At the Mid-Autumn Festival, Mu Lin arrived in London. Unlike the rainy summers and damp, cold winters, the autumn days had been dry, making London’s fall scenery particularly pleasant to the eye. The streets, cleansed by recent rains, were now covered with golden sycamore leaves, which, against the backdrop of Gothic buildings with their varied architectural styles, created a picturesque and exotic charm.
Mu Lin was walking alone along King’s Road, a famous affluent residential area in West London, not far from Buckingham Palace. He had just left the palace, where he had been received by Queen Elizabeth II. Yet this meeting left him feeling somewhat resentful. He had not expected that, despite the British government having already expressed its allegiance through the U.S. government, the Queen would still make those subtle moves during their encounter.
In Mu Lin’s eyes, no matter how noble a person might be, they were ultimately fleeting figures in time. For a cultivator with an extremely long lifespan, such individuals were no different from common mortals—mere trifles.
Accompanied by a female prime minister in her sixties and together with the U.S. ambassador to the United Kingdom, Mu Lin had entered Buckingham Palace to meet the elderly queen, who was also over sixty. He had followed the etiquette taught by the palace officials to complete the formalities of the audience.
Mu Lin felt annoyed internally. In this modern, fast-paced era, it was unusual that such a few remaining monarchies in the Western world still insisted so rigidly on ceremony. Perhaps their intention was simply to highlight their long history and refined manners.
After brief greetings, the meeting turned to serious topics. Since it was a small, private gathering, not many people were present. Once the Queen’s attendants had withdrawn, only Mu Lin, the U.S. ambassador, the Queen, and the Prime Minister remained, with security personnel standing guard at a distance.
“Mr. Daniel,” the Iron Lady said with a smile, “the British government has long admired your superb medical skills. We are truly delighted that you have agreed to establish a royal-exclusive clinic.”
Then, her tone suddenly shifted, revealing a different intention.
“Mr. Daniel, since you have accepted the Queen’s knighthood, you will now become a proud gentleman of Britain. We hope you will cherish this hard-earned honor!
Moreover, now that you have agreed to establish the royal clinic, we hope you will value the prestige of this royal appointment and refrain from using it to set up a global chain of clinics. This is a small request from us,” she said coldly, while the Queen maintained her elegant composure, smiling at Mu Lin with restrained grace.
“Haha!” Mu Lin thought to himself. He had assumed that by going through the necessary formalities, the previous tensions between them would be resolved. He had not expected this to be an ambush! He realized he had been too naive, thinking too well of these Westerners.
“Oh! Does the Prime Minister have any further conditions? I hope you can state them all at once. I wouldn’t want to keep thinking for long each time—after all, I’m still quite young!” Mu Lin replied with a tone of feigned gratitude and reflection.
Mu Lin knew that this Iron Lady had become the first female Prime Minister in British history. Upon taking office, she had abandoned the previous “politics of consensus,” embracing monetarist theory and implementing sweeping reforms. Her main policies included privatization, monetary control, cutting welfare spending, and weakening union power. She was a staunch representative of authoritarian conservatism.
Seeing Mu Lin seemingly yielding, the Prime Minister’s smile grew even brighter.
“Mr. Daniel, you have not yet officially become a noble of our great British Empire. Therefore, the establishment of your clinic must wait until after you have formally received the Queen’s knighthood ceremony.
Furthermore, during this interim period, our cabinet and parliament will be reviewing your moral conduct and character. If you engage in any actions that damage the honor of the nobility or harm the interests of the British Empire, we will have no choice but to regretfully inform you that all previous promises made to you will be revoked. We hope you will bear this in mind, Mr. Daniel.”
Mu Lin still wore a faint smile. “Is that all, my esteemed Prime Minister? I beg you, please tell me everything now!”
“Oh! There’s one more thing. Although you may become an honorary citizen of the British Empire and even a life peer, we have reserved a symbolic estate for you in Butler. However, please remember that you will only have the right to use it, not to dispose of it. In other words, this land will forever belong to the British Empire and to the Queen.”
“Any more?” Mu Lin asked again, his tone growing even calmer.
This unnerved the U.S. ambassador to the UK, who sat silently on the side. He hadn’t expected the Prime Minister’s words today to differ from what had been previously communicated. He had long heard of Mu Lin’s reputation and recalled that before Mu Lin’s arrival, the director of the President’s Office had told him how to interpret Mu Lin’s behavior—knowing that the calmer Mu Lin appeared, the angrier he actually was. But since he was seated far from the Prime Minister, he could not warn her in time.
“Oh! I think that’s all for now. If there are any further issues, I will send someone to contact you promptly,” the Prime Minister replied after a moment’s hesitation.
Originally, the purpose of this meeting had been to confirm the mutual conditions agreed upon by both sides. The day after the clinic successfully treated the patient, both the British and U.S. governments had held press conferences, publicly praising Mu Lin’s medical expertise and commending his swift treatment of the patient.
The British government stated that the earlier remarks were due to a small group misleading the media, causing a major misunderstanding. They apologized for the actions of certain individuals and expressed regret for the damage caused to Mu Lin’s clinic’s reputation.
Due to prior agreements with the U.S. government, Mu Lin had not held a press conference himself, nor had he publicly confirmed the conditions with the British government, thus temporarily remaining silent in response to their statements. Without any response from Mu Lin, the media had no new stories to report.
However, upon seeing the young and slightly naïve-looking Mu Lin, the Prime Minister quickly changed her mind. In her view, someone so young could not possibly possess such extraordinary medical skills and sharp intellect. There must be an organization behind him—perhaps from the U.S., or even from China—which led her to make those additional demands.
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