Duke Gale was sitting in a wheelchair, with a blanket on his legs, leisurely basking in the sun.
Dai Li looked at Duke Gale carefully. His face was well maintained and he did not look like a 61-year-old man. However, his dark brown hair was mixed with gray and his completely white temples, but he looked like a 61-year-old man. It reminds Dai Li that he has experienced many vicissitudes of life.
Duke Gale's voice was very low, but he was very talkative. He kept talking about astronomy, geography, humanities, history, and literary works. The topics went further and further. Dai Li even suspected that what he met was not A nobleman, but a comic actor.
"Aren't nobles supposed to be very calm? Why are they so talkative?" Dai Li thought secretly in his heart.
Duke Gale kept talking for more than half an hour. In the end, Nelson couldn't stand Duke Gale's nagging.
"Your Excellency, Duke, let Coach Li take a look at your situation first, right?" Nelson couldn't help but said.
…
Duke Gale was lying on the bed, receiving a massage from Dai Li. However, his mind couldn't help but fall into memories.
Duke Gale can still clearly remember that during a hunting trip, his shotgun suddenly went off and hit a stone, and the fragments of the stone splashed onto the horse. The horse was frightened and killed him. He fell out and hit his head directly on a tree, and then he lost consciousness.
When he woke up, he found that his body could no longer move. All he could do was blink his eyes, or open his mouth slightly to pronounce a few unclear notes.
For a person who is naturally a talkative, being unable to speak clearly is undoubtedly the most painful ordeal.
Next, Duke Gale began a long period of treatment. His limbs gradually regained consciousness, and his speech became more and more clear. Finally, he fully recovered his language ability. He knew that this was a good start. I thought it wouldn't take long for me to fully recover.
However, the reality was not as optimistic as he imagined. One month later, he still couldn't get out of bed; one year later, he could only barely stand with the help of others. At that time, Duke Gale finally realized how serious his injuries were.
Duke Gale vaguely felt that he might never get better in his lifetime, but he was not willing to sit in a wheelchair for the rest of his life. He was not willing to live on other people's food for the rest of his life, so he began to search for the best rehabilitation experts in the world. , exhausted all kinds of rehabilitation methods.
For ten years, he held hope, met one expert after another, received various new treatments, and then experienced disappointment again and again, and then received hope from another expert, and then another treatment and Helpless disappointment, this is like a reincarnation, happening to Duke Gale again and again.
These treatments are not ineffective. Currently, Duke Gale can pick up a spoon to eat by himself, drink tea through a straw, and can even walk a few shaky steps with the help of an armrest. But this is not Duke Gale's goal. He hopes to be able to walk like a normal person. He hopes to gallop on a horse again, holding a shotgun and hounds to chase prey.
Vaguely, Duke Gale seemed to see his beloved horse. He seemed to see the housekeeper leading a large group of hounds, standing there waiting for him. He immediately walked up quickly, jumped on the horse, and ran towards the front.
At this moment, Duke Gale suddenly realized that if he had not lost his ability to move, how could he still ride a horse
Duke Gale opened his eyes suddenly and found that he was still in the castle room, lying on the massage table, while Dai Li and Nelson had already left.
"I'm dreaming again." Duke Gale sighed. He looked at his semi-paralyzed legs and couldn't help but feel lost again.
"Your Excellency, you are awake." The butler's voice sounded from the side: "You fell asleep when Coach Li was giving you a massage just now. I sent Coach Li and Professor Nelson away without disturbing you."
"How long have I slept?" Duke Gale asked.
The butler looked at his watch and replied, "One hour."
"Help me up first!" Duke Gale said.
The housekeeper immediately stepped forward and helped Duke Gale sit up, then pushed a wheelchair from the side, and then helped Duke Gale stand up, preparing to help Duke Gale into the wheelchair.
With the help of the housekeeper, Duke Gale took the first step towards the wheelchair. However, it was this step that made Duke Gale feel the difference in his body.
"Perhaps I can take a walk and see by myself!" This bold idea suddenly popped up in Duke Gale's mind.
