I am aging gracefully in the world of famous books

Returning home at midnight, Sherlock waved with his brother and sister-in-law, and went directly to the room to study the camouflage materials he was interested in, leaving Pei Xiang alone to face Mycroft with a "gentle" smile.

"I was in hiding, my dear Mycroft."

"but?"

"However, the masked gentleman ran towards my hiding place, and I had to act first."

"He ran to where you were hiding, did he intend to attack you?"

"No, he probably wanted to escape past me."

"So, dear Doris, I'm a little disappointed."

Pei Xiang blinked, and immediately made an aggrieved and pitiful coquettish expression on Thomas Boch's face, and pouted deliberately.

Mycroft's breath stagnated, and he held his breath in his chest. He endured it, but he couldn't hold it back, and silently looked away.

With this move, the atmosphere of "invoking teachers and questioning crimes" inevitably weakened.

Seeing that the "enemy" was weak and showing his flaws, Pei Xiang immediately saw the needle.

"Oh, I haven't taken off my disguise since I came back. I feel so bored. Haha, honey, I'm going to the bathroom first, so you should go to bed earlier. I promise, when you open your eyes tomorrow, you will see a Sweet little Doris, good night!"

Pei Xiang ran upstairs while talking, and when her back disappeared around the corner of the stairs, she just finished speaking the last word.

Standing in the living room, Mycroft looked at the empty stairs and took a deep breath.

After Pei Xiang took off his disguise, took care of him, and took a comfortable bath, more than two hours had passed.

She reckoned that Mr. Holmes, who had to get up early to go to work the next day, should have already rested, so she gently pushed open the bedroom door, and climbed onto the big soft bed in the dark.

However, just as she got under the quilt, she was pulled into a warm and firm embrace.

"My wife, we haven't finished talking about the previous issues." Someone's voice was low and hoarse, but there was no sleepiness.

Pei Xiang froze for a moment: "Why haven't you slept yet, Mycroft, you will lose your hair if you don't get enough sleep."

"Don't worry, I have plenty of time to catch up on sleep tomorrow morning."

"Are you going on vacation tomorrow?" Pei Xiang rubbed his cheek against Mycroft's chest, "That's right, what happened tonight involved a lot, it was caused by me and Sherlock again, you should avoid the limelight .”

Sensing the intimacy of the person in his arms, Mycroft chuckled lightly, with his arms imprisoning the slender and soft waist, and the hot air blew past Pei Xiang's ears with a pleasant breath.

Pei Xiang felt his ears itchy, so he couldn't help moving, his hands and feet were very dishonest.

The man's breathing was a little heavier, but this couldn't stop him from "excusing the teacher".

"Doris, we have to make some agreements, very serious agreements, to prevent similar dangerous situations from happening again, especially...where I can't see them."

Pei Xiang yawned a little, feeling very tired, she hummed vaguely to show that she was listening.

Mycroft paused.

"tired?"

"It's okay, I can hold on." Pei Xiang tried to stay awake, with a very sincere attitude.

Silently rubbing Pei Xiang's hair, Mycroft sighed helplessly.

He had a lot to say just now, but at this moment, he noticed the exhaustion of the person in his arms, and thought of her busy running around these days, and suddenly he didn't want to say anything more. The toughness and seriousness that was brewing dissipated without knowing it.

"Forget it, let's rest first, some things are not urgent at this moment, let's talk about it tomorrow."

"Mycroft, you waited for more than two hours and gave up now?"

"Well, the future is long. I was a little too impatient before, Doris, go to sleep."

"Well, I guess you've already drawn up seven or eight terms of agreement in your mind."

"Yes, but I give up. You can sleep peacefully and don't worry about my thoughts."

"Then you just said you were a little disappointed in me, Mike."

"Don't be disappointed, Doris, that's a lie, I'm proud, really."

As soon as these words fell, the woman who was still sleepy and yawning suddenly became energetic. Taking advantage of the man's unpreparedness, she rolled over and crushed him under her body.

