17. Golden Pheasant Tail Flower and Elysian Pastoral Avenue

A remarkably luxurious carriage glided past, its coachman instinctively trying to steer clear of trouble.

Someone on the carriage let out a light gasp, a gentle and elegant voice emanated from within, saying, "Hold on a moment!"

The coachman dared not delay, quickly reining in the horses.

A lady of grace and wealth stepped down from the carriage; she looked at Yang Miers's residence and gently squeezed her silk-gloved hand, causing countless dark mists to surge into the sky and converge into a classical oil painting.

This languid lady said, "Send it to 25 Mignan Street."

The classical painting in the sky vanished as if someone had taken it away.

The lady got back into the carriage and gave an order, at which the coachman unleashed the reins and steered the carriage away.

The Patrolling Army who witnessed this scene did not dare to intercept the lady, for they all saw the golden pheasant tail flower emblem on the carriage.

It represented an existence that even their highest superiors would not dare to provoke.

An endless corridor vanished, where a creature taller than three meters, its body entirely crimson and holding a gigantic mallet, resembling a skinless monster, disappeared as well.

Suddenly back in the real world, Charles was still not quite accustomed. He did not dare choose the main entrance, instead, he shattered a window and burst out of the mansion.

Seeing several members of the Patrolling Army from afar, Charles preferred not to get tangled up with the Yang Miers family again and quickly walked away in the other direction.

After wandering the streets for a while, Charles heard the sound of a carriage speeding towards him from behind, and a crisp voice called out, "Mister Mecklen, please get in."

Charles hesitated for a moment but climbed into the carriage.

Seeing the unharmed girl, he felt obliged to ask, "Miss Annie Brittany, are you injured?"

Miss Annie Brittany, still frightened, said, "I'm all right, thanks to your intrusion and saving my life. Otherwise, I would have fallen into that dimensional corridor created by the ancient painting depicting the likeness of the Evil God from overseas."

She stood up and performed an aristocratic courtesy, her cute face filled with gratitude towards Charles.

Charles had killed Mister Yang Miers, but he had not rescued the miss; in fact, he had almost been lost in the dimensional corridor himself. How the two of them managed to get out in the end?

He did not see the lady's intervention and was still bewildered.

Charles knew there was no need to explain and simply smiled, saying, "Every gentleman would do the same, I merely chanced upon it."

The look in Annie Brittany's eyes towards Charles could already be described as tender and affectionate.

She was a favored daughter of heaven, usually surrounded by many accomplished young men, but at this moment she felt that none of these men could measure up to Mister Charles Mecklen, who had courageously stepped forward at the crucial moment, and afterwards displayed modesty, exhibiting the true demeanor of a gentleman.

After hesitating for a moment, Charles still said, "Miss Annie Brittany, if you are alright, I shall take my leave. I only have one day off and was planning to find a residence closer to my new place of work."

Miss Annie Brittany, her interest piqued, asked, "Mister Charles, your work has been transferred?"

Charles offered a faint smile and said, " I've been transferred from the Central Government Office to Kilmainham Prison, and since my current residence in the Alexandra district is quite far from there, I am planning to move to the Picardy district."

There was no need to keep such work matters secret, so Charles simply told the truth.

Though a clerk at the Central Government Office sounded more respectable than a prison army one, a first-class Clerk Chief of the thirty-seventh rank was far better than a first-class clerk of the forty-first rank.

Charles had no intention of showing off this fact. Boasting about one's civil service rank to a girl born of a top-tier noble family was not a savvy move.

Miss Anne Brittany's eyes shimmered lightly, her voice tinged with joy, "What a coincidence, I have a relative who wants to sell a house in the Picardy District."

"I can help you get a good price."

Charles, with a hint of embarrassment, said, "I don't have much in savings, roughly able to put forth eighty Aegeus."

As a first-class clerk at the Central Government Office, his weekly salary was only one Fu Er and seventy Sheng Ding. Even with extra earnings, his annual income wouldn't exceed one hundred Fu Er. Moreover, for a young person just starting work and being generous with money, being able to save up three Aegeus in a year was already considered good at managing one's life.

Having worked for two years, Charles was able to save more than five Aegeus, making him a model of the new era's youth and a focus of the Savings Union.

If it weren't for selling the multi-headed shackles for seventy-five Aegeus, Charles wouldn't even dare to think about buying a house of his own.

The relative of Miss Anne Brittany was certainly a noble too, and the house they intended to sell was bound to be out of the ordinary. Charles didn't believe he could afford it.

He was only looking for an ordinary residence, not some grand mansion.

Charles directly stated his maximum affordable price, hoping to politely decline the girl's kind offer.

Miss Anne Brittany smiled faintly and said, "Mister Mecklen, please be assured, that house is within your budget."

The girl gave the coachman a command, "To Elysian Pastoral Avenue."

The carriage began moving once again.

Charles, with an attitude of it being no big deal to take a look, thanked her.

Charles had never actually been to Elysian Pastoral Avenue, but he had an impression of the street in his memory.

Like the Alexander District, the Picardy District also belonged to a commercial area, or as they would say on Earth, a craft industry area. The latter was known for its large shopping centers and marketplaces as well as numerous high-end consumer locations. Picardy District was relatively more populist, selling everyday goods.

Elysian Pastoral Avenue was the most bustling avenue in the Picardy District with a strong commercial atmosphere, housing many of Strasbourg's famous bakeries, pastry shops, coffee shops, and various grocery stores, spice shops, tailors, and even slave markets.

It is said that a long time ago, the site of Elysian Pastoral Avenue was a farmland that was later incorporated into the city. Most farmers received adequate compensation and went to the countryside to buy new estates, but there were a few old residents who stayed in place.

For this reason, Elysian Pastoral Avenue was not favored by the nobility; they disliked it for the residents not being of pure enough status. Almost no major nobles had properties there, deeming it beneath their dignity. Those seen shopping on Elysian Pastoral Avenue were either commoners or servants of the nobles, as the nobles themselves rarely appeared there.

Also due to the strong commercial vibe, Elysian Pastoral Avenue attracted many businessmen to purchase property, although most transactions involved commercial rather than residential real estate, which meant the residential market was quite stagnant.

Charles slightly opened the carriage curtain; even with memories of two worlds, he could not help but exclaim in admiration upon seeing Elysian Pastoral Avenue.

This avenue, measured in the Empire's official length units, was two thousand six hundred pimis, which converts to just over three kilometers in Earth's units. Because it was once farmland, it was built very wide.