British writer

Privy Council,

Officially known as "His Majesty the King's Most Honorable Privy Council", it is the advisory body of the British monarch.

Just by looking at the name you can tell its importance.

The Privy Council has jurisdiction over a wide range of matters, such as minting money, the status of universities, regulating cemeteries, setting bank holidays and appointing government officials, etc.

Edward VII looked very serious,

"Professor Lu, you can try."

Stephenson came forward and whispered in Edward VII's ear for a while,

The latter shook his head,

"No, identity is not the point."

Stephenson hesitated for a moment and finally decided not to speak.

King Edward VII said again: "Professor Lu, Privy Council University Committee, are you interested in considering it?"

Lu Shi was helpless,

"Your Majesty, to be honest, I have no idea what this institution does. Moreover, I am currently serving as a visiting professor at London Political and Economics and running the Mirror, so I am not suitable to serve in the Privy Council."

Edward VII fell into deep thought,

After a long while, he said: "You can show off your skills by joining the College Board."

Lu Shi asked: "Reform education? Then I can't..."

Edward VII couldn't help laughing,

"Reform? How dare you think about it! The University Committee is mainly responsible for reviewing university reorganization and determining university status. For example...um...by the way, have you ever heard of 'classical university' and 'red brick university'? University'?"

Classical universities, also known as medieval universities, are mainly Oxbridge.

With the advancement of the industrial revolution, red brick universities such as the University of London were established one after another.

Just by looking at the time, we can probably deduce the origin of these two titles.

Lu Shi understood.

“So, what the College Board calls ‘university status recognition’ is a bit like ranking world universities?”

As soon as these words came out, the room fell into silence.

Everyone looked at Lu Shi with strange eyes.

Silence affects us,

The little guy poked his head out from under the bed, looked left and right, and said "meow~meow~" in confusion.

Lu Shi asked, "What's wrong?"

King Edward VII grabbed Lu Shi's shoulders and said, "University rankings! Professor Lu, you are really a genius! With Britain's current influence, creating a university rankings, I don't know how many talents can be absorbed!"

He said this with the aura of "all the heroes in the world have fallen into my trap."

Lu Shi shook his head,

"This...I'm afraid..."

Unexpectedly, before he finished speaking, Edward VII calmed down.

"I'm afraid not. When the Privy Council comes up with this list, not to mention foreign universities, domestic universities will probably fight. Oxford, Cambridge, and the University of London Alliance, these three will definitely fight fiercely."

This is the reason why Wen Wu is the first.

Lu Shi saw that the other party had already figured it out, so he said no more.

But Edward VII's idea of ​​"all the heroes in the world are within my grasp" has entered his mind, and he is still pondering over it.

After a while, he said: "Professor Lu, aren't you managing an opinion poll project?"

My thoughts are on the polls again.

Lu Shi said: "That is a project of London Political Science and Economics. It is ranked in the name of public opinion polls. It is even less likely that other schools will be convinced."

King Edward VII interrupted: "Then divest yourself from London's political economy."

Lu Shi:? ? ?

"Your Majesty, you are too unreasonable."

Edward VII was very calm and his suggestions were avant-garde.

He danced and said: "Spin it off and set up a company to do things like polling and ranking. In order to ensure its fairness and transparency and silence others, you can also ask a specialized agency to conduct an independent audit. The Privy Council University Committee can also Send someone to settle in~"

Everyone pondered, thinking about the feasibility of this matter.

I have to admit that at the beginning of the 20th century, Britain was indeed the most advanced country in the world.

Edward VII's idea may seem fanciful, but it actually has great potential.

He said: "The ranking uses teaching, research, internationalization and other categories as indicators to rank the top 100 universities in the world."

Stephenson stepped forward.

"Your Majesty, aren't we going to discuss the awarding of honors to Professor Lu today?"

Only then did King Edward VII realize that he was a little too excited, and adjusted his collar slightly awkwardly.

He said: "This is what I think. The list of recipients of the Order of the British Empire is announced in the middle of every year. The candidates must have meritorious service to the country or have made outstanding contributions in literature, art, science, etc."

Lu Shi obviously belongs to "people who have made outstanding contributions to literature".

When he was about to speak, King Edward VII raised his hand and said: "Of course, you have also made many contributions in education, media, etc. For example, the world university rankings just mentioned fall under the category of... um... media."

