I am aging gracefully in the world of famous books

When Sherlock Holmes returned to Sidott's mansion on the morning of the fourth day, when he walked into the breakfast room, he caught a glimpse of the Greens and Mrs. Green's tender eyes as soon as he looked up.

He paused, chose a seat a little further away to sit down, picked up a newspaper by the way and read it with his head down.

Pei Xiang looked Sherlock Holmes from top to bottom, focusing on the folds of his coat and the mud marks on his boots, then raised his eyebrows at Mycroft and made a three-sign.

Mycroft cut the food on the plate slowly, feeling a little disgusted with Oliver Sinclair's hiding skills.Obviously, it could be more concealed. As long as it is delayed until this morning, the bet between him and Mrs. Holmes will be considered a tie.

Sherlock Holmes coughed softly, interrupting the silent exchange between the young couple.

He still didn't speak, just put down the newspaper and started eating.

Pei Xiang smiled and took the initiative to exchange greetings: "Mr. Holmes, I heard from Mason that you returned to London temporarily to deal with some urgent matters. How is the weather over there? Didn't it delay your trip?"

Sherlock slowly swallowed the food in his mouth, took another sip of warm water, and then looked at Pei Xiang and said:

"Thanks for your concern, Mrs. Green. Everything is fine on this trip. As for the changeable weather, I guess most people in England are used to it, and it is really not a trouble."

Hearing this, Mycroft sincerely sighed: "That's good. You are a new friend we met in Brighton. We get along well. If you encounter trouble, we will also feel upset."

These words made Sherlock show a perfectly curved smirk, and he continued to lower his head to eat, not wanting to talk to this "hypocritical" couple for the time being.

The atmosphere was a little silent for a while, but it didn't look awkward.The three people present are all smart people, and they have a lot of twists and turns to think about alone, so there is a sense of self-satisfaction in this quietness.Not to mention, two of the three of them also have an invisible tacit understanding, and when they occasionally make eye contact, they will smile knowingly.

Sherlock the Third Man Holmes poked the prawn balls on the plate expressionlessly...

At this time, Albert Sidot hurried into the breakfast room, breaking the silence of the room.

"Good morning, everyone! Oh, Lucy, Mike, it's great that you are all here. After breakfast in a while, can I invite you to my father's study? He wants to discuss something with us."

"Do you know what it is, Albert?" Pei Xiang asked curiously.

"I don't know too well. According to the housekeeper, my father received an unsigned letter at dusk yesterday. After he read the letter, his expression became very serious, and he went upstairs without even eating dinner. This morning After getting up, let me invite you two to the study."

Sherlock cast a quick glance at Mycroft.

He was very sure that any unusual incidents that happened in Sidot's house at this time were related to the other party. After all, his brother didn't like wasting time, and in order to achieve his goal as soon as possible, he would always stir up trouble secretly.

He murmured about Mycroft in his heart, but deliberately forgot that he also had many plans, but he hadn't had time to implement them yet.

Sherlock thought regretfully, now that there is an abnormal situation ahead of time, maybe there will be no chance for him to intervene.

"Just me and Mike?"

"And Mason and me, Lucy."

"Okay, I see. After breakfast, we will go up to find Mr. Sidot."

After the four young people sat down in the study, Sir Sidot was silent for a while, and then slowly said:

"You've all heard something about me, Lucy, Albert, I've always felt guilty about your mother's death. If I had any sympathy for Oliver Sinclair before then , then, after the accidental death of my Anna and the sudden disappearance of my daughter, I have only disgust and hatred for that madman.

"Over the years, I have always hoped that the police detectives could arrest the murderer and bring him to justice. But it is a pity that that person is crazy and vicious, but also very shrewd and cautious. He has been able to avoid the pursuit of justice. Children, I am getting old, and I had a serious illness half a year ago, and now I am very afraid of one thing, that is, before I die, I will not be able to see my enemies pay their due price."

Hearing Sir Sidot mention Mrs. Anna who died young, Albert's face was gloomy:

"Father, all of this has already happened, and regretting the past is useless. We can only pray sincerely now, hoping that the merciful God will punish the sinners as soon as possible, and stop hurting more innocent people. Don't think too much about it. , the wicked will always be punished."

"You are a just and kind boy, Albert."

Sir Sidot gave his eldest son a gentle look, then turned to ask Pei Xiang:

"Lucy, if there is an opportunity now to kill Oliver Sinclair with our own hands, do you think we should seize this opportunity?"

