British writer

early morning.

Dale Mansion.

Phyllis Dale turned over in her sleep and suddenly felt her nose itching, as if hot air was spraying on the tip of her nose.

Without thinking much, she stretched out her hand and waved it in front of her eyes, swatting away the pesky flies.

Strangely, that feeling didn't go away;

There was even an inexplicable "burning sensation", as if someone was watching me.

stare--

The sight is like a knife.

Suddenly, Phyllis opened her eyes.

I saw my sister, Zena Dell, lying on the edge of the bed, her big eyes flickering, as if she was studying something strange, her eyes bright and clear.

Phyllis: "Scared!!!!"

The whole person jumped out of bed.

Zena quickly covered her sister's mouth with her right hand and made a silent gesture with her left hand.

"Shh~"

Phyllis took several deep breaths.

Zena said: "Stop barking?"

Phyllis nodded.

Only then did Zena let go of her hand covering her sister's mouth, then jumped nimbly and got into bed.

Two cats together,

The bed made a "squeaking" sound.

Phyllis asked in a low voice: "What are you doing? You came to my bed so early in the morning..."

Zena hugged her sister's arm, buried herself in her chest and took a deep breath. She breathed in her whole heart and lungs, and then said: "Sister, you slept so soundly. There was a chaos of war and chaos last night, and you didn't even notice at all. ?"

Phyllis shook her head pitifully;

"have no idea."

Zena rolled her eyes at her sister.

"fool!"

Phyllis was dissatisfied and gave her sister a slap in the face, then said: "It's not like you don't know. I was very busy yesterday. My schedule was full. I sold newspapers and worked as a waiter in the morning, and performed a performance of "Roma" in the afternoon. "Holiday", I also packed my luggage for Rome in the evening. I was so exhausted that of course I fell asleep~"

As she spoke, she pointed to the foot of the bed.

Zena cast her gaze away,

"You haven't packed it up yet, your stockings are still exposed... um...! @#￥%..."

The rest of the words were garbled.

Because Phyllis covered her sister's mouth and warned: "You girl! How many times have I told you that girls should be reserved! Don't say anything about stockings!"

Zena: "!@#*￥%..."

Phyllis asked: "Do you understand? Speak!"

Zena: "!@#*￥%..."

Phyllis then remembered that she was still covering her sister's mouth and quickly let go.

Once Zena was liberated, she pushed her head against her sister's chest, and then complained: "You sell newspapers and work as a waiter, so you have the nerve to teach me how to be reserved?"

Phyllis glared at her sister,

"For acting!"

After saying that, she didn't want to talk more about this issue, so she changed the subject and said, "You just said that there was chaos last night? What's wrong?"

She was so asleep that she really didn't know.

Zena whispered: "Just in the early hours of yesterday, the Queen's Guards were dispatched in full force. There was a curfew in London!"

There's a curfew! ?

The citizens of London have probably not enjoyed such treatment in hundreds of years.

Phyllis frowned,

"Which country is calling?"

Zena shook her head,

"Then I don't know. However, the politicians depicted in "Yes! Prime Minister" are all so stupid. I think it is only a matter of time before Britain is beaten."

Phyllis struck like lightning and gave her sister another blast.

"That's sarcasm! Do you really believe it?"

Zena nodded,

"I know that "Yes! Prime Minister" is fake. The army and navy of the British Empire are invincible~ Only we can fight others, how can there be any possibility of others fighting us? I just said it casually, you Do you really believe it?"

While saying this, Zena winked mischievously.

Phyllis was so angry that she almost vomited blood.

Boom——

She gave her sister another scoop.

Zena rubbed her forehead and muttered dissatisfiedly: "If you can't tell me, you'll hit me, right?"

Phyllis is proud,

"Who calls me sister~"

She smiled, blew her sister's forehead gently, and then asked: "Is there really a curfew yesterday? Are you lying to me? Ever since you went to a girls' school, you have been weird every day. I don't know which sentence is true or which. The sentence is false."

Zena rubbed her cheek against her sister and said seriously: "It's true."

Phyllis frowned,

Puzzled.

At this time, Mr. Dale's voice came from outside: "Zena!? Phyllis!? Came out to have breakfast!"

Phyllis hurriedly got out of bed and started packing her unfinished luggage yesterday.

It must be done before breakfast.

Zena said: "Sister, don't do it yet. There was a curfew yesterday and I don't know what happened. Maybe there is no boat to the Mediterranean today."