Lu Shi no longer cared about this, gave up struggling and said, "Let your Majesty decide."

King Edward VII showed a smile and said: "You are concerned about university rankings. If you publish it in the Mirror in the future, it will also increase the popularity of the Mirror."

This job is really offending.

Lu Shi was ready to push it away.

At this time, there was a knock on the door suddenly.

"Professor Lu."

Everyone in the room froze because they all recognized that it was Margarita outside.

The expression on Edward VII's face was extremely strange. He said in a somewhat procrastinating tone, one syllable after another: "Professor Lu?"

"Gu..."

Lu Shi swallowed his saliva,

An inexplicable feeling of tension surged into my heart.

The atmosphere is subtle.

Margarita outside was unaware of the situation inside the house and continued to knock on the door.

"Professor Lu!"

The corners of Edward VII's lips curled up,

"The princess is visiting, isn't Professor Lu still open?"

As he spoke, he waved to Stephenson beside him.

Stephenson walked toward the door.

squeak--

The door is opened.

Margarita stood in front of the door, looking into the house with a shocked face, her eyes slowly moved towards Edward VII,

The neck rotated very stiffly, as if the metal friction sound of scrapped machinery could be heard.

She said quietly: "Your Majesty."

Edward VII showed a loving look and chuckled: "I have long heard from my mother that you and Professor Lu are very close. Have you reached the point where you can visit at night without making an appointment?"

Hearing what he said, Lu Shi complained in his heart,

Didn’t the king also make an appointment? ?

Margarita's face turned red instantly and she whispered: "I didn't... I... wasn't... I... um..."

His speech was incoherent and he couldn't even speak.

Edward VII couldn't help but laugh and waved to the other party to enter the house.

He asked: "Rita, what do you want from Professor Lu?"

Margarita glanced at Lu Shi,

Lu Shi blinked imperceptibly, letting Her Royal Highness speak directly.

Margarita opened her small bag,

"I contribute to the Mirror."

As he spoke, he took out a stack of drawings.

"Submission?"

King Edward VII also became interested. He stepped forward and found that it was a cartoon. He couldn't help but frown slightly and said, "I thought it was an article, but I didn't expect it to be this kind of... um... painting."

Compared with traditional paintings, comics are somewhat less popular.

Edward VII had seen too many good things, so he was not very optimistic about them.

Margarita said: "Actually, I also submitted articles before submitting comics."

Edward VII was curious,

"Bring it to me and see."

Margarita hesitated for a moment, then took out the book "Josephina Oberstein" she had written.

As a result, His Majesty the King only read two pages and couldn't help but cast a pity look at Lu Shi. The look that every man understands seemed to say: "Professor Lu is willing to play house with Her Royal Highness, it's really hard work. "

He said to Margarita: "Cartoons are better."

Margarita: "..."

The blow came too suddenly.

Edward VII probably felt that he had gone too far, so he nodded to Stephenson beside him and asked him to prepare the carriage, and then turned to Lu Shi,

"Professor Lu, I have to leave first. I must take the affairs I just told you seriously."

After saying that, he went straight out the door.

Silence returned to the room.

For some reason, Margarita's face turned redder than before, as if she could bleed.

Natsume Soseki looked around,

Suddenly, he tugged on his mustache as if he remembered something and said, "By the way, I haven't walked the cat yet today, I have to hurry up."

After saying that, he walked to the window and dragged me out forcefully.

If things go by now, we will definitely struggle desperately.

Moreover, because the food was so good, the little guy was about to turn into a piglet. If he really wanted to flutter, Natsume Soseki had no way to do anything.

But for some reason today, he was extremely obedient and was carried out of the bed obediently.

In Natsume Soseki's arms, I said "meow~" to Rikutoki, then licked his paws, then licked his tongue, and then "meow~" in the direction of Margarita, his big eyes flickering. As if to imply something.

This guy has become a spirit.

Lu Shi raised his hand,

"Go quickly~go quickly~"

My generation: "Meow~"

It and Natsume Soseki walked out of the gate one by one.

Only Lu Shi and Margarita were left in the room.

Her Royal Highness the Princess fanned her face with her little hands, muttered "Why is it so hot today", and walked to the window to open it.

The slightly cold and damp night wind blew into the house, sending a few pictures from the pile of drawings to the ground.

Lu Shi quickly bent down to pick it up.

