Huh? There's a magic school here.

Andres and Catherine did not recognize the two officials in front of them, but Alfred knew them quite well.

Alfred then stepped forward first and extended his hands.

“Hello, Count Andres. I am Alfred Hammond from the European Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and this gentleman next to me is a colleague from the Ministry of Education.”

Upon hearing the surname Hammond, Andres realized that this was the family of that old fox, Torren! It has to be said that the old man had even sent his own nephews to ensure the smooth execution of the plan, which was quite an effort.

After a brief exchange, Catherine led everyone downstairs. The company had already prepared a convoy, and the four of them rode in two cars each. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs had even specially requested a police escort to ensure they arrived at the embassy on time, as being late in diplomatic circles is considered very impolite.

Upon arrival at the Chinese Embassy in the UK, a military attaché surnamed Wang was already waiting to greet me at the entrance. Given that it was a formal meeting request, it was only natural for a military attaché to be there to welcome me.

After getting out of the car, Andres and Catherine did not greet them first, but instead stood behind Alfred and the Ministry of Education officials.

"Welcome everyone. Ambassador Fu has been waiting for you for a long time."

"Thank you for your help. We'll go in now and not keep the ambassador waiting."

After these two polite exchanges, the military officer surnamed Wang and Alfred locked eyes, both sensing a connection between them. It's strange, really; that's how people are. Sometimes, a casual glance is all it takes to find someone like you in a crowd.

Neither the military attaché surnamed Wang nor Alfred intended to expose the other's true intentions; encountering colleagues at diplomatic events is quite common. So, the military attaché led everyone to the security checkpoint for a quick screening. Just then, a security officer whispered a few words in the military attaché's ear.

The military officer surnamed Wang looked surprised at the two bodyguards carrying the suitcases. Catherine, quick to understand, stepped forward and explained that the two items were gifts from Earl Andres to Ambassador Fu.

Without saying anything, the military attaché surnamed Wang had two embassy staff members take the suitcase and they walked together toward the ambassador's office.

Inside the ambassador's office, everyone took their seats. The conversation began with nothing more than recounting the long history of friendship between China and Britain, and after about ten minutes of casual chatter...

Alfred introduced the situation to Ambassador Fu.

"The main reason we are here today is Count Andres, who has worked with our Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Ministry of Education to develop a plan."

"Oh? What kind of plan requires Count Andres to make a personal trip?"

Ambassador Fu looked at Andres with great interest.

Our Principal Andres cleared his throat.

"Hello Ambassador Fu, I am Andres Mori. The main purpose of my visit to your embassy is to promote cultural exchanges between our two countries and deepen our friendship."

Upon hearing this, Catherine and the other two who had come with him were a little confused. They didn't understand! Yes! They didn't understand! Ambassador Fu and Military Attaché Wang were also somewhat surprised. Because Andres spoke Chinese, and his pronunciation was quite standard.

The military officer surnamed Wang was somewhat annoyed because the information he had gathered did not indicate that the other party spoke Chinese, and judging from the other party's life trajectory, there was no possibility that they would learn Chinese. He thought to himself that it seemed those little rascals in the intelligence department had been a bit lax lately.

Ambassador Fu, being a seasoned diplomat, only hesitated for a moment before quickly responding.

"I didn't expect Count Andres to speak such good Chinese. I wonder what kind of plan it is."

"That's right. In order to strengthen cultural exchanges, we want to establish a long-term cooperative relationship with China, which is to send students to each other's countries every year."

"Count Andres is referring to government-sponsored students studying abroad? But we're already doing that!"

"No, Ambassador Fu, you misunderstand. It's not a government-sponsored program; I'm personally funding it to establish a cooperative mechanism with you in the name of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Education. I hope that my people can go to your country to select students, and this year, as the first exchange, I will personally lead the team to select students."

"Oh? I wonder what kind of students you are looking for, and how you intend to do this?"

“I have now established an education foundation, and I will initially invest £100 million as seed money. All income from this foundation will be used for the living expenses and tuition fees of these international students. We would like to select students aged 11 to 18 from your country to study here, and we will extend invitations to them in the name of the foundation.”

Ambassador Fu pondered for a moment upon hearing this, not understanding why the other party would do such a thing. Because, in essence, this whole affair offered no benefit to Count Andres, the investor; in fact, it cost him his own money.

Ambassador Fu then asked a question.

"May I ask why Count Andres did this?"

"I believe that China has enormous development potential in the future, and I would like to invest in your country."

"Our Dragon Kingdom welcomes people from all countries to invest at any time. You don't need to do anything."

"I did this not only to seek some assistance from your country, but also to enhance my political influence in both the UK and your country. To facilitate this cooperation, I have also prepared two gifts for your country."

After saying that, Andres gestured to the embassy staff to help open the two suitcases.

Inside the box were two animal head sculptures covered in patina. Ambassador Fu stood up, looked at the sculptures, and said...

"Are these two of the twelve animal heads?"

"That's right, they are the two from the Old Summer Palace."

“Thank you so much, Mr. Andres. These two artifacts are of great significance to us.”

"I deeply regret the fate of your country's Yuanmingyuan."

“Mr. Andres, I personally believe your proposed plan is feasible, but I need to report back to the country. Specific details may take a few days to arrive.”

"I understand, I understand. Just do your best."

Once the two men had finished their business, both sides resumed their pointless, businesslike flattery. During this time, Wang Wu and Alfred exchanged several exchanges, each trying to gauge the other's intentions. However, being professionals, they reached no conclusions.

Seeing that too much time had been wasted, both parties got up, said their goodbyes, and left.

After leaving the embassy and getting into the car, Catherine looked at her boss with a gossipy expression.

Andres, feeling very uncomfortable under their gaze, asked a question.

"Catherine, what's wrong?"

"I only found out today that you can speak Chinese so fluently."

"Have you forgotten that I am a wizard?"

"Oh? You wizards have methods to quickly learn other languages?"

"Of course!"