"Ah this..."

Phyllis was a little confused and her movements froze.

After a long time, she nodded,

"You're right, let's eat first."

The sisters left the room hand in hand.

During this period, the weather in London has been quite good, with occasional rain and drizzle, which will soon be dispersed by the sunshine.

But I don’t know what happened today, but it turned out to be very cloudy.

It was so gloomy but it didn't rain, which just created a depressing feeling of "dark clouds are crushing the city."

At the dinner table, Mr. Dale was frowning at The Times.

His expression was extremely serious.

Phyllis stepped forward;

"Father, it's so dark, why don't you turn on the light?"

As she spoke, she lit the gas lamp.

Mr. Dale looked confused, looking up with dull eyes.

"What? Turn on...turn on the light?"

Phyllis sighed: "It's already open."

Mr. Dale said "Oh" as if he had just woken up from a dream, then lowered his head and continued to read the newspaper in his hand. He was about to lie down, as if the newspaper was the south pole of a magnet, and his eyes were the north pole of the magnet.

Phyllis and Zena looked at each other,

The two of them moved their lips slightly and communicated silently through mouth movements.

"what happened?"

"have no idea."

Mr. Dale has always been concerned about his two daughters' performances. The word "performance" is a constant topic at their family's breakfast table.

In retrospect, Mr. Dale would have definitely asked, "Are your luggage ready for Rome?"

Today is so abnormal,

What's going on here?

Phyllis stood up and walked cautiously behind her father.

The next second,

"ah!?"

She covered her lips in horror.

Mr. Dale turned around and saw his eldest daughter standing behind him. He couldn't help but sigh and said, "Go to the theater and ask if this trip will be cancelled."

Phyllis still couldn't get over the shocking fact.

It would have been difficult for Londoners in the Victorian era to escape from this shock.

Just like the name of Great Britain——

The sun never sets.

Queen Victoria seems to have become a symbol and a spiritual totem.

Everyone knows that the Queen will grow old and die, but no one thinks about it carefully until it happens.

Phyllis stammered;

"She...the queen...died of illness?"

On the other side, Zena stood up quickly and walked around behind her father.

She also saw the obituary in The Times:

——

Queen Victoria died at Osborne Palace on the Isle of Wight on March 29, 1901, at the age of 81.

Queen Victoria died at Osborne Palace on the Isle of Wight on March 29, 1901, at the age of 81.

Queen Victoria was a brilliant woman and a great monarch,

She respected parliament and had several capable prime ministers as assistants. Therefore, during her 63-year rule, British industry developed unprecedentedly, expanded its overseas influence, achieved a monopoly in world trade and industry, and brought great success to Britain. Prosperity,

She is a symbol of British peace and prosperity.

The "Victorian Era" is the "Golden Age" of Britain.

This era will continue forever.

——

The cold words reveal this fact.

The father and daughter could not help but remain silent.

After a while, Phyllis picked up the bread on the table, held it in his mouth, and said vaguely: "Father, I'm going to the theater right now."

Mr. Dale waved his hand, his movement seemed a little feeble.

Phyllis winked at Zena and pushed the door open.

Perhaps because of the curfew, there were almost no people on the streets.

Occasionally, passers-by pass by, looking worried and in a hurry.

The atmosphere was horribly depressing.

Phyllis finally got into the carriage,

Along the way, there were still very few pedestrians. It was not until we approached Covent Abbey and the fruit market adjacent to the Royal Opera House that the sound of people gradually came in through the car curtains.

The newsboy’s cry sounded at the right moment:

"The Times! The Daily Telegraph! The Manchester Guardian! The Mirror! If you want to know more about the Queen's life, buy the Mirror! The Mirror! The Mirror!"

Phyllis was stunned,

"Mirror\

,"A name she had never heard before.

She opened the car curtains, waved to the newsboy, and said, "Hello, can you give me a copy of the Mirror?"

The newsboy immediately grinned when he saw the beautiful lady being so polite to him.

He stepped forward quickly,

"Here you go, threepence."

This price is neither cheap nor expensive among many newspapers.

Phyllis took the newspaper and then saw the obituary in the Mirror.

However, the length of this article is far more than ten times longer than that of The Times. It is almost like a long biography of a person.

