At 7 o'clock in the evening, Arthur took Gulihana to the appointment on time, and also brought a bottle of old red wine. The dress was not grand, and it looked as natural as attending a family dinner.
In addition to them, Mawei also called Daniel. They are all cousins and they don't get along too much. Levin and Helena arrived late and were the last ones to arrive.
At the dinner table, Ma Wei took the initiative to share meals with everyone. This was the etiquette of the host and also symbolized the importance of the guests.
With so many guests, how to divide a whole hen is quite a skill, especially in the presence of two kings, as the chicken represents power.
While everyone was watching, Ma Wei pulled out a short knife and wiped it carefully with a napkin.
"This knife was used by me when I was in the Royal Navy. It has been with me for a long time. Although it is not expensive, I like it very much."
The blade was sharp, and with the help of the fork, it was easy to cut through the chicken. Mawei first cut off a chicken leg, divided it skillfully, and quickly picked off the meat and separated the bones.
Not just the chicken legs, Mawei disassembled the whole chicken and used his knife and fork skills that he had practiced for many years to remove the shredded meat bit by bit. The chicken that had been cooked for more than an hour was already soft and rotten, and the meat fell off the bones with a little force.
After a while, a chicken was dismantled.
The meat, all mixed together, and it was impossible to tell whether it was leg meat or breast meat, was weighed on a scale, put on two plates, and served to Katerina and Arthur at the same time.
"I have sent them invitations, inviting political and business people to attend the banquet tomorrow night...tonight is a family dinner, and we shouldn't talk about these things."
After smiling, Ma Wei changed the topic and began to talk about the anecdotes he had experienced while sailing at sea. The atmosphere at the table, which was originally a bit heavy, finally became lively. It lasted until 10 o'clock, when Arthur took Gu Li
Hana leaves.
"Your Majesty, aren't you going to the mansion?"
Looking at the red-faced and drunk Katerina, Mavey glanced at Bodelinov and found that he had no reaction.
Katerina, who was leaning on the sofa, did not answer, as if she had fallen asleep. Upon seeing this, Bodlinov said: "Father, your Majesty has not had a good rest these days. If you don't mind, let your Majesty stay with you."
Let’s stay the night.”
"Aren't you afraid of rumors?"
Bodelinov smiled and said: "Father, do you regard His Majesty as a woman?"
Ma Wei frowned: "Aren't you?"
"I think Your Majesty will be very happy to hear this." Bodelinov said: "Everyone in the world regards her as a king and dare not approach her. Only you, Father, have no worldly prejudices."
Not long after Mavey met Katerina, he met Bodlinov. At that time, the Church of Truth had just emerged. In terms of the degree of familiarity, Bodlinov and Mavey could be considered old acquaintances. There was not much communication between the two parties.
But we’ve known each other for long enough.
It was also because of this relationship that Bodelnov was able to talk about some topics but others could not.
Of course Mavey heard Bodelinov's hint, or in other words, he knew some of Katerina's thoughts, but he couldn't accept it.
Regardless of personal emotions, from the perspective of the church, he cannot have any other relationship with Katerina other than the king-the pope.
That's a disaster!
It is not easy for the Church of Truth to get to where it is today. It has made countless sacrifices and shed countless blood. How could Ma Wei let his efforts go to waste because of his own selfishness?
It is no exaggeration to say that the probability of Mavi marrying Freya is higher than the probability of marrying Katerina!
The unity of politics and religion is absolutely impossible!
So Mavey pretended not to understand Bodlinov's hint and did not agree to Katerina staying overnight, but he did not refuse either. He just picked up his coat and said: "I'll go sit in the pub opposite."
"But Father, you don't drink."
Holding the doorknob with his palm, Ma Wei said without looking back: "Yes, I don't drink."
This is the second time that Ma Wei walked into the Dirty Duck Tavern. The last time was to get information about the restaurant owner. The Tavern owner was shocked when he saw him. Everyone knows that the Pope does not drink, so the Tavern should have nothing to do with him!
Ma Wei only ordered a soda pop, sat by the window, and stared at the street in the snow.
About ten minutes later, the door of the grocery store opened. Bodelinov called for a carriage, opened the door, and Katerina, wearing a black coat, got into the carriage and slowly drove away from Flower Street.