"Mycroft," the voice in my ears was clear and pleasant, hiding a little bit of complacency, "Since you don't care about it, let's celebrate. I just completed a big event and I want to reward it!"

"Doris..." The man gritted his teeth.

"Ok?"

"You go down first, let's have a serious talk."

"Do not……"

In the afternoon of the next day, Pei Xiang sat on the sofa drinking tea, listless.

When Mrs. Caroline came in, seeing her daughter's listless appearance, she thought that she had not rested well because of the news that had been heard.

"Doris, Mycroft went to Arlington Street this morning and told your father and me about Philip Sissel. I can't believe what a shameful scum he is."

"Yeah, it's too hateful," Pei Xiang nodded, "Mycroft came back in the middle of the night last night and told me about the club. After I heard it, I was shocked and scared, and I didn't sleep at all in the middle of the night Take it easy. Mom, the only thing to be thankful for now is that Jane and Sissel are not officially engaged yet, so the impact will not be too great."

Mrs. Caroline shook her head: "I'm not too worried about those gossips, but about Jane's emotions. After Mycroft left, I revealed something to her. After she learned the true face of Sissel , was devastated and shut himself in the room all the time."

Pei Xiang looked at Mrs. Caroline: "Mom, do you want me to persuade Jane?"

"No, Doris, I'll let you persuade and comfort... I'm worried about adding fuel to the flames. Just let Jane be alone. I believe that my daughter will not be a fragile girl."

"How can my comfort add fuel to the fire?" Pei Xiang muttered dissatisfiedly.

"Mom, Jane shut herself in the house and was sad, did she eat then?"

"...Eat it, and someone sent it in."

"Then, there is really nothing to worry about. It's just a failed relationship. If the old one does not go, the new one will not come. I believe that with Jane's talent and dowry, there will be handsome gentlemen who will propose to her, and there will be Quite a few."

Mrs. Caroline smiled, thinking so in her heart.Immediately afterwards, she asked about Lord Arthur Bridge.

Pei Xiang simply said a few words about Baron Bridge's obsession with green eyes, and the innocent women he has harmed over the years.

After listening to Mrs. Caroline, she thought of Bridge's great hospitality to her eldest daughter, and suddenly felt a wave of fear, and at the same time her face turned pale with anger.

"It's really a nest of snakes and rats. That Sissel is eyeing your sister, and Bridge covets you again. Is it easy to bully our Gladstone family?"

Pei Xiang patted the Countess's hand, and comforted her in a gentle voice: "There is no need to be afraid, Mom, I am already cute, and there are many people who want to get close to me. To me, Bridge is just an ordinary He's just a suitor, and a bit annoying, even without the scandal at the club, I wouldn't be tempted by him."

Mrs. Caroline's eyes moved slightly. Thinking of her eldest daughter's preferences and personality since she was a child, she couldn't help but feel puzzled. She asked in a low voice:

"Speaking of which, regardless of Bridge's character, his appearance and demeanor are among the best. Ahem, in all conscience, he is indeed more handsome and pleasing than Mycroft, and the content of the conversation is also different. You like it all, why do you hate him so much?"

Pei Xiang's eyes widened in an instant, as if he felt that the Countess's evaluation was a fantasy.

"Better handsome? More flattering? God, mother, how can you say such a thing? How can Mycroft admire me if I am a shallow woman who only cares about appearance? I am very inner, Moreover, after two years of hard work, I am already a talented lady. Therefore, I, who is so introverted and in-depth, of course don’t like Bridge’s kind of flirting playboy.”

Looking at the shocked daughter, Mrs. Caroline was also shocked. Who gave Doris the courage and confidence to make her think that she is a talented woman with depth?

The countess immediately put aside the faint doubts in her heart, and twitched the corners of her mouth uncontrollably, thinking that this person could not be Mycroft, could she?

"Well——Doris, no matter what, it's good that you haven't been tricked, and you can live a good life with Mycroft in the future. As long as he doesn't betray you, you are not allowed to be self-willed, understand?"