Pei Xiang frowned: "He killed Mrs. Anna, naturally he should pay with blood. However, I don't agree with private revenge. Of course, if there is a great opportunity, I will not give up at will. Mr. Sidot, you suddenly called us into the study to discuss this matter, did you get any important news?"

Leon Sidow nodded.

Albert jumped up all of a sudden, staring closely at Sir Sidot behind the desk.

Mason tugged at him: "Albert, don't get too excited, just listen to what uncle has to say."

Leon Sidot signaled his son not to be impatient with his eyes.

After Albert sat down again, he said unhurriedly:

"Yesterday evening, I received a letter from my enemy. No, it cannot be called a letter. It is not an exaggeration to say that it is a duel letter full of threats. That person is really crazy. He sent Sinclair He blamed me for the tragedy of my family, and he cursed me in the letter, claiming that if I did not agree to a duel with him, he would no longer care about morality and reason, and would let his knife be stained with the blood of the Sidot tribe. blood."

These words changed the expressions of everyone in the study, especially Mason, the resentment and panic in his eyes were almost overflowing. He raised his eyebrows, and suddenly raised his head to stare at Pei Xiang and Mycroft, full of doubts:

"That lunatic has been silent all this time. Why did he suddenly send uncle a duel book? Is it related to you two impostors? You and that Sinclair are on the same team?"

Pei Xiang raised his eyebrows coldly, ignoring Mason's questioning.

Mycroft turned slightly sideways, blocking Mason's resentful sight, and asked Leon Sydot in a gentle tone:

"Sir, what did Sinclair say in the letter? Can we read the contents of that letter?"

Leon shook his head regretfully: "I accidentally destroyed that letter. After I saw the contents, I was very angry and surprised. I accidentally knocked over the teapot. The letter was soaked in tea, and the ink on it It all melted away."

"It turns out that's the case," Mycroft showed a comprehending expression, "You should really be angry. It's inexplicable and barbaric that such a person would want to start a duel. However, if you ask me, it's a good thing. Since he proposed a duel, he will definitely show up on that day, so we might as well inform the nearby police detectives and ask them to ambush in advance, and then capture Sinclair in one fell swoop."

This proposal was approved by Albert and Pei Xiang. Although Mason didn't make a sound, his expression softened slightly.

Unexpectedly, Leon Sidot didn't immediately agree. He sighed and shook his head, looking as if he couldn't speak.

Pei Xiang glanced at Sir Sidot's pretentious appearance lightly, thinking to himself, I don't know what excuses this man will make up.

She and Mycroft forged the anonymous dueling letter Leon Sydott received.

The content inside is probably: Oliver Sinclair has grasped some clear clues that can prove his innocence and the crime of Leon Sydot.But he had been entangled with Sidot for many years, and he had a deep resentment. He didn't want to hand over the power to judge Sidot to some people he didn't know.He wants Sidot to pay in blood.Therefore, he asked Sidot to agree to a one-on-one life-and-death duel. If Sidot ignored his gauntlet for fear of death, then he would publish those clues and ruin Sidot's reputation.

In that forged letter, the clues listed by "Oliver Sinclair" are all real and can indeed help him reverse the case.However, those strong evidences were not in the possession of the real Sinclair, but were investigated by Mycroft's subordinates later.

Of course, the specific sources of clues and evidence are not important. What is important is that the existence of these evidences completely panicked Sir Sidot.He was just guarding against Sinclair's assassination before, but now he has to find a way to stop him from yelling out the truth of the year.

This is also the main reason why he frowns after reading the threatening letter.

——The duel is a must, and Sinclair cannot be allowed to hand over the evidence.

—However, the police cannot be involved.Once Sinclair finds out that I'm cheating, he'll make me confess at the interrogation.

——We must never give him another chance to tell the truth!

Facing the four adult juniors at home at this time, of course Sir Sidot could not tell the true content of the threatening letter, so he could only vaguely relay the duel, and showed a very emotional look.

"I know that it would be wisest to contact the police detectives to set up an ambush in advance, and then arrest Oliver Sinclair and bring him to justice. But, forgive me for being capricious, I only need to recall the scene of Anna's tragic death in my arms. My whole body is extremely cold. Not only is that lunatic eager to avenge himself, but I also want to avenge Anna, to avenge myself!"