"Pope, what are you..." The tavern owner was curious about the reason for Ma Wei's sudden visit and asked tangledly.
"I'm bored, come and sit for a while."
Ma Wei didn't have much happy expression, he straightened his waist, looked at the direction Katerina left, took out a few coins and put them on the table.
"I'll serve you another round of bars, my treat."
The tavern, which was already bustling with the pope's arrival, burst into cheers. It's rare to be treated to a treat by the pope once in your life. This is the stuff of drunken bragging!
The snow-covered streets were deserted, and even the cracks in the windows were covered with snowflakes. The room was as warm as spring, and the fire in the fireplace was burning brighter. The melodious harmonium sounded, and everyone was blushing. Ma Wei looked out the window, and the glass
Reflecting his expressionless face.
"Why do you think this is necessary?"
In the grocery store, Levin shook his head and sighed, how he hoped Ma Wei could find his sweetheart and start a family...
But Daniel rolled his eyes at him and said contemptuously: "You have been with the teacher for so long, and you don't even understand such a simple truth?"
"You understand?"
"Of course I understand." Daniel took a deep breath: "Not only do I understand, but I can also understand the teacher."
Levin shook his head: "I think Boss sometimes thinks too much."
"You know, I'm actually engaged."
Daniel suddenly said: "Two months ago, my father wrote to me and said that he had arranged a marriage for me. The other party was the daughter of King Maximilian I of Bavaria and she was a princess."
"This is a good thing!" Levin's eyes widened: "Why didn't you tell us?"
"I've never seen each other, never."
Daniel took out a black-and-white photo and handed it to Levin. In the photo, there was a girl standing next to a chair, wearing a luxurious dress. She looked thirteen or fourteen years old and was quite beautiful.
"Because of this engagement, Frederick's Kingdom took down the most powerful Kingdom of Bavaria in the Rhine League without spending a single soldier. Do you know why?"
"You are the first crown prince, and you and her children will be the first heirs to the next king."
"That's right." Daniel nodded and said: "This is the price, this is the marriage, this is the binding of interests. As long as Maximilian I agrees, although he will lose the title of the Kingdom of Bavaria, his descendants will be able to obtain a wider land.
!The Kingdom of Bavaria can also grow from a small country to a big country!"
"I can do this because I want to gain something from this marriage. The teacher cannot. If he marries my cousin, it will form an embarrassing situation of political and religious integration. Their children will not only become the next successor of the Romanov Kingdom.
The king will also be the younger brother of the goddess and the child of the pope... Who else is qualified to be the pope except him?"
"Once such a situation is formed, the power structure that the teacher has finally built will collapse instantly. Maybe he will not have any impact when he is here, but what happens after the teacher dies? After all, human life is limited, but the church has to be passed down from generation to generation.
Get down!"
Levin was silent for a long time and said: "What if I don't have children? As long as I don't have children, can't I avoid the unification of politics and religion?"
"Do you think the decision to have a child lies in the hands of the teacher or my cousin?"
"This kind of thing can't be done with just one slap! It can't work without anyone! It's not androgynous!"
"Does the child have to be the teacher's?"
"..."
Levin suddenly understood. He understood it all at once. It turned out that what he thought was too simple and simple.
This is not a question of whether or not you have children at all.
It's more about the issue of belonging.
What if Katerina stays overnight in the potion grocery store tonight and becomes pregnant a month later?
What will the world think?
It doesn’t matter whether the child is Ma Wei’s, nor does it matter whether they are married or not!
Of course, Katerina will most likely not do that. After all, Mavie is still here. She can only deceive herself by doing such a little trick. But what if she and Mavie become a couple?
By then, we won’t be able to say for sure.
"Teacher has no intention to pay attention to this matter right now." Daniel said: "The Apocalypse God System is watching with eager eyes, and the devil will resurrect at any time. The challenges facing the Church of Truth are huge. One more thing is worse than one less thing."
"Then you can't live without getting married for the rest of your life!"
"Your realm and structure are far worse than the teacher." Daniel snorted: "You can't even control the lower body, what big things do you want to do? If other people had such achievements as the teacher, I'm afraid they would have let themselves go a long time ago, otherwise it wouldn't work.
I also want to taste the taste of the three goddesses of fate, but this is the way to death!"