"Thompson, you don't have to help me. I want to walk by myself." Duke Gale turned to the butler and said.
The housekeeper hesitated for a few seconds, then nodded, and at the same time couldn't help but instruct: "Your Excellency, I am right next to you. You can lean towards me at any time."
After the butler finished speaking, he slowly let go of his hand, but still placed his arms in front of Duke Gale, looking at Duke Gale nervously, for fear that he would fall.
Duke Gale took a deep breath and then took the second step.
Lifting his feet, landing on the ground, and standing firm, this action is extremely simple for ordinary people, but Duke Gale took seven or eight seconds to complete it.
However, this simple walking action filled Duke Gale's face with excitement and shock.
"I can walk on my own! I can walk on my own without the help of others or relying on a brace!" Duke Gale exclaimed excitedly.
The next second, Duke Gale suddenly started crying.
"Your Excellency the Duke!" The butler immediately walked up and supported Duke Gale.
"Thompson, don't help me, let me do it by myself!" Duke Gale took a deep breath: "I know you are helping me, thank you, but I have had enough of this feeling of being pitied!"
"Your Excellency the Duke..." The butler seemed hesitant to speak.
Duke Gale, however, puffed up his chest and straightened his waist. He looked at the wheelchair and then at the armrest next to him, and suddenly burst into laughter.
"Thompson, do you know what hope is?" Duke Gale suddenly asked.
The housekeeper looked at Duke Gale with a blank expression, and Duke Gale continued: "I hope that as long as he comes, he will never think it is too late!"
Duke Gale said, pointing to the wheelchair: "I think I will say goodbye to this thing soon. It's time for you to prepare a crutch for me!"
…
Buckingham Palace, where an afternoon tea party is being held to celebrate Her Majesty the Queen's 65th Diamond Jubilee.
This afternoon tea party was mainly held for the British hereditary aristocrats, so the people who came were all British hereditary aristocrats.
There are many people with knighthoods in the UK. Especially after World War II, the Queen of England knights some people who have made contributions every year. Among them are scientists, politicians, celebrities, and athletes. However, these people only receive a medal and It's just a title of knight, and their title cannot be hereditary.
In the UK, hereditary nobles are very different from other nobles. The British House of Lords has a special quota for hereditary nobles, and the House of Lords is the British legislative body. This means that British hereditary nobles can intervene in British legislation. , in any country, as long as someone can intervene in legislation, it means extremely important influence.
At the same time, hereditary nobles in the UK can be exempted from many aspects. For example, after the death of a hereditary Duke, his eldest son inherits the Duke's title and property, and this process does not require inheritance tax. This is the inheritance of hereditary nobles. tax exemption.
Most of the hereditary aristocrats in the UK have been scrounging for wealth all over the world since the colonial era. After hundreds of years of accumulation, the family's assets range from billions of pounds to hundreds of millions of pounds. The combined assets of all hereditary aristocrats It's an astronomical number. The British inheritance tax is 40%, so just an inheritance tax exemption will cause huge tax losses to the British government.
Successive British governments also wanted to take action against these nobles, but because there are a large number of hereditary nobles in the House of Lords, the British government had no way to take action against these hereditary nobles. The hereditary nobles also know that they must unite to defend their seats in the House of Lords, which is equivalent to safeguarding the interests of all hereditary nobles. Therefore, the British hereditary nobles spontaneously formed a small circle.
Most of the nobles who come to attend the afternoon tea party are related to each other. They may pick two earls at random and have several ancestors from the fourth or fifth generation. They may be brothers and sisters. It's all too common that your great-grandfather and my great-grandmother were brother and sister. This is also because of the European aristocratic tradition. In the past, nobles could only marry nobles. However, there were only a few nobles, so after several generations, everyone became relatives.
When this group of nobles who are more or less related by blood gather together, there will naturally be no shortage of topics to talk about. Moreover, for the British upper class, afternoon tea is a way of socializing, so everyone naturally stays in groups. People gathered together and chatted with each other.
From a distance, a middle-aged and elderly man walked over. This man's hair was dark brown, half of which had turned gray. He was wearing an elegant suit and was holding a cane in his hand.
