Chapter 311: Chapter 311

The days passed quietly with the male and female leads continuously entangled in misunderstandings, occasionally interrupted by the lovesick supporting female character causing trouble. Anne spent her time watching the drama unfold like eating melon seeds while occasionally communicating long-distance with her pen pal.

April arrived, and London's social season quickly came as everyone anticipated.

On the streets, elegantly dressed young ladies and married women could be seen everywhere.

Early morning at Rosings Manor.

After much preparation, the usually composed Lady Catherine suddenly let out her first rather improper exclamation of the day:

"Oh, my dear Anne, believe me, my treasure will undoubtedly be the most dazzling girl at tonight's ball!"

Smooth blue satin like flowing water wrapped around the young lady's graceful figure. The slightly retro Empire-style tailoring, without exaggeratedly large crinolines or overly intricate lacework, didn't diminish the dress's exquisite beauty in the slightest.

Pearls delicately adorning only the collar and cuffs emitted a soft luster under the light, perfectly complementing the pearl accents in her hair accessories.

The dazzling sapphire resting against her snow-white neck added a touch of lazy mystery, shining like stars.

"But darling, are you sure you don't want to wear this diamond tiara? Believe me, appearing at the ball wearing it will make you stand out even more..."

After glancing at the tiara almost entirely encrusted with large diamonds, An Ning decisively looked away:

"Dear Mother, believe me, your daughter's beauty doesn't need these decorations..."

After all, this was a ball, not her coronation ceremony.

Thinking of the invitation letter belonging to Mr. Rosente that still lay quietly in its envelope, An Ning felt slightly embarrassed.

Georgiana looked exceptionally beautiful today as well.

As their cousin and currently the only male representative from both families, Mr. Darcy, despite his romantic disappointments, naturally took on the role of protector. He carefully guarded both younger sisters along the way.

However, before that, due to the bumpy road, Georgiana's dress hat had been slightly damaged. As an urgent matter, several carriages first stopped at a high-end accessory shop called "Jorris Boutique"...

Although it was afternoon, the shop wasn't particularly crowded. With An Ning's discerning eye, she quickly selected a relatively simple white lace dress hat for her cousin.

Like the original body, Georgiana also had a delicate and petite figure, even more petite than An Ning after years of exercise. Based on this, overly large and complex decorations wouldn't create good visual effects.

And obviously, as a pure cousin admirer, Georgiana always enthusiastically supported her cousin's choices.

Ignoring her brother waiting anxiously outside the shop, the young girl first lavished extravagant praise on her cousin's taste, then enthusiastically pulled her toward the checkout counter.

At that time, a young man around twenty years old was also waiting to check out with them.

An Ning quickly noticed that since entering the shop, this person had never spoken. His gaze appeared gentle and focused, but as a true expert in this area, An Ning soon detected subtle inattentiveness beneath his concentrated expression.

After glancing at the pure black hat in his hand and his finely tailored yet distinctly rigid English three-piece suit, An Ning quickly withdrew her gaze.

After settling the bill, just as the two were preparing to leave, a somewhat thin young woman nearby stumbled directly toward them.

"Oh, sor... sorry...!"

Unfortunately, before she could finish speaking, the person before them seemed to lose support and collapsed stiffly to the ground.

The An Ning sisters, who should have been implicated in the fall, had already been swiftly pulled aside by An Ning's quick reaction, avoiding the collision.

The movement was so fast that the shop staff nearby hadn't even reacted. With a loud thud, the woman heavily hit the floor.

For a moment, surrounding gazes focused on the scene to varying degrees.

"Georgiana, let's go!"

Without paying attention to the pitiful "young lady" on the verge of tears on the floor, An Ning took the lead. Amid the shopkeeper's hesitant expression, she pulled the still somewhat shaken Georgiana away.

Though Georgiana didn't understand why, she instinctively trusted her cousin. Without giving another glance to the pitiful girl on the floor, she quickly followed An Ning out.

The young man who had remained silent throughout also left at the same time.

"What happened just now? Anne, Anna, are you both alright?"

In the carriage, Darcy, who had been waiting outside and clearly witnessed the scene, asked with concern. Though his gaze still drifted toward the distant shop.

