."
No one in the world would complain about the bad taste of the orthodox mystery school who gathers people together to solve the mystery. When Holmes began to recite the lines incessantly, all the audience stared at him intently, and at the same time tried hard to figure out who the real criminal was, why Holmes ran to Sir Churchill's house, and called all the clerks of the Trade Department...
Holmes tells a story about a case that happened in a small town ten years ago. After a viscount died unexpectedly, his manors and farms were quickly divided up by other nobles. The orphan and his widowed mother were left with only a few properties and had to leave their hometown to make a living.
Ten years later, the boy had grown up and his mother died of depression. After burying his mother, the son disguised himself and returned to his hometown with high morale, intending to take revenge.
"Mark Jim is not the playboy as rumored, for two reasons." Holmes said calmly, "First, there is a thin layer of callus on the first joint of his right middle finger, which shows that this is a pair of hands that often hold a pen. The large number of books and documents found in his old house can serve as circumstantial evidence. Second, in order to play the role of a playboy who squandered his family's wealth, Mark Jim returned to the town alone without servants or maids, but his old house was cleaned quite cleanly."
"Most of the farms that were robbed from Viscount Jim became property of Sir Churchill. As for you, Baroness ... Ten years ago, Undine Manor was not called this name, right?"
"Wait, are you trying to say that my father is a murderer? Impossible!" The illegitimate young master stood up excitedly.
Holmes looked at the young master expressionlessly: "Don't you find it strange, young master, that your father never came out to drive away such rude guests like us? Why is that?"
"this……"
"Because your father left footprints at the scene of the body dumping, and I described the general characteristics of one of the body dumpers on the day of the investigation. Your father was worried that I would list him as a suspect after meeting him." Holmes said calmly with a stern stepfather face, "Although Mark Jim has not yet successfully inherited his father's title, Viscount Jim's title has not been revoked. Murdering a future viscount who is eligible to inherit the title is a felony. Sir Churchill cannot let others do it, so he has to do it himself."
The illegitimate child turned pale and fell back onto the sofa.
Holmes took out another small bottle and looked at the Baroness. "This is the mud and sand scraped from the knees of Jim's pants and the soles of his shoes. It is consistent with the soil of the Undine Red Fruit Plantation. This estate was where Jim grew up. I believe that you, Madam, must be the first enemy Jim lists."
Without waiting for the Baroness to refute, Holmes looked at the innocent clerk of the Trade Department and said, "After my investigation, I can roughly infer that Jim was murdered in the following way... Jim, who returned home for revenge, still remembers your friend from ten years ago. He was the first person to contact you after returning home."
"But what Jim could never have imagined was that your old friend and his second enemy, Sir Churchill, were in a relationship where they could give each other holiday gifts."
Louis, a clerk in the Trade Department, changed his expression and his hands on his knees began to tremble.
"Holiday gifts from respectable people are usually not too expensive or special. You received the gift from Sir Churchill and gave it to Jim to show that you still care about your friendship with him. Later, when you pretended to be kind and introduced a beautiful lady to Jim, such as... the beautiful niece of the Baroness, Jim naturally agreed with pleasure."
"Jim was eager to get close to the Baroness for revenge, but he didn't expect that this was a trap set by the three of you. You controlled him before he met the beautiful niece who knew nothing about him from beginning to end, and Baron Churchill personally put an end to this troublesome and troublesome person—"
Holmes pointed to the cane in the corner of the living room, next to the coat rack. "I have done some research on canes. The cane used by Sir Winston Churchill looks the same as mine, but the handle is custom-made for the right hand."
Holmes showed the cane he was holding in his left hand. "What kind of person would design a cane specifically for the right hand? The Jazz is in his prime, not yet at the age where he needs to transfer his strength to the cane to support his body. Considering that the Jazz also likes to smoke a pipe, then..."
Taking a puff from the pipe in his right hand, Holmes said slowly, "The only conclusion is that Sir Churchill was left-handed."
"Right, Mr. Louis, Baroness, what you saw at the time was that the knight held the ordinary, featureless knife in his left hand and stabbed it into the right side of Mark Jim's neck, who was forced to kneel on the ground with hatred in his eyes."
"Please do not speak rashly in your haste to deny. Although I am of low status and have never seen the knight, I am sure that many people have seen how the knight uses his left hand flexibly."
The Baroness slowly closed her eyes, and the Trade Clerk lowered his head and covered his face with his hands.