The reason why he was carrying a crutch was because this man walked very steadily and did not need the assistance of a crutch at all. The crutch was more for show.
"That's Duke Gale!" Someone immediately recognized the man's identity.
"Duke Gale? It's really Duke Gale! He's actually here!" The man next to him immediately exclaimed.
"Is it strange for Duke Gale to come here? Although Duke Gale is a Scot, today is the anniversary of Her Majesty the Queen's accession to the throne. It's not strange for him to appear here!" said someone next to him.
"I mean, he actually came!" The man explained immediately.
At this time, everyone else also discovered this.
"That's right, Duke Gale underwent a major brain surgery due to injuries caused by falling from a horse. I heard that he has lost his ability to move and can only use a wheelchair." One person introduced.
"I haven't completely lost my ability to move. It seems that if I catch the support, I can walk a few steps." Someone next to him introduced.
"But when you look at the way he walks, it doesn't look like he needs a support at all."
"Yeah, he doesn't even need a cane..."
"Duke Gale has recovered! My God, this is a miracle! A man who has been in a wheelchair for ten years has regained the ability to walk."
In the European five-level title system, hereditary duke is the highest level of title. For example, the eldest son of the British Crown Prince, who is the second heir to the throne, will only receive the title "Duke of Cambridge", which is equivalent to the crown prince. The title that can be obtained is a hereditary duke. Therefore, in this kind of gathering of nobles, the hereditary duke is definitely the most noble existence among non-royal members.
Therefore, the appearance of Duke Gale immediately attracted everyone's attention.
What surprised people even more was that Duke Gale came here on foot instead of in a wheelchair.
Ten years ago, everyone at the scene knew about the accident in which Duke Gale fell from his horse. In the past ten years, every time Duke Gale appeared, he was in a wheelchair. Now, a man who has been in a wheelchair for ten years is actually He began to walk on his legs, which made everyone realize that Duke Gale had recovered.
"Has Duke Gale recovered? I remember the last time I saw him was at Her Majesty the Queen's birthday party last year. At that time, he was still in a wheelchair. It was only more than half a year ago, right?"
"I have been in a wheelchair for the past ten years, and it has only been more than half a year since I was able to walk. Duke Gale must have received some new treatments."
"Duke Gale has been injured for ten years. I estimate that in his case, his body must have degenerated, so I think it may be a more advanced biological regeneration therapy. I heard that some scientists in Northern Europe are studying it."
"Maybe it's cloning. Give Duke Gale some new organs and then he can leave."
When new treatments such as biotechnology and cloning were mentioned, the eyes of many people present lit up, especially those who were older, and they looked at Duke Gale with greedy eyes.
These hereditary nobles are not short of money. Their families have accumulated hundreds of years of accumulation, and their ancestors have colonized the world and plundered them, making them extremely rich. Moreover, they belong to the privileged class in the UK and enjoy many things that ordinary British people do not have. privileges.
With money, status, and privileges, the only pursuit of hereditary nobles is to live longer and enjoy this life for a longer period of time. The older they are, the more they have this idea.
There are no longer a handful of elderly people here. In developed countries, rich people can always enjoy better medical care and live longer. There are a lot of dukes and earls in their 70s and 80s. At this time, they all gathered around Duke Gale.
Duke Gale enjoys this feeling of being surrounded by stars. He was a very good hunter when he was young. He always got the most prey during the hunting activities of the nobles, and then attracted many envious and jealous eyes. .
All this has disappeared since the injury caused by falling from a horse ten years ago. He is no longer the envy of others, but is replaced by the look of sympathy and pity.
Now, he is once again surrounded by everyone, and he has once again become the focus of people's eyes!
Duke Gale was originally a very talkative person. He liked talking to others, so he often appeared in social situations before he was injured.
However, since he was injured, fewer and fewer people have talked to him. Who would be willing to talk nonsense with a disabled person
Now those who would listen to him are back.
At this moment, Duke Gale felt full of satisfaction, and he felt that his life had color again.
"Life, it feels so good to be full of hope!"