The Shadow of Great Britain

Even Arthur wasn’t the only one; another director of Imperial Publishing, Disraeli, was also under scrutiny within the Conservative Party.

However, in the case of the Lady Melbourne incident, Disraeli’s crime suspicion was indeed much less than Arthur’s.

Because although he had the capability to commit a crime, he didn’t really have a motive.

But Arthur was different. He had both the capability and the motive, and in the eyes of those who truly knew Arthur’s past, Arthur Hastings was never considered a virtuous person by the ladies and gentlemen.

Whether it was the handling of the 1832 Parliamentary Reform Riots, his abrupt actions in the Caucasus Region during his tenure as Cultural Counsellor in Russia, his strike at the Golden Cross Station and Officer Robert Cali’s memorial ceremony, or leading the charge in the Ramsgate incident, or even his intimate friendship with Napoleon’s unruly nephew, Louis Bonaparte—all of this showed that this young man’s character was not at all gentle or virtuous.

If he appears to be gentle and refined in front of you, it only means he doesn’t really regard you.

When it comes to the things he really values, Arthur Hastings is known for his ruthless approach.

For this reason, the stalwarts of the Conservative Party, like Sir Peel and the Duke of Wellington, suspected that Arthur might be stirring up trouble on Fleet Street out of discontent, which had sufficient theoretical grounds.

After listening to Disraeli’s lengthy explanation, Arthur reclined on his chair and leisurely blew out a smoke ring, ”So, what does the Conservative Party take me for?”

”For what kind of person?” Disraeli quipped, ”Of course, they take you as one of their own. If they thought of you as an outsider, Peel wouldn’t have sent me to sound you out; instead, he’d have someone investigate you privately.”

Disraeli paused, then continued to ask, ”Arthur, if it really was you, just admit it. At least I can come up with a way for you. If they really want to pursue it, I can handle Peel for you. But as for the Duke of Wellington... forget it, even if it was you, I’ll go back and say it was unrelated to you. But you have to promise me to keep a low profile for a while until this storm passes.”

Arthur raised an eyebrow and asked, ”The way you say it, it sounds like Peel and the Duke of Wellington still intend to hold me accountable? Shouldn’t the Conservative Party be happy about this incident?”

”Happy? They’re certainly happy.” Disraeli seemed quite scornful of some members within the party, ”Happy enough to jump for joy and stomp, since they don’t have to take responsibility and can even attack Viscount Melbourne. Arthur, don’t let them use you as a pawn; doing the bidding of others won’t benefit you.”

Arthur knew that Disraeli was genuinely concerned for him, so he no longer hid his trip to Europe.

He took a swig from the beer mug that had just been brought over, ”I do believe that the relationship between Viscount Melbourne and Her Majesty the Queen is somewhat too close. Whether to preserve Her Majesty’s reputation or maintain party balance, they should maintain a proper distance. But, Benjamin, you know my character; there are many ways to solve problems, and I don’t need to choose the worst one.”

”Oh?” Disraeli became interested, ”You’re saying that the Lady Melbourne affair wasn’t your doing, but you did something else?”

Arthur nodded, ”During my business trip to Paris, I also went to Brussels to inspect the progress on our England Electromagnetic Telegraph Company’s project. Incidentally, I paid a visit to the esteemed His Majesty Leopold at Laken Palace.”

”Telegraph project? Leopold?” Upon hearing this, Disraeli immediately felt the heavy weight of debt lighten significantly, and even his tone became more cheerful, ”Could it be...”

”That’s right, last week the Belgian Government officially announced the new issuance of railway construction bonds totaling 12 million Francs, with 10 million Francs allocated for railway construction and 2 million Francs for related railway facilities. If all goes as planned, after Leopold completes his state visit to Britain early next month, the Belgian Government will announce this publicly.”

”Two million Francs?!” Disraeli exclaimed, slapping the table in excitement, feeling a shiver throughout and his calves cramping, ”That means nearly ten thousand British Pounds?”

Arthur raised his hand to signal him to sit down, ”Don’t get too excited yet, Benjamin. Firstly, not all of the two million Francs will fall into our hands. I’ve calculated that only about sixty percent can be secured for the telegraph project...”

”Sixty percent?!” Disraeli’s mouth nearly twisted into a smile, ”My God! This is better than I expected! Even after deducting construction and labor costs, we’ll at least have a profit close to twenty thousand pounds, right?”

”Well...” Arthur reminded, ”If nothing goes wrong, yes.”

Upon hearing this, Disraeli was already daydreaming about the days of counting money in a bathtub, ”My God! Let me think, maybe I should buy a new house...”

”Aren’t you thinking of paying off your debts first?”

”Pay off debts? Let them come to Westminster Palace to get it!” Disraeli exclaimed, puffing his chest, ”If I paid my debts now, wouldn’t my victory in Tower Hamlets be in vain?”

Hearing this, Arthur didn’t further delve into Disraeli’s peculiar mindset but reminded again, ”Don’t celebrate too soon, Benjamin. Even if you want to change houses, you should ensure that nothing goes wrong during Leopold’s visit to Britain.”