The illegitimate young master looked at them in disbelief, then slowly stood up and left the sofa.
The audience below the stage were all dumbfounded.
"Mark Jim's coat is missing. I guess there must be a mark on his coat that can identify him, such as his father's custom-made coat. But his deerskin belt worth two gold coins and cowhide boots worth one gold coin and twenty-five silver coins, which are easier to trace their sources, are still there. Mr. Louis must not know that these are gifts from Sir Churchill, and Sir Churchill does not know that these are gifts from Mr. Louis to Jim. You both overlooked this point by mistake."
Holmes took a puff of his pipe and added a final word expressionlessly: "This is really a pity."
In the front row of the audience, Prince Maurice couldn't help but laugh.
Viscount Pope couldn't help but curl up the corners of his mouth.
Different from "Cinderella" where the whole scene is exciting, "Sheriff Holmes" keeps the excitement until the very end. It feels like there is no need to say anything, and one refreshing word says it all!
It’s so satisfying!
"You're right - so what?!"
With a loud shout, Sir Churchill, who had been hiding behind the scenes, made a grand appearance.
This man was just as Holmes had guessed, about forty years old, tall and strong (for a human), and as soon as he appeared, he glared at the sheriff's partner with a bad look on his face: "Running up to show off will be the biggest regret of your life, Holmes! Do you think you can walk out of this door alive?"
The audience, who had just felt relaxed and comfortable, immediately felt nervous.
Well… Movies always like to have a so-called twist and climax at the end. If our play wants to carve out a new niche in opera and drama, we must use the proven useful routines as much as possible…
Seeing the situation worsen, assistant Watson nervously hid behind Holmes immediately.
Holmes remained calm. His stepfather showed no expression on his face. He even chuckled twice with a fake smile: "Sir Churchill, your memory may not be very good. You have completely forgotten what I just said in the blink of an eye. Murdering a future viscount who is eligible to inherit the title is a serious crime. For you who have committed such a serious crime, your fate may not be much better than that of Viscount Jim who died unexpectedly that year."
As soon as he finished speaking, a large group of soldiers rushed out from both sides of the stage, broke through the "door" and controlled everyone. Sir Churchill, who tried to resist, was directly captured.
The mayor, who arrived late, appeared with a laugh, praised Holmes' wisdom and bravery on the spot, and said that he would severely punish the real murderer who killed Mark Jim and would never let the evildoer go unpunished.
Everyone is happy, happy ending...
The Centaurs clapped loudly. They thought the protagonist Holmes was going to suffer a loss. This ending was so good!
In the human seats next to them, some of the Condemned, Viscount Pope, and Prince Maurice said, “eeeemmmmmmmm…”
Even an experienced old fox like Big Beard Feng couldn't help but look back at Isaac...
Just...beautifully black!
What a ridiculous happy ending! It was simply a vile mockery of the undisguised and blatantly ugly eating habits among the nobles!
The words that Holmes used to stab Sir Churchill are the core of this drama. The nobles whose sore spots are attacked will suffer the same fate as the unlucky ones whose head of the family dies suddenly or who suddenly lose their power!
Sheriff Holmes stepped on Sir Churchill and the Baroness, hurting them. The mayor, who represented the highest authority in the whole play, immediately rushed out to pick peaches, no, to snatch peaches - you tell me this is a victory for justice? !
It's clearly a victory of greed!
Viscount Pope was particularly upset, and it hurt so much that the corners of his eyes and mouth twitched. He was also a smart man, and although Isaac was very subtle, he couldn't fail to see it...
Originally, Viscount Pope was thinking about doing some work for Isaac and asking him to set the background of the play in any small town in Valentine, so as to take the opportunity to improve his own reputation.
Seeing this ending... let it go!
Isaac remained calm about the sudden silence of the three people in the front row.
The teacher said that artistic expression does not have to pursue only praise and eulogy, satire is also a high-end form of artistic expression.
When it comes to praising and eulogizing art, Isaac is definitely no match for the sea people and the elves. This is what Teacher Ayun has said bluntly, and Isaac also agreed... He is still quite capable.
Since they can't win in a head-on confrontation, they might as well take an unconventional approach and conquer the unexplored and fertile land of "satire" - "The Daughter of the Mermaid", a play that is against love and praise of art, has received mixed reviews from humans, but is highly praised by sea people and forest elves!
Anyway, when it comes to art appreciation, all races take the aesthetics of the sea race and the elves as a guide, so this path is feasible~!