Pei Xiang nodded, with a sincere and well-behaved expression.

Seeing this, Mrs. Caroline said no more.

Anyway, so far, Doris and Mycroft had a happy married life, more harmonious and warm than many couples she had met.So, she didn't talk about her not-so-successful experience of getting along with a couple.

Mrs. Caroline changed her mind and brought up another topic that attracted her attention, which was when Doris was pregnant.

Pei Xiang took a sip of tea, and whispered in his heart that no little Sherlock Holmes would be born before graduation.

She secretly yawned, turned her head and glanced at the clock, and found that Mycroft would be back in 10 minutes, so she distracted Mrs. Caroline's attention by talking about the winter at Gladstone Manor. Hunting arrangements.

When Mrs. Caroline brought up the topic of raising the next generation again, Mycroft appeared at the door on time, so the private conversation between mother and daughter could not continue.

Pei Xiang showed a super-sweet smile to the man who walked in. After being slightly surprised, Mycroft suddenly realized.After he had greeted Lady Caroline, he took possession of the subject of the conversation quite naturally, and began to discuss the Garden Club case with the two ladies.

After Mrs. Caroline left, Mycroft sat beside Pei Xiang and massaged her waist.

"Bridge confesses that Lucy Sydott is dead."

Pei Xiang closed his eyes and said in a low voice, "Did you tell the Sidot family?"

"The local police station in Brighton has been notified. However, I don't think their family will have much energy to care about this matter for the time being, because Sir Sidot is about to lose himself. Soon, he once leaked the information about the sale of state secrets." The crime will be announced."

"All the evidence about the scandal has been searched?"

"According to the layout before we left, the people who took over after us have executed well. Almost all the evidence of the past has been fraudulent. Even if there are some omissions, there are not many. I mean, there is no need to search any more. , Continuing to waste manpower and material resources is not worth the loss, and Sidot should be punished as soon as possible."

Pei Xiang nodded, agreeing with Mycroft's idea.

She didn't want to continue talking about these heavy topics, and after a while of silence, she brought up another matter.

"Mycroft, I want to make some investments."

"Which aspect, is it just investment, or do you want to personally participate in management?"

"When I was Doris Gladstone, I only made investments. I was optimistic about the electric power industry and the steel industry. If I made money in the future, I would like to donate my name to build schools and libraries."

"I support you, let's do this together."

"Well, then, when I was Karl Krauss, I had to prepare the factory myself, set up the laboratory, find investors, and use the knowledge I had to create wealth."

Mycroft pondered for a moment: "Before you graduate, you should be able to form the basic framework."

Pei Xiang added a condition: "The initial capital is not what the Glaston family gave me, but my own patented technology and the money I earned from selling paintings in the past two years. Of course, if you are willing to invest, I will definitely Give you a chance to become a major shareholder."

Mycroft paused for a moment, his eyes became deep and serious.

Immediately, as if he hadn't noticed anything, he calmly asked for more details.

Pei Xiang smiled and answered one by one.

In the end, she leaned her head and kissed Mycroft's cheek, and her curly and thick slender eyelashes covered the light streamer in her eyes.

Ten years later, in London in 1882, 221B Baker Street.

On a summer evening, Sherlock Holmes and his friend and roommate John Watson started chatting about some rambling topics after drinking tea.

The two talked about astronomy from the game of golf, and then biology. After chatting, they talked about the family background of Sherlock Holmes.

"My God, Holmes, you never mentioned your family before, well, you know, this gave me some bad thoughts, so I never asked you, and now you tell me that your brother's family lives in London In the city?"

"What's so strange about that, my dear Watson, that you don't think I'm an orphan, having no relatives or cause in the world?"

Watson's smile was a little awkward. Obviously, he really thought so before.

Sherlock Holmes probably had observed Watson's cognition a long time ago, but he hadn't corrected it before, and now it was mentioned suddenly, but Watson was taken aback, and he found it very interesting.

