## Chapter 82: The Scent of Mammon (Subscription Needed!)
The Gresham College was bustling with activity as always, even on this day.
The speaker for today was George Airy, but to Arthur’s disappointment, he wasn’t a chemist or a medical expert.
He was a specialist in astronomy, physics, and mathematics.
As a man who had achieved the position of Professor of Mathematics at Cambridge University at the age of 25, and then became Professor of Astronomy at Cambridge University at 27, simultaneously taking on the role of Director of the Cambridge Observatory, George Airy was undoubtedly a rare genius.
The only drawback was that his lecture was a bit over Arthur’s head – “The Orbital Trajectory of Planets, Taking the Moon as an Example.”
Arthur was more interested in the personal feud between George Airy and Faraday than the blackboard filled with formulas.
Rumor had it that Airy had been vehemently and forcefully criticizing Faraday’s “lines of force” hypothesis, deeming it absurd to deal with electric or magnetic fields using imaginary lines.
Along with that, he also criticized Arthur for using the concept of “lines of force” in the latest issue of the Royal Society’s journal, and even more so than Faraday.
At least Faraday’s concept of “lines of force” had the iron filings experiment to back it up, whereas Arthur’s “Hastings Force” was purely imaginary.
Arthur chose to remain silent in the face of George Airy’s criticism, not because he lacked temper.
Rather, he had no confidence in refuting a scientist.
Arthur usually believed that the basis for communication and arguments between two normal people was built upon their shared knowledge.
But in terms of physics, he and George Airy were on different levels. More importantly, what if he argued with Airy and ended up bringing up a bunch of new concepts and things?
Since he had created the “Hastings Force,” Arthur felt increasingly that he should be cautious when speaking about science.
Even though he had some insignificant vanity, as an Eastern sage once said, Arthur, even if he wanted to be vain, should at least consider his own efforts and the course of history.
Arguing with a professional astronomer and physicist was a bit too “exciting.”
The Red Devil crouched on Arthur’s head, staring at George Airy standing on the podium, eloquently delivering his speech. He suddenly spoke.
“Arthur, are you just letting this little thing slander your research achievements? In my opinion, his level isn’t that high either. Let’s see, you bleed a little, and I’ll give you a detailed explanation of the law of parity non-conservation in the universe.
Professor Agareus, I’m the number one scholar in astronomy in hell. Do you want to know why the stars in the universe are distributed so irregularly?”
Arthur slightly lowered his hat brim to cover his eyes upon hearing this.
“Agareus, you’re getting ahead of yourself. Parity non-conservation, do you know that even Neptune hasn’t been discovered yet?”
The Red Devil was taken aback: “Neptune? What planet are you talking about?”
Arthur lowered his voice: “Of course it’s the eighth planet in the solar system, the one that’s always deviating from its orbit on the outer edge.”
Agareus’ jaw dropped to the floor upon hearing this.
The Red Devil cursed: “Damn it! How do you know about it? I thought it was well hidden. How did you find it? Arthur, damn it! I told you, don’t always look up at the stars when night falls! What if you see something you shouldn’t? What will happen then?”
Arthur gently shook his head: “I don’t want to count stars either, but you know, Mr. and Mrs. Brown, who live in the room next to mine, engage in passionate ‘Brownian motion’ as soon as night falls. The sound is just too inappropriate for children.”
“Then can’t you change your house?”
The Red Devil rubbed his index finger and thumb, making a gesture of counting money: “Arthur, you’re a respectable gentleman with one foot already in the middle class, changing to a house that matches your status shouldn’t be a problem, right? How much money do you have in your pocket now?”
Arthur took out his small ledger from his jacket pocket, checking it while muttering: “Counting my previous savings and my salary for the past few months, I have a total income of 39 pounds and 15 shillings.
On the expenditure side, 2 pounds and 11 shillings for Tom and Tony’s tuition.
5 pounds, 8 shillings, and 8 pence for Darwin’s reimbursement for daily meal expenses and carriage fees.
Rent costs 1 shilling and 10 pence per week, totaling 1 pound and 11 shillings for 17 weeks.
10 pounds for the comforting expenses provided to Robin’s parents.
My personal daily meals, buying wine for you, and other miscellaneous expenses total 5 pounds, 18 shillings, and 3 pence.
So, my current balance is…”
Arthur picked up his pen and scribbled on the notebook, writing down a few equations. He quickly got the answer.
“14 pounds, 6 shillings, and 1 penny.”
The Red Devil couldn’t help but roar, clutching his head: “Arthur! So, you’ve been a police inspector for 17 weeks, and your savings have only increased by 4 pounds and 6 shillings?!”
Arthur waved his hand, sternly correcting him: “It’s 4 pounds, 6 shillings, and 1 penny, Agareus. Don’t even think about secretly swallowing my 1 penny.”
The Red Devil was so angry that he pulled out a penny from Arthur’s pocket and threw it on the ground. There was a clinking sound as the coin rolled down the steps and under the skirt of a lady in the front row.
Arthur’s face immediately turned black: “Agareus, what are you doing? You’ve gone crazy! Quickly pick up that penny! Do you know what a penny can buy?”
