The Shadow of Great Britain-Chapter 581 - 295 Corrupted_2

Arthur simply waved his hand at him, "Mr. Gladstone, there’s no need for such trouble. All these men are just doing odd jobs; they have their own professions and only accompanied me to Liverpool for a bit of novelty, to see the world."

Seeing Arthur speak thus, Gladstone had no choice but to steer the conversation elsewhere, and he began, "What do you think of my son William? How is he?"

Arthur took a sip of his drink and responded, "Sir, it’s actually not quite fitting for you to ask me that, since I am, in fact, not much older than Mr. Gladstone."

Elder Gladstone asked, "What year were you born?"

"1810."

Upon hearing this, Elder Gladstone was initially taken aback but then laughed heartily, "That does not make you older than William, but younger; he was born in 1809. However, I am not one to judge a person by their age. Some people might be thirty years old but have more wisdom than others who have lived for eighty years. Although you are younger than William, in my eyes, you seem to be more mature. So, you are entirely qualified to assess him. As a father, I am very keen to hear your opinion about my son."

Seeing his insistence, Arthur found it difficult to decline any further, so after a moment’s consideration, he began, "In my view, young Mr. Gladstone possesses a solid educational background and a profound family heritage. Knowledgeable as he is, he is also a specialist in financial matters. Given time, he will surely become an outstanding officer in the Treasury. What’s more commendable is his integrity."

At these words, Elder Gladstone just shook his head, "Mr. Hastings, your last remark nearly overshadowed all the praise that came before it."

"No, that’s not a slight. Integrity is not a slight, at least not to me. In my view, it’s a precious quality worth cherishing," Arthur said with a smile.

Elder Gladstone pondered these words and then asked out of the blue, "Do you possess this quality yourself?"

Arthur simply stroked his chin and replied, "Sir, you should know that one only treasured what they don’t have, and only when something is lost does one understand its value. I had such a thing a year or two ago, but in my climb upward, I inadvertently lost it. Are your eyes sharp? If so, I’d appreciate your help in seeking out where I dropped it."

Elder Gladstone, with a beaming smile, placed a carry-on trunk next to the sofa onto the coffee table: "You should know that I am a businessman. As a businessman, one must anticipate the client’s needs in advance. I’ve already found your integrity; it’s locked inside this trunk.

Of course, I can’t tell which stack is your integrity and which is the underreported customs duties. It could be that every stack is yours, or they all represent customs duties. After all, I’ve never seen what your integrity looks like, so best leave it to you to discern," he said.

With that, Elder Gladstone also stood up, bid Arthur farewell, and then left the smoking room. fгeewebnovёl.com

Louis followed to the door of the smoking room and, with his back against the door, took off his hat to fan himself, "He’s gone far enough, should we open it to take a look now?"

"Of course we must see!" Great Dumas didn’t care about any confidentiality or security; just like Arthur said, he came to Liverpool purely to satisfy his curiosity about the world. Even if Arthur pointed a gun at him, he would still want to have a look at how many dirty Gold Coins were inside.

He slowly lifted the edge of the trunk, and before it was fully open, the brilliant glint of gold almost blinded the Frenchman’s eyes.

Shielding his eyes, he plopped down on the ground, "Gold Coins, the trunk is full of Gold Coins!"

"Let me have a look too." Heine also squatted down and pried open a crack to peer inside, "One, two, three, four... My God! There are ten coins in each stack, a hundred stacks in total, that makes a thousand Guineas! Wait a minute, that’s not right, there are also ten banknotes on top of the Guineas, each one a thousand pounds and they’re bearer bonds no less! Let me calculate, one Guinea is 21 Shillings, which is 1 pound and 1 Shilling, plus these ten notes, the total is... 11,050 pounds?"

Seeing this, Arthur simply placed his hand emotionlessly on the trunk lid: "What are you doing? What’s inside here is supposed to be Liverpool’s underreported customs duties. Are you coveting the property of the British Government? As Liverpool’s special envoy and customs inspector, I can’t allow you to pocket this 8,000 pounds in customs duties into your own purse."

"8,000 pounds?" Heine raised an eyebrow, "Arthur, did you miscalculate? I got 11,050 pounds!"

Leaning against the door, Louis took a puff on his cigarette, "Arthur hasn’t miscalculated, and neither have you, but you’re using different methodologies. You’re using the German poet’s method, while Arthur is using the Scotland Yard policeman’s method. The differing results are due to you not applying the exchange rate between you two."

Great Dumas, with a peculiar expression, asked, "Is that so? May I be so bold as to ask what the exchange rate for France is?"

Louis fell silent for a moment then spoke, "The exchange rate for France, now that’s complicated, even differing between individuals. Do you know about Talleyrand? I happen to know a bit about his calculation method."

"Talleyrand? Of course, I do," Great Dumas started, "He was the one who annulled my arrest warrant."

"He annulled your arrest warrant?" Louis asked, "How much did you pay him?"

"I didn’t pay any money," Great Dumas, resting on Arthur’s shoulder, replied, "But I don’t know if my friend did any exchange rate conversion with him for me."