"Not only do I have an older brother who lives in London, my older brother is married and has children, so I have several relatives living nearby."

John Watson stared at his friend in a moment of astonishment and wonder.Because it is difficult for him to connect such a withdrawn and intelligent person with the bustling family life.

"What kind of a man is your brother, Holmes?"

"Are you talking about Mycroft? Actually, I'd rather talk about my nephew. At least, he's still a normal Holmes.

As for my brother, Watson, you know that once a man is addicted to a relationship, he can become somewhat unreasonable, and his great talents can be abused for calculations, especially when, well, his wife is not so Time to worry. "

Holmes' description made John Watson have some not so good associations.

For example, a wise gentleman marries a noisy, mean and greedy wife, and then gets bogged down in the trivialities of life.He will even be alienated and guarded against his brothers because of his wife's pillow talk and endless complaints, and care about money and gains and losses.

But Sherlock Holmes has never liked to care about these mundane things. After being targeted, he was sad and disappointed, and gradually moved away from his relatives, becoming a lonely and weird person who didn't like to approach women or make friends...

Thinking of this, Watson looked at his friend Holmes with sympathy and affection.

Sherlock Holmes had been observing the rich expressions of this roommate, and finally he couldn't help laughing.

John Watson was confused by the laughter at first, and after a few minutes, he realized that he had been misled by his friend based on his experience with Holmes!

Although Watson has always been good-tempered, he couldn't help but put on a serious face at this time.

Sherlock Holmes said hastily: "How about this, let me take you to meet my brother. If you see him with your own eyes, you won't have so many strange thoughts."

"Oh, Holmes, if you had not been misleading me, I should not have thought much of it at all."

Mr. Good Temper complained angrily, but he was soon distracted and couldn't help asking:

"Holmes, what kind of man is your brother? What does he do?"

Sherlock picked up his coat, put on his hat, and motioned for Watson to walk and talk.

The two walked towards Regens Circus.

"My brother is seven years older than me. Before he got married, his observation and reasoning skills were superior to mine. Of course, to be precise, he is also better than me now. However, he often wastes his talents and is willing to pretend to be A fool who was deceived by his wife is still enjoying it, and I can't stand it."

"My dear friend, my impression of your brother is all the better by what you have said. Evidently, he is a reliable gentleman who loves family life."

"Love family life?"

Sherlock Holmes was noncommittal about Watson's evaluation, and he shook his head meaningfully:

"This conclusion is somewhat rash. After all, everyone's family life is different. What my brother loves is definitely not the kind of family life you understand, Watson."

This made Watson confused, but Sherlock stopped explaining, but said:

"By the way, I haven't said what my brother's occupation is. He is a small government clerk and lives in Pall Mall."

"Is he at home now? Isn't it a little too abrupt for us to visit so suddenly? Besides, it's my first time going, should I bring some gifts?"

"Don't worry, Watson, he is certainly not at home now. His wife has been out of London lately, and the child has been sent to his father-in-law, so he must be at the Diogenes Club, which is Opposite his house."

"Club Diogenes? I've never heard of it." Watson shook his head.

Sherlock Holmes gave Watson a brief introduction to the characteristics and eccentric purposes of the Diogenes Club.

He told Watson that this club accepts the most lonely and unsociable people in London. When the club members are in the club, they are doing their own things. They are not allowed to strike up a conversation or talk to each other. The atmosphere is quiet and peaceful. comfortable. (Note 1)

The two talked as they walked, and they soon reached Pall Mall Street.

After entering the Diogenes Club, Watson meets another Sherlock Holmes.

This respectable gentleman was somewhat taller than Sherlock Holmes, tall and well-kept, and, at least in Watson's eyes, Mycroft looked nothing like seven years older than his brother.

After greeting each other, Sherlock and Mycroft played a simple reasoning game, which made Watson fully realize that this is indeed a character with sharp thinking and extremely meticulous logical thinking.

When the three sat down, Sherlock took out his pipe, and Mycroft drank his tea with his head bowed.

