Chapter 27: The Laughing Stock of the World

  New book uploaded, seeking collection and recommendation

  One day in early January 1843, Lady Isabel Darnell, who had not been seen for many days, came again, bringing with her a young man of striking appearance and manner, whose dress and bearing at once bespoke him to be one of the substantial members of the British Empire - a gentleman.

  The young gentleman's eyes slid over Mrs. Dulan with a lazy smile, and then fell on Zhu Jisheng.

  "Andrew, this is Jason Zhu." The countess looked as elegant and beautiful as ever, introducing in a soft voice: "This is Andrew Jones, an attorney at the law firm of Jones & Associates. He's an excellent lawyer."

  Zhu Jishi nodded his head in gratitude, but he also knew that the lawyer the countess had hired for him was not particularly excellent, just a rookie. Wanting to rely on him to defeat the British Royal Medical Association's team of lawyers was probably unlikely. In the "defamation" lawsuit five days later, he was theoretically doomed to lose.

  "Mr. Jones, how confident are you about this lawsuit?" Zhu Jishi picked up the coffee personally brewed by Madame Dulan and took a sip, asking with a smile.

  Jones screwed up his face, shook his head slightly and said: "Mr. Zhu, forgive me for being blunt, you have no chance of winning this lawsuit. Because the Royal Medical Society is an authoritative institution in the British medical community, as long as they think your accusations against British hospitals and doctors are unfounded, the judges will adopt such opinions... I think you should understand that you are now facing a civil lawsuit, so there is no jury, as long as the judge adopts the opinion of the Royal Medical Society, you will lose!

  Zhu Jisheng smiled and nodded in satisfaction, thinking to himself: "This lawyer is really a rookie, but he's an honest gentleman."

  "Jason, Attorney Jones advises you to settle out of court with the Royal Medical Society..." The countess interjected, furrowing her brow, seemingly genuinely concerned for Zuo Jishi. However, Zuo Jishi knew that this woman was just putting on an act.

  "What if I had irrefutable evidence that proved my point entirely correct?" Lord Zhu asked, ignoring the countess and turning to Attorney Jones instead.

  "This... Mr. Zhu, I think you still don't quite understand, the Royal Medical Society is a recognized authority in the medical field in the UK, and if they consider the evidence you submitted to be invalid, the judge will likely accept it directly, which is entirely in line with legal procedures." Jones looked at Zhu Jisheng's determined expression and shook his head slightly. "Mr. Zhu, if you don't agree to a settlement, after losing in the London County Court, you can still appeal to the England and Wales High Court, then to the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom, and finally to the Privy Council and Queen Victoria. However... that would just be a waste of money!"

  "Mr. Jones, isn't it the case that the Royal Medical Society is prosecuting and judging itself according to your words?" Mrs. Dulan interrupted with dissatisfaction.

  "As a matter of fact, so..."

  "No, it is not the Royal Medical Society or the courts of Britain that are on trial, but scientific truth!" Dr. Chiu waved his hand to interrupt Jones' lawyer and smiled: "Mr. Jones, I will certainly win this lawsuit because scientific truth is on my side!"

  "Jason!" The countess looked at Juzi with a reproachful gaze, "Mr. Jones is a professional, you should listen to his advice."

  "Isabel, don't worry, we've already won this lawsuit! Regardless of the British court's verdict, both I and H. Loewinsohn's pharmacy are winners! Because by bringing this lawsuit and having it accepted by the London Court, the Royal Medical Society has placed itself in the position of a religious tribunal!" Dr. Zhai's smile was quite amusing. "A disagreement over scientific viewpoints cannot be determined right or wrong through court trials. The people at the Royal Medical Society are so foolish to make such a mistake, it's truly disappointing!"

  "Mr. Zhu, this view of yours can be raised in court." Jones' eyebrows slightly rose as if he saw a glimmer of hope for winning the case, but then he furrowed his brow again, "However, it's unlikely that the court will adopt this viewpoint."

  Zhu Jisheng shrugged and laughed: "In that case, they're ready to become a laughing stock for the whole world!"

  ……

  At this very moment, in Blenheim Palace in Oxfordshire, a pair of brothers dressed to the nines sat facing each other, each holding cups emitting the strong aroma of Chinese red tea.

  "Robert, do you think what that Tartar doctor said is likely to be true?"

  The speaker was George Spencer-Churchill, 6th Duke of Marlborough and grandfather of the future British Prime Minister Winston Churchill. At present he is High Sheriff of Oxfordshire, roughly equivalent to a county magistrate in China, and a loyal member of the Conservative Party, which also includes the current British Prime Minister Robert Peel. As the ruling party, the Conservatives naturally became the main target of attack by the Chartists, and were also held responsible for the series of repressive measures and bloody incidents since September 1842. However, Oxfordshire has always been a wealthy area in England, with few proletarians, so there have been no protest activities here.

  However, he was still very concerned about the direction of the Charter Movement and also found that the radical newspapers supporting the Chartists were using Zhu's articles and views to smear Britain's "charitable hospitals". The topic even extended to the poor environment of workers' districts in large British cities, and compared workers' districts with upper-class residential areas where the nobility and bourgeoisie gathered, thus concluding that the nobility and bourgeoisie were using dirty environments to manufacture diseases and plagues in an attempt to eliminate the "surplus" working class...

  "George, I think the mere fact that I am sitting here drinking tea is sufficient to prove that doctor's words were correct." The reply came from Robert Churchill, the Duke of Marlborough's brother, a fat major who had just purchased his majority.

  Duke Churchill gently rotated the teacup in his hand, shaking his head and saying: "Many truths are often obscured by fallacies for a period of time, perhaps ten or twenty years later, history will prove that Tatar was right."

  "What if we can't wait that long?" Chubby Cheung sipped his red tea, reached out with a fat hand from the afternoon tea table to pick up a piece of pastry and took a bite. "What if the London court suddenly declares Jason Zhu a liar and slanderer, and then some scientist proves that his views are completely correct? George, what do you think European public opinion will say about us at that time? Will they compare us to the Roman Curia?"

  The Duke of Marlborough stroked his chin, "It's a problem... but surely it won't be that coincidental? But those people from the London Court and the Royal Medical Society are really something, how can they take this academic issue to court?" He looked at his fat brother, "Robert, don't you think it would be better for everyone if this Tartar person escaped before the trial officially started?"

  "Run away?" Chubby shrugged and said, "I understand, George. I'll go to Dover Street to visit him. But what if this Tartar refuses to leave?"

  "Refusing to leave?" A sentence that furrowed the Duke of Churchill's eyebrows, and after a moment, he let out a light sigh. "Refusing to leave can only mean two things... Either he has already won and is waiting for the Royal Medical Society to make fools of themselves! Or he's just a bookworm... If it's the latter, then there's no need to worry, but if it's the former, I really want to meet him..."