Chapter 935: Rules of Nobility

It was a good lunch break, but Yang Cheng was pestered by Luo Yue to tell all kinds of weird curse stories, which made Yang Cheng dumbfounded. I didn't expect that Luo Yue, who is usually a quiet lady, would like such a strange thing. It seems that everyone likes it. Have a dream of adventure.

After taking a nap, Yang Cheng simply invited Kelin, the housekeeper, to take Luo Yue for a walk outside. The interior of Highclere Castle was really unsophisticated. There was no wireless network. In winter, the bedroom still relied on the oldest fireplace for heating. The most modern part of the castle turned out to be the kitchen, which is equipped with ovens, refrigerators, and cold storage. If you want to transform it into a hotel, the amount of work is not small.

Yang Cheng and Luo Yue walked hand in hand on the green lawn, the blue sky was within reach, and a red and blue flag was flying over Highclere Castle behind them all the year round, which was the emblematic color of the Earl of Carnarvon's family coat of arms.

Kling talked about the history of the earl family. Since 1697, the land where the castle is located has been the fiefdom of the Carnarvon family.

There have been many celebrities in the Carnarvon family in history: the fourth earl served as a cabinet minister of the Conservative Party for three terms; a cousin of the fifth earl had only one leg and was able to fly a fighter jet to the front line during World War I; Of course, the most famous is the fifth earl himself.

Inherited to the present, the eighth Earl of Carnarvon, who is also the current owner of the castle, George Herbert Carnarvon, has a son with the current Countess Fiona. She is the godmother of the current earl, and this is the first time Yang Cheng has heard of it. No wonder William has such a good relationship with the Carnarvon family. He also proposed to use Highclere Castle as a reception place for the royal family. There is no relationship between them. It's really hard to do.

Walking on the centuries-old brick and stone road, the deep aristocratic charm comes from the soles of the feet. The servants who are cleaning on the road are still wearing Victorian-style uniforms. Of course, the materials of the clothes are new, but the style is still in the past. The style and the aristocratic background revealed by various details are incomparable to Beihai Manor.

If everything lived according to the old rules, Yang Cheng would probably die of boredom after staying in Beihai Manor for a few days.

Highclere Castle still maintains the aristocratic traditions of the last century, including three meals a day, which are the same as in the past. According to Kling, this is the eighth generation. I can't go on anymore, in order to maintain the rules, it will cost a lot of money.

For example, breakfast, according to the old rules, only the married woman in the family is allowed to dine in ****, because people usually think that she no longer has to socialize to find a good match, and now Highclier Castle Breakfast is usually a buffet, including fish ball risotto, toast and smoked herring, which is similar to the North Sea Manor, after all, Carson is also a traditional British butler.

But in order to give the host more choices, the kitchen usually prepares more kinds of dishes, but the elderly countess can't eat too much, so it will cause a lot of waste every day, Countess Fiona is determined to make a change, But due to the face of the family, it was never mentioned, so we had to try our best to maintain it.

Compared with lunch, the most British feature is afternoon tea. Since the traditional British dinner usually does not start until 20:30 to 21:00, people often feel empty in the evening, so there is afternoon tea. Birth is a small snack before dinner.

Afternoon tea usually includes: endless sandwiches, scones, and some French desserts. At this time, knives and forks are generally used, and hands are mostly used. Depending on personal preference, some jam and clotted cream can also be added.

Here comes the trouble, usually at afternoon tea, women wear tea party dresses, which is a low-waisted dress, and a tuxedo dress is required for dinner, while men should wear black or white shoes to set off the brilliance of women, because noon Tea is time for the ladies to perform.

An authentic aristocratic family banquet usually lasts for two hours. Before the banquet, ladies and gentlemen, ladies and gentlemen have to change their clothes. Men wear evening dresses, and women are more complicated. If there are guests present, the personal maid must record every time the hostess Dresses worn to avoid duplication, in terms of accessories, only married women are allowed to wear tiaras, which are usually gifts at the time of marriage.

In addition to helping the master upstairs to change clothes, another important duty of the domestic servant is to set the table. All kinds of bone china tableware, crystal cups, and silver knives and forks are naturally the best.

The housekeeper will also hold a wooden ruler to measure the position of various tableware. According to noble etiquette, there are requirements for table decoration on different occasions. The length of candles, the folding of napkins, the number of flowers, and the brightness and darkness of lights must be strictly regulated, such as The size of the napkin should be 17 to 20 inches for lunch, 12 inches for afternoon tea, 26 inches for dinner, and 6 to 9 inches for cocktail party. The lack of it will embarrass the master.

