Chapter 24 Chapter Twenty-Four

Daphne flowers surround the verandah in bud.In one corner of the lanai is an aviary.The same red-tiled roof as the main building, where flocks of little birds gather, chirping happily.As soon as Honda and Keiko approached, they flew into the air. As soon as you enter the main entrance, there is a door inlaid with stained glass in the center, and there is a Dutch-style orange-yellow glass lattice window on the left and right sides, from which you can vaguely see the interior.Honda likes to stand at this position and watch the interior furnishings that he has arranged in every corner, soaked in the sad afterglow of the setting sun.The thick beams were installed on the original beams of the purchased farmhouse.The ancient and simple chandelier in Northern Europe, the folding door painted with Otsu paintings, the infantry armor and bows and arrows, etc. are all bathed in yellow light, just like the gloomy still life paintings of Jan Trik of the Dutch school of painting with Japanese materials. .

Honda invited Keiko into the house, let her sit on a chair by the fireplace, and went to light the stove, but it didn't work.This stove was repaired by experts invited from Tokyo, so it didn't make the room full of smog.After lighting firewood, Ben Duo couldn't help thinking that he had never had the opportunity to learn such simple knowledge and skills in his life.In fact, he has never been in contact with "things". This is the most amazing discovery of the year.This proves that Honda has lived to this day but has no idea what leisure is at all. Like laborers, he feels nature through labor, such as feeling the waves of the sea, the softness and hardness of trees, and the heaviness of rocks, as well as tools such as boats, trawl nets, and shotguns. There is no chance of waiting; and there is no chance of enjoying life through leisure like the nobles.Qingxian spends his spare time on feelings instead of nature, and if he grows up, he will only become a slob.

"Let me help you." Qingzi bent down quickly.She was already at the side, biting the tip of her tongue and watching Honda's clumsy appearance for a long time, and she couldn't stand it any longer before she spoke.Her waist was enormous in front of Honda's eyes.She was wearing a tight suit, and her celadon-colored waist was as plump as a huge Li Chao porcelain pot. While Keiko was lighting the fire, the bored Honda went to fetch the ring just mentioned.When I came back, the wild vermilion flame had climbed up the firewood, biting the firewood in the obsequious smoke, and the gum oozing from the wet firewood was boiled.The brick walls in the furnace reflected the flickering flames.Qingzi calmly patted the ashes on her hands, looking at her masterpiece with satisfaction.

"Is this okay?" "It's amazing!" Honda handed the ring to Qingzi in the firelight, "This is the ring I mentioned just now, what do you think, it was bought to give away." Qingzi's fingers were blood red, she took the ring to a bright place and looked at it carefully. "It's what men wear." Qingzi said to herself. It was a square emerald ring, and around the emeralds were carved the faces of a pair of pure gold gatekeepers, the huge half-beast Asgar.Qingzi was afraid that her bright red nails would be reflected on the ring, so she clamped it between her fingers to look at it, and then put it on her index finger to admire it.Although it was a men's ring, it was made according to the order of a slender, brunette hand, and it was not too big for Keiko to wear.

"This emerald is so beautiful. But after a long time, weathering cracks will appear, and the bottom will become dark and brittle. This gem is no exception, but it is a gem with a good texture. The carvings are also very novel and unique, and if they are sold as antiques, they will surely sell for a good price." "Where do you think you bought it?" "Abroad?" "No, I bought it in the store of His Royal Highness Doin in Tokyo, which was devastated by the war." "Ah, at that time, no matter how difficult it was, His Majesty the Dongyuan insisted on opening an antique shop. I went there a few times, thinking that there would be something new, but it turned out that it was all the goods I had seen at relatives' houses before.  …But , Later that store also closed. Mr. Dongyuan never went to the store. The shopkeeper who came from the royal family butler managed the store well on the surface, but secretly embezzled all the money for the goods. After the war, the royal family did business, No one gets rich. No matter how much property tax is levied, if you can carefully try to keep the remaining property, it is wisest to be a man, but someone will always provoke them. Mr. Dongyuan has always been a soldier. It's hard for him , As the saying goes, when a samurai opens a shop, he doesn’t make a profit.”

Honda told Keiko about the origin of the ring. He heard that in Showa 22, the Dongyuan Palace, which had lost its imperial status, bought art works cheaply from Chinese who could not pay property taxes, and opened an antique shop targeting foreigners.Honda knew that Dongyuan Palace would not remember him, but out of curiosity, he went to the antique shop.In the glass cabinet of this store, he found the unforgettable ring that the Siamese Prince Joe Pi lost in the dormitory of the Academy 34 years ago. This ring was a relic of Princess Moonlight. Only now did I find out that the ring had been stolen.Of course, the people in the store would not tell the origin of the ring, but one can imagine that since it was bought from the home of the old Chinese, the person who sold it to the old Chinese because of poverty was probably Honda’s classmate .Honda bought this ring out of loyalty in the world.He wants to hand it back to its owner.

"So, in order to save the school's reputation, are you going to Thailand to return the ring?" Qingzi said sarcastically. "I used to want to go there, but now there is no need for it, because Princess Moonlight has come to Japan to study." "Did the dead come to study abroad?" "Where, it's the second-generation Moonlight Princess. I invite her to the dinner party tomorrow, and I will put this ring on her finger during the banquet. She is 18 years old, with black hair and big watery eyes." Before going abroad, she must have worked hard to learn Japanese, so she can speak Japanese very well." Honda introduced.