With curiosity, Phyllis began to read,

"

‘On June 20, 1837, the coronation ceremony of the British King was held on that day. '

'For millions of people in the UK, the conferring moment near the end is the most touching: the Archbishop placed the British Empire Crown, set with 2,868 diamonds and weighing more than 1 kilogram, on Alexandrina Victoria's elegant and delicate body. On her head, she was announced as Queen Victoria in front of everyone. '

"

For a moment, Phyllis's heart was gripped.

The British Empire Crown with 2868 diamonds and weighing more than 1 kilogram,

Elegant and delicate head,

The two are in sharp contrast.

Phyllis couldn't help but murmur to herself: "It's so well written..."

…

"It's really well written..."

"Huh~"

Churchill heaved a sigh of relief and swept aside the "Times" and "Daily Telegraph" on his left.

Even though he was used to reading distractedly, when faced with the obituary in the Mirror, he felt that he should read it with sincerity and a certain sense of piety.

The author of this article has very solid writing skills.

This opening alone puts the obituaries of other newspapers in a league of their own.

Churchill asked: "Professor Lu's handwriting?"

Opposite him, Wodehouse shook his head.

"No, I don't know either."

He just knew that the Queen was seriously ill and the Mirror would take this opportunity to publish,

But he didn't know the specific content.

Churchill nodded and said: "After all, it is journalism. How to explain the word 'news'? We must pay attention to effectiveness... Professor Lu runs a newspaper. It is impossible to tell you everything in advance. That would be too unrealistic." ”

After saying that, his attention returned to the obituary.

"

'However, according to insiders, the Queen was most emotional during the previous anointing session. '

'Victoria took off her jewelry and clothes and received holy oil anointing like a medieval monarch: This shows that she became queen not only because of her noble bloodline, but also because she accepted God's will. '

‘The ceremony reminds the anointed that the throne carries sacred and everlasting responsibilities. The Queen never forgot this. '

"

No need to think about who this "informed person" is;

Because there is simply no way such a person actually exists.

Churchill said: "Sir, do you know what I can't help but do when I read this obituary?"

Wodehouse wondered,

"pray?"

Churchill shook his head,

"No, how can it be prayer? When a politician really needs to pray, then he must need a self-destructive pistol."

This is a dark humor.

Wodehouse sighed;

"I hope I never need that pistol. Now, tell me, what would you do?"

Churchill said: "I would imagine that a little girl, at an age when she doesn't understand anything, is about to be anointed, wear a crown, and lead the people of a country. Will she panic in her heart? Will she be afraid?"

Wodehouse was lost in thought.

It was quiet in the office,

"..."

"..."

"..."

Neither of them meant to speak.

Churchill scanned the obituary line by line and read at the same time:

"

'The Queen's presence has been tireless, traveling throughout the UK and abroad. '

'She accepted bouquets, watched tribal dances, cut ribbons on various buildings, attended ship launching ceremonies, waved to crowds - thousands of small social events that cemented the monarchy in the hearts of the people. '

‘This was rare in the 19th century and even rarer in the 20th century. '

"

Wodehouse said: "Other articles are cold, as if the Queen is some god. Only this article is shaping a growing woman."

Churchill nodded slowly,

"That's why I said, this article will make me imagine."

He finally read to the end, put the Mirror aside, and closed his eyes.

After a long while, he said: "This is written by Professor Lu."

Wodehouse was puzzled;

"How did you know?"

As he spoke, he reached out and pulled out the newspaper, searching for it carefully.

Like other newspapers, each article in the "Mirror" will be followed by the author's name, such as "Reporter XXX", or some pen names with special meaning,

Only the headlines on the front page,

An obituary is like an article that pops out of thin air. It has no ownership and is just printed there.

Churchill chuckled,

"Who else do you think it could be?"

Wodehouse was speechless,

To be honest, he couldn't think of anyone else.

In this world, it seems that only Lu Shi has this kind of sensibility. Even obituaries can write a flower, directly touching people's souls.

British people who read this obituary will not miss Queen Victoria.

Churchill said: "Professor Lu can always do what ordinary people cannot do and think what ordinary people cannot think. If I were to write an obituary, I would definitely write it as dryly as the Times and the Daily Telegraph. Right?"

His eyes scanned the end of the article:

On that day in 1837, young Victoria was given a sacred duty:

Keep Britain together.

In the following decades, this country became diversified, open, rose in status, and reached its peak in history.

And it was Queen Victoria who made all this happen.

——

The corner of Churchill's mouth curved.

"After reading this article, even a hard-hearted person like me can't help but miss the Queen."