On the other side, Margarita pressed the remaining drawings with a tea cup to prevent them from being blown away, and then said: "Professor Lu, this is "Jane Eyre" that I completed according to the four-frame comic method you mentioned. How do you think it works?"

Lu Shi read the comic and did not give a direct answer.

"Where's the next one?"

Margarita checked the manuscript, took out one and handed it over.

"At this."

Lu Shi nodded and stared at the comics.

Seeing him like this, Margarita felt uneasy in her heart and said cautiously: "Professor Lu, I'm sorry, I didn't draw strictly according to the four frames you mentioned. Because the content of "Jane Eyre" is really too rich, so I use six squares, sometimes even eight.”

This is actually quite normal.

For example, "Father and Son" is a typical six-frame;

"Snoopy" has eight frames.

Even so, readers cannot deny their simplicity.

Four grids, six grids, eight grids,

On demand.

Lu Shi waved his hand,

"It doesn't matter. Rather, you have done a very good job and the details are appropriate. It is really difficult to express a big book like "Jane Eyre" in a four-frame comic."

Margarita breathed a sigh of relief;

"So, what do you think?"

Lu Shi pondered for a moment, then slowly put down the painting in his hand and said, "Do you remember our previous discussion? What kind of person is Jane?"

Margarita immediately replied: "Jane's self-evaluation is 'poor, humble, unattractive, and short'."

Lu Shi chuckled,

"What about here?"

He pointed to the heroine in the painting.

Margarita was stunned and replied in a low voice: "She is so beautiful."

Lu Shi didn't mean to accuse anyone. Jane in the novel was indeed not beautiful and short.

But whether it is a movie or a TV series adapted from "Jane Eyre", the casting is all beautiful women.

This is a point worth pondering.

Of course, because all the movies and TV series of "Jane Eyre" were filmed before the first decade of the 20th century, if it were delayed for a few more years, it might become the rise of the black fish like "The Little Mermaid".

Margarita was a little ashamed,

"This is my problem. I'm going to tear it down and repaint it."

Lu Shi waved his hand,

"No need, it's fine as it is. If we really make an ugly girl, this comic will definitely be scrapped."

Margarita said: "But this doesn't respect the original work..."

Lu Shi said: "The original text of "Jane Eyre" has so many words, but you have simplified it like this. Is this considered respecting the original work?"

Margarita couldn't refute,

"this……"

Lu Shi waved his hand and continued: "I don't mean to criticize you when I say that. After all, the extensive use of psychological description is a major feature of "Jane Eyre". There are so many psychological descriptions that are difficult to express in a painting. come out."

Margarita was a little confused and didn't know what Professor Lu meant by saying that.

Are comics good or bad?

Lu Shi stretched out his hand,

"Show me the next one."

Margarita had already arranged the drawings in order and handed them to Lu Shi one by one.

Lu Shi turned over the pages one by one and couldn't help but marvel.

"Amazing……"

Margarita was curious,

"How powerful?"

Lu Shi said: "In "Jane Eyre", Ms. Bronte uses nightmares, hallucinations and other methods to create an atmosphere and construct an allegorical environment. For example, in the first chapter, you still remember how Jane described anchoring on the sea Two ships?”

Margarita recited the original text:

"

'Two ships were moored on the calm sea, and I thought they were sea monsters. ’

"

Lu Shi continued: "There is also, 'The black monster with horns on its head, standing alone on the rock, overlooking a large group of people surrounding the gallows.'"

In this section, the atmosphere is created very well.

The reason why it makes people feel scary is because the words have a hazy feeling, which makes people have endless imagination.

Comics are different, they directly give people pictures,

In this way, imagination is stifled.

But this is not the case in the "Jane Eyre" comic completed by Margarita. The "black monster with horns on its head" was not drawn specifically, but only gave a vague intention.

After watching it, I couldn't help but feel chills standing on end.

Lu Shi said: "There are many similar scenes in the novel. For example, in Gateshead, Jane felt the 'gloomy memorial atmosphere' from her life, and saw the 'ghosts' that disappeared and appeared, and the suppressed terror made her The creepy 'Red Room' is almost the embodiment of hell. Let your artist continue to work in this way."

Margarita nodded,

"Okay, I will pass it on to Mr. Mondrian tomorrow."

Lu Shi was stunned.

"Who are you talking about!? Mondrian!? Piet Mondrian?!"