Chapter 522: Pharaoh's curse

Although he had faintly guessed in his mind, Tan Zhenhua still wanted to confirm it, so he fingered the oil painting and asked in surprise: "Sir, there is a line of small characters under this portrait of Mrs. Amina. From this line of characters In terms of meaning, is this painting painted by the fifth Earl of Carnarvon himself? It is so good!"
The butler didn’t even look forward to the direction of Tan Zhenhua’s fingers, and then replied with a smile:
Mr. Eric is really careful. Yes, Mr. Henry Herbert, the fifth Earl of Carnarvon, is so versatile. He really painted this portrait himself. , And used it as a betrothal gift to marry the richest family in Britain at the time, the jewel of the Rothschild family, Miss Amina Rothschild. Their relationship after marriage was very good, so Miss Rothschild, oh, No, it should have been called the Countess of Carnarvon at that time, so she hung this portrait here, and it has been preserved to this day."
Tan Zhenhua sighed: "What an enviable couple, I think they must live a very happy life?"
The butler said, "No, Mr. Eric, their relationship is indeed very good, but it is a pity that the fifth generation Earl of Carnarvon died young."
These words immediately aroused Tan Zhenhua's interest, and he couldn't help asking: "What's the matter? Can you tell me?"
The butler nodded, and then replied: "It is indeed a very regrettable story, but the fifth generation Earl of Carnarvon has left his legend in history because of this, Mr. Eric, I don’t know. Have you heard a famous story called "Pharaoh's Curse"?"
"Pharaoh's curse?" Tan Zhenhua and Yu Pengxia looked at each other, and both saw a touch of surprise in each other's eyes.
The butler did not actually ask them what they meant, but said to himself:
As you can see, the fifth Earl of Carnarvon is not only proficient in music and painting, but also an archaeological lover and patron, and he funded A famous archaeologist-Howard Carter."
Seeing that both listeners listened attentively, the butler continued: "In 1922, after unremitting efforts, Mr. Howard Carter finally discovered a mysterious pyramid. Through research on the buried objects and leftover text in the pyramid, he discovered that, This pyramid belonged to Tutankhamun, a pharaoh of the 18th dynasty in the New Kingdom period of ancient Egypt, and on the wall of this pyramid is a famous line of writing, which is the so-called "Pharaoh's curse". "
Yu Pengxia asked, "What is written in this line of text?"
The butler replied in a deep voice: "Whoever disturbed Pharaoh's sleep, death will spread its wings and descend on his head."
Well, Tan Zhenhua had to admit that the story of the butler successfully attracted his interest.
"Pharaoh's curse", this is a term he has heard of in his previous life but has never been regarded as an after-dinner talk. However, he has always believed that these stories of gods and monsters are filled with a lot of piercing associations, so he has not deliberately explored The story is true and false, but now he is in the home of one of the protagonists of the story, inside the historic Highclere Castle. He was hinted by the environment, and he couldn't help but feel inquiring.
"What happened then?" he asked.
"On November 5, 1922, Mr. Howard Carter discovered this unusual pyramid and immediately notified his patron, the fifth Earl of Carnarvon. The Earl then rushed to the scene and communicated with him. Mr. Howard entered the tomb together. While discovering a large number of funerary treasures, he also found this famous curse on the wall of the tomb. However, no one of them cared about this until a few months later, Mr. She was admitted to Cairo Hospital because of an unknown mass on her left cheek."
The butler's voice became deeper and deeper, and the sunlight penetrated through the narrow windows of the castle, casting a long shadow in front of him, making the atmosphere of the entire castle look gloomy.
"In the early morning of April 15, 1923, the nurse on duty suddenly heard Count Carnarvon yelling: "I'm done! I am done! I have heard the call..." Before the nurse came to him, the power went out suddenly, and everything became pitch black. Five minutes later, when the lights reappeared, people rushed to his bed and saw him extremely His eyes widened in horror, his mouth was half open, and he had no breath."
"What's even stranger is that when Tutankhamun's mummy was later examined by X-rays, it was found that there was also a scar on his left cheek, its shape, size and location were exactly the same as the lump on the left cheek of Count Carnarvon."
Tan Zhenhua was silent for a moment before sighing: "This is really an unfortunate story. I didn't expect the fifth generation Earl of Carnarvon to be the first victim of this "Pharaoh's curse."
The butler also sighed, "Yes, he is only the first victim."
Yu Pengxia asked curiously: "So, are there many misfortunes that will happen?"
The butler replied: "Yes, the death of the earl is just the beginning of a series of tragic events. Soon, the nurse who cared for the earl in the Cairo hospital also died suddenly. The cause of death is unknown. X-rays were performed on Tutankhamun’s mummy. After taking a few photos, Professor Acehbalt Reed suddenly developed a high fever and died soon after returning to London. Since then, the earl’s assistants, scholars and experts who have participated in excavations and investigations have died mysteriously. In addition, there is another one. The wealthy American businessman who visited the tomb accompanied by Mr. Howard Carter died of a high fever the day after the visit. After visiting the excavation site of the tomb, another rich South African man fell from his yacht into the calm Nile and drowned on his way home. In the next six years, more than 20 related people died inexplicably."
Tan Zhenhua heard the goose bumps, and Yu Pengxia next to him was even more unbearable. His voice was a little trembling: "Then, then Mr. Butler, we live in this old castle now, will we... …"
The butler took a deep look at him and said: "In fact, this curse has ended with the death of Mrs. Amina in 1929. She was also stung to death by an insect. The stinging part was also on the left cheek, and After this, there was no news of anyone dying because of the "Pharaoh's curse". I thought, Tutankhamun might have harvested enough souls?"
Seeing Yu Pengxia’s sullen face, the butler couldn’t help but laughed: "Two gentlemen, in fact, what I just said is just a story, in order to add some mystery to our ancient castle, so the story There are a lot of things that cannot withstand research. For example, the countess actually died of the flu... God, please forgive me for offending her spirit of heaven. If you don’t believe me, the eldest son of the 7th Earl of Carnarvon, The future heir of Highclere, Mr. George Herbert is going to ride a horse here tomorrow. I think he will definitely invite you to visit the beautiful scenery of Highclere Manor."
Hearing this, Tan Zhenhua seemed to have a clear understanding, and then he thought of the deeply branded surname of the Carnarvon family-Rothschild. He finally understood the purpose of this big housekeeper suddenly inviting them to visit the manor today. Can't help but look forward to tomorrow's meeting.
"It's my honor." He replied with a smile.