The Red Devil glared: “Buy what? This penny is just enough for a portion of french fries! You throw around 10 pounds carelessly, but you’re stingy with a penny. What? Are you a seagull? Is the meaning of your life just for this one portion of french fries?”
Arthur stared intently at the penny that had slipped under the skirt, hesitating for a long time before sighing and giving up.
It wasn’t wise to provoke a lady of high social standing for this little bit of money.
Arthur had always been a bit hazy about the concept of money. Perhaps because he was used to simple and convenient conversion ratios in his previous life, he still couldn’t quite grasp the British system after switching.
But overall, Arthur vaguely felt that 1 pound was roughly equivalent to 1500 RMB. As for the remaining smaller denominations, he was a bit unsure.
Just as Arthur was about to leave and change his mood, he suddenly heard a voice that sounded familiar from the front row.
He turned his eyes and saw Eld, who was pretending to be polite and well-mannered.
He bent down, pulled out a coin from under the other person’s skirt, and with a warm and polite smile, said to the lady in the front row: “Madam, is this your coin?”
Almost at the same time Eld finished speaking, a crisp and loud slap sound echoed through the hall.
Immediately followed by an angry shout: “Disrespectful!”
Countless gentlemen, eager to show their masculinity, rushed forward, instantly piling on top of Eld like a human pyramid.
Eld, the young master, cried out in panic: “Help!”
Arthur hastily got up and tried to leave the hall. He was incredibly grateful for the order issued by Sir Peel yesterday regarding plainclothes duty.
Fortunately, he wasn’t wearing his police uniform today, otherwise Eld would recognize him, and he would be dragged into the Thames River again, a mess he couldn’t explain.
Anyway, he wasn’t at the Royal College today to attend the lecture, but to report the results of the investigation in St. Giles’s Parish to the Duke of Sussex and to further revise the new paper with Faraday.
He continued to lower his hat, then walked through the aisle towards the VIP room on the second floor, reserved for the Duke of Sussex.
As he reached the door, a servant smiled and walked forward: “Mr. Hastings, we thought you went to Mr. Faraday’s lab, but we couldn’t find you there. We didn’t expect you to be at the lecture hall.”
Arthur smiled and said: “I was going to come after the lecture, but today’s content seemed a bit boring. By the way, is His Grace inside?”
The servant smiled and opened the door to the VIP room: “His Grace is inside discussing art with his friends. He has instructed you to go in directly when you arrive.”
Arthur nodded slightly and walked into the VIP room along the red carpet.
As soon as he entered, he saw the Duke of Sussex sitting under a landscape painting, leaning back on a leather sofa, holding a glass of red wine and looking through the window glass at the lecture.
He was wearing a light red, tailored tailcoat, and the person sitting next to him was a young man about Arthur’s age, wearing a black suit and a pleated white shirt.
The young man was pointing at a half-meter-long turtle specimen on the table, smiling as he introduced its origin.
“Your Grace, this thing is probably only appreciated by someone who understands natural history and art collecting like you.”
The Duke of Sussex leaned forward slightly, approaching the specimen and examining it carefully: “The carapace is emerald green, the head has light red spots, the abdomen has yellow-green stripes, this must be a South American turtle.”
The young man immediately smiled and flattered him: “I knew I was right to give it to you, you really know your stuff.”
At this moment, the servant gently knocked on the door and said: “Your Grace, Mr. Hastings has arrived.”
The Duke of Sussex looked up, immediately clapping his hands with joy: “I’ve seen the newspapers these past few days, you’ve saved countless lives. I knew that if I needed to investigate something like this, you would be the one to go to!”
Arthur first bowed respectfully, then said: “Your Grace, you are too kind. Investigating cases is my duty, it’s nothing extraordinary.”
Before the Duke of Sussex could respond, the young man standing beside him smiled and asked: “Your Grace, is this the most outstanding policeman in Great Britain, Inspector Arthur Hastings?”
The Duke of Sussex winked at the young man: “Lionel, you’re quite well-informed.”
The young man nodded with a smile upon hearing this: “Your Grace, you know, for us people in finance, if we’re not well-informed, we’ll lose a lot of money.”
After saying this, the young man took the initiative to walk forward, extending his hand to Arthur as a gesture of goodwill: “Hello, Mr. Hastings. I’ve heard about you from His Grace a long time ago. May I have the honor of getting to know you?”
Arthur was a bit confused by the other party’s actions. He asked: “What is your name, please?”
Only after Arthur asked did the young man realize his blunder. He immediately laughed to break the awkwardness: “I almost forgot to introduce myself. My name is Lionel Rothschild.
I’m a banker by profession, and my hobby is hunting. If you ever need anything in terms of stocks, loans, or if you want to find a hunting companion, feel free to come to the London financial district and find me.”
Upon hearing this, the Red Devil’s shadow suddenly appeared behind Arthur.
Agareus flicked his long tongue, licking his dry lips. His saliva was about to drip onto Arthur’s shoulder.
“Arthur, guess what I smell? That’s, the rich, tempting, scent of Mammon!”
(End of Chapter)