"Uncle, you can't do this," Mason hurriedly stopped when he heard this, "You just fell ill and are weak. And that Sinclair is like a rat in the gutter, he must have done bad things. You guys If it is a one-on-one duel, you will definitely suffer, I think, that is not what Mrs. Anna in the sky would like to see."

Albert also nodded again and again, trying to persuade Sir Sidot:

"Father, don't be impulsive. When my mother gave her life to save you, she must have hoped that you could live well. She would not want to see you in danger for her. That Sinclair is not worth letting an outstanding and gentle A gentleman bets his precious life."

Pei Xiang and Mycroft did not make a sound, but the frowns of both of them showed that they did not agree with Sir Sydott's adventure plan.

Facing the obstruction of the junior, Leon Sidot struggled for a while, and even took out the small portrait of Mrs. Anna and sighed frequently.

After a while, he shook his head stubbornly, and explained with reddish eyes:

"The grievances between me and Sinclair, hey, can't be completely resolved through a trial. There are some past events... you don't know, to be honest, before Anna passed away, how much did I have for Sinclair? Guilt, because his sister's early death does have something to do with me."

Speaking of this, Leon Sidot hesitated for a moment, and then did not continue.

However, everyone present saw a kind of persistence in his eyes, that is, no matter what, he wanted to go out and settle the old score with the enemy himself, and he didn't want to arrest the other party by ambush in advance.

"I am a gentleman. If I promise something, even to my enemies, I will not lie or cheat. Therefore, once I promise this duel, I must carry it through to the end."

Faced with such an "upright" elder who was stubborn and wanted to die, the four people in the study naturally had to rack their brains to dissuade them.

However, as soon as Albert and Pei Xiang spoke, they were interrupted by Sir Sidot. He said that this was what he planned to do for his wife, and his children had no position to stop him.

It was even harder for Mycroft to speak now.

At this time, Mason, who has always been somewhat flexible, suddenly said:

"Uncle, you are aboveboard, but your enemy may not be willing to treat you like this. After so many years, that Sinclair has gone crazy, and no one knows if he will do something despicable. Uncle, I I have no objection to a fair duel between gentlemen, but I am worried that the other party will take advantage of your honesty and team up with others to frame you."

This speculation seemed reasonable. Anyway, when Mason said the reason, the corners of Leon Sidot's tightly pursed lips relaxed slightly, and hesitation appeared in his eyes.

Mason's eyes lit up, and he was very happy that his persuasion worked, so he continued to say:

"Uncle, do you remember? As I told you before, the friend I invited, Sherlock Holmes, had a certain artifice. He could make one person look like another, so that the real one was not the real one. Of course, he was debunking Some people also have a lot of experience in camouflage."

Sir Sidot nodded hesitantly: "Yes, I always remember what you said. Mr. Holmes has such a rare talent, it is indeed very rare."

Mason raised his eyebrows proudly: "Uncle, I have an idea. Since we are afraid of Sinclair's tricks, we should make some preparations in advance. I think you might as well ask Mr. Holmes to do you a favor and pretend a young and brave young man is yours." Look, go to the appointment instead of you."

"No, what's the difference between this and notifying the police in advance? Mason, I don't want to cheat in a duel."

"No, uncle, listen to me." Mason shook his head.

"My plan is to let the person pretending to be you to see Sinclair to see if he is cheating. If he proves that he is honest, it will not be too late for you to show up again. And, uncle, we really don't need to gamble our lives Go up. You only care about the grievances between you and Sinclair, but to be honest, Mrs. Anna may prefer to see that madman brought to justice. She doesn't like your way of revenge. With all due respect, uncle, you can't For the sake of my own feelings and my guilt towards Miss Sinclair, I ignored Mrs. Anna's wishes."

These words once again shook the "awe-inspiring" look on Sir Sidot's eyebrows, his lips opened and closed, but he didn't say anything more.

Albert hurriedly struck while the iron was hot: "Father, how about this? Let's find someone to pretend to be you and lure that Sinclair out. Of course, the police detectives have to notify in advance. Father, have you ever thought that if you lose The duel not only makes our relatives suffer grief, but it is actually conniving Sinclair to continue to commit crimes. If you let such a lunatic go, more people will definitely be killed in the future."

Sir Sidot seemed to be deeply shocked, and he clutched his forehead dejectedly.