"The way to death? Will the three goddesses of fate betray you?"
"I don't know, but other people will definitely respect teachers less."
Daniel said with a serious expression: "People will be in awe of unattainable beings. If they find that the beings they look up to are actually no different from themselves, they will have the idea of 'it's not a big deal, others can replace them'. Only by doing so
It’s what they can’t do that creates a sense of awe.”
Levin looked up at the Dirty Duck Tavern, where Mavey, who had finished drinking soda pop, had already put on his coat and walked towards the grocery store. The road was obviously very close, with only one street separating him, but his steps were heavy and heavy, as if they were far away.
The next day.
The trial training between the two countries started as scheduled. The players carefully selected by Katerina had advantages in multiple events, but they were not able to crush the Kingdom of Windsor. The winning-loss ratio remained at around 55, which was not the case.
Too much higher.
Among them, the Romanov Kingdom has a clear advantage in physical competition, but in some traditional sports such as ball games, it is no match for the Windsor Kingdom. The football match based on Cambridge rules even lost to the Windsor Kingdom 1:5.
The trial training did not use magic, it was a pure competition of strength and skills. Even if she had the upper hand, Katerina was still dissatisfied with the performance of the players. Soldiers have strong discipline, but talent is more important. They have conducted auditions at all levels.
The Kingdom of Windsor has clearly found a lot of talent....
After watching several trials, Katerina also felt that more attention should be paid to the auditions, and she decided to strengthen the selection when she returned to China, striving to discover more talents and take the lead in the Olympics.
On the other side, Pugachev also took the improved internal combustion engine to various universities to give lectures. His first stop was Oxford University. When he gave a lecture in the chapel, there were a group of gray-haired professors sitting in the audience, each of whom was a professor.
Taishan Beidou in academic fields such as physics and mathematics. They hold their pipes in their mouths and frown, not knowing what they are thinking.
After the speech, Pugachev answered questions to the students and professors, and planned to rush to Cambridge University with the internal combustion engine. Just as he was about to get in the car, a voice stopped him.
"Dean Pugachev, please stay."
Pugachev turned around and saw an old professor in a black suit walking towards him: "You are..."
"James Morea, Professor of Mathematics."
"Are you the inventor of Morea's formula?"
Pugachev's eyes lit up and he quickly shook hands with James Morea: "I have admired you for a long time... The paper you published decades ago provided me with a lot of inspiration!"
"It's a pity that there has been little progress in these years." James Morea sighed regretfully: "I have many questions about internal combustion engines that I would like to ask Dean Pugachev. Do you have time?"
Pugachev was embarrassed: "I still have to go to Cambridge University to give a lecture..."
"It's a long journey, Dean, you don't mind if I go with you, right?" James Morea said with a smile.
"I don't mind, I don't mind! Please get in the car!"
Watching James Morea board the carriage with cold eyes, Fat Orange on the roof did not make any response, and just asked Xiaomei and Maomao to follow him and monitor him.
Pugachev took the improved internal combustion engine on a lecture tour in various universities, which will definitely attract the attention of hostile forces. In order to obtain detailed information on the internal combustion engine, there is a high probability that he will have to find an opportunity from Pugachev. Pugachev is
Bait, designed to catch big fish.
As for James Morea, a big fish who has been exposed, Fat Orange doesn't want to pay attention to him.
In the evening, a grand banquet was held at Buckingham Palace. Pope Marvell personally sent out invitations, inviting political and business celebrities to attend. All the guests who received the invitations arrived in advance, except...
Freya.
While the other guests were afraid of Mavi or wanted to appear in front of Katerina, Freya seemed to be in a bad mood. Although she was dressed in the iconic red dress, she was the last to arrive.
As soon as Freya entered the banquet hall, she met Katerina, who was surrounded by people and was wearing a high-waisted aqua dress. Their eyes met. Freya raised a sneer at the corner of her mouth and picked up a glass of red wine.
, took the initiative to walk towards Katerina.
Katerina stood there, looking at Freya who was walking towards her. As she approached, Freya suddenly turned away from the crowd and came to Ma Wei: "Father, good evening."
Before Ma Wei could speak, he saw Katerina walking out of the crowd and heading straight for this way.
"Freya de Chevalier...a famous lady in London, right?"