It was not enough, at the banquet at Highclere Castle, Klein wore white gloves to prevent fingerprints from staining the glass;

A small piece of butter is made into a twisted C shape (representing the initials of Carnarvon's surname) and a crown, and then served to the guests;

In short, every detail must be able to show a superior style in order to preserve the noble face.

Because Yang Cheng has received similar education since she was a child, and has been carefully explained by Carson, she is quite familiar with these complicated etiquettes, but Luo Yue is at a loss. Although she has also received the so-called lady's etiquette training, but This is the first time I have heard of such a detailed aristocratic lifestyle, and I can't help but frown, worried that there will be problems with the afternoon tea later, which will embarrass Yang Cheng.

It was Kelin's words that eased Luo Yue's nervousness, "Miss Luo, don't worry, the castle has received all kinds of people in recent years, ranging from dukes and couples, businessmen and celebrities to ordinary tourists, we will try our best to ensure the safety of our guests. Comfort, these rules will be followed, of course, if there are no guests present, the master and madam will live in the most traditional way."

Yang Cheng understood this. If the guests who came to Highclier Castle were ridiculed because they didn't understand noble etiquette, who would dare to come here in the future? How does the castle make money? From this point, Yang Cheng found that Earl Carnarvon was not so rigid and knew how to be flexible. In this way, he was more likely to persuade the Earl to open the basement.

After simply walking around on the lawn for a while, under Kelin's reminder, the two of them were going back to their room to change their clothes for the afternoon tea party.

The afternoon tea party was held in the study on the third floor, which is also the place where the Earl and Countess usually enjoy their tea time, which can be regarded as a kind of intimacy.

Yang Cheng took off her dress and changed into a casual suit without a tie or bow tie. Luo Yue also changed into a light plain dress and held Yang Cheng's arm while stepping on high heels. Dressed and returned to the study, he found that William and his wife had arrived ahead of schedule, but the count and his wife, who were the hosts, hadn't come yet.

Kelin conveyed his apology on his behalf, "I'm sorry Your Highness and Mr. Yang, the master and madam are personally supervising the preparations for the dinner, so please forgive me for not being able to wait in advance."

William waved his hand, "You're welcome Klin, we are old friends, so don't worry about such a small matter."

Kelin smiled and bowed as an expression of gratitude, and said, "According to the master's arrangement, after the afternoon tea, if a few distinguished guests are interested, there can be a horse hunting competition."

Yang Cheng was a little surprised, and William carefully explained, "Don't be surprised Jason, the Carnarvon family still maintains the habit of hunting, especially at Christmas and New Years, when relatives and friends gather here, the manor has to hold several times for everyone. For recreational activities, hunting on horseback is undoubtedly the most popular one. Women who are not good at riding can enjoy equestrian performances. Before dark, everyone likes to take a walk in the forest and garden of the manor. This is what the British most yearned for a hundred years ago. life."

Yang Cheng suddenly realized and shook his head, "I won't participate, one is that I don't have the equipment for horseback riding and hunting, and the other is~~~"

Halfway through speaking, he pointed to William's left arm, indicating that he was injured. William patted his forehead, but forgot about it, so he took the initiative to relieve Yang Cheng, "Kelin, cancel the hunting, it's just me Not feeling well today."

Kelin looked at Yang Cheng's arm thoughtfully, and didn't try to persuade him any more. William's words were almost like orders.

After a long while, the Earl and his wife walked into the study together, expressed their apologies immediately, and invited everyone to sit down. Kelin directed the servants to quickly serve refreshments, and then retreated to the side to start the tea time.

The protagonist of the afternoon tea is usually the lady. As the hostess, Fiona took a sip of the black tea, took the initiative to stir up the topic, and said excitedly, "The two most important family dinners in Highclere Castle in a year are the Christmas banquets. and a 'Burns Night' (January 25 each year) dinner in honor of Scottish national hero and poet Robert Burns.

Every Christmas, we will make special decorations for the entire manor. This year, the manor will add many Christmas trees and garlands on both sides of the main driveway, and decorate them with small lights. After nightfall, fluorescent lights will flicker in the manor, creating a romantic and beautiful atmosphere. I feel that I am very much looking forward to the arrival of Christmas this year. Highclere Castle welcomes everyone to come and spend a wonderful Christmas night together. "

Kate said helplessly, "Sounds great, but Fiona, you know that every Christmas, we have to go back to Windsor Castle, or spend it in Buckingham Palace, then I will be busy with my feet on the ground, maybe'Peng 'We can join in on the fun, don't you say honey?"

She was asking for William's opinion. In front of outsiders, William's doting wife and madman set up a stable, naturally no objection, "Of course, when I think about it, there must be many good friends present, we shouldn't miss it, Jason, you and Lorry, do you want to come together?"

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