"So, I thought things were simple... In this case, don't ask anyone to pretend to be me. I will go to see Sinclair in person, and then let the bodyguards guard outside. As for the final result, it will definitely not Let him escape. Albert, don't tell the police, to be honest, they haven't caught Sinclair for so many years, I don't trust them, I'm afraid of leaking the news."

Albert and Mason relaxed when they heard that Sir Sidot was willing to back down.

They felt that they had received some kind of encouragement, and immediately began to try their best to persuade Leon Sidot, hoping that he would not take too many risks, but let someone younger and stronger replace him.

Pei Xiang watched Leon Sidot's performance with cold eyes, watching him step by step guide Mason and Albert to say what he wanted to hear.

After some back and forth persuasion, Leon Sidot not only got rid of the cowardly image of greed for life and fear of death, but also found a reason for himself to use a substitute.From the beginning to the end, he didn't take the initiative to say anything. The solution was all thought up by Mason and Albert.

The argument went on for a while, and finally, Leon Sidot "had to" compromise.

He agreed to his nephew Mason's proposal to have another person pretend to be him to meet Sinclair, and he would appear again after eliciting the other party and making sure that the other party was alone.

He will explain to Sinclair the grievances of these years.Then, let the bodyguards hiding around capture Sinclair, and escort the wanted criminal who has been on the run for many years to the police station.

After negotiating the preliminary plan, Mason asked the butler to invite Sherlock Holmes.

Sherlock came quickly, and when he listened to Mason Sidot's request, he showed a very friendly smile:

"This is a matter of justice. Of course, I will provide some help within my ability. But, have you thought about it, who will pretend to be Sir Sidot?"

Since this is a private matter of the Sidot family, it is not suitable for more people to know about it, and the person pretending to be a person has to bear part of the risk, so the best candidates are the young gentlemen or bodyguards in the study.

And because the bodyguards are also responsible for finally catching Sinclair, everyone tends to choose one of Albert, Mason and Mycroft.

Albert first said: "Let me go. He is my mother-killing enemy and always threatens my father's life. This is my responsibility!"

Mason Sidot, who had spoken the most just now, did not make a sound.

Sherlock Holmes looked around, and then suggested in a very sincere and earnest tone:

"To be honest, I think Mr. Green is the most suitable person to pretend to be. Albert is still a bit shorter, and his shoulders are not as wide as Sir Sidott."

Mycroft's expression remained unchanged. From the moment Sherlock entered the room, he knew that the other party was going to make trouble.

He was ready to be tossed about by Sherlock, but Pei Xiang who was on the side suddenly said:

"I disagree."

The eyes of the men in the room all fell on her.

Pei Xiang still had that faint and noble expression, and his way of speaking was straightforward:

"I don't agree to let Mike face the danger head-on, I don't feel relieved."

Mason immediately sneered: "Then you can rest assured that your brother and father will take the risk? Sure enough, you revealed your truth at a critical moment, right? Ha, I said you are a fake, of course you care more about your accomplices."

Pei Xiang retorted: "This has nothing to do with authenticity, it's purely a matter of closeness. Compared with the relatives I just met for a few days, I think the husband I grew up with is more important. Also, if you talk about height and shoulder width , Mason Sidot's figure is closer to Sir Sidot's. Mr. Holmes, you can't deliberately favor Mason just because he is a friend. Anyone with long eyes can tell that Mike should be stronger."

These words made Mason unable to speak directly, because Pei Xiang was telling the truth.

Although it doesn't sound very good, it makes people feel that this is indeed what she can say from her heart.

Both Albert and Sir Leon showed a bit of embarrassment on their faces, and they also realized that it was indeed a bit abrupt to let Mike Green, who had just known each other for a few days, take risks for the Sidot family.

Leon Sidot was disappointed in his heart. Once some things were clarified, they really couldn't be vague.

"I'll go. I've said it a long time ago. This is my business. I can't let others take the risk for me." Albert said quickly.

Leon Sidot glanced at Mason Sidot, then slowly lowered his eyes and did not speak immediately.

After a while, he sighed and waved to the young man in the study:

"Let's leave first, let me be alone. I will give you an answer before dinner. Mr. Holmes, thank you for your willingness to help. I, Leon Sydot, will always remember it."

Sherlock nodded absently, but his eyes stayed on Pei Xiang and Mycroft.

His brother is smiling like a fool now, which is a bit embarrassing, but the woman next to him has too fierce and familiar eyes, just like Klaus when he was fighting in the tavern.