The Shadow of Great Britain

Capítulo 1428: Chapter 217: Daddy’s Boy Herzen (Part 2)

Thinking of the Russian habit of early marriage, it’s quite strange that a young man like Herzen, with good family background and talents, is still single at this point.

“Your parents don’t live here?”

Herzen lit his pipe, pointed out the window, and said: “My parents live in the house across the street, this house was bought specifically for me. My father is an old stubborn man, he believes that since his son is now an official in the National Land Office, living together with the family can easily cause gossip and it’s also not conducive to work, so he let me move here. Usually, he doesn’t let me go to him, if something happens, he would have my childhood nanny notify me to go over.”

Arthur pondered and politely asked: “Should I pay him a visit since I came unannounced?”

“You?” Herzen replied: “The old man would probably be very happy to see you, because in his judgment system, you belong to the most distinguished type of guest, different from those friends I usually associate with. If you want to go, I’ll have the servant guide you, but as for myself…”

Arthur noticed Herzen’s dilemma: “Are you having a dispute with your father?”

Herzen shrugged helplessly: “You know what day it is today.”

Arthur chuckled: “Did your family arrange a match for you?”

At the mention of this, Herzen couldn’t help but become irritable, his face full of anger as he remained silent for a while and finally squeezed a sentence through his teeth.

“There are three matches arranged for me today.”

Arthur praised: “Your father’s social network is indeed extensive.”

“Mr. Hastings!” Herzen couldn’t help but stand up and emphasize: “I’m not boasting to you!”

Sitting next to them, Blackwell, upon hearing that Herzen had three matchmaking events today, felt deeply troubled: “Mr. Herzen, if you’re not satisfied, perhaps we should switch jobs.”

Arthur heard this and thought that this is truly a besieged city, where the people inside want to get out, and those outside want to get in.

Of course, he still did not intend to grant his secretary a vacation.

Arthur asked: “Why are you so against matchmaking?”

Blackwell was clearly more concerned about this issue, and like a mother, he meticulously recounted the benefits of marriage to Herzen.

“Mr. Herzen, you see, once married, life becomes more stable, and you don’t have to worry about the emptiness of home. Besides, having a virtuous wife by your side allows you to invest more energy in your career and books instead of being tied up by daily trivialities. Not to mention, marriage can expand your network, solidify your social status, which is very beneficial for your career!”

Herzen sighed and forcefully pressed his pipe into the ashtray: “Mr. Blackwell, listening to you, I almost thought you were sent by my father to persuade me.”

At this point, Herzen turned the tables and threw the question to Arthur: “Since getting married is so good, why don’t you take advantage of this great day to go for a few matches? I remember Otto telling me that you are also a bachelor, right? What are you worrying about?”

“Me?”

Arthur hadn’t expected Herzen to pull such a move on him, so he casually deflected: “Your question indeed surprises me. But there have indeed been two or three matchmaking proposals, the candidates aren’t bad, yet when I think about having a woman in my room to control and arrange everything, like banning me from smoking, requiring me to eat on time, tidying up my desk neatly, digging out all my little secrets, I couldn’t help but go mad.”

Blackwell muttered complaints to himself: “Yeah! These things are handled by the secretary anyway, why bother marrying a wife and double the work for two people?”

Arthur glanced at this guy and, from a certain perspective, Blackwell was right.

However, if he finds something wrong, he can always apply to change his secretary, but a seemingly upright person cannot casually apply to change his wife.

Or, he could choose to be an unscrupulous person.

But for the conservative British society, in the increasingly important middle class’s view, moral flaws are considered more severe than suppressing riots.

This can be seen from the British public’s evaluation of Foreign Secretary Viscount Palmeston.

Palmeston is clearly a playboy, but the citizens of London only gave him the nickname ‘Cupid of Ireland,’ in a teasing manner because he is a 50-year-old bachelor who has never married and doesn’t even have publicly recognized illegitimate children.

On the other hand, Viscount Melbourne was obviously much worse off compared to him. His late wife’s affair with Byron sparked societal discussions, later rising to London’s hot topics again due to his connection with Lady Norton. If not for Prime Minister Count Grey supporting him firmly, coupled with Viscount Melbourne indeed having no improper behavior, and Arthur unexpectedly breaking the case in the parliament member Harrison and Judge Norton’s incident, Viscount Melbourne might have been forced to resign in disgrace.

In British politics, being unmarried has ten advantages, while being married has ten disadvantages.

Arthur’s arithmetic was still intact.

Especially since there’s no major crisis at present, it’s not worth it for him to bury himself in a pit ahead of time.

As long as he doesn’t see the order to be ‘banished’ to the colonial institutions, Arthur temporarily does not consider becoming a rich son-in-law.

Herzen complained: “Well, apparently there is some difference between us. I don’t have aversion towards ladies, but I dislike my father’s interference in my life. Do you know? Before the age of seven, I had to be led by the hand to go up and down the indoor stairs because they were somewhat steep. Before the age of eleven, I had to be bathed by Vera Aldamonovna, who is my nanny, using a wooden shed. I thought going to college would liberate me, but who would have thought that as a college student, I had to be escorted by servants to and from school. Can you imagine? A half Russian mile, a place I can walk to, requires someone specially assigned to escort! Even till now, he’s still stipulating I can’t go home after ten thirty!”