Chapter 574 - 262: Yet Another Invitation Letter

Xu Yun wondered if it was just his imagination.

After mentioning the matter of Angus Roman and his son, he felt that Old Thomson’s entire expression suddenly became much more serious.

This atmosphere... how to describe it?

It looked like someone was entrusting their dying wishes—no, wrong, it looked like something big was about to happen.

No doubt about it.

The matter Old Thomson was about to discuss was far more important than the gossip about Angus Roman.

After Old Thomson paused for a moment, he turned his head and said to Wheat beside him:

"Maxwell, keep an eye at the door. If anything happens, knock and let us know right away."

Wheat was briefly stunned, then nodded:

"Understood, Mr. Thomson."

Once Wheat left,

Old Thomson got up and walked to the window, pulled the curtains shut, and turned on the electric light.

Then, from the inner pocket of his jacket, he took out...

A letter.

Old Thomson placed this letter on the table and pushed it towards Xu Yun, saying:

"Luo Feng, open it and take a look. Be careful, don’t damage it."

Xu Yun nodded at him, picked up the letter, and examined it.

This was a standard-sized envelope made of kraft paper, sealed with a dab of wax, and the recipient box had the words:

Luo Feng—For Your Eyes Only.

Clearly, this was a letter written to Xu Yun.

Considering yesterday’s little stunt at the University of Cambridge, it made sense that some students might write him letters or even confessions for various reasons, but the problem was...

If it was merely for those reasons, would Old Thomson really look so much like a secret agent waiting for a clandestine meeting?

And if the letter wasn’t from a student, the list of possible senders suddenly narrowed a lot.

Thinking of this,

a name popped into Xu Yun’s head:

Prince Albert.

After all, there weren’t many people who could make Old Thomson so grave—all counted up, just a handful.

Faraday and William Whewell were definitely among them, but if either had something to say, they could just grab him at the lab.

Only Prince Albert was the exception.

Because of his status, this uncrowned king of Great Britain had many constraints; it was reasonable for him to privately pass on a message.

So...

Could it be him?

With this suspicion in mind, Xu Yun tore open the envelope.

A moment later, a paragraph in English appeared before Xu Yun:

The Cambridge Conversazione Society

WILL DINE AT THE

Hyde Park Place

On Saturday, 10th Nov, 1850

at 7:30 p.m.

Reply to

Sir William Thomson.

After reading this, Xu Yun raised his eyebrows.

So it wasn’t Prince Albert?

The message was not complicated; even without translation magic, Xu Yun understood:

Basically, a Cambridge club was organizing a gathering at Hyde Park, and if you’re coming, just reply to Old Thomson...

Meanwhile,

Xu Yun’s gaze grew slightly dazed.

If it wasn’t a letter from Prince Albert, fine, but just an invitation from a club—was that worth Old Thomson acting so undercover...? Wait!

Xu Yun suddenly thought of something. He looked up, and thoughtfully asked Old Thomson:

"Mr. Thomson, could this be... an invitation from Cambridge’s Apostle Society?"

Old Thomson looked at him, nodded affirmatively.

He tapped his fingertip on the table and explained:

"That’s right. In a couple of days, the Apostle Society is holding a banquet, where there will be a vote on the entry of new members."

"I came to you today to deliver this invitation—Congratulations, Luo Feng. You’ve now qualified for the Cambridge Apostle Society interview."

The Cambridge Apostle Society.

This mysterious group had been introduced long ago.

It was founded by Cambridge’s Maurice, Tennyson Hallam, and others in 1820.

The ’apostles’ refer to those in ’The Acts of the Apostles’ in the Bible—that is, Jesus’s twelve disciples.

So, the Apostle Society always capped its membership at twelve.

Within the club, undergraduates were called "apostles," while graduate students were known as "angels."

The club’s initial activities were mainly debates—named the Cambridge Conversazione—a little like tea parties.

Every Saturday night, Cambridge apostles would convene; members would give speeches on a topic, then freely discuss afterward.

But as earlier batches of Apostle Society members moved into politics or business, some began to realize the society’s real value.

Thus, the Apostle Society’s nature changed.

It’s akin to modern-day online writers forming exclusive cliques—they start off just chatting nonsense, but soon become networking hubs...

As for joining the Apostle Society, it’s not exactly hard, but not particularly easy either:

The system is called the Referee recommendation mechanism.

Which means, if you want to join, first you need to know a current Apostle member—even if you don’t know their identity. Then, that person initiates a proposal for a preliminary vote, and you receive the invitation to a dinner held at one of Cambridge’s colleges.

At this dinner (really an interview), all available current members attend and vote on whether you qualify for membership.

New members are required to swear secrecy and then listen to a spell written by the theologian Anthony Fenlon.

Old Thomson paused and continued:

"But Luo Feng, you should know—this invitation is not yet the formal admission letter. Passing the interview is no easy feat."

"Otherwise, the Apostle Society would be swamped with people already."

Xu Yun nodded in understanding.