"Yes, Sister Anne, that young lady just now..."

"Although, Anna, that wasn't a 'young lady.' If I'm not mistaken, 'she' was probably the shop owner's nephew or some relative?"

Considering the two people's similarly square and thick earlobes, and the clearly identical stitching style and even lining fabric in their clothing.

An Ning rubbed her chin thoughtfully.

As for why it was unlikely to be the biological son - obviously this shop had been established here for quite some time, and the owner's biological son would more likely be a familiar face.

The possibility of being driven to become a "sneak thief" wasn't very high.

Thinking back to the slender, pitiful young woman in white clothes, poor Mr. Darcy was undoubtedly quite shocked.

"Yes!" Pretending not to see the nearly shattered strange expression on her cousin's face.

An Ning smiled and nodded.

"After all, as you know, I was very interested in human skeletal structure and medicine for some time."

"So from the beginning, cousin, you already noticed that person was suspicious, which is why you could pull me away in time before they crashed into us!"

Georgiana's eyes grew increasingly bright.

"Sister Anne is amazing!"

"Wait, Anne, if that's the case, then that shop owner actually..."

Remembering his earlier deceived sympathy, Darcy's face showed some anger.

Yes, accomplice indeed.

An Ning nodded gently:

"April, when eligible young men and women throughout London, even the entire British upper class, are making various preparations for balls, today's customer flow in this shop actually speaks volumes, doesn't it?"

"After all, shop rents in this area aren't cheap at all."

Moreover, An Ning had already noticed that this shop's craftsmanship and material quality were undoubtedly exceptionally refined. However, compared to the currently popular extravagant and flashy style, this shop clearly didn't follow that trend.

Without powerful business tactics, losses were common.

"One can only say that this shop owner still has some artistic pursuit!"

But unfortunately... that was limited to just that.

Watching his cousin who could deduce the entire story's cause and effect with just a few glances, and remembering how he had been fooled and was even foolishly worried about whether that "pitiful young lady" was injured.

After a long while, Mr. Darcy took another deep breath.

"Regardless, stealing others' property remains an utterly disgraceful act."

"Yes, absolutely right, cousin, you're correct!"

The carriage leisurely passed by, and Earl Ross's mansion soon came into view. Due to the minor incident on the road, their party didn't arrive particularly early. By then, quite a few people had already gathered at the ball.

Beauties always attract attention wherever they go. Before the ball attendees could quietly inquire about this newcomer's background, a slightly plump young man quickly rushed forward from the crowd:

"Oh, it's Mr. Darcy! Very pleased to meet you. I'm George Victor. I wonder if Mr. Darcy remembers me? We met briefly at Earl Louis's residence before."

Without waiting for Darcy's response, the young man eagerly craned his neck and asked:

"Might I ask if Mr. Rosente has come with you today?"

Facing the young man's sparkling eyes filled with clear anticipation.

Well, case solved! The previously confused Mr. Darcy quickly took a deep breath, finally understanding the reason for the earlier inexplicable enthusiasm.

Subconsciously, Darcy turned to look at his cousin. But what answered him was her genuinely puzzled gaze.

Due to excessive excitement, this Mr. Victor had clearly forgotten to lower his voice. The "Great Detective Karl" series had become increasingly popular recently, so as soon as he spoke, many people in the hall turned their attention to them.

Under everyone's gaze, the young lady before them slightly turned her head:

"Mr. Rosente? Anna, is this the good friend that cousin has been constantly mentioning lately?"

Georgiana: "Um... yes, yes..."

Realizing something, Georgiana quickly nodded and unhesitatingly stood by her cousin's side, selling out her own brother:

"Oh, God as my witness, brother is indeed very close with this friend!"

Sure enough, after these words, the Victor before them became even more enthusiastic, adopting a stance determined to get information about his idol no matter what. Until the ball officially began, poor Mr. Darcy was almost constantly pestered all the way into the center of the hall.

Meanwhile, taking advantage of Lady Catherine being busy socializing, An Ning and the other had already found an excellent secluded spot to sit down.

Just as they were catching their breath, familiar dance music began playing in the hall. As An Ning turned her head, her gaze suddenly met with someone's in the corner.