Wednesday, December 5th.
Doyle got up early in the morning, ate a few bites of food with his beloved wife Hawkins, and then rushed to Strand Street.
On the way, he opened the car curtains from time to time and looked out.
Although Hawkins was used to it, he still couldn't help teasing her husband, saying: "What? Are you looking for a newsboy to buy The Scotsman?"
Doyle blushed.
"There is an old Chinese saying, 'Know yourself and the enemy, and you will never be in danger in a hundred battles'."
"Pfft~"
Hawkins laughed out loud and complained: "Why do you even know this ancient Chinese saying? Is it because you want to study the opponent, you also need to study the opponent's cultural background?"
Doyle glared at his wife, but couldn't say anything in reply.
Hawkins chuckled,
In fact, she felt a little grateful to Lu Shi in her heart.
During this period, Doyle kept writing and seemed to have regained the passion for creation. As a wife, Hawkins was naturally very happy to see such a change in her husband.
"It's good if you can keep creating," Hawkins said.
Doyle sighed helplessly,
This is what a loving wife is like, saying that she pays attention to the process, but the result is not important.
But Doyle really values the results!
He didn't want the Sherlock Holmes series to be surpassed by other suspense works, nor did he want his reputation to be surpassed by a young boy like Lu Shi.
At this moment, the newsboy's voice came from outside:
"Sell newspapers! Sell newspapers!"
Doyle quickly stopped the carriage, then waved to the newsboy and said, "Son, bring me a copy of The Scotsman."
As he spoke, he took out a five-penny coin.
Unexpectedly, the newsboy shook his head,
"Excuse me, first...um...Mr. Doyle?"
Doyle quickly covered his face.
"Well, give me the newspaper."
Every time he bought The Scotsman, he would try his best to hide his face to avoid gossip. The headline was "Famous Detective Failed?" Doyle was impressed by other novels."
The newsboy didn't know what you were thinking, so he just looked at him curiously, and then said: "Sorry, The Scotsman is sold out."
Doyle was slightly surprised,
Since the book review edition of "The Manchester Guardian", "The Scotsman" has once again printed more copies due to support from fans. Its circulation has reached a terrifying 33,000 copies every Wednesday, and the supply is very sufficient.
And it’s early in the morning, so there’s no reason to run out of stock.
Doyle asked: "How could this happen?"
The newsboy shook his head and said, "I don't know either. When we went to pick up the goods today, each of us was given only ten copies. In the past, we could get thirty copies."
A rough calculation shows that the printing volume is only one-third of the previous volume, which is 10,000 copies.
Hawkins next to him was puzzled.
"Is there something wrong with the printing factory in Edinburgh?"
Doyle pondered for a moment and speculated: "Probably Lu Shi changed the draft on the fly and caught Cooper off guard... Hahaha, okay! In the previous visit, Lu Shi said that he didn't like to make outlines when he was creating. It was probably because of this habit. This leads to problems with the content of the novel!”
Hawkins held his forehead and shook his head.
"Arthur, your eyes are gleaming."
Doyle did not respond, but urged the coachman to set off and buy newspapers from newsboys along the way.
With great difficulty, after asking three newsboys in succession, Doyle finally received the newspaper for one shilling, and then he couldn't wait to open the supplement.
But the expected situation did not happen.
There is no inconsistency in the world described by Lu Shi. Chapters 15 and 16 of "No One Survived" are perfect as the climax of the novel, with various suspense layers building up and ending with the inevitable death in the last case. And ended.
"
She put the noose around her neck.
Hugo was there watching her, watching her take the path she was destined to take.
She kicked away the chair...
"
After reading the last paragraph, Doyle actually felt a sense of loss, as if he was saying goodbye to an old friend.
The same was true for Hawkins, who even felt a little exhausted.
She couldn't help but praise: "Wonderful! It's so wonderful! Arthur, do you remember the last line of the nursery rhyme? 'A little Indian boy came back alone; he hanged himself from the beam and there was no one left. .'"
Doyle said: "This book is actually over here. But there is "Epilogue" at the end, which should be revealed from a third-person perspective. We..."
Before he finished speaking, the coachman's voice came from outside,
"Sir, Madam, we have arrived."
In fact, I've arrived a long time ago.
But because of the tip given by Doyle, the coachman didn’t urge him just now.
Now I heard Doyle say, "This book is actually over here," and then he reminded me.
Hawkins took out his small wallet and stuffed some tips into the driver's hand. At the same time, he said to Doyle, "Arthur, keep reading."
As a result, Doyle just frowned and said nothing.
Hawkins was surprised,
"What's wrong?"
Doyle whispered: "'The night gave me black eyes, but I used them to find light.'... Well... Although there are only two simple sentences, is this a poem?"
…
"I would like to write this article in memory of Mr. Oscar Wilde."
The Queen put down her tea cup.
Oscar Wilde…
This last name seems a bit familiar.
The Queen asked: "Do you have any impression of this Oscar Wilde?"
Margarita on the side said: "Mr. Wilde is a great playwright. His "Lady Windermere's Fan" was performed at the Royal Theater some time ago."
Stephenson on the other side said: "Wilde is a...well...dangerous prisoner. He was sentenced to two years of forced labor and was imprisoned in Bentonville Prison, Wandsworth Prison, and Reading Prison in London."
The two spoke almost at the same time.
The queen raised her hand,
"Stop! Let me think..."
Margarita couldn't help but look at Stephenson and mouthed silently: "Sir, please pay attention to your manners."
Stephenson rubbed his nose awkwardly.
After a while, the Queen seemed to remember something and said: "Ah, I seem to know. Wilde... Wilde... is the 'pretentious womanizer' accused by the Marquis of Queensberry, right?"
The fact that the case was heard in heaven shows how sensational it was at the time.
The Queen smiled and said: "I remember that Mr. Wilde later went to Paris. Mr. Lu probably had no chance to meet him."
Margarita nodded,
"Professor Lu has publicly admitted to admiring Mr. Wilde's "The Picture of Dorian Gray."
The Queen looked at the poem again,
"It's really well written. However, I'm afraid it might make some people unhappy~"
The other two people present naturally knew who the queen was referring to.
The answer is simple,
conservative.
The Queen said: "It doesn't matter, our British Empire is the most open country in the world, otherwise Wilde's works would not be performed at the Royal Theater."
Does the British Empire have anything to do with openness?
Margarita tilted her head to the side, trying hard to suppress the desire to complain.
Stephenson on the side said: "Your Majesty is right, our British Empire is the most open country in the world."
The Queen said "Hmm", looked at the poem again, and sighed again: "It's so well written..."