"You intend to keep quitting, my dear Mycroft?"

"Doris doesn't like the smell of cigarettes, Sherlock. Well, you have repeated this question many times, and I can give you a clear answer again. Doris not only doesn't like me smoking, but also strictly prohibits you from taking drugs out of boredom, no matter what It doesn’t matter what concentration it is.”

"I know, I know, Doris can always get what she wants," Sherlock took a puff on his pipe lazily, and squinted at Watson, "Look, this is the man who walks into marriage, not only Let yourself be controlled, and even bring your own brother to contribute."

Watson said honestly: "Sherlock, if it's about restraint, I quite support Mrs. Holmes' approach. You really shouldn't be contaminated with those things."

Sherlock sighed: "But boredom destroys all the fun in my life."

Mycroft suddenly remembered something, raised his head and said to Sherlock:

"I have an unusual thing here. Although I have already deduced the general reason and process, I don't have the extra energy to intervene. It just so happens that you are here. Would you like to know more about it? This case should be very good for you. Sincerely."

Sherlock Holmes immediately sat up straight: "Of course, my dear Mycroft, I am very happy."

So Mycroft wrote a note and handed it to the waiter.

"I asked someone to invite Mr. Melas here. He is my neighbor and he is teaching Victor Greek. We have a lot of contacts, so when he encounters strange things and troubles, the first thing he does is Come to discuss with me."

"It turns out that Victor has already started to learn Greek," Sherlock Holmes suddenly realized. He turned to Watson and said, "Victor Holmes is my nephew. He is six years old and has a great talent for languages."

Hearing his younger brother praise his little gentleman, Mycroft showed a reserved smile, trying not to make his complacency too obvious:

"Victor inherited his mother's talent, and I inherited my talent. He is indeed a smart kid."

"Tell me about Mr. Melas, Mycroft. Although I agree with your evaluation, I don't think Victor likes it very much. He would rather hear others praise his appearance."

Mycroft pretended not to hear the second part of Sherlock's sentence, smiled at Watson, and then continued to introduce: "Mr. Melas is good at multilingualism and is a famous interpreter in London..."

The author has something to say: (The following is also the main text, because it describes the content of the original work from another angle, so it is included in Zuohua, which is free content.)

While they were talking, Mr. Melas, an interpreter of Greek origin, arrived.

Afterwards, he told Sherlock and Watson about his experience. The general process was that he was blindfolded and "invited" to a strange house, acting as an interpreter between the British and the Greeks.

During this process, he discovered many unusual places, which may have involved illegal imprisonment and forced transfer of property. However, before he could figure out what was going on, he was sent back again.

After getting home safely, the more he thought about it, the more he felt that something was wrong, and he wanted to help the poor Greek man in the strange house, so he asked Mycroft for help.

After hearing the whole process, Sherlock Holmes learned that Mycroft had placed advertisements in various newspapers, hoping that someone who knew the inside story could give them relevant clues, so he didn't say anything more.After exhorting Mr. Melas, he left the club with Watson.

Talking about the case, the two returned to the Baker Street apartment, and when they opened the doors, they found Mycroft sitting in an armchair, waiting for their return.

"You astonish me, Mycroft, and let me see why you have traveled so far to condescend to come and sit with me."

"To be precise, Sherlock, I came in a carriage, so I didn't walk much."

Sherlock folded his arms and watched Mycroft, waiting for him to continue.

Mycroft smiled and took out a piece of letter paper: "A few minutes after you left, I received a reply from the advertisement. Someone told us where Mr. Melas had been. I think we can now Off to go."

"Us? You want to go too?"

"Of course, for some reason, I suddenly took an extraordinary interest in this case."

Remarks:

The case involved here is the case of "Greek Senator" in "The Collection of Sherlock Holmes". Little angels can search the following original text and a short story on the Internet. After reading it, it will be more conducive to understanding this part of the content.

(Note 1) The introduction to the Diogenes Club refers to the content of the original work.